Make friends with Rostock, one of Germany's most beautiful Hanseatic cities - where the Baltic Sea laps the shores of Mecklenburg/Western Pomerania and the air tastes slightly salty, where old-fashioned sailboats provoke nostalgic longings, and where brick gables reach into the sky.

Eight hundred years of history have shaped this "Gateway to the North". Rostock has preserved much of the charm that it once possessed as the most important member of the Hanseatic League. The gabled houses dominating the skyline attest to this, as well as the imposing brick warehouses, massive gates and fortifications, and awe-inspiring churches such as St. Peter's with its Gothic tower 117 meters high. They all bear eloquent witness to the wealth of the city's medieval merchants. Rostock has kept its importance as a trade center to this day, as well as its status as a university town. Its University, founded in 1419, is the oldest in Northern Europe.

And don't forget Rostock's shore: the seaside spa town of Warnemünde.

Our recommendations: Go on the city tour devoted to the "History of the Hanseatic League." And after enjoying so much culture, sample Mecklenburg roast ribs with Rostock caraway seed schnapps.