Hey there, Old Sport.

Today was the attempted excursion to the Baltic coast of Germany. With a bit more planning, it probablý would have gone a lot better. We did actually get there, but it was something of an adventure.

Getting up somewhat late as usual and taking a long breakfast break, we finally got to the Hauptbahnhof to discover that the ticket we thought we could get did not actually exist. We ended up with two state group tickets, and headed off on a 2 hour 40 minute train ride to Rostock, on the northern coast of Germany. Once in Rostock, where it was already somewhat dark and very cold, we looked at a map and assumed we could easily walk to the beach. This was not true, a fact we realized after a cafe-break. We took a long S-Bahn trip, got off one stop too early at what appeared to be some sort of industrial stocking yard, sat around in the dark and extreme cold for twenty minutes, and then finally made it to the stop that is at the boardwalk. By this time it was definitely night and definitely dark.

The boardwalk was nice, and I would like to come back to the area in summer, when the conditions are not so harsh, and when all the boats are in use and the restaurants and other things open. We walked down the boardwalk, believing the ocean not to be far away. Yet again, this was not true. We got past all the shops and restaurants, and saw a green lighthouse in the distance. It didn't look too far, so we began our trek through the tundra of the Baltic to the pale green light (there were three Creative Writing majors in the group, of course there were Great Gatsby references).

I thought I might have been on another planet. We could hardly see anything but the floating green light we were heading towards, the wind was so hard it pushed us as we tried to walk, and the air was frigid. I have probably been colder at Hamilton, but being right by the ocean, it felt extreme. It was probably the strangest ten minute walk of my life, past shadowy sand dunes on one side and the sea on the other, against the wind throwing sand into our faces, all the while losing feeling in my extremeties.

We got to the lighthouse and stayed there for about a minute, it was so cold. Everyone was complaining, but I thought it was pretty amazing, staring out at the nothing of the ocean at night, the Ostsee. It was so cold and so windy, and the water was so dark since there was cloud cover, and the only lights came from murky and slightly disturbing looking distant lighthouses, besides the one right above us. My brain immediately went, you could do your best writing at a time like this. I felt like a Viking.

After a long ride, we got back to Berlin. Tomorrow is my friend Rachel's birthday, so we will have a good time. Yesterday I not only saw Knut, the cutest animal I have ever seen, but also Iron and Wine in concert in a church...in Berlin. Yeah. It's been a good week.

To Hanover on Saturday, then home to Schwaebs on Sunday.

Bis spater.