We’re sitting in our hotel at Lohme, after a long hot day in the saddle, tired, grumpy and very wet. In despair, Kim has put her pyjamas on and it’s only 16:30. Despite our best endeavours we didn’t arrive before the promised storm broke, 15 minutes less meandering along the way and we would have been fine.
We left Hotel Solthus-am-See at 09:00, the earliest we could catch the ferry. Doesn’t that sound grander than a two minute ride across a 50m stretch of water? The sun was shining, it already felt rather warm for our 50km ride and, alarmingly, we could see our first stop perched on top of a hill in the distance.
Jagdschloss Granitz Hunting Lodge was only 7km along our route but with the steepest climb of the day up a cobbled track. We did our best, Jacky and John managed most of the climb before giving up. Ken and Kim decided to take a mindful approach and followed instructions to ‘experience the forest with all your senses’. It was of course just an excuse to walk slowly up the hill arriving at the cafe just as Jacky and John finished their coffee. The Hunting Lodge with its commanding views dates back to 1723. In 1944 the von Putbus family were imprisoned and it passed into Nazi hands. They were finally dispossessed of it following East German Land Reforms and attempts to have it returned to the family have failed in court so it now houses a museum.
A steep descent and a few more km saw us arriving in the spa resort of Binz. Very pretty and very touristy. We parked the bikes and had a wander. The Baltic is renowned for its amber and, as you would expect, there are shops specialising in it in Binz. Knowing nothing about Amber, we were rather surprised at how expensive it was.
Next stop, Prora the three mile long Nazi holiday camp, intended to be the largest holiday camp in the world and designed to house 20,000 working class people. Work began in 1936 as part of the Strength through Joy project and stopped when the country went to war. Today, much of the unfinished site has been sold to individual developers with apartments taking advantage of sea views and a beautiful beach, quite a contrast with the old. We stopped at the Dokumentations Zentrum, in one of the least restored blocks and, although in German, it was astonishing. Displays charted the propaganda and showcased photos of executions. The museum is funded by a joint collaboration promoted by the Education Director of the EU which may explain the incredibly informative film, using original footage, with English subtitles.
Suddenly, it was 13:30 and we were less than halfway. Apart from a very brief lunch stop on the beach, we’re not sure how we managed to find a place with a lovely view of a port and several naked men! It’s probably quite a skill, we were so hungry, it didn’t put us off eating.
Our final 20km took us out into the Jasmund National Park along hilly roads, through farmland as we raced to stay ahead of the storm that was fast approaching. Some races you don’t win, a chilling wind followed by a clap of thunder, then it suddenly went so dark we had to put our lights on, and despite being only only a few hundred meters from our hotel we were soaked by the deluge.
braysabroad 