A land of dense forests and flowering meadows, rolling hills and blue lakes, and the sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea is waiting to be re-discovered by the traveling masses. Formerly known as East Germany, it went from being a part of Prussia – the largest German kingdom to becoming a part of Communist Bloc, yet it managed to maintain its many wonders of nature and culture.
My recent and very first visit started with an Air Berlin landing at Tegel airport and swift transfer to Potsdam – the summer residence of the Prussian kings which boasts several UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The most important one is Sanssouci (“carefree”) palace and park, built by Frederick II (1712-1786) who disliked the officious Berlin and preferred to spend his days among the Italianate structures, Roman statues, and wild grape terraces of his private Versailles.Frederick II the Great, a son of Frederick William I and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, had somewhat ambivalent personality. He hated the court, but built gorgeous palaces; despised his “Soldier-King” father, but strived to achieve military glory; was a patron of the arts but, a known misogynist, chose antique plots depicting women as depraved and treacherous creatures, or men’s toys – to decorate his palaces. On a Pygmalion painting by the court artist Antoine Pesne in Sanssouci music room, a figure of Galatea was drawn after a famous ballerina La Barbarina, who had narrow boyish hips, and therefore was considered beautiful by the king.
One of the few European rulers who followed the ideas of Enlightenment, Frederick the Great supported religious tolerance, banned torture, and barred his court from interfering with the justice system, but was a lawless politician, invaded neighboring countries and changed their borders.
His enormous and elaborate Neues Palais with 400 exterior statues and 20 thousand precious and semi-precious stones, like topaz, amethyst, agate, and opal in the interior décor, was built to commemorate his victory in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) which established Prussia as a powerful European state.For this monument to himself Frederick chose opulent baroque style, which was actually going out of fashion with the advance of neoclassicism, but still symbolized power and inspired awe.
Frederick’s grave by the Sanssouci Palace is steps away from Sun Pavilion, which holds a bronze statue of a young man from Rhodes. During Frederick’s rule, this statue was thought to be an image of Antinous – a deified lover of Roman Emperor Hadrian, and a “rainbow flag” of the time.
Frederick considered Christianity a fairy tale, and in his older years commented on how he preferred a company of his dogs to the company of men.According to his will, Friedrich der Grosse is buried next to his Italian greyhounds under a Roman statue of goddess Flora playing with baby Zephyr and symbolizing spring.
After a fabulous guided tour of Sanssouci, I spent the night reading about Prussia and the house of Hohenzollern in Steigenberger Hotel Sanssouci (www.steigenberger.com) a short walk from the park.
My jetlag and my firm and narrow “army” bed with only one skinny pillow kept me alert.
Next morning, a lavish breakfast with freshly-baked breads, rich salads, cold cuts, and many-many kinds of herring set me off for the day of further discoveries.
In Brandenburg (www.brandenburg-tourism.com) a white-walled medieval Rheinsberg Castle on Lake Grienerick, surrounded by a vast garden, used to be Frederick the Great’s refuge when he was a crown prince. Here, young Frederick created “the court of muses” and hosted actors, dancers, and painters; played flute, and composed music in his happiest years.Moving north to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a non-stop vacation world called Land Fleesensee (www.fleesensee.de) is materialized in a thousand lakes, sandy dunes, and green meadows, framed by majestic pines and oaks.
Parks and swamps are teeming with wildlife – deer and rabbits, ducks, storks and eagles, fish and frogs are abundant here, while there are no crowds, just random nature and fitness enthusiasts with their bikes, golf clubs, canoes, and kayaks.
Open year round, new Iberotel Fleesensee (www.iberotel-fleesensee.de) overlooks Fleesensee lake and has a private beach and marina access. Inside, it’s all modern conveniences, lake-theme decorated rooms and restaurants with great food, and even a free of charge personal trainer for the guests.This night, I slept like a baby after a gourmet dinner at the hotel’s Lakeside Restaurant accompanied by crisp local wines.
There are many castles of various historic significance in the area, some converted into charming hotels and event centers.
Basthorst (www.schloss-basthorst.de) built in 1823, is now a hotel with a modern restaurant which serves locally sourced beef and locally grown asparagus with herbs from its kitchen garden.
Gut Vorbeck, built in the 1890s, is a doll house B&B with a horseback riding motif.
Bothmer is the largest baroque castle in Mecklenburg, built in 1726-32. It now belongs to the state and undergoes an 18.5 million euro renovation to become a museum in 2014.
The trees around it date back to the time of construction, and the garden hosts summer concerts.
Lutgenhof Castle (www.schloss-lutgenhof.de) a 19th century estate in a park on the river Stepenitz, is surrounded by centuries-old trees and the lake Dassow. It borders a nature preserve with wild boar, hare, and deer, and serves organic meals to its guests who are accepted by advance reservation only and only one group at a time to guarantee complete privacy.
Farther north, closer to the sea shore, there is the capital city of Schwerin where I stayed at Hotel Speicher am Ziegelsee (www.speicher-hotel.de).
The city is famous for its fantastic castle situated on a small island in the middle of its namesake lake.
Built and rebuilt numerous times from a Slavic fortress (year 973) to the five-wing Sleeping Beauty castle modeled on the Loire Valley Chateau de Chambord by the duke Friedrich Franz II in 1845-57, it is a magnificent structure surrounded by English landscaped gardens with beautiful statuary and ornamental flower beds.
Love is in the air in and around the Schwerin Castle. In some of its 653 rooms there are “love chairs” which allow a couple to sit sideways face to face with each other for easy kissing; there is Island of Love in Burggarten (castle garden), and there are “love trees” there with their branches joined in a hug by clever grafting.
Schweriners love their harmonious city – one third water, one third gardens, and one third buildings, and 95% of them wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
A resort town of Boltenhagen on the southernmost shore of the Baltic Sea is called a cradle of the German bathing culture and the Berliners’ bath tub, and has a beautiful promenade leading from the main drag to a long sandy beach. I couldn’t help but take off my sandals and wade through the cool calm water.
Then a white swan crossed my path, and was just standing there, next to me, looking at the horizon…
Staying at Schlossgut Gross Schwansee (“swan lake” www.schwansee.de) for the night seemed only natural considering the swan theme of the day. There are ten luxurious guest rooms and an upscale restaurant in the manor house, built in 1745, and conference rooms and brasserie in the converted stables, where the guests enjoy their bountiful breakfasts.
As much as I like historic buildings, after a day of intense discoveries I prefer to crash in a comfy contemporary environment. The new building of the hotel provided simplicity, functionality, and a great room layout with different areas separated by warm wood and accent lighting. Located on the sea shore, on 900 hectares of serene fertile land, Schlossgut Gross Schwansee has its own agriculture and a lake with a swan house right outside the guest rooms’ balconies. In the morning, I watched two fat hares playing on a meadow by the lake in the first rays of dawn.
The last stop on my trip was The Free Hanseatic City on the Elbe – Hamburg, where there are more bridges than in Venice and Amsterdam combined. The weather changed from summery to cold and rainy, but a walk around the lake Alster was worth carrying an umbrella.
Despite the fact that Hamburgers (not beef patties) are extremely proud of their independence and cosmopolitan appeal, they have the most impressive town hall, Das Hamburger Rathaus (1897), which to me signifies their devotion to the local government. 
Behind the town hall building there is a fountain dedicated to Hygieia – a daughter of the god of medicine, and a symbol of cleanliness, erected in 1892 during the cholera epidemics which claimed many thousands of lives. Since then, Hamburg went a long way toward improving the quality of life for its citizens. It is now one of the greenest cities in Europe – in more than one sense.
A stay in a businesslike Arcotel Rubin (www.arcotelhotels.com) right across from the historic 1903 Dammtor train station, and a dinner at Carls with freshly shucked oysters and a rabbit saddle in onion marmalade put the last brushstrokes on my beautiful picture of the German North. More information at www.cometogermany.com and www.germany.travel.
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