Finding happiness in amber: On Germany's Baltic coast, people go hunting for the precious pieces

DAHME, Germany — Axel Kramer knows exactly where to find amber.

He walks down the boardwalk of the village of Dahme on the German Baltic coast, checks the wind and the surf, looks at the different kinds of mussels and algae that have been washed up, and points to a small bulge on the beach.

Eagerly, a dozen people who have been following his every move, jump down to the waterline, pull up seagrass and kelp, and, indeed, after a few moments one of them triumphantly holds up a little piece of shiny, honey-colored amber.

“Unbelievable. I’m 57 now and grew up on the Baltic Sea, and I’ve never found it before," says Frank Philipp. "I’m really excited about it. Now I’m digging around more and I’m hooked.”

People along the Baltic Sea have been collecting amber for centuries

Kramer, a 66-year