Warnemunde

Warnemunde, Eastern Germany

We had garnered some extra time in Warnemunde due to missing Copenhagen- so every traveller’s cloud has a silver lining ! This meant we could have a leisurely morning in the sunshine on the deck, eat a buffet lunch al fresco before walking the gang plank and strolling into the beautiful centre of Warnemunde. 

It is a lovely town with mostly cobbled lanes and full of fairy tale dwellings which have a gingerbread house feel and shape. The centre of the town showed little of the eastern block utility apartment buildings, it really was a gorgeous and opera set kind of place. Nowadays the glorious buildings from the 16th/17th Century have been lovingly restored and are glistening clean in pastel pinks, blues and buttery yellows with typical German window boxes heaving with summer blooms. 

We found a wondrous coffee house which made a local delicacy that translated in English as ‘chimney cakes’ ! They were made in front of our eyes, and served hot and sticky, rolled in hazelnuts or cinnamon or indeed many other sweet meats. I could not eat a whole cake obviously, but I tried a smidgeon and it was cake from Elysium! K had a hot confection from the oven and I must say I was very jealous. I contented myself with a fresh peach as large as a small beach ball and a quarter of a punnet of local raspberries with an exquisite ‘lavender’ kick in the after taste, purchased fresh from the market stall.

The Lutheran Church was also a restored beauty with 14th carved statues and 15th century pews all installed in a newer shell, which we read was the fourth church building on that Kirchenplatz  site. I took no pictures in the church as it seemed inappropriate in such a working building, but it felt as it Handel might walk in at any moment, sit at the ancient but wonderfully renovated organ and play a rousing voluntary. 

We strolled back to our ship along the marina, bypassing a rather more garish German cruise ship full of very loud singing ! Earlier in the morning we had watched the people in long snaking queues on the marina path waiting to embark, and it had seemed so chaotic and undisciplined, so very un - German in fact ! The whole ship’s crew were clearly in for a lively voyage judging by the riotous shouting which could be heard from our ship docked on the next berth ! We were rather glad to be returning to the sedate and very British cruise ship Columbus! 

Dinner was another triumph of cordon bleu served with a healthy side of many green vegetables ! The sugar free dessert turned out to be a sugar free bread and butter pudding, so given the carbs in the three layers of bread I had to content myself with one small bite, but later enjoyed some rather fine 85% German chocolate when I rolled back to my cabin.

Yum.