Who pays the ferryman?

Well, we do as you'll see later.

I was woken early by J who demanded we move. Starting at 5am trucks had been passing to and from the gravel wharf at the end of the road. On top of last night's noisy ships she'd had enough. Fair enough. We drove to the other site in town that we'd thought we'd found full to discover that in fact there was a whole other area we'd missed somehow! Doh! (Again - anyone counting?) Now we're parked in a yacht club park 20m from the promenade.

We biked into town and discovered that it's Kieler Woche, the busiest week of the city's year. It's a boating festival with fairs and entertainment attached. So we biked through the stalls then decided we'd take the ferry up the fjord to see some of the sailing ships.

Just some of the participants

But not this one!

Stalls just opening

A couple maxi-yachts like those that used to race the America's Cup.

This is our next MH, just to ensure it's bigger than K & D's. Two stories with pop ups and outs. Might be a bit tricky on Italian village streets, but it's the size that matters, right?

We had to wait some time for the ferry which was late despite the renowned German punctuality. So many additional tourists meant embarking and debarking took longer than usual so the schedules were all to hell. Anyway, a friendly resident told us about what was going on and the best places to watch from.

Lovely beach boxes to keep the wind off you, and some windjammers passing by 

And some of the rest of Germany's modern navy.

We got off at Laboe on the eastern tip of the fjord and I got to look at another submarine (type VIIc this time) and another naval museum. Screw from Prinz Eugen anyone? Also a 75m viewing platform on the memorial to dead sailors of all sides in both wars. Great views!

The most produced U-Boot type VIIc, but this is apparently the last intact one

The memorial to those lost at sea in war, and Prinz Eugen's screw, lost at sea in peace.

A view from the top, toward Kiel in the distance. Can you spot J?

On the boat back we talked to an ex-soldier who served with the British Army in Germany during the cold war and who now sells furniture. At least until he retires in September. Nice bloke.

The weather was hot and 30+ is promised. I'll be staying in the shade.