Warnemunde, Germany

The next stop on our Baltic cruise was the small Germany town of Warnemunde. It is oversized for the less than 9000 residents, because it is a popular seaside resort. Tourists have been coming here for 160 years.

I did not realize when I booked the cruise that this town is in former East Germany. This made the visit more interesting, as we learned about conditions during that time from our tour guide. More about that in another post.

Because tourism is so important to this town, they welcome cruise ships with open arms. Rather than jump on a train for Berlin, we wondered around town and then took a local tour in the afternoon.

A Taste of Denmark?

When I saw this, I just had to take a photo of it. This illustrates the dominance of American Fast Food worldwide. There are chain restaurants from other nations that have crossed national boundaries but the USA is the undisputed world leader in spreading its chain restaurants.

Is this a bad thing? Well, I have to admit that, although I try local food and love to eat at good restaurants, when you are far from home for an extended period finding a place that you recognize can be a relief. So for North American tourists, it can be a good thing.

I have eaten KFC by the Great Wall of China, Subway by the Tower of London, Pizza Hut in Lahore Pakistan, and McDonald's near Nazareth in Israel. None of these were great meals. But it was something familiar. Do not be ashamed of grabbing an occasional quick meal at one of these. However, make sure you try local food more often.