July 1, 2023 to July 4, 2023
Four Lost Days in Rostock, Germany (July 1 to 4, 2023)
So, now the ugly…..
Our original plan had been to take the train to Rostock from Berlin on Saturday July 1 and stay two nights. We had had a busy schedule in Berlin and Dave gets squirrelly if he can’t do laundry so we scheduled a laundry day along with a couple of interesting museums if we had time. Rostock is an old, historical Hanseatic League city so there would be something to learn. The train ride went smoothly enough and I feel like we have (more or less) licked our fear of bike and train travel. As Dave previously alluded to, this last year we worked somewhat diligently on our strength training (thanks to our personal trainer, John and my Pilates instructor, Hannah) so that lifting the bikes and the panniers onto the train proved easier; and, as to Jill, if you look carefully at her in a certain light, from a certain angle, and squint a bit, she appears to have a barely discernible bicep! In any event the train trip out of Berlin went without incident.
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We arrived at at the Motel One in Rostock, which is a nice but budget business hotel pretty similar to an Ibis. Rooms are modern, with air conditioning, nice linens, small bathrooms, etc in tiny, cookie cutter rooms. And, as it turns out, thank goodness it had a bar. Weather was suddenly cool, windy and rainy, which is Rostock’s common weather pattern. Rostock is on the Baltic Sea and we will leave on the ferry to Gedser, Denmark, in a few days to finally begin our Scandinavian cycle trip.
The first night we ate a delicious dinner at Blau Essel (the Blue Donkey) as evidenced by this photo of Jill with the aforementioned blue mammal. That was the last time I was upright for awhile.
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Earlier in the trip Dave developed a minor low grade cold; it never got bad or laid him up although his cough persisted and we accepted the inevitable and that I would probably wind up with it too, spending as much time as we do in close quarters. I had a bit of a niggle in my throat the last day in Berlin and by Saturday night in Rostock I fell into bed feeling seriously ill. The next day I never left the motel but Dave did laundry duties (a nice Herr helped him this time — for some reason, Dave exudes clueless American- ishness and the guy just came over to help him without even being asked). By that evening I was feeling no better, so Dave arranged for an extra night and we accepted that we would not be going to Denmark the following day.
Unfortunately this pattern continued for the next 3 days; I didn’t eat, shower, brush my teeth, barely slept, and basically moved from the bed to the bathroom and back. I couldn’t even lift my head to watch the Tour de France. Later, after I recovered and we debriefed on the situation, Dave said he was pretty freaked out: Should he find a doctor? Should we cancel the trip? He didn’t know what the consequences for the trip reservations would be. As for Jill, in the two percent of her brain that was still functioning she was calculating how to revise the trip to get back on schedule— she was just too sick to communicate to Dave that we COULD revise the trip….
In the meantime, Dave spent four miserable days on his own. As you can imagine, being in a 10 by 10 foot sick room with another person stinks (literally) and he made himself useful by doing as many chores as he could think of: went to the pharmacy (twice) for various cold and flu medicines, purchased Jill a new set of cycling gloves because she lost one on the train ride out, purchased a long sleeve shirt at Jack Wolfskin (because it was cold and he has so much extra room in his panniers!), visited the ferry station to get details on tickets and bike loading and visited the Cultural Museum in Rostock. In the evening he also hung out at the bar more than is usual; the bartender, Bernard, weirdly enough, was from Salem, Oregon and he kindly donated copious large bottles of sparkling water and multiple glasses of ice for Jill and provided a little company for Dave.
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By the fourth night I was starting to recover, and finally was alert enough to talk and make another plan. I was also able to take a shower and brush my teeth - much to Dave’s relief.
We revised our travel plans and left Rostock on July 5. The room was a hilarious shambles; multiple water bottles and tea cups, and all sorts of detritus from being ill. We were glad to depart.
So, whenever things go bad, I try to see the positive. So, what was the good? 1. Motel One and their staff were very nice: they were pretty full and reworked room assignments to allow us to stay. Thank you, Lilly! 2. Motel One had a bar (for Dave) and a great bartender. Thank you Bernard. 3. Unlike many European hotels, Motel One actually had tissues in the room. Dave pinched an extra box off the housekeeping cart and I went through two boxes in four days. I have to say the tissues were the worst I had ever used (sandpaper comes to mind), but I was still glad to have them. 3. We had to blow off two room reservations in Denmark; it was too late to cancel without cost, but, at least the rooms were both on the more modest end of things in terms of cost. And, because we spent no money on eating out for several days, we saved a boatload on dining to compensate! 4. We were able to adjust our plans with a little help from the Danish train system. So, all good…..
Dave here: I came away with an enhanced respect for Rostok and its history. Situated in and the economic center of Mecklenburg, Rostok as a port city grew wealthy. Most villages in the Middle Ages were ruled by a prince. Rostok's wealth allowed it to buy certain privileges from their prince that other villages could not, such as self rule and the minting of their own currency. They joined the Hanseatic league and trade boomed. Rostok's decline began in the 17th century when they got caught up in the Thirty Years War. They were invaded by Denmark, freed with help from Sweden who in turn extracted hefty fees for their assistance. There was a terrible fire in 1667 which decimated much of the town's dominant merchant class which had been the source of its economic power and they never fully recovered their relative influence or wealth. Today the city's port continues to be an important economic engine and it is is a delightful place for tourists to visit. I'm not sure I'd recommend four days here, but I did enjoy our visit.
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10 months ago