June 23, 2011
Zempin - Ueckermunde: We leave the island
Beautiful cycling today! We decided to follow the Oder-Neisse Bike Path from Usedom and also discovered there is a ferry connection from Kamminke on Usedom to the mainland that would save us approximatey 95 km.
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The bike path leaving Zempin was again crowded with many many tourists on bikes, not quite the same thing as touring cyclists. We also had some short but amazingly steep little climbs. After a while we gave up on the official Baltic Bike Route and took the highway which also had a bike lane and was easy sailing. When we reached Ahlbeck, our last point on the Baltic, it was again jam packed with vacationers and we said good-bye to the Baltic Sea with no regrets. We headed south to the Stettiner Haff, the sound that separates the island from the mainland, on a lovely path through the woods. It climbed and we were happy to have our e-support.
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When we reached Kamminke on the Stettiner Haff, a very brisk wind was blowing and the water was choppy but the town and the harbor were quiet, just a few people waiting for the ferry. Our boat ride was 80 minutes to Ueckermunde which is a river port and picturesque old town. I was beginning to like this much more than the perhaps overrated Baltic coast.
It was 6 p.m. when we arrived but we were in luck. The tourist office was still open and found a private room for us a short distance from the center of town. Our room, 40€ without breakfast, was in a lovely garden full of flowers in bloom - the end to a delightful day and the beginning of a new stage of our journey. From here we were going to head south along the German-Polish border.
Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 1,646 km (1,022 miles)
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