Stop 2 on our Baltic Sea cruise was Germany! In this video, we visited a few Lutheran churches and explored the downtown areas for the day.
In late summer 2019, we took a Baltic Sea cruise on the Norwegian Getaway. Although the excursions in Germany sold out through the cruise line, we were able to easily find a tour bus and hop on. They even had complimentary beer in a fridge onboard! Then we were on our way to Rostock.
During the drive, we learned more about the history and significance of Rostock. Currently, it has the largest port on the German Baltic Coast, making it the 4th largest in the whole country.
Our first stop was St. Peter’s Church, which was the oldest church in Germany. We also learned a bit about the history of Germany religion. Since we were in Northern Germany, most churches were Lutheran; most churches in southern Germany are Catholic. There used to be more Catholic influence in Lutheran churches, but during the Protestant Reformation, things changed and a lot of iconoclasm was removed from the interiors. That’s why most Lutheran churches look nice on the outside but are plainer inside compared to Catholic ones. St. Peter’s Church was damaged several times during its history, most notably during World War II. After the war, it was repaired and large glass windows were installed.
Our second stop was St. Mary’s Church, which is the largest in Rostock. Tourists flock to this church to see its Astronomical Clock, which was built in 1472 and is the only one of its kind in working condition. We arrived in time at noon to see the clock do its thing, the Apostle’s Procession, which was followed by a short service.
Afterward, we had some time to explore downtown and find somewhere for lunch. Our tour guide recommended a good schnitzel spot called Restaurant Hopfenkeller, and it was indeed good. Best schnitzel I’ve ever had for sure! After lunch, we have a little time left to walk around the shopping district and then we hopped on the tour bus to go back to port.
At this point, some people went back to the cruise ship, but since it was still early afternoon, we decided to walk to nearby Warnemünde to explore that town. The weather in the area was usually mild this time of year, but it was record-breaking hot! Soon after since we were tired, my mom and I returned to the ship to head to the pool while my dad and brother Tristan continued to explore for the rest of the day. Tristan was on a mission to find a beer stein and full-sized German flag as souvenirs, and he eventually found them!
After Germany, we had a full day at sea before arriving in Estonia.
