Tuesday August 21st, 2018 Wernemunde, Germany

Our last stop on this cruise – the time has gone by really fast.

The ship docked in the former east German town of Wernemunde in the past a fishing village turned beach resort on the Baltic coast. Our plan today was to take a short train ride to the larger town of Rostock and the station could not have been located any nearer to the ship dock.

After a quick look around the cruise port area we found the train station very close to the dock. The train ride took about 20 minutes to reach the main station in Rostock and from there we took a short streetcar ride to the center of town. The main square in Rostock is boarded on one side by the imposing Town Hall; fountains and statues are prominent as are small market stalls. One of the main streets off the square was called Steinstrasse, a busy shopping area. At the end of the street was a huge tower, the Steintor (Stone Gate) was built in the style of the Dutch Renaissance (1574-1577) on the foundation walls of the former Gothic southern main gate – in impressive building, but unfortunately not open today.

On the other side of the main square we visited St. Mary’s Church (Marienkirche) a large brick gothic structure built in the 13th century, it was enlarged and modified at the end of the 14th century into the present basilica. I especially enjoyed the high alter - built in 1721 by a Berlin craftsman, mainly from painted wood. The altar shows in three pictures; Bottom: " The Last Supper "; Middle: " The Resurrection "; Top: " The Effusion of the Holy Spirit ". Even more impressive was the astronomical clock - built in 1471 and the only one of its kind still working.

Before taking the streetcar back to the main station, we found a café on the main square and enjoyed a freshening drink. Back at the dock in Wernemunde we took a walk along one of the many inlets that are lined with shops and restaurants and had a late lunch by the waterside.

It was a warm, bright evening as we sat in the Commodore Club drinking cocktails and watching the ship carefully maneuver out of the small harbor and into the North Sea for our return to Southampton.