I've "done" a lot of Germany south of Berlin (and Berlin itself). This summer we want to go back and investigate Northern Germany. Are there any must-sees?

We like castles, forts, palaces, medieval artchitecture, monuments, scenic wonders, museums, and "folk" stuff.

Thanks,

Robert

My husband and I took a road trip to Northern Germany in October 2007 as our "final farewell" after living in Stuttgart for 2.5 years. Unfortunately I did not write a trip report, but I have photos from the trip on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hausfra...7603934765680/

Your interests sound very similar to ours. You might want to check out the folders from 20-23 October, when we visited Hamburg, the island of Ruegen, and Luebeck. Hamburg and Luebeck are both fascinating cities, and Ruegen is gorgeous. All highly recommended!

Hi get some impressions of the chalk cliffs National Park here:

http://www.germanplaces.com/germany/...onal-park.html

this national park is on Rugen Island. Before you enter Rugen Island you can visit the citiy of World Heritage Stralsund:

http://www.germanplaces.com/germany/stralsund.html

and the other world Heritage city Wismar:

http://www.germanplaces.com/germany/wismar.html

If you are on Rugen Island it is worth also to visit Hiddensee Island and if you like visit Stortebecker a historic pageant.

http://www.stoertebeker.de/download2.html

thats all for now

>>We like castles, forts, palaces, medieval artchitecture, monuments, scenic wonders, museums, and "folk" stuff.<<

You find this anywhere in Germany.

North of Berlin. Directly north of Berlin is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Schwerin is the capital, with a gorgeous palace. You will find hundreds of castles and palaces in the region, many of them converted to luxury hotels. One of best (besides Schwerin) is in Güstrow (not a hotel). Scenery is gently rolling hills with many lakes.

On the Baltic coast you will find quaint hanseatic cities - Stralsund, Rostock, Schwerin, Lübeck. Especially Lübeck is the epitome of a medieval city.

Heading westwards, the Harz towns are most picturesque - Quedlinburg, Wernigerode, Goslar. From Wernigerode, you can take a historic train up the mountain.

In the north, Schleswig-Holstein is a rewarding region. See my post in this recent thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...l-please.cfm?7

Hamburg has been mentioned as an interesting city. Bremen is also a most attractive destination, with a medieval old town and excellent museums.

Going south, the Münsterland is most attractive. Münster is a historical city with splendid churches, a medieval city hall (where the Westphalian Treaty was negotiated), a good open-air museum (Mühlenhof) and many nice restaurants. In the region, you find some of Germany's best castles (e.g. Nordkirchen and Vischering).

Düsseldorf is a city with excellent modern art museums and a lot of lifestyle.

Köln has rich Roman and medieval heritage.

Aachen has Germany's most significant cathedral (dating from 800 A.D.) and a medieval city hall.

I notice that I am currently writing a guidebook.., do some research and ask more specific questions.

ttt

A boat tour of Hamburg harbor, the miniature museum in Hamburg, the Dom in Koln, the town square in Bremen, just to name a memorable few.

Gradyghost

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I have already been to Aachen and Cologne.

When I went to the Schwerin Palace website, there were links to Guestrow Palace and Ludwigslust (but only in German). Are they nearby? Worth seeing?

If I want to see one medieval town (the Rothenberg of the north, so to speak), which would it be?

The "Rothenburg of the North" would be Wernigerode.

http://www.wernigerode.de/

Or the neighboring town Quedlinburg:

http://www.quedlinburg.de/

Re Güstrow and Ludwigslust. On a scale from 1 to 5 stars, I would rank Schwerin 4.5 stars, Ludwigslust 3 stars and Schloss Güstrow 2.5 stars. Ludwigslust has fine gardens and is an impressive building. In Güstrow, beyond the palace, the city center has a historic feel, a fine gothic cathedral and a museum devoted to sculptures of Ernst Barlach. Thus the City of Güstrow would deserve 3.5 stars. I hope this helps. Driving time from Schwerin to Güstrow is one hour and from Schwerin to Ludwigslust 40 minutes.

Some more "Rothenburgs" would be Hameln (Hamelin) - you probably know the Pied Piper story - and the other small towns on River Weser upstream, like Bad Karlshafen or Hann. Münden. They are all part of the Fairy Tale Road whose Central section follows the Weser and is a scenic drive. Also many castles and manors along the way.

http://www.hameln.com/tourism/index.htm
http://www.725-jahre-rattenfaenger.de/

We are also driving northern Germany in Apr.-May.Berlin-Rostock-Luebeck-Hamburg-Bremen- Berlin.
Responses to your inquiry have been very helpful.
We would be happy to give you our input when we get home.
We also like Restaurants and Hotels that are different.

For hotels, this is usually a good bet:

www.romantikhotels.com

habroms, I will have set my itinerary by then, but I'd still like to hear about your trip, as, I'm sure, would others.

I just discovered that you can type in things like "schloss guestrow, germany" on google maps and it takes you right there. So, I was easily able to see the location of these 3 palaces.

It seems Berlin - Ruegen -- Rostock -- Luebeck -- Schloss Schwerin -- Schloss Ludwigslust -- Berlin would be a nice circular route.

Would this be doable in 16 days?

>>Would this be doable in 16 days?

depends on how much time you'd like to spend in each place. anyway, if you're flexible and can expand your stay by a few days, you could create a "real" circular route like that: berlin - rügen/stralsund - rostock - wismar - schwerin - lübeck - hamburg - celle - hanover/hamelin - harz mountains/goslar/wernigerode/quedlinburg - potsdam - berlin.

in any event, as you're planning to see lübeck, you should not leave ot hamburg which is right around the corner. another "rothenburg of the north" is the city of celle (just north of hannover), as well as goslar. the harz mountains have picturesque towns and villages and a lot of medieval and folk stuff, including an extensive narrow gauge steam train network. so these mountains are worth the "detour".

I was under the impression that Hamburg was totally destroyed in a fire-bombing raid in the war. I wouldn't imagine there's much of anything pre-war there. Is this correct?

Not true! Although it is always hard to tell the difference between what was preserved vs. reconstructed, Hamburg has some lovely old merchant houses and warehouses along the canals. And even in the newer shopping districts there are some beautiful old buildings. See photos at my Flickr link above. I was only there for a day but I'm sure others can elaborate on what is there...

hamburg has lots of attractions, including
-the warehouse district accommodating a number of museums and the world's largest model railway,
-the jungernstieg boulevard and adjacent alster river where a boat tour is recommended,
-mönckeberg street, which is hamburg's famous shopping street,
-famous reeperbahn in st. pauli, which is hamburgs renowned red-light district,
-a number of churches, inclduing st. michaelis with its landmark tower.
To get an overview of Hamburg, you may try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg

Thank you for the suggestions. I'm getting ready to nail down reservations for hotels and restaurants. Any info on outstanding places?

Here's an excerpt on Hamburg from my report of restaurants in Northern Germany cities two years ago:

(6) Die fischkueche
Kajen 12

The restaurant was an easy walk from our hotel (The Madison). We liked it so much that we returned for a second visit. The Dover sole is to die for, and the staff is especially friendly.

(7) Cafe Paris
near the Rathaus

This restaurant was suggested by HSV and prompted us to have lunch there twice. A wonderful atmosphere reminiscent of the left bank. Try the seafood soup and be sure to check on the plat du jour.

maybe the hamburg fischmarkt (fish market) could be on option. open on sunday mornings 5 a.m. - 10 a.m., they're selling everything there, including fish... the fish market has been existing for over 300 years.

We will be arriving by cruise ship this August in Warnamunde. We have 14 hours in port and want explore. Please help us decide what is the best way to spend our day.

Drive to the Island of Ruegen and visit the chalk cliff and National Park. Stop at the World Heritage sites of Stralsund and Wismar..

Or take the train to Lubeck and Rostock.

We love history and nature, driving is not a problem. Just need to decide what direction will be best to experience. thanks