Transitting the Kiel Canal, Germany

 No tours today so I slept in until 8:00 am.  We were supposed to enter the canal between noon and 1 pm, but according to Captain Luksa, the Germans didn't care that we had an appointed slot and just let everyone enter first come, first served.  Consequently, we were delayed by about an hour.  The Kiel Canal connects the North Sea to the Baltic Sea and means you don't have to go all the way north around Denmark which saves a lot of time.  It was quite interesting to watch the whole operation. It's certainly not the Panama Canal, but fun to watch.

Just outside the canal entrance, on the Elbe River.

We were towed into the lock by a tug which then backed out next to us.

The lock begins to open

The other lock had this huge container ship.

And out we go

This tower was painted like a jigsaw puzzle

It seemed so odd to be sailing on an ocean-going cruise ship so close to land.

Came in 3rd in trivia (thank goodness they listened to me on the number of black keys on a piano and how many pounds in a "stone").  We had cocktails with the trivia gang and then dinner with Pam and Ralph in Compass Rose.  It was fun to watch the sides of the canal go by.  There are lots of villages along here and many places where ferries run across.  It must be unusual to see cruise ships as all along the way, people are watching and waving.  I can't imagine they do that for the container ships.

No show tonight, probably because one entertainer couldn't board, the other is still sick, and the third has alread done two shows.  The current Cruise Director, Paul, doesn't entertain.