Kiel, the capital of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, has a population of roughly
240,000 spread over 119 sq km. It is located at the Baltic Sea at the end of the "Kieler Förde". Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, and the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea, Kiel has become one of the main maritime centres of Germany. The traditional home of the German Navy's Baltic fleet, it continues to be a major high-tech shipbuilding centre. Kiel is an important sea transport hub, due to its location at the Kiel Fjord and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, Kiel Canal. A number of passenger ferries to Sweden, Norway and other countries operate from here.
How to Get There:
Hamburg, about 100km/one hour by road, is the nearest major airport. If using Ryanair, Lübeck, about 80 km/1h 20 min away is where you get off. Planes the size of a BAe 146 can operate ex Kiel. A number of national and international bus lines run services through Kiel. Kiel is connected to the DB rail system with regular RE and IC services to Hamburg and beyond. Kiel serves as the German ferry terminus for ferries to Oslo, Norway and Gothenburg, Sweden.
What to See:
The Kieler Woche; Nord-Ostsee Kanal (Kiel Canal), the world's busiest canal and the only surviving Type VII-C U-boat from World War II.
Where to Eat:
Kiel has 233 restaurants. German/Turkish Döner kebabs can be found at Garips Imbiss; food courts in Kieler Hauptbahnhof (train station) and the adjoining shopping mall are available for fast food. Restaurants of note are Ratskeller Kiel, Louf Restaurant, Restaurant Seeburg, Heinrich VIII, Restaurant Forstbaumschule, Kulisse Bar & Restaurant and Fuego del Sur.
Cafes and Pubs: Subrosa, Unrat, Prinz Willy, Exlex, Blauer Engel and Cafe Medusa.
Hotels:
The Youth Hostel is next to the main railway station. There are a number of low priced hotels in the city centre, like Peanuts Hostel. Nordic Hotel Astor and Twilightblue Hotel are mid- priced and Steigenberger Hotel Conti-Hansa, Birke - Ringhotel Kiel and Hotel Kieler Yacht Club are high cost. Hotel Berliner Hof, Flaemischer Hof Hotel, Hotel Gode-Wind, Basic Hotel Sophienhof, Baerenkrug Hotel and Gaestehaus Lange Reihe are also worth a look at.
