An Idyll by a Lake

Having recently spent many hours of our holiday sitting on/walking along /cycling by the gorgeous beach at the end of our road we decided to take a cycle ride into the interior of the island. There are a whole series of cycle routes marked out and we chose one through a wood just a couple of miles from our little house. It was a lovely cycle ride – although I now realise that people have different definitions of “really flat” - and in the 25 degree heat it was nice to be in the shade whizzing along through the cool dappled light. After climbing a gentle hill we came coasting down to a beautiful lake surrounded by trees; and there on the shore was a guest house, appropriately called Idyll am Wolgastsee. After our exertions we thought we deserved a little refreshment and found a shady seat on the terrace overlooking the lake.

Feeling a little parched I ordered an Earl Grey from the selection of about ten teas on the menu and, unsurprisingly, Coffee Boy ordered a Latte. We made a tentative enquiry about whether there might be something to accompany our drinks and were directed inside to a cake cabinet. The selection was amazing: at least eight different kinds of home made cake. I settled on a crumbly looking chocolate one and Coffee Boy went for a strawberry yoghurt tart. By the time we got back to the table our drinks had arrived and I was thrilled to see my teapot contained an infuser full of proper leaves, and to satisfy my obsessive tendencies even further there was a china container to put the infuser into when the tea was properly brewed. And the tea itself didn't disappoint – really refreshing with quite a strong hit of bergamot but, unlike so many Earl Greys, there was a nice complexity to the leaves themselves. With the latte also being of a good quality we were already feeling rather chuffed but once we tried the cake, well, smug doesn't really cover it. They were every bit as good as they looked and the strawberry yoghurt tart was particularly delicious with an intense taste of real strawberries but a lightness that stopped it being too sweet thanks to the yoghurt.

All in all, as the name suggested, it was pretty idyllic. After we'd finished we walked by the lake for a bit and then decided to cycle a bit farther. After about fifteen minutes we stumbled upon a smaller, even more beautiful deserted lake where we decided to have a dip. It was the most perfect afternoon. With only a couple of days left of our Baltic holiday we're sorely tempted to go back. I know it's not always a good idea to try and recreate those ideal moments but with another six cakes and nine teas to try I'm just not sure I can resist...