23 February 2011

Where to go in Germany part 8: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the first of the former GDR states I'll be discussing. It's the northernmost of them, bordering the Baltic Sea and Poland.

I asked a German acquaintance on Twitter if there's anything to see in MV, and he said no. The state tourism council is trying to fix that conception.

Schwerin is the state capital, and the castle where the state government meets is very impressive. It's a picturesque town surrounded by lakes.

Rostock is a former Hanseatic League city on the Baltic. The town seems to have shaken off its association with radical rightists and hate groups in recent years, which can be a good thing.

Stralsund is another former Hanseatic city on the Baltic. It's got a maritime museum with a giant squid (since 2005). It's one of the main gateways to the island of Rügen.

Rügen is one of the islands in the Baltic, which are very sunny and warm in summer (and temperate in winter). The Baltic coast is a fairly popular vacation spot. On Rügen you can find megaliths, a Slavic stone fort at Cape Arkona, castles, chalk cliffs, and various seaside resorts. This is a place I definitely want to go.

If you like nature parks, there are a variety of nature reserves, conservation areas, and parks throughout the state.

Next time: hopping over Brandenburg and going straight to Saxony.

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