Kiel and Rendsburg

At Kiel, the Stellplatz was at a great spot on the canal, so we could see the big ships passing in and out of the lock. Boy, were they big! A sea lock enables ships to go up river towards Rendsburg (South of Kiel):  this is a massive construction, and we spent over an hour watching 2 ships go through. A paddle steamer also came past.

The Horn Bridge in the city centre is one of the few 3 section folding bridges in Europe, and although under restoration at the moment, is still an impressive structure to visit.

Our cycle route into the city passed by an old military barracks, much of which appears to have been utilised as housing and office space. Although and area is still a military compound, the whole place has a rather eerie and empty feeling about it.

On our onward journey, we thought we would try to see the railway viaduct at Rendsburg, as we had seen it mentioned in the guide book. Having seen a glimpse of ot from the motorway, we got off at the next exit, and at length we found ourselves at a ferry crossing. The ferry appeared very small, and we expected to be turned away, but they loaded us on to cross the canal, (which took at least 3 minutes) and furthermore, it was free!

We were now driving along beside the embankment of the railway line where it makes a loop in order to climb to the required height for the bridge. We managed to get inside the loop, and got a reasonable view of the bridge just as a train was making the climb.