Well today was probably the coldest day yet, though thankfully still not freezing. Today I went to Jasmund National Park, which is a long bus ride north of Binz. It is a very protected forest of Beech trees, one of only two of its kind in the world, both of which are in Germany. The forests have remained as untouched as possible, save for some roads and hiking paths. The forests are a glimpse of what the forests looked like hundreds of thousands of years ago.

What is also neat about the park is the hills of the coastline. Chalk. Large white cliffsides made of chalk, which is made from countless bazillions of microscopic crustaceous creatures. You can grab chunks and draw, it looks and feels like any old drawing chalk. There are 2* major outcroppings of chalky platforms sticking out over the beach providing neat views of the North Sea and the beach below. *There used 3, but since it is chalk, it is weak and breaks easily. And in the course of nature’s time, just a measly 10 years ago the ‘biggest and best’ outcropping broke off and collapsed into the sea below during a storm. Another is called Königsstuhl, or King’s Seat, which is also the name of the neaby visitor’s center and museum.

Here’s a view from a small outcropping. It was 100x cooler in person than in video: https://youtu.be/mgYsgiEtYkg