So, this blog is dedicated to interesting activities travelers should do on a trip to Rostock.
Me living in Rostock should therefore be the perfect premise to give y’all the inside scoop on the places to be, right?
Theoretically: yes. In real life: Not so much.
I moved here for college, which – I guess – makes me a Rostocker-By-Choice.
Every true proud Rostocker, however, would probably regard me as a pretty poor excuse of a Rostocker. And thinking about it, they’re absolutely right. There are literally no exciting spots I could recommend to anybody. You see, my life here is actually very simple. I live in my own little bubble, which consists of living in a student dorm, the routes to the ludicrous amount of campuses scattered all over town and Coffee Fellows, the coffee shop in which I spent the rest of my deadline-filled student life.
I mean, sure, I do go to the beach and I do go clubbing but it’s always the beach in Warnemünde, which is downright ridiculously crowded. The same goes for the „Studentenkeller“ a bar downtown, which is,especially on Wednesdays, packed with students that make use of the happy hour from 9 pm. to 11 pm. Although I know little to nothing about the city I live in, I still am strictly against sticking to the normal touristy stuff everyone gushes about when visiting a city for the first time. Because it’s well-known that it’s the extraordinary and unusual trips that make the vacation.
For my upcoming blogpost I will betake the eternal search for finding hidden treasures in the city, so that we can discover the city together.
Until then, I came up with a list of things one should do on a trip, no matter what city you’re in.
1.) Watch people.
This might sound a little crazy but one can learn a lot about the city life, while watching pedestrians. I remember the first time I went to New York. It was the week before christmas, I was completely overwhelmed by the city and visited everything that was mentioned in my travel guide. One of my favorite things I did was ice skating in Central Park. Maybe because that was pretty much the only thing I did that didn’t include roughly another two hundred tourists.
2.) Take the „Straßenbahn“ (streetcar), choose a random station with a funny sounding name and just wander around that part of town.
The second time I went to new York I did exactly that in Brooklyn. I’ve never been to Brooklyn before and I thought that it could be a fun experience. I still like the idea of the random generator thing but it kinda backfired on me. Always remember to be careful and stay safe. I ended up in a neighborhood in which a lot of shootings took place… Thankfully, nothing happened but the letter “to the community“ that everybody should stop robbing, thrashing and/or shooting their fellow citizens is quite the story. So I admit this point might not be for everyone. But if you like to take risks and be spontaneous: Go for it.
3.) Spend some time in natureLook for a green spot in the city and have a copious picnic. This is amazing for the summer time and also an inexpensive yet creative way to have lunch or dinner.
4.) Talk to locals If you’re lucky, they’ll be able to give you ideas on where to go next. That is, if you don’t end up meeting someone like me…
5.) Go to a street market Street markets are a great way to try local foods.
6.) Throw in some low-key learning sessions in museums and exhibitions.
7.) Treat yo self! You are on a vacation. It’s your time to enjoy, relax and forget about your job and daily problems. Personally, I always end up buying way too many clothes and shoes when I’m away from home. But I like to tell myself that I deserve new shoes since, you know, they count as a souvenir 😉