Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [654]
Stadt-Rundfahrten ( 312 6507; €10) Does a 50-minute circuit of the city in an eight-seater ‘panorama bus’ with big viewing windows. It departs from outside the Rostock city tourist office, which sells tickets. Call in advance to check times for English-language tours.
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Festivals & Events
In the second weekend in August, Hanse Sail Rostock ( 208 5233; www.hanse-sail.com) is the biggest of the city’s many regattas, bringing countless sailing ships to the city and Warnemünde harbours.
Rostock is also a venue for the state’s classical music Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ( 0385-591 8585; www.festspiele-mv.de) each June to September.
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Sleeping
Rostock city and Warnemünde have scads of accommodation, including many chains (eg Ibis, Radisson SAS). Tourist offices can help with bookings, including private rooms.
CITY
Hanse Hostel ( 128 6006; www.hanse-hostel.de; Doberaner Strasse 136; dm €14-18, s/d with shared bathroom €24/44, breakfast €4, linen €2; ) On the edge of Rostock’s trendy bar district, the KTV, is this clean, family-run operation, with great facilities and lots of board games. Its popularity has seen it recently expand into a second, bigger building up the road. From the Hauptbahnhof, take tram 4 or 5 to the Volkstheater stop.
DJH hostel Rostock (Jugendgästeschiff Georg Buchner; 670 0320; www.jugendgaesteschiff-rostock.jugendherberge.de; Am Stadthafen 72-3; dm under/over 26yr incl breakfast €19/22; closed mid-late Dec; ) The dorms aboard this unique 1950s cargo ship-turned-hostel are somewhat claustrophobic, but keen sailors might want to give it a whirl. Take tram 4 or 5 to Kabutzenhof.
Hotel Kleine Sonne ( 497 3153; www.die-kleine-sonne.de; Steinstrasse 7; s €52-82, d €104-164, breakfast €11; ) This lovely place lives up to its name with sunny yellow and red detailing, and semaphore prints by Berlin artist Nils Ausländer. If you’re cycling, you can get two nights’ accommodation, a packed lunch, three-course dinner, cycling itineraries and bike storage for €159/238 per single/double. All guests have free use of the wellness centre at the Steigenberger Hotel Sonne (below).
Hotel Verdi ( 252 240; www.hotel-verdi.de; Wollenweberstrasse 28; s/d/studio/apt incl breakfast from €59/79/84/119; ) Opening to an umbrella-shaded, timber-decked terrace is this sparkling little hotel just near the Petrikirche and Alter Markt, with a handful of attractively decorated rooms, larger studios with kitchenettes, and a ground-floor holiday apartment sleeping up to four people. All are great value.
Altes Hafenhaus ( 493 0110; www.altes-hafenhaus.de, in German; Strandstrasse 93; s €64-100, d €79-130 incl breakfast; ) Stained-glass windows, polished wooden floors and embroidered towels give the 10 rooms in this butter-coloured baroque villa considerable charm, as do the beamed ceilings in some rooms, while bathrooms are bright and contemporary. Some rooms at this ‘Old Port House’ overlook the water, although it’s not the most scenic stretch of river.
Steigenberger Hotel Sonne ( 497 30; www.hotel-sonne-rostock.de; Neuer Markt 2; s/d from €79/158, breakfast €17; ) It’s hard for the interior to compete with the ornate facade at this hotel – a confection of stepped gables and iron lacework topped with a golden ‘sun’, which rises above Rostock’s main square. However, the rooms do their best, in tones of brown, red and yellow, and there’s a clutch of classy restaurants and bars as well as a wellness centre with a sauna and steam room.
WARNEMÜNDE
Baltic-Freizeit Camping und Ferienpark ( 04544-800 313; www.baltic-freizeit.de; Dünenweg 27, Markgrafenheide; sites incl person & car from €11, cottages per person from €55; ) On the eastern bank of the Warnow River, across from Warnemünde, this enormous city-run affair has over 1200 pitches, plus 80 cottages sleeping up to six people,