The Local Charm

For many, beach holiday means heading abroad and soaking up the sun from a towel laid directly on the warm sand, on one of the Mediterranean coasts. But due to the tough economic climate (and maybe some nostalgic affection), a lot of British, Swedish and German travellers opt for so-called staycations, so the old-fashioned, glorious seaside holidays are making something of a comeback in these countries. To get the taste of what it is like to have a "cooler" vacation, think of the film version of Agatha Christie's Evil Under the Sun or the Polo Sylt catalogue or Daniel Bergman's Sunday's Children.

In Travemünde, the weather was fair, still I did not feel like taking a dip into the icy water of the Baltic Sea. Luckily, Strandkorbs (beach basket) provide a solid shelter from the elements of nature. Since its invention in 1882 by Wilhelm Bartelmann, the Strandkorb has developed into a cult object and has become a hallmark of German seaside vacations and coastal living all over the world.