Warnemunde, Germany – founded in 1200 - is a seaside resort on the Baltic Sea. It sports about two miles of white sand beach. It is also popular - due to calm waters - for water sports and boating. The village has a population of almost 8500 residents. Edvard Munch, Norwegian artist famous for “The Scream” lived in Warnemunde for a short time (1907-1908). Warnemunde is the 44th busiest cruise port in the world welcoming about 750,000 passengers annually.
Did not sleep well. Don’t know why.
No tours today. We have been here a few times and opted out.
We are joined at port today by the Costa Fascinosa. Today, our two ships will nearly double the population of the village.
I had my first breakfast up in the Oceanview Café – they had waffles (cooked perfectly), cottage cheese (Euro version), sour cream (also odd), and packet jellies. I had a little oatmeal to start – the breakfast was really good and bodes well for the rest of the cruise. I went up after a lot of the passengers had departed for the Berlin excursion so the Café was not very crowded.
After breakfast, we grabbed our sea pass cards and passports (yes) and walked to town – you have to cross over a bridge that spans the Alter Strom (Old Channel)
Alter Strom
then under the railroad tracts to reach Warnemunde. I sort of remembered what the town was like but it seemed bigger and brighter today. We were looking for a drugstore to get some meds and lotion (we found one at the end of our journey through town). The people behind the counter did not speak much English and seemed annoyed with the tourists – ironic as tourism is the number one industry in this town.
As we made out way through some of the residential areas on our way to the beach, we found a Thai Massage Spa – a rare site in such a small town - but the owner only had one room and wanted us to come back at 1 PM. That would not work out in this heat especially with the long walk back to the pier.
The town has a very neat lighthouse and a terrific beach, which, on this day, was filled with folks.
Warnemunde Beach
The lighthouse was built in 1897 and stands approximately 121 feet high. Near the lighthouse is de Teapott (teapot), built in 1926 in East German Bauhaus Style. The structure burned down at the end the war and was rebuilt with a curved roof in 2002. We noted lots of eateries in the Teapot.
The Lighthouse
De Teapott and Lighthouse
In the heat, the walk back to the ship seemed interminable but we did make it.
Lunch in the Oceanview Café consisted of the three salads, tuna, egg, and potato along with a green salad.
I am now reading “Night School” (a Jack Reacher Novel) by Lee Child. Since my Kindle went on the fritz, I have been using my phone. The phone screen is just a little smaller than that on my Kindle 6 so reading is easy on the eyes. Our new favorite place is Deck 14 aft, where the comfy couches are. There always seem to be couches available and except for the incessant music track, Aft 14 is a good spot. I was able to get some very nice shots of Warnemunde from this location.
Warnemunde from Deck 14 Aft
A lot of people are off ship on the Berlin excursion so getting a seat in the Moonlight Sonata Dining Room was a simple matter (Table 416 again). I had the Tomato/Chick Pea soup and the mushroom appetizer. They were serving trout (Ellen liked it) but I went for the veggie tart (which I didn’t like all that much).
The performer tonight was Ollie Mulkeen, a vocalist – trumpet player from Manchester, UK. Because many folks were still not back from Berlin and some competing folkloric entertainment, Ollie performed before a minimal audience (100 – 200). He did a good job – very entertaining.
After the show, we went up to the Lawn (Deck 15), where Paul Delaney (our Astronomer) was going to describe the total lunar eclipse. Before the Eclipse, we had a chance to enjoy the lawn and the views – for some reason, we never go up to the lawn. BTW, the grass looked in great shape.
Thunderstorms, the Alter Strom, and Sunset from the Lawn
The eclipse – not visible in the US – turned out to be a bit of a dud. It was a very dim eclipse made even dimmer by the persistent cloud layer near the horizon. I did get a shot of the event – our first ever cruise eclipse.
Lunar Eclipse from the Eclipse
Late sail away – hope the thrusters don’t wake us.
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