Showing posts with label Strandkorb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Strandkorb. Show all posts

Monday, August 09, 2010

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.