Cruising 2019

The Kiel Canal extends eastward 61 miles from Brunsbuttelkoog (on the North Sea, at the mouth of the Elbe River) to Holtenau (at Kiel Harbor on the Baltic Sea).  The canal has been enlarged twice and is today 526 feet wide and 37 feet deep.  It is spanned by seven high-level bridges that have about 140 feet of clearance for ships beneath them.  The locks are 146 feet wide by 1072 feet long. The Canal constitutes the safest, most conenient, shortest, and cheapest shipping route between the two seas.  The canal, built between 1887 and 1895, initially served German military needs by eliminating the necessity for ships to travel northward around the Danish peninsula.  It was enlarged between 1907 and 1914 to accommodate large naval ships.  Prior to World War I, the canal (then known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm Canal) was owned by the German government.  Thew Treaty of Versailles (June 28m 1919) laid down regulations that, in effect, internationalized the canal, while leaving it under German ad

Happy Birthday to John and David!!! Bremerhaven is a port city on Germany's North Sea coast.  The German Maritime Museum at the Old Harbor details the national and regional history of shipping and navigation.  Its collection includes the Bremen cog, a restored medieval vessel.  Nearby, the WWII submarine Wilhelm Bauer has been converted into a museum.  The German Emigration Center is dedicated to the history of those who left Bremerhaven for America. Anyone who has dreamt of running away to sea will love Bremerhaven's waterfront Havenwelten (Harbor Worlds) area, with its old ships, rusty docks and glistening modern buildings pointing to a recent re-imagining of the city's harbor as a place to play and learn. Founded in 1827 as a North Sea Harbor for Bremen, Bremerhaven has long been a conduit that has gathered the "huddled masses" from the verdant poor countryside and poured them into the world outside.  (Today it's the fourth largest container po

Beautiful day at sea, today!  For a change we even had sunshine most of the day with only a few spritzes, but mainly wonderful weather.  Good enough to sit out on the pool deck, drink a bit of Rose Sangria and have a light lunch. Each two or three-week cruise, Seabourn presents a Galley Market Lunch.  All kinds of wonderful foods are available on a buffet basis throughout the galley.   Nothing is spared in creating some of the most beautiful presentations (especially the desserts) for our dining pleasure.   The lunch runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  This cruise is the first time I've not eaten there - it just seemed like too much food, and I knew I could not just take a little!   Instead, I went through the line with my camera so I could share the photos in this journal.  As I ended the line, there stood the Chef de Cuisine, who looked askance and asked me "What about your plate?".   Told him that I'd photographed everything and was already full!  He laughed! Kn

Lerwick is Shetland's only town, with a population of about 7,500 - although about half of the islands' 22,000 people live within 10 miles of the burgh.  Founded as an unofficial marketplace to serve 17th century Dutch here fleets, Lerwick took a long time to grow.  Because of its illegal status (and alleged immorality!) the straggling hamlet around the shore of Her Wick ("muddy bay") was demolished by order of the Scalloway court in 1615 and 1625.  The Dutch burnt the fort in 1673 and the French set fire to Lerwick in 1702.  The old waterfront is thronged with pleasure boats, visiting yachts, historic craft and working fishing boats.  There's a variety of lively bars and clubs, ranging from popular "theme" bars to more traditional hostelries. A pretty day, a pretty port - and a culinary event this afternoon in Eric's suite as we say "farewell" to Scotland.    More later . . .  Just back from a culinary adventure in Eric's suite