The second day of my Delicious Drive road trip with Hertz started off with breakfast at the Strandhotel Heringsdorf. On offer was a lavish breakfast buffet with tasty homemade jams – the perfect refreshment to kick-start a new day by the Baltic Sea.

I had a full schedule for the day, starting with a visit to Karls Erdbeerhof (Karl’s strawberry farm) in Koserow. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans, so I couldn’t take advantage of my convertible Ford Mustang. This was supposed to improve over the course of the day, so hopefully I’d be able to show off the car’s open top… a choice set of wheels from the Hertz Fun Collection.

Karls Erdbeerhof is a mixture of farm shop, factory, restaurant and fairground, where everything revolves around strawberries. Located on the outskirts of Koserow, it’s the ideal place to take the whole family – and it’s free to visit. In the shop, I stocked up on homemade strawberry jam and strawberry-flavoured sweets which I watched being made in the glass factory.

Loaded with sweets, I continued to the Alte Feuerwehr or “Old Fire Station” – a garden café in the heart of Usedom directly opposite Kirche in Benz, the cherished Evangelical church – a small hideaway that invites you to relax and enjoy its cosy, warm atmosphere. My stay was made sweeter still by a delightful gooseberry and meringue tart, accompanied by typical German Schlager music pouring from the loudspeakers. The café’s homemade blackberry-lavender vinegar/oil made for an unmissable souvenir.

On my way to Kurhaus Binz, the hotel on the island of Rügen where I’d be staying the night, I took the iconic Ford Mustang on a short detour to the Susi Erler pottery studio where, in the middle of the small town of Mellenthin, traditional Pomeranian ceramics are made with love. Whether you’re looking for something for the garden, balcony or terrace, this is the place to find a special gift from the north. I got myself a beautiful handmade Pomeranian lamp as a souvenir.

As a rather overcast day came to an end, the sun finally made an evening appearance in Rügen and the convertible Ford Mustang, at long last, could show off its first-class capabilities. Driving towards Kurhaus Binz with the top down was a real highlight. I made a short, spontaneous stop along the way at “Wasserschloss Mellenthin,” a castle complex built in 1575 in the middle of Usedom Nature Park. At such a late hour, the sun’s rays lit up the main building, inviting me to stay and explore this impressive castle. Unfortunately, there wasn’t quite enough time to explore the entire castle and its grounds, so I only managed to make my way to the brewery on the right-hand side of the complex. With a bottle of the castle’s famous herb liquor in my backpack, I carried on my journey towards the hotel.

I parked my Ford Mustang in the hotel’s handy and secure underground car park. At the luxury hotel, which belongs to the Travel Charme hotel group, my room was directly on the boardwalk, not far from the pier – where I spent the rest of the evening.

In search of culinary delights for dinner, one of the local islanders recommended Strandhalle Binz, the first restaurant in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to be awarded the “So schmeckt Mecklenburg-Vorpommern” seal of approval for outstanding regional cuisine. The 3-course menu, with a fish main course, was the perfect way to round off the day.