Leaving Hamburg behind and heading for some fresh air, nature and salt on our skin. We stranded at Rügen. An island just off the Pomeranian coast of the Baltic Sea, and the largest island in Germany covering over 900 square km. I honestly didn’t knew Germany actually had an island. But what i do know now: ‘we have to plan a second visit’.
Although the weather was rather cloudy the atmosphere on the island was beyond mystique. The horizon blended very well with the grey sky thanks to the soft tone day light. Especially when you walk at the end of the pier. No distraction here, only sea and sky painted in silence.
If you are interested in the underwater marine life you can book a seat in a fixed diving bell and have yourself immersed for 15 minutes. Found at the end of the pier.
Rügen has inherited an absurd hotel.
4,5 kilometers in length and 10000 double rooms, designed by Clemens Klotz (1886 – 1969). Every room has sea view.
Build on Hitler’s orders for the German workers. His moto: ‘strength through joy’ (Kraft Durch Freude)
Construction started in 1936 in Prora and was nearly finished in 1940. But because of the world war the hotel has never seen any guests. It was used for refugees from Hamburg instead.
‘I want the worker to have a great holiday and enough free time so that he can relax properly. I want this because I want a people with strong nerves. Because only with a people that controls its nerves can we really achieve great politics’
Adolf Hitler
After occupation of the Russian Red Army, the East-German National Volksarmee and the Bundeswehr the complex housed a discotheque, asylum seekers’ centre a youth hostel and a museum.
Project developers have since transformed it into a hotel and flats.
Prora museum 
Youth hostel 
Youth hostel
Have you ever dreamed of what it would be like to swing through the trees like Tarzan? Or to have a nest like a bird, or a tree house?
Well on Rügen you can get a taste of this. At least you can walk among the treetops.
Right in the middle of one of the pristine beech forests you will find the Naturerbe Zentrum Rügen. The walk to the observation tower is a great experience. But the biggest highlight is the impressive view of the surroundings from the so called ‘eagle’s nest’ It is well worth the 40 meter climb.
Do not forget to make a stop at Stralsund.
An Hanseatic City and a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the Baltic sea. It is also the gateway to Rügen because of the Strelasund bridge which runs between Stralsund and Altefähr.
Stralsund is not a big city but the center is packed with historic buildings with an architectural significance.
