Trip 38 — Usedom Walk

Day 4: Karlshagen to Zinnowitz via Ziemitz and Lütow
Thursday, 16 November 2023

Today: 48898 steps/37.25 km/23.15 mi/7h 5m Total: 122957 steps/95.25 km/59.19 mi/18h 0m

The rain held off until I reached Karlshagen's harbor and started through the marsh again. At least in the daylight I could enjoy the waterfowl and more accurately avoid the puddles.

I tried to will the rain away, tell myself it wasn't bad, believe it would stop soon, but it became steady and persistent, with a strong wind. I knew the only thing that would make it stop was to dig out my thin poncho and attempt to unravel it and find the openings in the wind. I didn't care much about keeping myself dry, but having a wet phone or passport would be bad news.

I managed to get the poncho unrolled enough to cover my bag, with one arm and my head through two of the holes. I didn't find the third hole, but that was enough for nature. The wind calmed down and the rain slowed to a trickle before stopping completely. I took off the poncho and scrunched it back into my bag.

I passed through the little town of Zecherin and emerged into a field — cabbage, perhaps. "Yeah, I bet you like that rain," I told the plants.

Ahead was the Peenebrücke Wolgast, a blue bascule bridge that carries cars and trains to and from the mainland and opens a giant leaf to let large boats through. It's one of two bridges between Usedom and the mainland on the German side; the only other access is from the passenger ferry and the new car tunnel in Świnoujście.

I walked under the bridge and started on the road to Ziemitz, the end of one of two bulges in the land on today's agenda. The rain started again, and I paused under a restaurant awning and put the poncho on properly.

Ziemitz was a quiet village with holiday house rentals and some attractively flowered lawns (must be hardy plants in this weather). I looped around, walked back up to the village of Sauzin, and headed east along a rural road. Before Neeburg was a cattle farm. In Krummin I believed one restaurant to be open, but I was proven wrong.

I'd had breakfast (no herring at the Hotel Nordkap, but plenty of sausage and pate), so I wasn't particularly hungry anyway, though I could have used a sit-down. But I used the bought time to ease up on my pace. The rain turned light again and stopped intermittently, but I didn't trust it. I kept the poncho on until I reached Zinnowitz.

Approximately once in each village I aroused the attention of a large guard dog. They were all fenced in, but I learned to estimate when I might hear a contrabass growl. The "Beware of dog" signs depicting German shepherds refer to actual German shepherds in this part of the world.

Back along the marsh I proceeded, near the Achterwasser, on the way to the second land bulge at Lütow. I passed a brilliantly striped grassy field and then entered a forest. I hadn't seen a car in an hour. This was a dirt track that seemed unlikely to be used outside of holiday periods. Krummin was supposed to have been my bathroom break, but this forest seemed to fit the bill.

Of course that's when a mail truck came lumbering up the dirt track at full speed. I turned my back and put everything away, but I'm sure I was caught in the act.

At Lütow I passed a sheep farm and then turned north, on the main road to Zinnowitz. At Neuendorf there was a kind of beekeeping museum (a tiny hut that I didn't feel right investigating alone) and, if I'd been desperately hungry, raw eggs sold on the honor system along the road. There was a good sidewalk all the way to Zinnowitz, but the road wasn't particularly interesting, and it was dark by the time I reached Zinnowitz.

I took a slight detour to do laundry and then checked in at the Parkhotel am Glienberg, up more of a hill than I felt like dealing with in the dark and drizzle. There was an astonishing number of activities to take care of before I could go to my room. I had to provide my address on a tablet and pay the €2-per-night tourist tax — I've noticed it every night on Usedom but this is the first place where it was handled separately and I was issued a personalized printed ticket to prove I'd paid it in case I was questioned on the street.

Then I was given a day pass (actually two days, today and tomorrow) for the Spa Railway. Certain hotels have an agreement with Deutsche Bahn to give people free train fare during their stay. That's a fantastic arrangement, even if I didn't need it. I wish more places did that. I can see why it would be too expensive in huge cities, but for a place with a local line and congested roads, it might be a wonderful way to get people out of cars. With all the taxes Miami Beach imposes, why not throw in a bus pass for the local route and show people how easy it is to use?

The receptionist then explained the use of the pool and sauna, and she gave me a map and pointed out dinner possibilities. Zinnowitz has enough restaurants open in the off-season that I had choice, and the Admiral (named for Nelson), feeling more like a pub with nautically themed walls, served a decent three-fish sampler. Zinnowitz even has a cocktail bar called La Conga, where the lights were a dim red, the patron at the bar had a "Yakuza" jacket on, people were smoking (I forgot that that happens), and I tried to augur warmer weather by ordering a Summer Wind.

I might try to get into that spirit tomorrow, too, because I'm staying at a golf resort. And there's nothing that says summer like hitting some balls in the dark at 4:30 when it's cold and rainy. But for now, it's time to get some Z's in Zinnowitz.

Go on to day 5