Today is a sea day as we continue to sail from Gdansk to St Petersburg, where we will dock tomorrow morning at 7am.  But for now I will return to the narrative of

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Hamburg to the Baltic Sea via the Kiel Canal

We sail out of Hamburg at the scheduled time of 6am, heading to Bűttenbuhl at the western entrance to the Kiel Canal for a scheduled 10am entry.  But one of the locks is not working and thus traffic in both directions must alternate through the one available lock.  Because there are many other ships waiting for entry, the Captain announces we will be delayed four hours, but it is actually well over five hours before we enter the canal, and we must travel at reduced speed because of our excessive width.  But the weather is bright and warm so the waiting time is not unpleasant.  We enjoy a buffet of typical German food outdoors on the Lido Deck:  sauerbraten, sausage, sauerkraut, red cabbage, salads, and cold cuts.

 











 

We finally enter the locks after 3 pm and get some very good views of how tight the passage is.  Since the sun doesn’t set until almost 10 pm, we will still be able to see about half the canal’s 68 mile length in daylight.  Unlike the tropical scenery and large-ship traffic in the Panama Canal, there is not much going on in the water here.  After passing through the village of Bűttenbuhl, we see a series of petroleum refineries and heavy industry.  But very soon we pass under an automobile bridge and emerge into a pastoral landscape of quiet fields and farms, interspersed with small villages, each with its own ferry stop for crossing the canal.  The canal is bordered by a well-tended bike- and walkway, with many folks stopping to fish or walk their dogs.  We sail under a very long train bridge and watch trains pass over in both directions.

  

As the sky darkens it is time to get ready for dinner.  Tonight is supposed to be the first formal night, but because of the delays getting into the canal, the Captain has decided to make the dress code optional—and to offer complimentary champagne with dessert.  Will and I both start out with shrimp cocktail, followed by pistou for Will (a kind of French minestrone) and fois gras pate en croute for me.  The main course is NY strip steak with potato and vegetables (Will), and rack of lamb (Larry) that begs to be picked up and gnawed off the bone—so, of course, I oblige.  For dessert we both have deliciously creamy individual chocolate soufflés.

The Prinsendam entertainers—five singers and two dancers—present their first production show, “Bravo,” featuring songs that have made the transition from London’s West End to Broadway, and the reverse.  The cast is young and athletic and they favor songs more rock-and-roll than traditional Broadway (Mamma Mia, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, etc.).   There is a five-piece band, the costumes are flashy, and the choreography is energetic.  The audience loves it and gives them a standing ovation—or is it for us as we head off for another night’s sleep prior to our next landing in Rønne, Denmark.