Europa Hotel Schwerin

Rhinos everywhere...

by Kathrin_E

Selecting an animal or other figure which is then multiplied and distributed all over town with individual painted decorations, paid for by sponsors, seems to have become the ultimate fashion in recent years.
In Schwerin, it's the rhinoceros. Rhinos in more or less imaginative designs are everywhere. My favourite is the one in Lederhosen in front of the train station...

Schlachtermarkt and Mr. Parson's Cow

by Kathrin_E

Schlachtermarkt , butchers' market, is the name of the smaller market square behind the old town hall. It now has a little food and knickknack market. A passageway through the old town hall connects it with the main market square.

The fountain in the square, 1980 by Stephan Horota, depicts a famous Mecklenburg folk song: "Herrn Pastor sien Kauh" (Mr. Parson's Cow). It tells in a humoristic way how the cow has died and everybody in town gets a piece. More about the song and the funny pictures of the fountain in this travelogue!

Schwerin

by Kathrin_E

Does anyone have a clue how many lakes surround Schwerin? I have counted 11 different lake names on my town map but there must be more outside the map's borders. The landscape with the open waters, big and small, makes the town unique.

A small island between Burgsee and Schweriner see, the largest of the lakes, carries the palace. Postcard views are available in abundance. Unfortunately I was not granted postcard weather - all right, at least it stayed dry despite the dark grey clouds.

For those of you who are interested in architecture, Schwerin is a textbook of 19th century styles. Large parts of the town and its buildings were designed or redesigned in neoclassical, neogothic, neorenaissance and any other of historism's "neo" styles.

My visit to Schwerin was short, all I had was a stopover of 3 1/2 hours on the way from home to Wismar. This was enough for a walk of the town and around the palace but not enough to see, for example, the palace museum, enjoy the historical gardens, or do a cruise on the big lake - things I would have liked to do and will definitely do next time.