Practical Information

Arrival:

The classic way to reach Kiel is from the seaside. Thousands of sailors come to the many small ports along the Kieler Foerde and the main boat port Duesternbrock for a visit of "sailing city Kiel".

There is a daily connection to Göteborg, Sweden with the Stenaline ferries, the terminal is in the city centre. From the Norwegenkai on the eastside of the Kieler Frde start the Colorline ferries "Kronprins Harald" and "Kronprinsesse Ragnild" once a day to Oslo, Norway.

With the trading ferries of the Lisco line passengers can get to Klaipeda in Lithuania.
For many years Kiel had a beloved ferry to Bagenkop in Denmark with duty free shopping opportunity, but it has stopped for the moment. The authorities of Kiel and Bagenkops try hard to build up an alternative ferry - we have to wait and hope.
A small but lucky percentage of visitors come with one of the many cruise ships stopping in Kiel on their way up in the north or before the passage of the Kiel Kanal to the North Sea.

Trains
For many years the main train station of Kiel was one of the most ugly buildings of the city (we say "Bausünde"=“builders sin“). But since 2003 the whole area has been rebuilt in the old classic style with a modern interior, clean and friendly. Kiel is connected to the ICE-network. Besides the long distance trains of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, several private companies run trains into the countryside. The train network is well developed and you can reach even very small towns by train several times a day. Tickets for all train companies are sold in the Servicecenter of the Deutsche Bahn inside of the main train station. There is the eventcenter CAP with cinemas, bars and restaurants, a 24h-supermarket, shops and a bank inside the building.

Busses
From the central bus station (ZOB), close to the main train station, buses leave for towns and villages behind the borders of Kiel, f. e. Plön, Eutin, Rendsburg, Eckernfrde, Flensburg. From the ZOB the bus to the International Airport Hamburg starts more or less every hour. A bus connection to Poland starts there a long trip but cheap. Tickets can be bought at the ZOB where the actual schedules can be found too.

Flights
The airport of Kiel is situated on the north side of the Kiel Canal in Holtenau fairly easy to reach by public transport. Cimber Air, Lufthansa and EAS offer 3 flights to Frankfurt and 2 flights to Kln/Bonn daily without long check-in times and free parking space. But most of the flight passengers arrive at the international airport in Fuhlsbttel, Hamburg. The fastest and most comfortable Connection from Kiel is the "Kielius"-bus from the central bus station for about 15 € oneway. Faster is the transport by Taxi but more expensive too.

City Transport:

Some years ago the tram in Kiel was closed down which is still regretted by many Kiel inhabitants. Since then the bus is the most important public transport vehicle. The bus station is situated at the left entrance of the train station; you can't fail to see it when you leave the building.

All busses cruising Kiel pass this station on their route. Within the inner city (2 zones) a single ticket costs 1,95 € . The schedule to reach the suburbs and small villages at the border of Kiel like Strande, Schilksee, Laboe is quite o. k, but these longer busrides cost 2,50 -3,30 € per single ticket.

Additionally there are a plethora of special tickets for one day, 3 days, a week, families and so on. While the single tickets can be bought in the bus, the special tickets usually have to be bought at the Ticketcenter (close to the train station). Many small tobacco and newspaper shops in the city sell bus tickets as well. If you have to cover short distances within the inner city, you can buy a short distance ticket for 1,50 € which allows transport up to 5 bus stops. (My tip: the bus stops are quite close to each other. Save the money and walk)

A special opportunity to travel between Kiel and the villages on the coastline offer the Foerdeschiffe (ferries). You crisscross the Förde with nice views but its much slower than by bus, and much more expensive: At least 3,25 €. In summer season there is only limited space for bikes you have to get on the ferry at the first station at the "Bahnhofsbrücke" to take your bike with you on a sunny summer day.


Openning Houers:

Since the special German law that regulated the opening hours strictly was abolished, the shopping times differ strongly.

Shops in the city centre: 10.00-20.00
Supermarkets 8.00 20.00
Bakeries from 7.00 (sometimes 6.00), often only until 18.00

Away from the city centre many shops are closed between 1 p m and 3 p. m. and do not open on Wednesday afternoon at all. Exceptions are hairdressers. They are often closed on Mondays. More and more shops are open on Saturdays till 4 p. m. On Sundays everything is closed with exception of petrol stations.

Post:

The General Post office is situated inside the building of the "Neues Rathaus" close to the tourist information. Opening hours are 9.00 am -4.00 pm. The post office at the Alten Markt has the same office hours. The post office at the Legienplatz is open till 6 pm In many parts of the city small post offices open for some hours a day but generally they are closed between 12 and 3 pm.

Internet Cafés:

Computer Cafe Silver Angel
24103, Schlostrasse 16
Telefon 0431 / 888 19 19, Fax 888 19 33
http://www.silverangel-kiel.de

The caf opens from 10.00 in the morning to 10 in the night on seven days a week on Fridays may announce different opening hours. There you find 33 PCs for web surfing and chatting. On 6 PCs you can work with office-applications and 24 PCs are prepared for games.


Crazy-Games Kiel
24113, Stormarnstrae 27-29
Telefon 0431/26 000 80
http://www.crazygames.de

Up to 20 players can play together in the Intranetroom of Crazy-Games Kiel. But it's not only playing there. A very fast Internet connection (no Telecom!) allows clear and easy internet communication. There is a big choice of Games for PC, Playstation I& II and Dreamcast for rent. Opening hours are Mo-Fr : 10 am 8 pm and Sa 10-4 pm. Opening hours of the

E-motion Cafe
24105 Kiel, Holtenauer Strae 52
Telefon 0431/570 82 59
http://www.emotioncafe.com