Above: Warnemünde at dusk, as viewed from the ship.
Warnemünde (meaning Warnow mouth) is a sea resort, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow. Founded in about 1200, Warnemünde was for centuries a mere fishing village and in 1323 Warnemünde lost its autonomous status as it was purchased by the city of Rostock in order to safeguard the city’s access to the Baltic Sea.
Above: The bridge that lead into the town centre from the ships.
It was not until the 19th century that Warnemünde began to develop into an important sea resort. Today Warnemünde has approximately 8,400 inhabitants and aside from the Aker Warnow Werft ship yard, the economy largely depends on tourism. The construction of a modern cruise line centre in 2005 has contributed to Warnemünde’s establishment as the most important harbour for cruise line ships in Germany.
Above: Many boats on the river had been transformed into shops, selling fish to tourists.
For many cruise ship passengers Warnemünde is simply the gateway to Berlin, as many shore excursions visit the capital which is 2.5 hours away by coach or train. I took a tour to Berlin on my second time here and I'll be blogging about that soon.
Above: Collapsed deck chair / huts on the deserted beach!
Unfortunately it rained rather a lot during my first visit but I still had fun trying out a few bits of German I still remember from school!
Above: The Warnemünde Lighthouse, a famous attraction in town.
We were docked until the evening to allow guests to return from Berlin and so the ship hired an Oompa Band to come onboard and entertain the passengers. Upon our departure the port authority arranged a firework display for us which was rather fun!
Above: The Rostock Brass Band performing in the Lido.I'll be bringing back the sunshine for my next blog: beautiful Ulvik, in Norway!
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