Photos

Forty meters (131 ft) below the Rendsburger Hochbrücke [Rendsburg high-bridge] hangs the ferry that - free of charge and every 15 minutes - "sails" people and vehicles across the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal [Kiel Canal] although soaring a couple of meters above the water surface.

The bridge was built in 1911-13 and serves the railway line between Denmark and Hamburg, providing a 42m (138ft) clearance for ships between the Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. Using the canal means not having to sail Skagerak, Kattegat and the Danish/Swedish Straits.

The idea of using the bridge as support for an aerially cabled ferry - powered by electricity - is brilliant and most certainly ingenious.

The bridge itself was made from almost 18 tons of steel kept together by 3,2 million bolts. So in a way it resembles an Eifel Tower laying down. And there's a special noise whenever a freight train passes overhead.

The ships sailing the canal always have right of way!