Just wanted to share this because I thought it might interest others here too.
I spent the first week of this month holidaying on the island of Usedom. It's located in the north-eastern most corner of Germany (the eastern part of the island lies in Poland), on the Baltic Sea. It may sound funny, but statistically, this is the sunniest part of Germany, and the island is a very popular holiday destination with Germans, a tradition that already started in the 19th century. It's the perfect place for a relaxed holiday, offering great beaches and lots of activities - but not as overrun as the destinations around the Mediterranean.
What stuck me most in the end though was the combination of holiday beaches, the most idyllic landscapes and villages - and a very sinister piece of history, which at least in the northern part of the island, is still present. I only found out after having decided on going there, that located on that end of the island is the small village of Peenemuende - once a fishing village, but made infamous as being the place where from the mid-30s onwards the Nazis pulled up a huge test and development site where amongst others the V2 rocket was designed, tested and first produced - lead by Wernher von Braun. Most of the scientists working there, like von Braun, after the war went to the US, to France, to England and the USSR and continued their work - both for military and civilian use. There isn't a lot left of the sites per se, as most of it was destroyed in 1945, but there's still enough to see, and as idyllic as it may look, the "do not trespass - danger to life"-signs make sure one never forgets what once was here. The ground is just so contaminated there that large areas are closed off - probably forever. There is a very good museum in one of the few buildings that are still there, which I visited, which I think gives a well-balanced look at both the terrible history (they do not fluff over the horrible things that happened there), the technical innovations - and the legacy of those. It's just such an unusual place.
Here's the link to the pictures: http://flickr.com/gp/alanna_catriona/817Udw/
Karin
I spent the first week of this month holidaying on the island of Usedom. It's located in the north-eastern most corner of Germany (the eastern part of the island lies in Poland), on the Baltic Sea. It may sound funny, but statistically, this is the sunniest part of Germany, and the island is a very popular holiday destination with Germans, a tradition that already started in the 19th century. It's the perfect place for a relaxed holiday, offering great beaches and lots of activities - but not as overrun as the destinations around the Mediterranean.
What stuck me most in the end though was the combination of holiday beaches, the most idyllic landscapes and villages - and a very sinister piece of history, which at least in the northern part of the island, is still present. I only found out after having decided on going there, that located on that end of the island is the small village of Peenemuende - once a fishing village, but made infamous as being the place where from the mid-30s onwards the Nazis pulled up a huge test and development site where amongst others the V2 rocket was designed, tested and first produced - lead by Wernher von Braun. Most of the scientists working there, like von Braun, after the war went to the US, to France, to England and the USSR and continued their work - both for military and civilian use. There isn't a lot left of the sites per se, as most of it was destroyed in 1945, but there's still enough to see, and as idyllic as it may look, the "do not trespass - danger to life"-signs make sure one never forgets what once was here. The ground is just so contaminated there that large areas are closed off - probably forever. There is a very good museum in one of the few buildings that are still there, which I visited, which I think gives a well-balanced look at both the terrible history (they do not fluff over the horrible things that happened there), the technical innovations - and the legacy of those. It's just such an unusual place.
Here's the link to the pictures: http://flickr.com/gp/alanna_catriona/817Udw/
Karin
