Our coast

Already the arrival accelerates the steps. You can hardly wait to see the sea behind dunes covered with beach grass. It doesn't matter whether it's warm in the summer sun or fresh in the autumn storm - the beach is new and different every time. Sometimes smooth as glass, sometimes agitated and rough. But there is always breadth in the gaze and happiness in the soul.

It's the loveliest moment of the day when the sun rises freshly polished from its morning bath. The white pier, which has graced the Ahlbeck beach for more than 120 years and which has been the secret star in so many films, wraps it in velvety gold with its rays. The beach is almost deserted at this early hour. Enjoy the moment in healing solitude. A few walkers trudge by. Only now and then do a few sleepy waves lap sluggishly in front of your feet. A sandy velvety mermaid basks in the newly risen sun. Her seaweed hair rustles softly in the morning breeze. She waits for the new day and for the buckets and shovels of the shell hunters and castle builders.

The old wooden cutters of the fishermen are only a few meters away from the water's edge. They have been part of the familiar image for many generations. There used to be countless people waiting every morning for the fishermen to take them out to haul in the nets with the little red flags. Their bellies were once filled to the brim with the silver of the Baltic Sea: the herring.

The wind carries the soft chug of an engine across the water. The fishermen come back from their nocturnal trip. The closer they come, the louder the screeching and clamoring of the seagulls, which circle the wooden boat in a swarm and fight over every bite of fish. The flat cutters make it almost onto the beach. The ancient trekkers will take care of the rest. With power and engine roar, the huge tires grip the softened sand and pull the boats backwards out of the water.

While the old people in their oilskins and thick troyers are pulling the herring out of the nets at the old fish hall in the middle of the dunes, you can not only buy the freshest fish from them, but also listen to their stories and their hope that their traditional profession will last as long as possible possible to get. Weather-beaten men's eyes shine as they bring the past to life. The space around them and the handcarts in which the nets are piled up glitters silver from the many fish scales and the old stalls smell of smoked fish.

In the past, however, the fishermen did not live in the chic and sophisticated villas along the promenade. They have always been time-out paradises. They themselves lived further down in the village. Where you can still find them today, the rustic, thatched houses, whose roofs almost reach down to the ground. In one of them - probably the smallest - the painter Köpp has set up a studio. If you look closely at his pictures, you will recognize the places where he finds his inspiration, the winding streets, the views of the Baltic Sea or the freshly cut linden trees along the promenade, which are so typical of the small seaside resort.

Strolling past the chic spa villas and the sophisticated grand hotels transports you to another world. One almost expects that when strolling on the promenade, women in rustling dresses stroll past. Strolling out onto the Baltic Sea on the wooden planks, watching the ups and downs of the foam-crowned waves, letting your head blow clear on the pier of the pier and letting your thoughts travel, is one of the things after which Sea addicts yearn then as now. Because when the sea wind tugs at your hair and coats and you can see the Baltic Sea as far as the horizon, you can feel the irrepressible feeling of freedom and boundlessness.

The feet dig into the still warm sand. The beautiful villas with their bay windows and turrets, their balconies and balustrades, their temple gables and staircases in the back, the view wanders far behind the pier of Heringsdorf. To where, behind the Bansin cliffs in the Usedom hinterland, the sun is preparing to leave the daily stage in a flaming spectacle. Her downfall bathes the island world in rich gold, deep red and mysterious violet.

You can feel it down here by the sea, the lightness and light-heartedness of summer, which you always long for later. Soft music from the beach bar accompanies the evening and the sound of the waves weaves its very own rhythm into these relaxed hours. The conversations are light as a feather, carrying serenity and a laugh in every sentence. Even when night falls on the beach, a glowing red streak lingers on the horizon in June. midsummer night. Here in the south of the Baltic Sea, too, it gives the night owls a piece of its magical light for a short time.

But romantic dreams don't only exist on the beach. The promenade invites you to stroll. While the steps slow down because the eyes discover more and more fairytale castles between the pines stunted by the wind and the sea climate, one wanders back in time. When the rich and beautiful of Berlin's chic crowd drank their tea on the terraces of the Bleichröder Residence or the imposing Villa Oppenheim and enjoyed the view of the very promenade you are walking on. Suddenly you feel a little sophisticated and chic. Simply because you stroll past these architectural dreams come true with their euphonious names. Countless rhododendrons in the extensive front gardens bloom in competition with the pastel shades of the villas, immersing the whole place in a sea of ​​colour.

Despite its height of just 35 meters, the ascent to the small hill "Kulm" in the middle of the village gets the circulation going and some people get out of breath. But from up here, the Baltic Sea lies at the viewer's feet. The view wanders far, far beyond the pyramid of the pier. What would you give to be able to soar like a seagull across the glittering waves right now?

It all began up here at the White Castle, bathing and strolling, seeing and being seen. One can understand why so many artists, so many writers have felt so at home here. It's not just the beautiful villas that amaze the eyes one after the other. It is this attitude to life that you can taste in the small cafés and restaurants over an ice cream or a fresh fish dish. It is the screen in the middle of the Baltic Sea that invites you to take photo trips across the island and to exciting cinema blockbusters. It's the live bands that lure people to the concert square on summer evenings, or the many small festivals that fill the days with wonderful moments. All this makes this small town on the Baltic Sea something special.

The clocks tick differently here, somehow more slowly, and the question of whether to end the evening with a play at the Chapeau Rouge or a glass of red wine on the beach is what life is made for: enjoying the moment.

Freedom is boundless blue. Because when you look through the houses from Bergstraße, the blue of the Baltic Sea always sparkles in your eyes. Glittering and enticing, it accelerates the steps past the sun-drenched facades of old pensions, which are built in such a way that those longing for the Baltic Sea can even enjoy the sea view here from the second row. The white, light green and yellow villas appear light and airy. In the glaring sunlight, they look almost unreal. The eye wanders over the bay windows and glass loggias, gets stuck on the names of once beautiful ladies: Diana, Frieda, Dora, Carola, Laetitia...

While the desire to get down to the water grows, your gaze wanders to the old wooden fisherman's shacks, which in the middle of the dunes are still silent witnesses to fisherman's stuff and sailor's yarn. But the beach is calling and the view of it increases with the view that pedestrians have while walking along the promenade lined with wooden captain's villas and miniature offshoots of legendary villas from Berlin's Grunewald.

While some are still craning their necks to discover all the cats on the roof of Villa Fortuna, the children are already tugging and pushing towards the handcart, overflowing with inflatable beach creatures and lots of shell hunter equipment, towards the beach. After all, you have to conquer an entire sandy paradise. Within a day, towering kingdoms of messy castles and sand castles are created by true artists' hands. The wish that the hours of leisure in the beach chair last forever is great. Just don't have to think about anything and draw fantasy figures in the cotton ball clouds in the sky. It doesn't matter whether you're on pointed toes or a daring long-distance run - drifting in the cooling waters of the Baltic Sea is one of the most beautiful refreshments on a hot summer's day.

Appetite makes you leave the beloved beach for a while. The fish rolls are also available right here. Connoisseurs will find culinary variety in one of the small restaurants or let themselves be carried away in the garden of the nostalgic Café Asgard by sinking into the monstrous wicker armchairs and the charm of the 20s. When strolling through the streets of the seaside resort, there is always something new to discover. The feet steer past the concert square with its antique bathing wagons, the shops and cafés in which holiday experiences are shared in a wide variety of dialects, past the old fire engine house, in which the residents of Bansin have set up a small memorial library in honor of the well-known writer Hans Werner Richter all by yourself towards the glittering Schloonsee. Countless ducks and swans make their rounds here in the afternoon sun. While the heads of the weeping willows, which almost reach down to the lake, sway and rustle gently in the wind.

If you want some peace and quiet, simply leave the wooden footbridge of the Bansiner Seebrücke behind and hike along the steep coast to the Langen Berg. On some days you even have the beach all to yourself. The densely leafy crowns of ancient beeches rustle up on the steep coast. Climb the stairs to the Forsthaus Langenberg and you are right in the middle of a quiet, green, shaded refuge from the summer sun and the bustling Bansin seaside resort hustle and bustle.