Sheila's Ports of Call Guides: The Beautiful Baltics, Part 1: Wonderful Warnemunde

Warnemunde, Germany (pronounced "Var-nah-moon-duh") is the port of call for Berlin, which is about 3 hours away by bus. There are many excursions available to Berlin, and most last all day since it takes so long to get there. If you don't want to venture that far into Germany, there are other places to see that are closer, like Schwerin, for instance; and if you don't feel like going far at all you can take a very short train ride to Rostock, or you can just hang out in Warnemunde. I would be willing to bet that most passengers on our cruise went to Berlin, because the ship seemed quite empty until the late evening, and then you saw many people walking around looking absolutely exhausted.

My travel companion and I didn’t want to take the long trip to Berlin this time so we decided to go somewhere a little closer. One of the great things about the port in Warnemunde is that the train station is a very short walk from when you get off the ship. In the photo above to the left you can see a line of people walking from the ship to the train station. We took the train from Warnemunde to Rostock, and then from there bought tickets to Schwerin (pronounced "Shway-reen") so we could go to see the castle there. I wasn't sure how long the train ride would be to Rostock and I asked a lady sitting near us how far the Rostock station was, but she didn't speak English. Nevertheless, we arrived at Rostock safely by watching the signs as we arrived at each station.

We arrived at Rostock station on the lower level and had to go upstairs in order to find someone who spoke English and who could help us buy our tickets to Schwerin because I had trouble figuring out which train we needed to take from the signs on the lower level. The lady at the DB Service Point counter was very nice and we got our tickets promptly. Once we bought our tickets to Schwerin Mitte station, which is the closest train station to the castle, we had a bit of a wait so we walked around the immediate area of the station, but there really isn’t much there other than a pharmacy and a few other shops.

The photo on the below on the left is the front of the Rostock train station.

The train to Shwerin Mitte station took about an hour, and it turns out that the cars have a digital display telling you the next stop so it really is easy to navigate. I was a little worried about how exactly to get to the castle after we arrived at Shwerin Mitte, but it actually turned out to be a piece of cake.

After you get off the train, you take the stairs up to the street level and turn right. Ahead of you is a shopping center called Schlosspark Center, and if you walk in that direction, you eventually will cross a parking lot and you can enter the mall from there. Once inside the mall, you turn to the right and walk all the way down to the end. When you exit the mall doors at the street level, you will face a street called Schlossstrasse that leads directly to the castle. You walk straight down that street for about a mile and the castle is right there. You turn right at the castle and walk around to the side to the entrance. Entrance fee is 6 euro per person and an audiogude is another 2 euro. There were a fair number of rooms to see but most had no furniture, or the furniture that was there was not authentic. Overall the castle was interesting to see but not a major attraction and it does not compare with other castles in Germany, such as Linderhoff or Neuschwanstein.


After touring the castle we started heading back to the train station, but as the train to Rostock is every two hours, we had more than 90 minutes to kill before the next train, so we explored. We found a lot of stores on streets right off the Schlossstrasse, so we shopped a little and then we found a great little café in which to have lunch. We had pork medallions, fried potato dumplings stuffed with sour cream and cheese, and salad. It was delicious and it was a nice way to relax and soak up some German atmosphere. Our waitress did not speak English so we had to gesture and point, although she did understand us enough to give us a menu translated with English, and luckily we had Euros on hand because the restaurant did not accept credit cards.

To get back to the train station, you go back down the same street from the castle, enter the mall, go all the way down to the other end, turn left, and take the elevators to the top floor of the parking structure. Exit the elevator, then find a gate leading to the sidewalk. Follow the sidewalk until you can turn right and you will see the train station. At the station, look at the platforms below and you should be able to see on which track the train back to Rostock will be arriving. As I said earlier, the train back to Rostock from Schwerin Mitte station only runs every two hours, so you need to plan your day accordingly if you want to visit Schwerin by train. The ride back to Rostock was pleasant, and this time when we arrived at the station, we easily found the right track for the train back to Warnemunde. When you arrive back in Warnemunde, you can take the tunnel that goes under the tracks and keep going straight and that will lead to you to the port area, where you turn right and you should see your ship docked there.

Another couple of notes about our day: it was mid-May when we were in port and the temperatures were in the high 40s/low 50s, so if you visit this area around that time of year, be prepared and dress in layers. Also, we did not encounter many people who spoke English outside of shops and attractions, so communication could be a problem if you don't speak German.

Overall, my travel companion and I had a great time on our adventure to Shwerin and we thoroughly enjoyed our day. I've heard from other travelers that Rostock is a nice place to hang out and sightsee, and I think next time I go to Warnemunde I will do that; but for now, I consider Warnemunde to be quite wonderful.