Ostsee and Meeting Up With Family

6fartsinacart
Aug 28, 2017
4 min read

6 August 2017, Sunday: To our shock and surprise the naturists also love this spot and up till 12pm when we leave, most of the people coming for a swim (or a stretching exercise on the jetty) make use of nature and have let their dangly bits down. We kids have another go at volleyball before getting on the road. Our destination is Graal-Müritz, sitting on the coast of the Ostsee (Baltic Sea). En-route we pass a car boot sale. As this is the first one we come across in Europe, we pull over. Genève scores a pair of roller-blades, Emile a pair of flip-flops and Nikita a German book to brush up on her German skills. We continue along some very small and winding (sometimes dirt) roads, at Emile’s whim, before we stop next to a pretty lake for lunch and Genève to try out her newly acquired roller-blades. At 4.30pm we stop at the Ostsee where we all have a look at the ocean and do the usual photo thing. We calculate that this will be the furthest point north on our travels. After having a shower, dumping and filling up with water we drive southwest to Rostock to park on the bank of a huge lake. The Warnow is a little river which becomes a bigger lake just before flowing into the Ostsee. The town of Rostock is settled at the shores of this lake. Dad starts to braai some turkey steaks and sausage and we all relax around the barbecue watching the boats go to and fro. 10.30pm the lights go out and a peaceful sleep follows.

7 August 2017, Monday: What a lovely morning. Dresden goes public and Dad tries out Genève’s roller-blades. Unfortunately only the video camera is available and used as proof. We leave approximately 1pm towards Elmenhorst and stop for a late lunch next to a small pond in the village of Stäbelow. We leave at 3.45pm and arrive at our stop just outside the village of Gross Schwansee at 5.55pm, which Emile once again has found using Google Maps. It is an official paying (grassed) car park close to the beach, though you only pay from 8am to 6pm. Dad and Emile’s 5 minute dawdle to the paying machine 'pays off'. We have pizza for supper and turn in at 9.30pm as we have to be up early tomorrow morning to adhere to the 8am ‘curfew’.

8 August 2017, Tuesday: We rise early as we would like to leave before 8am in order to benefit legally from the free parking. But looking at our fellow campers who don’t seemed perturbed at all, we chill and leave at 9am without spotting any officials. It was a quiet and pleasant stay. We drive to Geesthacht which sits on the bank of the Elbe River (also running through Dresden) and stop for lunch at a parking on an island in the middle of the river where the sluice operates. From here we continue to Jestenburg to meet up with Dad’s cousin and her family. As they are working, Genève utilizes the time to bake some brownies before they arrive and welcome us in their home. We have a barbecue and enjoy a delicious meal (consisting of a variety of chicken fillets, plated pork steaks, sausage, salads and garlic bread). For the rest of the afternoon and evening we enjoy their company before retiring to Merzy.

9 August 2017, Wednesday: Robert, Uschi and Liam leave for work and crèche while we stay behind. Mum makes use of the washing machine to bring the washing which is due, up to date. Nikita and I sink our teeth into the books and we are all very peaceful. After lunch Dad, Mum and Emile go for a walk through the country lanes. When Robert, Uschi and Liam return home we have another braai. We can get used to this (us being South Africans)! This time we feast on sticky chicken wings and hamburgers with brownies, which Genève made yesterday, for dessert. We enjoy the rest of the evening together until returning to Merzy at 11pm.