As someone who loves travelling to Germany, I must admit, Kiel and Rostock are 2 cities I probably never would have visited if not for the cruise. Kiel was up first.
We didn’t have a massive amount planned for Kiel, pretty much wander around, try a local beer, and grab food. We got off the boat, and walked from the harbour to Hiroshima Park.
Hiroshima Park is beautiful, it’s very central, and surrounded by upmarket properties with ducks wandering freely through (photo coming up, I think they’re ducks anyway), and a statue of Otto Von Bismarck.
After walking around the park, we were getting hungry, so we headed to the nearby Ratskeller, a basement restaurant underneath Kiel city hall.
Prior to this trip to Germany, I had been eager to eat Jägerschnitzel and Königsberger Klopse. Both are dishes I’d either read about, or saw referenced in German film/TV. So I was thrilled to see Jägerschnitzel on the menu here – my choice was immediate.
And my choice was vindicated, Jägerschnitzel is a juicy cut of meat, served with a delicious mushroom sauce.
After eating, we walked around the city centre for a bit and then made our way back to the boat.
Kiel is adorned with many unusual statues (in addition to Otto)
We passed the Kieler Brauhaus on our way back to the boat, presenting us with the perfect opportunity to sample a local beer.
And that’s it for Kiel. Some of the rest of our group went to the Maritime Museum, and really enjoyed it, but travelling to Kiel via boat was Maritime enough for me.
The next day we docked in Warnemünde, a seaside resort next to Rostock, and a district of the city proper. We disembarked and got the train to Rostock where I was extremely pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. My knowledge of Rostock comes from football, where fans of the hometown team, Hansa Rostock, have a reputation of being neo-Nazi hooligans. So I was half expecting to go to a rundown, AfD voting wasteland. Instead, I left thinking Rostock was gorgeous.
We made our way from Warnemünde to Rostock via train, getting off the S-Bahn at Parkstraße, venturing through streets covered in graffiti before reaching the centre of Rostock, where I was truly mesmerised.
When we reached the Altstadt, I was really struck by the beauty of the buildings there. There was a great buzz around the city and most of the shops were bustling.
At the start of Kröpeliner Straße is the fountain of the joy of life, which was filled with children playing in the water when we returned past a few hours later.
As with Kiel, my goal for Rostock was to try a local beverage, Rostocker Beer.
After exploring more of Rostock, we ventured back closer to the boat, in Warnemünde. We started off just exploring the Warnemünde Promenade, and taking in the atmosphere.
As with Kiel, where I located Jägerschnitzel, in Warnemünde I found Königsberger Klopse, and my German cuisine bucketlist was completed (though it’s only a matter of time before I discover something else to add to it)
At the top of the promenade is, Warnemünde Beach, with dunes and a calm presence – not that the town isn’t calm itself.
I was saddled with a buggy, but my parents took Freddie for a short walk on the beach to dip his toes in the sea.
And that was that for my trip to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Auf Wiedersehen, Deutschland. I will return.
