I'm planning to travel to Berlin in September, then on to Hamburg and from there up to Denmark. We're thinking of setting aside two days to see the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern/north coast area on our way from Berlin to Hamburg. My great-grandfather emigrated in 1861 from the village of Klein Upahl (east of Schwerin near Gustrow), so I'd definitely like to see it, which I expect means we'll need to rent a car. Beyond that, we'd just like to get to know the area, and it sounds like there are several worthwhile places to see, such as the island of Rugen, Stralsund, Schwerin, and Lubeck. Which ones should we be sure to include, and how much time should we spend there? And where should we stop for a night? In short, I'd be grateful for help with designing an itinerary we could do in two days.
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San Francisco
16166 posts
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.