Robb Montgomery

This is my trekking bike outfitted with Ortleib classic bike roller bags (Waterproof) tent, and mattress pad. Note the improvised “Stella” handlebar bag.

Prerow, DE: I went camping recently at the Baltic Sea. The campgrounds in this region are typically only a minute’s walk to the strand (beach). And, unless you made your reservation back in January, don’t bother driving.

This string of little beach villages is packed with local tourists and many of the locals I met here grew up in East Germany. Hard to imagine standing here in a tranquil seascape that these vast natural resources were used by GDR frontier guards to keep East Germans from escaping to the West. Before the fall of the wall in 1989, these same shores and camping places were patrolled by troops in high-speed boats and armed soldiers with high-power search lights.

That recent past is hard to reconcile with how pristine, uncommercial and tourist-friendly this delightful place has become in the 21 years hence. The best views of the sea and forest are along the bike paths. They are everywhere and in the national forest, the paths branch out into a wonderful labyrinth.

I took a train out of Berlin with everything I needed for five days packed aboard my bike: sleeping bag, mattress, tent, and clothes. The only tricky part is getting the bike up and down the elevators at the train station platforms. It can take several minutes to negotiate with the tight spaces and I barely made it to the other platform to make my train connection. But it all worked out and then I cycled 40 kilometers along the coastal resort towns of Northern Germany.

That’s roughly the path I took into Prerow. I changed up at the end and decided to go cycling through the forest to reach town. I got lost many times and asked for directions from other equally lost tourists. It was actually quite pleasant and not a bad way to socialize. How could you complain? The weather was great and people here know how to relax.

In five days here I never saw anyone using a laptop, never saw kids playing video games or listening to iPods. Kids at the shore played the same simple games we did when my brothers and sisters went camping 35 years ago. Badminton, volleyball, table tennis, sand castles and playing cards. Nice to see actually.
As a result there were no temper tantrums, raised voices or other “ugly family” moments. The only glares that I saw were directed at people who were talking away on their mobiles while at the beach. (It really is selfish and obnoxious when you see this behavior in the context of the natural habitat)

A normal custom at a campingplatz in Germany is to allow those arriving by Fahrrader (bicycle) in the afternoon to stay at least one night. I did that and the next morning I politely asked the operators if I could remain. The problem they said is cars. There is no room for them.

I told them I haven’t driven my car for three months and they laughed. No problem, “You can stay,” they said.

No computers, no cameras. No auto.
Low tech and low-cost. Perfect holiday