Nordic Walking
Nordic walking on the Baltic Sea beach has, in just a few years, become not only a familiar sight but an accepted one, too. Although Finland, on the Baltic Sea, was the birthplace of the current trend, walking with poles was developed back in the 1930s as training for cross-country skiers.
Nordic Walking am Strand
Photo: © nordlicht verlag
The firm, level ground of the Baltic beach, smoothed by the water, is ideal for enjoying the benefits of this sport, which is suitable for everyone. But the varied natural landscape of the Baltic coast’s hinterland has also become a Nordic walking paradise. Regular meetups draw Nordic walking enthusiasts to the Baltic coast in droves.
Nordic walking parks are not exactly springing up everywhere, but signposted routes along the coast and in the hinterland of the Baltic Sea have become commonplace and part of the high-quality tourist infrastructure offered by most seaside resorts.
Among the pioneers of Nordic walking on the Baltic coast is Hotel SeebrĂĽcke in the seaside resort of Lubmin, on the Greifswald Bodden. Back in 2001, energetic owner Heidrun Moritz launched Nordic Walking Day, and over the years she attracted prominent supporters such as legendary runner Dieter Baumann and Olympic race-walking champion Hartwig Gauder.
A sure sign that Nordic walking had become part of everyday life in the German media landscape appeared in a newspaper article the author read in the winter of 2011/12. It explained the technique of cross-country skiing simply as Nordic walking—but with skis! Ten years earlier, a Nordic walking pioneer might still have heard remarks like: “What, forgotten your poles?” Nordic walking has proved itself and gained acceptance as one of the most versatile activities, burning plenty of energy while putting little strain on the joints.
