i stayed at this hotel many nights during a period of time i was working in this weird-ass state of…read moremecklenburg. when i needed a break this was the place to go because it's on the shore of a large inland "sea" and it's really pretty here. there's a lot of old villages and towns in the outer edges of this remote state where they still aren't sure exactly why the kids aren't learning russian anymore as a second language. the polish border is close by in more ways than one, and an enterprising sort of person can get into a lot of cultural trouble in just a few hours' drive. so to say the least this is a kind of place where you can catch your breath before jumping off to or coming back from forays into further eastern europe. this time it's to pack up and head west. the kleines meer is a small hotel directly in the altstadt of waren, which is exactly where i always stay in europe. i'm essentially a city boy, drawn to these little pockets of people like a moth to candlelight. why in hell stay out in the country, isolated in some refurbished schloss with the bourgeois swells when you can run into all kinds of odd everyday people just a short walk from a place like this. the harbor, bars and maybe a mausefalle or two (go figure) are a few blocks one way and the town square about the same distance the other. the best beer is czech, rooms are big enough for two cozy people, and always get a room on the waterside although if you like dark old towering churche steeples that's the view on the other. i've stayed in both, this time on the water, nice even in winter. english capability ain't the greatest other than at the front desk, which really is as far as it needs be and anyway if you can't at least hack it a bit why did you even come this far from berlin anyway? i do admit to a certain weariness relying on my hackneyed, or more acccurately hacked, german after a few weeks traveling but we're heading west now. all through i've kept my personal sensibilities intact despite how upbeat germans get when santa claus is on the way. but we all need our frames of reference when away from home and here's mine. yesterday i tuned in for the first time in weeks, so i know i'm ready to leave this old world medievalism. you may like it depending on your musical bent. all i need is wifi and anywhere i am i'm good as home, my next stop. https://www.internet-radio.com/station/bellyup4blues/ rock on