Germany in a nutshell

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So, after a night in a Swedish campsite, avoiding paddling in the black sea and listening to German oompah music, we were up at silly o clock to catch the seven thirty ferry to Rostock. All went smoothly, we were,as expected, beckoned to one side for passport checking, whitevanitis strikes again. The ferry was odd. Called the Huckleberry Finn, it seemed to only have enough sitting room on board for about seven people all the rest was taken up with cabins. We started the journey on the outside deck and felt woefully inadequate as hardened campers got out their full breakfasts including a kettle and a camping gas. This is not an exaggeration They had tinned fish, meat pastes, breads and a cool box. We had a cereal bar. One each though cos that's ho we roll!

We set sail and did manage to find somewhere to sit for the six hour journey. I can confirm though that lying with your head on a table to have a nap for a couple of hours does not help your neck to be fully functional. Possibly ever. We managed not to mame the thirty thousand kids who kept running past our table and got into Rostock and off out ( again being checked by the German passport police, we've started driving into their ' zones' before being asked now just to save time) and headed off to find a beach.

Ruegen island is beautiful, forests and beaches and an amazing bridge. It is however served by one road that all the people were taking in on the same day as us. So after an extra forty minutes or so, we got to the campsite. Camping Meier is not really set up for Brits and I get the feeling that not many foreign folk come to this part of the world but we managed with rudimentary germglish and hand gestures. The obligatory BBQ followed by a decent nights kip and a lie in and we were ready for s trip out so off we headed to the beach. Like most beaches in Germany its a nudism optional beach. And despite the breeze, many folk were indeed naked, something that takes a bit of getting used to for us repressed Brits.I think its safe to say though in some cases, just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD! Eventually, the cloud came over, we packed up our blankets and spent a very nice afternoon and evening doing essentially nothing at the campsite.

Monday saw us head to Berlin and the hotel scandic. Which i would highly recommend. We made it in good time, although I don't think driving in central Berlin would be for everyone, checked in, had a shower and a Facebook check and headed out to meet friends in Berlin at the same time as us for cake, food and a trip up the tower for a cocktail.

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