Visit Sassnitz, Germany for an Idyllic Coastal Vacation

Sassnitz lies on the upper right corner of Germany, right on the beautiful Baltic Sea. It is a busy Ferry Port for companies such as Scandlines and is usually looked at as a gateway town. You get there by plane and then drive to somewhere bigger like Rostock. However, for folks wanting to avoid the hectic tourist trap areas and laze away their vacation days lying in the sun, Sassnitz should be your destination rather than just somewhere you pass through.

While my eldest daughter and her friend were over from the states we decided to go ahead and devote a day to wandering and exploring this slow-paced little coastal beauty. It is a small town, perhaps more like a village. The residents here are all very friendly, as you would expect from a tight-knit community such as Sassnitz. The buildings are just wonderfully German, making the overall atmosphere pretty much perfect for a relaxing vacation.

Down the center promenade you can find a grocery store atop the row of little boutique shops. Like most spots we've been in Northern Germany, Sassnitz shops run the range from unbelievable deals in delightfully cramped shops you have to sift through, to top of the line local designer boutiques. Being a coastal town, the souvenir stuff runs towards nautical items like model ships, canisters with boats painted on them, and the like. This is where I made the decision to switch my entire kitchen to the nautical theme... much to my husband's dismay. Hey. I'm a woman.

Now, I keep referring to the Sea as The Baltic because that is what Statesiders call it. The real name of this sea is Ostersund, though. So if you are looking for place-specific knick-knacks and t-shirts then look for that word: Ostersund (with two little dots above the first O - although my keyboard is European, this website will not allow for 'foreign' characters.)

As far as food selection goes, we grabbed schnitzel from a street vendor for lunch, but there were a myriad of eateries available. The sun was so gorgeous that day that we wanted to sit outside. I did spy a very interesting looking Seafood place though and have made mental note to stop in there on our next trip down. At any rate, if you are visiting Germany you really must have schnitzel at some point anyway. Mmmm mmm good! I have never in the past 4 years of visiting Germany had bad schnitzel. Awesome stuff. Once you've had your fill of that, there are plenty of other eateries offering all sorts of cuisine options from the aforementioned seafood to Italian to French... and even Swedish.

We did not spend the night here, but there is a very grand hotel right on the water at the end of that row of boutiques that looked extremely inviting. this one was called The Kurhotel Rugen, Rugen being the name of the island on which Sassnitz sits. Their website is only in Deutsch, but you can book rooms in English via various other travel sites such as hotels.com. It is a stunning mansion-like white building and, as I said, sits right there on the sea overlooking all the sailboating and other water sports.

Although the island of Rugen is very small, there are a few other villages very nearby to Sassnitz if you tire of the great fishing and sail boating. If it is really cool old lighthouses that float your boat, then just a few minutes away is Cape Akrona where you can find the oldest lighthouse still standing on the Baltic Coast. It was built in 1826. Also in Akrona you can find the remains of Jaromarsburg, an historic Slavic castle.

If you crave the hustle & bustle of tourist hordes, then Sassnitz will not thrill you for long... but if you seek rest, relaxation, and love the sea and exploring old historical sites then Sassnitz is exactly the place you want to book your next vacation.