Ach du Lieber!
The Kiel Canal
The Kiel Canal is 53.2 nautical miles long and is the busiest manmade waterway in the world. It was completed in 1895 and is the shortest link between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Over 60,000 ships pass through it every year as well as around 25,000 yachts in the summer months. There are locks to negotiate, and the entire transit takes from seven to nine hours. On either side of the canal, we saw prosperous looking towns as well as fertile farm fields with a variety of crops and livestock. Very prominent with their bright yellow flowers were fields of rapeseed, the source of what we call canola oil. There are bike and pedestrian paths on both sides of the canal and people gather in various places to watch the ships go by. Our arms got tired from waving to all of them, especially the children, who would excitedly wave back. I remembered my childhood days when I would wave to railroad engineers. A wonderfully relaxing day. We even got certificates signed by the captain attesting to the fact that we had transited the Kiel Canal while aboard the Marco Polo. (Now what am I going to do with that?)
We arrived at Warnemunde, Germany, shortly after midnight. This little resort town, located in the German state of Mecklenburg, is a popular vacation destination with excellent hotels and restaurants plus a beautiful white sand beach.
Warnemunde, Germany
Some opted for the 6-hour roundtrip train ride to Berlin, but we preferred different tours. Phyllis chose a "Walk Through Rostock" which took her through this centuries-old restored medieval town. Rostock University was founded in 1419 and is one of the city's highlights in addition to the gothic churches.
Rostock University
I decided on the Minster and Molli tour. The Minster is a 700-year-old church and monastery in a charming park-like setting. After strolling through the grounds, we headed for the Molli train station to board the historic (just about everything is historic and/or medieval) Molli narrow-gauge steam train for a 45-minute ride to Kuhlungsborn, "the Green City by the Sea." The train was named for a little dog that used to bark its approval every time the smoking iron horse passed by. At the start of the journey, the engine and its old wooden carriages make their way down the center of Bad Doberan's cobbled streets, sort of like a street car. Then it heads out into the countryside through the impressive Mecklenburg meadows and forests.
The "Molli"
Kuhlungsborn is a delightful seaside resort that is becoming quite posh. The entire area suffered when it was part of East Germany, but all that has changed now and it has swapped its dowdy dress for a brand new party frock (I wrote that myself). We enjoyed very good coffee and apple strudel in the dining room of one of the hotels, and then ambled down to the beautiful beach. Our motorcoach met us there to take us back to the Marco Polo.
The beach at Kuhlungsborn
We just relaxed the rest of the day and at 11:59 pm we steamed out into the Baltic. We were headed for Stockholm, but that would take us all the next day and night. Yes, another restful cruising day. No museums, no churches, nothing to do except gaze at the sea -- and eat, of course.
Return To The Index
The Kiel Canal
The Kiel Canal is 53.2 nautical miles long and is the busiest manmade waterway in the world. It was completed in 1895 and is the shortest link between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Over 60,000 ships pass through it every year as well as around 25,000 yachts in the summer months. There are locks to negotiate, and the entire transit takes from seven to nine hours. On either side of the canal, we saw prosperous looking towns as well as fertile farm fields with a variety of crops and livestock. Very prominent with their bright yellow flowers were fields of rapeseed, the source of what we call canola oil. There are bike and pedestrian paths on both sides of the canal and people gather in various places to watch the ships go by. Our arms got tired from waving to all of them, especially the children, who would excitedly wave back. I remembered my childhood days when I would wave to railroad engineers. A wonderfully relaxing day. We even got certificates signed by the captain attesting to the fact that we had transited the Kiel Canal while aboard the Marco Polo. (Now what am I going to do with that?)
We arrived at Warnemunde, Germany, shortly after midnight. This little resort town, located in the German state of Mecklenburg, is a popular vacation destination with excellent hotels and restaurants plus a beautiful white sand beach.
Warnemunde, Germany
Some opted for the 6-hour roundtrip train ride to Berlin, but we preferred different tours. Phyllis chose a "Walk Through Rostock" which took her through this centuries-old restored medieval town. Rostock University was founded in 1419 and is one of the city's highlights in addition to the gothic churches.
Rostock University
I decided on the Minster and Molli tour. The Minster is a 700-year-old church and monastery in a charming park-like setting. After strolling through the grounds, we headed for the Molli train station to board the historic (just about everything is historic and/or medieval) Molli narrow-gauge steam train for a 45-minute ride to Kuhlungsborn, "the Green City by the Sea." The train was named for a little dog that used to bark its approval every time the smoking iron horse passed by. At the start of the journey, the engine and its old wooden carriages make their way down the center of Bad Doberan's cobbled streets, sort of like a street car. Then it heads out into the countryside through the impressive Mecklenburg meadows and forests.
The "Molli"
Kuhlungsborn is a delightful seaside resort that is becoming quite posh. The entire area suffered when it was part of East Germany, but all that has changed now and it has swapped its dowdy dress for a brand new party frock (I wrote that myself). We enjoyed very good coffee and apple strudel in the dining room of one of the hotels, and then ambled down to the beautiful beach. Our motorcoach met us there to take us back to the Marco Polo.
The beach at Kuhlungsborn
We just relaxed the rest of the day and at 11:59 pm we steamed out into the Baltic. We were headed for Stockholm, but that would take us all the next day and night. Yes, another restful cruising day. No museums, no churches, nothing to do except gaze at the sea -- and eat, of course.
Return To The Index
Some opted for the 6-hour roundtrip train ride to Berlin, but we preferred different tours. Phyllis chose a "Walk Through Rostock" which took her through this centuries-old restored medieval town. Rostock University was founded in 1419 and is one of the city's highlights in addition to the gothic churches.
Rostock University
I decided on the Minster and Molli tour. The Minster is a 700-year-old church and monastery in a charming park-like setting. After strolling through the grounds, we headed for the Molli train station to board the historic (just about everything is historic and/or medieval) Molli narrow-gauge steam train for a 45-minute ride to Kuhlungsborn, "the Green City by the Sea." The train was named for a little dog that used to bark its approval every time the smoking iron horse passed by. At the start of the journey, the engine and its old wooden carriages make their way down the center of Bad Doberan's cobbled streets, sort of like a street car. Then it heads out into the countryside through the impressive Mecklenburg meadows and forests.
The "Molli"
Kuhlungsborn is a delightful seaside resort that is becoming quite posh. The entire area suffered when it was part of East Germany, but all that has changed now and it has swapped its dowdy dress for a brand new party frock (I wrote that myself). We enjoyed very good coffee and apple strudel in the dining room of one of the hotels, and then ambled down to the beautiful beach. Our motorcoach met us there to take us back to the Marco Polo.
The beach at Kuhlungsborn
We just relaxed the rest of the day and at 11:59 pm we steamed out into the Baltic. We were headed for Stockholm, but that would take us all the next day and night. Yes, another restful cruising day. No museums, no churches, nothing to do except gaze at the sea -- and eat, of course.
Return To The Index
I decided on the Minster and Molli tour. The Minster is a 700-year-old church and monastery in a charming park-like setting. After strolling through the grounds, we headed for the Molli train station to board the historic (just about everything is historic and/or medieval) Molli narrow-gauge steam train for a 45-minute ride to Kuhlungsborn, "the Green City by the Sea." The train was named for a little dog that used to bark its approval every time the smoking iron horse passed by. At the start of the journey, the engine and its old wooden carriages make their way down the center of Bad Doberan's cobbled streets, sort of like a street car. Then it heads out into the countryside through the impressive Mecklenburg meadows and forests.
The "Molli"
Kuhlungsborn is a delightful seaside resort that is becoming quite posh. The entire area suffered when it was part of East Germany, but all that has changed now and it has swapped its dowdy dress for a brand new party frock (I wrote that myself). We enjoyed very good coffee and apple strudel in the dining room of one of the hotels, and then ambled down to the beautiful beach. Our motorcoach met us there to take us back to the Marco Polo.
The beach at Kuhlungsborn
We just relaxed the rest of the day and at 11:59 pm we steamed out into the Baltic. We were headed for Stockholm, but that would take us all the next day and night. Yes, another restful cruising day. No museums, no churches, nothing to do except gaze at the sea -- and eat, of course.
Return To The Index
Kuhlungsborn is a delightful seaside resort that is becoming quite posh. The entire area suffered when it was part of East Germany, but all that has changed now and it has swapped its dowdy dress for a brand new party frock (I wrote that myself). We enjoyed very good coffee and apple strudel in the dining room of one of the hotels, and then ambled down to the beautiful beach. Our motorcoach met us there to take us back to the Marco Polo.
The beach at Kuhlungsborn
We just relaxed the rest of the day and at 11:59 pm we steamed out into the Baltic. We were headed for Stockholm, but that would take us all the next day and night. Yes, another restful cruising day. No museums, no churches, nothing to do except gaze at the sea -- and eat, of course.
Return To The Index
We just relaxed the rest of the day and at 11:59 pm we steamed out into the Baltic. We were headed for Stockholm, but that would take us all the next day and night. Yes, another restful cruising day. No museums, no churches, nothing to do except gaze at the sea -- and eat, of course.
Return To The Index