Kühlungsborn is long and thin because it was three villages that grew together. Brunshaupten, Arendsee and Fulgen were joined in 1938 and given a single name, and the result is a seaside resort that stretches for several kilometres along the Mecklenburg coast, with a continuous promenade backed by white villas and grand hotels from the Bäderarchitektur period. Behind the town the land rises into the Kühlung, a low wooded ridge that gives the place its name and protects it from the worst of the wind, an unusual luxury on this coast.
The best way to arrive is on the Molli, the narrow-gauge steam train that has puffed from Bad Doberan through fields and along the beach road since the late nineteenth century, hooting at pedestrians and leaving a smell of coal in the sea air. It is the sort of railway that attracts photographers and children in equal numbers. Bad Doberan, at the other end, has a magnificent brick Gothic minster, one of the finest on the Baltic, and the line also stops at Heiligendamm, Germany's first seaside resort, founded in 1793 by the Duke of Mecklenburg. Its row of white classical buildings along the shore, known as the White Town by the Sea, hosted the G8 summit in 2007.
The road along the coast from Heiligendamm to Kühlungsborn is a pleasant one for a relaxed ride. It runs through beech woods and fields, with glimpses of the sea, in gentle bends that make a satisfying change from the flat country farther east. The surface is mostly good, though local traffic and cyclists are plentiful in summer, and you will often be stuck behind a tractor or a coach. A quieter alternative is to leave the main road and follow the lanes through Bastorf, where the lighthouse stands among fields, and along the cliffs.
Kühlungsborn has about seven and a half thousand residents, which is enough for fuel, supermarkets and a wide choice of cafés. Restaurants serve plenty of fish, and the specialty is smoked eel, which tastes better than it sounds. The pier is a good place to watch the sun go down and to see how the weather moves over the sea.
Come in September, when the beaches are quiet, the water is still mild and the light is slanting and warm.