Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [665]
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Getting Around
Your feet will do just fine in the Altstadt. Bicycle rental outlets include the train station ( 625 81) and SIC Punkt ( 280 155; Harbour).
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RÜGEN ISLAND
With its white-sand beaches, canopies of chestnut, oak, elm and poplar trees, charming architecture and even its own national park, Rügen is a microcosm of Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania.
Frequented in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by luminaries including Bismarck, Thomas Mann and Albert Einstein, its chalk coastline was also immortalised by Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich in 1818. Unfortunately, Hitler was also beguiled by Germany’s largest island, choosing one of its most beautiful beaches to build a monstrous holiday resort for his troops. Later, GDR governments made Rügen their holiday choice.
Although summer draws thousands to its shores, Rügen’s lush 1000-sq-km surface area fringed by 574km of coastline means there are plenty of quiet corners to escape the crowds.
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Orientation
Rügen’s main and most accessible resort, Binz, is in the centre of the island’s east coast. Southeast of Binz is the Mönchgut Peninsula, where you’ll find most of the other resorts, such as Sellin and Göhren. North of Binz is the Stubbenkammer area of white chalk cliffs in the Jasmund National Park. In the west is the more remote area of Wittow, with Germany’s most northeasterly point, Kap Arkona (Cape Arkona). Altefähr lies just across the water from Stralsund on the southwestern coast.
The island’s official capital is Bergen (often written Bergen auf Rügen), in the centre, but it’s of little interest to visitors other than as a transport hub.
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Information
Every town has at least one tourist office dispensing local information. Tourismuszentrale Rügen ( 03838-807 780; www.ruegen.de) can provide island-wide information.
Rügen’s communities levy a tax on overnight guests of around €2.60 per person per night from May to September (dropping to around €1.50 from October to April; the tax varies slightly between resorts). Book accommodation well ahead in the busy summer months. Alternatively, good transport links make it possible to base yourself in Stralsund and take day trips from there.
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Getting There & Away
BOAT
Weisse Flotte ( 268 10; www.weisse-flotte.com, in German) operates passenger and car ferries to Rügen. Passenger ferries leave Stralsund harbour for the village of Altefähr on Rügen’s southwestern shore (one-way/return €2.50/3.80, bicycle €1.50/2.50, hourly 8.45am to 7pm mid-May to October). Car ferries leave from Stahlbrode, 15km southeast of Stralsund, for Glewitz (car/passenger/bicycle €4.50/1.20/1.20, approximately every 20 minutes between 6am and 8pm early April to late October).
Adler Schiffe ( 038378-477 90; www.adler-schiffe.de, in German) connects Peenemünde on Usedom Island with Göhren, Sellin and Binz (one-way €11.50) once daily from Easter to October.
For ferries from Rügen to Hiddensee, Click here.
Ferries to Trelleborg, Sweden, and Rønne, Denmark, sail from Sassnitz Mukran, about 7km south of Sassnitz’ Bahnhof (linked by buses 18 and 20) – Click here.
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
The Rügenbrücke (2007) and neighbouring Rügendamm (1936) bridges cross the Strelasund channel from Stralsund onto the island. Both are toll-free. From Stralsund, take Karl-Marx-Strasse.
TRAIN
Direct IC trains connect Binz with Hamburg (€55, 3¾ hours), stopping in Stralsund. Local trains run hourly from Stralsund to Binz (€10.30, one hour) and also to Sassnitz (€10.30, one hour). To get to Putbus, change RE trains in Bergen.
On the island, a number of destinations are served by the Rasender Roland steam train (see right).
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Getting Around
BICYCLE
Sharing roads with cars cannot always be avoided. Ask at tourist offices for the Fahrrad & Nahverkehrskarte map, which includes route recommendations and