Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [645]
Hotspots during the all-too-brief beach-going season include the magnificent strand adjoining the quaint fishing village-turned-Rostock seaside suburb of Warnemünde, as well as three leafy resort islands: romantic, villa-lined Rügen; car-free Hiddensee; and Usedom (which Germany shares with Poland). The charming gateway town to the first two islands, Stralsund, is effectively an island itself, encircled by water.
While you can simply take in the brisk air, sunshine and bracing seas (or take to an indoor Bad – spa and swimming pool complex – for a longer and infinitely warmer soak), the region has much more to offer. The state capital, Schwerin, has an incredible castle at its heart and is among the most striking little cities anywhere in the country. The gracious university town of Greifswald retains some exquisite medieval architecture, as do Wismar and Stralsund, whose medieval cores are both Unesco-listed. And Rostock, once a gritty shipbuilding town, is building a reputation as a party city, thanks to an exuberant student population. Nature lovers can head into Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania’s delightfully wild national parks, or encounter its marine life on boating and diving trips.
Trust the locals’ judgment and discover a corner of the country that is only going to become more popular once the rest of the world catches on.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Bay Watching Scale the spiralling staircase of Warnemünde’s 19th-century lighthouse Click here
Time Keeping Watch Rostock’s extraordinary 1472-built astrological clock Click here in action as it strikes noon
Picnicking Pick up fresh fish Click here from the boats bobbing in Wismar’s harbour
Paddling Dip your oars in the peaceful waterways of Müritz National Park on a paddle-and-camp trip
Night Swimming Stay in a ‘swimming holiday home’ Click here in Lauterbach on Rügen Island
POPULATION: 1.68 MILLION
AREA: 23,170 sq km
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Getting There & Around
Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania’s largest city, Rostock, has an airport, as well as an international ferry port – Click here. International ferries also sail from Sassnitz on Rügen Island. Direct trains from Stralsund serving the German side of Usedom Island terminate in Świnoujście (Swinemünde in German) just over the Polish border, which is home to Poland’s largest international ferry terminal.
Within northern Germany, if you’re travelling by train you can make huge savings with a Mecklenburg-Vorpommern-Ticket (single/group up to 5 people €18/26), which is good for travel from 9am until 3am the following day (from midnight on weekends) on all regional trains throughout the state, as well as in neighbouring Hamburg state.
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MECKLENBURGER SEENPLATTE
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At the doorstep of the state capital, Schwerin, the wilderness area of the Mecklenburg Lake Plains spreads across the centre of the state, and shelters the pristine Müritz National Park. Meandering through charming little villages and hamlets, many roads in the area are canopied by trees that were planted by medieval fish merchants to shield wagons from the heat of the summer sun.
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SCHWERIN
0385 / pop 95,855
Picturesquely sited around seven lakes (or possibly more depending on how you tally them), the centrepiece of this engaging city is its Schloss (castle), built in the 14th century during the city’s time as the former seat of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg.
Schwerin has shrugged off the 45 years of communist rule that followed WWII. Today there’s an upbeat, vibrant energy on its streets that befits its role as the reinstated capital of Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania (beating Rostock for the mantle), and creative new shops and restaurants occupy its preserved 16th- to 19th-century buildings.
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Orientation
The partly pedestrianised