Rostock, Germany - a Tourist Paradise for Young & Old Alike

I live in Southern Sweden. When my 30-something daughter came over from the U.S. to visit us in July we decided to give her a 3-country tour of the area. One of our stops was Rostock, Germany. She decided to bring her friend with her so she wouldn't be stuck with us old fogies all the time, so we needed to go places to please these adventurous girls. Rostock gets high marks from both the girls and us.

On TV over here there are a rash of commercials for Rostock, Germany. These things are the most annoying adverts ever. Animated sea gulls sit atop pylons in the sea and squeak out 'Go to Rostock! Go to Rostock!' over and over and over, ad nauseum. That ad is why I hadn't gone exploring this fine city earlier than I did. Oh was that a mistake! If you are planning a trip to Germany, please oh please do include Rostock, in spite of their bad publicity tourist campaign.

We took the Scandlines Ferry down to the German island of Fehmarn from Denmark and then made a few tourist stops for lunch and drove over to Rostock. Coming back we jumped the ferry direct from that area back to Trelleborg Sweden. If you are not including Denmark or Sweden in your travel plans, then the best place to fly into would be either Frankfort (FRA) or Hamburg (HAM) Airports. Frankfort is farther away from Rostock at about 700km, but if you plan to rent a car and make the drive you will find it one of the best road trips ever. Tons of things to see and do on the way. Hamburg is closer to Rostock at about 200km if you are more interested in just getting there as fast as possible.

Now that you are here, where to stay? Head to the center of town. There is an absolutely wonderful mall kind of place blocked off from all vehicles. You will have to circle around to find the parking garage. When I say 'mall' I mean in the European sense of the word... more closely related to 'The Mall' in DC rather than shopping mall. But make no mistake, there is plenty of shopping to be had here. In fact, the reason I am directing you to this area first is that inside the actual shopping mall inside the umm mall you will find the best hidden jewel of a hotel ever. The Penta Hotel Rostock is located at Schwaansche Strasse 6 and ran us about 150EU each per night for two rooms. This did include a full breakfast and was just the best possible location we could have dreamed for. The rooms were absolutely excellent... but I'll save all that for another article.

The rooms of the Penta ring the inside of the shopping mall on 5 levels. Just outside the mall is row upon row of really cool shops and restaurants. Children run naked through the numerous flowing fountains enjoying the summer heat, while all around is a feast for your tourist senses. Now, about those naked kids: My daughter is a Social Worker in the USA and almost had a cow. She even remarked 'Someone should do something about that!' I could only laugh. You see, this is Europe. Kids are not at risk like in the USA. It is perfectly natural and safe here for them to strip down on a hot day when in sight of nice, cool water. My best advice when coming to this area of the world is relax and enjoy. It really is a different world over here.

The restaurants in this area cover pretty much any cuisine you could possibly be in the mood for. Everything from the blasted McDonald's to high-end fresh seafood is available, and not really overly priced even though Rostock is, first & foremost, a tourist hot spot. Since you were smart and followed my advice to stay at the Penta, you don't have to worry about directions. Just start walking. The eateries are everywhere.

I mentioned shopping, didn't I? The stores here run the gamut from Sweden's popular H&M clothing store chain to little privately owned boutiques. There is even a really cool sex shop right in among them all. (Remember, you are in Europe now.) Bookstores, and jewelry, and local artists, oh my! As with the food, pretty much every price range is covered here from discount places to designer shops. The one thing I desperately wanted to find, though, was a tourist shop. I adore schlocky tourist crap like ashtrays, wall plates, t-shirts and the like. I never did find a place like that in Rostock. I'm sure there has to be one, but it eluded me. Damn the luck. but still... everything else you could want was plentiful.

After a wonderful seafood dinner at one of the outside eateries, My husband and I retired to our room to rest up for the next day. The girls, however, found plenty to do until 4am. Our first clue were the potato chip crumbs leading from the elevator to their room. I guess they wanted to make sure they could find their way back after partying to all hours at the local night club. Wait. What? A night club? I didn't recall seeing one of those! It turns out that not everything has a big sign on it.The building across the alley from the side of the Penta Hotel has a small plaque marking it as some kind of academic building... not! Apparently it is a very happening place that goes all night long. Just make sure you don't start being catty about some German chicky in English thinking they do not understand you... I will never, ever let my daughter live that episode down. Luckily though, we did not get to learn what the inside of a German jail looks like. Just barely though, to hear her friend tell the whole hilarious tale.

Luckily, there are also plenty of pharmacies in the area. If you find yourself hung over in Germany, grab some Paracetamol or Voltarin T... or ask the pharmacist. Chances are they speak English very, very well.

If you are into historical kind of things, then Rostock is a definite hit there too. It dates back over 800 years and just filled to the brim with atmosphere and places to explore. DO hit St Mary's Church. It has a very cool astronomical clock from the 1400s. One of the best views, and a nice historical building, is St. Peter's not very far at all from this area.

If you do stay long enough to venture away from this are you are sitting right on top of the Underground and bus routes. This makes it very easy indeed to get out and see a bit more of this wonderful town... like the port. Oh yes. Rostock sits right on the gorgeous Baltic Sea and has everything available you expect from a seaside town. Here you can find a beautiful sandy beach, promenade, fish markets, boat tours, water sports... you name it, they have it.

While we only spent 1 night (2 days) here due to wanting to cram in some other towns, I suggest you schedule a few more days at least for Rostock. Everybody hits the Black Forest area of Germany. Buck the trend and make a summer trip to Rostock instead. You won't find a lot of other US tourists here, but you will find tons of European tourists. See, it's all about the locals when you travel. They know all the best spots. Rostock, Germany is one of them.