Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Warnemunde - Karl's Erlebnis-Dorf or Molli Steam Train?

hisleepy

By hisleepy,
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

 Share

Recommended Posts

hisleepy

hisleepy

Posted
Posted

Hi, our family will be going to Baltic this August and our ship will be docking at Warnemunde. After doing some research, it looks like both Karl's Erlebnis-Dorf and Molli Steam Train are fun, and I can't decide which one should I go with my young kids (age 2.5 and 4.5).

 

If you've been to both or one of them, do you mind sharing your experience and tips with us? Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Onelung

Onelung

Posted
Posted
Hi, our family will be going to Baltic this August and our ship will be docking at Warnemunde. After doing some research, it looks like both Karl's Erlebnis-Dorf and Molli Steam Train are fun, and I can't decide which one should I go with my young kids (age 2.5 and 4.5).

 

If you've been to both or one of them, do you mind sharing your experience and tips with us? Thanks.

 

I can recommend the Molli steam train, I think the children would love it. It goes along the road right through the towns and people just walk along side it. We did a ship's tour (Celebrity) which also included a short coach ride out to a very pretty beach town where we had afternoon tea in a local hotel. It was a half day tour so maybe you could do both? Also, Warnemunde is a very pretty town in its own right.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kitkat343

kitkat343

Posted
Posted

This is a fairly easy excursion to do on your own instead of a ship tour.

 

Since my son really loves trains, we decided to spend the day visiting the Moli steam train. You can get a sense of what the Moli is like here:

. The Moli train makes a very scenic tour passing through Bad Doberan very close to the buildings and visits beautiful fields and trees. We took the s-bahn to get from Warmeneude to Bad Doberan. You need to switch trains in Rostock. Please check the schedule, since you might need to wait in Rostock for the next train (we missed our connection and needed to wait a half hour in Rostock. I'm an idiot and can't read train schedules well so you may not have any such problems but please note that I think there is a fairly tight connection and you need to switch platforms so ask for help at the first train station to make sure you know what you are doing. Our there is someone great on this forum called travelanni who can help you with logistics in Germany). We might have been better off taking bus #119, which is a 30 minute direct bus to Bad Doberan. It leaves once an hour, so you need to check the timetable to see which public transportation option would be fastest, and consider the fact that the bus station is further away than the train station (possibly a 10-15 minute walk). The Molli steam train is timed to meet up with arriving buses and trains in Bad Doberean so you shouldn't have to wait there once you arrive.

 

Bad Doberan has several charming cafes with outdoor seating, where you can enjoy an ice cream and watch as the Moli train passes inches from your table. Due to the rain, we ate at Cafe Zikke, which was off the main street in Bad Doberan and had more indoor seating than the restaurants on the main street. The flammkuchen was excellent (the waitress described these as savory tarts, and it was similar to a pizza). All of the food and service was really good. Overall, it was a lovely and enjoyable day, but had we not been traveling with our son we probably would have chosen a cruise that arrived in Germany on a day other than a Monday so we could visit the Schwerin castle and tour historic Wismar.

 

The town of Warnemünde is a lovely seaside village that is very pleasant to walk around. We had an excellent seafood dinner at Twee Linden, which is within walking distance of the port:

 

( http://www.yelp.de/biz/twee-linden-warnemünde )

Please note that my signature line includes a review of our Baltic cruise with children (my son was 3 at the time). It's a great cruise for kids, and I hope your family really likes it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Travelanni

Travelanni

Posted
Posted
Hi, our family will be going to Baltic this August and our ship will be docking at Warnemunde. After doing some research, it looks like both Karl's Erlebnis-Dorf and Molli Steam Train are fun, and I can't decide which one should I go with my young kids (age 2.5 and 4.5).

 

If you've been to both or one of them, do you mind sharing your experience and tips with us? Thanks.

 

Hi, the Molli would certainly be fun for your youngsters, both riding on it and watching it steam through the streets. You can find all the details , times fares etc, of how to get there either by train or bus on my web site, Bad Doberan and Molli pages.

I don't know much about Karl's but I believe it is difficult to reach by public transport and car hire is the only way. Hopefully someone else can help.

Happy cruising :)

Anni

http://www.travelanni.webs.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sauer-kraut

Sauer-kraut

Posted
Posted

I have been to Karl's and yes, it does have some fun stuff for children. The major problem is getting there. If you are not renting a car it will be difficult to reach from the port. The Molli is much easier to get to on public transport. I think spending more than 2 hours at Karl's is over-kill, there are bouncy things for the kids and some goats and usually strawberry torte of some kind. It was fun, and the shopping hall was nice but since we were spending time in the area it was just something to have a look at during our stay.

 

I think if you did the Molli and then went to an ice cream store near the beach your children might have a nicer day. I hope you have great weather!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 years later...
buffy9678

buffy9678

Posted
Posted
On 4/11/2017 at 3:24 PM, hisleepy said:

Thank you everyone for your advice and suggestions. I will go to Molli as I am not planning to rent a car. =)

I know this is an old post, but I was debating between the Molli and Karl's as well and am wondering what you decided and how it worked out. Our kids are a bit older, 8 and 11. Thanks! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dogs4fun

dogs4fun

Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, buffy9678 said:

I know this is an old post, but I was debating between the Molli and Karl's as well and am wondering what you decided and how it worked out. Our kids are a bit older, 8 and 11. Thanks! 

We took our nephews (7 & 11) on the Molli a few years ago - they loved it! We also visited Karl's during an extended visit in the area - we were not overly impressed. Furthermore, I think that your 11 year old might become bored rather quickly as, IMHO, there is not that much to interest older children.

The Molli is quite easy to DIY if you are on a cruise docking in Warnemunde or Rostock. You can check-out a local's expert advice here:

http://www.travelanni.webs.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Thejuggler

Thejuggler

Posted
Posted

We did the train and Baltic coast trip.  An amazing part of Germany, remember 30 years ago it was East Germany.  Weather was glorious.

 

The only downside it was a half day tour, but it is still long, about 5 hours.

 

We had early dinner sitting and arrived back with less than half an hour to get ready for dinner.  We would have done buffet, but it was a special occasion we had arranged.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sauer-kraut

Sauer-kraut

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, buffy9678 said:

Thank you both, I will check out that website! By any chance has anyone done the summer tobaggan at Bad Doberan? 

 

I haven't done the toboggan there, but since its in one of station towns where the Molli stops it might be a lot of fun.  There is also a Molli museum at the other end station in Heiligendamm.  The train trip takes about 40 minutes between the two towns.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
buffy9678

buffy9678

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Sauer-kraut said:

 

I haven't done the toboggan there, but since its in one of station towns where the Molli stops it might be a lot of fun.  There is also a Molli museum at the other end station in Heiligendamm.  The train trip takes about 40 minutes between the two towns.

Thanks! Do you think there is time see the ruins/minster at Bad Doberan, take the Molli train round trip, maybe spend a little bit of time at the Molli museum and the beach there and still see a bit of Rostock (I'd like to see the church with the astronomical clock). We're in port something like 14 hours. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hisleepy

hisleepy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
10 hours ago, buffy9678 said:

I know this is an old post, but I was debating between the Molli and Karl's as well and am wondering what you decided and how it worked out. Our kids are a bit older, 8 and 11. Thanks! 

 

I ended up rented a car and went to Scherwin Castle and IGA park.  Scherwin town is pretty nice, but the Castle was under renovation and wasn't as stunning as the ones in France or St Petersburg.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
buffy9678

buffy9678

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, hisleepy said:

 

I ended up rented a car and went to Scherwin Castle and IGA park.  Scherwin town is pretty nice, but the Castle was under renovation and wasn't as stunning as the ones in France or St Petersburg.  

Thank you for the update. I have considered Schwerin, but we'll be in port on a Monday when the castle is closed. I didn't know if it was worth the trek since we could only see it from the outside. And like you said, there are other grand castles and residences that we will see on this trip and past ones. I think I am leaning towards visiting Rostock a bit then taking the Molli train. Thanks to everyone for helping me narrow it down!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dogs4fun

dogs4fun

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, buffy9678 said:

Do you think there is time see the ruins/minster at Bad Doberan, take the Molli train round trip, maybe spend a little bit of time at the Molli museum and the beach there and still see a bit of Rostock (I'd like to see the church with the astronomical clock).

The church with the astronomical clock is St. Mary's Church (Marienkirche). It is the largest of the 3 churches in Rostock and, imho, definitely worth a visit (the High Altar & organ are also pretty impressive). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
buffy9678

buffy9678

Posted
Posted
38 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

The church with the astronomical clock is St. Mary's Church (Marienkirche). It is the largest of the 3 churches in Rostock and, imho, definitely worth a visit (the High Altar & organ are also pretty impressive). 

Yep, that's the one. Did you go up the tower? It seems that they have guided tours (in German) to the vaults/bells at 11am on the day we'll be there, and that the organ is played at noon. I'd love to coordinate this but not sure how that would work when planning the Molli...I suppose even if we did the Molli past 2pm we should still have time to get back to Warnemunde as we don't leave until later at night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...