We had done the research to get to Laboe for the memorial and the U boat, but in the morning decided that it was going to take about 4 hours, and not worth it. So we opted for an easy day.

We walked the couple of km to the Kiel information centre and then wandered the town. The maritime museum that we might have considered was closed today so that made the decision easy. We spent time instead on the main shopping street, not buying anything except welcome coffees.

The Europaplarz area was interesting as a rebuild. The town was basically destroyed in WW2 and this area was rebuilt with underground parking garages and fountains and wandering paths above. The first building built as part of the redevelopment was also highlighted.

I had heard that the lift in the Town Hall was interesting but had not quite understood why. It turned out to be a permanently moving device that you step on and off when the platform part is at a building floor. The picture may show this better.

We wandered around a couple of the city lakes/ponds taking photos and then headed back to the ship for lunch.

After lunch we went to the old botanical gardens, in part because they were recommended and in part for the cache it holds. It was a nice gentle stroll being only about 10 minutes from where we were berthed.

We returned to log and blog and then head up to the pool for the sail away. We sat with Alex and Warwick who had also had a gentle day after their long day in Berlin. We fare welled them and went to dinner with Barbara and Lorna and heard about their exploits as well. We exchanged contact details and would love to see them in NZ sometime.

We had packed earlier so I had time to go to the farewell show. Sadly, it was disappointing as both acts were not as good as they had been in the full shows. I was in the middle of a row so stayed, otherwise I may well have left early. I was nicely tired when I got back for bed.