Baltic coast, Schleswig-Holstein
A wedding ring dropped during the ceremony on the Haffkrug Seebrücke
Whether it fell above the sand or above the sea depends on where on the pier the two of you stood.
A wedding ring dropped on the Seebrücke at Haffkrug can often still be searched for, and the spot on the pier where it fell decides how. The first section crosses the beach, and farther out the sea shows through the wooden boards, so that spot tells us whether to plan for sand or for water.
Couples can marry on this pier, in a room with floor-length windows onto the Baltic, while more guests wait on the open deck.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone on the Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the coast, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
The rest of the page covers Scharbeutz, Timmendorfer Strand and Travemünde on the Lübecker Bucht, then Grömitz, Weißenhäuser Strand in Wangels and Fehmarn, and finally Eckernförde and Damp.
While the guests are still on the pier
Before anyone walks off, ask the guests to look at the boards around their own feet, then check pockets, hems and the bouquet away from the rail. Work out which part of the pier you were on: the all-weather tribune in the first section, the walkway over the water, the panorama deck with its loungers, or the pier head, where the structure rises to two levels. Photograph the boards where it fell and the shore behind.
Other towns here have landmarks just as easy to name: the wide steps on the Scharbeutz forecourt, the lighthouse slide on the Grömitz pier, the green and white beacon on the Nordermole in Travemünde and the Netzausleger on the Südstrand in Damp. Name the one nearest to you alongside your pin.
Places we cover on the Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein
- Scharbeutz
- The Seebrücke, its forecourt and the Dünenmeile, Scharbeutz
- Haffkrug and its Seebrücke
- The Haffwiesenpark and the promenade, Haffkrug
- Timmendorfer Strand
- The promenade and the Timmendorfer Platz, Timmendorfer Strand
- Niendorf harbour, beach and Seebrücke, Timmendorfer Strand
- The beach below the Brodtener Steilufer, Niendorf to Travemünde
- Travemünde
- The Kurstrand, the Strandpromenade and the Nordermole, Travemünde
- The Grünstrand, the Travepromenade and the Vorderreihe, Travemünde
- The Priwall beach and Uferpromenade, Travemünde
- Grömitz
- The Seebrücke and the Strandpromenade, Grömitz
- Grömitz marina
- Lensterstrand, Grömitz
- The beach and Seebrücke at Weißenhäuser Strand, Wangels
- Fehmarn
- The Südstrand at Burgtiefe, Fehmarn
- The Burgtiefe marina promenade and Burgstaaken harbour, Fehmarn
- The Grüner Brink beach, Fehmarn
- Wallnau on the west coast of Fehmarn
- Eckernförde
- The Hauptstrand, the Südstrand and the harbour, Eckernförde
- Damp
- The Südstrand and the Ostseepromenade, Damp
- Fischleger beach, Damp
The towns and the island on this page
The towns on the Lübecker Bucht come first, then Grömitz, Wangels and Fehmarn, with Eckernförde and Damp at the end.
Haffkrug and Scharbeutz
Haffkrug's promenade runs between thatched pavilions, and one row back lies the Haffwiesenpark, with lawns, a small duck pond and a maritime playground. Scharbeutz has a long, broad promenade and the Dünenmeile with its small shops. Its Seebrücke is decked like a ship, and the forecourt on the shore has wide steps where people sit.
Timmendorfer Strand and Niendorf
At Timmendorfer Strand the fine sand is backed by a low dune, and the water is shallow. The paved promenade leads to the Timmendorfer Platz and its fountain, and the Sport-StrandKlub beside the Seebrücke has beach volleyball courts. In Niendorf, fishing cutters and yachts tie up in the harbour, among the colourful stalls of the fish market. Seen from the air, Niendorf's Seebrücke is shaped like a turbot, with a bathing platform and a playground over the sea, and east of it the Niendorfer Balkon curves out above the beach. The sand then runs on below the Brodtener Steilufer cliff towards Travemünde.
Travemünde, from the Priwall to the Vorderreihe
Travemünde's Kurstrand lies along the broad Strandpromenade, where the Trave meets the Baltic and the Nordermole, with its green and white beacon, reaches into the sea. The Grünstrand is a large lawn near the beach for lying out and picnics, and the Travepromenade follows the river bank from the pilot tower to the Vorderreihe. Across the Trave by ferry, the Priwall has a wide, fine-sand beach backed by dunes, and a new Uferpromenade where the four-masted barque Passat lies.
Grömitz, the pier and the promenade
Grömitz has a long, fine-sand beach facing south, and the Strandpromenade beside it runs to the marina. The pier has a sun deck, swivelling chairs, climbing nets and a lighthouse slide, and the diving gondola goes down from the pier head. Lensterstrand, about three kilometres from the centre, is a quieter natural beach lined with dunes.
Weißenhäuser Strand in Wangels
Weißenhäuser Strand, part of the municipality of Wangels, has a long sand beach split into sections with lifeguards, and a Seebrücke leading out over the water. On the beach, name the section; on the pier, note whether you were near the shore, halfway or close to the end.
Fehmarn, from Burgtiefe to the Grüner Brink
The Südstrand at Burgtiefe is a wide beach of fine sand, with shallow water, gentle waves and beach volleyball nets. At its western end an accessible beach pavilion has a boardwalk across the sand towards the water's edge. Burgtiefe's marina has a rebuilt promenade, and the fishing fleet sails from the harbour at Burgstaaken. On the north coast near Puttgarden, the Grüner Brink is a flat, fine-sand natural beach with lifeguards and Strandkörbe, looking out at the ferries to Denmark. Wallnau, on the west coast, has ponds, reeds and meadows, with observation huts and a tower for watching birds.
Eckernförde and Damp
Eckernförde's long, fine-sand beach has shallow water where children paddle and Strandkörbe on the Hauptstrand. Past the dog beach and a military site comes the Südstrand, the natural stretch that serves as the Aktivstrand, with volleyball courts, a small pirate ship on its playground and room for water sports. Damp has two long, fine-sand beaches. On its Südstrand a Netzausleger, a resting frame that is hammock and lookout at once, is anchored in the sand with the harbour behind it. Fischleger beach has a playground behind its DLRG station.
How we handle a loss on this coast
One contact throughout
You deal with one person on WhatsApp, from the first photo you send to the news after the search.
The ceremony photos help
Pictures from the vows or the toast can show where each of you stood on the deck. We pass them to the detectorist with your pin, so the search starts on the right boards.
No idea which stretch
Keys dropped somewhere along the beach at Grömitz, with no clue to the part, are a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Your call once the costs are known
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and the choice to go ahead stays yours.
What the Baltic changes about a search
Hardly any tide on the Lübecker Bucht, and piers that start on the beach.
Little ebb and flow in the bay
The Lübecker Bucht has hardly any ebb or flood, so a search here does not wait for low water. Let us know roughly when it happened, and send a photo taken from where you were.
Deck, sand or sea
On a pier, it matters most whether you were still above the sand or farther out over the sea, so tell us how far along you had walked and which rail was nearer.
Off the shallows
The water is shallow off Timmendorfer Strand, at the Eckernförde beach and at the Südstrand on Fehmarn. If a ring, watch or bracelet came off out there, tell us whether the water reached your knees, waist or chest, and what was straight ahead of you on the shore.
Questions about the Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein
The ring fell while we were exchanging them on the Haffkrug Seebrücke, and nobody saw where it went.
Tell us whether the rings were exchanged inside the wedding room or out on the open deck, and whether anyone heard it land on the boards. Then collect the pictures taken around that moment by the guests and by whoever photographed the ceremony, and send them with a pin on the pier.
The strap of my watch broke during beach volleyball at the Sport-StrandKlub in Timmendorfer Strand.
The Sport-StrandKlub is beside the Seebrücke, with its volleyball courts on the sand. Say which court it was, where on it you were playing, and whether you dived for a ball. A picture of the court from where you stood, with the pier in it, places the spot.
After a picnic on the Grünstrand in Travemünde, the car keys were not in the bag.
The Grünstrand is a large lawn near the beach, meant for lying out and picnics. Pin the part of the lawn where you sat, add a photo taken from there, and trace your route back to the car, with any stop on the way.
Somewhere between the lighthouse slide and the diving gondola on the Grömitz pier, a bracelet went.
Between the shore and the gondola at the pier head come the sun deck, the swivelling chairs, the climbing nets and the slide. List the stops you made, starting from the shore, and say whether the bracelet was on a child or an adult and how it fastened.
I was standing in the water off the Südstrand at Burgtiefe when my Oura ring slipped off.
The Südstrand has shallow water and gentle waves, and an accessible pavilion at its western end. Say whether you went in near the pavilion or farther along the beach, how far out you had waded, and whether the water was at your knees or your waist.
A chain snapped during a game of football on the Aktivstrand in Eckernförde.
The Aktivstrand is the Südstrand, the natural stretch of the Eckernförde beach with room for football, volleyball and water sports. Mark where you had left your towels and bags and the stretch you played across, and tell us the moment you noticed the chain was gone from your neck.
My phone slipped out of my pocket while I was lying in the Netzausleger on the Südstrand in Damp.
The Netzausleger stands in the sand of the Südstrand, with the harbour behind it. Say whether you missed the phone while still in the net or only after you had moved on, and where you went in between.
Baltic coast, Schleswig-Holstein
Send us the pier, the hour and the wedding photos
Travemünde, Damp and the towns in between.
If one ring of the pair is still on a hand, photograph it and send it on WhatsApp with a pin on the pier or the beach. For a watch or a set of keys, a photo of a matching one and the name of the beach will get things moving.