Take a look at this postcard from Germany! This shows a multi-view of Rügen, an island off the northeastern coast of the country, located in the Baltic Sea. Rügen, the largest island in Germany, is a place that one can experience sandy beaches and extraordinary sights (such as the chalk cliffs, which you can see in a few of these panels). Jasmund National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, is one such place where you can see these cliffs, and you can walk on the trail through the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany. Rügen was filled with these beech forests before; unfortunately, they were cut down to less than 1% of their original numbers, but thanks to the reserves created for these forests, travelers can still admire how cool the “tunnel of leaves” (as I like to call it based on the photos) that the beech trees creates is. To briefly describe the sights here, the biggest panel shows Wissower Klinken, a chalk formation that’s seen some natural changes over the years. In both 2005 and 2010 there were HUGE chunks of chalk that broke off – I guess you can “chalk” that up to erosion! (Oof that one was bad…) On the bottom-left is King’s Chair, a chalk cliff beyond Wissower Klinken that supposedly got its name from one of the Swedish kings driving a battle in the sea from that spot (and that he was so tired he needed to sit down. Being king ain’t easy!) Above that is the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt view, which is another chalk cliff, and above yet again is Victoria view, sitting right next to the King’s Chair. I’ll give five bucks to whoever can spot the observation tower in that picture! Finally, there is Kiel Shore, which is the (naturally) one of the shores among the chalk cliffs. This might be a nonstandard destination but it is certainly perfect for the beach-goers! (And the beech-goers!) Thank you so much for sharing this lovely postcard with me, Jule!
