For City dwellers, a quick-fix remedy for the eroding effects of the rodent-race can't be beaten by a trip to the Seaside.
I was born and raised in the close vicinity of the Sea, in Scarborough, Yorkshire and always hear the sound of the water as an immediately powerful and calming influence. It is like Mother Nature's gift of allowing us mere humans a tiny glimpse of what it must have been like at the beginning of our time in the womb, with the powerful beating of the heart echoed in the steady breaking of the waves. And I'm only speculating but maybe the rocking effect of the water on the boats mimics a child being rocked in a cot. Whatever it is, the effect is one of feeling a lighter sense of being, a spring in the step and a shrugging-off effect of the invisible weights that lodge themselves on the shoulders of weary adults.
About 3 hours driving time from Berlin and we were at our destination. Göhren, on the Island of Rügen. The drive across the island is lovely, with thatched houses that look like they are wearing Beatles wigs, a steam train choo-chooing its way alongside the cars and cobbled roads that rattle your fillings! The Pension StrandhausI formerly known as Robinson Junior is located right on the beach and if you book a sea-view-room, you are afforded a ringside seat for the never-ending and constantly-changing spectacular.
At just 80 € for 2 people per double room including a really nice breakfast we could also splash out on a couple of meals in the restaurant where the Chef really knew his onions! Really high-class food and at the weekend, as was the case for us, there may be live music into the bargain too (and who can grumble at a well presented version of a Beatles or Kinks classic while you are chomping on your posh nosh).
I ruined a pair of wholly unsuitable, and now holey and unsuitable boots whilst clambering over a very rocky section of the beach, but there are also sandy areas where we lay and sunbathed and watched the lucky dogs and walkers trotting past on an enviable exercise route. There is a wooded cliff behind the beach which provided a short cut back to the Pension. We were noticeably slower on the return, after all that exertion and sea air! And I noticed that a lot of people had carved hearts and names into trees over the years and had a rather surreal thought as to why wooden tattoos hadn't been so fashionable in Berlin amongst all those Punks.
In the evening it is so quiet, the stars are so bright and huge in the sky and the ships on the horizon look really pretty with their lights twinkling. Everything feels like it has slowed right down, and especially at this time of year you can really have the beach to yourselves and enjoy the solitude and peace that pervades. If you are in the mood for love you will find yourself right at the heart of romance-ville. I can guarantee that even if a seagull poops on your head, it will feel like a love message from God, to anyone, except the clinically dead!
We slept little, but deeply and, feeling a bit like a kid does on Christmas Eve, knowing that shortly there will be many surprises in store, woke up completely refreshed. And without having to get out of bed, watched the Sun coming up over the horizon, and changing the Sky from reds, oranges, and then to purples and the blue of morning light.
On the last afternoon we hired a Strandkorb and had a lazy few hours in the warm Autumn Sun, taking photographs and watching the kites bobbing around and the Seagulls soaring. The Sea was a facebook blue and Frank's forehead went a sunburned red by the end of the day!
Night-time had fallen in Berlin when we returned, still with salt on our lips and sand in our socks. That quickly washed away, but the bright memories of our shared experience in that tiny bubble of time will stay vividly coloured for a long, long time to come.
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