Lady Hamilton 2019

STRALSUND

Day 5 Friday, 24^th May 2019

A very frustrating morning: trying to find Day 2 of the Blog (which I ended up posting after Day 3 much later) and Malcolm went for fuel and it was a long, long way away, across the cobbled quays where the fair is at present.  Then we tried to top up with water – we asked several helpful Germans but later realised that the timer kicked in after only 3 minutes and we wanted to fill the two tanks slowly.   The harbour master’s only there until 9.30 am and after 5.30 pm so we had a sandwich lunch and hit the town.

First stop, the Alter Markt.  Saw a wedding just emerging from the Rathaus (Town Hall). 

Next stop, St. Nicholas’ Church.  The oldest church in Stralsund, begun in 1234, the year that the town was granted its city charter.  It was the city council’s official church and had an astonishing number of altars – 56 in all – most of which, like St. Mary’s in Rostock, were removed during the Reformation.  The chapels were then turned into burial places for wealthy local families – we saw the huge stone slabs under our feet.  The two towers were completed by about 1350. 

The church seemed to have a rather ramshackle appearance, with gold statues under plastic wraps, but they are spending a lot of money to restore it so perhaps it’s still being restored. We loved the painted beams and the wall paintings. 

 

And thought this angel looked like Tobin, our fifth grandchild! 

We lit a candle to those who fought and those who died in the two World Wars.

And another astronomical clock, apparently the oldest clock of its kind still preserved in its original state,  dating from 1394.  The corners of the clock face show the founders of western and eastern astronomy.

After all this culture, we needed to get an icecream!  Mine is Limoncello, more of a drink with cream on top, and Malcolm’s chocolaty.  It’s quite warm today so we can sit outside.

Went to Edeka, the supermarket, and bought more wine boxes, and I strolled round the quayside where the Hafentage Stralsund was happening.

 

Back on the boat about 6.30 pm we were summoned by a knocking on the boat by a man and a lady wearing what looked like military uniforms, bearing the words ‘Zoll’ (Customs).  We had to show our passports and he filled in a form with our details: name of boat, name of home port, etc.  We’re still in the EU, aren’t we?  Maybe they thought we were people smugglers?

Had a great pizza and Italian wine at Al Porto, a restaurant on the quayside not far from the boat, and watched another episode of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’.  Fireworks lit up the sky as we were just climbing into bed about 11 pm, similar to the Whitby Regatta Fireworks in August, but an hour later.  And the band played on and on ……..