After leaving Schwerin, I headed north to the Baltic port of Wismar and had a walk around in 27 degrees of beautiful baking sunshine. Although Wismar is a fishing port on the Baltic, there must be some kind of affiliation with Pork as I kept seeing little statues of little porkers when walking around the town.
And whilst walking around I went into their very impressive Cathedral, St Nikolai’s, which has been there since the early 1300’s, and much of it is still original. It still amazes me how, in those middle ages, they managed to make buildings so incredibly tall with nothing but skill and hard work. And the brickwork inside was so precise and true. The church was undergoing refurbishment but there was still much of its originality to see and wonder about the things those artifacts have seen over the many hundreds of years.
When going back to the bike to leave I got chatting to a lady biker who had just arrived and parked next my my V-Strom. She was riding a Harley fat-bob with an immense rear wheel, and she was great to chat to. Harley riders in the UK don’t seem to want to chat about their bikes, or even chat at all, but she was very happy to talk about her bike, biking in general and about the local area. Harley’s seem very popular here. At one point I walked past a row of about 40 bikes in a Autohof and at least two thirds were Harley’s. I’ve not seen many BMW GS’s whilst I’ve been here, and the bikes I see here the most are either Harley’s or something Japanese and fast, with the occasional Ducati.
Then it was over to Boltenhagen, which is a holiday destination. The sea was an azure green and the beach was pure white. The Germans really do know how to do seaside resorts. If it was in the UK I’m sure there would be lots of tattooed people BBQ’ing galore and drinking themselves to excess. None of that here as it was all cultured, happy and definitely no litter. There was also lots of small touristy shops, lots of great places to eat and in the square there was actually a choir singing to an audience.
Then it was over to the Priwall Peninsula, yet another immaculate holiday destination, which overlooks the Baltic and the town of Travemunde. There was even a big old schooner in the harbour, the Passat, which first set sail in 1911 and today is a museum. I would have loved to go onboard, but it was Sunday – and Germany closes on a Sunday…
And then it was back to the camp for some food and a big mug of Yorkshire Tea as I’d ridden another few hundred k’s today. I’ve also needed to get my gear ready as the inside of my tent looks like it’s been burgled – as tomorrow we’re off and away, catching the afternoon ferry to Sweden.
This is a stunning part of the world. Everything just works, the people are polite and friendly and it’s immaculately clean. And it’s so green. Even when you do manage to see some industry, it’s well hidden behind a sea of trees. This area must be important agriculturally as wherever I venture there are crops as far as the eye can see. I can’t wait to get back into Germany in a few weeks time to see more of this wonderful country.
I’m kind of debating with myself whether a 650 would have been better rather than my 1000, as although the thou is good at chugging along the motorway, when you want to go slow, something like 20-30, she’s not very happy at those speeds. A lot of chain snatch and 2nd either seems too rushed and 3rd maybe not enough, so I’ve been debating with myself whether a 650 would be better suited next year. Maybe a yellow one….
