I was born and raised in Northern Germany. My mother is Hungarian, my father is German and due to my father’s profession, we travelled a lot when I was little. So whenever I am on the road or at an airport I feel happy.
I left Germany when I was 25 and now I have lived for almost 19 years in Barcelona. I married and had two wonderful children.
I miss my home country. I always thought that one day I would go back but, to be honest, I am not sure if I would fit in there anymore as I have spent so much time abroad.
It did, however, become very important to me that my kids would learn my mother tongue and that they would spend part of their holidays back where I was raised. I wanted them to learn about German culture and see where I grew up.
Last summer we decided to take a trip with the kids to the Baltic Sea, mainly to Schleswig-Holstein. Located in the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany. The capital is Kiel and other interesting cities in the region are Lübeck and Flensburg.
Travemünde
One of the many stopovers was Travemünde, a popular seaside resort (formerly called “the German St. Tropez” by some). Travemünde has a long beach promenade and was probably the most child-friendly beach I have visited so far with my kids. There is nothing that you cannot find there for little ones. The wonderful playgrounds (a massive pirate ship!), free beach toys and play areas for babies and toddlers. If you rented a “Strandkorb” (a typical hooded beach chair with reclining backrests that fits up to 2 persons) there were extra bungee trampolines, lots of ice cream and the long beach boardwalk simply invited you to take the kids for a nice bike ride. I must say I was really impressed the first time we got there.
There are many different types of accommodation available for families. Everything from small guesthouses to bigger hotel chains such as the well-known A-Rosa Travemünde. A-Rosa is a child-friendly resort located very close to the beach.
From there one can easily discover the city and all of its attractions.
One highlight for kids is definitely a visit to the lighthouse at the harbour promenade. The oldest lighthouse in Germany. Another must-see for young and old is the “Passat”, a retired square-rigged ship that was built in 1911. One of the last true Cape Horn sailing ships. This visit surely impressed my son! Children aged below 6 have free admission.
Heiligenhafen
Heiligenhafen is about 45 minutes drive from Travemünde, approximately 65 km northeast of Lübeck. It is a charming Baltic sea resort town and I highly recommend stopping for coffee & cake at the stylish and very original Beachmotel Heilgenhafen. After this, a walk to the popular adventure promenade (435m long) is a must-do with its children play areas. There is also a lovely sea lounge and several seating possibilities.
The Beachmotel also has lovely shops and restaurants to choose from and a seawater indoor swimming pool.
Fehmarn
Fehmarn is the second-largest island of the Baltic Sea and is about a 1-hour drive from Travemünde. It can be combined with a visit to Heiligenhafen. The Fehmarn Sound Bridge (with a length of 1.3 km) connects this popular vacation island with the mainland of Schleswig-Holstein.
It is a very child-friendly island with many different activities on offer. Probably the most popular family plan is a visit to the Sea World in Burg. One of Europe’s largest aquariums shows visitors many different sea creatures from all over the world including an impressive shark tank.
Also highly recommended in Burg is a visit to “Galileo’s World of Knowledge”. A great interactive museum for kids.
For the parents, an interesting fact about the island is its connection with famous guitarist Jimi Hendrix who performed at its Love-and-Peace Festival only a few days before he died. A memorial stone can be visited there in remembrance of his last visit.
Weissenhäuser Strand
Another nice trip is taking a drive further up north to the Weissenhäuser Strand and enjoying a lovely beach panorama with an endless skyline and excellent walking and cycling potential.
There is a family-friendly holiday park, which offers all kinds of fun, from an adventure playground to a waterpark and a Jungle Adventure world. An indoor soft play area is great for rainy days. An incredibly beautiful spot to stop for lunch is the Bootshaus, which is part of the outstanding Weissenhaus Grand Village Resort & Spa. The restaurant has a unique location right next to the beach and is very conveniently located for parents. A small playground lies next to it. We really loved it there.
Happy travelling!
Further information on family-friendly places in the area:
karls.de/warnsdorf/ – Karl’s Village of Discovery is an all-weather, year-round destination for the whole family.
www.fehmarn.de/sonneninsel/familie
www.weissenhaeuserstrand.de/en/
This blog post was written for MumAbroad and can be viewed here:
mumabroad.com/child-friendly-travelling-in-northern-germany/
