Three Weeks for Hamburg and the Baltic Coast

All your destinations are in the Schengen zone, so be sure you don't exceed 90 days, including both your arrival day and your departure day.

Alas, I haven't gotten quite as far northwest as you will be. I've only been as far as Schwerin, which is a very pretty, if touristy, town. This sounds like a very interesting trip. I love having time to really explore the towns I stay in.

In Hamburg, I suggest a visit to Miniatur Wunderland. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but it was the reason I visited Hamburg.

The place is massive and the details of every exhibit were amazing.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/baltic-germany-fachwerke-landesgartenschau

I have already posted extensively on Hamburg, so I won't repeat all of that. There are SO MANY cool places in Germany's north, and none of them are far if you have a car. Schwerin, for example, has a great castle, as does Glücksburg. You've got history all along the coast, German vacation resorts (Fehmarn, Timmendorfer Strand), cute towns like Stralsund or Wismar, the landscape around Plön . . . . In short, you could spend months exploring the region and barely scratch the surface. And if you add in the North Sea coast, you get even more--places like Helgoland or St. Peter-Ording or the seal station at Friedrichskoog.

A few things to look at are festivals. June is smack dab in the middle of festival season. Kieler Woche is in the middle of June, for example. So a bit of homework on those and whether they are your cup of tea or to be avoided will help you make the most out of your trip---either missing or attending neat events.

Given your itinerary I am guessing you are the type to enjoy obscure sites and lots of nature. If that is the case, something like the Sand Sculptures in Travemünde might be your speed. And going inland to the Elbtalaue might also be your speed. Beautiful nature, very much off the beaten track.

Great that you're focusing on North Germany with its numerous fascinating towns. Three of the places you listed I have visited, especially Hamburg and Lübeck, Schleswig too but limited. Keep in mind Hamburg, 2nd largest city, is the culture center of North Germany.

Schleswig is just one of the smaller towns I would recommend, from Hamburg if you intend to do day trip or better still, a couple of days, then I heartily suggest Lüneburg. The historic site in Schleswig is Schloss Gottorf.

In the greater Hamburg area and in Lüneburg are esoteric museums dealing with Prussian-German history should you be interested in that, ie, Pinneberg, Friedrichsruh im Sachsenwald, and Lüneburg. Schleswig too.

On choosing Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as the destination to spend one's vacation time: I remember few years back (summer of 2017 or 2018) seeing on the top floor of Berlin Hbf a large floor advertisement on that topic, ie, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has lovely spots worthy of one's holiday time.

Not only are its Schloesser famous in the two towns pointed out above but also that in Ludwigslust/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the picture of which is on the 80 cent stamp, which was the postage amount needed to send postcards from Germany to the USA some years ago.

I've only seen just a bit of Ludwigslust (very superficially) as the bus went from Schwerin to Ludwigslust in order to board the train back to Berlin.

@ Mignon....Those places you listed are all travel destinations for me, maybe not so much Rügen, but certainly the others, just requires some detailed planning. Aside from Peenemünde , Greifswald and Ludwigslust are future destinations because of singular cultural historical reasons. The Pomerania Museum is located there in Greifswald as well as its university, the 2nd oldest in North Germany.

@Mignon -- You seem to have misunderstood me. It wasn't Travemünde itself I was recommending. It was the Sand Sculpture exhibit, a sort of obscure museum. To be fair, when I saw it, it was the Sand World festival rather than a summer museum. But it was cool back then. But I fully agree on Peenemünde.

@Fred -- I would in no way recommend Pinneberg. The town is flat out ugly and not at all historic. If that type of museum / history appeals, one is far better off going to Glückstadt, which was the seat of the Duchy of Holstein. It is a cute town, has a fantastic harbour that is a bit like Copenhagen's Nyhavn, and boasts a great old town square. It has a similar museum, but inside an old ducal palace. One should note, however, that Glückstadt's biggest festival is also in June, so visits should be planned accordingly.

@ Howling Mad....I listed Pinneberg and Friedrichsruh because of their 2 esoteric museums on Prussian history, otherwise I would not have gone there. I am recommending these two places for that specific reason. You must know the museums there I am referring to. My first time to Friedrichsruh was in 1973, one of my main reasons for going back to Hamburg. Pinneberg I didn't find out about (unfortunately) until the 1989 trip.

True about Glückstadt, also well recommended, as well as Eutin/Holstein and Greifswald too. Simply put, North Germany (Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) has lots of sites, towns well worthy of visiting culturally and historically , those esoteric sites.

@ Mignon.....Thanks for the information on Greifswald, which gives me more incentive to see that city, aside from the two main reasons given above, that of the Pomerania Museum and the Uni. Several years ago the city was recommended to me to see, even as a superficial day trip from Berlin, ...still haven't done that yet.

The same reason applies to going to Stralsund, that of a specific historic museum (Marine Museum) plus seeing the Zentrum of the city.

Claire,
this is a fantastic itinerary. I feel so happy just reading it!

You may have already heard about the German Emigration Museum in Bremerhaven; if not, it's marvelous. A lovely day trip by train from Hamburg. Beautifully set up to illustrate what the emigration experience was like for the more than 5 million German immigrants to America in the 1800's. I also have ancestors from the area who likely emigrated from this port at the turn of the century, so this really awakened my appreciation for their journey.

https://www.bremerhaven.de/en/tourism/museums-adventure-worlds/german-emigration-center-bremerhaven.16186.html

I'm glad you're considering a concert at the Elbphilharmonie. We did this and it was very worthwhile to be inside that amazing building. Guided tours are also available...

I am also trying to improve my German language skills and find that Audible has very good resources, some of which are free, on their site.

Viel Spaß!

Agree that Bremen is well worth a visit. I was at their markets yesterday, but even in summer it's a great city--the beautiful old town, the Schnoor, the harbor . . . .

@Fred : I was not trying to fault the recommendation of the museum, and if it came across that way, I apologise. There are esoteric museums everywhere; the one in Glückstadt is less about Prussian history and more about the religious freedom (Glückstadt still has a Catholic cemetery, a Protestant cemetery, and a Jewish cemetery, the latter being recently restored) and the maritime culture (herring fishery and whaling) as well as Glückstadt's role in the 30 Years' War and the Napoleonic times. But of course to each his own, and if Prussian history is your thing, by all means go to Pinneberg's museum. But if you care less about the content of the museum and more about the town, for sure Glückstadt is the way to go. Or a whole lot of other places.

@Claire : If you get overwhelmed with Hamburg, head to the beach at Blankenese or Rissen or to the Boberger Sand Dunes or one of the many parks. No need to leave the city. If you like Holm, you would like Glückstadt and a great many other places. Stade and Jork come to mind. In fact the Altes Land is amazing. In Schleswig, check out the Wikingerschänke restaurant. And of course check the schedule of events for Haithabu. Near Lübeck is Bad Segeberg, which has a great bat cave and of course the Karl May festival and outdoor set. Worth a visit.

Oh, and Helgoland. This place is underestimated. The bunker tour is all in German, but they are often willing and able to help you out. And it's lovely for walking. The day trip is fine, but better to spend the night, do the bunker while the day trippers are there, then explore the island in the late afternoon once the day trippers are gone. And the ferry out is wonderful.

Again, the trick is timing your festivals during this time of year.

@ HowlinMad....thanks for your explanation. Pinneberg merely happens to be the location of that museum. That museum deals with the Samland peninsula, other than that Pinneberg looks like another ordinary suburb.

Wow! Thank you everyone for all of the feedback and ideas. There is clearly no shortage of things to keep me busy while I'm in the area - in fact too much to fit in to just this one trip. I'll just have to plan to go back :)

@Fred—I actually find Pinneberg (and nearby Elmshorn) particularly ugly, in fact. 😂😂

Bin damit einverstanden !

@HowlinMad....For that category I can easily suggest a number of cities which are fitting candidates, which I've been to....Duisburg, Hagen, Gelsenkirchen, Essen among the worst... aside from Pinneberg.

In Hamburg, I suggest a visit to Miniatur Wunderland. ...

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