Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [626]
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Könemann Schiffahrt ( 0451-280 1635; www.koenemannschiffahrt.de; Teerhofinsel 14a, Lübeck) has two ferries going to, and three from, Lübeck (one-way/return €10/15) daily from April to mid-October.
Regular trains connect Lübeck to Travemünde, which has several train stations, including Skandinavienkai (for ferries) and Strandbahnhof (for the beach and tourist office); the latter is sometimes covered by bus. Buses 30 and 31 provide direct services from Lübeck’s central bus station. The B75 leads northeast from Lübeck to Travemünde.
Travemünde is a gateway to Scandinavia, with major ferry lines sailing from its Skandinavienkai – Click here.
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Ratzeburg
04541 / pop 13,700
Scenically located on an island and connected to the surrounding land by three narrow causeways, Ratzeburg makes a relaxing day trip from Lübeck. Highlights of this historic town include the Dom built by Heinrich der Löwe and a former residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg.
Boat tours ( 0451-793 885; www.wakenitz-schiffahrt-quandt.de, in German; Wakenitzufer 1c) sail from Lübeck up the 14.5km Wakenitz River to the Ratze-burger Lake (adult/child €10/6, four departures daily each way between approximately mid-April to mid-October).
If you’d like to stay, Ratzeburg Information ( 800 0886; www.ratzeburg.de, in German; Rathaus, Unter den Linden 1; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri Oct-Apr, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-4pm Sat & Sun May-Sep) can help with accommodation.
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NATURPARK HOLSTEINISCHE SCHWEIZ
Sprawling over 75,328 hectares between Lübeck to the south and Kiel to the north, the Naturpark Holsteinische Schweiz (www.naturpark-holsteinische-schweiz.de, in German) is the state’s largest outdoor playground. Germany’s propensity to label its most scenic areas ‘Swiss’ (the name translates as ‘Holstein Switzerland’) reflects the park’s undulating green hills, golden fields and wildflower-strewn meadows, and hedge walls dating from 18th-century farming laws. This chocolate-box-pretty landscape is interspersed with a string of some 200 lakes, of which 70 are over one hectare in size. Visitors heading off the beaten track will also find caves, red beech forests, and (if you’re lucky) rare white-tailed eagles and shy bitterns, as well as small green tree frogs.
The park’s three main towns, each in idyllic lakeside settings, are Eutin (www.eutin.de), famed for its baroque castle amid English-style gardens; the spa resort of Malente (www.bad-malente.de, in German); and Plön, on the shores of the park’s largest lake, the Grosser Plöner See.
Plön’s comprehensive Tourist Info Grosser Plöner See ( 04522-509 50; www.touristinfo-ploen.de; Bahnhofstrasse 5, Plön; 8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat & Sun May-Sep, 9am-6pm Mon-Fri Oct-Apr) can help with accommodation (including camping grounds) and a wealth of water-based activities from boat trips to fishing, swimming, windsurfing, kayaking and scuba diving. The website www.holsteinischeschweiz.de is a good source of information.
Hiking and cycling trails criss-cross the park, as does a well-signed road network. Lübeck–Kiel trains stop in Eutin, Malente (Bad Malente-Gremsmühlen) and Plön.
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KIEL
0431 / pop 233,800
Rapidly rebuilt after its U-Boot (submarine) base meant that it was shattered during WWII, some locals admit the Schleswig-Holstein capital’s city centre is grottenhässlich (ugly as sin). There are actually some pretty quarters inland (if you look hard enough), but ‘Kiel Sailing City’s’ most romantic aspect is the water. Huge ferries transport millions of passengers to and from Scandinavia, while summer sees locals strolling the waterfront Kiellinie promenade. And, thanks to some 23,000 university students, you’ll find a lively pub scene year-round.
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Orientation
Kiel’s main thoroughfare is the pedestrianised Holstenstrasse, about 100m inland from the firth. It runs between the Sophienhof, a vast, glass-roofed shopping mall opposite the Hauptbahnhof on Sophienblatt, to Kieler Schloss