Schwerin Castle Gardens
Warnemunde Shore Excursion – Rostock, Schwerin, Warnemunde
Most cruise passengers travel to Berlin on a Warnemunde Shore Excursion, but we had already visited Berlin previously. So, I decided to make our Warnemunde Shore Excursion a three part self-guided adventure tour to Rostock, Schwerin and Warnemunde. I was nervous about catching a train when so many passengers on the Holland America Rotterdam were booked by rail to Berlin, but my concerns were unfounded. Holland America did a remarkable job in booking an entire train just for their own shore excursion. Obviously it’s something all the cruise lines do.
Rostock New Market Square
Warnemunde Shore Excursion – Rostock
We started our Warnemunde Shore Excursion by walking off the HAL Rotterdam to the Warnemunde Train Station. On the walk, we passed all the empty rail cars patiently waiting for the Holland America excursions to Berlin to begin. The train to Rostock is more like an above ground metro. The train runs every 15 minutes all day long and you buy tickets with a credit card at the platform. The trip took about 20 minutes.
Rostock City Hall
Ooops – Wrong Way
At the Rostock Station, I wanted to take a tram to the nearby Old Town, but I picked a tram in the wrong direction. Fortunately the trams circle the Old Town, so that by the time I realized my mistake and we got off, we were at the opposite end of the Old Town. Crisis averted, as all I had to do was follow my planned route in reverse. After only a very few minutes of walking, we entered the Rostock Old Town at the Kropeliner Tower.
Rostock Kerkhoffhaus
Old Town Rostock
From the Kropeliner Tower, we walked along the old city walls to the Culture Museum as rain began to fall. We continued on to the Fountain of Joy beside the University and checked out the Glockenspiel. Then we proceeded down pedestrian-only Kropeliner St. After a side trip around St Mary’s Church, we ended up at the New Market, which was very empty in the rain. The Rostock City Hall faces the New Market Square and the buildings surrounding the square it reminded me of Amsterdam.
Next we wandered behind City Hall to admire the architecture of the Kerkhoffhaus. Then a few minutes more brought us to Ständehaus Rostock, the Stein Tower and more city wall ruins all within a few feet of each other. The tram was here too and quickly took us back to the Rostock Main Station. Our whirlwind tour of Rostock was complete!
Warnemunde Shore Excursion – Getting to Schwerin
For the Warnemunde Shore Excursion to Schwerin, I bought Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Day Tickets online from Deutsche Bahn. These tickets are an inexpensive way to travel, but you can’t start using the ticket until after 9 am. The train trip took just over an hour, including a transfer at Bad Kleinen that needed to be done in under 5 minutes. I worried that Germany did not have a good reputation for efficient train travel, however this route worked with Swiss precision. At Bad Kleinen, droves up people exited the train and crossed the overhead walkway to complete the transfer without a delay. Amazing!
Schwerin
A tour of Schwerin begins right at the train station with its fabulous architecture and the Grunthalplatz Fountain. We wandered past St Paul’s, the Arsenal, the Pfaffenteich Steps and St Mary’s Cathedral until we entered the wonderful architecture in the meandering pedestrian-only streets around the Market Square and quaint passages like Enge Straße. Then we wandered past a group of buildings near that lake that included the State Chancellery, the Mecklenburg State Theatre, the State Museum and the Schwerin Victory Column. While these are all eye catching, the highlight of a trip to Schwerin emerges at the same time and it’s impossible not to be drawn by the magnificence of Schwerin Castle.
Schwerin Castle – German Only Challenges
We really enjoyed Schwerin Castle, but my German skills turned out to be lacking when it came to everyday conversation and English wasn’t an option. I ordered seniors tickets successfully and understood the castle tour started on the first floor to the right. I didn’t understand the instructions for the second part of the touring, which turns out to have been a return to the main floor and then ascending a separate building beginning on the second floor.
By the time we had made our way to the second building, the sun had come out. The interior of the castle walls were bathed in perfect lighting. So, I went directly to the 6th floor and took a bunch of pictures of the castle’s intricate exterior that faces the courtyard . Then we continued our tour of the castle rooms, but we tried to enter at the 6th floor, which unfortunately turns out to be the end of the tour, not the beginning. After much confusion and two trips through the sixth floor, we completed floors 2 – 6 of the Schwerin Castle tour. I’m sure they were not impressed with us as illiterate Canadians who do everything backward.
Schwerin Castle Park, Friedrich Franz II Monument
Schwerin Castle Grounds
After completing our interior tour of Schwerin Castle, we headed to the Castle Gardens at the lake. This area was lovely and included a grotto that obviously used to be boat docks for the castle. Then we wandered out over the Lennéstrasse Bridge to a gigantic lawn in the Castle Park, where you can find the trellised walkway and a large equestrian monument to Friedrich Franz II. The return of cloudy skies and streaks of rain helped us decide our tour of Schwerin Castle was complete. We headed back to the train station, completed a repeat of our quick transfer at Bad Kleinen and then easily connected with the commuter train back to the ship in Warnemunde.
Warnemunde Village Tour
Since the ship was in port until 8 pm awaiting the return of passengers who had gone to Berlin, we had time to tour the village of Warnemunde that evening. We walked along Alexandrinen Street past the old fisherman’s houses that are now shops and summer homes. The street leads you to the Warnemunde Lighthouse at the beach. The sun was out again and the beach rental cabanas made interesting pictures. You rent these and then unfold them to create a seat with an awning for protection from the sun. None were in use that evening.
We returned from the beach along the harbor, which was filled with restaurants and boats that created a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere.
German Band & Beer Night
German Night on Board
Back on board the ship, it was German night. The pool area was converted to long tables where you could eat bratwurst and drink German beer while listening to a brass band from Rostock play German style drinking music. I joined by shouting out “Eins, zwei, g’suffa” (One, Two, Drink) to the music, while enjoying a Warsteiner beer and Thuringer sausages. So, a symbolic trip to Octoberfest was completed without even setting foot in Munich! I loved German Night on Board and my wife kept looking at me with a “Who are you?” expression.
Leave A Comment