Warnemünde is where Rostock goes to the sea. The old fishing village at the mouth of the Warnow river was swallowed by the city long ago, but it keeps a stubborn independence, with a narrow canal called the Alter Strom lined with low fishermen's houses, rows of small fishing boats tied up at the quay, and stalls selling fish sandwiches straight off the cutters. The smell of smoked fish and diesel is the first thing you notice, and the second is the wind.
The lighthouse, built in 1898, is the centre of the postcard, standing at the head of the promenade next to the Teepott, a shell-shaped concrete roof from the East German era that now holds shops and restaurants. Opposite, the beach is huge, wide and white, one of the broadest on the German Baltic, and in summer it is filled with Strandkörbe, a Mecklenburg invention. The first one was built in Rostock in 1882 by a basket maker, who made it for a woman with rheumatism who wanted shelter from the wind. That is the legend, and everyone in the town agrees on it.
Warnemünde is also a ship-watching place. Ferries leave for Denmark, cargo ships slide through the channel, and in summer huge cruise liners turn in the river mouth and tower over the fishing boats like an optical illusion. The East Mole, a long stone pier, lets you walk out into the traffic and wave. In July, the town holds a sailing regatta and a week-long festival, and the whole place feels as if it has been taken over by sailors.
As for riding, the road from Kühlungsborn along the coast, past Heiligendamm and Bad Doberan, ends here at the tip of the Rostock agglomeration. It is a gentle, flat run through woods and fields, and the surface is good, but the nearer you get to Rostock, the busier the roads become. Do not expect to ride fast. Instead, park near the station, which is the main transport hub, and walk the old streets. A ferry across the river reaches the other bank.
Warnemünde has a proper town's worth of services, including fuel and supermarkets, though in high season the car parks fill by mid-morning. The local speciality is a Fischbrötchen with herring, and the best ones come from the stalls along the Alter Strom. Eat one with a view of the water and a gull watching your hand. Early morning or late evening, when the cruise passengers have gone, is the right time to see the village as it really is.