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Kiel, Germany
Sea: Calm
Weather: Sunny
We pulled back the curtains this morning when we were arriving in Kiel. Regent Seven Seas Voyager was in port already and we were pulling up in the berth next to her. It looked to be another really lovely day. We were up too late for the MDR breakfast so once again, headed back to the buffet. Again, really quiet and no problems finding a table.
We had to take our passports ashore this morning. There didn’t appear to be much to see in Kiel so we were off for a wander. No tourist people by the exit to the terminal, so no maps or info telling us what there was to see … I only had the P&O port guide and a couple of walking trails, but not too much to see. We followed the “Blue Line” into the city centre and this eventually led us to the main shopping centre. Just like being back home – Primark, TK Maxx, Decathlon, JD Sports and the never forgotten, C&A and Woolworths!!
Slap bang in the city centre, we found the Keiler Brauerei – one of the local breweries. It would be rude to walk on past. Inside it was like being in caves – thick walls (no 3/4G signal inside!). Jon and I ordered a Bierprobe (3 “small” measures of the three beers brewed on site – Keiler Bier, Helles Pils & Saisonbier) – Callum had a Miranda (a cola/fanta mix).
Eagle-eyed Callum also spotted that there were pretzels on the menu so he ordered one with cheese … just to keep him going.
We were sat by the food service station and the food coming out was making us hungry – it smelt really good too. Nothing fancy but it was just your typical German food. Wurst, Schnitzel with potatoes, sauerkraut and some type of gravy/sauce.
Kiel was a pretty modern town – Jon read it was heavily bombed in WW2 – a key port for the Germans – and 81% of the city was destroyed. There were a couple of old buildings in amongst the new but these were few and far between.
The town centre was pretty much just shopping – Callum managed to get his German flag and fridge magnet but no Christmas decorations to be seen. No other souvenir shops in sight – not even one at the cruise terminal.
We headed back to the ship – Callum was worried we would miss the Syndicate Quiz. We weren’t that hungry, but found a couple of comfy seats in the shade by the Lido pool so sat there. We grabbed a couple of slices of pizza and Callum some Southern Fried Chicken. The jukebox quiz was in full flow and playing a good range of music from all eras. We didn’t take part but we knew the 80s/90s music but struggled with the other eras. Then down to the Syndicate Quiz and this time we struggled. We started off fine but had a bad spell in the middle. Just 9/16 today (they ran out of time to do the full 20 questions – hosts too busy chatting to us all!)
Back to the cabin to chill and watch sailaway from our balcony. Everyone was onboard really promptly and by 5.45 we’d pushed back and were on our way to Sweden. Britannia had to reverse out from her berth slowly and slowly swing around so we were facing in the right direction. To one side of the port was the German Navy – 15 or so boats in port. In the port area, there were loads of small yachts, some getting up pretty close to our ship. Seven Seas Voyager left just after us and was following us out. The yachts were really getting in her way and the captain kept sounding his horn telling them to get out of his way!
Just out to sea and Britannia slowed to about 10 knots – the pilot was disembarking. We saw the pilot boat cross the back of the ship and then head to the starboard side to collect him. He then peeled off and went to collect the pilots from the two merchant ships following in our wake.
We then thought it best to get changed and head down to dinner! Callum’s choice this evening and he chose The Glass House. Jon and I started to read the menu and decided that choosing steak last night was limiting our options for this evening.
We shared three tasting dishes for starters – Tempura Prawns, Scallops and Lamb Kebabs. Callum chose sliders for his main whilst Jon and I went for Neptune’s Bounty – Scallops, Tiger Prawns and Dressed Crab served with salad and fries. There was plenty there for us.
For pudding, Callum stuck to his “threes” and chose a tasting plate of puddings – Walnut Whip, Waggon Wheel style pudding and Arctic Roll. Jon and I shared a cheese board.
No quizzes on in Brodies tonight so we headed up towards the Crows Nest – a quick stop on Lido Deck for Jon and Callum to have a quick game of Table-tennis. We had a sudden thought – were children allowed in the Crows Nest after 10pm? As we arrived, some families with young children were leaving – not sure if they had been asked to leave, but we could see other families with older children in there.
It was busy when we arrived – we found a table and only realised when the pianist turned up, we were sat right next to the piano. He was good – playing a lot of modern songs but with a bit of a twist. He didn’t have any music – just played all the songs from memory for about 30 minutes. Probably the most interesting/alternate version of Teenage Dirt Bag we’ve heard!
We played a couple of games of Carcassone – Callum won one and I won one – then called it a night.
