Northern Germany

According to the German Rail (Bahn) website, Beldorf has a train station, so getting there by public transportation should be possible and less expensive than renting a car. The trip by regional train from Hamburg should take about 1¾ hr. From there, it is another 2 hours to Lübeck. A Schleswig-Holstein-Ticket (30€ for 2 P) will cover a day's travel by regional trains.

Between Beldorf and Lübeck is Kiel. The city itself was destroyed in WW2 and is quite ugly, but the Laboe Naval Memorial is interesting, and you can visit U-995, one of only 5 preserved German U-boats from WW2. Lübeck as a World Heritage Site is a must. The entire coast from Lübeck to the Polish border is one of the most popular summer destinations for Germans. There are several beautiful preserved towns, like Wismar, Stralsund and Greifswald (all World Heritage Sites), many posh resorts full of beautiful buildings from the 19th century (like the "Imperial Spas", Binz, Sellin or Kühlungsborn), romantic villages full of captains and fishermens houses (especially on the Darss peninsula), two nostalgic steam train networks, milelong white beaches, island without cars (Hiddensee) etc.. Really a wonderful region.
On the direct route from Lübeck to Berlin you should visit Schwerin, the former capital of the duchy of Mecklenburg. The city not only offers the Neuschwanstein of the North but also a wonderful preserved old town surrounded by lakes. 30km to the South of Schwerin is Ludwigslust (=Ludwigs pleasure), the former summer residence of the dukes with a wonderful English park and a pleasant old town. Both Schwerin and Ludwigslust mark the Western end of the Mecklenburg Lake District, also a very popular summer destination. The centre of the region is Waren/Müritz. People mostly go there for all kinds of outdoor activities, like swimming, bicycling, sailing etc., but there are also some sights like Güstrow, a small provincial town with a beautiful Renaissance castle, or Rheinsberg castle, where Prussian king Frederick the Great spent his youth. If you travel during the summer months I recommend to rent a car and spend as much time as possible in the area, otherwise travel by train and just visit some of the main sites (Lübeck, Schwerin, Laboe, maybe Wismar or Stralsund).

You mention summer - what about early September? Do most of the sites and vendors shut down in September? Is the train travel easy? (Everyone seems to say that European train travel is easy and convenient, but we made the mistake of train travel between The Hague and Amsterdam in the late afternoon (packed). Thank you.

Hi, I absolutely agree with the above suggestions on visiting cities of Lübeck, Schwerin (formerly of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), Greifswald, Strasund. Kiel is interesting to see but not very attractive. Laboe which you can access by ferry from Kiel or by train ans bus is very interesting if you're interested in naval history and seeing the Marine Ehrendenkmal (Naval Memorial) as refered to above. Take the stairs all the way to top and you'll see a fantastic view of the immediate Schleswig-Holstein landscape.

>"You mention summer - what about early September? Do most of the sites and vendors shut down in September?" The region is a typical summer destination. Most places along the coast shut down between November and April. September is actually one of the best months to the visit the Baltic coast, since the weather is often still very good, it's not so crowded anymore and the prices drop considerably. >"Is the train travel easy? (Everyone seems to say that European train travel is easy and convenient, but we made the mistake of train travel between The Hague and Amsterdam in the late afternoon (packed)." Traveling by train in Germany is convenient and easy as long as you travel between bigger cities. And if you book ahead or use offers like the "Länderticket" it's quite cheap compared to renting a car. If you like to explore the countryside however and want to see some of the resorts or smaller towns I mentioned you definitely need a car.