HAMBURG DEPARTURE, KIEL CANAL, AND ROSTOCK, GERMANY—Saturday-Monday, May 17-19, 2014

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Hamburg, Germany--Saturday, May 17^th

We had the large buffet breakfast again at the hotel and then took a taxi to the dock/port to embark on the ISE Explorer for the enrichment voyage. We needed to be on board by 10:00 and settled a bit before Valerie had an orientation meeting to learn her duties that day. We then had lunch with the staff and other lecturers before Valerie had to assist with the boarding of the passengers.

Before dinner, when everyone was aboard, we had the usual long safety drill. I don’t know how this could be more efficiently done, but we spend a long time standing on the deck by the lifeboats waiting for everyone to muster and then respond to the roll call.

Kiel Canal, Germany--Sunday, May 18th

We were awakened by the ship’s motor starting this morning before 7 am. Got dressed and went up to the dining room for a sit-down breakfast. I had an omelet plus a bowl of oatmeal. Too much food—eyes bigger than my stomach syndrome. We talked with tablemates until it was time for a lecture about the ship going through the Kiel Canal, much of it is part of the Elbe River.

This canal was completed by Germany just before WWI and cuts off the distance going around Denmark. It has more traffic on it than either the Panama or Suez Canals, at 47,000 ships per year. It will take us about 8 hours to travel the length of it going 8 km per hour for about 100 kms+ (60 miles+). This Canal has just 2 locks-–one on each end—as they do not have to raise the ship up as they do going through the Panama Canal from one ocean to the other. The canal is through a really lovely pastoral landscape with quaint villages here and there. Since it was Sunday, many people were out bike riding along the canal and people were fishing and picnicking. Everyone waved as we went by. This Canal is wide enough that smaller container ships pass by going the other way. Besides gulls, I really think the geese I saw here and there along the canal, were Egyptian Geese with the black spot on their chest.

Valerie had her first lecture this afternoon at 4:00 covering the subject of amber and the Amber Trade Route. The lectures are beamed into the staterooms and on the TV’s throughout the ship. Her lecture went real well and a good number of people came up to compliment her and say how much they enjoyed it.

Rostock, Germany--Monday, May 19th

I woke up to announcements on the intercom telling people to be ready for their tours—several of the tour groups are heading for a long day’s drive to Berlin from here. We did not book anything today, so I relaxed until 9. Woke Valerie up then as I wanted to make sure we got breakfast this morning, because it is served only until 10.

After breakfast, we walked onto the pier and through the terminal to look for a grocery store. We walked through a nice craft/souvenir shop but no food sold there. We also looked around at the 3-4 sand art carvings located around this store.

Valerie then walked on into town and I walked back to the ship. I didn’t realize how close town was; if I had known the distance, I could have walked the couple more blocks. Valerie came back with some bottled diet coke and some chips from a store she found. She bought a pastry for me at a bakery, but we sadly learned that no “open” food or drinks could be brought on board the ship so it was taken from her and put in the garbage. Not happy that nothing was said about this rule when we left the ship.

We then went up one flight to the dining room for lunch and then decided to chill and work on lecture preparation for the rest of the day as by now it was pouring rain. We watched a ferry go back and forth right in front of the bow of our ship and both small craft and the huge Queen Victoria, part of the Cunard line, sail on by. Lots of white swans live in this harbor.

Sailing in the Baltic Sea between Germany and Poland-- Tuesday, May 20^th

Sunrise at 4:54 and sunset at 9:17.

Valerie did a lecture on “Knarrs, Cogs, and floating hotels: Ship Building in the Baltic Region” at 10:00am in the large auditorium. Read and prepared for the next lectures for the rest of day and then got gussied up and went to Captain’s welcome reception that night and then to a fancy dinner in the main dining room.

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