Kiel, Germany

The last day of our cruise was in Kiel, Germany.  The kids were very meh on this idea because... well, we live in Germany.  So they decided to stay on the ship, even though the kids club was closed. But BOY did they miss out!  This was one of the best stops on the cruise, and not because Todd and I got to enjoy the day alone.  Ok maybe partially because of that.  As soon as I saw what was going on in Kiel, I immediately felt the need to RUN (not walk) back to the boat and grab the kids.  It crushed me that they didn't get to experience this.

There's no one who will appreciate this photography office other than my bestie Sara.  "What the heck does Pretty Mama mean?"  (Me:  "I have no idea!") 

After we got off of the bus, we were super confused as to what was going on in Kiel.  And then we realized... Kieler Woche.  Kiel Week.  It's the biggest week in the city of Kiel of the entire year.  There were rides and games and beer and excitement all day long!

I was very sad we left the kids on the boat.  Since it's technically the first day of the cruise (you can board in Kiel as well as Copenhagen) EVERYTHING was closed on the boat.  No kids club (disappointing), no water slides, no bowling, NOTHING.  So the kids really had nothing to do.  In my defense, they WANTED to stay on the boat.  But I was having major guilt.  So we stopped for a beer at one of the many vendors along the waterfront.

Welcome to the fun zone!  Beer and rides, whoo hoo!

Normally there are more wooden boats in the Germaniahafen, but... Kieler Woche.

We decided to stroll through the amusement area to see what kind of rides they had.  Todd still gives the BreakDance(r) a thumbs down!

I think we walked about 20 feet and phew, it was hot so it was time for another beer.  (Just kidding.  We waited until after we had strolled around the fest.)  But you know he had to do this.  As someone on a Facebook travel page said, "Your BF is a troll ha ha."

Well at least he makes up for it.

We decided to head over to the Altstadt and check out what the Old Town had to offer.  To do so, you had to cross the Hörnbrücke (or Horn Bridge.)

We didn't get too far into the city because over by the City Hall there was a big International Market!  It was full of stalls selling foods, drinks and crafts from various countries around the world.  We couldn't pass up getting some tapas at the Spain stall!

I believe that's the Danish stall behind us (note the flag!) but we were really taking a selfie with the Kiel City Hall tower.  And my sangria.

Bwahahahahahahaha!  They even had a stall from the USA!  'Merica!  Featuring onion rings and chicken wings in a wild, wild west theme!

There was a helpful sign telling you all of the different country participants in the International Market.  Good thing they didn't leave out the pirates!  

At first we kind of thought it was mostly a European International Market but we found a stall from Ethiopia.  Mmmmm!

And although we didn't imbibe here, we were happy to see one of our favorite countries representing with some Guinness.

In case you get lost at the Kiel International Market, there's a sign to guide you. 🤣

Todd in front of the Kiel City Hall under the International Markt sign.

You know Grant loves maps.  And he loves Poland, too.  So we took a pic of this super cool map of Poland table!

We liked seeing the stall from Finland because we had just been there!

After strolling around, it was time for another snack.  This time, it was samosas from South Africa.

AND because we were going to Croatia only about 10 days after this trip, we decided we needed to have a Croatian beer in honor of that.

  

Suddenly... from out of nowhere... this guy rode through the market.  And as quickly as he had arrived, he was gone.

Todd and I decided we couldn't just eat and drink and ride rides all day.  We had to do at least one cultural thing in the city of Kiel.  So we booked a trip to the top of the tower.  You get assigned a time and you meet up with a group in the lobby to ride the super sketchy elevators up to the top.  There are two elevators.  One is a fairly normal one, and the second one has a door like this.  Kind of like a door to a bedroom.  And inside... no door at all.  You just rode up to the top and watched the walls and floors fly by.

Those views are worth it though!

Todd, pretend like you're squishing the Meraviglia (and our kids) with your fingers!

More views of Kiel and the harbor from the City Hall tower.

Gotta take a family selfie with the kids in the background!

Views of Kiel from the City Hall Tower, part 1.

Views of Kiel from the City Hall Tower, part 2.

Views of Kiel from the City Hall Tower, part 3.  Notice you can see the festival from here!

The tower was a great place to look down on the International Market.

We are such dorks.  Ha ha.  Our kids are over here!

The Kiel City Hall was completed in 1911.  People must have been really short back then.

Back out in the International Market after we tackled the City Hall Tower, we decided to stop in Argentina (ha!) to grab some more snacks.  Or as Todd calls them, "Snickity Snacks!"

Todd the American enjoying an Argentinian beer.  In Germany.

We split a plate of grilled meats and salad!

We agreed not to ride the rides at Kieler Woche without the kids but we didn't want to miss out on the fun, so we headed back to the fest to ride JUST. ONE. RIDE.  The International Market was still hopping!

But wait, we need a picture of Russia for Grant!  You could get Russian nesting dolls and ... THANK GOODNESS... we were able to snag the exact same Soviet hat that Grant had stolen on the ship!  Crisis averted!

On our way back to the festival, we stopped by the northern German version of the Dollar Store and... they sold Beck's!  What Dollar Store in America does this?!?

The ships were coming and going around the harbor area as we walked back across the Hörnbrücke.

Awwww, my kiddos would have loved this.

I needed some humans for scale to show you how tall these rides were.  NOPE. Look at those tiny little legs hanging off of that tower of terror. Makes it look like a big old spider.  Or maybe a centipede.

It was pretty warm with the full sun.  And it was warm to us because it had been so cool on our trip, so we decided to ride the only water ride at the fest!  

As we attempted to cross the Hörnbrücke, the pedestrian bridge was raised to let some - or maybe all - of the Kieler Woche ships through.  Almost like they were on parade.  And it took FOREVER.  

It was really cool seeing some of the tall ships come through the tiny pedestrian bridge.

These tall ships were really neat! And there were just so many of them!

I still can't believe we got to be there for Kieler Woche!  How lucky were we???  What a fun week!

Until next time, Kiel!