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Blog 1 To Rostock along the former East German N Coast
Let me tell you about it.. We left Neustadt on Friday intending to do a 7 hour trip but as we were going well we pushed on to Warnemunde making it 9 hrs but gaining a day in the process and a forecast of bad weather coming so a good place to be holed up. Neustadt is about the size of Henley with water running through the middle back out to a large shallow lake - a sea inlet really. Lots of cobbles and every house a different design simply because they were built over many centuries. A huge square with water fountains shooting up in to the air, many overweight people with little yappie dogs and seemingly every other shop a grand "apothek," must be a money spinner.
The Germans all seem to want us to stay in the EU but they don't like being told every country and its people are the same - "we are not!" They don't appear to worry so much about immigration "for every one immigrant there are a thousand Germans." Well fair enough but they have a lot of space and seem to be used to being in throngs of people.
So, for Warnemunde, well and truly the former East Germany where we were told the old attitude of the GDR still exists in parts, certainly the large woman on the marina desk was brusque and couldn't care less about her customers - we got the impression that she was the authority and we could like it or lump it - a complete contrast to everywhere else in the Baltic. This is a major ferry port to the rest of the Baltic with ships coming and going all the time, also a new cruise liner every day which parks over the other side of where we are and everyone makes great play when they leave at 7pm with horns blasting and frightening the babies all the way out to sea. Also a huge Russian three masted square rigger full of young Russians of both sexes from about 18 to 21yrs I would say, we met some in the supermarket buying booze and haribos and had to show their passports to prove they were old enough. We are at the mouth of the wide river Warn which goes 6 miles inland to Rostock, another old city where tomorrow we may sail up and try to find a place to sit out the winds.
….We did get to Rostock and find a berth in the Stadthafen Marina right in the centre of town - the sun shone all day once the thick fog had dissipated making the sail up river under a reefed genoa a pleasure and full of interest even along the heavily industrial ship building stretches. The HafenMeister was charming ( born on the French border ) and we communicate well using all three languages and gestures. Walking on and exploratory trip this afternoon we found fountains, lovely painted decorative buildings, many with beautifully sculpted base relief panels, enormous cobbled squares with fountains, trees, sculpture and people bustling and enjoying life - relatively traffic free possibly because it was Sunday. A great place to sit out several days of rotten wind and maybe even do some art.
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