Heiligenhafen, Germany - a Travel Guide

A Hidden Treasure on the Baltic Sea

Every few months we make our way down to Germany from Sweden for a day of shopping and exploration. Our most recent trek landed us in the delightful seaside village of Heiligenhafen. This hidden gem sits on the Baltic sea in northern Germany and just tickled me to death to have found it. Heiligenhafen isn't as well advertised as Fehmarn, but it is every bit as fun. Perhaps even more fun due to it being one of Germany's lesser known destinations. It isn't yet over-run with other tourists.

On the outskirts of Heiligenhafen are a ton of booze stores. This is due to the high prices on alcohol in places like Sweden. A big part of the economy in these northern German towns is income from places like this. Swedes come and stock up on the cheap wine, beer, and booze... and yes, this is legal. You just can't bring it back to sell.

Keep going past all of those shops, though, and take a right at the huge Sailboat sculpture in the roundabout. This will take you to the heart and soul of Heiligenhafen. The place is just jam-packed full of boats and ships of varying size and make. What a sight that is when you walk down the street and the docks come into view. Wow. During the warm summer months, water sports are very big here. Lots of folks keep their boats docked in Heiligenhafen year-round, and there are many places for renting a myriad of water-sport vehicles such as jet skis and wind surfing thingies. The folks here do love to have fun. If you just want to relax and soak up some sun, they have a wonderful sandy beach on which to do so.

Being a water-based village, many of the numerous shops sell all manner of nautical souvenirs. We picked up quite a bit here for not very much money. Our Sunroom is done in a nautical theme so my husband buys a big toy boat every place that offers them. Ok... I call them toys, he calls them ummmm 'his collection.' No matter what you call them, we had bought a ship of similar size and craftsmanship last year in Galveston, Texas; The one we bought in Heiligenhafen was half the price.