KIELER WOCHE 2019
The Kieler Woche is one of the biggest sailing events worldwide. Since the end of the 19th century this sailing regatta has been held annually in Kiel / Germany.
At the quay wall close to the big sailing ships, a folk festival with over 2000 individual events, including performances by international artists, with around 300 concerts on the 16 stages, has developed over the past decades. In addition, numerous local groups perform on the smaller stages. Every year about 3 million guests visit the Kieler Woche.
The Windjammer Parade
For me the absolute highlight are the „Windjammer“ and their parade on the last Saturday of the festival week, in which more than 100 tall ships and traditional sailers, historic steamships and hundreds of sailing yachts from all over the world take part.
This year I had the great luck to witness the Windjammer Parade on the water. I spent the day on a Hansekogge, the Ubena von Bremen.
What a gift. Far away from the crowds rolling along the quay walls with nice people, good food and great music on board. The weather also played along. The sun was shining and a light breeze was blowing.
We set sail with the other tall ships and numerous other ships of all types and classesabout half past nine. From small motorboats, a Mississippi steamer, the icebreaker Stettin, innumerable smaller sailors up to steamboats everything was there.
To see this event up close was a long-cherished wish of mine. But somehow it has never fit and these crowds of people also rather deter me as a highly sensitive person. Therefore my joy was even bigger to sail in a manageable, nice group on an old Hansekogge.
A dream comes true
The feeling is indescribable when a childhood dream comes true so surprisingly. I enjoyed every moment. The wind in my hair, the sun on my skin and the waves, especially the salute with the little gun.
Our physical well-being was also taken care of with tasty food and, among other things, homemade schnapps.
We spent almost seven hours at sea until we moored at our berth in the museum harbour in the late afternoon. Here we celebrated the rest of the day together. The two music geniuses Sebastian Bunge and Gabi Liedtke provided a good mood. Their repertoire is simply brilliant and ranges from rock and pop to shanties.
What a brilliant day. A big thank you to all!
