Warnemunde, German Seaside Resort Town

I’m writing about Warnemunde mainly because it was so difficult for me to find information on the town when we made a recent cruise stop there.  It’s on the eastern side of the German coast, and the cruise line billed it as a “gateway to Berlin”.  Hmmm…. Some gateway as you have to take a 3 hour high speed train to get into Berlin, and then 3 hours back..  I have this aversion to getting off the boat to rush a long ways a way to see a big city.   

Oh, and that excursion was priced at $300 a person for that “honor” of spending 6 hours on a train to spend 5-6 hours in the city.  I prefer to relax and take it easy, so we elected to stay "local" at the port and the cruise ship.

We slept in and had a leisurely breakfast on board within eye shot of the cute small town that was Warnemunde.  A cute canal full of boats, and what appeared to be a local fair from our dining vantage point.  We disembarked easily without any crowds and strolled for the town along the quay. A quick tunnel underpass beneath the railway tracks and we were on a bridge into the town.   

What had appeared to be a fair, but on closer inspection was a normal summer marketplace at this seaside resort town. Here's a photo of the promenade of shops and stalls.

We appeared to be one of the few cruise passengers that made this choice for our days, and most people we saw appeared to be only Germans on holiday with very little English spoken around us.  We strolled along the boardwalk, filled with arts and crafts, candies, fish restaurants, beer stalls and more.

Here's a little photo of a fish smoker near the fishmonger stall. 

It was the Peppered Mackerel that caught my attention.

 

Darling stall where you could buy fancy gingerbread hearts with cute phrases on them. 

I am assuming they are cute phrases, because honestly, my German isn't that good besides "mein leibchen"

Here's quite the portable set up for a beer stall.  Now how exciting is that???

We walked along enjoying the sights of the shops, the boats and the people watching was fantastic too.  We saw traditional German costumes on some older people and some crazy fashions on the younger generation. The boardwalk ends  at a small lighthouse and a beautiful white beaches.  The boardwalk continues to the west, to a larger lighthouse and more shops.

Here's a shot of the Brick lighthouse. For two euros, you can march up the 400 steps to the top.  Notice there are no shots from there on my blog...

 

We walked back on the regular shopping side of the promenade and visited the local shops and eyed the outdoor restaurants that overlooked the canals.

What?   

Time to stop for a beer and a sit down? 

Don’t mind if I do. 

We grabbed a “curry wurst” from a food stall and sat and enjoyed the beers, the curry wurst and the peppered mackerel. A different sort of picnic for sure, but very enjoyable.

As to the “curry wurst” it’s a German favorite with origins from either Frankfurt or Hamburg (as they argue it out)  after the war when food was scarce. It’s said to be invented from leftover supplies of Heinz ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and curry powder.  As ugly as it appears, we found it to be delicious.
I might just have to blog a recipe for that some day in the future...

While peppered mackerel might not be everyone’s favorite item, it was as delicious as I remembered from my sampling of it in Scotland years ago.

It was a very enjoyable and delightful day in Warnemunde.   

Go if you can… bring your swimsuits and some towels if the weather is nice, and do some exploring and sampling of the local favorites whether it be fish, beer, gingerbread or sand & sunshine.

Here's a shot of the cute architecture on the main drag.

Kahlua Baked Beans

Labor Day's coming.
Whatcha gonna make?
I'm sure someone is expecting you to waltz in with some sort of side dish for the end of Summer BBQ.  Here's an easy one to make ahead.

As you can see from my photo of the ingredients, I own an overly large bottle of Kahlua. 
Now, I like Kahlua as much as the next person, but frankly, I needed to find something else to make with it besides cocktails. 

This recipe from the Seattle Times site last year was the perfect one to try. Of course, I changed it up and frankly, simplified it a bit.

We served our beans with pulled pork sandwiches on pretzel slider rolls, spicy cole slaw and a fair amount of watermelon.  Enjoy yourselves.

 (Pyrex measuring cup shows coffee, but not pictured are the beans, onions and bacon...)

Makes 10-12 servings
Ingredients

1 pound dried beans (navy or pinto), rinsed and picked over
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut into pieces with scissors
     OR, use 1/2 lb bacon "ends and pieces" for more chunks
2 cups finely chopped onions
1 cup ketchup, or chili sauce
1/2 cup tomato-based barbecue sauce, preferably smoked
1/2 cup Kahlua liqueur
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup molasses
1-2 tsp Liquid Smoke
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
Salt, as needed

Soak the beans overnight in lots of water to cover. Drain.
In a large pot, cover beans generously with fresh cold water. Set the pot over medium heat and bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring once or twice, for 1 hour or more, until the beans are very soft but still holding their shape. (The beans should not be salted at the initial cooking stage, as salt will toughen the beans.) Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the bean cooking liquid. 

Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Combine the beans with 1/2 cup cooking liquid (keep the other cup for later, if needed), bacon, onions, ketchup, barbecue sauce, Kahlua, coffee, mustard, molasses, steak sauce, hot pepper sauce. Transfer to a heavy 4 1/2-5-quart nonreactive casserole or Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid. Bake in a preheated 250-degree oven for about 4 hours, stirring every hour. If beans seem dry, add another 1/2 cup of the bean cooking liquid.

Remove the lid, stir the beans and continue baking, uncovered, 30 minutes. Stir and continue baking another 30 minutes, until beans are very thick. Stir occasionally. 
(The beans can be cooled, covered and refrigerated; reheat the next day on a medium-low burner.)

Here's a photo after it cooked about 2 hours.

Here's my awesome new Lodge cast iron 5 qt. dutch oven!  Only $40 on Amazon!  The lid doubles as a fry pan, and it also fits my 10" cast iron fry pan.  Very cool.

 

Here's what I've been making:
One year ago: Almond Poppyseed Bread
Two years ago:  BLT Salad Sliders
Three years ago: Coconut Flan