Sunday in Waren

We have just finished dinner which was very substantial! Freshly made bratwurst (as against the packet variety we bought last time)with fried potatoes and ham and sauerkraut. Delicious!

This morning we attended Mass in the new looking church in Waren. All the old churches in northern Germany are Protestant, and often Evangelical, although they still have the Catholic icons around the church. When we arrived (not late) everyone was sitting very quietly and seriously, and the place was packed. I thought 'What a dour looking lot' but during the 'Our Father' everyone held hands while saying the prayer and the whole atmosphere changed. One needs to get to know the formalities of a culture before judgements are made! The reason why the church was packed was due to a bus tour which had pulled up outside and everyone on the bus attended Mass.

After lunch we went on a bike ride (about 16 kms) around a small lake. We only took one photo due to the fact that the mosquitos swarmed in on us when we stopped. However the woodland was beautiful, although the track was very bumpy. Our bikes will need a good service when we get back to the UK. Tomorrow we start our trip back to Holland and will break our journey with one night in Bremmen.

Altogether we have really enjoyed our trip to North East Germany and will certainly come back again. People are really friendly, food prices, as long as you do not eat fresh meat, are very low and scenery spectacular. The only downside have been the mosquitos which have been out in full force during the past few days.