The Schlei Has Four Very Different Faces
Holiday houses by the water tend to be booked for the summer. With Karschau 11 that would be a shame — with its heat pump, underfloor heating and gas fireplace, the house is built so that the quiet months can be the better ones.
Spring
From March it turns bright long before it turns warm. The hedgerows come into leaf, the cranes pass overhead, and in Kappeln the herring season begins. The water is still cold, but the light is clearer than at any other time of year.
It is the season for long walks and for evenings when you light the fire and still leave the terrace door open.
Summer
In summer everything moves outdoors. Breakfast on the terrace by the living room, down the natural path into the water at midday, grilling in the evening and staying out until it finally gets dark around eleven — this far north the evening stretches.
This is when the private shoreline shows its worth most plainly: while the Baltic beaches lie towel to towel, the strip below the garden is empty.
Indian Summer
September and October are often the best time on the Schlei. The water has stored the summer and is warmer than the air, the sailing boats are still out, but the resorts have emptied.
Mist lies on the water in the morning, at midday you sit outside in a T-shirt, and in the evening the gas fireplace is exactly right. If you are not tied to school holidays, take these weeks.
Advent, Christmas and New Year
In winter the area falls quiet, and that is not a drawback but the entire point. The house is warm — underfloor heating in every room, the panoramic gas fireplace on at the touch of a button, the 100-inch home cinema for the evening.
New Year's Eve on the Schlei means no crowds, but fireworks across the water, spread along the whole of the opposite shore. It is the booking you have to decide on earliest.
Weather, and What to Pack
On the Schlei the same rule applies as along the whole coast: the weather changes faster than any forecast can show. A rainy morning and an afternoon of full sunshine are not a contradiction here — they are the same day.
So pack in layers rather than for a season. A windproof jacket belongs in July too, and sturdy shoes are more useful on almost every day of the year than they look. If you come in winter, what you mainly need is something for going outside; indoors the underfloor heating keeps the floor warm.
The house takes the decision off your hands in any case: whatever the weather, there is a place inside with a view of the water, and the panoramic gas fireplace lights in seconds.
What This Means for the Rate
The nightly rate follows the season. The winter months are the cheapest, summer and New Year the highest; early spring, late summer, spring and the Indian summer lie in between. The minimum stay changes with the season too, ranging from two to seven nights.
The final cleaning fee of €238 is charged once, regardless of season or number of guests. There is no visitor's tax. The exact calculation is shown in the booking portal.