I got up at 4 a.m., left home at 5 a.m. and was in my flying club before the sunrise. After sending the flight plan it was time for breakfast. The sunrise that day was more like sunset, just in the east:
I love taking pictures of sunrise and sunset, because each moment is so different.
My OY-9797 patiently waited for me in front of the hangar.
I was going to Barth in Germany. The weather was very nice there, and I also hoped to visit Zingst, a seaside resort north of Barth, and to spend some time on the beach.
When I took off, I realised how misty the air was. I was in doubt whether the visibility would be good enough to cross over the water, but when I after about an hour reached Gedser, I could see it was fine.
Kirr island south of Zingst, a nature reserve. Even flying above 2,000 feet I could see how many birds were there:
I had a look at the Meiningen Bridge, where I would be crossing over to Zingst the day after:
Soon I landed in Barth, parked my Aeroprakt, and had a chat with local pilots. Lots of activities were going on there – training flights, parachute jumping. Though I landed fairy early, around 09:15, the electric bikes were alredy taken.
I got an ordinary bike and headed to Barth town. The corn by the biking path was so high!
In Barth, I stopped for a coffee in a bakery on the main street. I love German bakeries – they have so much to offer! Pastries, cakes, sandwiches, all of a great variaty. I don’t eat cakes (don’t like, especially the German ones :-)), but I can occasionally take a pastry without cream and without a layer of sugar on top.
Not speaking German at all, it often difficult for me to communicate in small towns. But people are always welcoming and are trying to help. That was also the case in that bakery. They even asked me (with a help of a dictionary), how strong I wanted my coffee. And I learned a new German word.
I prefer drinking tea, but then you need to find a good tea salon, which is not exactly a German tradition. Drinking tea from tea bags is terrible, though I sometimes do it, of course. I accept drinking bad coffee in cafes, because you simply cannot get anything better. I have only twice in my lifetime had excellent coffee outside my own home.
First time it was in Copenhagen, for many years ago, in a restaurant called Le Sommelier, where they served me Jamaican Blue Mountain in a french-press-way. Since then, I have had my special criteria for coffee. When I later was on Jamaica, I bought 5 kg to take back home – it was 3 times cheaper!
Second time it was in a small town of Piestany, Slovakia, in 2019. I was on a 3-week spring flying tour together with my friend Vagn, where we discovered that excellent coffee shop in Piestany which we visited several times during our stay there. You can read more here. I remember, I even considered becoming an affiliate and opening the same coffee shop in Copenhagen – but that would require stopping doing banking and making coffee instead of…
Well, that was about coffee. Back to Barth! I noticed, the streets in the town were adorned with small colourful flags. Something was going on… Later I found out, Barth was going to have its city festival on Sunday – I looked forward to experience that!
On the photo above, the white building on the right is the Town Pharmacy which opened in 1572! On the side, there were pictures of its building as of 1914 and today – huge difference, as you can see:
There was also a list of the owners displayed. Very impressive, that there has been a town pharmacy for 452 years and in the same building!
I had the time before I could check in to my hotel, and decided to visit St. Marien Kirche. I’ve been to Barth several times, and I don’t think I ever made it to the church. It is an imposing brick Gothic church with a foundation stone laid somewhere around 1250.
The door lock on the entrance door:
Famous organ by Carl August Buchholz from 1821 (restored in 2003):
It was nice to spend some time in the church, to see its interior and furnishings. It was also much cooler than ouside. The church has been home to what is probably the oldest German church library remaining in its original location sinse 1398. After an extensive renovation, the biblioteka bardensis reopened in 2013.
I was lucky to get a room in Pension Eshramo, and with a view to the Market square:
The pension had a good restaurant and shaded tables outside. I checked in and went exploring.
A charming old building on one of the streets:
The old town of Barth is pretty small and I know it quite well. It was very pleasant to revisit. The 35 m high Dammtor, the only one preserved city gate (there were 4 of them), built in the 14th century:
I slowly went through those very narrow old streets of Barth. It was a warm September day, around +25C, and there were lots of beautiful butterflies in the air. I stopped by one of the houses and filmed them:
On the photo below, the green arrow is pointing at the Fangelturm , and the red arrows – at the sculpture ensemble called “Ganz Ei”. The Fangelturm is a museum, and I always wanted to visit it, but it has always been closed… The tower is 12 m high, 7.5 m in diameter and has a wall thickness of 2-2.3 m. Built in the 16th century, it was used as a defence tower, torture and prison place, and in the late years as a school observatoty.
The “Ganz Ei” is a sculpture representing geese. On that square, there used to be a geese market in the old days. The ensemble consists of three egg-shaped elements made of bronze. Various body parts of geese, such as heads or feet, protrude from each shape.
I really enjoyed my day in Barth. In the evening, it was so tempting to go outside, for a drink and a walk… It was a balmy Indian summer night, one of the last ones this season. But I wanted to get up early and have a day in Zingst, by the sea. And I was so damn tired after walking for hours in sunny Barth, also after getting up at 4 a.m. I took a tough decision to go to bed, but rewarded myself and my companions with a small bottle of sparkling and chocolate.
The Aviator and The Blue Bear were happy they didn’t have to stay in the room alone.