Left - The weather - it's raining (just like home)! At least today is a day at sea.
This morning, our ship traveled through the Kiel Canal in Germany. This canal links the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. The canal starts near the mouth of the River Elbe at Brunsbuttel and reaches the Baltic at Kiel-Holtenau near the port of Kiel. It is a 61 mile journey. It's sort of like the Ballard Locks on steroids or the little brother of the Panama Canal.
Left - Our ship approaching the locks. This is the longest ship that has traversed the canal.
Right - Many locals came out to see our ship go through the locks. A small German brass band was there to greet us. Joel kept yelling "do Freebird!"
Below Right - The ship in the locks. Once we were in, the water level was lowered three feet.
Below Left - There was a very small gap in-between the ship & the side of the canal at times.
Below & Right - The ship needed to pass under a couple of bridges in the canal. Since the ship was too tall, the crew had to flip the stack and drop the mast.
