Reichsparteigelaende. We saw the various areas built by Speer, and had a walk around the lake.
Reichsparteigelaende. We saw the various areas built by Speer, and had a walk around the lake.
Bamberg was very pretty as every guidebook will say. We were lucky to go early in the morning when it was fairly quiet. Later large number of tourist groups with guides were almost completely filling the small altstadt.
Bamberg. We came early and were lucky to get parking near the river. There also seems to be plenty of parking near the cathedral.
We were in Leipzig on Sunday. This was perhaps good since the there was very little traffic. (or there is not so much traffic in Leipzig as in other german cities?) We saw the GDR museum and walked around the city centre. The museum was interesting. Particularly how communists cleverly maneuvered to gradually gain more and more power. It also had some glimpses of average GDR life. We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant on the main square. Our youngest daughter Lena fell in a fountain so we hat to take her back to the bus to change clothes.
In Dessau we saw the Bauhaus school building and the 4 residential houses. This is now listed as an UNESCO Welterbe. The school was under renovation, but it was still possible to see much of the airy architecture and the design principles that made architects worldwide imitate Bauhaus. In the 4 residential villas our 5 year was a bit to lively for the guards, so we had to go out. The villas copy some of the school architecture, but are not all that interesting. Maybe if they have had more original furniture and one got a better view of how it was in the 1920's.
Dessau, where two of the three fathers of modern architecture worked.
Then we travelled to the lakes just south of Potsdam. There is a royal camping Sansucci on one of the lakes. We took a look. It was twice the price of the other campings, so we gave it a miss. The Sansucci gardens were nice, but not much different from palace gardens elsewhere in Europe. If nothing else one can see the hubris of the kings of the past. For instance Friedrich 1 had built a number of italian villas and a roman bath... In Germany! (Perhaps not so dofferent from the hubris today). They were larger in extent, so we ended up getting out of there late and didn't make it to Mecklenburg last night as we had hoped.
From Potsdam we continued to Wismar. Wismar is a really nice city, and it was easy to reach and stop with the bus downtown right by the waterfront. There were also coin operated washer, dryer and showers (probably put there for visiting boats more than campers, but they were on the docks a short walk from the parking). We bought some nice smoked fish sandwiches from a boat at the docks and some more fish to bring with us. We walked in the old town and along the harbor. There were many interesting stops, some museums, exhibits and cafes. After 900km of travel we finally found marzipan cake as good as that of Konditorei Granich in Herrsching, Oberbayern.
Wismar
We called up some campings near Wismar. Then when we drove east along the coastal road towards Warnemuende by accident we came across a beautiful Stellplatz right on the Baltic. It was small, quiet with just a handful other camper cars and a cafe. The cost was just 8 Euro.
Nice Stellplatz on the Baltic just befor Poehl island near Wismar.
We took the ferry from Rostock to Trelleborg.
Camping near Smygehuk, southernmost part of mainland Sweden.
A stop for a snack in a nature reserve near Karlskrona, Sweden
Karlskrona, Sweden. We spent the Swedish national day in this Naval port city. Lots of music and lots of flags.
Oelands soedra udde. Tip of the Oeland island. Nice day use areas with a museum for the bird migration, and one for the lighthouse.
Alvaret Oeland. WHO Natural heritage listed barren landscape.
Kalmar slott. Built around 11-1200 and renovated to a royal residence by the Vasa kings in the 1500's. Guided tours are also in English.
Lunch near the swimming beach in Eksjoe.
Eksjoe is the best preserved example of a wood house city in Sweden. (Most wooden cities burned every 100 years or so)
Joenkoeping. Seems like the miami beach of Sweden (but with a shorter swimming season) Downtown residents can just walk out the door to a 3km long beach.
Cheers, Martin, Dana, Anna, Lena + the '85 camper bus