Natureum in Darsser Ort

Boy – we had a lot of fun taking that photo!

Our tour cycle around Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany continues. I already described the story how we decided to travel around Szczecin (see: Greifswald post).
This time we chose Stralsund for our destination. However, before we reached Stralsund, we went a bit further west and north – to Darsser Ort (Parow).
I came across that spot when I was checking out places around Stralsund. It’s a typical summer resort, with a lot of (what we call) junk-stalls, summer houses etc. – all of that of course deserted in winter. But we didn’t seek for hustle and bustle of summer, to the contrary – we went there to breathe in the tranquillity of winter. And undoubtedly – we got it.

It was very cold (around 8 Cels. below zero), so to warm myself up a bit I slid a couple of times on frozen water. It was fun though my boots were not designed for that activity. Ice skates would have been better for that occasion.

In principle, we were looking for Natureum – museum of nature at the Baltic See. There was supposed to be a lighthouse and a building with sea life exhibition. What I didn’t discover in advance was that the place was located in Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft Nationalpark. That meant no car access and a walk of around 12km (both ways) in order to see the lighthouse. But OK – we said „A” – we needed to say „B”, so we marched courageously in the cold. Fortunately, the views were worth it.

To reach the lighthouse we needed to turn away a bit from the beach and traverse a field of cane and a forest. The path was very narrow and sometimes we needed to watch our steps in order not to fall down to the bulrush. When we finally reached Natureum we were pretty tired and cold, so we rushed back to our car (which was not that close).

Painted with ice

Szczecin is experiencing winter return so Radek took the opportunity to take some winter photos in the daylight.


All the photos were taken in our City Park (Kasprowicza). There are a couple of must-photo spots, like the lovers bridge (I’m not sure if that’s the official name, but I like to call it like that), ducks, amphitheatre etc.



Kasprowicza park is a very important place in Szczecin. It’s actually full of live at every season. In summer there are concerts in the amphitheatre, in autumn people stroll under the extremely colourful leavesm in winter people go ice-skating, ski running, sledging, snow ball fighting etc, and in spring the place is swarmed by flowers and walkers admiring them.

Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity in Szczecin

Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity is by no means the most heart warming festivity in Poland. Every year huge amount of charity money (this year around 10 000 000 EUR) is collected all over the world. All of that thanks to one person – Jurek Owsiak.
I really like that day of the year – it was particularly important for me when I was a child. I remember how all the fuss about the event made my spirit elevated, I really could see the cause for all of that. Now it’s the same, maybe without this unlimited, childlike trust in everything.
Anyway, each year Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity is accompanied by events all over the world. We had one in Szczecin as well.

Except for stage attractions (hard music concerts and charity auctions) there was a snow park (I perceive the name a bit over the top as it comprised only of one snowboard ramp – and even that was not really splendid as such) and an ice skating rink. There were also ice sculptures, an exhibition of army vehicles and first aid stands prepared by emergency rescuers.

We also took the occasion to shoot a few Szczecin-at-night photos. Our cathedral looked very pretty at night, with the lanterns put at its entrance. Maybe we don’t have the most spectacular old town in the world, but at least what we have is pretty.

Twilight at Miedwie Lake

We decided to spend the last Sunday of 2012 at Miedwie Lake. Since we made the decision pretty late, we were just in time for a sunset.

Miedwie is situated at the suburbs of Szczecin, yet we have never been there. Some time ago it was perfectly renovated and it shows. I mean, the subject of renovation was not the lake itself, rather everything around. As a result, there is a really nice promenade around, a lot of piers and an outdoor amphitheatre.

 

I found the walk pretty soothing. There were few people, water was waving tranquilly, it was calm around. We strolled on a wooden platform (we had to be cautious not to slip down to the bog aside) admiring the nature.

When we reached the amphitheatre the sun was already gone and it was getting dark. On top of that, not so far on the horizon we saw storm clouds which was not a very good prediction for us. So we just had a short glance on the birds flying over the lake and headed back to the car. After a while we got caught by the rain, hopefully we won’t get sick again.

New Year’s News

Since I met my wife 8 years ago we have been unable to predict how our life will look
like even one year in advance. Like everybody, we make some plans but
life always surprises us and rearranges them. Fortunately
fate usually prepares for
us something better than we can imagine on our own. I
hope there will be no difference this
time because instead of settling down in our city with
4 cats, apartment, garden and decent jobs, I will move to Geneva to work at
CERN next year and I hope Ania will join me soon. So from March 2013 I will
live as shown below (photos from time when Ania worked in CERN).


Christmas market in Szczecin

We try to profit from the surrounding Christmas atmosphere as much as possible. Personally, I love all the hustle and bustle at this time of the year. I love „Last Christmas” by Wham, plastic Santa Clauses in shop windows, all the lights in the streets and Christmas advertisements (although this year there is another leitmotive in TV – the end of the world that is supposed to happen 21/12/2012).

Szczecin is not best known for Christmas markets, in fact I think it’s the first time ever we have something organised. Anyway, I saw a reindeer photo on FB and it was obvious to me that I must go there!

I must admit that Ducal Castle in Szczecin is the perfect choice of a place for such an event. In general, it’s a pretty place but it became even better with all the stalls around. Ginger bread, self brewed beer, mulled wine and pottery – these were the most frequent goodies sold on the market. We bought something for us to – a ginger bread hut that will decorate our  Christmas table.

What was the best for me were the animals. Except for the before mentioned reindeer (who were cute but rather motionless and jaded) there was a crib installed. The crib was extraordinary. Maria had nails painted blue and Joseph had an ugly wig. They were both drinking mulled wine. But the animals were awesome.

It was very cold and the event was getting to an end so we didn’t stay very long. Since we had two occasions to celebrate, we went to a sushi restaurant to enjoy the Friday evening and celebrate our successes.

Winter in Szczecin

Winter is a graceful moment for taking pictures. The multitude of glimmering street lights, Christmas instalations and white snow make a decent photo set. Even cold weather doesn’t put us off from going outdoor for a walk.

All the photos were taken in Kasprowicza Park vicinity in two days time. First day it was snowing so badly that all the pictures got blurry and gloomy but I like them anyway. The second day it stopped snowing and Radek could play with a camera a bit – doing collages of our griffin monument (griffin is the emblem of Szczecin) or funky Christmas tree photos.

Weihnachtsmarkt in Berlin

Christmas is coming, on St. Nicholas day I heard „Last Christmas” by Wham on the radio – it’s a definite sign! In order to catch a bit of a Christmas spirit, we decided to go to Berlin. We’ve never seen the city in winter and everyone said it was remarkable in snow and lights. Luckily, Goethe Institut (where we both learn German) organised a trip to Weihnachtsmärkte in the capital city of Germany so we gladly put ourselves on a participants’ list.

We arrived on the Hauptbahnhof – a newly built railway station that cost around 1 billion EUR. All right, it’s quite a cost, but the result is stunning. It’s really a very modern and pretty place (yes, a pretty railway station – how odd is that?). What I liked particularly was the huge Christmas tree placed in front of the glazed front.

The organisers prepared an itinerary for us:
– Hauptbahnhof,
– Reichstag,
– Brandenburger Tor,
– Sony Centre, Potsdamer Platz Weihnachtsmarkt,
– WeihnachtsZauber Gendarmenmarkt

We did the whole route twice – at the day time and in the evening. With no doubt, the evening route was a more attractive one.

At the Reichstag (parliament building of Germany) we did a group photo and moved quite quickly to the Brandenburger Tor where we found a lot of wonders (like an ice sculpture, Mario Bros or a waving bear).

On our way to the first Christmas Market we passed by the remnants of the Berlin Wall, Lego street exhibition and Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

When we reached the first market it was relatively uncrowded. It was still bright and the weather was very cold. I liked the fact that I could stroll around the place quite freely. The stalls were superb! It was exactly what I thought of Weihnachtsmarkt. The aroma of Glühwein (mulled wine), apples in chocolate, hearts from gingerbread, hand-made marvels and freezing cold – it was all there!

At last a photo together…

After some time we went to see the other market – the one that is thought to be the most glamorous in whole Germany – WeihnachtsZauber Gendarmenmarkt. Zauber in German means 'charm’ and I find the name pretty descriptive. However, what I didn’t like about this place was the crowd. It killed the atmosphere a bit, but I reckon that in the working week it must be a really amazing place.

Since it was really crowded, we decided to come back to the Potsdamer Platz Markt where we wanted to buy a souvenir (a wooden Christmas windmill spinning from the candles heat) and see everything again in the dark. It was worth it.

We finished the day (really tired and cold) by seeing again the monuments from the morning – but this time at night. The city looks so much different in the dark.