The Grand Hotel Heiligendamm, first built in 1793, quickly became a spa retreat for the aristocracy of central Europe. But it has been a struggle to keep in going in modern times.

The Latin inscription on the pediment above the Tuscan-style columns of the Kurhaus reads Heic Te Laetitia Invitat Post Balnea Sanum. Which loosely translates as ‘joy awaits you as you emerge from your bath’.

A sentiment that is not so original, perhaps, given how many hotels today have spas, but then this is the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm, first established in 1793, which makes it Germany’s oldest and smartest seaside hotel.

The property was first established here, on the Baltic coast a dozen miles west of Rostock, at the instigation of the Duke of Schwerin. Besides the Kurhaus with its classicist facade, it comprises seven historic white mansions, surrounded by beechwoods on either side and with sweeping lawns down to a pier and a sandy beach.

It quickly became patronized by German aristocracy, by literati such as Proust and Rilke, and even by Russia’s Tsar Nicholas I. At its peak in the mid 19^th century it was a meeting place for Europe’s rich and famous, who came to bathe in the Baltic and to gamble at the first horse-racing course in Germany.  But then came two World Wars, the dismal curtain of communism, closure and decay.

Today it is back, and determined to roll back the years.

In truth, the Grand hasn’t had an easy ride even since it re-opened, post-reunification. In two short decades it was transformed from a crumbling ruin to a luxury Kempinski-steered property chosen by Angela Merkel to host 2007’s G8 summit. But despite all the associated publicity, complete with that iconic image of the world leaders in one giant tailor-made strandkorb (basketwork beach chair), it was bankrupt by 2012.

In truth, there were always going to be problems with trying to re-establish an elite beach resort on the Baltic in the era of easy air travel to the Med. Especially with no airport nearby.

Back in the day, the glitterati used to arrive at the Grand on a dedicated steam railway, built specifically to chuff them right to the front door. Today, the Molli, although charming, is more of a curiosity than a method of travel.

Then there’s the issue of retaining quality staff in a relatively remote location. Particularly because Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the poorest of the German states, where old anti-capitalist attitudes still prevail. Moreover the beach at Heiligendamm is not much to write home about.

When it went bust in 2012, the hotel’s Perlenkette (pearl necklace) of villas had to be sold, and have since been reconstituted as luxury apartments. The remaining core buildings were bought by Paul Morzynski, a tax accountant from Hanover, who is working to re-establish the hotel by concentrating on the spa, the sanctity of the enclave and the quality of the food.

With these things in mind, he has added a spacious outdoor pool and seasonal staff accommodation. Interiors have been refreshed with silk fabrics, marble and brocade. All of it, of course, in the best possible taste.

Following the collapse of East Germany’s German Democratic Republic 30 years ago, a number of towns and cities emerged as hitherto undiscovered. Because of their eastern location they were largely undamaged by wartime bombing and their architectural splendour survived the worst of the GDR town planning.

Among such towns are Görlitz, profiled elsewhere on this site, and Schwerin, 20 miles south of Wismar and inland from the Baltic coast. Once the historic seat of the Dukes of Mecklenburg, the town, with a population just under 100,000, had always played second fiddle to its larger industrial neighbour Rostock, particularly during the days of the GDR. Rostock, as a state-supported shipbuilding city, was much more in keeping with the image the country wanted to present.

However once the reunification of Germany was completed and the Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was re-established, the decision was made to restore Schwerin to its rightful place as the state capital.

Neuschwanstein of the north

The jewel in the architecture of the city, Schwerin Castle henceforth became the seat of the parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the 19^th century the building had been the ducal residence but in 1918, as the duchy ceased to exist, the castle had become the property of the state.

A castle has stood on the site of the current building since the latter years of the first millennium. The town was an important location in the medieval quest to extend eastwards along the Baltic coast. However as the frontiers of Prussia moved east, the requirements for the castle changed and it could become more of a showpiece.

Accordingly, when the current castle was built in the mid 19^th century by a group of architects including Gottfried Semper (who was responsible for building the Semper Oper in Dresden) they created one of the finest Renaissance buildings in northern Germany. It has been dubbed the Neuschwanstein of the north.

The castle can be visited daily all year round (closed Mondays) and guided tours are available. Alternatively you can take a tour of the castle gardens, one of the finest gardens to mix baroque with classical English design.

Undoubtedly the best way to appreciate views of the castle and the town is by boat, cruising on one of the many lakes surrounding the town, the largest of which (indeed one of the largest in Germany) is the Schweriner See. These trips run from March until October and can be caught from the pier by the castle. They offer great views of the Castle and the town beyond.

The town as a whole, despite its modest size, punches well above its weight and has well and truly shaken off its GDR past. It has undoubtedly become one of the liveliest and most vibrant towns in northern Germany. – Mark Arrol

There are some great long distance cycle routes in Germany. Down the Danube from Donaueschingen to Passau, along the Rhine from castle to castle, up the Elbe from Dresden to the coastal mudflats, or from the Allgäu to the Austrian border along the foothills of the Alps. Take your pick.

But given that the public is keen on novelty, we’d thought we’d profile the newest of the lot in this section, and one of the most interesting, at least from a cultural perspective, because it runs from capital to capital, from Berlin to Copenhagen.

This 630 km itinerary has ingredients that others do not: two big cities, a short sea voyage across the Baltic, three relatively unspoiled regions – Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Denmark – and a lot of friendly people, people who respect the bike as a means of travel. Furthermore, although it is cross-country, this is not a route which tackles hills. With much of it on dedicated tarmac cycle track, you should be able to cover the ground relatively quickly.

This itinerary has ingredients that others do not

The route starts just outside Berlin in Hennigsdorf, where it breaks into the serene expanse of the Brandenburg countryside, passing the Dutch-style Oranienburg castle and a couple of sobering former concentration camps, Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück. From here it starts to weave through the thousand-odd lakes and watercourses of the Mecklenburg Lake District, a watery playground whose biggest expanse of water – Müritz – is Germany’s second largest lake.

The cycleway spends a lot of time dawdling around coastlines

From the lakes there’s a mellow stretch of around 130 km of mainly heathland and farmland to cross before reaching the Baltic shore at Rostock, a handsome Hanseatic red brick city with three monumental churches. Although Rostock is itself a port, the ferry actually sails from Warnemünde, a seaside resort with wide sandy beaches, a lighthouse, and a colourful harbour. From here, you could find yourself sharing the three-hour crossing with rail passengers, because this service is one of the few that still provides a roll-on, roll-off facility for trains, swallowing up Copenhagen-bound expresses whole. They’ll barely notice your bike.

Once on the other side, you’ve still got around 250km to go to reach the Danish capital, in a series of circuitous loops that will allow plenty of time to acclimatize to the change in culture. This part of Denmark is all islands and peninsulars, so the cycleway spends a lot of time dawdling around coastlines, going nowhere in particular. If you are in a hurry to get there, you could always put the bike on a train!

Berlin to Copenhagen route description