Our original plan was to take a vacation together in France in May, but that didn't work out for a number of reasons, foremost the fact that there is no direct flight from Berlin to where we have arranged our next home exchange. B.L. (before Livi) this would not have been a big problem, but the logistics of traveling with an infant turned out to be a little mind boggling and there were a few schedule collisions anyway, so we decided to spend Easter together at the Baltic Sea in Wustrow instead. Now Max and Alex can join us in France (along with their parents, of course) and I'm sure they will have more use for the HEATED swimming pool than Livi, especially since Livi's swimming lessons don't begin until July.
Although it's 800 km (500 miles) from our house to Wustrow, we had decided to drive there. However, just when Spring had officially arrived Winter put in an appearance and brought us more snow than we had had all year. So, at the last minute we changed our plans and the day before Easter we took the train, which really limited what we could take with us but in the end was no problem. We were only an hour or so late arriving in Rostock where Ulf picked us up and drove us to where we would be staying.
Jenny and Ulf had been to Wustrow twice before and had scouted out a very nice apartment complex, so we had booked two apartments for nine days. The apartments are privately owned and individually decorated, they all have fire places and dish washers and Jenny and Ulf's even had its own sauna.
The first time Jenny and Ulf had been to Wustrow they had stayed at a hotel and although it was quite nice the atmosphere was not really what they were looking for. However, the hotel offered a breakfast buffet to die for, which solved our problem of what to have on Easter morning and it was just a few minutes' walk from our apartments.
Don't let all the fruit fool you. This was only the first of many, many courses. And notice the little white chocolate Easter Bunny in the lower right corner looking on, thinking Ulf might eat so much that he might not want the bunny. Sorry, little bunny, you were just too delicious.
Livi, who could only enjoy all this food indirectly, nevertheless had fun watching and we took turns amusing her. She has very good table manners!
I think Frank must be giving her lessons here on how to conduct an orchestra.
For all the snow we had had all week the weather on Easter Sunday was gorgeous. It was perfect for our long "Easter Walk", a tradition in Germany. Frank even took his jacket off for this picture to prove how mild it was. However, he soon put it back on again.
In fact, when he and Ulf discovered someone on the beach selling hot spiced wine, usually more of a Christmas specialty, they were both eager to have some.
A view from the pier looking back at Wustrow.
Here is the access to the beach that was just behind our apartments. That little spot in the water is actually a bird.
Our living room / dining room with the kitchen off to the left.
Because the beautiful weather was not supposed to last we had made plans for the next morning to explore the town together and Livi came to pick us up, but first she visited for a while.
This is a quaint row of old captains' houses. Just behind them is an enormous building that used to be a government school for mariners. It was founded in 1846 and closed in 1992. Literally thousands of sailors and ship's officers received their training here.
A genuine German walk includes a path through the forest.
And of course at the end of a walk there has to be a treat like this waffle on a stick that Ulf had been looking forward to all morning.
We had lunch at a fish stand with a plastic tent beside it to sit in. Not exactly haute cuisine and I was very skeptical, but it turned out to be delicious. I had a huge plate of fish fried in beer batter with potato wedges and salad at the unbelievable cost of about 4€. It was so good that we had lunch there again a few days later. They could improve their decor a little though.
We are teaching Livi how to juggle with rings and here you can see how concentrated she is during practice.
And how pleased she is when she gets it right!
That afternoon we drove to the next little town, Ahrenshoop because they have a large supermarket there and a boutique that Jenny wanted to visit. The last time she was there she was pregnant and couldn't buy anything. Unfortunately this time she didn't find anything she liked.
The weather turned nasty on us.
So after some coffee and cake in a cafe we loaded up and headed back, stopping at the grocery store for provisions.
That evening we went over to Jenny and Ulf''s apartment for dinner and this was our welcoming committee. (As politically correct parents, they served alcohol free beer.)
Meanwhile Jenny tasted the excellent sauce for our pasta.
Jenny and I spent part of the mornings taking Pilates or Yoga courses at the hotel. We also each had a manicure one day - the first one in my entire life with hand massage and all the trimmings. (It was nice but my fingers are still stubby.) With the hotel just down the road from our apartments we really had the best of both worlds.
Frank and Ulf had several massages during the week and one day they rented bikes and rode them to Ahrenshoop where we met them for a nice cup of coffee and some cake. We took at least one long walk every day with Livi.
We sampled several of the restaurants in Wustrow and in general were pleased with the food we were served. We had lots of fish of course.
Livi is very interested here in the menu, as she well should be. Her mother has to eat well to keep Livi's hair curled so perfectly on her forehead.
Another snow day. We couldn't complain that the weather was boring. The changes were pretty dramatic.
We were limited in our mobility with only one car but we did make the trip to Zingst at the other side of the peninsula. It was so sunny we bought Livi a hat with a visor to keep the sun out of her eyes. She enjoyed the walk through town and to the beach.
We liked Wustrow and I can imagine we might go there again when Livi is a little older and can play in the sand. And when it's a little warmer too!
