For my birthday, I decided I wanted to explore Stralsund. I had heard some pretty interesting things about it. The Lonely Planet guide to Germany says, "Try to get lost-you can't-in old Stralsund, which gets more intriguing every year." (647). More about that in a bit.
I got up bright and early, to a mixed weather report but a promising sky.
You know how sometimes, you're waiting for a train, when there's an announcement saying it will come to a different platform, and normally, you never found out why? Well, on Sunday, my train was moved and I found out why. A freight train needed the platform, because it's not easy hauling ALL of the wood.
I stood near the middle and photographed the train to my left. Note that you can't see the end.
And then, standing in the same place, I photographed to my right. Again, the end almost disappears.
I told you it was ALL of the wood.
The train from Rostock to Stralsund takes under an hour, so I was quickly wandering the historic city center.
Beautiful buildings abound.
I stopped for some Kaffee und Kuchen at Kaffeehaus Strahl. Look, I already get cake and a candle on my birthday! The cake was made in house and totally delicious.
It's incredible just how many gorgeous old churches Stralsund has.
Not to mention old buildings of all describtions. There's a reason Stralsund is a UNESCO listed World Heritage site.
There was also yarn bombing. I saw three examples, all near Alter Markt, but this was my favorite.
Updated (hah-a century ago) with Jugendstil?
The facade of the Rathaus has holes to let the wind through, and when you're there, you'll know why. Interestingly, I found that the wind was stronger by the Rathaus than anywhere else in town.
The Nikolaikirche is hiding just to the left. Lots of pictures of that later. The Rathaus and church are so massive and the town square is so small that I couldn't get them both in frame!
There's a passage through the Rathaus. Here, you see the main door (but not the visitor entrance) to the Nikolaikirche.
After seeing the Rathaus, I headed down to the harbour. This was about when I decided that Lonely Planet is right: you couldn't possibly get lost in Stralsund.
1.) It's on an island, meaning that you can't accidently wander into the suburbs.
2.) The primary churches all have tall, distinct-looking spires.
3.) The town slopes down to the harbour.
4.) Stralsund has the most and clearest street signs I've seen anywhere in Germany.
It was obvious it would rain soon-looking out at Rügen, you could see that it had already begun there.
The prow of the Gorch Fock, which you can tour, although I didn't.
I thought this building was adorable, standing on its own. It's also across from the huge, modern Ozeaneum. Not long after this, it did start to rain in Stralsund-hard.
But it didn't last long, and the sky afterward was beautiful.
And the streets were shining.
Next up: my visit to Stralsund's cultural history museum, housed in a beautiful old convent!
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