We have moved our cruise to next June and stop in Warnemunde for a day. We have been to Berlin twice so we don’t want to go there on this trip. Is there any where near Warnemunde that we should see. We like old town centers, churches, art museums, history museums, war museums, war sites and old architecture. We prefer to travel by train. I don’t think that we should travel more than 2 hours from the port. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for your help.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
3837 posts
Rostock is a short train ride away. It was part of East Germany and is an interesting small town. You can find a private tour guide through Toursbylocals.com. They have specific tour guides for cruise ships.
Posted by
OP
192 posts
Forgot to add that we like castles and palaces. Thanks
Posted by
Washington DC
27104 posts
It's about 1-1/2 hours from Warnemunde, so not ideal, but Schwerin might appeal to you. Major castle alert here.
Wismar (where I've never been) also looks appealing, but it takes longer to reach than Schwerin.
I'd do some research on Rostock since it's so, so much closer. You'd have a lot more time to sightsee there, without the stress of worrying about making it back to Warnemunde on time, and you'd spend less on transportation.
You can explore train schedules and fares on the Deutsche Bahn website: https://www.bahn.com/en
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6501 posts
We visited Rostock on a cruise stop there. Our ship docked at the port of Rostock, Warnemunde is a little farther north but has a train or trolley that takes just a few minutes to Rostock. Rostock is a nice city, the main port of the former East Germany, with a pedestrian center, a beautiful church with an old astronomical clock inside, an interesting tower and city square on opposite ends of the town, and a pleasant park outside the old city wall. The old Stasi headquarters just south of the center was turned into a museum and documentation center, but was closed when we visited four years ago. I don't know whether that was temporary or permanent.
I've heard that Schwerin is a great castle, but haven't been there. Rostock would certainly be the most convenient place worth visiting. As you probably know, Warnemunde is a beach resort, but hardly seems worth a day.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8141 posts
Warnemunde is a small port city, and it's a very pretty place. We were there on a Saturday, and they had a flea market setup in the town square. The city has a bunch of quaint restaurants, and it's a very restful place to sit and spend the day. Warnemunde is to Germans what Florida is to Americans--"The Beach."
If you're looking for museums and churches, take the short train ride to Rostock.
What's amusing is that I ran into my sister in the flea market--and I hadn't seen her and my brother in law for 6 months at home. And my brother in law didn't realize that his grandfather's family was originally from a small town 20 miles away.
Posted by
Germany
450 posts
Schwerin is great for what you want! It's well worth a day trip anyway, and if you like castles, all the better.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7295 posts
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/12-hours-in-warnemunde
Schwerin is small, but very attractive. It has a large and popular Schloss. Pre-Covid, they had a summer music and drama festival. Make sure you can get back to the ship in time.
Posted by
Greeley, co, usa
2399 posts
June 2022 or 2023 ? If it is a Baltic cruise for 2022 and has St. Petersburg as a now cancelled stop, I would cancel the cruise or ‘lift and shift’ it to 2023
Posted by
OP
192 posts
The cruise is in June of 2023. Because of the war we canceled our cruise this year. We had to cancel in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.