This Easter I spent with my family a few days in Mölln, a scenic small town situated some 40 kilometers north-east of Hamburg. We stayed at Seehotel Schwanenhof, located just between two lakes: Hegesee and Schulsee. The trip took about 3 hours of driving, not including a longer break in town of Schleswig. We made a stop at Gotorff Castle. It was built (as an estate) in 1161 by bishop Occo of Schleswig. It became a castle first under the reign of Frederick III, duke of Holstein-Gottorp.

Gottorf Castle, Schleswig

There was some sort of a construction work around the castle, so we decided to relax by the nearby lake. Dina spent most of her time by chasing wild ducks.

We arrived at out hotel around 14.30, and right after the check-in we all went for a walk. We found out the hotel is situated in the middle of a large forest, that is surrounding the town of Mölln.

A house in Mölln

What impressed me in Mölln is its many beautiful old houses. Some of them are waiting for better days, but others are just as if taken from a fairy-tale. If I did not have my children with me, I wonder if I could stare for hours at this alluring house with the mesmerizing mirror-like window. Not far from it there is a rather spacious park with neat gardens, benches and wooden bridges, connecting the park with the Old Town.

Another house in Mölln

Mölln’s Old Town is a very vibrant place with many tourists. Luckily the atmosphere was more relaxed than one could expect. First we wanted to eat something, but after looking at several restaurants we settled for Turkish food at local grill place called Kabas. We tried pizzalike pide with cheese, kebab and outrageously large portion of onion (Zwiebel). I paid only 24 euros for two large pides, one margarita pizza, French fries, beer and one large Coca-Cola bottle. After the fine meal we walked through the Old town and enjoyed its fine medieval houses and cobbled streets.

Old Town in Mölln

We walked back to our hotel and I took this beautiful picture from our room’s balcony. A perfect sunset with the St. Nicholai Church in the middle. We all went exhausted, yet satisfied to bed.

Sunset in Mölln

Next day we drove to the neigbouring town Retzeburg. We wanted to take the kids to a swimming pool, but we got disappointed when we found out it opened first at 14.00. Since it was only 10.00 I proposed to drive to Citti shopping center in Lübeck, where we spent three hours. After that we drove back to the swimming pool in Retzeburg and had a great time for a couple of hours. No pictures were taken this day.

The third day of our trip was a little rainy, so we decided to drive to the city of Schwerin, some 57 kilometers to the east. We really enjoyed the trip to Schwerin with its picturesque landscapes. However a few kilometers before the city I was flashed by an automatic speed control device (or whatever it is called) placed beside the road. I was driving a little faster than allowed, so it will be interesting to see if I will receive a letter from the German police with the speeding ticket.

Soon after we arrived to Schwerin, a beautiful city, yet we could not escape a notion that it once was under the Communist rule (DDR) with its grey residential buildings. Once we parked the car, we took a walk to one of the most beautiful castles we have ever seen (and trust me, we have seen many!): Schwerin Palace.

Schwerin Palace

It was raining very lightly so we jumped in one of those tourist double-decker buses, and we drove for an hour around the city, which was actually a very good idea, since it gave us a very good introduction to the city, its size, location and attractions. After exactly one hour we arrived at the same place we embarked on the bus: the palace. My older daughter took a nice photo of the rest of the bunch.

Familia Avdibeg at Schwerin Palace

It is so funny to discover that Dina always makes an excuse to either cover her face or do something while others take a picture of her. We walked from the palace to the Old town and enjoyed the small streets and alleys, not unlike those in much smaller town of Mölln.

Schwerin Old Town

We really enjoyed the city since there were not many people in the streets, neither the locals nor tourists. We had almost the area around the Schwerin Cathedral for ourselves.

Schwerin Cathedral

At the Cathedral, Schwerin

We ate at Adria, a so-called Yugoslav restaurant, which had a quite cosy and warm atmosphere, but the food was nothing special to write home about – the menu reminded me of the old Yugoslav restaurants from the 1980’s. But the stuff was friendly and we even spoke in Bosnian to all the waiters.

After the lunch we took a walk around the central part of the old city and made a short break at the Arsenalstrasse with the beautiful view at the Pfeiffenteich, a pond not far from the cathedral.

Pfaffenteich, Schwerin

We said goodbye to Schwerin and drove back to Mölln. While I was driving Amra took this wonderful photo somewhere on the road B208.

Road B208, Schwerin-Retzeburg

Next day we left Mölln, fully satisfied with what we saw and experienced and promised ourselves to get back to this area some other time. We have already visited Grömitz in 2008 and Weissenhäuser Strand in 2009.