Cycle Tour Iron Curtain Tour, part 3 Gdynia-Aš

The next day's stage was short, so I could have a look at Wismar's old town, which together with Stralsund belongs to UNESCO's world cultural heritage. Early on today's stage I experienced being called "Arschloch" (arsehole) when I rang my bell to request passing a pedestrian on the path. "Thank you, likewise" was my reply in German. Well, honestly! The next "experience" came at the peninsula of Wustrow, which is closed due to ammunition remnants on the former military site. You could peek into the old barracks area, which is falling into disrepair. The weather today was cloudy and windy, so rather unusual. The ride into Wismar was quite hilly and took place on cycle paths along the road, where I before had ridden on paths along the coast. These latter are far better maintained than the ordinary ones along the country roads. So I bumped along into town. Until Wismar's large port with an enormous industrial area welcomed me. What a contrast to the old town, which I rolled through on the way to the hotel Willert south of it. Here I checked into a very small room under the roof. Wismar absolutely looked a splendid old town with beautiful civil houses. But the square in Stralsund is clearly the prettiest. And the old harbour in Wismar, which I had heard was supposed to be beautiful, disappointed me quite a bit. No old houses, no atmosphere. Just a few nice old wooden ships. The tower of St. Nicholas' Church towers majestically over the city, but it was wrapped in scaffolding. The portal of the south entrance was impressive, though. A specialty in the city is funny street names: Bademutterstraße or even better Tittentasterstraße (Tit Pawer's Street! The women can't say they weren't warned.) The steeple of St. Mary's church stood alone after the GDR government had chosen to demolish the nave due to destruction during the war. Churches did not have the government's interest, and this had an impact on the population. To this day, 33 years after the fall of the Wall, many in East Germany are still "non-denominational". I ended my visit in Wismar with a pizza in the square before heading off to my hotel.