By the time the road brings you back to Laboe, the day has usually done its work, and the town greets you with the particular tiredness of a seaside place at dusk. Fishing boats bump gently in the harbour, the promenade lights flicker on, and somewhere a ship's horn sounds out on the fjord. It is a pleasant place to end a ride, small enough that you can see everything in a few minutes.
Kiel Fjord has a long sailing tradition. The city hosts Kiel Week every June, which is the largest sailing event in the world, with thousands of boats and a huge festival on the shore, and the Olympic sailing competitions of 1936 and 1972 were held at Schilksee, on the western side of the fjord. Laboe, on the opposite shore, has always had a front-row seat. In summer the water is full of white sails, and the ferries run to Kiel across the fjord, a short, cheap and pleasant crossing if you leave the bike behind.
The smell of the place is a mixture of tar, seaweed and smoked fish, and you can buy the last at a stall by the harbour. Try a smoked herring or a sprat, eaten with your fingers from paper, and wash it down with a coffee or a beer. The restaurants along the front serve the usual north German fare of fried fish with potatoes, and portions are generous.
Fuel is on hand in Laboe itself and in Heikendorf, five kilometres away, a bigger place with supermarkets. After a day on the road, a short walk along the beach is the best way to unwind. The tide barely moves in the Baltic, so there is no need to time anything, and the water is calm in the evening. If the weather is clear, stay to see the last of the light fade over the fjord, and watch the ships pass. It is a modest and peaceful finish.