A week in Kiel
Kieler Woche in German means Kiel’s week – and it is certainly a week when the whole world seems to belong to this sleepy seaside town in North Germany.
For 130 years yachts, boats and ferries from the whole of Europe and beyond sail to Kiel through its famous canal joining Baltic and North seas to anchor in the marina and enjoy more than a week of celebrations.
The sea worshipers indulge themselves in regattas, admiration of the pimped out rides of road and sea, tasty food from around the world and music ranging from big stage guitar classics through electronic music, Oktoberfest style sing-alongs to intimate performances at the back of a bar.
This year the opening ceremony was headlined by Bob Geldof and the closing party by Mike and the Mechanics. Every night multiply stages were lit up by world acts, European phenomena or locally recognised performers. This year has seen: Scooter, Roachford, United Four, Kim Wilde, Quo Vadis, The Cobblestones and Soulfinger.
Kiel’s everyday existence is paralysed when stalls, bars, trucks and crowds fill and flood the streets and promenades. You can feel the excitement and it is infectious. For just this one week Kiel becomes a centre of the world – the mixture of culture and passion for sailing creates an atmosphere of adventure and cultural exchange.
Kieler Woche is certainly a family event; there is entertainment aimed just at the little ones, engaging them in sports competitions, playground games, dance and music performances by their peers and even a mud and hay roll around, giving kids carefree fun and parents some spare time.
It is also a young’s people festival – Kieler Woche is always scheduled in the last week off school term so it kicks off the summer and holidays for thousands of teenagers who rush downtown to catch a ride on a carousel, a glimpse of on-stage performances and grab a cheeky gulp of beer.
When night falls the festival closes but Kiel’s red light district becomes one of the most vibrant clubbing scenes in North Germany. The whole area fills with techno and house music lovers who dance till dawn.
But mostly this is a celebration of the sea, a deeply rooted passion for sailing and an opportunity for the best to meet amateur enthusiasts.
At the start of the week only Olympic champions compete but from Wednesday everyone can take part in regattas and come to the grand finale on Saturday morning when the parade of yachts sail into the sea to greet each other, wave to onlookers and pay tribute to sailors who died in the mighty waters.
For food-lovers there is a range of cuisines to choose from: mouth watering oriental, Mediterranean to share, middle Eastern to explore and everyone’s favourite funfair classics to indulge: Mr softie ice cream, currywurst grilled sausage, pizzas and pretzels. But the most tempting are the signature dishes of caterers who come back every year to the same spot and attract queuing crowds – like the fragrant and flavoursome Finish smoked salmon blazed over a fire served on a wooden board.
As it is a visual feast – there are a lot of shows going on – yachting show, light show, dance show kite surfing show, fireworks show…everything is on show!
Unfortunately this year the weather let the organisers and public down - there were a few false starts with a light show and the kite surfing looked not so attractive and exciting in gray waters scattered by rain.
Nevertheless an estimated 3 million people and 30.000 yachts have visited and participated in Kieler Woche this year. It is a very wholesome event, and despite its sporting spirit, it is in the end just a big party for all generations.
Published on 27 June 2012 by AgataMastalerz
