Sep 25, 2022

Maasholm, a Fishing Village on the German Baltic Sea

The second week of our summer holidays, we spent in Maasholm, a small fishing village on the German side of the Baltic Sea. We had been here once before in 2014, and enjoyed what it had to offer: quaint accommodations, a supermarket, some restaurants, many walk ways, and plenty of rest in our comfortable renovated farm house on Main Street.

We drove for about 2 1/2 hours from Sydals, Denmark, to Maasholm. In the evening, we took a stroll around the coast as usual.

An upcycled fishing boat makes for a nice place to sit, especially out of the cold wind in the evening.

Maasholm on the shore
Maasholm Port with rainbow

Tüünlüüd, this street name gets me every time. Four ‘U’s with Umlaut!

Tüünlüüd

Eating well is another reason for spending time at the coast.

This is our vacation rental on Maasholm Main Street. Despite its location on main street, there is hardly any traffic noise, and off season, there are only few people to wander around as well. That’s me sitting on the bench.

As usual, my favorite spot is the one hidden away. This is for my quiet time.

Dec 10, 2014

Taking the South Tour Bus for Marsaxlokk on Malta

On day two of our visit to Malta, we hopped on the South Tour bus, which runs a total of 2:50h around the southern part of the island. There are 14 stops along the way, and with the nice hop-on/hop-off arrangement, one would expect to see quite a bit.

In reality,  if you take the bus by 10am, it is advisable to make three stops.  The first one is for lunch around noon, then you get on the bus around 1:30 or 2:00, you travel for an hour and get off for sightseeing once more. Wherever you are along the route, you will be able to catch the bus, e.g. at 15:30 from Marsaxlokk to be back in Valetta by 16:50. The very last bus brings you back by 17:50 (but not on Sundays – check your schedule).

Buses were somewhat unreliable, we missed two of them. One did not show up and the other we might have missed, but only if it had come early. Which I doubt.

Wish we could have stopped here in Marsaxlokk, but we were already on one of the later buses and we still had plans to see the Blue Grotto. This was at 15:30 in Marsaxlokk. It looks nice and sunny, but it does get dark and cooler around 16:20. The photos were taken from the bus as you can tell by the reflection.

Marsaxlok Fishing Village

This is an interesting fishing village with lots of vendors along the water promenade.

Marsaxlok in the sun

Loved these various colors on their doors and windows.

Colored doors in Marsaxlok

This photo shows  the traffic sign for various town names in Maltese. My iPad location told me I took this photo in the area or town of Multigas.

Multigas

Our next stop to get off was the Blue Grotto, of which I have some photos to share in my next post.

I recommend the bus tour, it is the best way to see the island. The ride is pleasant on these double-deck buses, the bus driver sells beverages, and he will let you off on his route anywhere near your hotel.

Dec 1, 2014

Of Churches, the George Cross, and WW II Bombs on Malta

Malta is home to more than 360 churches on just 122 square miles of land. We passed by quite a few churches and domes, too many to even list any names.

During World War II, Malta was heavily bombed, having been a strategic outpost for the Allies. The bombing was so extensive that by the end of the war, Malta was considered the most-bombed nation on the planet. Later on, this title went to Laos, because of its bombing during the Vietnam War.

Quoted from Wikipedia:

The George Cross was awarded to the island of Malta by King George VI of the United Kingdom in a letter dated 15 April 1942[1] to the island’s Governor Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie, so as to “bear witness to the heroism and devotion of its people”[2] during the great siege it underwent in the early parts of World War II. The George Cross is woven into the Flag of Malta and can be seen wherever the flag is flown.

Dome in Mosta, Malta

Dome in Mosta

The best way to travel around the main island is by tour bus. We took the North tour one day, and the South tour the following day by double-deck buses.

Malta by bus

Touring Valetta. We had head phones to listen to the recording, but sitting on the deck of the bus, made listening very difficult during traffic.

Valetta, Malta

We got off in Birgu to take a look around for half an hour. More churches.

Birgu church

Sign in Birgu

The next bus for Birgu was supposed to come by 30 minutes later, but some Maltese have a very different attitude towards time and timing, especially compared to us Germans. Be prepared that buses sometimes are late or do not even show up, which was the case in the town of Birgu.

The bus stops are usually located in very nice areas, so waiting another 30 minutes was no problem. We were waiting in the sunshine! We watched this man throw out his fishing rod for about 40 minutes. The fish were so quickly off with his bait, it looked like he had come to feed them.

In the end, he dumped the remainder of his bait straight into the water. It was fun watching him.

fisher & bait

Touring the island by bus is great. Hotels usually sell tickets, and you also find ticket sellers at the bus stop. They are working on commission, and we overheard a feisty female Irish ticker seller arguing over customers with an elderly male Maltese. Be prepared for entertainment.

North tour: 15 euro p.p.

South tour: 17 euro p.p.

Aug 11, 2014

Longshore Fishing at the Baltic Sea

It was interesting to see the longshore men bring in their catch one morning. It came in many different colored plastic containers, and together with the ice, looked quite heavy when getting hauled up and stacked. I took quite a few photos, and as time went on, more and more onlookers gathered around.long shore fishing

One morning, they only came in to spread out their nets for mending.

mending fishing nets

fishing net

The port in Maasholm was the most fascinating place any time of day. The sky constantly changed its color, some tourists stopped at the ice cream parlor, the seagulls were ever-present (but not annoying), and there was a constant breeze.

Maasholm Port

The evenings were especially lovely. There are beautiful walkways around most of the peninsula. Sometimes we did not walk that much; we only carried a bottle of red wine to the nearest bench, gazed out onto the water, while others passed by.

Walking around the Schlei Estuary

Walkway around the Schlei Estuary

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