Our overnight sail from Copenhagen couldn’t have been better. The rain stopped, the clouds lifted, and the winds held steady all night at 15 knots from the west. Martin took the 10 p.m. to midnight watch, I took midnight to 2 a.m., and Phil took 2 to 4 a.m. There was a fair amount of traffic in the shipping lanes, which made our AIS system all the more valuable. We sailed south on a beam reach 70 miles, arriving at Hiddensee, Germany, at 7:30 a.m.

At the end of last season, Jocelyn and I met some German cruisers at Hallberg-Rassy harbor. After we had gotten to know them a bit, we asked them where we should go in Germany if we only had a day or two. They said, “Hiddensee.” When I told him we were headed to Poland, Roland Olsson, the HR sales chief, also recommended a visit to Hiddensee. Hiddensee, it seems, is quite an attraction.

Arriving here, I can understand why. Hiddensee is a long, thin island on Germany’s north coast separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. The only way onto the island is by boat. Like Copenhagen, cars do not rule here. In fact, we did not see any cars. People got around on quaint, dirt roads and cobblestoned paths by foot, on bicycle, or in wagons drawn by extra large horses. The architecture seems Bavaria-like to me, though Martin says it is not the same at all. Many of the buildings have roofs made out of reeds and are surrounded by pastureland.

But this is where the similarity with Copenhagen ends. The people here are distinctly different. First, the average age in Copenhagen seemed to be about 30. The average age no Hiddensee appears to be 50. People in Copenhagen were occupied by partying. (It was the holiday weekend.) People on Hiddensee were occupied by sightseeing. (It appeared populated mostly by tourists straight off the ferry.) And off course the language. In Copenhagen, there was no problem speaking English almost everywhere. Here, it seems no one does and those who do seem put off to do so. Having Martin along as a native German speaker is very useful.

Our exploration of the island led us on a walk up through the village and past a sign informing that we were entering a National Park. We were accompanied by hundreds of tourists who appeared to all be from nearby as German was the only language heard. We ascended a long grade to a lighthouse on top of a hill. Near the lighthouse we came upon a gasthaus (guest lodge), which we learned was a destination for East German officials during the Cold War. We were told that in those days Hiddensee was not even shown on maps so common folks would not know of it. It was the exclusive domain of the party apparatchik who used it as a retreat.

We descended steps down a steep bluff to the beach and then strolled along the beach past nude sunbathers before returning to the village along narrow, puddled dirt roads. We stopped in a shop and bought strong German beer, which we drank in warm sun after returning to the boat. As Galley Master, Martin prepared a delectable chili dish. We whiled away the evening reading. No internet here – we are out of range of all services.

Wednesday we moved the boat to Stralsund, an old Hanseatic commerce center of 58,000 about 20 miles south of Hiddensee. We spent the day procuring good German beer as our final provisioning assignment for the season. Phil was galley master again and prepared a delightful spaghetti repast. Tomorrow we move the boat into Poland.