Warnemude

[sofaman61]

If we were not interested in taking the long tour into Berlin from Warnemude, what are other places to see at that port stop? I have not done any research just yet & looking at some cruises that stop there but I'm not sure my family would be interested in the Berlin all day tour. we love european history..sure berlin would be good I guess but any other interesting towns/cathedrals/castles/etc in the area that not such a long trip?

Any advice?

[rdnpdx1]

If we were not interested in taking the long tour into Berlin from Warnemude, what are other places to see at that port stop? I have not done any research just yet & looking at some cruises that stop there but I'm not sure my family would be interested in the Berlin all day tour. we love european history..sure berlin would be good I guess but any other interesting towns/cathedrals/castles/etc in the area that not such a long trip?

Any advice?

 

Check out this thread, just below yours with 263 entries on the same topic. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1318728

 

I would add though that Berlin is an excellent place to spend the day and there are private tour companies which do tours there in smaller A/C vans which give a good feel for the city. Check out the websites of SPB Tours, which is running a special for August at $399 which includes tours of Berlin, St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Helsinki. SPB gets excellent reviews here, and they did several Berlin excursions and eight separate St. Petersburg tours on our June 22nd NCL Sun sailing. Here's a link. http://www.spb-tours.com/germany/en . There are other private operators as well, I am most familiar with this one. With SPB, the groups are smaller and the tours can be personalized. This is true of the other private operators such as Alla, TJ Tours, DenRus and Red October in St. Petersburg.

 

Good luck. Enjoy the Baltic. It is a truly amazing experience.

[sofaman61]

thanks for the info, I did notice the other thread after I posted.

I looked ar SPB's website & they do look real good.

My only concern with Berlin isn't it mostly a "new" city being rebuilt post WWll?

[eh2zed]

Warnemunde is very pedestrian. It is a seaside resort town where Germans go to the beach in the summer. Depending on weather you might want to walk to a huge beach. Rostock is not far away and very historic/picturesque for a walking tour.

[Got2Cruise]

We broke the day into two sections. In the morning we visited Rostock on a walking tour. We came back to the ship for a quick bite, and then went to Warnemunde for the afternoon. Hubby took a dip in the sea, and then we walked the promenade and had some beer in a sidewalk cafe. It was a lovely day, and very interesting also.

Warnemunde is very pedestrian. It is a seaside resort town where Germans go to the beach in the summer. Depending on weather you might want to walk to a huge beach. Rostock is not far away and very historic/picturesque for a walking tour.

[rdnpdx1]

thanks for the info, I did notice the other thread after I posted.

I looked ar SPB's website & they do look real good.

My only concern with Berlin isn't it mostly a "new" city being rebuilt post WWll?

 

Much of Berlin has been rebuilt, but it is very historic nonetheless. We spent three days there last October at the end of a land tour and were not bored in the slightest. The transformation of the old East Belin and the dead zone between the two walls which together comprised the Berlin Wall was fascinating. There are fantastic museums, monuments and the like, far more than can be seen in a day. But that is true of most of the stops in the Baltic.

 

If you don't want to go to Berlin, Schwerin is an hour's train ride from Rostock. The ducal castle of the Dukes of Mecklenburg is there and the town is beautiful. You can easily combine Schwerin with Rostock and Warnemuende for a lovely full day in Germany. That is exactly what we did as we had just been to Berlin the previous fall. You can get a Lander ticket for up to five for 23 euro as I recall that is good from 9 AM on all of the trains and trams in the area. If you are off early, you will need a separate ticket to Rostock from Warnemuende at 1.70 euro each. We strolled around Warnemuende until 9 then caught the next train to Rostock and took the late morning train from Rostock to Schwerin. There is plenty of time to fit this all in for most ships have a long port day in Warnemuende.

 

Several have taken the bus or train to Bad Doberan and ridden the Molli steam train to some seaside resorts. It is reported to be quite charming.

 

One word of caution - if you plan on using an American credit card to buy train tickets, ours did not work and we had to wait and get euros from an ATM in the town or take enough with you to buy your train tickets. The DB website will let you plan your trip. It has an English version available and is self explanatory. You may even be able to buy the tickets in advance if you have a few weeks to wait for them to arrive.

 

 

There is plenty to do along this stretch of the German coast. Most of it lies in the former East Germany and was not touched by the damage from WWII.

[sofaman61]

Thanks Bob,

fantastic info.

[Travelanni]

 

There is plenty to do along this stretch of the German coast. Most of it lies in the former East Germany and was not touched by the damage from WWII.

 

Sorry Bob, but I have to disagree with your last statement. Warnemuende suffered the first damage in the area in 1940 and from other raids throughout the war; Rostock was 60% destroyed in 4 raids over 5 nights in 1942 and had more damage in subsequent raids; Wismar was very badly damaged in several raids towards the end of the war, the heaviest being in April 1945 only three weeks before VE day, and to this day only the tower of St Mary's church is still standing; in 1944 Stralsund was badly damaged and the Monastery of St John has only recently been rebuilt to some extent. Although many of the buildings in these towns have been restored or rebuilt and the gaps filled with modern architecture the scars are still there.

The only large town in the area to escape unscathed was Schwerin.

[rdnpdx1]

Sorry Bob, but I have to disagree with your last statement. Warnemuende suffered the first damage in the area in 1940 and from other raids throughout the war; Rostock was 60% destroyed in 4 raids over 5 nights in 1942 and had more damage in subsequent raids; Wismar was very badly damaged in several raids towards the end of the war, the heaviest being in April 1945 only three weeks before VE day, and to this day only the tower of St Mary's church is still standing; in 1944 Stralsund was badly damaged and the Monastery of St John has only recently been rebuilt to some extent. Although many of the buildings in these towns have been restored or rebuilt and the gaps filled with modern architecture the scars are still there.

The only large town in the area to escape unscathed was Schwerin.

 

Thanks for the correct information. I knew it was true of Schwerin, but I should not have extrapolated. All the more reason to consider Schwerin.

 

BTW, thanks Anni for all of your suggestions while I was planning my day in the area. I was on the same NCL Sun cruise with Dave last month, and I know he communicated with you extensively and appreciated your assistance as well.

[NapaMike]

Was there 2 weeks ago. The central train station is right near the dock so it is easy to get to the town of Rostock. Its kind of a cool place and theres a large astrological clock in the church which is the oldest of its kind. The marketplace is nice as is the waterfront. Thees supposed to be an old East German Spetznaz (sp) holding area/cells in a museum there but we didn't look for it. We did Rostock in the AM and then trained back to Warnemunde and spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the waterfront and outto the lighthouse and the beach. Nice relaxing day. Don't waste your money on the harbor cruise unless you like looking at all the industrial plants that are there.

Luft stalag one is about an hour north of there. You can rent a car if you want to visit the site. If that interests you let me know and I can look up a contact for you.

Have fun

[lynncarol]

When we were in port, we caught the train to Bad Doberan and took the Molli (with its restored steam engine) to seaside resorts. You can hop on and off...just hang onto your tickets. When heading back via train to Warnemunde we stopped at Rostock and explored the town...an interesting place. There was still time before the ship departed to see the beach at Warnemunde. A fun day!

[sddsddean]

If you want to know how to do the Molli train and visit Rostock all in the same day for about €20 a person, drop me an e mail and I'll send you the sheet I've done for a few people. Its dead easy to use the public transport and a great, cheap day out.

 

Simon