Germany's Hidden Treasure

Last week when The German suggested an excursion to the Ostsee (Baltic Sea), I was thrilled. Besides for my mini-field trip to Potsdam, I haven't left Berlin, and the weekend weather forecast showed blue skies and warm temperatures. Plus, you know, that whole I have a crush on him thing.

As anyone with a bit of sense knows, road trips and beach picnics require some well-thought out snackage so I threw together a lemon basil pasta salad with zucchini and cherry tomatoes in addition to salami, arugula, and mozzarella sandwiches. Oh and some potato chips because I am still an American, in case you were worried.

The ultimate driving machine.

After we packed up his convertible (not to sound like a hick, but I probably could count the number of times I've been in a convertible; I blame their impracticality in the Texas heat...or my lack of coolness), The German asked whether I wanted to go to the place he's been before, or if I was up for an adventure. I obviously chose the later because, duh, who am I to stifle one's desire for exploration?

On our way out of the city, he asked me to hold his iPhone compass to see if we were going the right direction. I took this opportunity to level with him: Do not rely on me for any navigational help. Remember, I brought the sustenance? That's all I'm good for. That and non-sensical stories about that one time I did something stupid.

It was with this understanding that we headed off toward Poland. "The town used to be really important the century before two centuries ago." So, like a few hundred years ago it was a great place? Sounds fantastic.

For over an hour we switched between the Autobahn and winding forest roads before crossing into Poland where we were immediately faced with guys wielding chainsaws on the side of the road. Um, what? We couldn't tell if they were chainsaw salesmen, day laborers trying to get business, or the least conspicuous murderous hitchhikers ever, and clearly we didn't stop to find out. We drove around Szczecin which was not nearly as beautiful as we'd hoped it to be (although there was a TK Maxx, yes with a K!). But we were still no closer to a beach. At that point we decided to cut our losses and head back into our country (well, my rented country, his native land).

Me and not the Ostsee

We followed the GPS' instructions toward water and finally we reached a cute little town with signs pointing to the "Strand" aka the beach in German. Hooray, we thought, we found it! We headed off toward the sand and unpacked our food. After downing the pasta salad and taking a relaxing siesta, it dawned on us that we could see land across the way. This was not the Ostsee after all. More like the Ostlake.

Not ones to give up so quickly, we got back into the car and continued through the tree-lined back roads, passing through corn fields and tiny towns. I obviously have no pictures of any of this, but trust me, it was very scenic. There were also cows, sheep, horses, chickens, and a sign that warned to watch out for otters. Um, what? I want one! (The German agreed that if I spotted one and caught it, I could keep it. We were to name him Fritz. Unfortunately this did not pan out. Perhaps next time.)

Eventually we made it to the town of Greifswald where we spotted a channel full of boats and people lounging along the bank. While it wasn't technically the sea, it did offer an opportunity for us to stretch our legs and do some people watching. After a beer (if nothing else, I will leave Germany totally in love with the beer because it really is as amazing as they say), we agreed to make one last effort to see the sea.

A really insightful thing I liked to say on this trip was "That looks old" aka the turret in the background

Only a few kilometers away, we finally found it.

Yes, those little white dots ARE sailboats

The barbed-wire laced access point led me to ask The German if the Ostsee was considered to be Germany's "hidden treasure." Luckily he found this funny because if you don't appreciate my sense of humor then I really don't offer much as a road trip companion.

Needing to get home in time for a birthday party that evening, we turned around back to Berlin, but after all our driving, the tank quickly started dropping toward empty. Unfortunately the route through Eastern Germany isn't quite like HW 71 to Houston, thus not filled with a gas station (or Sonic, omg what I would do for you) every few miles. I wouldn't say I was panicking, but I was definitely nervous and this was not helped with the fact I had to pee. In an effort to distract ourselves from this development, I filled the time by telling appropriately-themed stories, like how I once went on a blind date with someone in the Baltic Mafia and that time my family's Suburban broke down at the World's Largest Firework Store Slash Truck Stop on our way from from a road trip. (On second thought, that might not have been the best choice to share.) Luckily, though, we made it to a gas station just in time.

All in all it was a lovely day. And although I don't have a new pet otter to show for it, I do have a new adventure to add to my repertoire, which is probably for the best because I have no idea what I would do with an otter to be perfectly honest. Can they live in a bath tub? Okay, never mind, not important. Hope you all had a good weekend too.