Parchim, Plau am See, & Malchow (17/09/2023)

Another mid-September weekend, and this time I headed north to visit a few places in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. I started out with the town of Parchim, which I reached after switching trains once. After reaching it I started out by heading towards the church of St Mary but as it had a mass going on I decided to come back to visit it later. Walking on through town I then reached the main square, with some nice timber framed houses as well as the town hall, originally gothic from the 14th century but rebuilt in its neogothic form in 1818. Nearby was the church of St George, dating to the 13th century, but which was unfortunately closed. I walked around a bit and then decided to head back to the church of St Mary, just in time as people started leaving after the mass was over. Dating to the 14th century it features a thick and tall tower from 1310. The interior was quite nice and had an impressive 17th-century organ, a 15th-century Gothic winged altarpiece, and a bronze baptismal font from 1385. After visiting the church I had a last walk around town and then managed to get a bus that brought me to the next destination, Plau am See. Once there I first headed out to visit the main church, dedicated to St Mary. Built in the 13th century it features a typical brick gothic style, with a large, thick, and tall tower. The interior, mostly remade in neo-gothic style, featured a small Gothic 15th-century altarpiece and a nice bronze baptismal font from 1570. After paying a small fee I could also climb the church's tower, at the top of which I had then a great view of the old town and the nearby large lake, the Plauer See. Following the visit, I headed back down and out of the church, and continued on my walk through the pretty old town admiring some nice examples of timber-framed houses. I walked along the waterfront of the Elde Canal and saw the interesting small blue drawbridge over it. I then walked some more and reached the castle at the northern edge of town, which originally dates to the 13th century. It was expanded and refurbished during the 15th century but suffered great damage during the Thirty Year's War, with just the main tower surviving. At that point, I had another walk around town and then managed to get on a bus that took me to the last stop for the day, the town of Malchow. Once there I first visited the large windmill dating to 1880. I then moved on and reached the church of Sankt Johannis close to the old town, built in a neogothic style in 1873. From the church, I then walked through the old town, which was really lively, with many people walking about and lots of cars driving through. Malchow's old town stretches out around the Malchower See and features a small island in the lake filled with old houses as well. Walking over the bridge I entered this island and then walked through it to reach another bridge that led me to the southern end of town. Here, on the other side of the lake, I then visited the Malchow Abbey, a former Cistercian nunnery. The monastery church was built between 1844 and 1849, however, following a fire in 1888 it was then rebuilt in a splendid Gothic revival style with its strong and dark red brick color and a tall spire. The church holds a church organ museum so I decided to skip visiting the interior and instead walked around the grounds of the former monastery. Having visited the complex I then decided to lay down on the grass next to the lakeshore. It was rather comfortable and peaceful that I ended up taking falling asleep. After the short nap, it was time to go. I headed back through town and reached the train station from where I eventually got back to Berlin.

The main square in Parchin, the Schuhmarkt

View of the Georgenkirche

Interior of the church

The impressive organ

The Gothic winged altar

Street in the old town

Another street in the old town

The bridge over the Elde Canal

The Plau am See castle

Street in the old town

The church of St Mary

The Malchow windmill

The interior of the Stadtkirche

View of the Malchower See

Malchow Abbey

Another view of the lake

The lake and the abbey

Hike from Halberstadt to Neinstedt (16/09/2023)

 On another September weekend, I took the chance of a nice forecasted sunny day and decided to head southwest towards the Harz region for some hiking. I reached the town of Halberstadt with a direct train and switched to a local one that brought me to the Halberstadt-Spiegelsberge station where I would start my hike. I headed south of the city and eventually reached a forested area. Here a short walk brought me to a curious sandstone formation, jutting out of the trees, known as the Fünffingerfelsen. It consists of five 10-meter-high stone columns, four of which close together and the fifth separated from the rest. Once on top, I admire the nice view of the surrounding forest, and the countryside with the town of Halberstadt beyond. From there, a short walk brought me to the next sandstone formation, Klusfelsen. Here, unlike the other rock formations, there were manmade caves some of which date to prehistoric times. After admiring the panorama from that spot too I then continued on my hike, heading westwards through the forest. As I walked on I then came across a place called Meding Schanze, where a WWI western front trench was reconstructed on-site to show visitors what it was like. A few kilometers later across open fields, I then reached the town of Langenstein. The main feature, and an interesting and peculiar one at that, was the cave dwellings scattered a little around town but mostly concentrated on Schäferberg Street. This consists of a series of caves dug out into the rock around the mid-1850s and turned into livable dwellings which were used until the 20th century. Some of those dwellings had been restored and can now be visited with decor and furniture from the time. After that nice stop, I continued on through town and reached then the small hill to the south of it, on top of which was another cave dwelling, this one from the 18th century. Around it were some other nice rock formations as well as a great viewpoint from the highest point of the hill. From here I then continued on my hike heading southeast through hilly terrain. Looking south, and west I could see the Harz mountains, with the Brocken, the highest mountain in clear sight. After a bit, I reached another sandstone formation, the Hoppelberg, from where I had another great view, also looking northwards towards Halberstadt. Moving on I reached the village of Börnecke with at its center the church of St Peter. The walk then carried me through some open fields and under the highway to reach the next town, Westerhausen. Here I walked through town, passing by the nice church of St Stephen, with its nice westwerk and two baroque spires. As I had drunk most of my water I tried looking for a fountain, but as is typical in Germany, I couldn't find any. I then decided to ask an old lady playing with her granddaughter outside her house and she gladly refilled it from her garden hose. I thanked them and carried on my walk. The trail continued southwards through nice open fields with a view of the Harz mountains. I passed through the town of Warnstedt and shortly after reached the Teufelsmauerstieg, a trail heading west to east and following a semi-intermittent natural hard sandstone rock formation in a straight line like a wall. I followed the nice sections of rocks with often views both toward the south and north. Among the rocky formations was also a herd of sheep and goats snacking on tall long dry grass. Towards the last part of the trail, the rocks became larger and taller giving the real impression of a solid wall, and with jutting points like the devil's fingers, hence the name. Behind it I also had a nice view from above of the town of Weddersleben. This last part was also the only part so far where there were other people as well; visitors who had parked the car nearby and walked up there. This is probably why this was also the only section with fences and ropes along the trail to keep people from heading or climbing on the rocks. Finally, after a last stretch, I reached the town of Neinstedt from where I was able to take my train back to Berlin.

A typical sandstone rock formation just south of Halberstadt

The Fünffingerfelsen

View of Halberstadt

The view from Klusfelsen

Inside one of the rock formations

The road to Langenstein

One of the cave dwellings

Inside the dwelling

A row of cave dwellings

Langenstein

View from above

A view of the Harz mountains and Brocken in the distance

The view from Hoppelberg

Passing through Börnecke

Sheep grazing

Sandstone formations of the Teufelsmauer

Another view with Weddersleben in the background

Hike from Hangelsberg to Erkner (10/09/2023)

On another early september sunny weekend, Francesco, Ania, and I decided to go for a hike close to Berlin. We reached the station of Hangelsberg and from there started walking westwards. The way was easy and flat through mostly planted pine forests. After several kilometers of walking we eventually reached the beach at the Peetzsee lake. Here we found a bench in the shade and ate the lunch we had brought along with us. There were quite some people laying on the sand and swimming, and while the other two sat on the bench I decided to take a swim. The water was nice clear and not cold and was quite pleasant. Once back outside I dried out a bit and then we were off to hike again. We followed the lakeside for a bit and then walked on a bridge crossing over a canal connecting the Peetzsee to the Werlsee. On the other side we entered the small town of Grünheide and decided to stop at the Heydewirt am Peetzsee Restaurant and Kiosk right by the lakeside. We sat down and ordered a piece of cake to enjoy as dessert. Bakc on track, we left the town and followed the southern lakeside of the Werlsee. Not long after we entered and passed through the hamlet of Fangschleuse and then continued on some more through a nice forest, now mixed with deciduous trees. We followed the Löcknitz river, passing by a minor lake, the Wupatzsee, but rather more of a swampy large pond. Eventually we came out of the forest and in sight of buildings. We had then reached Erkner and its station from where we eventually got a train into Berlin.

The forest near Hangelsberg

Another view of the forest

The beach at Lake Peetzsee

Another view of the lake

The canal between the Peetzsee and the Werlsee

Our snack place on the lakeside

View of the Werlsee

The Löcknitz river

Świnoujście, Ahlbeck, & Heringsdorf (09/09/2023)

On an early September warm and sunny weekend, Ania and I decided to head to the Baltic Sea coast. We took a train from Berlin, and after several hours and a switch in Zussow, crossed the border into Poland and reached the seaside town of Świnoujście. Here we first walked through the city center, with a mix of some old houses from the 19th and early 20th centuries together with more modern ones. Heading on, we left the city center and walked through the large Park Zdrojowy, made up of nice tall deciduous trees. At its edge, right next to the Swina River, which gave its name to the city, we came upon the Angel's Fort, built between 1845 and 1858 when it was part of Prussia. Not far from it, we passed another fort, the Western Fort, originally built between 1843 and 1863, but having been modernized particularly during WWII. After the fort, a short walk brought us eventually to the beach. Here was a short jetty to separate the beach from the Swina River/Canal with at the end of it a 10m high beacon in the form of a white windmill. We decided to walk along the beachfront for a bit, also dipping our feet in the water, and noticed there were many tiny transparent jellyfish all around. The Polish part of the beach was really crowded and at one point we decided to head back into the city to look for a place for lunch. Right after exiting the sandy part, we came upon the waterfront promenade with many tall and new buildings facing the sea and many more still under construction. We found a restaurant and decided to stop there. Ania had a curry salad while I had seabream with potatoes. After lunch, we walked along the promenade for a bit and then decided to head back to the beach. Following the waterfront, we eventually crossed into Germany as the long sandbar extended for several kilometers westwards. Here, due to no buildings in the interior, there were many fewer people, and we decided to stop for a short break. I then chose to go for a quick swim, though the water was quite shallow so I had to head out quite a bit. The water was nice and clean, rather darkish in color, but much clearer as I headed out. It was also quite chilly but rather nice and the outside temperature was still rather warm and the sun beating strong. After drying out, we set ourselves back on track, walking along the waterfront and eventually reaching the Ahlbeck Pier, a 280m long pier, considered the oldest one in Germany having been built in 1899. It was refurbished and partly reconstructed several times since then, specifically to strengthen it, following disastrous winter freezes. Continuing along the beach, after a couple kilometers we reached another pier, that of Heringsdorf. This bridge, which at the time of its construction in 1893, in wood, was the longest in Europe, unfortunately burned down in 1958. It was then replaced by a new one only in 1995 and now measures 508m in length. We walked along the whole length of it and then turned back to head into the city. We had a walk around town admiring the nice late 19th century and early 20th century buildings, in a style known as resort architecture and typical of this part of the Baltic coast. In the end, it was then time for us to go; we reached the train station and after another switch in Zussow eventually we came back to Berlin.

The city center of Świnoujście

Another view of the city center

Through Park Zdrojowy

The Angels Fort

The beach and beacon in the form of a windmill

The large Polish beach

Walking along the beach on the German side

The beach in Heringsdorf

The Heringsdorf Pier

The center of Heringsdorf