Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [657]
In Warnemünde, Hotel Neptun has a classy disco, Da Capo ( Tue, Fri & Sat).
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Getting There & Away
AIR
Rostock’s airport, Rostock-Laage (RLG; 01805-007 737; www.rostock-airport.de), has scheduled services to Cologne-Bonn, Munich, Stuttgart and Zürich, plus seasonal charter flights to holiday resorts in Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey, among others.
BOAT
Ferries sail to/from Denmark, Sweden, Latvia and Finland – Click here.
Boats depart from the Überseehafen (overseas seaport; www.rostock-port.de), which is on the east side of the Warnow. Take tram 1, 2, 3 or 4 to Dierkower Kreuz (tram 3 or 4 from the Hauptbahnhof), then change for bus 49 to Seehafen. There is an S-Bahn to Seehafen, but it’s a 20-minute walk from the station to the piers (not fun if you’re dragging heavy bags).
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
The A19 runs south from Rostock to connect with the A24 to Berlin. For a lift, get in touch with the ride-sharing agency Mitfahrzentrale ( 194 40; www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de, in German).
TRAIN
There are frequent direct trains to Rostock from Berlin (from €35.10, 2½ hours) and Hamburg (from €30.90, 2½ hours), and hourly services to Stralsund (€13.30, one hour), Wismar (€10.30, 1¼ hours) and Schwerin (€15.20, one hour).
Private company InterConnex (www.interconnex.com, in German) has one train a day between Berlin and Rostock’s Hauptbahnhof as well as Warnemünde’s Bahnhof, costing an astonishingly cheap €12.
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Getting Around
TO/FROM THE AIRPORT
Bus 127 connects Rostock’s Hauptbahnhof and central bus station with the airport (one-way €9.10). A taxi costs around €50.
BICYCLE
Cycling can be hair-raising in the centre because of heavy traffic, but things quickly improve outside the city. Rental stations include outlets at Rostock’s Hauptbahnhof and Warnemünde’s Bahnhof.
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
With complicated one-way systems, confusing street layouts and dedicated parking-ticket police, Rostock is not a driver-friendly city. There are several convenient parking lots off Lange Strasse. The Warnow Tunnel (www.warnowtunnel.de, in German; toll €2.90) crosses beneath the river in the north of the city and links to the A19.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Journeys within Rostock, including Warne-münde, cost €1.70/4.50 for a single/day pass, valid on the Warnow ferries as well as land transport, including frequent double-decker S-Bahn services to Warnemünde (22 minutes).
Trams 5 and 6 travel from the Hauptbahnhof up Steinstrasse, around Marienkirche and down Lange Strasse to the university. Lines 4 and 5 go from the train station to the KTV district.
TAXI
For a taxi, ring Hanse-Taxi ( 685 858).
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BAD DOBERAN & COASTAL RESORTS
038203 / pop 11,600
The former summer ducal residence of Bad Doberan, about 15km west of Rostock, was once the site of a powerful Cistercian monastery. Today, it’s a tourist town with a mighty Münster (large church) and horse races in July and August.
Bad Doberan is also the starting point for the Molli Schmalspurbahn, a popular narrow-gauge steam train that travels to the coastal resorts of Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn. Catching the train and walking along the coast between some stops makes for a pleasant and undemanding day trip from Rostock.
The Bad Doberan tourist office ( 621 54; www.bad-doberan-heiligendamm.de, in German; Severinstrasse 6; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat mid-May–mid-Sep, 9am-4pm Mon-Fri mid-Sep–mid-May) is a five-minute walk from the train station.
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Sights & Activities
MÜNSTER
Construction of Bad Doberan’s magnificent Gothic church hall, the Münster ( 627 16; www.doberanermuenster.de; Klosterstrasse 2; adult/concession/child under 18yr €2/1.50/0.50; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 11am-6pm Sun May-Sep, 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 11am-5pm Sun Mar-Apr & Oct, 10am-4pm Mon-Sat, 11am-4pm Sun Nov-Feb), started in 1280 but the scale of the building (incorporating some 1.2 million bricks) meant it wasn’t consecrated until 1368. Its treasures include a lovely