September 5: Lubeck and surrounds

Can't resist another visit to the sea on a glorious sunny morning. We stop to enjoy a final treat for lunch then drive to Lubeck for a look.

We park the van and take our bikes into town for a wander. What a gorgeous town.

In the Schleswig-Holstein region of Northern Germany, it is one of the major ports of Germany. For several centuries it was the "capital" of the Hanseatic League ("Queen of the Hanse"). Because of its extensive Brick Gothicarchitecture, it is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The old salt lofts, town gate, churches and town hall are pretty impressive. Again piles of history here including a naval tragedy the day after allied liberation on 2 May 1945. The RAF sank three ships in the harbour which unbeknownst to them contained inmates from concentration camps. 7,000 were killed that day.

Than we drive to the beach area of Travemund not far from the city. This is gorgeous as well. A port, seaside resort, open sea beach and a quaint village atmosphere. We stay for free in a local car park.

September 4: To the Baltic Sea

A spot of shopping at Aldi and we leave Neubrandenburg after a quick look at the lakeside area. We drive onto the island of Rugen but miss seeing the 10,000 bed unused appartment blocks that were built by Hitler for army troup R & R on a beach there. Apparently they were never finished and sit untouched as they have for over 70 years.

Stralsund looks like an interesting town but aside from a lunch stop here we don't have time to explore much.

The day is fabulous and we enjoy the sunshine once again as we drive past hundreds and hundreds of windmills on the way to Rostock. This is the largest city of the province and a significant port for other Baltic destinations. We sus out a Baltic amber shop in the town. Amber is mined at various points along the coast and is found at a depth of 40m. Originally formed from tree resin, it often contains insects and other debris. Apparently it can be found washed up along the Baltic shoreline after heavy storms.

We elect to park up beside a lovely sandy beach at Warnmunde outside the main town. Let me tell you the waters are not of Mediterranean temps, although the naturalists are out in force enjoying a splash in the waves.

September 3: Spreewald

Finally we see the sun. Lovely to go for bike ride to the quaint town of Schlepzig. It's about 12 kms to get there. We travel through the forest past the series of shallow lakes and canals. It is the region of Spreewald. Autumn has arrived with mushrooms, coloured leaves and great forest aromas.

We enjoy a local beer then bike back to Lubben.

On the drive north we encounter delays on the autobahn so it is a long drive to our evening destination. There are hundreds of windmills in every direction.

Neubrandenburg is part of Mecklenburg region, known to be a lovely area with a continuation of the small lake theme. We check out what the town has to offer as we park up in an Aldi carpark on dusk.

September 1 & 2: Dresden

We take a look at the city of Dresden. Pretty extensive damage in WWII bombing but they've done a decent job of restoring it.

Decide to call by a Burstner dealer to work out a few minor warranty issues and end up referred to another outfit. They agree to help us out and we elect to stay in their Stellplatz. €16 ++ for the night but worth it to get the little things tidied up.... Disappointing to find at 2pm the following day that they can not actually help us.

We wander down to the local shopping centre and look through IKEA.

The next day we wait half a day to see how things develop with the warranty repairs on the motorhome. It comes to nothing so we head out for groceries then drive north.

We end up on the outskirts of Lubben in a guesthouse-restaurant carpark and park up by a playground for the night. The girls are happy.