Two-day itinerary Berlin to Hamburg through Mecklenburg-Vorpommern?

Great that you are going to Mecklenburg to see the place of your relative's origin. In 1861 his village was in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , one of the two Mecklenburgs, the other was at this time, ie until 1919 , Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

If you end up renting a car, all the better as a means of exploring the back roads country of Mecklenburg. I heartily recommend the cities you list, especially Schwerin , a lovely town with its Zentrum and Altstadt, I was there last summer as a day trip from Hamburg, much more efficient that way instead of doing it from Berlin, an eye-opener, pleasant, enlightening. This coming trip will see me back in Schwerin on another day trip.

When you're in Schwerin, you know you are not in western Germany, such as in Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, etc. ...a totally different feel in Schwerin. Very true this area has numerous places worthy of your time and energy exploring, it just depends how much you want to devote tracking these singular sites.

Stralsund is uniquely interesting because it didn't become "German" ie become part of Prussia until after the final defeat of Napoleon. Stralsund was part of Swedish Pomerania until 1815.

I would recommend Greifswald too. For a small place, see Ludwigslust, ie Schloss Ludwigslust.

If you do have a rental car and want "to get to know the area" presumably not too far from Schwerin , going to Ludwigslust is very doable.

Several years ago Schloss Ludwigslust was on a German stamp of 90 cents, which was the Euro postage needed to send post cards to the US. I went to the Post Office to do just that.

Little detour from Berlin via Schwerin and Lübeck to Hamburg

See Wismar Boltenhagen Travemünde on the way

Rügen and Stralsund is really a separate trip.

Otherwise, as Uwe suggests. I've been to Schwerin and Wismar (from Lübeck) in the same day - doable but pretty hectic. I like Travemünde for a mellow few hours, but it has a very specific vibe typical of a certain type of German coastal town, just with the odd much bigger ship - if you want major sights then probably not necessary. Same with Boltenhagen. Or pick one.

I'd suggest overnighting in Schwerin. Or possibly Wismar, depending on the route and how many coastal stops you want.

Going through Ludwigslust from Berlin before Schwerin seems viable on a map but I'm a non-driver - someone with road experience will need to say if that actually works. (Though unfortunately it's the wrong direction for Klein Upahl.)

The time I saw Ludswigslust was taking that bus from Schwerin to Ludwigslust to get the train to Berlin Ostbahnhof (the terminus) , just a snapshot of the little town of Ludwigslust seeing it from the bus but enough to pique the curiosity to go back for a slower on foot exploration.

Well, yes - I also used public transport for Ludwigslust and it was fine. But given that, realistically, the OP will need a car or a driver for their familial village (which is connected by bus, but barely and would take forever when time is limited), I hesitate to recommend a route I have no idea about.

Thanks to all for these suggestions! As Snoozy suggests, it looks like we will have to give up on Rugen, unfortunately, although I have heard it's beautiful. Is Ludwigslust a must-see? It's true that it's tricky to combine it with stopping off at Klein Upahl. We could do Berlin - Ludwigslust - Schwerin - Klein Upahl - Wismar and stay overnight in Wismar, then Wismar - Lubeck - Hamburg the next day. Would that be a good plan, or would it be better to stay overnight in Schwerin?

If you're pressed for time, I mean, really so, skip Ludwigslust this time, spend the time in Schwerin.

I found it captivating, fascinating as repects to the churches, the architecture, the atmosphere to which mentioned above, , within the realm of the city's historical and cultural heritage and history. Explore the Zentrum and the old city (Altstadt) That Victory Column (Siegessäule) in from the Schloss is very revealing , something similar is also situated in Eutin/Holstein, west of Mecklenburg.

In North German language culture Mecklenburg has a comical , ie in this sense, reputation. The exact verbatim quotation escapes me here but the direct message has to do with the end of the world. , " der Weltuntergang" is used in the original quotation. What is conveyed is as follows: If the end of the world is upon us, then I am taking off to Mecklenburg as everything there is 20 years behind.

Some tricky choices. If you don't want to criss-cross around Schwerin, then one of the following might make more sense on the map [check the actual driving routes, though - I have no idea there]:

A:

• Day 1: Berlin - Klein Upahl - Schwerin. If you have time and the weather cooperates then you could go to Ludwigslust in the afternoon from Schwerin, but you could decide more or less on the day. Overnight in Schwerin.

• Day 2: Schwerin - Wismar - Lübeck - Hamburg

B:

• Day 1: Berlin - Klein Upahl - Schwerin - Wismar. Overnight in Wismar.

• Day 2: Wismar - Boltenhagen (if interested) - Lübeck - Hamburg.

C: the no-frills version

• Day 1: Berlin - Klein Upahl - Schwerin. Overnight there.

• Day 2: Schwerin - Lübeck - Hamburg.

It will depend on your interests (and the weather) - castles, museums, beaches/coast, lakes, formal parkland, wandering through well-preserved courtyards and alleys, marzipan, literary or political history... - but you can't really go too far wrong.