Posted by The area around Flensburg is very scenic with the fjord and the small towns on each side of the water. One of the best ways to explore this area is to take one of the frequent trips departing from Flensburg. Many of the trips sail from Flensburg to the nearby village of Glücksburg. You can take a return trip or a one way trip and then find your own way back from Glücksburg with some other sort of transport.
We decide to go on the boat MS Viking which leaves from Flensburg every second hour to go on an hour long sail to Glücksburg and then return for another hour of sailing back to Flensburg. During the summer they start early and we decide to go on the early departure at 9.30. So we have an early breakfast before walking the short distance from our hotel to the harbor from where the MS Viking departs.
When we get down to the harbor a short while before the departure we are a bit confused the ticket office isn’t open and there is nobody onboard the ship – we find somebody and ask if there is actually a 9.30 departure. It turns out there is a departure at 9.30 and we can go on the boat. Apparently it is usual with hardly any passengers on the early departure during the weekend people prefer to sleep in and take the 11.30 departure instead. We go onboard and realize there were actually a couple of other passengers sitting down below.
There is a small café on board which serves breakfast so we didn’t have to eat before we went onboard but considering we have already had breakfast there is no reason to eat again. Instead we can go up and enjoy the view as we sail along the fjord. There is some commentary on the boat – in Danish and German but no English hence if you don’t speak the local languages you might have problems understanding the commentary.
View of Flensburg from MS Viking 
There are good views as we sail along. The first part of the journey we go through the outer parts of Flensburg and there are a few buildings which has been a shipyard which builds major pleasure boats for the really wealthy people around the globe. After leaving the area close to the city we sail on the fjord where we have Germany on our right hand and Denmark on the left hand side of the boat.
After a bit of sailing we reach the most historic building along the fjord. The old naval academy of the German Navy which played a special role towards the end of the Second World War. The building was the seat of the final German government during the war the so called Flensburg Government. The building is big from outside and looks impressive from the water.
After the naval academy we can enjoy the sights on both sides of the fjord – there are some large houses which probably is some of the most expensive real estate in this part of the country.
Large house at Flensburg fjord 
House at Flensburg fjord
In the middle of the fjord we pass some small islands which are home to a lot of birds sitting in the shallow waters just outside the island.
We arrive in Glücksburg and leave the boat instead of sailing back right away. The small village is home to one of the most important castles in the area. The castle was the birthplace of Christian IX who became the king of Denmark in 1863. It is actually a bit of a walk to the castle so we can’t make it back to the boat in two hours and decide to wait for the departure four hours later before we return to Flensburg.
On the sail back to Flensburg there is a bit more people onboard the boat but it isn’t too crowded and it is possible to have quite beer in the pub as we are listening to the same commentary as we heard on the way out.
Flensburg harbor 
A sailing boat on Flensburg Fjord
When we get back to Flensburg we see the old houses on both sides of the water and out on the water is the most famous ship in the harbor. The Alexandra. The boat is leaving the harbor for another tour on the fjord so if you like to sail on an old steam boat you can choose the Alexandra instead of the MS Viking.
FrejaTravels 