Germany

Rugen, Germany

On sighting the towering lighthouse that marks the border town of Świnoujście at the western end of the Polish coast, Ruda turned south into the Świna channel, lowered her mast and headed inland to call at Szczecin, ancient seat of the Dukes of Pomerania, before travelling along the river Oder to Berlin. Like Paris and Stockholm, Berlin seems to ‘turn its face to the water’, and from the River Spree Ruda’s crew was treated to views of the Reichstag, the museums on Museum Island, stretches of The Wall and some rather good bridges. Her crew were captivated by Berlin – the monuments to and the tangible reminders of wars, hot and Cold, the world-class museums and, above all, the energetic feel of a city reinventing itself. And, of course, the Currywurst.

After some weeks in Berlin, Ruda headed north to Rügen, hoping to witness the spectacular annual migration of the thousands of cranes that had passed the summer in Scandinavia. After days spent watching the sky blacken with birds at sunset it was time for Ruda, too, to head south for the winter. She began the return journey to Berlin by passing under the chalk cliffs of Rügen at sunrise, headed for Frederick the Great’s palace town of Potsdam, there to pass the season of snows without care.

When spring came around again she headed west to Magdeburg, crossing over the turbulent brown waters of the Elbe on the world’s longest canal bridge before descending by an 18m lock onto the lively river itself.

The river navigation authority had previously advised of currents up to 6km/h during spring floods, but Ruda battled currents of up to 11km/h for the next seven long days of navigation to the Czech border.  Such unexpectedly high water flow meant that viable moorings were few and far between, so stops were dictated by their availability rather than any hoped-for tourist itinerary. However, the crew did manage to explore the reconstructed skyline of Dresden and the porcelain town of Meissen before enjoying an extended rest stop in Sachsische Schweiz, the ‘Saxon Switzerland’.  Here, Ruda found herself a perfect home for a couple of weeks in the Postelwitz Yacht Club, while the crew spent their days kayaking on the river, and climbing and hiking in the extraordinary sandstone scenery.

Having recovered her composure, Ruda resumed her journey to the Mater urbium Praga: Prague, the Mother of Cities, crossing over the border a few kilometers upstream to pass under the imposing castle of Děčín and by the famous basalt ‘hunger stone’, which the coming weeks would render somewhat redundant.