Hanomag safari: Jasmund Peninsula "On the trail of the Stone Age and the Cretaceous".

Those who take a trip with Volker Barthmann can experience something. The head of Hanomag-Tours and certified nature and landscape guide brings technology- and nature-loving guests closer to the island's special features in the Hanomag. This is a group truck with 12 seats, 70 hp and originally manufactured by Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG. There it goes over cobblestone roads across the Jasmund National Park. The eyes are caught by fallen trees. Short break at the World Heritage Forum to explain the idea of the national park. On foot we walk to the remains of the Wissower Klinken and further along the high shore. The view stretches far across the Baltic Sea. The water is as smooth as glass. Sailboats and ferries pass by. The sea shimmers turquoise blue, the chalk cliffs snow-white from fresh break-offs. The sun's rays perfectly set off the steep cliffs. The lush green of the beeches and the blue sky with its absorbent cotton clouds look picturesque. At a vantage point, Volker Barthmann stops and hands out homemade sea buckthorn liqueur to his guests. Yes, this is how they know the chalk coast from postcards. At the same time, he says what he loves so much about Rügen: the nature, the originality, the colors. The native of Flensburg tells of the formation of the rocks; of recurring demolitions; of romantics such as painter Caspar David Friedrich, who found inspiration here.
The next stop is a Neolithic megalithic tomb at the Waldhalle, one of the oldest structures in Germany. Here you can touch history. Volker Barthmann takes out weapons and tools such as axes and blades. After more than two hours, he steers the Hanomag and its crew to his nature experience camp near Sassnitz. Lunchtime. What always goes? Pea soup with bread and bockwurst, coffee, cold drinks. Volker Barthmann is also responsible for running the 20,000-square-meter camp on the edge of the Jasmund National Park. Originally built as a pioneering operational camp for the Hohenwarte pumped-storage power plant, he now makes huts and meadows available to civilization refugees as accommodation. Those who come here appreciate the simple life. More nature is not possible. The nearest neighbor is far away, as are restaurants and shopping facilities. Quietness is important to him. Children's noise? It doesn't have to be.
With a full belly, the Hanomag tour participants continue on to the chalk lake near Dargast, a disused open-cast chalk mine that has since been reclaimed by nature. Rare plants bloom at the edge of the shore. At the active chalk open pit Promoisel Volker Barthmann knows about the history of chalk and its uses. At the Quoltitz sacrificial stone, a huge granite boulder north of the village of Neddesitz near Sagard, he can tell legendary tales. Steaming blood from sacrificial animals and humans is said to have been drained through a channel about 12 centimeters wide. After six hours, the tour over Jasmund ends, which no one is guaranteed to forget so quickly.

Dates: From May to October every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday (for groups of 6 full payers or more individual dates, times and tours possible, also out of season).
Start: 10:30 a.m. Nature Experience Camp Birkengrund (car drivers) or 10:45 a.m. Sassnitz bus station (bus drivers) (pick-up from Haus des Gastes in Binz at 10:00 a.m. possible, surcharge 20 € p.p.)
Duration: approx. 5-6 hours
Cost: 89 €/adult, 35 €/children (up to 12 years) [at the tour only cash payment possible!].
Registration required by phone 0171 74 30 964 or e-mail
Minimum number of participants: 5 persons
Tour leader: Certified nature and landscape guide Volker Barthmann