Warnemunde and Rostock

Wednesday 10th August 2106

Internet is going to be difficult for the next few days, so I will post photos when I can. Tomorrow is an at sea day, so there will be no post.

The ship docked in Warnemunde pretty much on time at 6.30 am. The Norwegian Star, which left Copenhagen at the same time as us was already docked, and their position made it tough for our Captain to squeeze into our berth. Nevertheless, with a bit of patience he had us tied up on time.

Having not booked any shore excursions today, we have a leisurely breakfast at around 8 am, and disembark from the ship at around 9am, to have a look around Warnemunde on foot, and catch a ferry to nearby Rostock. Those have decided to go into Berlin have a 12 hour tour ahead of them. That is the main reason we spent a few days in Berlin prior to joining the cruise.

Warnemunde is a lovely little fishing village, not unaccustomed to the arrival of a few tourists. It is relatively small and has real charm.

On the way into town, only about a 10 minute walk, we stopped at the tourist information office to find out the best way to get to Rostock, the largest town in this area. We favoured going by ferry, rather than by train and having to change stations and get a tram into Rostock city all of which took longer than the ferry ride. The first ferry goes at 10.30am, so we decided to have a quick look around Warnemunde beforehand. First we went in search of an ATM to get some Euros, then to a supermarket to get some toothpaste, and had a quick look around the main shopping area. It was deserted.

To fill in time we walked along the inner waterfront channel, where yachts and other boats are berthed. The larger ships are berthed in the outer channel, but both have direct access to the ocean through the heads.

Warnemunde Boat Harbour

Soon it was getting close to ferry departure time, so we walked back around to the outer berths and got on board. No-one seemed concerned about tickets or payment, they said that would sort that out on board. Sure enough, but fairly late in the trip, the ticket lady appeared and we happily parted with our 15 euro each, for a return trip, which is about 45 minutes each way. There are a number of other people from our cruise ship on the ferry, but a lot more seemed to be going by train.

We saw a few tall ships on the ferry ride

Rostock

Rostock is quite a bit bigger than Warnemunde and in our view not as charming. Nevertheless we have arrived with our list of things you must see, so head off on our way. But first we need a cup of coffee. We then discovered that nothing is free in Rostock, if you want to use the toilet, you need cash, at least 50 euro cents, and then you need to find one.

The place was very busy, as I guess you would expect with 2 cruise ships down the road. Rostock is one of the famous Hanseatic cities, with strong maritime traditions.

Entering the town proper from the ferry terminal results in arriving in University Square. The University dates back to 1867, and located in the middle of the square is The Fountain of Joy.

University square and the Fountain of Joy

The must see item in Rostock, is the astronomical clock in St Marien Church. The church dates back to 1230, and the clock 1472. It really is worth seeing.

St Mariens Church

The astronomical clock

In the new town there is a very large square where the town hall is located. Not far from here is St Petri Church with a 117 m tower that fisherman apparently used to use as a landmark. It was possible to up the tower to the 44 metre mark, but we paid 50 cents for a pee, and moved on.

St Petri Church

As it was originally a walled medieval city a few of the old entry gates have survived although the wall is gone. The most famous is the Kropelin Gate which dates back to 1820. It is one of 22 surviving gates.

The Kropelin Gate

The main shopping area, a cobblestone road, runs between University Square and The Town Hall Square, and it is all pedestrian traffic, and packed with people. Naturally most of the restaurants are in this strip. It was so busy we found a nice little bakery in a shopping mall, and had an excellent bread roll filled with local delicacies, and of course, getting a beer at the bakery was not a problem.

Town Hall

By now we had seen most of the highlights of Rostock, and there is a ferry leaving for Warnemunde at 2.15pm, so we wind our way back to the ferry terminal with not a lot of time to spare.

There are tall ships everywhere here at the moment , and a little bit od research on the internet revealed that the Hanse Sail Rostock Festival starts here tomorrow. Here is some info from there website.

“From 11th to 14th August the biggest annual gathering of traditional sailing ships including 180 participating ships takes place in the Rostock City Harbor reaching from the Silo Peninsula to the Fishing Port, along the Warnow River, on the Warnemünde quayside as well as its promenade, the beaches and the Baltic Sea……..

The Hanse Sail Rostock is a meeting place for tall ships and traditional sailing ships. Thus, vessels are once again the main focus of the festival. Next to the well-known windjammer “Krusenstern” and “Sedov”, a number of jubilee participants and pioneering guests will join the event. Among these are the “Baltic Star” (Poland), two Japanese frigates “Asagiri” and “Setoyuki” as well as the fairtransport yacht ship “Avontuur” sailing under the Vanuatus flag. Moreover, a number of 100 year old ships such as the German lugger “Ryvar” as well as the Swedish schooner “Helene” will be greeted at the sail. “

What a shame we will not be here for another day to see the start of the festival. However, seeing the boats arriving today, or just going out for a sail, has been a real bonus. I reckon we have seen about 40 of them on the water today. The slow internet connections stop me from showing all of the photos, but I hope to post a few.

When the ferry arrived back at Warnemunde, It took some time to get to our dock, dodging the tall ships sailing into the harbour. I really think the ferry captain was enjoying the experience of seeing them under sail and gave way to most of them so we could have a good look before heading to our berth. At one stage I thought we were going out through the heads.

Back at Warnemunde activity had increased enormously. The streets that were dead this morning are packed with people. Shops along the waterfront are bustling, and all of the food stalls that sell the local specialty fish sandwiches have long queues. It is a real carnival atmosphere with all of the bars doing pretty well.

Fish Sandwich is for sale everywhere

This vendor had his own smoker going to keep up with the demand

The main landmark in Warnemunde is the lighthouse, and a building called the Tea Pot nearby, so we feel obliged to go and check it out.

The lighthouse and the teapot ?

Also, Warnemunde is a beach resort, so it would be remiss of us not to go to the beach, to take it in as well.

It has been another marathon walking day, so we head back to the ship avoiding most, but not all of the shops. Everything is on sale and Carole bought a very nice jacket at a good price.

The quayside was full of people strolling, eating and shopping

Now relaxing back on the ship, we have had a great day, just doing our own thing.

A German Beerfest has been organized on the pool deck starting at 5pm. It is an extravagant affair with the Rostock Oompah Band on board a big range of German beers and all types of German Food including suckling pig.

This is all before dinner !!!!

Even the Polar Bear Statues at the Pool were dressed for the Party