Kiel Canal, Germany

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 1998 06:06:35 +0000

After leaving Dover and crossing the English Chanel (The Dream swerved sharply in the middle of that crossing at about 1am to avoid hitting another ship… A year later at the end of this same itinerary, during the same shift, she did hit another ship… another reason not to sail NCL) we arrived at the mouth of the North Sea end of the Kiel Canal to begin our transit.
The Kiel Canal connects the North Sea with the Baltic, and is a much safer route than the trechurous route through the Danish Sound and Belts. The canal is a “traditional” canal with series of locks. One unique feature of the canal is that in addition to the width size restrictions the Kiel Canal also has a “height” restriction for ships because of the eight high level bridges that span the canal.

[[Show as slideshow]]The Kiel Canal is my favorite canal. It is an absolutely goregeous area. The day of the transit was beautiful, warm and sunny with huge puffy clouds. The scenery is incredible – rolling green farmland, horses playing in the fields, and wonderful parks and walkways along the length of the canal with families out enjoying them. It amazed me to see the number of people, mostly families, that came out to see the ships passing through the canal. Some would wait in the areas near the locks, some in parks along the canal, and others out riding bikes, or walking along the paths that follow the canal. The communities along the canal have definately made this area a place to be used and enjoyed by all, not just a transit route for ships.

The Norwegian Dream is an event when she passes through the Kiel Canal. For one very special reason… there is one bridge that she is taller than. In order to use the canal the engineers of the ship had to get creative. They had to find a way to make her fit under this bridge. Their solution – She “Flips” her funnel and lays back her mast in order to fit. Not only is this a site for the passengers onboard to see – but it’s quite the event for the locals too. There were several people that were actually on top of the bridge to watch her “Flip her Funnel.” After a beautiful, full day transversing the Kiel Canal we headed for our first port – Tallin, Estonia.

London – On the Way to Dover

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 1998 01:43:54 +0000

We flew into London a few days early to sample all that one of my favorite cities in the world has to offer: Theatre, wonderful restaurants, historic treasures, and a character all it’s own. I had even more fun in London than I normally do, because I got to show my Aunt and Uncle all the wonders of my favorite city.

Note: Looking for a great hotel in London?
Try the Montague on the Garden. It’s located next to the British Museum, a block from the underground, and in a quiet neighborhood with a beautiful park that’s wonderful for coffee and a light breakfast. Best of all, they’re usually in the Entertainment Hotel Discount program – when available rooms at 50% off!

If you’re looking for good fish-n-chips check out SeaShell – they’re a London institution a short walk from Marlyebone Station. They have both a takeaway and a very nice restaurant. Open 7 days a week, however they only server LUNCH on Sundays.

Leaving London we drove to Dover to meet our ship, NCL’s Norwegian Dream, stopping at Canterbury on the way. London really isn’t that bad to drive through – if you’re used to the left side of the road, sitting on the right side of the car (that’s can take a little getting used to). Getting lost really isn’t much of an issue thanks to their wonderful numbering system – their Postal Codes all radiate out from the center – E1 means East 1 the further east you go the bigger the number gets, the same for N, NW, W, SE, SW, NE. It does help, especially as you get to edge of London to know what the next big town is on the route you want to take. Their road signs tend to say that destination instead of the route number and direction. For step by step driving instruction for most of Europe check out Via Michelin.

If you’re head to a ship in Dover (or Southampton or Tilbury) and don’t want to drive, check with one of the many car services throughout London, or take the train.

As for the ship we were on our way to meet – you can read my low opinion NCL here. Some cruise lines just don’t have clue.

Been There Done That Too... » Germany

Kiel Canal, Germany

London – On the Way to Dover