Germany - Schwerin and Molli steam train ride?

[vipro]

Hi,

 

My ship will be docking at Warnemunde 0700 and leaving at 2100..

 

Wonder if it is possible to visit Schwerin castle and then on the way back stop at Bad Doberan for a steam train ride?

 

Thinking of doing this on my own as I think the train system should be reliable in Germany but would like to hear any comments from fellow members who have been there before...

 

1) How long will I need to stay in Schwerin castle? I am thinking of giving it 3 hrs (say arriving in Schwerin at 9 and leaving at 12?

 

2) Anyone know the schedule of the molli steam train in Bad Doberan, and how long it will take (I'd suppose have to come back with the train too)

 

So I wonder if it is something doable in a day or I am pushing my luck?

 

Thanks

[Desdichado62]

Have a look in Travelanni's thread about North east Germany: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1963750

[Travelanni]

Hi,

 

My ship will be docking at Warnemunde 0700 and leaving at 2100..

 

Wonder if it is possible to visit Schwerin castle and then on the way back stop at Bad Doberan for a steam train ride?

 

Thinking of doing this on my own as I think the train system should be reliable in Germany but would like to hear any comments from fellow members who have been there before...

 

1) How long will I need to stay in Schwerin castle? I am thinking of giving it 3 hrs (say arriving in Schwerin at 9 and leaving at 12?

 

2) Anyone know the schedule of the molli steam train in Bad Doberan, and how long it will take (I'd suppose have to come back with the train too)

 

So I wonder if it is something doable in a day or I am pushing my luck?

 

Thanks

 

Hi, to be frank, although this is doable I think that you may find it very rushed.

Given your arrival time the earliest you could possibly arrive in Schwerin would be 10:00. (8:03 or 8:33 from Warnemunde and 9:07 from Rostock Hbf)

The walk from the station to the castle takes about 15 mins.

From Schwerin there is a train every hour at 4 or 6 mins past the hour, change in Wismar, arriving Bad Doberan at 29 mins past the hour. This connects across the platform with the Mollibahn which departs every hour at 35 mins past. The full return trip on the Molli takes about 2hrs. Trains depart Bad Doberan for Rostock Hbf every hour, once again connecting with the arrival of the Mollibahn. the journey back to Warnemunde from Bad Doberan will take just over an hour.

 

The alternative is to take the bus which departs from Bad Doberan station to Warnemunde (see Bad Doberan page of my web site for details) but your Mecklenburg Lander ticket is not valid on the bus.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Happy cruising :)

Anni

http://www.travelanni.webs.com

[vipro]

Thanks both, especially Anni on the very detailed analysis. Yes it does seem pretty rushed, especially when most of trains are hourly so if we miss one connection we will be sitting at the platform for the hour.

 

Anyway, someone pointed out that Schwerin is closed on mondays and so it seems probably not worth to go all the way just to see the outside (or unless there is nothing much to see inside, then that will be different!) so I probably either do Berlin or just go for the steam train