The writer’s stone / Der Stein des Schriftstellers

A walk in the woods is an important family activity, even more so when everything else is closed, so we are lucky to have a proper, dense Birchwood forest at Eldena, a short bike ride from Greifswald.

A favorite landmark is this impressive memorial stone to local writer Georg Engel. Apparently he was well known in his day, and a large crowd gathered here when the stone was erected in 1931. Shortly afterwards the Nazis knocked it down, and also banned his books.

The main challenge now is getting an English translation of any of his work. I did find „The Philosopher and the Foundling”, said to feature “lively and life-affirming north German characters” - I’m looking forward to reading that as soon as I get back from the rainy forest!