Easter Hiking II

The goal of all this hiking was the Schnateremannstein.  ("shivering-man-stone").  It's a wickedly concealed rock point out in the Warnow.  Legend has it that it got its name when only one man from a ship it doomed was rescued, and he could do nothing but shiver.  Today it's a pleasant little nook, much too small to be called a town, with an inn and a few businesses.

Such as a horse riding business.

The point out in the water to the right of the ferry is the Schnatermannstein.

Heading back through the woods, I saw more (moor?) froggy friends.

They were more shy, or more sensible.

I also met someone else.  He's hiding in this picture...

But he let me get a close up.  Oona, if you're reading this, note that he is not a snake, he's a little lizard.  He had an unusually wavy body for a lizard though.

This is a statue of Lord Borwin, a nobleman from the 13th century who has many things named for him around here.  The statue was carved out of a mighty oak that was once the pride of the forest, until a hurricane brought it down in 2010.

Heading back into town was almost unbearably cute.

But you know, somehow I think I can stand it.

Easter Hiking

For Easter Day, I decided to go hiking in the Rostocker Heide.  To get there, I took the train to Warnemünde, the ferry from Warnemünde to Höhe Dune, and a bus from Höhe Dune to Markgrafenheide, which touches the woods.  This picture was taken from the ferry, looking at a much bigger ferry!

While waiting for my bus in Höhe Dune, I wandered in the grounds of the exclusive conference center.  That's where I saw autonomous lawn mowers.  (I posted a video of them on Facebook.)  I thought it was interesting to see what the lawn looks like when they're half way done.

The Heide borders on a few moors-in fact, the whole area is kind of swampy.  Here's the paddleboat that goes between Warnemünde and Markgrafenheide.

This part of the moor had higher areas with trees.  It felt strange, but beautiful.

And of course, there were lots of frogs.  This little guy was completely indifferent to my presence.

I even did this to see if he would move.  He didn't.  I even plucked a blade of grass and poked him with  it, and he still didn't move.  Can frogs meditate?

Once I was in the forest itself, I saw other creatures.  This squirrel was the brightest red, with the biggest ear tufts!

The forest turned swampy in some places.

There was pennyroyal growing in it.  It smelled wonderful.

And flowers were blooming, on trees and on the ground.

Sunset at Warnemünde

Exploring Stralsund II

Some of the things I really enjoyed about Stralsund were the beautiful buildings around every corner.

I had to take a picture of this street sign.  This is "Henning-Mörder-Strasse".  It's actually named for a noble family from the Middle Ages, but it's a bit strange, because 'Mörder' is German for murderer!

My lunch was in a gorgeous redbrick cellar dating back to the 16th century.  The Hansekeller is definitely worth a visit if you're in Stralsund.  And their beer is from Stralsund's Störtebecker Brauerei.

Here you can see the arched brick ceiling and the dark wood of the bar.

After lunch, I visited another branch of the cultural history museum.  This house dates back to the 13th century, and it was lived in continuously until the 1980s!  It's been restored to show all of the eras it's experienced, not just one.

You can go into the cellar, which is frankly a creepy experience.  I couldn't stand upright, but I could feel how ancient it was.

For a complete change of pace, here are some of the original roof tiles. The heart is a maker's mark.

I thought the keys were quite cute, too.

For me, this was the most impressive part of the whole house.  This is the orginal, 13th century wheel used for loading goods back when the city was a part of the Hanseatic league.  It's still functional, and in the 1990s, it was used in the refurbishment of the house!

When the sky is clear in Stralsund, it's downright startling how blue it is.

And there are charming miniature neighborhoods tucked away.

I didn't have time to go to the 'Bear's blood', sadly.  Next time.

Stralsund used to belong to Sweden, so you see a lot of Swedish crests in the city.

This is one side of the Old Market.

On the other, there's the town hall, seen here from the side. 

My last major adventure in Stralsund was visiting the church.  It's very colorful inside.

And some of the murals are ancient.

There's a very impressive organ.

And an astrological clock.  But unlike the one in Rostock, this one no longer runs.

Finally, I lit a candle and went on my way.

Goodbye, Stralsund!