Day 13 to 15: Stralsund, Sassnitz, and Rügen's chalk cliffs

Originally, we had planned to cycle all the way to Binz on Rügen. Since we only organized our accommodations one day before our arrival, there was nothing available on Rügen except for a few places at very high prices or cheap tents/caravans without toilets. So we decided to base ourselves in Stralsund and took the train (with our bikes) to Sassnitz on day 14. On days 13 and 15, we visited the beach in Stralsund, which was just a five-minute bike ride from our hotel. And day 16 was the departure day (with the good old German train, which, as the ARD Monitor report (dated 20.8.20) showed, definitely did not adhere to Corona regulations and was sometimes very crowded).

Stralsund itself impressed us with its charming old town, one of the oldest pubs in Europe (established in 1332), a beautiful harbor, and good restaurants and cafes. We can recommend the restaurant 'Christas' at Hotel Hafenspeicher, which had delicious vegetarian dishes on the menu, and Café 66 with great waffles. We didn't visit the Ozeaneum as the queues were too long. We'll save that for our next visit. Stralsund was definitely worth a visit.

When we set off for Sassnitz on day 14, we happened to encounter the only rainy day of our trip. So we started our train journey a bit later (around 12 o'clock) as the rain was supposed to stop in the early afternoon. When we arrived in Sassnitz (around 1 o'clock), we looked for a nice spot by the Baltic Sea to have cake and wait for good weather. We found a place at 'Die kleine Konditorei'. The rain lasted a bit longer than forecasted, so we enjoyed ourselves until it stopped. Then we headed to the chalk cliffs in Jasmund National Park. In addition to the chalk cliffs, the park also includes the Stubnitz, an old beech forest with trees up to 250 years old that grows down to the steep coast of the chalk cliffs. Different types of moors and flint beaches are also part of the park. We cycled through the forest, which had many well-maintained bike paths, and followed the 'Radweg zum Königsstuhl' (bike path to Königsstuhl). After almost 15 km of uphill and downhill cycling, including a total ascent of over 100m, we arrived at a large turning circle for buses from the city and the car park. While we hardly saw anyone on the bike path, there were many bicycles and people here. That was quite unexpected! In hindsight, we realized that many people may have started their bike ride from a nearby parking lot :-)) We secured our bikes and walked to the Viktoriasicht viewpoint, which is free. To view the Königsstuhl, the highest and most famous chalk cliff of Stubbenkammer, we would have had to pay 9.50 euros per person, which also includes access to the surely interesting visitor center. However, due to time constraints, we skipped the visitor center and enjoyed the free view. The view of the chalk cliffs would have been even better from the sea on a boat tour. In front of the exposed viewpoints, there were a few people lined up, maintaining a voluntary minimum distance of 2 meters. Very nice :-)) The clear views of the chalk cliffs were beautiful, especially with the lush green surroundings. We then took a stroll in the forest before taking a break near our bikes. Afterwards, we took the same route back to the city center of Sassnitz (this time we only had to dodge a small frog). In the city, we enjoyed a wonderful view of the harbor and the Baltic Sea from the suspension bridge. Then we decided to return to Stralsund for dinner. Before we forget: today we cycled almost 40 km :-))

On days 13 and 15, we relaxed in Stralsund, spending half of each day at the local beach, which was pleasantly empty. We took a dip in the Baltic Sea (while avoiding some harmless jellyfish) and rested. We also bought some sea buckthorn souvenirs. This way, we had some relaxation alongside the great cycling adventure on our vacation. We can look back on two weeks of pure variety, experiencing colorful landscapes, and having a great time on four wheels together :-)) We would love to do it again!