Rügen Day 1: Hiddensee

Each year thousands of people from Poland go out for the long May weekend and - somehow last minute - we decided to be among them this year. It's definitely last chance for me to have a proper rest, soon I won't be able to travel. So we chose Rügen, a German island very close to us (like 2.5h drive). It's well known as a cyclist paradise - it sure is true. Although we didn't move by this means of transport, we cannot deny it.

We started in a small village of Schaprode where we took a water taxi to Hiddensee island. This 17-km strip of land is just the place to be on a bike, as there are no cars there and multitude of cycling paths. We visited the village of Kloster that is well known for its lighthouse and to have been the place of living of Gerhart Hauptmann (German Nobel prize winner). The weather seemed gloomy but it actually was warm.

Kloster was just lovely. Full of cyclist, sophisticated greenery, nature paths etc. I'm not particularly mobile at the moment but we decided to go off the beaten track to see the lighthouse and I really enjoyed this walk in the middle of countryside and nature.

The views were not bad either. They could have been even better if the sky had been blue but I don't complain.

The Dornsbuch lighthouse was built in 1888 and is 27,5m tall. Radek went up while I stayed with the little one on a bench breathing in this spring breeze. I would love to stay longer on the island but we had to head forward to reach our apartment on time to check in. I'm pretty sure I'll be back here some day on a bike.

Szczecin has its Moto Show too!

For real! Maybe not as well known as the one in Geneva but it's there :)

Bukowe Hills

Another week, another walk in a forest. We started from Three Brothers Pass and went down to Ponikwa Waterhole. A short but nice walk that reminded us why Bukowa Forest is also known as Bukowe Hills. Extra attraction: two hares goofing around on our sight.

Świdwie Lake

As you could read in my previous post, I'm hungry for nature and decided to have a nature trip every week. It's good for my mental and physical health, Wojtek loves it and it's educational, it brings our family together - only advantages! Today we went to see Świdwie Lake. It's pretty close from us and it's a birds and wildlife reserve with no access for tourists. But you can get a glimpse at its beauty from an observation tower. Although one can get with a car as far as the tower, we stopped a bit earlier and did a 3 km loop through forests and fields.

I really don't want to flood you with pictures but I just find them all so pretty! It's difficult for me to narrow the collection down. It's a different landscape than what we were used to in France and maybe that is why I like it so much. It's not bad at all!

The observation tower was real fun. We didn't spend much time there because our 2-year-old decided he wanted to throw pebbles in the water instead but even this while we were there was a real relaxation. And the views were fantastic.

Our way back to the car was faster as we cut through the field. The day was getting to an end it was real pleasure to walk amid the trees, grass, birds, waterholes and other nature wonders.

It was not our first time at Świdwie Lake. In 2012 we went for a bike ride there. It was even better that day as we came in just right at the sun dawn and the landscape was simply a-ma-zing! Have a look at our 2012 shot: