A Boy and his Tractor
Our port today (Sunday, August 24th), Warnemunde is known as the German Riveria according to our tour guide, Andreas. Andreas was born and raised here and gave us a wonderful walking tour of Warnemunde and the neighboring town, Rostock in the afternoon.
Our first stop along the way was a beachside park where we spent time while he gave us background information and town history. Andreas grew up in East Germany and gave us some interesting info about his life as a child and when the wall came down. He showed us turn of the century beach chairs the Germans invented which were very comfortable, practical and unique. They had a cover and sides. The cover could be raised or lowered for shade, the seat could be a chair or lounge with a pull out to rest your feet and a small fold down table.
Andreas led us to a diorama where he provided insight and town history.
We continued walking to a beautiful canal with little shops and cafe's. There were several fish stands along the strand selling fresh fresh, fish sandwiches, etc. They also had fish stands with smoker's, smoking fresh trout and salmon. Some vendors were also selling fresh bread and the smell was, you know.
Because it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed but not the candy store. Andreas made sure the girls had an opportunity to stop in to try/buy some chocolate. Of course everone had a bite followed by a walk on the boardwalk. Once we reached the historic lighthouse, we had a tea break. We were served coffee/tea and various yummy pastries.
We then walked out onto the beach and saw literally hundreds of the German beach chairs being used, although for us SOCAL visitors, it was not warm enough for beach weather, but it didn't stop these people. The beach was beautiful and wide with very soft sand. There were wind surf kites sailing and the beach was a colorful sight. We understood why this place was called the German Riveria.
We continued along the boardwalk then streets leading into the residential area.
We stopped at a small, 3-story building where Andreas and his brother were born, only a few doors away. It was there he told us his tractor story. His father was a merchant marine and often was gone for several months. After a 90-day trip, his father brought him the best gift any kid could ever wish for, a small pedal tractor with a trailor wagon - a toy no one in his town could afford. They lived across the street from a park and often he'd play there.
One day while playing with his tractor (he was 5 and his brother was 3), a man came up to him and called him by name and said the tractor belonged to him, not Andreas. He told little Andreas to go back to his house where his tractor was in the back yard. He did what the man told him and no tractor was at his house. So he went back to the park but the man and tractor were gone. Afraid of his punishment, he did not tell his father right away but continued to look until dinner time. It was then that his dad asked, where's the tractor. When he told him the story, it was too late to search and all Andreas remembers was the spanking he got with dads belt.
As merchant marine, his dad was paid One Marc per day and the tractor cost was 84 Marcs - nearly 3-months wages. We felt so bad for little 5 year old Andreas. His tractor was stolen and he was punished and embarrassed and disappointed in himself. It's stories like this that make private tours so interesting and fun.
After our snack/pastry break and tractor story, we took a train to the neighboring town of Rostock. The train ride lasted about 20-min, then we transfered to a street car for another 10-min. Once in Rostock, our walking tour continued. Again, beautiful cobblestone streets and churches.
About 2pm, he took us for lunch in a very unique German restaurant where we had German beer, bratwurst, sauerkraut, wienersnichal and some tasty German deserts. Uhm -good! The restaurant was below ground in a beer cellar and was beautiful with the brick arched ceilings.
After lunch we continued the walking tour which included a unique Lutheran church. During this trip and others, we've seen many churches but this one had something we've never seen, a clock that has kept time since the 16th century. Only German ingenuity could have developed this incredible time piece. As a 24-hr clock, it also kept track of the years, months, weeks and days. In fact, you could find what day of the week you were born or what day your birthday will be in the future. We also found out the date of Easter in 2017! For leap year, they'd stop the clock for 24-hrs and it does not keep track of daylight savings time.
After catching the streetcar, changing to the train, we were back on board at 6pm - some 10-hrs after we disembarked and who knows how many miles walked. We enjoyed a nice German dinner with an Ompah band before resting up for our next adventure.
Our first stop along the way was a beachside park where we spent time while he gave us background information and town history. Andreas grew up in East Germany and gave us some interesting info about his life as a child and when the wall came down. He showed us turn of the century beach chairs the Germans invented which were very comfortable, practical and unique. They had a cover and sides. The cover could be raised or lowered for shade, the seat could be a chair or lounge with a pull out to rest your feet and a small fold down table.
Andreas led us to a diorama where he provided insight and town history.
We continued walking to a beautiful canal with little shops and cafe's. There were several fish stands along the strand selling fresh fresh, fish sandwiches, etc. They also had fish stands with smoker's, smoking fresh trout and salmon. Some vendors were also selling fresh bread and the smell was, you know.
Because it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed but not the candy store. Andreas made sure the girls had an opportunity to stop in to try/buy some chocolate. Of course everone had a bite followed by a walk on the boardwalk. Once we reached the historic lighthouse, we had a tea break. We were served coffee/tea and various yummy pastries.
We then walked out onto the beach and saw literally hundreds of the German beach chairs being used, although for us SOCAL visitors, it was not warm enough for beach weather, but it didn't stop these people. The beach was beautiful and wide with very soft sand. There were wind surf kites sailing and the beach was a colorful sight. We understood why this place was called the German Riveria.
We continued along the boardwalk then streets leading into the residential area.
We stopped at a small, 3-story building where Andreas and his brother were born, only a few doors away. It was there he told us his tractor story. His father was a merchant marine and often was gone for several months. After a 90-day trip, his father brought him the best gift any kid could ever wish for, a small pedal tractor with a trailor wagon - a toy no one in his town could afford. They lived across the street from a park and often he'd play there.
One day while playing with his tractor (he was 5 and his brother was 3), a man came up to him and called him by name and said the tractor belonged to him, not Andreas. He told little Andreas to go back to his house where his tractor was in the back yard. He did what the man told him and no tractor was at his house. So he went back to the park but the man and tractor were gone. Afraid of his punishment, he did not tell his father right away but continued to look until dinner time. It was then that his dad asked, where's the tractor. When he told him the story, it was too late to search and all Andreas remembers was the spanking he got with dads belt.
As merchant marine, his dad was paid One Marc per day and the tractor cost was 84 Marcs - nearly 3-months wages. We felt so bad for little 5 year old Andreas. His tractor was stolen and he was punished and embarrassed and disappointed in himself. It's stories like this that make private tours so interesting and fun.
After our snack/pastry break and tractor story, we took a train to the neighboring town of Rostock. The train ride lasted about 20-min, then we transfered to a street car for another 10-min. Once in Rostock, our walking tour continued. Again, beautiful cobblestone streets and churches.
About 2pm, he took us for lunch in a very unique German restaurant where we had German beer, bratwurst, sauerkraut, wienersnichal and some tasty German deserts. Uhm -good! The restaurant was below ground in a beer cellar and was beautiful with the brick arched ceilings.
After lunch we continued the walking tour which included a unique Lutheran church. During this trip and others, we've seen many churches but this one had something we've never seen, a clock that has kept time since the 16th century. Only German ingenuity could have developed this incredible time piece. As a 24-hr clock, it also kept track of the years, months, weeks and days. In fact, you could find what day of the week you were born or what day your birthday will be in the future. We also found out the date of Easter in 2017! For leap year, they'd stop the clock for 24-hrs and it does not keep track of daylight savings time.
After catching the streetcar, changing to the train, we were back on board at 6pm - some 10-hrs after we disembarked and who knows how many miles walked. We enjoyed a nice German dinner with an Ompah band before resting up for our next adventure.
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