We’re planning a summer trip, visiting family in Berlin then exploring the northeast coast of Germany. My husband was born near Hamburg but has never see that part of the county. I’m wondering if it is worth trying to venture into Poland. The closest large border city is Szczecin. Has anyone visited this region? I’ve heard it can be problematic to find a rental car company that will allow us to drive in Poland, so not sure if we should try. Thanks in advance!
Absolutely not an answer to your question - forgive me. We were in northern Germany last month. I have to put in a plug - if your trip takes you a bit north and west of Berlin, I wanted to mention that we were very taken with the German city of Schwerin. Castle, old city, lake, gardens, etc. We had a rental car out of Hamburg for driving in Mecklenburg and Schleswig Holstein. We were asked if we were driving outside of Germany - we weren’t. I have also heard that car rentals into Poland can be hard to come by. I think I might just call direct to a Berlin agency and ask. I’m interested in your discoveries!
Thank you for the tip! We’re not making advance lodging reservations so we have a lot of flexibility. If the weather is good we would like to spend a few days in the resort area of Binz along the coast. My husband also wants to visit Rostock, so a loop up through Schwerin and Rostock on the way to Binz is feasible. Perhaps we can hug the Polish border on the way back to Berlin, maybe park in Germany and walk across somewhere or take a train for the day. Of course most of the schedule will be dictated by the World Cup games, can’t be too far from a TV.
Thank you for accepting the unsolicited suggestion graciously! Schwerin was recommended to me by an acquaintance - it would probably have been off my radar otherwise. The state museum of art (right across from the castle) is good if you are interested in art museums.
I did a little more checking on driving rental cars in Poland. Still don’t know what a German rental agency will tell you, but from the US Embassy in Poland website:
“In order to drive in Poland, American citizens must have either an international driving permit or a Polish national driver’s license: a U.S. State driver’s license without an IDP is insufficient. Americans may use an International Driving Permit for six months from the date of entry into Poland.”
You can get the international driving permit at any AAA office for a low fee. I guess if I was stopped by the Polish police, I’d want to have the IDP.
I’d say go – though you could simply travel like a European and take the train. Instead of Szczecin, I’d recommend Gdansk (once known as Danzig) – it’s an 8 hour train trip from Berlin… or Wroclaw (once known as Breslau) to the south. Wroclaw is just a 4 hour train ride from Berlin. Since there were many Germans in the area, the Nazis held off bombing both cities during WW2, so you see a lot of amazing architecture. Both cities are lively, filled with good restaurants, bars, clubs and museums.
Btw- trains are the way to go. Son spent time in the Gdansk area for work one spring and then went to Berlin for vacation before returning to the US. He found a cheap flight but with delays (am to pm departure for his flight) he would have been better off on the train. He never asked us.
The reason to go to another country is to experience the differences in language and culture. Since you will be so close it would be nice to spend some time doing this. Better than one more castle/historic site.
We’ve driven from Berlin into Poland several times over the past few years (son was in Berlin his junior year). You are restricted to certain classes of vehicles. It’s the Mercedes, Porsches and the like that have heavy restrictions. The VW Passat, Toyota Corollas and even the larger station wagons are permitted to cross into Poland. Read the fine print.
We picked up a rental car from a Hertz location in Berlin. had absolutely no problem.
Do be aware that most of the freeways in Poland are toll roads. They do take Euros but Poland is still on the zloty, and it gives you a better exchange rate.
And another heads up…something we learned the hard way. The diesel nozzles in Europe and the regular gas nozzles are the same. And the green nozzle does not represent diesel like it does in the US. The green gas nozzles WILL fit into a diesel tank. Luckily H caught that after only about 4 liters. 
H will be so disappointed, LOL! Thank you for the tip about Hertz, I will start with them for rental inquiries.
On our previous visit to Berlin several years ago we headed south, driving to Prague and back. We had to purchase a tollway permit at a roadside shop before entering CZ Republic. Fortunately someone had warned us about that in advance. Our most memorable experience was getting lost in a small farming community outside of Prague. We headed down one small street and were stopped by a small dog with huge attitude, standing in the middle of the road with a look on his face that said, “No, you definitely don’t want to come this way!”.
We will definitely ask for a car with navigation system, that saved us more than once on the last road trip.
I can’t speak to Poland, but we traveled some fairly obscure local roads in northern Germany last month. I plugged in my Iphone and used the standard Maps app. The instructions were current and excellent; I’ve never had fewer problems with roundabouts, every direction was so clear. I had paid for a navigation system, but we couldn’t figure out how to use it.
You can use Google Maps to save specific areas/routes to your phone. It works even if you don’t have cell coverage or are on a different SIM card. We’ve done in NZ and Europe, and will do it in Eastern Europe/Ukraine this year.
I would suggest Gdansk, too.
Prior to World War II, Gdansk (once Danzig) and Wroclaw (once Breslau) were in German territory.
When the borders were redrawn after the war and these areas became part of Poland, millions of Germans (who had lived in these areas for generations) had to leave and became displaced persons in Germany.
So there is some significant German history there, although I don’t know how visible it is if you visit.
Note that none of the three cities was part of Poland in 1939 (Wroclaw / Breslau and Szezecin / Stettin were in Germany, and Gdansk / Danzig was a “free city” with a mostly German population and a pro Nazi government), so the Nazis has no reason to bomb them while invading Poland, though the cities suffered damage near the end of the war as Germany fought retreating battles against the USSR.
I’m quite familiar with history of that area. I brought it up to delineate the fate of those cities from Warsaw, which was bombed into near-extinction and in which everything is rebuilt. In comparison those cities, along with Krakow, got off scott free.
A few years ago we stayed in Travemunde at a hotel on the sea, drove to Schwein (loved it) and also to Lubbock (great old city).
Just this morning I was reading about Gdansk. I had no idea it was this beautiful. As I think I had stumbled upon a blog and that is a no no to post, I will give you the key words and you can google if you like. karolina patryk gdansk interesting facts
Traveled in Poland two summers ago. Used a genealogist/guide for most of the trip who did the driving. For the last part, which was tourism, not family history, we took the train to Krakow. I learned that the Polish word for “right turn” is “pravda,” which in Russian translates as “truth” and is the name of the major newspaper. We were south of Warsaw.
I haven’t done a family search with 23 & Me data but I know that my grandmother’s ancestors were Jews from Poland. She was orphaned at a young age and raised Christian, discouraged from acknowledging her heritage. Amazing the story DNA can tell us, even when the family history has been lost. I think I will do a search before we leave and see what it turns up.
Google maps is showing a 5 hour drive from the German border to Gdansk, with lots of construction. I don’t think we’ll get there on this trip. H is most interested in the parts of Germany that were off-limits to him growing up, especially the island of Rügen. The city Szczecin (Stettin) in Poland has a rich history. Though pummeled during WWII it has been beautifully rebuilt (according to Wiki).
I think a good loop will be Berlin-Schwerin-Rostock-Rügen, then driving along the Baltic coast and crossing into Poland by ferry at Swinemünde, down to Szczecin and back to Berlin. Should be less than 2 hours driving each day, with time to find lodging and stock up on smoked herring for H.
Thanks again for the suggestions!
It sounds like a good plan. Enjoy your travels! (It’s good to keep a reasonable itinerary. I hate the “if it’s Tuesday this must be Belgium” trips.)
I loved re-connecting with the pickled herring of my childhood on our swing through your general area. It appeared on every breakfast buffet. I’d forgotten how much I liked it - DH won’t consider trying it so I hadn’t had any since shortly after we were married.
I’ve been interested in several of my recent trips to see the differences between the old East and West still cropping up. I think I am sensitive because my spoken German is limited (oddly, my receptive Deutsch is quite good). I find less English spoken in the former East cities (Pottsdam and Schwerin for instance) than in those areas that were always in the West. You won’t have that problem! Do enjoy, the German part of your loop is familiar - we enjoyed it.
One more recent discovery to share, although it may be common knowledge and just new to me! We learned that amber is readily found in the Baltic beaches. I did find some but on the Schleswig Holstein beach town if Eckernforde, not your area. I priced amber jewelry throughout the region. Schwerin had great prices for new and “estate” items. Very reasonable and some unusual designs.
@Momofadult – do buy your amber from reputable jewelers. There is a lot of fake stuff from China being sold as amber all throughout the region.