The Last Night

Leider ist die Reise nach Deutschland fast vorbei. The trip to Deutschland is almost over! :(
One last roundtable discussion over schnapps, about the state of German education. Max and Bärbel came over. Uncle Matthias attempted to recreate the Sanddorn soup from Rügen, without cream for mom.

One last hangout in Oma's living room upstairs, to play Rummy and look at pictures. 

Here is what my grandmother and grandfather looked like when they fell in love.

The Ente

I got to ride with Lutz to the grocer's in his old car, a Citroën 2CV, known affectionately in German-speaking countries as Die Ente (the duck).

Lutz & Tini

Martin, Mama, and I visited an old friend, Lutz, who lives in an historic farmhouse up in Schleswig with his wife Tini, kid, and brother. He makes half a living (his wife works too) taking apart and putting together metal artwork. He has built himself a gallery upstairs, a workshop out back, and a reputation. We took a walk around the old village and talked politics over tea.

Darß Flowers

The Top of St. Marien's

This detail of Tim, Nele, and Uncle Matthias is part of a full 360 panorama I took from the top of the St.-Marien-Kirche in Stralsund.

Stralsund Town

On our way out of Rügen, we stopped in Stralsund, another very old and picturesque harbor city.

This is St-Marien's-Kirche. Let's go to the top!

End of Part V

Go to Part VI...

Farewell to Glowe

One last look at the sea, and then it is time to leave our Ferienwohnung (vacation house), and the island.

Sanddorn Suppe

After the bikeride, Matthias Martin and I stopped by this über-posh restaurant on the cliffs called Panorama, and had some Sanddorn soup and some Kaffee and Kuchen. The island of Rügen is somewhat known for the wild Sanddorn (lit. Sand-Thorn) berry bushes. If I had just come across these berries, I would have guessed they were poisonous. Not so! That was the best soup I have ever had.

Mushrooms!

Mushrooms are one of my favorite natural subjects! I don't know why (Fantasia perhaps?), but they are just magical... no matter how much I understand them scientifically, they are still an other-worldly mystery. The bikeride through Jasmunder National Forest afforded plenty of opportunities to photograph them.

On a previous bikeride, Matthias and I and a few other amateur "pilz-jäger" collected Pfifferlinger (a bright yellow-orange edible mushroom) for soup. One of my fondest memories was collecting them in Sweden when Nina and I came over in '96. Like a treasure hunt!

These first mushrooms were found in Groß Zicker, actually.

Jasmunder Bikeride

After the Kreidefelsen, Matthias, Martin and I decided to take the bikes further, exploring the national forest between Hagen and Sassnitz. It ended up being another 20-mile day trip!

Kreidefelsen!

The other thing that Rügen is famous for, besides the Communist vacation homes, is the Kreide Felsen (chalk cliffs) in Jasmunder National park. They are the subject of some famous paintings by Casper David Friedrich, and many tourists' photographs I'm sure. The 30-65 year old demographic headed out to see them this morning while the kids and Oma stayed home.

 Looking down off the cliffs.

The fall colors certainly make for a good picture.

Taun Hövt Flowers

Groß Zicker Panorama

Martin and Matthias decide where to go next from the top of the hill.

Fields of Groß Zicker

I found this road, this fork, and those clouds very nice to photograph. Here we are heading into the hills for an after-lunch hike.

Zicker Lunch

Lunchtime at Taun Hövt in Groß Zicker after a morning of touring the coastal cities.
We have gone almost as far south as one can go in this corner of the island.
Here, if you're interested, is what it's like to drive through the lovely country village
of Groß Zicker to some classical guitar (someone else's video).

Ma is happy to have found something vegan! Off-menu, apparently. The specials are fish. 

I had a breaded Dorschfilet (cod).

Swing!

Nele and her friend Tim on a teeter-swing... well, a... 

some kind of playground implement at the place we ate lunch.

Country Parsonage

The Groß Zicker Church. Built in 1360, no big deal. :)

On the Seebrücke

A nice photo of Mom, Matthias, me and Jule snapped by Martin on the Binz pier.

Binz and Sellin

Next day, we all took a drive to see some of Rügen's southern cities on the beach.

 Looking back at Binz from the long seebrücke.

The Pensioner where my grandmother was sent during the War. In Sellin.

The long steps down to the seebrücke in Sellin.

Kap Arkona

At the end of the bikeride was Kap Arkona and its twin lighthouses. About this time, I found the camera's panorama mode. Beware, epic 180s ahead.