The train
that goes to the island
of Rügen ends in Binz.
The island Rügen is connected to the mainland by a sea-bridge. There is a
roadway for cars on that bridge and tracks for the train. Once you are on the
island everything looks the same as on the mainland. You don’t even know you
are on an island. We arrived in Binz on schedule. The Hauptbahnhof in Binz is
small. It has only three tracks. We left the building and stood outside—lost again.
We knew we had to take a bus to get to Sellin, but we had no idea which one. So
I went back in and found an information booth where I got the information and I
also bought the ticket for the bus. A few minutes later we sat in the bus on
the way to Sellin. The trip took 30 minutes.
In Sellin,
we stayed at a hotel which had been recommended to me by my friend in Schwerin. He knew the
owner. The place was called ‘Pension Petri’. They also had a restaurant
‘Fischgaststätte Petri’. We only ate there twice because it was expensive, but
we had breakfast there, which was very good. They even served ‘North sea Caviar’ which tasted quite nice.
The owner,
Herr Lutter, greeted as warmly and he gave us a couple of tourist cards which
we could use for the local transport system. They were part of our package,
which also included the breakfast. We used those cards all the time.
Sellin is
not a large place; you can pretty much walk through the whole town. On our
first excursion to the beach we discovered that you had to climb a steep hill
to get to the ocean. We only walked it once; it was too exhausting. After that
we took the tourist train to get there and to other places. We found it was
always windy at the beach and the waves were high.
On the
second day we walked through a park and discovered by accident a little
restaurant hidden away among the hobby-gardens that are so popular in Germany. Those
gardens are quite interesting. All have small cottages on them where people go
on weekends or at any other time to relax and work in their gardens.
The
restaurant was called ‘Inselfrieden’, which means ‘Island Peace’. We had supper
there a few times because the food was wonderful and reasonably priced. The
place was always busy, mainly with local people.
We walked
along the ocean down a boardwalk that led partially through a forest. Before we
realized it we had gone to the next little town. Everything is so close there.
We went on
a bus tour along the coast and got off at Göhren, another nice little town.
They have a boardwalk going into the ocean where the ships dock. We watched one
ship trying to dock, but the waves were too high and they gave up. The Captain
announced over the speakers: “Nobody is allowed on board. If anything happens
all Hell will break loose.” The people who wanted to get on the ship had to go
and get their money back, while the ones on the ship were taken to a larger
port. I sure was glad I wasn’t on that ship. My stomach would not have taken
that punishment.
There are
many restaurants and shops in Sellin. We visited an ‘Amber Museum’,
which was quite informative. I found out something that didn’t make me happy. A
few years back I bought a nice piece of Amber with a scorpion inside in Cuba. Instead
of millions of years old it is actually nothing but plastic. I paid 40 American
Dollars for it and I was so proud to have brought the guy down from his
original $200.00 he wanted.
A lot of fake amber is sold in places
like Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
Well, that teaches me a lesson never to buy anything there anymore. If I do then
only from a reputable shop—and even then I’ll be leery. By the way, Amber is
found in the Baltic Sea. Sometimes, after a
storm, it washes up on shore and can be found among the rocks. Amber is lighter
than seawater and floats and that’s how I know now that my precious Amber is
plastic. When I put it into a container filled with saltwater instead of
floating it sank to the bottom, no matter how much salt I added. It didn’t
float. What a disappointment. Amber is quite expensive even by the Baltic Sea, but I did buy a small piece for which I paid
two Euros per 100 grams.
There is a
long boardwalk, called ‘Seebrücke’ going into the sea in Sellin with a diving
bell at the end of it. You can take it to get below surface to watch sea life.
When we were there, they didn’t dive, because the waves were too high. As
mentioned, they have a ‘Seebrücke’ also in Göhren where the ships dock, but it
isn’t as large as the one in Sellin.
 |
| The 'Seebrücke' in Sellin |
The island
Rügen is a holiday destination for the Germans. We saw many tourists there,
many older couples at this time of year. In the summer, it is probably next to
impossible to get a hotel on the island and prices are high. There are many
beautiful beaches where you can rent beach chairs, also expensive to rent. We
watched the odd person taking a plunge in the Baltic Sea,
but at this time of year the water is cold. The island is also known for its
‘nude’ beaches. We saw one nude woman in Göhren going into the water. My wife
wouldn’t let me take a picture☺
The island Rügen is a beautiful place and still pristine. We didn’t
see any foreigners, except possibly tourists from another country. Not to sound racist or discriminatory, but I cannot ignore what I observe and what is a fact. Everything was so clean there. We weren't aware of any beggars or street people. Nobody bothered us with begging.
It was a peaceful place where one could relax without worrying. It reminded me
what Germany
used to be like when I grew up there. It is sad to see how things have changed and I'm afraid it won't be long until the island Rügen will also be touched by the influx of refugees flooding Europe.
We spent a
week in Sellin then it was time to go home. We took the bus back to Binz and
boarded our train to Berlin.
We were lucky to get a whole compartment to ourselves again and we had no
trouble storing our large suitcases. Traveling by train wasn't so scary anymore.
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