Bad Doberan Klostergarten

Friday nights show was in the concert hall of the Klostergarten in Bad Doberan which is on the north coast of Germany just 10 minutes drive from the Baltic.

A monastery was founded here in the 12th century followed by an abbey church in the 13th century. The church is huge and has undergone many “modernisations” during the ages.

Ray has already played here twice so he was asked to play a completely different set. As can be seen from the set list, he had not played many of these songs on the tour so far. There were three new songs in the first set with a new instrumental, The Leap, in the second.

The hall was packed full with extra chairs needed to be brought out.

We were able to stay in the guest house, right next door to the concert hall which was originally used as the storehouse for the monastery. When Ray toured during covid times, he played an outdoor concert here with the floodlit storehouse wall behind the stage.

The ruined monastery buildings.

View over the herb garden looking at the old storehouse on the left and the guesthouse on the right.

Heiligendamm is just 7km away from Bad Doberan. Founded in 1793, it is the oldest seaside spa in continental Europe. It was favoured by the aristocracy after the health benefits of sea bathing were imported from England. There is a steam railway, known as the “Molli“, connecting it to Bad Doberan. The resort is dominated by the five-star Grand Hotel which is said to be one of the best hotels in Germany.

We drove to Heiligendamm to take a look and Ray had a dip in the Baltic.