This doesn't *feel* like California...

We visited California *again*..or at least, that's what it said on the signs--as well as Brazil and Panama. Just how did we manage such a journey, you may ask? Well, we were a bit confused ourselves...and how do you *accidentally* end up in any one of those places if you are starting out in Kiel, Germany?....I shall tell you :)

We set out for a drive, because we were lent a car. We decided to go drive up the coast of the fjord to the Baltic Sea. We saw an expressionist monument at Laboe that was originally dedicated to the German sailors who died during WWI, but then it was extended to include those in WWII and then to all sailors--military and civilian--anywhere who die at sea.

They also had a sub, but we didn't go in, because we didn't want to pay for parking and it felt way too cold to get out of the car anyway :)

We then stopped at a harbor and, because of the time of year, there were almost no boats in the water. There were, however, all sorts of sailboats on the shore, some with flat hulls and others with deep keels (I pretend to speak sailor..but I am not in fact sure what you call that long pointy blade that goes down into the water on some ships...).

However at the end of the empty piers there was a little gathering of buildings that just looked like an old-fashioned circus--a bit weathered and worn, having lost much of its nighttime magic in the unsympathetic light of day.

Then we started seeing strange signs...what strikes you as odd here?

Okay, 1--it's in German--but that happens to be the German spelling of 'California'

2--underneath, it has a sign that says 'limited Winter service'--meaning, 'be careful, the roads might not be cleared or sanded'--which is, I guess, a sign you could see in the US California, but you could also just skip putting up a sign altogether, because in many parts of CA you wouldn't need it! :)

And the signs just kept getting weirder...

so we parked in Brazil :)

and finally got out of the comfort of our car.

We *briefly* enjoyed the ice-encrusted coast and the clear water.

and then we drove home and were very grateful that we had a *warm* one to go to :).