Tuesday, June 28th we docked in Kiel, Germany. Kiel is at the end of a 17 km (10 1/2 mile) long Kiel Fjord. The sea comes right into the heart of the city. The great natural feature in Kiel is a fjord with its beaches the maritime aspect of the city with its harbors, the massive passenger ferries and the enormous cranes on the docks that’s typical Kiel. 

Kiel is the capital and most populated city in the northern German State of Schieswig-Holstein, with a population of about 250,000. Kiel is one of Germany’s major maritime centers, known for a variety of international sailing events, including Kiel Week, the biggest sailing event in the world. It is also one of the traditional homes of the German Navy’s Baltic fleet and is a major high-tech shipbuilding center.

We didn’t have an excursion scheduled today, so we left the ship a little after 9:00 a.m. and walked to the city center. It was easy to find because they have a blue painted line that you follow into town. We walked a good 10,000 steps!

We were able to do a little bit of shopping but mostly just walked the town before coming back to the ship about 11:00 a.m. The most important purchase was a new hat for John. His hat was kind of broken and wasn’t a very favorite anyway, so when we saw the hat shop, it was a must. He found one that fits absolutely perfect and we both love it.

Fun Fact:  The hat John purchased was a “Genuine Panama hat”.  Genuine Panama hats are not made in Panama, but are actually made in Ecuador.  So John purchased a “Panama” hat, made in Ecuador in Germany.

When we got back to our room it was pouring down rain. We just missed a very big rainfall within just minutes from our return. But while we were out the weather was Beautiful, upper 60’s partly cloudy. The rain didn’t last long and passed through fairly quickly. All turned out well for us though and we enjoyed the downfall from our balcony.

At dinner, John was given another free bottle of wine from the casino. John went to the show “80’s Pop to the Max”.