Rügen, Hiddensee and Usedom

Travellers are responsible for their own transporation to Stralsund, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The many points of interest in Stralsund make it a very rewarding starting point for this tour. The ‘Gorch Fock’, a German three-mast barque originally built as a school ship in 1933, sits majestically in the Stralsund harbor. Spend the night in the beautiful city of Stralsund.

Take the ferry in the morning to Hiddensee. Explore the quiet island. No cars allowed. The gorgeous residential area was once home to the late poet and Nobel Prize winner for Literature, G. Hauptmann. From the Dornbuscher Leuchtturn, a lighthouse, you can see North Rügen, Granitz and Stralsund. Take in the scenery on foot or by bike. In the afternoon take the ferry to Rügen.

Cycle along the spit of land called ‘der Schaabe’ to the peninsula Jasmund. There are several routes to choose from for your tour to Bergen. You can cycle from the promontory ‘Königsstuhl’ and Sassnitz, through resort towns to the middle of the island (lengthier). Stay overnight in or near Bergen.

Cycle across South Rügen to the Glewitz Ferry. Take the shady avenue and narrow banks to Greifswald, birth city of C.D. Friedrich, a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter. Greifswald is also the home to the Monastery Ruins of Eldena, a university, pubs, a harbour. It is a Western Pommeranian ‘City of Culture’. Spend the night in or near Greifswald.

In the morning, take the train to Anklam, the birth place of Otto Lilienthal, a pioneer of human aviation who became known as the German “Glider King”. You may want to visit the Lilienthal Museum. A glorious tour awaits you today as you cycle over the Peene River to the ‘Karniner Eisenbahnhubbrücke’, a railway lift bridge. Continue to the small city Usedom and over secluded paths on the island of Usedom to the Lagoon of Stettin. Reach Kamminke and resort towns Ahlbeck, Heringsdorf and Bansin.

The Imperial Baths with their gorgeous architecture await you on the Baltic Sea Coast. Cycle north from resort to resort along the steep, forested coast.

Today, you will cycle through Wolgast, or Peenemünde, along the bay, through pine forest and along the coastline to Greifswald.Take the train (departs every hour) to Stralsund where you can visit the Gorch Fock, the Rathaus (town hall) with its brick Gothic architecture, the Deutsches Meeresmuseum/Ozeaneum (a very large public aquarium and one of the largest institutions of its kind in Europe), the Marienkirche, and much more.

Depart after breakfast. Travellers are responsible for their own transportation home.