E9: Wolgast – Koserow

Sunday, September 23: Fine and sunny to begin with, becoming increasingly clouded over in the course of the day

Hiking: 27.1 km

Home

Was greeted by the host on leaving my room on the way to breakfast, and a woman was attentively studying the Bett&Bike certificate that this place had. When I had turned into the breakfast room, he turned to her and said, “Früshstück ist auch für Sie fertig” to which she replied, “No capito”, and I felt I was called upon the translate at least “Frühstück” into Italian for her, so I seized the moment, looked at her and said, “Colazione” to which she looked rather relieved.

Anyway breakfast was a big deal here: Four bread rolls, a slice of bread, sausage, cheese, yoghurt, a sliced kiwi, some wedges of various fruit and capsicum, an egg, some whole cocktail tomatoes and grapes. I decided that everything that could (or would have to) be thrown away was either to be eaten on the spot, or packed away for lunch.

Before our Italian lady got too carried away with my Italian, I asked her whether she spoke English, and apologised for my musician’s Italian (which she eventually got). She was from Tuscany, cycling around. The host noticing that I was communicating with her, bought out some aluminium foil for wrapping up the bread rolls in, and asked me to translate for her that we could pack up what we couldn’t eat in the foil, which I did. I was busy making some rolls ready for lunch when she came over to my table and made motions to use the foil, but I noticed she had very little idea how to tear off a sheet (surely they have aluminium foil in Italy!). The trick, of course, is to start with a small tear on one side and let the sharp edge do the cutting. But she thought the sheet might tear if uniform force was applied and couldn’t seem to see the sharp edge on the package.

In any case, that was the last breakfast of the tour. I packed everything up including repacking the rolls into the plastic container, and was getting a sat fix, when she appeared with the hostess to retrieve her bike from the shed opposite. And then I set off on my way to the coast.

The giant drawbridge had to be photographed, but I regretted not having had my camera with me yesterday after the rain, because the air was so clear, and the light was just right to photograph the harbor. I left the bridge as soon as I could and was soon met by a fellow wanderer asking about where the hospital was in town. I gave some vague directions, and continued on along the river. One or two markers could be seen, but it was not nearly sufficient. After about an hour and a half, I was in Karlshagen at the harbor where I also repacked the grapes and tomatoes into a plastic container. Karlshagen seemed like a smallish place and quite pleasant. I briefly looked at the Penny to see when it was open, but that wouldn’t be until midday, which was still over an hour away.

I continued along on towards the beach, and made a turn to the right to walk parallel to it. After some distance (and plenty of campsites, caravans, and holiday flats and houses) the forest pure was reached, and there were plenty of markers here (the cycling signs had whole kilometres on them, and very few places), except when rejoining the cycling path one was missing, although my choice of continuing what I took to be parallel to the beach, was correct, and was confirmed by a marker some way down the track.

Zinnowitz was the next place on the map and is a major tourist trap, complete with an extensive art market, and brass band banging away. Hard time getting through here, but eventually I was out of earshot of the band, and on a quieter path. Zinnowitz was the first place I could have taken the train, but it was much too early. Just before Zempin, the cycle path leaves the beach, but I stayed close and was rewarded by markers. The main track was marked with an acorn leaf in green on a white background, but the blue and white signs were what I was really following. In Zempin I made use of one of the copious toilets, and stopped for lunch of two rolls soon after.

Time critical was approaching. It was clear that I wouldn’t be making it to Bansin, and on reaching Koserow, it was clear that I could have gone for one more station, only then I wouldn’t have an opportunity to try to get rid of some empty bottles. There was a map on the approach to Koserow, and I could see that I could stick to the beach for another 2 km, and walk around the giant hill there, before taking a sharp right turn to reach the station (and a supermarket along the way), with just over twenty minutes to spare. Black Netto wasn’t taking the bottles either, so I didn’t bother shopping for anything.

Interactive Map

Slow train to Züssow and the mother of all waits at the station, which I abbreviated somewhat by walking around town, finding the “shopping center” which was as dead as a doornail. There was no restaurant (or even a person with a trolley) on the train, so it was not only the remaining two bread rolls, but also the complete emergency rations which had to go. There will be two times ten minutes wait at some stations in Berlin, and we are not stopping at the main station, so what a weird train ride this will be. And no wifi on board.