Peenemünde, Germany 🇩🇪 2022

Date: 12th August 2022

Travelled: 210 kms from Peenemünde to Stolzenhagen, Germany  

Visited: U461 and Historisch-Technisches Museum   

Stayed: Stolzenhagen Stellplatz, €12.50, N52.94920, E14.10910  

Budget: 79 days @ €107 per day

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The German Polish border divides Usedom Island. Sitting on the Baltic Sea it’s locally known as Berlin’s Bathtub as this is where many Berliners holiday in summer. Our destination is Peenemünde in the far north-west corner of the island. The sailing club’s stellplatz is pretty basic but it’s an easy walk to everything.

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As I mentioned earlier Joy and Johannes from Western Australia recommended a visit, so we go exploring.

Our first stop is the U461 Museum, we pay our €6.50 pp and climb on board. Why it’s called U461 is beyond me. This former submarine of the old Soviet Union, its designation was K24, entered service in 1965 spending most of its service in the North Atlantic, being decommissioned in 1991.

Apart from the usual torpedoes etc, K24 carried 4 continental cruise missiles. That‘s the launcher slightly raised mid-ships. Its crew of 78 shared 3 toilets a one shower. The life of a submariner !

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Whilst there’s dummies in sailors uniforms stuffed into corners everywhere it was still a great experience and a bit of an eye opener. The thought that there were 16 of these Juliet Class submarines bobbing around in the North Atlantic armed with nuclear weapons would keep me awake if I was the US President.

U461 done we walk up the harbour to the Historisch-Technisches Museum, which looks like an old coal fired power station, which it was, pay our €6 pp entry fee. The power station was built to services the Third Reich’s rocket development program here in late 1936 through to 1945. This is where the German V1 flying bomb and the V2 rocket were built and tested.

It’s a very interesting series of displays both outside and within the building. I won’t ramble on but two things struck me as amazing firstly the site was mass bombed by both the English and the Americans, yet the power station remained. Secondly that Wernher von Braun, the chief designer and many of the engineers from Peenemünde would go on to join the US space program and build the Saturn 5 which took man to the moon.

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It’s not all roses, there are lots of information panels and displays on the Third Reich’s use of slave labour, forced labour and the treatment of Jewish scientists who lived, worked and died here.

It’s a very interesting couple of hours but where done and we make our way back to the Hymer via one of the waterfront cafes. The local specialty is Brötchen using Bismark Herrings. So it’s basically a warm crusty bread roll with lettuce and onion with a pickled herring fillet.

There appears to be two types of pickled herrings used, one salty and the other sour. We tried one of each then went back for seconds. So good, thanks Johannes.

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Back to the Hymer we hit the road once again, it’s a long slow drive across country to Stolzenhagen but arriving at the stellplatz on the canal makes the drive worthwhile.

So that was our day…

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Michael + Pam