June 15th, 2009
After our visit in Lübeck we drove to Rostock where we would spend the night at Hampa's, a medical student who is just like us a member of BeWelcome.
The highway road from Lübeck to Rostock is quite boring and we were happy when we found the flat quickly, since Caitlin was getting fed up with being in her carseat all afternoon. Hampa's flat was right above an Italian restaurant and we met her flatmates. Hampa herself was not in Rostock that weekend, but we could use her room. We were not alone, however, as she has three cats who kept us company. I guess we can say that Caitlin is not allergic to cats
We ate some of the cake that Tinchen had prepared us, drank some tea and then we left for Warnemünde. The place really feels like a seaside resort, and everywhere were little stalls where you could buy fish (although they were closing by the time we got there).
We just took a stroll near the port, saw the three lighthouses and ate an icecream in an Italian restaurant.
Right at that moment the skies opened and there was a massive downpour. Luckily it ended by the time we finished our ice-cream. We then drove to Rostock for a quick visit by night (looking for an old light-house which we never found) and then it was time for bed.
Posts tonen met het label germany. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label germany. Alle posts tonen
maandag 7 maart 2011
woensdag 9 februari 2011
Rostock and Warnemünde
After our visit in Lübeck we drove to Rostock where we would spend the night at Hampa's, a medical student who is just like us a member of BeWelcome.
The highway road from Lübeck to Rostock is quite boring and we were happy when we found the flat quickly, since Caitlin was getting fed up with being in her carseat all afternoon. Hampa's flat was right above an Italian restaurant and we met her flatmates. Hampa herself was not in Rostock that weekend, but we could use her room. We were not alone, however, as she has three cats who kept us company. I guess we can say that Caitlin is not allergic to cats
We ate some of the cake that Tinchen had prepared us, drank some tea and then we left for Warnemünde. The place really feels like a seaside resort, and everywhere were little stalls where you could buy fish (although they were closing by the time we got there).
We just took a stroll near the port, saw the three lighthouses and ate an icecream in an Italian restaurant.
Right at that moment the skies opened and there was a massive downpour. Luckily it ended by the time we finished our ice-cream. We then drove to Rostock for a quick visit by night (looking for an old light-house which we never found) and then it was time for bed.
The highway road from Lübeck to Rostock is quite boring and we were happy when we found the flat quickly, since Caitlin was getting fed up with being in her carseat all afternoon. Hampa's flat was right above an Italian restaurant and we met her flatmates. Hampa herself was not in Rostock that weekend, but we could use her room. We were not alone, however, as she has three cats who kept us company. I guess we can say that Caitlin is not allergic to cats
We ate some of the cake that Tinchen had prepared us, drank some tea and then we left for Warnemünde. The place really feels like a seaside resort, and everywhere were little stalls where you could buy fish (although they were closing by the time we got there).
We just took a stroll near the port, saw the three lighthouses and ate an icecream in an Italian restaurant.
Right at that moment the skies opened and there was a massive downpour. Luckily it ended by the time we finished our ice-cream. We then drove to Rostock for a quick visit by night (looking for an old light-house which we never found) and then it was time for bed.
Lübeck: History, Architecture, Marsipan
The night in the Etap room was quite comfortable with Caitlin between us, since the travel bed would not have fitted in the room. We decided from now on to leave the travel bed in the car, since Caitlin was fine and the disassembling of the bed causes only frustration and arguments.
The breakfast we had booked for 6 euro extra was a buffet consisting of bread with the usual jams and spreads, some sausages, cereals, yoghurt, cheese, juice; tea; coffee. Not what you would get in a regular hotel, but much better than the 2 croissants and jam that you get in a Formula 1 hotel or most Italian hotels. It was filling but not special. Even though we were not too far from the city centre, we decided to look for a parking closer to the centre. Especially with the clouds hanging over our heads. Tinchen had given us a good tip where to park, but we decided to try for a parking near to the famous Holsten Tor.
We were lucky enough to find one without any time limit and got ready for some serious sight-seeing. We unpacked and assembled our Bugaboo and strangely could not move it a single centimeter! After some experiments and puzzling we found that the cable for the brakes was wound around a knob and thus blocked the brakes. What a relief! We headed for the Holsten Tor and bought a small map for € 0,90 with a (very limited) guided tour which we followed as much as possible. Normally the tour would take us 2 hours, but because we went inside many of the landmarks, we spend most of the day.
The Holsten Tor is a late Brick Gothic city gate, UNESCO World Heritage Site and considered a major landmark of Lübeck.
Other landmarks we visited were The Town Hall, The Lübecker Dom and Maria Church, Günter Grass's house, the Salzspeicher (historic warehouses where salt delivered from Lüneburg awaited shipment to Baltic ports) and the Hospital of the Holy Spirit (one of the oldest social institutions of Lübeck).
We took a break at a medieval market, where all the shop assistants were dressed in ancient robes and sold strange things like lutes, mead (alcoholic beverage made of honey) and roasted pig.
In the end we made a quick stop at the factory outlet of Niederegger, a worldwide acknowledged producer of marzipan and sweets. They had a 50% off sale for Easter products, so we bought some stuff for during the rest of our trip.
Next stop: Rostock!
The breakfast we had booked for 6 euro extra was a buffet consisting of bread with the usual jams and spreads, some sausages, cereals, yoghurt, cheese, juice; tea; coffee. Not what you would get in a regular hotel, but much better than the 2 croissants and jam that you get in a Formula 1 hotel or most Italian hotels. It was filling but not special. Even though we were not too far from the city centre, we decided to look for a parking closer to the centre. Especially with the clouds hanging over our heads. Tinchen had given us a good tip where to park, but we decided to try for a parking near to the famous Holsten Tor.
We were lucky enough to find one without any time limit and got ready for some serious sight-seeing. We unpacked and assembled our Bugaboo and strangely could not move it a single centimeter! After some experiments and puzzling we found that the cable for the brakes was wound around a knob and thus blocked the brakes. What a relief! We headed for the Holsten Tor and bought a small map for € 0,90 with a (very limited) guided tour which we followed as much as possible. Normally the tour would take us 2 hours, but because we went inside many of the landmarks, we spend most of the day.
The Holsten Tor is a late Brick Gothic city gate, UNESCO World Heritage Site and considered a major landmark of Lübeck.
Other landmarks we visited were The Town Hall, The Lübecker Dom and Maria Church, Günter Grass's house, the Salzspeicher (historic warehouses where salt delivered from Lüneburg awaited shipment to Baltic ports) and the Hospital of the Holy Spirit (one of the oldest social institutions of Lübeck).
We took a break at a medieval market, where all the shop assistants were dressed in ancient robes and sold strange things like lutes, mead (alcoholic beverage made of honey) and roasted pig.
In the end we made a quick stop at the factory outlet of Niederegger, a worldwide acknowledged producer of marzipan and sweets. They had a 50% off sale for Easter products, so we bought some stuff for during the rest of our trip.
Next stop: Rostock!
donderdag 21 mei 2009
Visiting Friends in Lübeck
At around 6:30 we arrived at our hotel, an Etap hotel with the typical practical Etap design. This means it is one star more than a Formule 1 hotel (a little bit more comfort, an acceptable breakfast buffet and free internet in the rooms). The toilets and bathroom (separate) reminded me a bit about those in a train wagon, and cleaning them will probably take 30 seconds with a high-pressure water gun and some disinfectant.
We unpacked, rested a bit and left for my friend Tinchen and her mother Anni, a friendship that dates back to the times when young kids had pen pals and sent them real letters… We were welcomed with warmth and first of all exchanged some news about what had happened in our lives. Old memories were revived too and on top of all the nice conversation we were served a delicious gratin with meat, peppers and tomatoes.
Caitlin was her usual friendly and curious self, only quite late did she get tired and a bit cranky, so we decided to go back to our hotel room and went straight to bed. Having Caitlin sleep between us proved very comfortable. Maybe we shouldn't bring our travel bed anymore next time.
Tomorrow we will test www.bewelcome.org in Rostock :)
woensdag 13 mei 2009
Friday 13th - Bad Luck in Bremen
This article was first published on Friday 13th, 2007
In April we visited my brother and his family in Peer, then we drove to Düsseldorf to meet Anja and finally we drove to Bremen with Claudia’s family to celebrate her mum’s birthday. What was supposed to be a nice little get-together turned into something close to a nightmare!
On our first day (Friday the 13th) somebody broke into the hotel and stole all our stuff : 2 laptops, mobile phone, mp3 player, exams by Claudia’s students (which they had to redo later that month…poor children), all of Claudia’s pictures which had been burned on CDs. This means that for most people I don’t have their telephone number anymore. Please send me an sms with your full name so I can add you again.
At night we went to the police office to look at pictures of criminals, but no luck. And now 8 months later I received a letter from the Bremen Police saying that they are closing the case as they have no chance of finding them.
I didn’t lose a lot of money as the hotel was insured and most of my stuff was quite new, but Claudia’s pictures were of course irreplaceable.
We tried to have a good time in Bremen and in the end we did enjoy ourselves (the weather was great) but there will always be a part of me that associates Bremen with bad luck and Friday 13th.
In April we visited my brother and his family in Peer, then we drove to Düsseldorf to meet Anja and finally we drove to Bremen with Claudia’s family to celebrate her mum’s birthday. What was supposed to be a nice little get-together turned into something close to a nightmare!
On our first day (Friday the 13th) somebody broke into the hotel and stole all our stuff : 2 laptops, mobile phone, mp3 player, exams by Claudia’s students (which they had to redo later that month…poor children), all of Claudia’s pictures which had been burned on CDs. This means that for most people I don’t have their telephone number anymore. Please send me an sms with your full name so I can add you again.
At night we went to the police office to look at pictures of criminals, but no luck. And now 8 months later I received a letter from the Bremen Police saying that they are closing the case as they have no chance of finding them.
I didn’t lose a lot of money as the hotel was insured and most of my stuff was quite new, but Claudia’s pictures were of course irreplaceable.
We tried to have a good time in Bremen and in the end we did enjoy ourselves (the weather was great) but there will always be a part of me that associates Bremen with bad luck and Friday 13th.
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