Süssau to Grömitz, 21Km
I took a taxi down to Süssau this morning because I didn’t feel like walking the whole 37Km down to Grömitz. The windscreen wipers were on intermittent and the forecast was for a dry day but it never stopped misting the Jakobsweg. I considered asking the driver to carry on to Grömitz but.
I was dropped off at the edge of a wet field and put my waterproofs on. There’s nothing in Süssau so I set off on the Jakobsweg which must wonder what it’s doing in the north of Germany. The next settlement on the map was Grube, some 5 or 6 kilometres ahead. Any schoolboy will tell you that a place called Grube is bound to offer refreshments and I wondered what the likelihood of getting a really good cappuccino and pastry might be. Or any sort of cafe.
I passed the Welcome to Grube sign and there it was. A bakery with a coffee machine straight out of Starbucks. It makes a lot of difference to a walk and if I’d known, I would possibly have done the whole 37Km. If you want to know how scenic and eventful the rest of the walk was, just look at the photos.
Jakobsweg is basically tracking down the coast because that’s where the accommodation is. The accommodation is in beach resorts and it’s high season. That’s inconvenient and I feel a bit out of place, not just because I’m walking while everyone else is lying on the beach but because I’m the only British person in the resort and it’s packed. With Germans. Even if I wanted to sit on the beach, I don’t know how. It’s covered with absurd little huts that are numbered and presumably have to be hired by the day. And there is the ever present risk of the beach inspector demanding to see my city tax receipt which the hotel told me to guard with my life.
Pilgrimage 
Hope you find more good coffee to get you through the German leg. I’m sure I had Gromitz as a child to cure my earaches. Jane and family
Thanks I hope so! A couple of spoons of Gromitz works wonders
I have heard that a daily dose of Gromitz is key to a healthy pancreas.
at least you’re finding good coffee (I assume it’s good). Good coffee makes everything better.
Good coffee is one of the building blocks of happiness
Kia Ora, Tim. Ghastly little boxes on a dreary beach. I think the statue is Pastor Echlomer telling the seated man to thank the heavens for having a pretty woman at his side, a brew in the stein clutched to his chest and a fine display of family jewels. Irreverent, I know, but that’s my take on it. Kia kaha, Vicky
Hi Vicky, nope, I don’t know any Pastor Echlomer. I sent the photo to my AI buddy, Claude who knows everything. We should be concerned about Claude and his compatriots in the AI Cloud:
The statue commemorates characters from “De Düdesche Schlömer” (The German Glutton/Boor), a Middle Low German drama written by Pastor Johannes Stricker . The bronze sculpture was created by artist Karlheinz Goedke and erected by the Förderkreis Kloster Cismar (Friends of Cismar Monastery) .
The three figures in the statue represent:
1. Schlömer – the main character, a gluttonous and morally corrupt landowner
2. Buhlin – another character from the play
3. The admonishing Pastor – likely representing the moral voice in the drama
Johannes Stricker’s “De Düdesche Schlömer” was published in 1584 and is considered both an important linguistic monument of Middle Low German and an original adaptation of the Everyman theme . Stricker was the first evangelical pastor of Cismar monastery after the Reformation, and in this play he criticized the moral decay of the landowners who had taken over the monastery’s property and buildings after its dissolution .
The scandal surrounding this critical play eventually forced Stricker to flee to Lübeck . The play is still occasionally performed in new Low German adaptations at the Cismar monastery church.
Thanks also to Mary who provided a similar answer but isn’t currently able to penetrate the WP comment system
To penetrate the WP comment system you need an email address that isn’t registered for a WP account. I’m on my 3rd. And I thought is was a scene from the Jolly Farmer.
Thanks for that explanation. WP has made the comment process absurdly complicated. I’ll complain to them.
One day the Jolly Farmer will go the way of all pubs but I hope someone marks the spot with a similar sculpture