Pelagia - Flensburg, Germany 54:47.420N 009:26.199E

Flensburg, Germany 54:47.420N 009:26.199E

Pelagia

Frans & Sarah Toonen

Tue 30 May 2017 19:20

Tuesday 30th May 2017. 36nm. 5.9 engine hours. Weather: Wind SSE 2 or nothing, 15-18°C, Partial Cloud, Dry.

The outlook was for strong westerlies, gusting Force 7, and so we had to progress north and seek shelter on the mainland. With our 4 new batteries installed and the torrential rain overnight finished we set off up the fiord from Kappeln. The Schlei was equally beautiful on the return trip and Schleimunde totally cute with a huge 3 master outside the tiny harbour. Turning north along the coast the sandy beach stretched for ages and we approached a red and white strippy lighthouse at the entrance to Flensburg fiord. The charted depth was around 3m and the Captain was keen to turn inside the lighthouse but reducing depths prevented this and we had to go around the lighthouse on the sandy spit - it is there for a reason.

Flensburg town is some 18 miles inland and the border with Denmark is just above it. The inlet is winding and the S bends provide shelter in all winds. There are many magnificent mansions along the waterways where we could enjoy the gardens. Close to town there is an imposing naval college and a boat yard building ferries for DFDS. We noticed one man in a crane basket who seemed to be painting the whole hull with a 6” roller whilst everyone else watched.

The waterway ends in the town centre and we found a box wide enough just 3 spaces from the end. We moored up well, roping on to the 2 stern posts without difficulty, some British neighbours took the bow lines and we felt very smug…..not for long as the Captain noticed we were only in 1.7m and the strong westerly would push water out of the fiord and the level would drop the next day. Having checked with the Harbour Master it was confirmed we had to move and we were able to secure a hammerhead in over 6m so we had to moor again but at least we had no depth worries and some of our crew are in training.

Flensburg has an historical boats museum on the quay and so the harbour front, although busy with cars and buses is very attractive. We did a self guided walking tour the next day and started at the northern gate of the city. This was rather bleak and slightly communist in style. As we progressed towards the town centre the bleakness faded especially as we found a Danish bakery where we could enjoy coffee and pastries. There were many interesting buildings particularly 5 preserved former merchants courtyards now hosting arty shops and cafes. In the 4th we spied a tiny place all nooks and crannies offering ‘Flamkuchen'. These turned out to be very thin pizza/flaky pastry type savouries and we had a great lunch. When Frans checked on Tripadvisor later it turned out we had stumbled into the top rated place in town!

This being our last stop in Germany we loaded up with items more expensive in Scandinavia. Slightly odd going shopping with a trolley suitcase but it was handy for beer.

Departing Kappeln, skies a bit clearer after last nights torrential rain.