Kiel, Germany

Kiel, Germany                                                                                  Thursday June 2, 2022

            And now we’re heading south, hopefully to warmer and dryer climes.  Yesterday was Denmark, today is Germany, two days from now we will be in the Netherlands.  No wonder we can’t remember where we’ve been or where we’re going!  These final weeks promise to be a blur. 

               Kiel is on the sea and on a major river, so has double the maritime and trade significance.  This means that it was heavily bombed in WW2, of course, as are many of the sites we’ve seen and will be seeing as the June 6 anniversary of D-Day approaches for all.  Unsurprisingly, water dominates the city.  Lots of bridges, but not nearly like Stockholm, this city is a bit more contained rather than sprawled.  Dominated by the 106m City Hall Tower, one can walk and orient oneself to that and to the steeples of the main church: St. Nicolai which dates to 1242, was heavily bombed also, and has been rebuilt and resurrected in a more modern style in the 1950s.

            How do we get from the cruise terminal to downtown on foot?  No worries!  Follow the 3-inch-wide blue strip painted on the sidewalks and across intersections.   Weather forecasted rain—again.  We were warmly clothed, I had my gloves, and we carried the umbrella (which, of course, means we won’t have to use it!)   Immediately, we absorbed the flair and ease of being in a college/university city.  Medieval and modern architecture combined into eye-pleasing displays. 

            We found the church right away and were pleased that it was open.  Took lots of photos, then found that there would be an organ concert at 12:05, so as we walked around the shopping area, we shared that info with others from the ship, knowing they’d enjoy it also.  One of the shops was an art gallery in wood that I’m pretty sure will be of interest to many of you--crafted by Marcus Meyer Kunst Was tust du l MARCUS MEYER KUNST (marcus-meyer-kunst.de) (then have Google translate into English).

            Many of the places we’ve visited have proactive impulses for peace.  Perhaps those who constantly wear the scars of man’s inhumanity toward man understand peace differently.  Here, too, we stumbled upon a small park located in front of a former monastery that had outdoor sculptures dedicated to peace.  We will try to explain them with photos.

            Back to the church for the organ concert and a restroom. The organist descended the iron spiral staircase went to the microphone in front, and detailed his selections in German and in English before ascending and playing.  It was divine!  A bit more about St. Nicolai.  First, why are so many churches named for St. Nicolas?  He is the patron saint of seafarers and merchants.  After the first bombs had fallen during WW2, most of the church’s artifacts were removed and evacuated to another site, therefore saving them from the destruction experienced by the outside of the church (see photo) and the center of the city.  They were returned to the church and a little pamphlet tells the dates that the various pieces showed up in the church.  Bronze baptismal font(1344) Frescoes(1410) Altar piece (1460) Trimphal cross and baptismal altar (1490) Pews (1543) Candle sticks and chandeliers (16th and 17th centuries) Pulpit (1705).  Quite a history.  

        The blue line works both ways so we followed it back to the ship.  Late in the afternoon we heard the announcement bell and were informed that our leave time of 10:00 had been delayed by three hours.  Not that big a deal except that it changed the canal timing.  The canal timing?  Yes.  The Kiel canal, originally the Eiderkanal, was first completed in 1784.  It was about 9 feet deep and 60 feet wide.  This was not big enough for bigger boats, so it was increased in width and depth and extended to connect the Baltic Sea to the North Sea saving some 250(one source says 680) miles.  The first upgrade was finished in 1895.  with several others in the 20th century leading to what is now the busiest artificial waterway in the world transiting an average of 90 vessels a day across it's 61 mile length.  We had no idea.  Had never heard of it.  Panama averages about 30 boats a day through their locks.  The late exit from port meant we might be in the first lock in the middle of the night, but the second lock later in the morning.  The locks here do not raise and lower the boats, but protect the ships from getting moved around by the tidal changes.

        One bizarre thing about this time of year at this latitude is that it is quite light late at night, and very early in the morning.  One of the things I have been doing is waking up in the middle of the night, and turning on the tv and then going to the bridge camera to see if it is light yet.  I woke up at 2:30(possibly 3:30--things have gotten a little fuzzy about the time) turned on the tv and saw that there was enough light and that we were in the first lock.  I put on my clothes and went out on deck to get a couple pics and see what there was to see.  There was a large ship going the other way.  It was chilly and there was one maintenance guy washing the walking track and me.  Took a few pics and went back to bed.  We got to the out lock about 10 hours later at noon(maybe it was 2:30 AM because the transit was supposed to take 10 hours) Lots of green on both sides of the canal as we transited, and we did see a lot of ships.  And now you've heard of the Kiel Canal.