After far too many months of hard work ;-) it was definitely time for some vacation. So off I went to the German part of the Baltic Sea, where I had a fantastic week with Melanie. On our way we stopped for a night in Hamburg (sorry André that I did not call ;-) where we spent our time with strolling through one of Germany’s most beautiful cities.

The next day we continued to the peninsula Fischland-Darß-Zingst, three islands in the north-east of Germany that became permanently joined to the mainland by sealing the  floodwater channels in between them. Nowadays it is a perfect place both for relaxing and exploring the natural beauty of the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park. Which we did. Sleeping in almost every day. Long walks at the beach. Good talks. Kite flying. Stops in small cafés.

But we did also explore the peninsula: We had a great hike in the Darß, an old game rich forest that changes into marshes and sandy dunes the closer one comes to the sea. Basically one moves through a lot of stunning landscapes in a very short distance. And gets a good amount of the refreshing sea breeze.

Another day we went to the island of Hiddensee, which was featured in Nina Hagen’s song “Farbfilm“. Luckily I’ve learned, so you will see a few color photographs in this post.

Nina Hagen – Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen

The island can only be reached by boat and no cars are allowed. Thus, it has it’s own little magic. Long and rough stretches of beach. The highlands of the Dombusch, a glacial land-feature dominated by its lighthouse. Little houses in cozy villages. And as the island is very narrow one can see the Baltic Sea all the time. I would have definitely liked to spend a night and another day here…

During fall cranes stop on the shallow waters around the islands and the Bodden (flat water cut off from the Baltic Sea) in order to rest before they continue their way into the South. And we have been lucky enough to be here exactly at the right time of the year. Wohooo! Every morning the cranes leave their roosting place to search for food and return during twilight. We went on a boat trip that took us through the beautiful Bodden right under their entry lane. It’s an amazing sight! Tens of thousands of cranes are returning from the mainland in their characteristic wedge formation. I was already stunned after the first few groups of cranes passed by. But the magnificent spectacle continued for more than an hour. The groups got bigger and bigger, their cries filled the air. It reminded me of the bat exodus in Mulu. Just that the cranes are a bit bigger than the bats.

All in all it was a fantastic vacation (except of being far too short, guess I am bit spoiled from traveling for more than a year). Thanks Melanie for taking me with you on your week off. Thanks for all the good talks & nice walks. It was (and is) a gift spending time with you!

Relaxed and happy I returned home…

Lovely greetings

Michael