With a nasty cold, fever and cough that I had, we still decided to make a day trip from Rostock (where we were staying for 3 days) and visit Ahrenshoop, a village inside Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park. A beautiful Instagram profile called Seesuechtig and created by talented Anja Hapke, made us want to visit Rostock in the first place, a relatively short drive from Berlin, where we spent the month of February. Anja's photography is one of my favorite things to look and marvel at on Instagram, and I still can't figure out how does she manage to take a perfect shot just about each time. I contacted Anja upon our arrival in Berlin, with a couple of questions about the region of Vorpommern and places that she'd recommend us to visit. She was kind and friendly, and answered with a ton of ideas (some of which we unfortunately didn't have time to realise, but saving them for the next time). We met for a drink in Rostock, talking about her region, tourism, social networks and the community they're creating. Connecting people have really been a positive side of it all. 

After days of February gloom, we had a beautiful, sunny day, that apart from the strong wind by the shore gave some hints of spring, in its scents and apparition of lovely pussy-willow buds that always make me smile. The northern European coast is so different in comparison to our Adriatic coast, that the long stretches of sand, yellow grass and foamy sea seemed exotic to me. I found the traditional architecture even more peculiar, with its thatched roofs and colorful windows. I couldn't help but thinking of fairy tales, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Snow White came to my mind. Somehow I always associate fairy tales with Germany, I suppose brothers Grimm are to thank for that. We took a walk on the beach, along with other day trippers, thinking how different would it be if we visited during the peak of summer. I found gusts of strong wind soothing my mild fever, inhaling the crisp salty air healing my cold. The neighbourhood of thatched roof houses was postcard-pretty, and we cheekily couldn't stop taking photos of them. 

"I would love to spend a week in May here, riding bicycle, walking down the beach, enjoying all the colorful flowers that would appear. It would be such a peaceful holiday.", I said. The cold wind got us in the mood for warming up with a hot bowl of soup, so we headed to Raucherhaus, a fish restaurant on the other side of the village. The restaurant was situated on the shore of the lagoon, sheltered from the wind, overlooking the completely still water, the wooden pier, fishermen's houses pressed together and a couple of boats. "Next time, I would also love to take a boat ride in the lagoon." It was cozy and warm inside, scents coming from the kitchen comforting, and the slightly spicy fish broth was just what I needed to start feeling better. We indulged in local fish delicacies- smoked fish typical of this region and made in the house, pickled mackerel, potato salad and sauteed vegetables... already making plans for our next visit. A day in Ahrenshoop turned out to be one of our favorite memories from a month in Germany. As I am writing this post, Luka is peering over my shoulder and commenting: "Look at these colours! There's something special in the light over there." I'm with him on this. Hope you enjoy the photos!