bornintheusa

We will be on a Scandanvian cruise that stops in Warnemunde Germany for one full day...since I do not want to travel 3 hours each way to Berlin we would like to see some local sights in Germany -- have been reading that some people recommend going to Rostock and then taking the train to Schwerin or Wismar or Lubek..since we need to be back at the ship by 8PM I am looking for some quaint little villages, perhaps on the coast or inland that we could spend a few hours in--some that have history and charm--thinking of heading right to Schwerin for the castle which looks amazing (anything else in Schwerin to see??) If I stay in Mecklenburg area I can use the day train ticket. Lubeck looks great but it is outside of the Mecklenburg area I think. Some people say to spend time in Warnemunde and not Rostock... For those who have visited the area what are my best bets to visit via train for a full day in Germany.

lavandula

I have been to that part of the world but I'm by no means an expert - I went there with my family on a research trip in 2015 to visit archives. We stayed in Wismar for a few days and visited Schwerin from there. Both Wismar and Schwerin are picturesque, but Schwerin is much bigger and may have more to occupy your time. You could probably do both in a day. However, if you just did Wismar, I would recommend (a grand) lunch at the Alte Schwede on the market square and a trip out to Poel, which is an island off the coast of Wismar (a summer resort). It is connected by a bridge and I presume (I don't know) that it is serviced by buses. Both Wismar and Schwerin are on the train line.

I have visited Lübeck on a separate trip and it is just gorgeous. Cafe Niederegger, which has beautiful cakes, is a must, it has a specialty in marzipan and you can even drink a marzipan coffee. It also has a heritage stretching back to the 18th century. Prepare for the trip by reading Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks. However, having said all of that - Lübeck is really quite a distance from Rostock and if Berlin is out because of the distance, then I am not sure you would be a lot happier with Lübeck. I haven't been to Rostock or Warnemünde.

I feel I should point out to you that the Baltic coast of Germany, while a big tourist drawcard in Germany (cheaper than the North Sea coast), is somewhat unspoilt but doesn't have a strong infrastructure to deal with English-language tourists. You might find that this is not the case in Rostock (or Warnemünde), which gets all the cruise ships. It doesn't bother us because we speak German, so I am not completely aware of all the pitfalls, but if you were hoping for, say, tourist menus in English, well, you might have to bring a menu guide. The second language of the older generation in those towns is Russian. Lübeck would have more English because it is the former west, the others are former east.

Lavandula

lavandula

Oh, oops, that should be "Alter Schwede" !

Lavandula

quokka

Well, if people say "little villages" they usually mean towns and small cities, and that's what we are discussing here. Proud Hanseatic cities, in fact, at least in case of Wismar and Rostock and also Lübeck. Schwerin is the capital of the federal state and residential city of the Duchy.

Great decision to skip a rat race tour to Berlin and make better use of your precious limited time by seeing places closer to the port. You will not be able to squeeze all three into one day, though. Maybe two. Hence it is a matter of choices. They are all within easy reach of each other. I'll insert links that lead to entries in my travel blog, to give you an idea and my two cents' worth...

Wismar: unspoilt gem of a historical, Hanseatic city. My personal favourite: https://germany-kathrin-e.travellerspoint.com/92/

Schwerin, sometimes called the Neuschwanstein of the North because of its castle: https://germany-kathrin-e.travellerspoint.com/87/

Rostock: far more interesting than its general reputation, but certainly not matching Wismar: https://germany-kathrin-e.travellerspoint.com/98/

chepar

Last summer I was on a cruise that stopped in Warnemunde/Rostock and since it was my second time making that stop (I'd already explored Rostock/Warnemunde the first time) and also for the same reasons that didn't appeal for making the trip to Berlin the first time, we decided to do a day trip to Schwerin.

Since you have to be back at the ship by 8 (and I'm not sure what time you're arriving) just keep in mind that the train schedule for departures to Schwerin are not as frequent as the trains to Wismar (or at least they weren't last July when we were there).

Build in the fact that you'll need to get to the train station in Rostock - whether your ship is docking in Warnemunde or in Rostock might make a difference. The first time our ship docked in Warnemunde and it was easy taking the S-bahn directly to the train station in Rostock. Last year we docked in Rostock and we had to take a cab to the train station, but waiting for a cab took a while and then it's another 20 minute drive to the train station.

bornintheusa

Thank you everyone for all of your good suggestions-- quokka, your blog links were a great help and loved seeing pictures of the 3 towns-- this helped us make our decision==will
head to Schwerin first, then on the way back to the ship see Wismar --will skip Rostock and wander around Warnemunde until we need to be back on the ship at 8PM.....these 3
will give us a great taste of Hanseatic cities.

quokka

Thanks for compliments;-) Have a great trip! I think you made a good decision.

lavandula

Bon voyage!

Lavandula