My first blog entry about the lively Rostock harbour in Spring/Summer served as an introduction, or “appetizer“, for people interested in the genuine life of Rostock’s youth.
In order to avoid possible accusations of being biased: Of course I am! I love the harbour! But the following paragraphs are not meant to be a “Travemünde-bashing“. Don’t get me wrong, Warnemünde is an awesome place: fine sandy beaches in front of beautiful and colourful houses and architecture, good food; and the big lighthouse is a cool signature building, as if built just for Instagram or Snapchat.
However, Warnemünde can also be incredibly superficial, it can be expensive, it can be touristy and it can also be crowded. Although it can be unbelievably packed, the atmosphere is somehow anonymous, like in a big city.
Some people might argue that anonymity isn’t a bad thing in general, or maybe even enjoy being for themselves. But for me it doesn’t really fit into my perception of a sweet little beach district, where people are expected to be friendly, open and thoughtful. Instead, in some parts it can be sobering how ignorant people behave when strolling in the streets or being on the beach by jostling others or ignoring you at the attempt to kindly ask a question, among other things.
The Rostock harbour, on the other hand, is the complete opposite when it comes to the atmosphere. It is less touristy (at least when there’s no fun fairs or the like), and the people seem to be friendlier by smiling at you or leaving you space when you’re moving on wheels.
Due to the bombastic weather these days, people are having their barbecues every afternoon. In case you’ve read my blog entry about the “Hearts and Barbecues“ you might remember me mentioning games people love to play on the harbour.
Arguably the most popular game is Kubb, a Swedish game (though some also say its origin lays in France) that is said to be played already by the Vikings, although the earliest mention of the game can be dated back only as far as to 1911.
The basic rules are quite easy: two teams with up to six players each use their wooden sticks to knock over the wooden blocks (i.e. Kubbs) of the opponent team from behind the baseline. When a team knocks over all the opponents’ Kubbs, their final goal is to topple the king in the middle of the playing field.
If you want to have a more in depth description of the rules, just click here.
Now that you know the rules, it’s easy to join a team by just asking them. When I play Kubb, there is always at least one stranger who asks to join, so don’t feel like a creep when asking. 🙂
