tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58197503660545700072024-03-14T08:33:00.068-07:00Sailing to ScandinaviaA diary of our 36 day cruise from London to Iceland, Norway, the Baltic capitals and back, chock full of personal observations and menu selections, this blog is just like our blog Sailing to Sevastopol except it's shorter and we're going someplace else.David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-75223106021347612312010-08-26T08:18:00.000-07:002010-08-26T08:20:28.280-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Thursday, August 26, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Thou Swell, Thou Witty</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />And so we bring another “trip of a lifetime” to a close. Today was our last full day as we are disembarking tomorrow between noon and three; we wish we knew the actual time.</div><div align="justify"><br />Our trivia streak was broken today, a fitting way to end the cruise. [Which city’s airport is named for Marco Polo? At what temperature are the Celsius and Fahrenheit measurements the same? What do we call a group of 13 witches? Which airline was the first to institute a frequent flyer program?] We weren’t even close today.</div><div align="justify"><br />The big event of the day was packing to go home. Once MA had her clothes bundled and bagged, D loaded up suitcases with his and her clothing, purchases, electronics, etc. The hanging bag was left until after dinner [Cobb salads with romaine lettuce] because tonight was formal night and we had to get duded up one last time.</div><div align="justify"><br />The captain erred on the side of caution last evening – we had no giant swells although there was a nice gentle roll to the ship. No luggage walked across the room; no tchotchkes fell from the shelves. We continued with quiet seas all day today. We have been very lucky for the past five weeks and hope we stay that way for the next several days.</div><div align="justify"><br />Scooby announced at 1:00 today that he expects to be in Tilbury around 10:00 tomorrow morning and that we should be free to leave the ship between noon and 1:00. This would make us early by at least two hours, so we will have to contact Maria, our hostess for Friday and Saturday, in case she can get to the dock early. It would be to her advantage to be ahead of rush hour on the way home.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tonight is also Envelope Night when the Tip Fairy descends on the wait staff. It is traditionally the last evening, but Ed and Roxanne will be rewarding the staff with us tonight rather than waiting. Roxanne hopes that they still get good service tomorrow. </div><div align="justify"><br />Tipping has always been voluntary, especially on HAL, but in recent years a “hotel charge” has been added to each guest’s bill to compensate the crew. Currently, the charge is $11 per person per day and is divided up with a set amount going to the housekeeping staff and a set amount to the dining staff. Anything passengers give is above and beyond. Passengers also have the option of raising, lowering or eliminating the hotel charge if they wish. We tip above and beyond for good service; some years we have not tipped everyone and sometimes we have not tipped very much. This year, we think everyone will be quite happy with us.</div><div align="justify"><br />Perhaps the biggest event of the cruise was the arrival of the UPS delivery man. D has gone anxiously to the room each day looking for mail and packages. Eventually, he started looking for a UPS package. Finally the UPS man showed up and we found a package for D on the doorstep. It contained candy bars and M&M’s a present from Ed and Roxanne with a little connivance from MA. Oh, joy! Life is good.</div><div align="justify"><br />We fly home Sunday and try to adjust to what passes for normal life. Rats!</span></div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-38637011649855601732010-08-26T02:15:00.000-07:002010-08-26T02:16:57.000-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Wednesday, August 25, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Oslo Encore</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />Most mornings we have had to drag ourselves out of bed to be ready for 9:00 or even 10:00 o’clock tours. Today we were up at 8:00 because we could not disembark until 11:00. Go figure.<br />At breakfast this morning, we were watching what we assumed was the Oslo Fjord slide past us. The closer to Oslo we got, the more housing and small towns were visible among the pine forests. MA thought these semi-isolated houses and cabins would be good places for writers to live and work. When one of the MDR captains came to the table to pay his respects and hustle tips, MA said, “I wonder what kind of people live in these houses.” Without skipping a beat, he replied, “Norwegians.” </div><div align="justify"><br />Our objective for this visit to Oslo was Vigeland Park. D has wanted to visit this park for over forty years, ever since he saw photos taken by his parents when they visited here. So off we trooped to find a taxi to take us to the park. We could have taken the HoHo again except that [1] it would have taken an hour to get there and [2] we weren’t docked at the regular passenger pier this time. A taxi might have been more expensive but it saved us time. With the threat of rain heavy in the forecast, time was an important factor.</div><div align="justify"><br />Vigeland Park is a sculpture garden and public park. The vast majority of the park is open grassland suitable for picnics and play, but the real reason for tourists to visit is the sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland [VEEG-land to the locals.]. Vigeland created a series of figures in both bronze and granite depicting the “ages of Man.” Statues commemorate everything from childhood to adolescence to courtship, marriage, old age and death. The faces are obviously Nordic but nevertheless anonymous and age is depicted through expressions, beards and body sag. It reminded us of both of <em>The Family of Man</em> and the recent movie <em>Babies</em>. The themes are universal.</div><div align="justify"><br />The park is bisected by a stream and the bridge over it has bronze statues on the balustrade. Each piece of sculpture is different from the others but the total effect is like the entrance to Angkor Thom in Cambodia [except there all of the statues were the same face]. Beyond the bridge were steps leading to a fountain and a series of granite figures. MA and Roxanne waited on a bench at the end of the bridge while D and Ed explored more of the park.</div><div align="justify"><br />The fountain was at the head of a flight of steps. There were more bronze statues here supporting the fountain itself. These figures all showed groups of people intertwined with trees. At the base of the fountain were friezes depicting more of the cycle of life. Beyond the fountain was another flight of steps which lead to the granite statues.</div><div align="justify"><br />These last sculptures showed more complex relationships of people young and old. There were grandparents and children; groups of children playing; and couples of all ages, both mixed and same gender but none of them sexual by any connotation. In the center of this display was a “totem pole” of intertwined figures seemingly climbing to the top, a Tower of Babel, in a sense. It appeared to be one solid piece of granite perhaps thirty feet tall.</div><div align="justify"><br />Vigeland created all of these pieces and willed them to the government on the condition that they be displayed free for anyone to see. The park was created following his death in 1943. We don’t know if he did all of the work himself or designed them for subordinates to finish. Regardless, they are magnificent. [Pictures will be available on Shutterfly in a week or so for anyone who is interested.]</div><div align="justify"><br />We decided to be adventurous and go to the city center on the tram or light rail. Finding the station at Vigeland was easy but figuring out which train we wanted and how to use the ticket machine required a bit of help from some locals who spoke English. We finally had everything we needed just as a tram arrived at the station. Again, we needed help to validate the tickets once on the tram but were rescued again. And again when it was time to get off – a group of high school students let us know when it was time to get off at the City Hall stop.</div><div align="justify"><br />We wandered like the Israelites for a bit, inadvertently circling City Hall where D had seen a few cafes when we were in Oslo on August 12. Too late we discovered that they were all either Italian or closed, so we settled on Italian for lunch. We found a taxi to return to the ship and were there in time for trivia.</div><div align="justify"><br />We did not do well today but were still able to eke out a win, n umber eight in the streak. Perhaps the competition will be stiffer tomorrow when we have a sea day and no one is off on a field trip. [What song from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid won the Oscar for best song? What novel depicts an epic 1885 cattle drive? What religion was Christopher Colombus?] As usual, there were grumblings about some of the answers, but the answer on the host’s sheet is always correct, at least for that day.</div><div align="justify"><br />We read; we napped; we had dinner [sesame noodles for both] and then went “home” to read some more. The captain predicted strong winds and heavy seas after 11:00 tonight as we exit the Oslo Fjord and enter the North Sea. The seasick bags were mounted on the banisters by the time we finished dinner at 9:30 and Scooby-do urged passengers to secure anything which might “wander” during the night. Our cabin stewards picked tonight to take our luggage from under the bed so it could fall over in the predicted heavy seas. D stowed the bags in the closet where there wasn’t room for it to fall over.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – Our last sea day<br /></span><br /><br /> </div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-20519693605096697572010-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:002010-08-24T08:02:22.389-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Monday, August 23, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Bakery or Bus</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />We were in Warnemunde, Germany, today. Warnemunde is a little seaside resort town popular with Germans as a summer vacation spot. It has a nice beach, moderate temperatures and enough shopping to keep tourists happy. It is also a gateway to historic Rostock which gained prominence as part of the Hanseatic League centuries ago and, for the ship’s purposes, a starting point for a 13-hour bus trip to Berlin. The various Berlin excursions attracted several hundred passengers today, but we were not among them.</div><div align="justify"><br />We walked into town around 10:00 and wandered past the train station. Because it is on the coast, it is the terminus for the Rostock commuter line. We saw passenger trains going in both directions today but no freight trains; that may have been just a matter of timing. The center of tourist Warnemunde is centered on the church square. There are shops of all types surrounding the square and the streets feeding into it as well as parking lots in front of and behind the church. The town was crowded with tourists today as there were 3 cruise ships in port, but we think one of them uses Warnemunde as its home port. We also saw numerous big ferries [again] throughout the day.<br />We stopped to buy two lace doilies for the night tables in the guest bedroom and later for some glass beads which MA will have strung when we get home. Our only other stop was for a mid-morning snack at a bakery. We split a Coke and D had an apple pastry; Ed and Roxanne got hot chocolate and a doughnut. We had thought about sausage, but it was too early for lunch. We were back on board by 12:10.</div><div align="justify"><br />We read for a while before lunch. MA has just started and D is almost finished the last book in the Stieg Larssson series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. We have read the other two already on the trip. We ate in the Lido because the MDR was closed. After lunch, we read some more before going to trivia.</div><div align="justify"><br />Our usual trivia host Kevin was not in attendance today. We had seen him earlier as we were leaving and he told us that his grandmother had died last night and he was going home, but that he expected to see us in the spring when we return to the Prinsendam. As it turned out, the train from Warnemunde would not have gotten him to the airport in time to make his plane, so he returned to the ship and will fly from Copenhagen tomorrow. HAL is good about family emergencies, we have been told, so we expect that the company will pay his air fare home and back. He told the girl who is covering trivia for him that he hoped to be back for the next cruise which starts Saturday in Tilbury. </div><div align="justify"><br />As for trivia itself, we laughed, we cried and then we tied for first again, so our streak is still going. Instead of having a tie-breaker, Denise, covering for Kevin, simply gave Prinsendam pins to both teams. It seem a little unfair since there were only three teams playing and we felt a little sorry for the odd team out. We laughed and sang our way through the game – What was Jeremiah? We sang the answer when it was time to score the papers? Whose trial included the skulls of her parents and an axe? We sang that answer, too. [Yesterday in old Fall River Mr. Andrew Borden died/And they got his daughter Lizzie on a charge of homicide….] Naturally, the other teams thought we were more than a little crazy.</div><div align="justify"><br />D read while MA napped after trivia and then we got ready for dinner. We ate dinner in the Pinnacle Grill with Roxanne and Ed. The Pinnacle is primarily a steak house with a surcharge. 4-Star Mariners get a 50% discount, so, for example, it only cost Ed and Roxanne $10 apiece when they went for their anniversary. More on that shortly.</div><div align="justify"><br />MA had shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad and a lobster tail. D had lobster bisque, fixed tableside; the Caesar salad [also fixed tableside]; and a bone-in rib eye steak big enough for two people. Side dishes included creamed spinach, asparagus, sautéed onions and baked potato. For dessert, we both had a trio of crème brulees. It was delicious but too much food.</div><div align="justify"><br />When it came time to pay, the waiter approached the table and D handed him gift vouchers we had received the day we embarked in July. We assumed they were for one person each but the waiter took them, apologized for not realizing that we had them and never came back. We waited a reasonable time while we continued talking but no one came to ask Ed and Roxanne to sign for dinner, so we left. It will be interesting to see our bills when we leave this week.</div><div align="justify"><br />We read before bed and then braced ourselves for </div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – Copenhagen, Denmark.<br /><br /><strong><u>Tuesday, August 24, 2010</u></strong></div><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Just Riding in the Rain</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />Here’s what kind of day it was -- the most famous landmark in Denmark was on vacation.</div><div align="justify"><br />We decided to take the Copenhagen HoHo so we could see more of the city. If time permitted, we planned to return to places of interest. There are three HoHo routes, but only one stopped right in front of the ship. [There are other tourist buses, too, but the HoHo is always reliable.] We “hopped on” around 10:15. MA and Roxanne sat on the bottom level while Ed and D were able to snag front row seats on the top. These are the best seats because there is unlimited visibility directly ahead. The bus had a retractable roof which was closed today.</div><div align="justify"><br />We drove first past a section of the old defensive wall of the city but which now houses retail shops selling mostly clothing. It was right on the pier with us and was opposite another cruise ship. The first stop on the itinerary was the Little Mermaid statue famous in stories, movies and travel books. People could get off the bus here to take pictures or to wander around and wait for the next bus, due in 30 minutes. We saw no reason the so much as move – the Little Mermaid is currently housed in a Danish exhibition in Shanghai and has been there for several months. All that appears in her usual place is a flat-screen monitor showing people in China looking at the sculpture. We knew this ahead of time so we were not surprised; others on the bus were taken aback, though.</div><div align="justify"><br />Like most HoHos, ours wandered in a quasi-circular path so that it passed some of the high points of Copenhagen such as the Amelienborg Royal Palace, the Rosenborg Castle and Tivoli Gardens amusement park. Sight-lines were not very good, so we could not see very much of the historical landmarks, but we had excellent views of the Nyhavn area. There were brightly painted shops and cafes on all sides of a canal and the surrounding streets. Once considered seedy, the area is now one of the entertainment centers of Denmark’s capital. Tour boats [the ever-popular bateau mouche] were present in the canal.</div><div align="justify"><br />We reached the end of the line in the center city at City Hall Square and had to change buses. We thought about switching to another line but while we waited, light rain began falling. We decided instead to board another red line bus and return to the ship. This way, at least, we would have seen everything on that route. The first stop after city Hall Square was just around the corner at the entrance to Tivoli, one of Europe’s best known amusement and entertainment areas. We could see the sign but nothing else. Right next door was the obligatory Hard Rock. If we had known, we might have walked over and then caught the bus there. Sorry, Tim.</div><div align="justify"><br />All the while, we had been having intermittent showers, some of them heavy and some almost misty. Many of D’s photographs show the rain drops on the bus window better than they do Copenhagen. It was not raining when we returned to the ship before noon but an hour later, the skies opened up for a deluge. We were at lunch in the MDR and watched it for all of three minutes before it ended as abruptly as it had started. The weather gods have let us down for the last few days.</div><div align="justify"><br />We barely kept our trivia streak alive today. We tied for first and had to win a tiebreaker. [What oil had been used for 2000 years for anointing Catholics? How many states border the Great Lakes? What is the fastest animal on 2 legs? What basketball player was known as “The Big O?”] We have now won the seven contests in which we have participated on this segment and would have tied or won if we had played on Sunday instead of eating with the captain. This cannot last, but it’s fun so far. </div><div align="justify"><br />We were back in the MDR tonight and, frankly, it was nice to be home. We were not that impressed with the Pinnacle Grill but the price was right. We don’t know if we will go on next year’s cruise even at half-price. MA had the vegetarian again, spicy lentils this time, and d had the leg of lamb. We are becoming jaded by the food choices and are looking forward to eating “normal” food when we get home next week.</div><div align="justify"><br />On the weather front [pun intended], the captain said this afternoon that the wind and rain we are experiencing are the result of tropical storms which have traveled across the Atlantic. How ironic that we missed storms or hurricanes in Florida only to get them in Europe. </div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – Oslo, Norway [again]<br /></span><br /> </div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-49690312363249590972010-08-23T07:12:00.000-07:002010-08-23T07:13:00.450-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Sunday, August 22, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Scooby-do-be-do</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />We don’t often go to the evening shows because most seem to be a waste of time. The “cast shows” are simply amateurish compared to what they were when we started cruising and many of the other acts are second-rate or just not appealing. We went to the magician’s show the other night in the hope that Ed would be picked as a volunteer [as he was on 2008’s Grand Asia cruise]. He was not although Marvin had been a few weeks earlier.</div><div align="justify"><br />We have gone to the ethnic crew shows. Both of us saw the Indonesian show and D went to the Filipino show mostly to support Hernelia, our favorite bar server. Somewhere in there, we saw part of a comedian’s routine in which he made fun of the ship’s captain. Captain Albert Schoonderbeek looks like an accountant. He has a ready smile, is pleasant to talk with but is definitely in charge.</div><div align="justify"><br />Every day at 1:00, as people are finishing lunch, he makes an announcement concerning our position, course, the weather and whatever else crosses his mind. He is always followed by Thom, the Cruise Director, who promotes afternoon activities like bingo. This routine is followed on all the HAL ships. Captain Schoonderbeek always begins, “This is the captain speaking.” Last year’s captain frequently began with, “It’s me again.”</div><div align="justify"><br />The comedian we saw spent some time talking about shipboard life, as all cruise comics do, and repeatedly called the captain “Captain Speaking” and “Captain Scooby-do.” At least he tailored his material to this ship. Of course, he also called Thom “the Boy.” </div><div align="justify"><br />The point is that we had lunch with Captain Schoonderbeek and his wife today. On each cruise, there is a Mariner luncheon for repeat passengers. According to the captain, there are almost 500 repeaters on board but it was obvious that, if that were true, many chose not to attend. We got special treatment because we were among the most traveled HAL passengers on board.</div><div align="justify"><br />Before lunch, the captain and his wife hosted the “senior sailors” in his quarters. There were only eight of us who have sailed 200 or more days on Holland America, so the captain thought it would be more comfortable to use his living room than one of the ship’s formal meeting areas. [Several weeks ago we met the Hotel Manager in the Explorer’s Lounge before dinner.] It was a lovely little gathering. Ed and Roxanne were there, too, as well as four other passengers we had never seen. Over drinks and snacks, we sat and talked primarily about cruising. It was interesting to hear the captain say that he prefers to cruise on his vacations but that he travels on competitor’s ships so he can be anonymous.</div><div align="justify"><br />When he left us he explained that he had to go make some noise – the daily announcements. We were led by Syarif, the dining room manager, to the MDR and, once again, seated at the main table in the center of the room. We found our place cards and were seated. D was next to Mrs. Schoonderbeek and MA was between him and a lady from Connecticut. Ed and Roxanne were on the other side of Mrs. Schooderbeek.</div><div align="justify"><br />The meal itself was quite good. We had curried pumpkin soup followed by quiche [MA] and tenderloin [D] and dessert. We did not finish until almost 2:15, too late to participate in trivia even though the start time had been delayed to accommodate Mariners. We wandered into the Ocean Bar as Kevin was asking question 19 [of 21] and decided to sit and listen to the questions and answers just for fun. As Kevin read each of the questions, we made quick answers at the table and would have had a score of 17 correct even without debate or deliberation. As it turned out, the top score was 17. We would have tied, at least. Oh, well, there’s always tomorrow. At least our streak of victories is still intact.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tonight was another formal night, the second in three days. With so many port days, it is difficult to squeeze in four formal nights, but tonight was number three and our last night aboard will be the last one. After dinner that night we will return to the room, take off our party clothes and pack. MA had scallops for dinner and D had Cornish hen. The poor little thing never had a chance.</div><div align="justify"><br />The Prinsendam will be docked in Warnemunde, Germany, tomorrow. Syarif says that over 400 passengers are going out early for long trips to Berlin and other cities. Breakfast will be served starting at 5:00 a.m. Some of the trips will not return until 9:00 at night. We are staying in Warnemunde and looking for a bakery for strudel and maybe wurst for lunch.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Tomorrow -- Warnemunde, Germany<br /></span> </div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-65384370916494213312010-08-22T01:37:00.000-07:002010-08-22T01:41:35.761-07:00<div align="justify"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Friday, August 20, 2010</u></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><br />To Market, to Market</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />We slept late this morning to make up for the last two days. We have no more tours scheduled and enjoyed having no elaborate plans. We were even happier to gain an hour’s sleep last night as we moved westward to Helsinki, Finland. </div><div align="justify"><br />The usual suspects met at the usual place at 10:00 and went in search of a HoHo bus. What we found instead was a shuttle from the ship to the Market area by the harbor. Unlike some HAL shuttles, this one carried a 5 euro tariff for all-day use. We didn’t intend to use it more than once in each direction. </div><div align="justify"><br />We passed a number of large ferries in port this morning. They all seem to arrive at about the same time in the morning and leave at the same time in the evening. Unlike our vision of ferry boats crossing small rivers or even a bay, these are designed for overnight travel with cabins for passengers as well as room for cars and trucks. They are a favorite form of transit in this part of the world and tourists use them as readily as we use airplanes.</div><div align="justify"><br />The Market area was really a collection of stalls like a flea market, but it had a prime location. Not only was it on a direct path taken by tourists from both the cruise ships and the ferries, it was across the street from City Hall, the Presidential Palace and Uspensky Cathedral and other government buildings on Senate Square. Several public squares and two cathedrals are close by. It was tushy-to-tushy crowded.</div><div align="justify"><br /> Vendors were selling locally made handicrafts as well as tchotchkes of dubious origin. There were lots of things made from wood and many sellers with handmade knit products. Jewelry stalls were also popular, especially with MA and Roxanne, both of whom made purchases. We think we have now completed all of our shopping except for the commemorative boxes we collect. MA could not find a box she liked here so she bought a crystal block instead. She also found a necklace she liked and Roxanne bought a bracelet.</div><div align="justify"><br />This was not just a crafts market. Fresh produce, most of it local, was also available. There were blueberries in three sizes, just as we had seen in Kristiansand, except here the salesperson spoke impeccable English. We saw miniature cauliflowers; small potatoes and ears of corn; peas in the pod, and lots of fresh herbs. The aroma of dill was prominent. </div><div align="justify"><br />There were also at least a half dozen food stalls but everyone was selling pretty much the same food. Little silvery fish which looked like skinny sardines were fried and then kept warm on a large flat-top. One vendor offered one to D who accepted and decided that it tasted like, well, fish. Large calamari rings were on the same griddle as was salmon steaks and salmon cakes. There were rice and veggies, too. It was really local street food but it was too early for lunch.</div><div align="justify"><br />The skies were bright when we started out but grew darker and darker as the breeze increased. We decided that an early retreat to the ship might be a good idea. We were sure it was going to rain. We caught the shuttle back to the ship, had an early lunch in the MDR and read/napped before trivia.</div><div align="justify"><br />Ah, trivia! We had not played in several days and were coming off a three-peat, three victories in a row. We do not count the days we don’t play. We were afraid we might be rusty and tired, but we pulled out a close victory by having a perfect paper again. That makes twice we have answered all of the questions correctly. Today’s prize was the travel mug, again. [What are the names of the two moons of Mars? India defeated which European country in a two-day war in 1981? What did Captain Cook called the islands we know as Hawaii]</div><div align="justify"><br />Tonight was another formal night [tortellini/lamb chops]. Big yawn. We were in bed early again and we gain another hour tonight as we steam to Stockholm for our fifth port day in a row. We really need a day at sea.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – Stockholm, Sweden<br /><br /><strong><u>Saturday, August 21, 2010</u></strong></div><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Taking Stock[holm]</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br /><br />The ship did not clear Swedish customs until 9:00 this morning, so we had time to eat a leisurely breakfast in the MDR. We met as usual at 10:00 and disembarked. Practically at the security check-point, we found a HoHo bus and, naturally, hopped on. We discovered that this was a special bus on the yellow route designed to ferry passengers to the city center where could ride the yellow, blue or green routes interchangeably all day. The HoHos were double-decker buses with sliding roofs, but we stayed on the lower level on the yellow line.</div><div align="justify"><br />We opted to start the tour on the green line and Ed and D climbed to the upper deck so they could see better. The Hard Rock Café was the first stop after we began and we weren’t aware enough to get off to get the traditional shooter glass for MA’s brother Tim, not to mention that it was too early for lunch. Sorry, Tim, but we didn’t go back. The green line went on a north-south axis and, while it was interesting, there was nothing terribly important to us. As we rode through the downtown area, we saw a military band marching down a main street; a V-formation of propeller planes flying overhead; and the same fountain three times. We rode the complete circuit back to our starting point and transferred to the blue line.</div><div align="justify"><br />The blue line had more to offer in terms of things we remembered. Once again, we saw the same fountain and some of the same streets we had already seen in the city center. Two of the sites we passed had been the scenes of political murders including that of Prime Minister Olaf Palme. We also had a stop at the Nordiska Museum which chronicles Swedish culture; it is next to the Vasa Museum which houses a 300-year-old ship which sank before it was even commissioned. The Vasa sat at the bottom of Stockholm’s harbor for all of those 300 years before being salvaged and put on display. Next on the list of places we did not visit was Skansen, a large recreation area which has museums and a zoo and is next to the Grona Lund amusement park. It is directly across the harbor from us and we can see the roller coaster and tower drop from the ship.</div><div align="justify"><br />Perhaps the most unexpected part of the trip was the air show we passed between stops. In a large grassy field, we saw hundreds of spectators examining aircraft [helicopter, fighter jet, personal flyer] as others watched aircraft in the sky. We wondered if the flying formation we had seen earlier was part of this but had no way of finding out. We watched as a fixed wing/fixed gear plane did some barnstorming tricks as it flew overhead. At our distance, it appeared to be a wooden plane, but, again, we will never know. The next stop after the air show was the TV tower and as we waited there, we saw the barnstormer again. We discovered upon starting up again that we had simply circled the field and were on the opposite side.</div><div align="justify"><br />We were back in the city itself in no time and got off at the next-to-last stop in an area full of shopping and restaurants [according to the HoHo brochure. The shopping was high-end – Georg Jensen, Orefors, Boda – and the restaurants were pricey as well. We wanted a simple but typical local meal but did not see anything that qualified unless we wanted soup; we did not want the large, heavy meals which were available. We wanted what the Scandinavians would consider a snack since they eat their big meal at mid-day. We ended up at TGI Friday’s, and, while the nachos were good and even hit the spot, we were disappointed in ourselves for compromising. On the other hand, we have eaten at Pizza Hut in Paris; McDonald’s in Versailles; and the Hard Rock in Buenos Aires, so should not have been surprised.</div><div align="justify"><br />After lunch, we waited about fifteen minutes for the HoHo and returned to the city center which was the next stop. Once again we had to wait for the yellow line bus to return us to the ship. It was behind schedule, but our wait was not very long. By 3:10 we had returned to the Prinsendam and were heading to trivia. In a case of “déjà vu all over again,” we won for the sixth straight time although we did not have a perfect paper [What is the only insect which can turn its head 180 degrees to see behind itself? Who was the voice of the title character in the movie E.T.?]. We read and wrote until supper time.</div><div align="justify"><br />The benefits of the 4-star cruiser visited us again. We received an invitation for to a reception in the captain’s quarters tomorrow at 12:15 to be followed by a private Mariner’s luncheon at 1:00. This afternoon, a Guest Services representative called to confirm our attendance. The 4-star cruisers have sailed at least 200 days with HAL and we have been treated well although the biggest benefit has been the free laundry service. We have also taken advantage of the 50% discount at the coffee bar. By this time next year, we will have passed 300 days on HAL, but there are no additional benefits that we know of.</div><div align="justify"><br /><strong>Oopdate</strong> -- At dinner tonight [vegetable lasagna/fettucine de mare], Syarif came to the table to inquire about our intentions for tomorrow’s Mariner festivities. When we assured him that we would be at the captain’s reception as well as at the luncheon, he told us that we will be eating with the captain. The table will have the captain and the 4-Star Mariners. There are only eight on board, and we are four of them. It just keeps getting better.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – A sea day at last!<br /></span><br /> </div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-18154336469682434132010-08-20T06:30:00.000-07:002010-08-20T06:34:46.343-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Wednesday, August 18, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />The Emerald City</u></strong> </div><div align="justify"><br />It happens on every cruise: We find one city which becomes The Emerald City. This year it has to be St. Petersburg, Russia. This is not to say that it is completely wonderful. There are blocks of Soviet-era apartment blocks which look depressing. Traffic is horrid. And there are way too many tourists! We were one of seven cruise ships in port today including two Costa ships [the Macaroni and the Manicotti] and a Royal Caribbean monstrosity. Each of these ships holds over 3000 passengers and they were all on tour buses today trying to see the same things we were. </div><div align="justify"><br />We started with a new version of the Passport Dance. We had to go through Passport Control at the passenger terminal before being admitted to the country. Since we were not on a ship’s tour, we had to present proof that we were being met by a licensed tour agency as well as our passports and an entry ticket. The entry tickets had been distributed by HAL yesterday evening with almost all of the required information filled in. We simply had to underline the word “tourist,” check off our gender and sign both parts of the form. Once we were in the line, though, things slowed down. The process was slow and we were mixed in with a tour group of ten thousand. As a result, we were late meeting our guide Julia. Our introduction to the tour was hampered when the driver drove to the wrong ship when Julia called on her mobile. It was a comical start to the day.</div><div align="justify"><br />Julia was wonderful. Her command of English was good and she was able to understand some of our jokes, a difficult proposition in a foreign language. She speaks French as well as English and Russian and is picking up other languages through her customers.</div><div align="justify"><br />Once we were settled in the Mercedes mini-van, we had a tour of St. Petersburg, hereafter called SPB. During this tour we stayed in the car except when there were photo opportunities. Detailed visits came later. We spent some time at St. Isaac’s Square, a large square surrounded by three-story buildings which looked like they had been imported from Paris. This was not accidental and will be explained shortly. The center of the square held a monument to Czar Nicholas I. It was one of only a few monuments honoring the Czarist regimes not to be destroyed when the Bolsheviks took over the government in 1917. For the most part, the new government spared only monuments honoring Peter the Great and Katherine the Great. The statue of Nicholas was spared because he is shown riding a horse which has both of its front hooves in the air. The sheer size and balance of the work were enough to leave it in the square.</div><div align="justify"><br />St. Isaac’s Cathedral is on one side of the square. It is an imposing edifice, it is one of the world’s largest domed structures and, although we did not go inside, we know that tourists may climb to the top. We could see a ramp enclosed by caging running outside a lower level to the dome itself. Neither Ed nor D was tempted to climb another tower for a long time.</div><div align="justify"><br />When Peter took control of the city which now bears his name, he wanted to transform it into the Paris of the East. To this end, he created wide streets and lots of green space. The architecture mimicked that of Paris, but the dominant colors were pale yellow with white trim; Paris’s buildings are mostly white on white. Other colors sneaked in later, but the quintessential SPB building from the early days is yellow. SPB is also known as the Venice of the North. It is really a collection of islands at the mouth of the Neva River which runs right through it. There are 67 river segments and canals which separate the islands. There are far fewer bridges. Peter did not like bridges and only allowed pontoon bridges which had to be replaced each year.</div><div align="justify"><br />The city is still filled with parks and statues. At one point, the Communist government started to tear down all of the historical monuments but reason prevailed when they realized that they could not erase or ignore the country’s history. With the fall of Communism, the statues erected to Communist leaders have not been removed. There is still a statue of Lenin in one of the city’s best-known parks; he looks like he is trying to flag down a taxi.</div><div align="justify"><br />We drove past the Admiralty buildings. Because SPB is a deep-water port, it has been important in the Russian and Soviet military. The navy is headquartered here and there are training facilities across the city. We saw the Peter and Paul Fortress from across the river but did not get to visit. It has its own walled compound and ramparts as well as a cathedral and a public beach which was empty of sun bathers today. We drove to the point where the river splits and saw twin lighthouses [really towers] which warned sailors of the split in the river as they approached; today they are called the Rostral Columns and serve as a memorial to sailors. There was also a 1909 warship, the Aurora farther down the Neva; it was iron-clad, looked like it was made of cement yet still had two masts. Ed the sailor could not believe that anyone would try to sail this ship. Naturally, we lots of pictures at all of these places. Nearby was peter the Great’s ‘cabin which was directly opposite a high-class souvenir store where we didn’t buy anything. We did avail ourselves of the washrooms and free cookies, so the stop was not a total loss.</div><div align="justify"><br />During the drive, we also drove past the collection of buildings and former palaces which now constitute The Hermitage, perhaps the world’s largest art museum. Although one could take weeks wandering through it, we will have only two or three hours tomorrow. </div><div align="justify"><br />Finally, we pulled up outside The Hermitage and boarded a hydrofoil, a speed boat which rises onto fins to travel fast and far. The boat was fairly full with maybe 60 passengers for the ride from SPB to Peterhof, the site of Peter’s summer palace. The palace complex looked to be quite intricate, but we stayed outside in the gardens. Here we saw a series of pathways and fountains which reminded us for all the world of the grounds at Versailles. There were fountains everywhere – Julia said that there are 180 altogether. Some were simple, others ornate, and all of them worked on a gravity-feed system. Water from springs 22 km away is collected and stored overnight, then released through a series of pipes. The height of the fountain is determined by the difference between the height of the source and the height of the fountain. Or something like that.</div><div align="justify"><br />Some of the fountains were quite unique. There were several “cascades” which were more like waterfalls than fountains, and there some which exhibited a bit of whimsy. In several locations, the fountains were triggered by innocent passersby stepping on hidden triggers so that they soaked themselves. We tried to beat the system with mixed results. Julia had no trouble crossing one [think of walking barefoot on hot coals] and dared us to try it, too. Ed was first and he got soaked, but he claims some child tripped the fountain. Roxanne, MA and D had no trouble crossing. We theorized that the trigger was close to a park bench so that people wanting to sit down would get wet. At another location, Peter had workers create a 20 meter fountain that covered a path from both sides. He would sit near it and wait for some unsuspecting person to walk down the path. When the victim reached the middle, he would trigger the water knowing that there was nowhere for the victim to go – there was a 10 meter fountain in each direction.</div><div align="justify"><br />Julia gave us the choice of eating when we finished with Peterhof or waiting another 90 minutes. Of course, we chose to eat. She called ahead to a local restaurant and reserved a table for us. Lunch was to be a fixed menu and we all chose the traditional SPB meal.</div><div align="justify"><br />We started with a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and [maybe] julienned cabbage along with warm rolls. This was followed by the local version of borscht, a beet and cabbage soup served with a dollop of sour cream and accompanied by warm garlic rolls. Next we had the most marvelous dumplings. There must have been 10 on each plate! We have eaten dumplings in China and Indonesia, but these were the best we have ever had. To finish off the meal, we were served pancakes [crepes, really] with cranberry sauce and tea or espresso. </div><div align="justify"><br />We had invited Julia to eat with us. Lunch cost us a total of 2000 rubles for five. That equates to about $60 for more food than we should have eaten and we would do it again. When we went to pay, the real fun began. D’s Capital One World Mastercard was rejected by the computer gods; Ed’s Citibank Mastercard met a similar fate as did D’s AARP Visa. Finally, D’s Bank of America Visa/debit card hit the jackpot and lunch was paid for. We left a cash tip in USD for the waitress. It will be exciting to find out how much lunch really cost.</div><div align="justify"><br />We drove from Peterhof, the name of the town housing the summer palace, to the village of Pushkin. This village is named for the famous Russian poet and is home to Catherine’s Palace. We followed Julia through the palace where she explained the significance of each room as progressed in a straight line from start to finish. There were thousands of people in the palace or waiting in line to gain entry. The resourceful Julia got us to the head of the line and then insinuated us into another group long enough to get through the turnstile. After that, it was just our group of four against all of those boat people.</div><div align="justify"><br />Once again, we were reminded of Versailles as we entered the Grand Ballroom. There were mirrors and candelabra on all of the walls, but the main attraction was the gilt decorations. According to Julia, artisans used 22 pounds of gold to gild all of the decorations. Many of the other rooms contained gilt décor as well. It was overwhelming. Each room had its own theme. One was covered in paintings, not in frames but glued cheek-by-jowl to each other on all of the walls. Another featured portraits of Catherine I and her descendents. Generally, they were not a pleasant-looking group. Each room had a parquet floor but no two had the same pattern; the oldest dates from the late 18th Century. The most famous room is the Amber Room whose walls are covered with pieces of amber. It has been reconstructed to approximate its appearance prior to the War.</div><div align="justify"><br />During WWII, German forces took over the complex and tried to destroy it when they retreated from SPB. Most of Catherine’s palace was destroyed including the roof over the Grand Ballroom. Luckily, much of the gilt work survived as did that oldest parquet floor. Most of the rooms and the exterior were damaged extensively. Much of the art work was saved because it had been removed and stored in Siberia until hostilities ended. Restoration efforts began in 1944 and did not end for about twenty years.</div><div align="justify"><br />Our itinerary called for us to be done at Pushkin at 4:30, but a good lunch, traffic, accidents and construction caused us to get there late, so we didn’t finish our tour until 5:00. We decided to skip a ride on the SPB Metro despite Julia’s telling us how beautiful it is. The tour of a local farmer’s market was scrapped, too, in the interest of our survival. We were exhausted after losing an hour’s sleep to a time change and touring all day. We went straight to the ship, a drive of about an hour, and arrived just past 6:00. We spent another fifteen minutes getting through Passport Control [again!] and got to our cabins a bit before 6:30. Dinner, journal and bed rounded out the day.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – more of SPB</div><div align="justify"><br /><strong><u>Thursday, August 19, 2010</u></strong></div><div align="justify"><br /><strong><u>Blueberries and Babushkas</u></strong></div><div align="justify"><br />This morning was not quite as bad as yesterday. We were up early again, but at least we did not lose another hour’s sleep. We skipped breakfast and met Julia at 8:30.</div><div align="justify"><br />Our plan was to have breakfast at the Stolle pie shop, but it had not opened yet when we arrived at 8:50, so Julia and Vladimir changed the itinerary around and we visited a working Russian Orthodox church. The sanctuary was filled with icons, most many years old. At one point, religious icons were the only art allowed in Russia. Ed and D went inside while Roxanne and MA stayed in the van. They took pictures outside and had to practically fight their way inside with Julia. There was a steady stream of worshippers leaving and they all stopped outside the door to cross themselves one last time.</div><div align="justify"><br />We noticed that most of the parishioners were elderly women. Perhaps they have help to the old ways more than anyone else, but there were few young people in evidence. Julia says that services may last two to three hours and that people come and go as they need to. There are no seats in the Orthodox churches and that may add to the turnover; it would be difficult for many of the elderly to stand for so long. We were not allowed to take photos inside this church. </div><div align="justify"><br />We left the church and returned to Stolle which was open for business. We heard about the pie shop from Marvin and Barbara who toured SPB two years ago. In fact, the guide they used then is now the owner of the tour company we used. When D e-mailed about tours, he specified the same itinerary that they had. He would not have known about the synagogue or the pie shop otherwise.</div><div align="justify"><br />The pies in this shop are not traditional round fruit pies. Granted, some are round, but most are really strips resembling strudel and filled with all kinds of things. They are sold as large or small pieces and are sliced so that a piece resembles an oval with filling. Roxanne said that the crust was made from a yeast dough with little shortening or butter, so it was light but not greasy.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Roxanne and Ed had four slices allegedly to share, but there was little sharing going on. Roxanne got two savory pies – cabbage and mushroom; Ed got blueberry and cheese. MA ordered apple and D, like Ed, had the blueberry. All of the fillings were made from local produce and the pies came to the table hot. We could see the morning’s supply lying on the cutting-board counter when we entered and the aroma was heavenly. When we finished, we discovered that the shop was a cash only, rubles only establishment, so Julia had to rescue us. She paid in rubles and we repaid her in US currency.</div><div align="justify"><br />We drove to the Great Choral Synagogue. We have already seen the synagogues in Shanghai and Florence as well as the Jewish Community Center in Sevastopol, Ukraine, so this seemed to complement the earlier those visits. We were not disappointed.</div><div align="justify"><br />The Great Synagogue has been totally restored and is magnificent but not overstated. There is lots of wood evident, especially in the pews, but there is also a hint Moorish décor throughout. The area surrounding the Ark is in blue and white mosaic tile with key-hole architecture mimicking Moorish designs. The bima, or altar, is in the center of the sanctuary rather than at one end and the balcony was designed for women to use during services in keeping with the separation of the sexes. This is a working synagogue, not a museum.</div><div align="justify"><br />We were also able to see the “bride’s room,” a large room containing a chair under an awning where a bride awaits the marriage ceremony and the appearance of her husband-to-be before the ceremony. This room also had display cases with photographs, documents, books and other things and reminded us of the displays in the old synagogue-turned-museum we saw in Shanghai in 2008. We don’t know if all of the guides know to ask about this room, but Julia told us that her mother-in-law is/was Jewish so she is familiar with the Great synagogue. She told us that there are at least 100,000 Jews in SPB out of a population of 4.5 million, a surprisingly high number we thought. She was only aware of one other synagogue, though, and said it was a very small one which non-Jews [like her] were not allowed to enter.</div><div align="justify"><br />Yesterday, we saw parks and palaces which were some distance from SPB proper. Today we spent all day downtown. From Stolle, we drove to the Yusupov Palace. The term “palace” is used loosely here to indicate a really large home. The Yusupov’s were not royalty but they were so rich that they may have had more cash and property than the Romanov czars. The Yusupov Palace is important for two reasons: it was a magnificent collection of rooms and it was the site where the Mad Monk, Rasputin, was murdered. </div><div align="justify"><br />We began with the story of Rasputin and Julia told it like an actress. Although uneducated, Rasputin claimed to have mystical powers although they may have been simply the powers of persuasion. He claimed to have “cured” a friend of Alexandra, wife of Czar Nicholas II. He became a trusted family advisor because the Romanov’s hoped he would be able to cure their son of his hemophilia. It was not to be. Others close to the Romanov’s were jealous of Rasputin’s influence on the czar and plotted to murder him. Legend has it that they gave him massive doses of cyanide masked in food and drink to hide the almond aroma. An ordinary man would have died very quickly but the massive, 6 foot 6 inch Rasputin should no ill effects, so Yusupov finally shot him.</div><div align="justify"><br />Even then, he did not die and dragged himself from the basement where he was shot up a flight of steps. He really scared the plotters, so they also shot Rasputin and then rolled him in draperies and carried him to a boat. His body was dumped far from the Yusupov home. Because they did not weigh him down, his body floated to the surface the next day and the entire plot came undone.</div><div align="justify"><br />We went upstairs after hearing about Rasputin and walked through the public rooms of the Yusupov Palace. Julia explained the artwork, furniture and color schemes but it was so involved that the details have become hazy. We did see one room that was designated as a women’s bedroom. Originally, it was unused and served as an example of sleeping quar5ters available for female guests staying overnight. Later is was actually used and a doorway was cut into the wall [but wallpapered to match the room so it was not noticeable]; the doorway led to a set of stairs which connected to the private quarters of the Yusupov’s. Draw any conclusions you wish.</div><div align="justify"><br />We were also treated to an a cappella mini-concert while we were there. In one of the ballrooms, a quartet sang old Russian folk songs and then tried to peddle their CDs to the tourists who heard them. They were quite good and sounded like Il Divo. The acoustics in the room were excellent and enhanced the sound and the experience.</div><div align="justify"><br />The Yusupov Palace also contained its own theater with seating for about 150 people. It was the 18th and 19th Century version of the home theater. There was also a study which looked more like a library because of the walls filled with bookcases. Another feature of the study was the hidden passage built into a corner bookcase, one of five hidden exits in the Palace; we saw another under the pool table.</div><div align="justify"><br />When we finally left the Yusupov Palace, we went to the Church of the Spilt Blood. It is officially the Church of the Resurrection but it has been called this ever since Czar Alexander was murdered in it. He was the victim of an assassin’s bomb and the cobblestone area where this happened is still preserved albeit cordoned off so tourists can’t really see it clearly. </div><div align="justify"><br />Both the exterior and interior of the Church of the Spilt Blood are covered in mosaics. In fact, the entire interior is done in mosaic tile. There is not a square inch which is not; the exterior has some mosaic panels and onion-dome spires reminiscent of St. Basil’s in Moscow. It is the interior which one remembers most despite the almost Disney-like appearance of the outside. There are religious scenes from both the Old and New Testaments done in mosaic; there are pseudo-icons with halos over saints’ heads done in mosaic; there are panels large and small. The most amazing thing, though, is that it all looks brand new even though it is not. A massive restoration project, which took twenty years or more, had art students [primarily] cleaning and restoring each tile by hand. Some of the damage may have been as a result of the War, but much was also caused simply by age, dirt, and soot from candle smoke. The restoration work is chronicled in display panels and show before and after pictures. The results were truly amazing.</div><div align="justify"><br />This might be a good time to talk about tourists, especially those on shore excursions from cruise ships. We saw none of these people at the Orthodox church, the pie shop or the Great Synagogue, but they became noticeable and obnoxious when we got back on the beaten track at the Yusupov Palace, Church of the Spilt Blood and, finally, the Hermitage. They were loud, rude and pushy. Despite signs in the Hermitage that said flash photography was forbidden, they kept flashing away. Worse, though, was the sheer number of them, each group following a guide holding up a sign with their group number so they would not get separated.</div><div align="justify"><br />We were overrun by groups from Costa and MSC today. To get an idea of how big these ships are – and how many tourists they spewed forth this morning – we saw group numbers as high as 78 from one cruise line. Think of how many people that represents if each of the 78 tours has 35 people. MSC had so many people that could fill buses by the language used on the tour. We decided that the Costa passengers were even ruder and more physical than the Japanese have been. HAL did not come put innocent, either. MA heard a guide with a Holland group say that if any of them were pushed, they should push right back. That’s real class.</div><div align="justify"><br />The largest number of groups was at the Hermitage, our last stop for SPB. While it is purportedly the largest museum in the world, it was hot and crowded. Tour leaders thought nothing of walking in front of other people and dragging their groups so that no one could take unobstructed pictures or see anything. The jockeying for position was ridiculous.</div><div align="justify"><br />Anyway, we toured the second floor of the Hermitage but not before we grabbed a quick lunch in the museum café. Julia sort of made her own line and we ordered one stromboli and one Coke per couple and shared. Julia declined our offer to buy her lunch. The stromboli contained peppers, mushrooms, onions and maybe meat; were tasty; and hit the spot. Once again, we ran into the cash/rubles only policy and once again Julia had to come to our assistance. </div><div align="justify"><br />We might have preferred the Impressionist paintings on the third floor, but we didn’t know about their location until too late and it would have meant another long flight of stairs. We did see some Picasso works which were part of a temporary exhibit but we were forbidden to photograph anything in a temporary exhibit. Once past those works, we began in earnest.</div><div align="justify"><br />The hermitage contains more than three million works of art – paintings, sculptures, tapestries, furniture, etc. – housed in five buildings: the Winter Palace, the Old Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Small Hermitage and the Theater. They are all connected and face the Neva River across from the Rostral Columns and Peter and Paul Fortress. We had to remember that the Winter Palace and some of the others were constructed as residences, not museums. The rooms are so large, though, it is easy to forget.</div><div align="justify"><br />We felt, in retrospect, that Julia was trying to show the best of Russia and, as a result, we spent so much time on older masterpieces and illustrations of Russian artistry that we missed the Impressionists. Among other things we saw a mechanical clock of gold shaped like a peacock and other animals where the time was displayed in a mushroom. There were mosaic tabletops with pieces millimeters thick and others with larger pieces. Vases and tables which appeared to be solid malachite and lapis lazuli were actually veneers. It was hard to imagine how the veneer was created and applied to large fluted urns. We could not get out of Russia without more icons and triptychs or the jewels in the museum’s crown.</div><div align="justify"><br />Each room, or gallery, contained not only antique works of art, but also antique Russian women. These babushkas were there to protect the displays but seemed not to care. It was up to the schoolteachers and Julia to remind people not to use the flash attachments on their cameras, reminders that were not always met with humility.</div><div align="justify"><br />There were large [and pushy] crowds in front of the two Da Vinci works on display. It was as if to say, “See, we’re a good enough museum to have two of the fourteen Da Vinci’s in existence.” These paintings were behind glass, as were most of the Hermitage’s pictures, as protection from idiots and vandals. The idiots kept shooting flash pictures [despite us and the babushkas] so the glass may have protected the priceless canvases from damage due to the bright flash of light. Vandals have damaged pictures in the Hermitage before with the most serious case involving someone who threw acid on a Rembrandt.</div><div align="justify"><br />We progressed to Rembrandt and Reubens as well as other Old Masters and were pretty much on culture overload by 4:00. We still had a little time left in the schedule to see the impressionists, but we did not have the energy, so we went back to the ship. We were home at 4:30, a mere 30 minutes ahead of schedule.</div><div align="justify"><br />We all managed to rest a little before dinner [galumpki/fish] and went to bed almost immediately after. If we ever return to SPB, we will have to allow a lot more time.<br /><br />Tomorrow – Helsinki, Finland</span> </div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-91720171484625580322010-08-17T08:48:00.000-07:002010-08-17T08:54:15.739-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Sunday, August 15, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />This and That</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />Today was almost a sea day. We passed from the North Sea into the Kiel Canal around 9:00 this morning and spent the rest of the day traversing its 60 mile length. It was a leisurely transit and so smooth we felt like we were on a conveyor belt. Our only stop was only long enough to off-load passengers for a side trip to Hamburg.</div><div align="justify"><br />We were at breakfast when the Prinsendam began its journey through the locks and in to the canal. The ship had to be raised to match the water level of the other side of the lock. Once the ship was in position, the rear lock slid closed and the water slowly rose until it matched the water level ahead of us. Then that lock slid back and we sailed into the Kiel Canal.</div><div align="justify"><br />As we moved into position, a tug boat followed us, attached to the stern [round part, in captain-speak]. We theorized that it was there to assist in moving the stern left or right as needed so the ship did not bump into the side of the slip between the two locks. Although the line between the Prinsendam and the tug was taut, it was only a hawser made of rope and was certainly not capable of actually towing the ship backwards. Ed said that there had been a similar arrangement when we went through the locks at Amsterdam last night.</div><div align="justify"><br />The Prinsendam is the only HAL ship small enough to travel through this canal. With a draught of approximately 35 feet below the surface of the water, it barely clears the bottom. It was obvious to us that few passenger ships cruise here. The banks on both sides of the canal were filled with locals who came to wave at us as we slid past. At the entry lock, there was an actual crowd as well as flag-wavers and a brass band. The captain said that the couple waving the flags – a “welcome” flag and a US flag – would follow us all the way to the end of the canal, but none of us went on deck long enough to check. Still, it was a gesture of goodwill that we all appreciated.</div><div align="justify"><br />This is a much-traveled waterway full of boats of all sizes. We were followed into the canal by a huge container ship which made us look tiny. It followed us for hours before we were able to pull over and let it pass us. There were smaller boats, too. We saw a three-masted sailing ship just as we went through the lock and into the canal, and there have been power boats and sail boats as well. It is Sunday and the local populace is enjoying it in many ways. </div><div align="justify"><br />Since people were still waiting for us on the bank five hours after we started through, we assumed that there must have been some notice or article in the local press. On a normal Sunday most of these folks would have had some other way to amuse themselves. Although the largest crowds appear at ferry boat crossings [which had roads leading to them], a number of the well-wishers have been standing on the tow paths on either side of the canal. Others have taken a break from their bicycling to stop and wave. For the most part, the old tow path has become a bike path now. Regardless, there have been very few places where there weren’t onlookers.</div><div align="justify"><br />We have ducked under a number of bridges, some automotive and others rail. The ship may be high enough in the water to clear the bottom, but the radio masts must be lowered to clear the bridges. Standing on the upper decks when we pass under a bridge can be a nerve-wracking experience. You know the ship will clear the underside but you still flinch. We had a similar experience in 2008 on the Main-Danube canal. Then, the ship was a small riverboat but the problem was the same – the bridge had to be lowered hydraulically in order to clear the bridges. There are other similarities, too. People crowd the deck to gawk [and duck] at the bridges and to marvel at the countryside. In 2004, we were looking through the trees and now we can see over them, but the farmland and cattle look the same.</div><div align="justify"><br />Ever since we started in the canal, and even before, we have seen many small ferries taking people from one side of the canal to the other. These ferries can hold 4 – 6 cars as well as pedestrians. It is at the ferry slips that the largest crowds of locals have been, perhaps because of the traffic jam we have created. The ferries must operate continually to provide everyone the opportunity to cross if they are not near a bridge.</div><div align="justify"><br />Speaking of bridges, ours was busy today, too. Periodically throughout our transit, the Port Lecturer Frank Buckingham has talked about where we are and what we are seeing in addition giving some historical background of the canal and its environs. The captain has offered some comments, too, when Frank has taken a break; the captain is a lot more interesting than Frank who is rather boring and full of himself [This is our third straight cruise with Frank]. He is considered the best in the fleet, but that still doesn’t make him lively or entertaining.</div><div align="justify"><br />The weather continued to be on its good behavior. Although sun gave way to overcast and warmth to breezy, we had no rain. It was pleasant enough that we had hamburgers on the rear deck at lunch time and were able to watch the canal and Germany glide past. It also gave us the chance to watch the “newbies” who boarded yesterday in Amsterdam. They are easy to spot – deck plans in hand trying to find the MDR; peering at the elevator floor guides; asking how to get to their cabins – and we are trying not to act condescending or superior. </div><div align="justify"><br />The arrival of the new passengers and the departure of most of the Top of the World cruisers created an interesting situation last night at supper. All of the tables around us were empty. The one nearby table which was occupied had different continuing people at it. We thought that it had something to do with our rowdiness, but Syarif and Tommy led newbies to the tables; we don’t know if these will be permanent assignments or just the overflow from the free-style dining room.</div><div align="justify"><br />In a bit of irony, the husband in the continuing couple who now sit near us is our new trivia partner. He approached us a week ago to ask if he could join us because the rest of his team was leaving at Amsterdam. We agreed and he started today. It was a good thing, too. We won more of the once-coveted coasters but would not have without him. We graded the paper of a solo player who got 14 correct, second to our 15, so we invited him to join us, too. He did not realize that trivia is a daily event and was concerned because he will be on excursions on port days. We assured him we would be as well. If there is trivia, and if we have players, fine. If not, that’s okay, too. Hmmm…coasters or St. Petersburg??<br /><br /><strong><u>Monday, August 16, 2010</u></strong></div><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Rijsttafel Redux</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />Once again, we are inundated with invitations. Yesterday we received an invitation to another rijsttafel. It was scheduled for noon, so we would have time for trivia before reporting for another good lunch. At dinner, Syarif asked if we would like to have the rijsttafel with the Hotel Manager, Francois [Fermin had left the ship at Amsterdam for an assignment on the Veendam]. We would be delighted, we said. Roxanne and Ed said the same thing when he approached them in the Pinnacle Grill [the steak house restaurant] where they had gone to celebrate their anniversary.</div><div align="justify"><br />This morning, after a short night due to a time-zone change, there was a new invitation in the door, this one specifying our lunch with Francois and asking us to meet in the Ocean Bar at 11:30. That was good news and bad news. We were already expecting to be in the Ocean Bar at 11:30 for trivia. Meeting at the same time for lunch meant that trivia was out. We arrived at the OB early, of course, and were joined by Roxanne and Ed. Assistant Cruise Director Kevin arrived to conduct trivia and was heart-broken when we said we would not be able to take part. Alas! What to do?</div><div align="justify"><br />Well, it turned out that the Prinsendam staff had screwed up the schedule somehow. First, trivia was late because another group [cooking?] came in for cheap, flat champagne and cookbooks. They created a god-awful racket and Kevin had to wait for them to quiet down and leave before he could start. Then Syarif came to tell us that the rijsttafel would be delayed for a few minutes because the dining room was not ready. Hurrah! We could play.</div><div align="justify"><br />We had already told Mike, the new guy, that we were not participating today and then stormed the table to tell him we were. As it turned out, we were able to stay through the first 20 questions before we were called to assemble for lunch. As we started out, Kevin asked the bonus question – What does the acronym SCUBA stand for? We rushed back to tell Mike that we knew, but he did, too, so we trooped off to the dining room. We passed a non-contact receiving line consisting of the captain, Francois, Thom and his wife Tina [the future cruise consultant] and were seated at a table replete with place cards again.</div><div align="justify"><br />Once we were settled, Hernelia came rushing into the dining room to tell us we had won again. We were collectively surprised since we were unsure of so many questions and answers today [How many expeditions are permitted to attempt to climb Mt. Everest at the same time? What organization awards the Pulitzer prizes? ]. D excused himself and went to collect the goodies, more of the tote bags, and brought them to the dining room to distribute. Our other new player was also at the luncheon, so he got his prize as well. </div><div align="justify"><br />This rijsttafel was held for those passengers who have continued from the TOTW to the Kiel Canal and Baltic Gems cruise. The captain said there about 40 of us although not all came to lunch. We could not see from our table, but we assume that not everyone was seated with a uniformed staff member.</div><div align="justify"><br />The menu and the captain’s speech explaining it were almost word-for-word what he said at the last one [see the entry for August 3 for details]. He did mention that tomorrow is Indonesian Independence Day and that there will be ceremonies on the pier if the weather is good in Tallinn.<br />Tonight was formal night, the first of four planned for this two-week cruise. It will be difficult to get them all in since there are few sea days. On the first segment, only five of the scheduled six took place. There was no special theme tonight, either. Still the food was good and the company was better. After dinner, we read and wrote the journal and then to bed for a day of walking around Tallinn, we hope.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – Tallinn, Estonia<br /><br /><strong><u>Tuesday, August 17, 2010</u></strong></div><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Neither Rain nor Snow</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />We finally were inundated by rain today but not until we had been in Tallinn a while. </div><div align="justify"><br />We met at 10:15 and walked into the “old town” of Tallinn which is now a UN Cultural Heritage site. The walk was about a mile and ended with us climbing stairs to the historic part of the city. [The not-so-historic part of Tallinn seems to be a thriving shipping hub filled with new buildings.] We started in the north end and didn’t travel too far south as it turned out.</div><div align="justify"><br />We entered by the Great Coast Gate which led directly to the Fat Margaret Tower, built in the 16th Century, which now houses the National Maritime Museum. The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we could not look in, but the outside as plaques honoring Estonian sailors who assisted the Finns in WWII and British seamen who aided Estonia, too.</div><div align="justify"><br />Just outside the Great Coast Gate is a memorial sculpture dedicated to 852 people who died when a ferry capsized in 1994. There was an explanatory marker, of course, and the sculpture which was striking – two pieces separated at the entry path. Had we not read about its purpose, we would have assumed it was just art for art’s sake.</div><div align="justify"><br />We walked past the Maritime Museum and turned away from the crowds. This part of Tallinn is a tourist magnet or trap depending on your point of view. We elected to stay away from the throng for as long as we could. A quick right and then left brought us smack up against the Oleviste Church, a Baptist church in a predominately Russian Orthodox country. The church was barely decorated and seemed to have been built in stages. The central section appeared oldest and the two side seating sections seemed new by comparison. The two side sections have such poor sight lines that services are televised via closed circuit to the congregants. There are TV monitors and speakers throughout the outer areas. The old section does not need the technology because congregants can see what is happening.</div><div align="justify"><br />Unlike a Catholic church, Oleviste did not have a crucifix behind the altar. There was a large painting of Christ on the Cross. It was impossible to see it from the sides, however. The church was very long relative to the center seating area. </div><div align="justify"><br />The high point, literally, was the tower. While entering the church was free there was a nominal charge to climb the tower. When Ed bought the tickets, he asked for two. Before he could take them, d asked if there was a senior rate. The little old lady selling the tickets and other church tchotchkes said something uncomplimentary under her breath before reissuing the senior tickets which were half the price of the regular ones. </div><div align="justify"><br />We think the ticket money is used to pay for the emergency workers who respond to the cases of cardiac arrest brought on by the climb. It was brutal. The steps were hand-carved stone, steep and deep. The spiral they made was so tight that it was difficult passing other people when they approached from the opposite direction. There were several level places where one could rest or pass others with little danger. Ed and D stopped at one of these to take off their jackets and D stayed to catch his breath after Ed continued climbing. This may not have been as high as the Wallace Memorial several weeks ago, but that may have had more places to rest.</div><div align="justify"><br />D eventually made it to the top of the church spire safely but winded. Once outside on the parapet, the breeze cooled both off quickly. Then it was a matter of walking gingerly around the narrow walkway. If another person wanted to pass, someone had to lean into the steeple so there was enough clearance. There was simply no way to get around someone at the corners.</div><div align="justify"><br />The view was magnificent. We could see all of old Tallinn in the foreground as well as new Tallinn and the cruise ship dock in the distance. We were one of three cruise ships in port today and were, by far, the smallest. For comparison, we know that the Costa Marinara [really the Atlantica] sent out at least 40 shore excursions today. While Ed and D huffed and puffed to the top of the tower, Roxanne and MA stayed safely below in the church waiting for the thump-thump-thump of our rolling return.</div><div align="justify"><br />Once we left the church, we started walking again although we had no destination in mind. The weather gods assisted us in our decision-making by creating a downpour. We had an inkling it was coming when the first few drops landed and we immediately put on our rain jackets. Within a minute, though, it had turned to a real cloudburst and we made haste to the nearest pub/restaurant we could find. We had rejected an several Italian places before the rain, but now we were not so choosy. We were drenched when we went in and were grateful for the respite. </div><div align="justify"><br />We ate at the bar rather than climb more steps. While we might have enjoyed a traditional Estonian meal, whatever it was, we settled on ham, cheese and tomato paninis with Cokes. Ed had goat cheese and raisin bread and a local draught beer. We ate through the thunder and lightning and left the restaurant to dry but overcast skies.</div><div align="justify"><br />It was 1:30 or so when we left, so we wandered in the general direction of the Great Coast Gate and home. We stopped to buy The Box before it was too late and Roxanne and D walked into a marzipan store where everything, including the three-foot high “doll house” in the store’s window was made of marzipan. There was even a marzipan museum in the basement but we left without seeing it. Meanwhile, Ed was off buying a t-shirt he had seen a few minutes earlier.</div><div align="justify"><br />We took more pictures on the way out of old town and returned to the Prinsendam around 2:00, enough time to read, relax and dry off. Trivia was scheduled for 3:30 although that was not a factor in our return to the ship. We took our regular place around 3:00 and thought for a while that we would win by default, but two other groups showed up and, mid-way through the contest, so did Gary the New Guy. He confirmed our answers for several questions and jumped right for the blast half of the match. Scores for the day were 10 point out of 23; 13 points out of 23; and our 20 out of 23. We have now won three games in a row but will miss the next two days while we tour in St. Petersburg. Today’s prize was key rings which we already won [and gave away], so we gave Gary and extra one for his wife and we will give one to Mike the Other New Guy when we see him later this week.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tonight, we and lots of other people had drinks and snacks with the captain before dinner. Each time we do this we hear the same speeches but the drinks are free and the hors d’oeuvres are better than in the bars. Between the cocktail receptions, the rijsttafel, dinner with the hotel manager and other perks, we could get used to this sailing stuff.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – St. Petersburg, Russia</span><br /><br /><br /> </div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-70339547232663316042010-08-15T02:45:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:46:11.282-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Saturday, August 14, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Like a Circle in a Circle</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />Amsterdam is a wonderful city, especially good for people-watching. We did our share of that today.</div><div align="justify"><br />The day began with the Dance of the Passports. Continuing passengers were to meet in the Ocean Bar at 9:30 to go through Dutch immigration. Dutifully, we and Roxanne and Ed reported as instructed. By the time our ‘friend’ Richard collected everyone and paraded us to the terminal, the Dutch officials had left and we were dismissed to go on our merry way.</div><div align="justify"><br />On the way out of the passenger terminal, MA saw some Delft-style canisters she wanted to buy but decided to get them on the way back so we would not have to carry them all day. We followed the instructions we got from the Information kiosk in the terminal and walked to Centraal Station, the main railroad terminal in Amsterdam. We dodged bicyclists and trams [light rail] on the way. Even with the traffic, the walk took less than 15 minutes. We wandered like lost souls until we found signs for several Hop On-Hop Off boat tours. With nothing to guide us, we picked the kiosk with the shortest line. We paid 20 euros apiece for unlimited trips for one day and set out to find the boat.</div><div align="justify"><br />We were expecting a boat like the one we rode at the Falkirk Wheel [was that really almost three weeks ago?]. Of course, we were disappointed when we discovered that the seating was in U-shaped banquettes around small tables. The boat was crowded when we boarded and we were lucky to get two seats in the same banquette. Unfortunately, we had to share with strangers who seemed to take their share and some of ours, especially when he twisted to take pictures. MA ended up riding backwards, which she hates, and both of us were very uncomfortable.</div><div align="justify"><br />This version of the bateau mouche had some explanation of what we were passing but it was given sequentially, so we had to wait through 4 or 5 languages before new information was given. On many HoHo buses passengers use ear phones and choose their preferred language; this method allows for more information in a shorter time frame. Anyway, many of the passengers and all of the children departed at the stop for the zoo and we followed shortly thereafter.</div><div align="justify"><br />The City Hall stop was a transfer point to the other route this company used [All of the tour operators seem to follow a similar pattern]. In order to stretch, we decided to transfer to the other route. The new boat would pass the Anne Frank House, Centraal Station and several museums plus the Heineken brewery before returning to City Hall. We had a half-hour before the next boat came and went to the first café we saw and got Cokes. What else? We were among the first on the next boat thanks to a little insistence on our part.</div><div align="justify"><br />This second boat was bigger, had bench seats which faced either forward or backward, separated by a table. Better still it was not crowded and we and Roxanne shared a forward facing seat. Ed sat farther forward so he could get better pictures which we plan to steal later. At the next stop, a family with two little girls sat with us and we divided our time between watching Amsterdam and the girls. D took as many pictures of the children as he did of the city.</div><div align="justify"><br />The canals form rings around and through Amsterdam. There are many bridges and short tunnels to allow automotive traffic to pass overhead; there are also a number of small draw bridges. We saw canals of all sizes and widths. Some were narrow enough that only small boats could traverse them. Others could accommodate large barges two abreast. Everywhere we went, there were bicycles and outdoor cafes. It is a lively place.</div><div align="justify"><br />Of course, some areas were more crowded than others. Just as families got off at the zoo on the first leg of our adventure, lots of passengers departed at the Anne Frank House stop. As we cast off, we could see a long line of tourists waiting to enter the best known house in Amsterdam. Barbara and Marvin were planning on visiting today, but they had reserved timed tickets before leaving the US.</div><div align="justify"><br />We stayed on this bateau until it returned to the City Hall stop. By now, it was 1:40 and we had been loose in Amsterdam more than three hours and were hungry. By design, we returned to the same café where we had stopped earlier and got lunch. Both couples chose the same things to eat – a plate of “snacks, Dutch style” and Cokes. The drinks arrived first and we were dismayed to discover that they were not Coke but were Pepsi. Horrors! We asked for, and received, lemon slices to hide the Pepsi taste and all was right once again.</div><div align="justify"><br />Our snack plates held more food than we could eat. There was a dish of both green and black olives smothering several garlic cloves; mixed nuts; fried cheese; chicken tenders [sort of]; the Dutch bitterballen which are fried with something gooey inside; cheese cubes and sliced wurst [sausage]. We could not finish all of it despite how good it all was.</div><div align="justify"><br />We returned to the quay to get the first boat back to Centraal Station and arrived just as the boat pulled up. The four of us were the only ones to board this boat which had a different seating configuration from the other two. This one was just rows of forward-facing seats. We were comfy but confused. What had started as a very unpleasant tour had become a wonderful day. The fact that it was warm and sunny made it an even better way to spend our day.</div><div align="justify"><br />Once back at Centraal Station, we made our way back to the Prinsendam at 3:45. By the time we came through the terminal, looking for the canisters from the morning, we found that the vendor had closed up at noon and the open stall had nothing like what we wanted. When we boarded the ship, we were hot, tired and happy. We found a surprise waiting in our cabin – two plates of chocolate candy surrounding a marzipan rose – a thank-you gift from the ship to those continuing on to the Baltic. </div><div align="justify"><br /> We couldn’t relax, though. There was a mandatory boat drill at 4:15 and we were afraid that we would fall asleep if we lay down to rest. Instead, we went to the Ocean Bar for ice water while we waited. Our boat drill supervisor was Syarif, the headwaiter who chose us for dinner with the Hotel Manager. He walked through the bar while we waited but said we had to come outside even though we were sitting in plain sight of the life boat. We didn’t want to create a fuss, so trooped outside when it was time. He didn’t even call our cabin numbers as he was checking attendance since he knows us and Roxanne and Ed so well by now.</div><div align="justify"><br />The ship started out of Amsterdam harbor at 5:00 and headed toward the North Sea and, eventually, the Kiel Canal [more on that in tomorrow’s entry]. The captain expected to reach the Amsterdam locks to the North Sea around 7:30, so we hoped to see the process begin while we had drinks in the Ocean Bar. .MA went for a nap and D went to the Ocean Bar to “oopdate” the journal. He also went to see the Dining Room table assignment officer to arrange for a good table in the morning so we can see everything as we enter the Kiel Canal.</div><div align="justify"><br />Once again, the captain was early and we entered the locks around 7:00. We watched some of the process from the room and Ed and D took pictures before we went to the MDR. Dinner tonight [eggplant cannelloni/prime rib] was quieter than the last three weeks without Barbara and Marvin. We have kept the same table and wait staff, so it could have been worse. After dinner, we went back to the room and read before going to sleep. Tomorrow won’t be such an early morning, but we have to be in the MDR at 9:00 to watch as we enter the Kiel Canal.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – The Kiel Canal</span></div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-40934379017864780612010-08-13T13:33:00.000-07:002010-08-13T13:34:41.252-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Friday, August 13, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />The Semi-final Frontier</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />Today’s program calls this Day 22 which it is technically. We boarded on Friday, July 23 but did not sail until the next day. Tomorrow, we dock in Amsterdam [Day 23?] to take on supplies and new passengers. We have no specific plans yet, but we do have several walking tours on D’s Kindle and there are always canal tours. Although we would like to revisit the Anne Frank House, our knees are no longer willing to climb the steep, narrow stairway behind the famous book shelves.</div><div align="justify"><br />We have continued to talk excitedly, especially with Roxanne, about last night’s dinner. Being in the center ring of the MDR Circus was not the only intimidating aspect of the evening. The table itself brought a sobriety which we had not exhibited in three weeks.</div><div align="justify"><br />The Table of Honor is a round table which can hold 10 people although there were just nine of us last night. It is right in the middle of the larger of the two areas of the La Fontaine Dining room and it was set as if for royalty. All of the plates were in the Rosenthal Versace Medusa pattern, dark red with a figure of Medusa’s head staring out as if it was statuary. The crystal was from the same pattern. Water goblets a foot tall and matching, but shorter, wine glasses [both red and white] with Medusa’s head in three dimensions at the bottom of the glass where it meets the stem.</div><div align="justify"><br />To fill these wine glasses, the wine steward [sommelier] had selected an Australian white and a Napa valley red. He had decanted the red an hour before the dinner so it could breathe, as they say in the wine business. While the white was poured straight from the bottle, the red came from a clear glass decanter which looked a little like a flat, glass teapot on drugs. Wine was served at the beginning of the meal and then again when the entrees were served; thus, people could drink white at the start and switch to red if their meal called for it or vice-versa. It was oh, so terribly refined. Even the water was poured from fresh plastic bottles. Damn the recycling problem, full steam ahead.</div><div align="justify"><br />One thing we talked about was the recycling situation on shipboard. In years past, there used to be a separate receptacle in each stateroom for the recycling of paper. Our cabins have not had this for several years although some at the table claimed that there were separate sections in their trash cans. Fermin talked at length about recycling on the Prinsendam. Crew members go through each trash can to pull out anything which can be recycled – paper, metal, glass, etc. Batteries from cameras and the like are also collected. The waste is then crushed and/or bundled pending its removal at an appropriate port and any money made from its sale is set aside for the crew. As a result, there is much less waste on board than there used to be, a positive for the pocket book and the conscience.</div><div align="justify"><br />Trivia today was a disaster. The winning teams tied at 15 correct and we were not even close to that with our paltry 11. Even if we had made better decisions when answers were offered, we still would not have won. [The blue jay is a member of what bird family? Who plotted a revolution against Elizabeth I in 1601? Which continent has 5 of the world’s 10 longest rivers?]<br />MA had her nails done this afternoon, so lunch was very light, but we did go to the Indonesian tea at 3:00 with Roxanne. Eko, our dinner waiter, took care of us and recommended several pastries with names he did not mention. There was a pancake, as he called it, wrapped around coconut and brown sugar and another pastry which was sticky rice rolled in coconut. Roxanne had a meeting at 4, so we split up and went back to the cabin to read. MA is determined to finish <em>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</em> today.</div><div align="justify"><br />Dinner tonight was sad. Barbara and Marvin are leaving us in the morning and the table will not be the same. Quieter but not the same. Of course, we will be able to see them when they return to Florida, possibly for good, in September. After last night’s formality, it was good to laugh and giggle again. [MA had sesame noodles and D had chicken again]</div><div align="justify"><br />All through dinner, we could see what we assumed were oil rigs in the distance. At one point, Barbara took a picture of what we think was a little house in the middle of the North Sea; perhaps it is a caretaker’s cottage for the personnel who oversee the rigs. Most of those rigs seemed to be nothing more than a few pipes sticking out of the water, probably not real wells. We could also see a number of “Christmas trees,” full deepwater oil rigs. After the recent events in the Gulf of Mexico, we weren’t sure if we wanted to cruise so close to any of these oil rigs. Luckily, none exploded while we were in the vicinity.</div><div align="justify"><br />We made sad goodbyes to Marvin and Barbara and made arrangements to meet Roxanne and Ed in the morning. All continuing passengers must vacate the ship to satisfy Dutch immigration officials. Since we have to go ashore to present our passports, we will start our exploring when the Passport Dance is done.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – Amsterdam, Netherlands</span></div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-544550540275974332010-08-13T02:03:00.000-07:002010-08-13T02:08:32.810-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Wednesday, August 11, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />And the Band Played On</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />We arrived in Kristiansand, Norway, around 7:00 but the ship was not cleared for passenger departure until 8:00. When Thom announced the “all clear,” we got up and dressed. We skipped breakfast this morning because there was a chance of rain and we wanted to miss it.</div><div align="justify"><br />It turned out to be a warm sunny day and we were over-dressed. The 61F temperature quickly rose and we regretted wearing a sweat shirt and sweater, respectively. D even took off his Herstein University hat from time to time just to cool off. We walked into the little town, following others who pretended to know where they were going. Map in hand, we passed through the commercial dock and over several small bridges. From one of them, we could see what appeared to be a small marina which turned out to be an area of restaurants and bars [and a fish market]; several of the restaurants were accessible by boat and it was this that we had seen from the bridge.</div><div align="justify"><br />Further on, we passed a sculpture garden in a public park and we decided that we would investigate this on the way back to the ship. Following the map, we made our way to Markensgate, a pedestrian shopping street. Although there was little “old’ architecture, there was plenty of shopping and even more restaurants and sidewalk cafes. We looked through several book stores and hunted once more for the elusive souvenir box from Norway but bought nothing. We were tempted by a wooden moose which had a baby moose inside [like our nesting penguins from Ushuaia] but it was over $30, more than we wanted to spend.</div><div align="justify"><br />We walked a little way into an urban shopping center. Like Paragon in Singapore, it was a modern indoor mall spread over several floors in what was once several buildings. We rested there for a few minutes as we watched people pass by. On the way out we stopped at the first of the book sellers and had a nice chat with the young man working there about e-books and I-phones. He admitted that his telephone was as old-fashioned as ours.</div><div align="justify"><br />We turned toward the cathedral and found ourselves in another pedestrian area. There were more bars, restaurants and coffee shops here, most with outdoor seating. Additionally, there were local vendors in the middle of the “road” selling crafts and vegetables. We saw some produce which was unfamiliar but were able to identify most of it. There was abstract artwork in the middle, too; it reminded us of some sculptures we had seen at the Pompidou Center in Paris when we visited Jon during his junior year in 1991. In the center of the next intersection was a pigeon-festooned fountain which stood directly in front of the cathedral.</div><div align="justify"><br />We entered the cathedral just to see how a Lutheran cathedral would differ from a Catholic one. The answer is that this one was austere, to put it mildly. Although the exterior was stone, the interior was all unfinished wood. There were very few decorations on the walls; only two small stained glass windows in the front; and an oil painting at the back of the altar rather than the expected cross. The side windows were also stained glass but were somewhat monochromatic with nothing pictured on them.</div><div align="justify"><br />The most amazing thing was that there was a full symphony orchestra rehearsing in the front of the cathedral. We have no idea what they were playing or who composed the piece, but it was haunting. D’s guess was that it was, perhaps, written by Carl Nilsson, the only modern Scandinavian composer he knows. The piece was dominated by lots of low strings and brass with lighter sections reminiscent of folk melodies. We stayed and listened for almost 30 minutes.</div><div align="justify"><br />Once we left the cathedral, we encountered a beach volleyball game in progress in the square. We had passed by the spot on the way to the cathedral and taken a few pictures but did not realize until later that this was part of a special two-week competition. On the way back, D took some more photos especially for Ed. </div><div align="justify"><br />We wandered more of Markensgate and then headed back in the direction of the cathedral to grab a soda at one of the cafes. We had expected to get lunch either on the ship or at the marina we saw on the way in. The waitress didn’t know about our plans and brought menus and we ended up having lunch there. We found that there were bagel sandwiches and we each ordered bagels with chorizo, mozzarella and tomato pesto which may have been plain tomato paste. The sandwiches, while not authentic Norwegian, were really good and the Cokes struck just the right note on the hot day.</div><div align="justify"><br />After lunch we started back to the ship. We made good on our decision to see the sculpture garden only to discover that it was a sand sculpture exhibit probably tied to the beach volleyball competition. MA’s favorite was the one with a bent-over troll who was flashing a bit of plumber’s butt. We continued back to the ship by way of the fish market and passed the new concert hall which is under construction. It should be completed by the fall of 2012. Kristiansand has a variety of cultural activities including live theater, symphony orchestra and opera all of which will utilize the new venue.</div><div align="justify"><br />The rest of the day passed like a sea day – we got drinks in the Lido; read our Kindles; chatted with Roxanne before trivia; and posted the blog from the previous two days. We came in second at trivia again, but the prize was key rings so we weren’t too upset. [What is the hardest substance in the human body? What is the largest joint in the human body? In The Sting, which actor got stung?] A player on another team asked to join us for the next segment because the rest of his team is leaving in Amsterdam and we agreed to let him. There are only three sea days on that part and we figure to be ashore during trivia time on the other days. Stay tuned.</div><div align="justify"><br />At dinner tonight [manicotti/veal parmesan], the dining room manager Syarif [Sha-REEF], came to the table to tell us that we were all being invited to a private dinner tomorrow with Fermin, the Hotel Manager, quite an honor since he is second only to the captain on the ship. The Hotel Department has the largest staff of any division on the Prinsendam and includes the food, beverage and housekeeping departments among others. It covers almost everything not involved in moving the ship. Tomorrow is also the last formal night of the first segment, so it should be quite festive. </div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – Oslo, Norway.<br /><br /><strong><u>Thursday, August 12, 2010 [Happy 34th Birthday, Emily]</u></strong></div><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Around and Around They Go</div><div align="justify"><br /></u></strong>First thing this morning, we found an invitation to dinner with Fermin, just as Syarif had promised. We were to meet for cocktails at 8:00 in the Explorer’s Lounge. We still did not know why we had been chosen but assumed we would find out eventually. D joked that this was when they would tell us about our upgrades for the next segment, but we knew better.</div><div align="justify"><br />We lolled around until meeting Ed & Roxanne at 10 to search for the HoHo bus. We had decided to make the whole circuit before deciding what we wanted to explore today. We saw an open HoHo pull up across the street and went to investigate. This particular bus was not picking up passengers but the driver was heading to the Cruise Passenger Dock next to us and volunteered to take us there; this saved us about five minutes of walking. We paid our money and climbed aboard while there were still seats available. We sat downstairs on the double-decker to avoid a tortuous spiral staircase to the upper deck.</div><div align="justify"><br />Little did we know that the full round trip would take almost two hours. We saw much of the city and its tourist high points: Ibsen’s house; the artist Munch’s house; City Hall where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded; the building where the Nobel judges meet; the university’s law school; the Palace and other government buildings; and, most important to D, Vigeland Park, home to a fantastic sculpture garden. This is a must-see when we return on the next leg of the cruise.</div><div align="justify"><br />By the time the bus returned to our starting point, there was really no time to go back. It was already 12:15. If we allowed another two hours for the bus to run its route; added a half-hour in case we just missed one; and took time for a local lunch of any kind [TGI Friday’s, anyone?], we would have only an hour to look around. This was simply too little time to do anything; in addition, Ed did not feel up to going back into town, so we checked out the little shopping area set up at the cruise pier and, lo and behold!, we found the elusive Norwegian Holy Box of MA; our lives are complete, at least for a few days. Then we walked back to the ship and got lunch in the Lido.</div><div align="justify"><br />After lunch, Ed and Roxanne went back out to see and photograph some sailing ships which were docked near us. D went back, too, to get information about the tram to Vigeland so we don’t have to spend a small fortune for the HoHo. Just as Jay had written on Cruise Critic, tram #12 goes directly there and we can pick it up at the nearby City Hall. Now we are hoping for continued good weather like today’s.</div><div align="justify"><br />D also crossed the street from the information booth and wandered through Akershus Fortress without going into any of the buildings. The old fortress guards Oslo’s harbor and contains the Akershus Castle or Slott [similar, probably, to the German schloss for castle]; a museum memorializing the Norwegian Resistance movement from WWII; and a military museum. Like the Tower of London, it is obviously a collection of buildings, not just one big one. Even some of the architecture is similar to the Tower’s.</div><div align="justify"><br />There were uniformed ceremonial soldiers armed with automatic weapons at guard houses, and several were seen pacing off obviously prescribed routes. Others were seen marching into the Castle as if they were going off duty. It was all very stylized and the movements and costumes reminded D of the changing of the guard in Athens. Perhaps the highlight was seeing how the cannons were arrayed to defend Oslo from the Prinsendam.</div><div align="justify"><br />When D returned to the ship, MA was napping, so he transferred the newest pictures from the memory card in the camera to the computer. When MA got up, we went to trivia where we stomped all over the opposition. We had 21 of 24 points today, at least 3 points more than any other team. [What four movies were the Beatles in? In The Wizard of Oz, what is Dorothy’s last name? What kind of rock is marble?]</div><div align="justify"><br />Just before 8:00, we met Ed & Roxanne to go to the Explorer’s Lounge. When we arrived with, we were greeted by Syarif who led us to an area plastered with “reserved" placards. We were greeted by Assistant Cruise Director Kevin, whom we usually see at trivia, who kept Fermin’s seat warm for him. Shortly after Fermin arrived, two Canadian women of German birth joined us. The eight of us were to dine with Fermin. First, though, there were drinks and canapés. Even D had a glass of white zinfandel!</div><div align="justify"><br />The conversation was stilted and stayed that way through most of the evening. We were all on our good behavior especially because we ate in the exact center of the main dining room as if we were important. There were even assigned seats with place cards. We didn’t want to embarrass ourselves or anyone else. Things loosened up toward the end but it was still a generally uncomfortable meal.</div><div align="justify"><br />The food, however, was marvelous. There was a specially printed menu which mirrored much of the formal selections but actually had fewer courses. We had a choice of shrimps cocktail or steamed mussels for an appetizer and then either rack of lamb [D], lobster tail [MA] or fresh Norwegian halibut as an entrée. There was no soup/salad course. </div><div align="justify"><br />At one point, the dining room got dark for the traditional march of the baked Alaska. When we started cruising 25 years ago, this was a big production with waiters parading into the dining room carrying the flaming ice cream confections. All of the diners would clap in time to the Radetsky March. Then, the flaming ice cream gave way to sparklers being stuck in the baked Alaska. Now, even the sparklers have disappeared in a wave of liability lawyers, so the waiters carried these things around in the dark while everyone hooted and clapped. It has lost its magic.</div><div align="justify"><br />We, however, did not get the plebian dessert. We were served a white chocolate shell with chocolate mousse next to a puddle of sauced berries. It was decadent. That was followed by coffee [cappuccinos for us] and then gourmet chocolates [which we declined]. Dinner wound down around 10:20 and we returned to the cabin to read and type, respectively. We did find out why we were invited – the choice had been left to Syarif who, as noted before, seems to like us. Since Syarif will be with us – or we with him – for the next two weeks and then again next spring for 60 days, maybe we will be picked again. Maybe next year we will dine with the captain. Now that would be cool.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – our last sea day before Amsterdam<br /><br /><br /> </span></div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-37791638598794878922010-08-11T06:05:00.000-07:002010-08-11T06:11:10.286-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Monday, August 09, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Bergen in a Nutshell</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />Probably the only nuts involved in today’s tour were us. We should have had our heads shrunk for planning a 10-hour tour [which ran late].</div><div align="justify"><br />After breakfast in the room, we met the rest of our group at the Stuyvesant Room at 9:15. We were early, of course, but the others were right on time. As soon as we left the ship, we found two taxis at the gangway, so we piled in and headed for the Bergen, Norway, railroad station. The ride was interesting but expensive. In fact, we have found everything to be expensive when translated into US dollars. The ten-minute ride cost the group almost $22 for each of two cabs. A bottle of Coke at mid-day cost $5. That’s a bit pricey, but that’s the way it is.</div><div align="justify"><br />We were almost an hour early for our train which wasn’t scheduled to leave until 10:28, so we sat and talked amongst ourselves. Jay and Sharon sat with us while we waited. At one point, D cajoled MA into buying a T-shirt which says, “Norway in a Nutshell.” It wasn’t until we got back to the ship tonight that we realized that we had been charged 199 Norwegian krone instead of 119. That difference is almost $15. We decided to try to call or even write when we get home because the cab fare will be double what we were overcharged. We hope it was just a clerical error.</div><div align="justify"><br />Anyway, we were taking the Bergen in a Nutshell tour. Jay had promoted it and D made the arrangements. We took a train from Bergen to Myrdal; another train from Myrdal to Flam; and a boat from Flam back to Bergen. That amounted to three hours of train rides; five hours on the boat; and two hours between segments for a snack.</div><div align="justify"><br />We had reserved seats on the train out of Bergen, four pair on opposite sides of the aisle. The seats were so comfortable that we wanted to take them with us for the flight back to the States. We saw beautiful countryside, streams & rivers, small waterfalls and lots of tunnels but not any fjords. There were so many tunnels that Roxanne gave up counting when she reached 27 in the first 30 minutes.</div><div align="justify"><br />The fjords, pretty much by definition, are water-filled valleys, remnants of glacial action. We were climbing well above sea level, so we saw valleys and mountains [and tunnels!] but none of the famous fjords. We enjoyed the ride and the view [when there was one] for two hours.</div><div align="justify"><br />Myrdal, our transfer point, has no town to speak of. There was no place to go except the station which contained a lunch counter and the mandatory souvenir shop. We grabbed a Coke and what we thought were chocolate teddy bear cookies; the cookies turned out to be chocolate covered marshmallow bear cookies which we shared. We had also brought some pastries from the ship and Ed & Roxanne brought homemade sandwiches made from bits and pieces of the Lido’s buffet breakfast. Marvin and Barbara split a hot dog. Our Coke and cookies cost 58NOK, about $10.50. But it’s vacation.</div><div align="justify"><br />The train to Flam appeared right on time, coasting quietly to a stop in front of a mob of people. Seats on this train are not reserved and we were grateful to find seats at all. A uniformed attendant on the platform assured us that they do not over-sell the train, but that was little consolation as we searched for seats. The six of us were split up in pairs, so it wasn’t too bad. The seats, however, were not the comfy ones we had had earlier. Instead, they were three across with little room to move. Again, it could have been worse – at least the seats were padded.</div><div align="justify"><br />We ended up in the middle of a group who had their own guide. She was very helpful to us as well. We think her group boarded the train in Flam and simply rode it round trip so they could see on the way back whatever they missed on the way up. And up is the proper word. Myrdal is 2800 feet above sea level. The ride up was so gradual that we didn’t feel the rise. The trip to Flam, on the other hand, can be quite steep and the pitch is accentuated by the squeak of the brakes keeping us from hurtling to the bottom. The ride is only 20 kilometers but takes an hour and, remember, drops 2800 feet in that 20 km. It also contains twenty tunnels one of which has a curve of 180 degrees.</div><div align="justify"><br />We made two stops on the way down to Flam. At the first, passengers were invited to exit to the platform to take pictures of Kjosfossen waterfall which has a drop of 305 feet. It is not the wide river torrent that Gullfoss and Godafoss are, but a cascade from a single stream high on the mountain. D obediently went out and took pictures and was there when a woman in a red dress started to dance around high on the falls. Those of us on the platform knew something was up when the music started. It could have been Enya for all D knows, but it was that type of sound. The guide told her group that it is a re-creation of an old local legend. We thought it was another part of the Bergen Nut.</div><div align="justify"><br />Once down the mountain, we were in Flam, a picturesque village obviously on the water. There were lots of places for tourists to spend their money, but our group decided to eat again. Barbara found ice cream, her passion; Ed got a hot dog and split the fries with Roxanne who had gotten a bowl of local raspberries; and we got meatloaf sandwiches, which were really good, a chocolate chocolate chip muffin and a bottle of water. We finished in plenty of time but Barbara got antsy and went to wait in line for the boat.</div><div align="justify"><br />By the time we joined the queue, it was sizeable. We had no trouble finding seats in the front, but the upper deck, which offered the better vantage point, was full. Once again, the seats were roomy and comfortable and the ride started well enough.</div><div align="justify"><br />We sailed from Flam into the fjord and headed west. The day was beautiful and had turned sunny when we reached Myrdal. It was actually hot when we left Flam. We were enthralled by the fjord. Steep moun-tain cliffs; evergreen trees; and bare rock faces and outcroppings made the view unforgettable. Marvin, Ed and D went outside on the front of the boat to take pictures and Marvin stayed there for three hours. The whole front of the lower deck applauded his fortitude when he finally came in.</div><div align="justify"><br />It was quite windy out front and it was often hard to stand still much less hold a camera steady. Jackets billowed so that people looked like the Michelin Man. Camera straps were flapping and lens covers became lethal projectiles. And then it started to get cloudy. And then threatening. And then it cleared up before we got to Bergen.</div><div align="justify"><br />We decided afterwards that three hours was long enough for this boat ride. The cabin was filled with noisy children and adolescents; there were crying babies; and it was just too too long. There was an express boat from Flam to Bergen at 3:10, but our tickets specified the 3:30 boat. We were supposed to dock in Bergen at 8:40 but, to add insult to injury, were twenty minutes late. Perhaps the best part of the last hour was watching the television which was turned on in the bow of the ship. Nothing was in English but we watched a cooking show and tried to figure out what the Nordic Rachael Ray was doing. At least one recipe was for shepherd’s or farmers pie. And the word for pepper is pepper. When we couldn’t figure it out, we made things up and had a good time, but, again, it was the nutshell tour.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tired and hungry, we found [expensive] taxis easily and were back “home” by 9:15. As soon as we got to the cabin, we pulled out the room service menu and order Caesar salads and cookies. D went to update the journal before he forgot anything and MA read before turning her light out.<br />We have only a half-day in Bergen tomorrow and have no plans. We’ll just see what happens.<br /><br /><strong><u>Tuesday, August 10, 2010</u></strong></div><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Oh, Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />We slept late today and did not finish breakfast until 10:00. D went in search of a telephone number for the store where we bought the T-shirt yesterday in hopes that the salesperson would issue a credit based on their conversation. He approached the port security “officer’ who was just a twenty-something. D had seen him texting from the cabin window but discovered that he had been playing video games to pass the time; his main purpose is to check IDs when people return to the ship. At 10:00, everyone was leaving and no one was returning.</div><div align="justify"><br />The young man was very cooperative. When he could not discern a telephone number on the sales slip, he pulled out his cell phone and asked a friend to look it up. After he dialed the number, he handed d his phone. The woman who answered the phone was less than friendly and even less helpful. She claimed that her father owned the store; that she knew nothing about it nor its operation; and that he was out of the country and could not be reached. Click.</div><div align="justify"><br />After thanking the security person, D went in search of a telephone book but saw no phone booths. He did find a door open to one of the adjacent office buildings and went in. On the second floor he rang a doorbell and surprised a woman who was working there. She was skeptical at first that she could be of any help, and said that she had no telephone directory, but led the way to her office and began a computer search. The short version is that she found a phone number which turned out to be the same one the security man had offered. D thanked her and returned to the ship. We will call the credit card company when we return to Florida, but it is a lost cause; they will say it is our responsibility to read the sales check and that there is nothing they can or will do. Once again, Norway proves to be very expensive.</div><div align="justify"><br />The sun was shining and the day warming up when D left the ship, but, by the time he returned 20 minutes later, clouds had rolled in and the skies had become threatening. MA decided she was not that interested in going out. It was almost 11:00 and we would have had to be back by 2:00, not enough time to really do any sight-seeing and get lunch, so we stayed aboard and read. We had lattes and ate lunch in the Lido where there was a barbecue by the pool. We had a short conversation with Captain Gunderson, the main captain of the Prinsendam, who lives in Bergen and stopped by for lunch. Trivia followed and we lost again, our streak broken. [What is the name of the author of the Mary Poppins books? Who was the first billionaire? What word is the Spanish equivalent of princess?] </div><div align="justify"><br />We read some more after trivia and then, at 5:00, we went to the Crow’s Nest for a meeting of those passengers who are continuing on the next segment. There are not too many of us, perhaps 40 [at the most]. We returned to the room to get ready for dinner [channa masala curry for both]. Back in the room. D wrote in the journal while MA got ready for bed and read. D is going to see at least part of the Filipino crew show tonight before retiring.</div><div align="justify"><br />The Filipino show has extra significance for us this year. Of the six numbers being performed, our favorite bar server is featured in three. Hernelia is the only female performer in the troupe but we assume she is also talented. D wants to get her picture.</div><div align="justify"><br />Hernelia is an interesting young woman. This is her first tour with HAL and she says it will be her last. She wants to go to nursing school, preferably in the US if she can get a student visa. We have talked to her in detail about her life. She grew up dirt poor after her father abandoned the family when she was 5 years old. As a child, she wanted to become a doctor and took the entrance exam for a special program at the University of Manila. Four thousand applications were received for 60 positions in the accelerated program which shaved two years off of the normal program. Hernelia was number 32 of the 60. She asked her father, who came from money, if he would help her with the expenses and he refused and forced her to get a business degree instead. We don’t know what she did between graduation and Russian along with some Chinese, Hebrew and other languages. She told of going with a HAL group on tour in Russia and surprised everyone by being able to translate for them, especially when the passengers needed restrooms.</div><div align="justify"><br />Hernelia is only one of several interesting crew members. We wrote about Thom Faulkner, the Cruise Director, last year. We are as impressed with him this year as we were then. His assistant, Kevin, was on the Grand Med as well and is just as even-tempered and low-key as he was. He normally moderates the team trivia competitions and has to be firm but diplomatic. We enjoy joking with him and give him Goetze’s Caramel Crème candies [often called bull’s eyes in other parts of the country] when we have done well. He has made comments which led us to believe that other teams think we are bribing him, but it has not paid off yet. We usually sit close enough so he can hear our sarcastic comments, but he still tolerates us. And he has said that he will still be on the Prinsendam next spring when we sail her again.</div><div align="justify"><br />The there is Blue Tarp Guy. We think he is German or perhaps Dutch, based solely on his accent. He often goes around wrapped in a blue tarpaulin which makes him look like a Florida roof after a hurricane. Some days he is dressed almost normally except that he wears blue slippers instead of shoes. There is always at least one eccentric aboard. Last year there was Hat Lady who made, named and talked to her hats. Or the hippie and his wife we referred to as boogie and his wife. They had never left the 60s. As Bill Cosby said years ago, “There’s a nut in every car.”</div><div align="justify"><br />We used to dread Japanese tourists because they were almost as pushy as the Germans, but they have all been replaced by the Dutch. There are many Nederlanders on board; the trip for most passengers ends in Amsterdam which is not all too far from London. We have overheard them complain about the number of Americans on the ship. One couple went so far as to correct our table manners while we were eating the Lido the other day – we should use our knives to continually push food onto our forks and shovel food in instead of keeping one hand in our laps; we should eat toast and sandwiched with a knife and fork they way God intended; and so forth. We love our Dutch friends but the rest have made a bad impression.</div><div align="justify"><br />And finally, there is the question of celebrating Ramadan on shipboard. We asked Eko, our waiter, how it would be observed since we were so far north. At the time we asked him, he did not know but was awaiting word from someone. When we asked again Tuesday, he said that the Muslim crew members would begin observing Ramadan at 2:30 Wednesday morning with breakfast and prayers. The waitstaff’s day normally begins at 5:30 anyway, so this isn’t so much worse. They will eat their evening meal at 10:00 which they do anyway since the late diners usually finish then. The interesting part of this is that the schedule was sent from HAL’s main office in Seattle. The inference we made is that the hours would remain the same whether we were above or below the Arctic circle; the same hours will be observed on Alaska cruises as well.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – Kristiansand, Norway</span><br /><br /><br /> </div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-50627138993984399832010-08-08T13:16:00.000-07:002010-08-08T13:18:07.643-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Sunday, August 08, 2010</u></strong></span>
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<br />Things That Go Bump in the Sea</u></strong>
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<br />We continued heading south today. Temperatures hovered around 60F and we are looking forward to warmer [or warm-ish] weather in Bergen tomorrow and Tuesday.
<br />Since it was a sea day, we relaxed and ate breakfast in the MDR at a table for two. Quite cozy. While we ate, we watched a large group of passengers circle the deck as part of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The HAL Race has become a tradition in the past several years; in fact, D almost took part on the Grand Med last year. He paid the money and was in the group photo but didn’t actually walk.
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<br />We were due to cross the Arctic Circle this morning. As the captain put it, “It’s that dotted line near the top of the map. I will try to put the ship between the lines.” Sure enough, just as the walk began, the ship crossed “the line” with a little bump; he must have been steering from the wrong side of the boat on the wrong side of the Norwegian Sea. Okay, there was not really a bump, but the Susie G. walk started as we left the Land of the Midnight Sun. Of course, Thom was out there walking in a jacket and shorts.
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<br />We read until lunch time when we went to the MDR. We again were seated at a two-top and had just ordered when Ed and Roxanne were seated at the two-fer next to us. For those who keep track, M had chicken korma and D had a Mediterranean salad. It was almost 1:00 by the time we finished and trivia was set for 1:30. It is amazing how avid the participants are. By 1:00, many of the tables were filling up, but Ed had left the table early to get our regular place. We actually switched tables last week so Barbara, who uses hearing aids, could take a more active role. Oh, we won again today but gave one of the picture frames which were awarded to Hernelia, the waitress in the Ocean Bar. She appreciates being part of the team and we’re grateful not to have to shlep more stuff home, especially picture frames. [What is the name of the tree which connects Heaven and Hell in Norse mythology? What singer was the first to have five top-ten hits on one album and what was the name of that album?]
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<br />After trivia, D tried unsuccessfully for half an hour to post the blog and gave up in despair. We did check D’s e-mail and MA’s Facebook [loved the new pictures, B!] but blew almost 40 minutes of airtime. Back in the room, we read before MA’s manicure. D finally got the blog to post from the beauty salon.
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<br />Dinner with the regular gang tonight [vegetarian spring rolls/veal cordon bleu] although we are discussing going to the hoity-toity steakhouse before Marvin and Barbara leave Saturday because Marvin has given up on puffin and now wants lamb chops.
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<br />Tomorrow we have an exhausting day planned in Bergen so will go to bed early.
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<br />We have been warned that there is very poor internet access in Bergen, so we’ll post again
<br />Tuesday night or Wednesday.
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<br />Tomorrow – Bergen in a Nutshell</span>
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<br />David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-60546443970475635572010-08-08T08:20:00.000-07:002010-08-08T08:24:50.384-07:00<div align="justify"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><u><strong>Wednesday, August 4, 2010</strong></u></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><div align="justify"><br /><u><strong>To Infinity and Beyond!</strong></u></div><div align="justify"><br />Longyearbyen [longer-be-in] was named after an American [Longyear] who came here at the turn of the Twentieth Century and started the coal industry. Although he and the American Coal Company were gone before the end of the 1910’s, coal is still important to Longyearbyen. The name has nothing to do with the length of the winter nights even though they are endless.</div><div align="justify"><br />The town is situated on the island of Spitsbergen, the largest and most populated of the islands in the Svalbard archipelago. There is no evidence of volcanism here, no hot water geysers or dormant volcanoes, just barren mountainsides and fjords. The hills are a combination of arctic tundra and plain rocks. There is little native vegetation and only one type of dwarf tree which was imported. It is even more barren and godforsaken than Lanzarote. Even the captain called this area “austere.” Still, it is an important place.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tour opportunities were not great in Longyearbyen, especially so since we didn’t want to go in a zodiac or an ATV, so we arranged a tour with Spitsbergen Travel. The proposed itinerary was short on details:</div><div align="justify"><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">The trip I offer you is a longer sightseeing tour with a private guide. The trip will go around Longyearbyen, Gruve 7 mountain, seed bank, Bjørndalen, Lunch osv. For one day 04.08 I can offer you can offer you a private tour and guide from 09.00 – 14.00 ca 4-5 hours sightseeing and lunch(dry teck, very good) in Bjørdalen(outside).</span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />The six of us met before 9:00 and went outside to meet our guide. We were early, of course, so it followed that he was a few minutes late. We waited in the cold of Spitsbergen which was enjoying what here is considered a balmy summer day – 45 degrees Fahrenheit. This is one reason we moved to Florida.</div><div align="justify"><br />Our guide today was Eric, not Eric the Red but Eric from Wisconsin who summers here working as a guide when he is not in school in Colorado. At least we had no language problems. We told him the first thing we wanted to see was the seed bank and he sped off on roads which are, for the most part, not paved. It seems that the rise and fall of the tundra/permafrost makes it futile to pave the roads which would just need constant resurfacing and repairing; the only paved roadways are in the village itself and even these are not immune to the earth’s actions.</div><div align="justify"><br />Little did we know that visitors can not visit the seed bank. Silly us. The seed bank is officially the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Conceived by Bill Gates, it is a repository of seeds from all over the planet. Following a strict protocol, countries can submit seeds for inclusion in the seed vault which is built into a hillside above Longyearbyen. In the event of a nuclear war, survivors would have access to these seeds to start growing crops again. All that is visible of the Vault is a concrete entryway and a small sign. We were hoping for a visitors’ center with displays explaining the project, but security is tight.</div><div align="justify"><br />As Eric explained the seed bank to us, we saw several reindeer grazing nearby on the little bit of vegetation available to them. The reindeer are one of only four native species in Svalbard. The others are the polar bear; the arctic fox; and the ptarmigan, a small bird made famous by Jack London. We did not see any of the others, although there were sea birds aplenty, but there was a sign warning about the presence of the “ice bears.” Even a tourist brochure handed to us as we left the ship this morning warns to stay away from the bears; it also suggests not traveling without a gun and the ability to use it. Eric told us that he was armed for our trip, but we assumed it was nothing personal.</div><div align="justify"><br />We drove around the airport which currently has flights only by SAS. The original airport, built in the ‘50s, used to average 2 flights per year for its 20 years of operation. Now, passengers and perishable cargo arrive daily while bulk and non-perishables arrive by container ship. Spitsbergen and the rest of Svalbard are far from self-sufficient.</div><div align="justify"><br />We also saw the remains of the tram-like buckets used to transport coal and coal miners to and from the mines. In addition, we saw a switching station where three of these transport lines came together. Only Gruve 7 is still open. It supplies the coal needed for the electrical power station. The other mines have closed as costs rose and the coal supply dwindled. Interestingly, the mine openings for the closed mines we saw were all halfway up mountainsides and Gruve 7 is on top of a mountain high enough that we drove through clouds to get to it.</div><div align="justify"><br />That mountain was in Bjørdalen, a glacial valley outside of Longyearbyen. We had driven across the flat valley floor to get to the mine. Along the way, we saw both public and private dog kennels which were nothing more than wooden enclosures for the dogs inside chain link pens. It is illegal in Longyearbyen for the dogs to run free. Since Eric had two dogs with him, we saw the kennel up close when he left the dogs there for another guide to fetch for another tour. The arctic dogs are bred to work and need to be exercised regularly. When we left the kennel, we saw a team of about 12 dogs pulling a sleigh full of tourists down the highway [which was paved in the valley]. We saw another team doing the same thing later.</div><div align="justify"><br />In addition to the mine entrance, the top of the mountain had a research station with giant parabolic antennas. Scientists are supposed to be studying the aurora borealis, the Northern Lights, although Eric said that we were too far north for them to be seen in winter. Still, the effects can be studied. As a group, we decided that Spitsbergen would have made a good setting for a James Bond film – mountains, coal mines and cars, glaciers, tundra…We weren’t sure of how to get young girls in bikinis into the plot, but we are thinking about it, especially Ed and D.</div><div align="justify"><br />We skipped lunch because there were still things to see and too little time to see them. Eric’s boss owns the Svalbard Airship Museum, so we were able to visit without paying. In the early part of the Twentieth Century, this area was a hotbed of airship activity. Airplanes had yet to be developed, but dirigibles had been. Explorers built their elaborate skeletons in large hangers, covered them [of course] and outfitted them with fuel, food and water so they could fly over the North Pole. Most were not successful. We read details of one such venture in 1909 in which the airship had 6 months of supplies for a flight which ultimately lasted three hours. Some of these pioneers were more successful; one even managed to fly from Svalbard to Alaska over what was labeled on the map simply as “uncharted.”</div><div align="justify"><br />When we returned to the ship, we asked Eric what “dry teck” was since D had never gotten a response from the tour’s vendor. All we knew was that he kept writing that it was very good. Eric showed it to us and we were a little disappointed. We thought it would be some local delicacy like reindeer jerky. Marvin was hoping for something made with puffin which he has been looking for in several countries now. Sadly, dry teck is more like a military MRE [meal ready to eat]. It is dehydrated food which is mixed with boiling water to create a hot meal. They may be a delicacy for the hikers and campers, but we were glad not to partake. </div><div align="justify"><br />Other brief notes on Longyearbyen: There is a university here which specializes in physical sciences. Norway is committed to making this a vacation and recreation area now that the coal industry has collapsed. All new buildings have to adhere to a bright color palette so the town looks a little like Key West. Remains from any human activity prior to 1946 cannot be touched, so there are piles of rubble from collapsed mine structures all around, not to mention the old power plant. Materials for recycling are separated and baled for shipment to the mainland for disposal. There are glaciers everywhere. It is a spare but beautiful place.</div><div align="justify"><br />Back on board, we grabbed lunch in the Lido and then went to trivia which we lost again. [What dance did Fred and Ginger popularize in Flying Down to Rio? What epic blockbuster set all-time records for viewership when it was first shown on television in 1976?] Back in the room, MA was looking through our assorted papers and documents when she discovered that her visa for St. Petersburg had the wrong birth date! D checked and he had made the mistake, not the agency in SPB. To make things worse, we had no internet service because we are too far north! What to do?!? We were still in port and were able to get a strong 3-G signal on the Kindles, so D used it to email the agency. At this point, we have no answer and no internet, so we may have to wait a few days for an answer. By the time this is posted, we may have the answer, so keep reading.<br /><br /><strong><u>Thursday, August 5, 2010</u></strong></div><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Speechless</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />We slept in this morning and missed most of the breathtaking Magdalenefjord. We saw the stark beauty of the mountains interspersed with glaciers and snowy peaks. Multiply what we saw by a hundred and that’s the Magdalenefjord.</div><div align="justify"><br />Trivia wasn’t much to write home about. We had fun and great answers but only some of them were the right ones. [Who won the World Series in 1994? What does quasar mean? On average, how many penguins does a polar bear eat each day?] It was after trivia that the day turned from a normal sea day into something truly spectacular.</div><div align="justify"><br />Captain Albert had told us yesterday that he was going to try to find the polar ice shelf for us. Considering that there was a sea day on the schedule between 2 ports less than 5 hours from each other, we knew he had to do something. Sure enough, during trivia time he announced that we would be at the edge of the polar ice between noon and 4:30. It was actually closer to 12:15 that we were within photographic range and we crept closer and closer until 1:00. </div><div align="justify"><br />Of course, we went on deck to see this even though it was a bit chilly. We donned our blue HAL vests [with the sleeves attached!] and spent a half hour on deck as we nosed through bits and pieces of broken ice. By 1:00, we were ready to go inside and get lunch, an Indian curry buffet. As we sat at a table by the window, we watched the ice shelf slowly recede because the ship was turning around and heading south. The Prinsendam has a reinforced bow [or “pointy part” as the captain calls it], but it is not an ice breaker and the captain was not going to chance getting trapped even on the edgy part of the ice floe. So we watched the polar ice as we ate lunch and reminisced about watching Gibraltar while we ate breakfast on the Rotterdam in 2001.</div><div align="justify"><br />It would have been nice to stand on the ice since we had walked on Antarctica in 2004. The symmetry was still enough to leave us in awe. We were within 500 – 600 miles of the North Pole, closer than the ship got last year. Global warming and, more especially, the Iceland volcano shrank the ice cap so we had to go farther to find it. Even so, it was amazing to stand on deck and realize where we were. How many people had tried to reach the Pole and failed? How many had not even gotten this far? What can possibly top today?</div><div align="justify"><br />Of course, D took lots of pictures, but amateur digital photography cannot capture the white of the ice cap or the blue of some of the ice any more than it can catch the magnificence of the glaciers. No one else viewing the pictures will understand unless they have been here.<br /><br /><strong><u>Friday, August 6, 2010</u></strong></div><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Polar Bears and the Prinsendam</div><div align="justify"><br /></u></strong>Our port today was Ny-Alesund which we think means “New Alesund” since there is an Alesund farther south. This bit of Norway is on Spitsbergen just like Longyearbyen. They are not very far from each other and we could have been here in a matter of hours were it not for the polar ice cap detour.</div><div align="justify"><br />Ny-Alesund is a research station. Today there were 40 full-time residents but the number can shrink to as few as a dozen during the Arctic winter. Scientists from as many as a half-dozen or more countries spend time here studying the Arctic ecology, wildlife, glaciers and whatnot. They are almost completely isolated even from Longyearbyen. There appear to be no roads in or out so the only ways to get here are by boat or small aircraft; the local airport cannot handle large planes.</div><div align="justify"><br />Originally, this was a mining town and the remnants of the coal operation are visible as one walks through it. An old engine and coal cars are prominent as one enters the “compound.” What was once the North Pole Hotel is now a gym and fitness center. Another building serves as the [part-time] pub and the school has been recycled into the town store. Of course, the labs are fairly new as is some of the housing. There is also a visitor center which shows in back-lighted panels photographs of native wildlife and explains some of Ny-Alesund’s mission.</div><div align="justify"><br />In planning this trip, D found an e-mail address for the King’s Bay research station and enquired about tour opportunities. The response made the point that there were no tours because there were very few tourists but that the occasional cruise ship stopped by. We were told that we would have to walk to the visitor’s center [but not how far] and that we should bring rifles as protection against polar bears. Well, the walk was short, but the bears were missing so it worked out. D saw several of the “locals” heading out this morning and, sure enough, they appeared to have rifles on their backs. Last week, there was a polar bear attack farther north, so the danger is ever-present.</div><div align="justify"><br />MA stayed on board today and didn’t really miss much. The King’s Bay station is surrounded by a large glacier [King Glacier?] which seems to split into four or five parts around hills/mountains. We think that at one point the glacier covered all of these mountains and that they have appeared only as the glacier melted and receded. Some of the fingers no longer reach the water, but several still do and exhibit that peculiar ice-blue reminiscent of Aqua Velva.</div><div align="justify"><br />We tied for first in trivia but lost a tie-breaker to team which had eight members to our five. After trivia, the six of us went to the Viennese strudel fest and gorged on pastries; today was just a carbohydrate day. We surprised Ed with birthday presents from us and Barbara & Marvin and with a birthday cake. Indonesian wait-staff sang “Happy Birthday” to him and he was a good sport about all of the hoopla. When we told our dining room captain that we would be back in the spring, he told us to let him know the exact dates so he could put us together for dinner again. Ed & Roxanne are taking the second half of the cruise and Barbara & Marvin are thinking about doing that, too. The dining room may never be the same if the six of us are together again.</div><div align="justify"><br />After dinner, we gave the casino a few dollars in the slots just to do something. The internet service is still not operational because of our position, but D went to the Ocean Bar to update the journal anyway. We are hoping to make a connection tomorrow so we can find out about St. Petersburg and the future of our marriage.</div><div align="justify"><br /><strong><u>Saturday, August 7, 2010</u></strong></div><strong><u><div align="justify"><br />Hail and Farewell</div></u></strong><div align="justify"><br />The water is almost smooth today with only a slight ripple as we head from Spitsbergen to Bergen on the Norwegian mainland. Skies are clearer and brighter and we can see puffy clouds in the distance instead of a constant cloud cover. We are heading away from the Arctic and should cross the Arctic Circle tomorrow. We will soon say goodbye to the midnight sun.</div><div align="justify"><br />There were celebrations of different kinds today. We won resoundingly in trivia and won the coveted HAL coasters. [Who sang the theme song for the television show Rawhide? Who is the patron saint of music?] We may try to make up silly answers for the rest of the trip unless we see really good prizes.</div><div align="justify"><br />The second celebration was a bit more serious. Ed and Roxanne joined us as we committed Henry and Pokey’s ashes to the sea. For those who don’t know, Henry was D’s great-uncle for whom he acted as principal care giver from December 1997 until Henry’s death in December 2004 at age 97. Pokey, whose real name was Elizabeth, was his wife; she died in 1990. Both donated their bodies to the Maryland Anatomy Board for medical research and both were eventually cremated. We have been custodians of their remains.</div><div align="justify"><br />Henry and Pokey loved England and we thought at one point about making Lake Windemere in the Lake District their final resting place. We would have preferred someplace closer to England than the Norwegian Sea but decided that they wouldn’t care; it is the thought which counts. We had asked Richard in Guest Services to facilitate this for us and he, in turn, contacted the captain. Yesterday we received the message that the captain could accommodate us at 2:00 this afternoon.<br /></div><div align="justify">We met the captain at the Front Office and followed him down one flight to deck 7 and then through a maze of exterior stairways to the rear of Deck 5 where we slid our biodegradable container and its contents through an opening and watched as it floated for a moment and then was lost to sight. After a brief stop in our cabins to wash our hands [an old ritual], we went to the Crow’s Nest for a drink in their honor.</div><div align="justify"><br />Although this not is a Grand Voyage [note the capitals], we are being treated grandly. The dining room captain cannot do enough for us. When we were in the Ocean Bar yesterday watching the approach to the polar ice cap, we asked if hot chocolate was going to be available on deck for those who were braving the cold. Instead of telling us that it was available, he fetched three mugs of hot chocolate and brought them to us in the lounge. When we mentioned that we will be traveling on the Prinsendam again next year, he told us to give him our sailing dates so he could arrange for us to share a table. He has also made plans to move us to a table for four when Marvin and Barbara disembark in Amsterdam. And he made sure Ed’s birthday cake was delivered last night.</div><div align="justify"><br />Others have been equally solicitous. Roger, the Beverage Manager, continues to sit with us when we come for a pre-dinner drink. We have learned a lot about his life as well as about his job. Richard, of course, has become our new best friend. He even offered to print a document for D on his own laptop [although the staff at the Front office did it when D asked]. We don’t know why everyone is going out of their way for us, but we are enjoying it without taking advantage. Yet.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tonight is formal night again. The menu and decorations feature a Norwegian theme, so there will be lots of fish.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow is another sea day and all of us hope there is finally an internet connection. Stay tuned for the answer to the question, “Will MA be able to leave the ship in St. Petersburg?”</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span> </div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>YES!</strong></span><br /> </div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-81149491048635623912010-08-03T06:22:00.000-07:002010-08-03T06:23:48.227-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Monday, August 2, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><div align="justify"><br /><strong><u>Monday Evening Quarterbacking</u></strong></div><div align="justify"><br />Perhaps the best part of sea days is sleeping in. With nowhere to go and no way to get there, we didn’t have to get up in the proverbial dark and fetch a tray from a room service steward. We ate a leisurely breakfast in the MDR with two other couples from Oregon and London, respectively, and ate like civilized adults, finishing around 10 a.m.</div><div align="justify"><br />We met Roxanne for trivia a bit past 11:00, but Ed had a massage scheduled and Barbara slept even later than we did, so there were just three of us at the table when we were approached by an elderly couple who asked if they could join us. While they didn’t add much to the competition [and we rejected one of his correct answers], we discovered that they are next door neighbor’s of one of D’s former teaching friends, Dick Wasserman. The last we heard of Dick and his wife Betty, they were living in New Smyrna Beach, FL. Now, apparently, they are in Arizona. D gave the husband his card to give to Dick, so maybe we’ll hear from him when we all get home. And this is why your mother said to where clean underwear.</div><div align="justify"><br />We lost the trivia match by just a few questions. As usual, some of the correct answers floated around the table and, with a few different decisions, we could have one our personal Holy Grail of prizes, the coasters. We still have almost four weeks to work on that goal.</div><div align="justify"><br />Since we had finished breakfast so late, we were not ready for the Asian buffet which began right after trivia. We gave the casino some money by playing slots, but there are no games that really catch our fancy as there have been on other ships. We found the same thing on the Prinsendam last year, and the selection has not changed. D has not been playing blackjack, either. Eventually we went to the Lido and got sandwiches for lunch, then returned to the cabin for a long afternoon nap; even D napped for a change instead of writing the journal.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tonight was another formal night, the third of six on this segment of the cruise. There will be four more on the Baltic leg of the trip. The Black and White formal night is a tradition here. The dining room is decorated with black and white crepe paper balls; the chairs have white covers which make them seem like ghosts; and there is the captain’s Black and white Ball, which we skipped, in the show room. After dinner, though, we returned to the room and read until almost midnight.<br /><br /><strong><u>Tuesday, August 3, 2010</u></strong></div><div align="justify"><br /><strong><u>Land of the Midnight and Mid-day Sun<br /></u></strong><br />We have continued to be lucky with the weather and the seas. While there was a little motion this morning as we chugged toward the Top of the World, Longyearbyen, Norway. Yesterday and today were cloudy but bright and there has been no rain. In Iceland, we had predictions of rain for all three ports, yet there was nary a drop. We got wetter at the waterfalls than we did from rain [and some of us got soaked at Geysir when it erupted]. Likewise, the seas have continued to be almost perfectly flat from day one.</div><div align="justify"><br />When we sailed to Antarctica in 2004, we were advised to book an inside cabin, which we did, in order to avoid the 24-hour day. We are now so far above the Arctic Circle, that there is no night. In summer, the earth’s axis slants toward the sun and light falls over the North Pole and down on parts that lie in shadow. It is the curvature of the Earth that creates night. With the Sun practically overhead, there is no curvature and, hence, no shadow. It is day time all the time. In Longyearbyen, the sun is above the horizon for 127 days and nights [well, days and days]. Conversely, when the earth’s axis is tilted away from the sun, the North and Longyearbyen have endless night. And remember that the Southern hemisphere is the exact opposite – when the north tilts toward the sun, the south tilts away and vice-versa thus creating opposite seasons in the two hemisphere’s. Since the equatorial areas are in the middle, they have very little change in daylight or seasons. Thus endeth today’s science lesson.</div><div align="justify"><br />We didn’t bother with breakfast this morning and stayed in the room until it was time an invitation-only Indonesian lunch. Roxanne and Ed were also among the 130 people invited. We were told last night that the invitees are those passengers who are staying aboard for the Baltic cruise. We have been joking with the wait-staff and the dining room supervisor, Tommy, about having real Indonesian food, but to no avail. Tommy has even gone so far as to say that the tempe they serve, even to the crew, is not good. So we were pleasantly surprised to see an invitation to a “private Indonesian luncheon honoring HAL’s Indo-nesian heritage with a special ‘rijsttafel.’” It is scheduled at the same time as trivia, but we are being brave.</div><div align="justify"><br />In Indonesia, a former Dutch possession, rijsttafel is more a ritual than a meal, according the captain in his introductory remarks. While ours was a series of fixed plates, he said that authentic rijsttafel is a series of small plates brought to the table one by one and that there could be as many as forty different dishes or variations. Ours was shorter so there would still be time for Bingo.</div><div align="justify"><br />We started with rice crackers[karak gender] and then an assortment of steamed vegetables [celery, carrot and bean sprouts] accompanied by a peanut sauce[bumbu gado-gado]. This was followed by soto ayam, a chicken consommé with vegetables and flavored with coconut. The entrée was nasi goereng, Javanese fried rice, accompanied by spicy shrimp, chicken satay, Sumatran stewed beef, chile-spiced green beans and banana fritter. Dessert was pudung nasi saos, rice pudding with brown sugar sauce. There was also cheap ship’s champagne.</div><div align="justify"><br />Our assumption that the guests were passengers continuing on the ship after the stop in Amsterdam seems to have been erroneous. Captain Albert said that the group included some who were continuing, some who were 4-star alumni and some who had traveled often with HAL. The bottom line is that we are not sure what the criteria were for selection but that we enjoyed the food and conversation at the table.</div><div align="justify"><br />The captain also said that he hopes to spend some time tomorrow after we leave Longyearbyen searching for North Pole ice. We are certainly not going to the Pole, but he hopes that the ice floe has moved far enough south for us to at least touch the edgy part and get some pictures. Time will tell how successful his efforts will be.</div><div align="justify"><br />This afternoon we went to a cupcake afternoon tea, a variation on the usual tea which is presented each day we are at sea. After dinner tonight, we will wander through the casino to avoid the cast show which we didn’t like last year and have no desire to see again.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow – The Top of the World [and dry teck]</span></div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-62260116066175780862010-08-01T15:13:00.000-07:002010-08-01T15:18:41.634-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Sunday, August 1, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><div align="justify"><br /><strong><u>It’s a Long Way to Akureyri</u></strong></div><div align="justify"><br />The breakfast tray arrived at 6:15 this morning. We’re getting up so early on shore days that we are tired by the time we leave the dock. Anyway, today we were in Akureyri [A-queue-RARE-ee] and planned to visit more geological wonders.</div><div align="justify"><br />We got off to a rocky start. Despite our telling everyone to meet at the regular place at 8:25 for an 8:30 tour, Jay and Sharon were there before 8 and were outside waiting for the rest of us when we walked down the gangway at 8:30. Jay had commandeered the front seat of the van as if he had organized the tour, an action which did not sit well with the rest of us. [By the end of the day, we were playing ‘musical seat assignments’ so everybody had the opportunity to try all of the seats. Some people don’t play well with others.]</div><div align="justify"><br />To complicate matters, our paperwork specified an 8:30 start time but the driver was told to be there at 8:00 and had booked an afternoon tour because he thought we would be through by 2:00. Jay got an attitude about our being late, too. But we were all assembled and off we went.<br />The driver was not a licensed guide [unlike his wife, whom we saw throughout the day], but he was still quite knowledgeable about the sites and sights. We really enjoyed our time with him. Today’s tour was supposed to be this:</div><div align="justify"><br />Tour description - the tour heads off north along the east coast of Eyjafjordur which offers a panoramic view of Akureyri. We make a half hour stop at the waterfall of Goðafoss, known for its beauty and its historical importance. We then drive on to the Lake Myvatn area, famous for its combination of natural beauty and unique ecology. We will visit Skutustadir known for its unusually regular pseudocraters, Dimmuborgir a spectacular maze of weird lava structures, Hverarönd solfataras (boiling sulphur mudpits) at Námaskarð and a short stop at the outdoor nature baths (not enough time to take a dip in the waters). After a short stop at hotel Reynihlíð we return to Akureyri.<br />It was a surprisingly busy day as we visited and photographed everything in the itinerary except the hotel Reynihlíð and added some as well.</div><div align="justify"><br />Our first stop was the Goðafoss waterfall. In Icelandic, foss means waterfall, and there are many throughout the country. Two days ago we saw the Gullfoss waterfall while on tour from Reyjkavik. The Goðafoss is not as large or impressive a sight but is much more historically significant. According to the legend, in the year 1000, the leader of the Althing, Iceland’s parliament, made the decision for the country to embrace Christianity. He emphasized his position by throwing all of his idols into the falls which became known as Goðafoss, the falls of the gods.</div><div align="justify"><br />We continued to <em>ooh </em>and <em>aah </em>at natural wonders, but they all ran together by the end of the day, so the rest of the descriptions are in no particular order. We visited an area with what Auðen, the driver, described as pseudo-craters. These were created when hot lava from volcanoes hit standing water which then practically exploded leaving the craters which have become, in many case, lakes. </div><div align="justify"> <br />Obviously, Iceland is a volcanic island. In fact, it is still seismically active. Not only are volcanoes still active, but also the country is a geo-thermal haven. Most of the heat provided in the colder months is geo-thermal piped directly to homes, offices and other buildings. Indeed, Auðen made a stop at his house which sits by itself on a hilltop and explained that his house is heated geo-thermally. Installing the pipes up the volcanic hill must have been a real chore. As we drove, we frequently saw steam discharges in the distance, a sign that there were power plants at work. The island’s electricity is also produced by geo-thermal means.</div><div align="justify"><br />The volcanism brings other discharges besides steam, so we visited a sulfur vent. Here, there were several areas releasing steam laden with the stench of sulphur. Two days ago, we could smell sulfur at Gullfoss, but here it was so strong as to be sickening. Luckily, though, we did not stay at the sulfur spring for very long. For many years, the sulfur was mined and sold for the eventual manufacture of gunpowder. </div><div align="justify"><br />The Icelanders use the volcanism to their advantage, though, by using some of them as health spas. We visited one before returning to the ship and saw some folks swimming and cavorting in swimming pools filled with 105 degree water. According to Auðen, the spring water is actually moderated by the addition of cold water to make the pool safe.</div><div align="justify"><br />The countryside is a strange mixture of farmland and lava fields. The color of the lava can be used to determine its age by amateurs, but all we remember is that some is black and some is not. We did spend time at a “craters of the moon” type of park. Although there were trees and other vegetation, the area was really a showplace for lava formations which reminded us of two earlier trips. Last year we saw strange formations when we visited Varna, Bulgaria. In 2001, we visited Timanfaya on Lanzarote where we took a bus ride through the lava formations [At Timanfaya, the volcano’s vent was used to cook food for a restaurant.]. Another feature of this area of Iceland is that there are trees. In the area outside of Reykjavik and on the hillsides over Isafjordur, there were no trees, just as there had been none in the Faroe Islands. Outside Akueyri, however, there lots of trees although they had been imported rather than being naturally occurring. Auðen even joked about the new growth – What do you do if you are lost in an Icelandic forest? You stand up! [His other joke concerned the giant hay bales wrapped in plastic to protect them from the weather – What was the difference between the green-wrapped bales and the white-wrapped ones? The green were for hay and the white ones were toilet paper for the elephants.].</div><div align="justify"><br />Somewhere in there we had a picnic lunch on a semi-scenic overlook [scenic is relative in Iceland] near the sulfur fields. We had paid extra for the picnic lunch but were disappointed that it consisted of two thin sandwiches, a boxed juice drink, an apple and two homemade cookies [made by Auðen’s wife]. We were hoping for something a bit more exotic or ethnic. In a similar vein, we were disappointed in Iceland and the Faroes by the lack of old-style architecture; it seems that everything is corrugated steel and glass.</div><div align="justify"><br />Anyway, we returned to the ship in time for trivia which we won again [In which country were sunglasses invented? What modern city was the first to have a population of 1 million?]. Today, the prize was key chains. We’re trying for the coasters, but have another 4 weeks to work on it. After trivia, MA got a latte and then we went to the Crow’s Nest to watch the ship sail through the fjord and out to sea. We left when it looked like we would fall off the earth.</div><div align="justify"><br />At dinner, we surprised Marvin with a puffin magnet. All week, he has been complaining that there has been no puffin on the menu, so we got Eko, our waiter, to serve Marvin the puffin as his appetizer. We hadn’t even told Barbara we were doing it. Needless to say, we all laughed long and loud. We may be thrown out yet. We were scheduled to cross the Arctic Circle at 9:15 and we all pretended to feel the bump. Barbara went to the pool to photograph the crazies who swam across the Circle. Yes, grown people donned their swim suits to go through the pool as we passed above the Arctic Circle. Thom, the cruise director, walked across in a tuxedo with short pants just as he had “swum” across the Atlantic in 2009. We lose an hour’s sleep tonight as we plow north toward Spitsbergen, Norway, and the North Cape. Brrrrr!</div><div align="justify"><br />Tomorrow and Tuesday – sea days and poor internet connections, so don’t expect any news for a few days</span>.</div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-2995958332530226852010-07-31T15:26:00.000-07:002010-07-31T15:27:45.439-07:00<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Saturday, July 31, 2010</u></strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u></u></strong><div align="justify"><br /><strong><u>Are We There Yet?</u></strong><br /><br />We slept in because we had no plans in the port of Isofjordur. There were busloads of folks going into the countryside, and some across the water to a bird sanctuary, but decided ahead of time to relax today. We had a tiring day yesterday and will have one tomorrow as well.</div><div align="justify"><br />We ate breakfast in the MDR, glad to be back among the crystal and linen. We have gotten up early and eaten room service too often and we are only 20 per cent into the cruise. When we were finished, we returned to the room and relaxed before venturing into the town.</div><div align="justify"><br /><strong>Medical Update:</strong> D was still walking as if he should be playing the fife in a Revolutionary War recreation. The limp was so pronounced on the way to and from the MDR that MA suggested that we not go ashore. By later in the afternoon, he was walking better. Luckily, there will be lots of car-time tomorrow.</div><div align="justify"><br />But go ashore we did. The walk into town was not terribly long in time or distance, but it was a strain on our hero. As a result, we made it a short trip and apparently missed the high points of Isafjordur. We went past the little museum near the ship because we took one of several paths which led into the town, and we missed the church, etc. because we simply did not walk far enough. It was far enough for us, though, and we decided this was another town which had no there there. We had hoped to buy a local lunch in town but saw only a bakery with yummy looking pastries in the window. We avoided temptation but saw no place else that was open. Ed and Roxanne said that there was a burger joint open around noon, but we missed it and turned around before seeing very much of the town.</div><div align="justify"><br />We walked back to the ship and read before going to lunch, again in the MDR [fish and chips]. When we returned to the room, MA had the nerve to take a nap before trivia. We did not do badly at trivia but not well enough to win [who was the first rock star to release a CD? Which 2 South American countries are landlocked?]. Then, MA had the audacity to take her post-trivia nap! D went to the Crow’s Nest to watch as we navigated the Isafjordur Fjord on the way to open water and tomorrow’s port, Akureyri, Iceland.</div><div align="justify"><br />The town was cute; there is no other way to describe it. As we sailed out of town, it looked like it should be the village in a Christmas garden. All it needed was train tracks running through it. Of course, there is no railway here and we have seen no evidence of rail service in any of the island ports. Isafjordur is primarily a fishing town surrounded by other smaller towns nestled in glacial valleys. The outlying towns depend on fishing and agriculture depending on the season. Ed said that the inhabitants have to own a boat before they can buy land. Despite the jokes we make about herring and eggs or a herring burger, herring is big business here.</div><div align="justify"><br />Tonight’s menu included meatloaf, so both of us were quite happy. Since we have to be up early tomorrow, we went to bed early again.</span></div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-74084627064237284612010-07-30T16:13:00.000-07:002010-07-30T16:17:34.267-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Thursday, July 29, 2010</u></strong></span>
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<br /><strong><u>Night and Daylight, You Are the One</u></strong>
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<br />As we sail farther north, the days become longer and longer. Even when we were in London, darkness did not occur until almost 9:00. Now, the sun is visible early and late. In Runavik yesterday, sunrise was 4:42 a.m. and sunset was 10:23 p.m. Of course, the sky is light well before dawn and after sundown. By the time we get to Spitsbergen, the North Cape of Norway, we will, indeed, be in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
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<br />We continue to have smooth seas and good weather. While the skies are overcast, there has been no rain since the sprinkles in Rosyth, and temperatures have been higher than predicted. Of course, warmth is relative. Even if they continue to be higher than expected, it will still be downright chilly above the Arctic Circle. When we visited Antarctica in 2004, the temperature hovered near 45F, but the wind chill made us glad to have the heavy parkas. On that trip, we were probably over-dressed and returned to the ship each day soaked through; without all of our layers, we would have been equally uncomfortable in the opposite direction.
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<br />Today was a typical day at sea. We stayed in bed until almost 8:30 and then went to breakfast in the MDR. With eating and chatting with our tablemates, we did not finish until nearly 10:00. As a result, and by design, we missed the Cruise Critic meeting which had been scheduled for 8:30 – 10:00. Since the others are also set for 8:30 – 10:00 on sea days, we are probably through with CC for this trip. We have met several of the members and chat with them, but formal meetings are done until, maybe, next year’s trip.
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<br />We returned to the room after breakfast and read for a while before trivia. As usual, we were early getting to the Ocean Bar and read until the others arrived. Barbara brought her new netbook, but D could not get it to connect to the internet or even the local network and suggested that she consult the on-board internet specialist. She later made an appointment for tomorrow before dinner. We skipped lunch in the MDR so MA could keep her 1:00 nail appointment and went to the Lido buffet when she was done. That experience made us all the more anxious to eat in the MDR as much as possible.
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<br />After reading again in the cabin, MA joined Roxanne and Barbara in the theater to see Young Victoria. David caught up on the journal and read until she returned and we prepared for tonight’s formal night. There is a cocktail reception with the captain at 7:15, late enough for the early seating diners and early enough for the late sitting diners. We think it is just for the 4-Star alumni who have 200 or more days on board HAL ships.
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<br />There are other perks for the 200-day plus alumni. HAL offers discounts on certain purchases [such as wine packages and dinner in the reservation-only restaurant], but the most important as far as we are concerned is that laundry and pressing service are unlimited and free. Granted, there are free self-service washers and dryers on board, it is so much easier to stuff a laundry bag every two days and know that your clean, folded clothes will be back the next night. As a result, we are doing laundry [or having it done] much more often than ever before. We could have gotten away with just three of everything: one to wear, one for the next day and one in the laundry. We will know for next time and pack fewer clothes.
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<br />Formal night in the dining room featured French cuisine and décor. There were red, white and blue crepe paper balls and red, white and blue bunting strung throughout. Even the waiters were in French-style apparel including berets. Of course the menu include escargots, onion soup, quiche, pate and coq au vin. MA had the snails, lobster bisque and quiche; D had the lobster bisque, Caesar salad and the coq au vin.
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<br />After dinner we read for a while before turning off the lights after a very busy day. We will gain and hour tonight meaning an extra hour’s sleep, but we know we will give it back in a few days.\
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<br />Tomorrow – Reykjavik, Iceland.
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<br /><strong><u>Friday, July 30, 2010</u></strong>
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<br /><strong><u>Water, Water Everywhere
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<br />If there is one thing we have learned already, it’s that we can expect lots of water in lots of places on this cruise. We accept that we will be sailing on the water, of course, but we keep running into it, so to speak. In Rosyth, we encountered William Wallace and the Battle at Stirling Bridge followed by the Falkirk Wheel. In Scrabster, it was the rugged coast at Dunnet Head as well as at the Castle of Mey. In Runavik, it was all over – fjords, the ocean, waterfalls and underwater tunnels.
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<br />We were awash in water today, too. Here is the description of our trip, called the Golden Circle, as provided by the company. It is identical to the ship’s tour except there were eight of us, not fifty.
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<br />Tour description - this comprehensive tour covers all the major attractions of southwest Iceland, beginning with a drive to the national park and former parliament site at Thingvellir and continuing through the mountains to the area around the lake Laugarvatn, known for its high level of seismic activity. Next stop is Geysir, the world's most famous hot spring, and Strokkur, its smaller neighbour, which erupts in a spectacular of blue water every few minutes. The trip then continues to Gullfoss, the Queen of Icelandic waterfalls, returning to Reykjavík via Skálholt, site of Iceland's first episcopal see, founded in 1056, and the garden village of Hveragerði.
<br />We followed the itinerary fairly closely. We switched the order of Gullfoss and Geysir to avoid tour buses and saw the alleged oldest extant church in Iceland [dating only from 1909] instead of Skálholt and Hveragerði.
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<br />The Thingvellir was the world’s first Parliament going back over 900 years. The park built on the site of the original thingvellir was dedicated in honor of Iceland’s independence from Denmark in 1944. It includes several buildings which we assumed stood where the thingviller had been; a multi-media display and explanation of the site’s history and geography; and startlingly stark rock walls and formations, streams and a large lake used by the populace as a recreation source.
<br />We were at Gullfoss long enough to walk down to it, take pictures and get damp from the spray. We thought it was wonderful because it is our first Niagara-type falls, but several others were less impressed because it did not measure up to Niagara, Angel or Iguazu Falls. The river had cut a deep gorge below the falls, but we could not see it from the safety of the viewing area.
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<br />At Geysir, we were able to see – and catch in photographs – several eruptions of water and steam. We were smart/lucky enough to be upwind of the geyser when it erupted, but Jay, Sharon and Marvin got more than a little wet. Still, we and they enjoyed watching the bubbling water as it swirled in the pool where the geyser blew. It was sort of like watching a sneeze; there was a definite build-up as it prepared to shower us.
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<br />We ate lunch at the café/gift shop across the road because the Hotel Geysir dining room was booked until 2:00. Lunch was sandwiches and Cokes, not traditional Icelandic food. If we have had one disappointment, it is the lunches we have had on three of the four shore excursions [Runavik being the exception]. We hope we get luckier tomorrow.
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<br />We returned to the ship in time for trivia. There were only four teams today because of bus trips. All five of us were there and we added a “stray” whose team didn’t show. Using the ringer’s knowledge, we were able to win with a perfect score today. In all humility, we would have won without him, just not as convincingly. D’s knee was really bothering him to the point that MA finally noticed his limp, so we went to the room and MA slept while D wrote the journal with her gel wrap around his knee. There will no doubt be a report on his condition in a later entry.
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<br />We went to this evening's show after dinner [vegetarian/leg of lamb]. As singers, the group was only fair, but as entertainers they were the best we have seen in the last three cruises. By the time D went to post this entry, it was 11:15 p.m. locally and the sun was still up!
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<br />Tomorrow we will be in Isafjordur , Iceland, where we do not have any plans except to explore the town, shop and eat lunch. We should be back in time for trivia [There are priotities, after all].</span>
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<br />David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-64067721716935357162010-07-29T02:42:00.001-07:002010-07-29T02:45:33.509-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Tuesday, July 27, 2010</u></strong>
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<br /><strong><u>Keep to the Left</u></strong>
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<br />It’s important to know right off that no one died in the making of today’s adventure. With the possible exception of one side mirror, there were no physical injuries at all. There may have been a bit of psychological trauma, however.</span>
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<br />We were docked in Scrabster, Scotland, this morning. The skies were overcast and there was a threat of rain. Temperatures were predicted to be in the upper 50’s. We are heading north and weather conditions will reflect this as we travel above the Arctic Circle. Today, however, we were just making a loop along the north-east corner of Scotland.
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<br />Jay had arranged for a rental car, a seven passenger vehicle actually, which had only two comfortable occupants on our journey. MA & D, Jay & Sharon and Ed & Roxanne shared the minivan while Marvin and Barbara had their own car. We could have rented a 12-seater but were justifiably concerned about death and dismemberment. Since Barbara and Marvin were the last ones in, they were the odd couple out.
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<br />Jay had a list of eleven[!] places he thought we ought to see but we convinced him that his list was unattainable. One of the men from the car hire service said it would take three hours just to drive the circular route even if we didn’t stop. We decided to start with the site closest to the ship and make up our itinerary as we went.
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<br />D was elected to drive because he normally drives a minivan and has also driven in the UK. Remember that he was sitting on the wrong side of a car situated on the wrong side of the roadway and shifting gears with his left hand; the only “normal” aspect was that the clutch, brake and accelerator were in the same configuration as in the US. Okay, we stalled leaving the parking lot by the ship when he did not hit the clutch in time at the “stop” sign. And he did sideswipe some curbs [or kerbs] in the early stages. And there was the possible murder of the side mirror on a parked car in the neighboring town of Thurso, but the car was parked facing the wrong direction and deserved to be punished. Oh, then reflexes has us pull to the right to avoid another car on a narrow road and almost crash into it. But nobody died today.
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<br />Our first stop was Dunnet Head, the northernmost point of the British mainland. Let’s not quibble that Great Britain is an island; Dunnet Head is still its northernmost spot. Once we left the main road, we traversed a winding single-lane track which featured periodic wide spots to allow cars to pass in opposite directions. We made it down this road without incident, even pulling into a turn-off to allow a motorcycle to pass us. Barbara [navigator] and Marvin [driver] got separated from us but eventually found Dunnet Head where we waited for them. The view was vast, the cliffs were stark and sheer and the lighthouse an obvious necessity. Barbara had brought walkie-talkies so we were in contact with them most of the time, but it was still reassuring to hear her say, “I see MA! I see Roxanne!” as they pulled up to the parking lot.
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<br />We caravanned more closely on the way to the high point of the day, the Castle of Mey. Still, our minivan arrived before Barbara & Marvin. At one point, while we waited, the three women went to the ladies’ room and were sitting in their stalls when suddenly they heard Barbara call out from the walkie-talkie, “MA, where are you?” Nonchalantly, MA replied, “In the bathroom!”Needless to say, they emerged from the loo in hysterics
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<br />Built in 1636, the castle had been family owned for generations, perhaps centuries. Eventually, it fell into disrepair. In 1952, it was discovered by the Queen Elizabeth who was visiting friends in the area following the death of her husband, Edward VI. The Queen Mother, as she became know, bought the castle and had it restored [1993 – 1995] so she could stay there in August and September when she visited Scotland.
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<br />At one point, the estate totaled over 8000 acres but is now only 2500 acres or so. It encompasses the castle itself, gardens and animals. The gardens we saw looked more functional than ornamental and included flowers, hedges, roses, herbs and vegetables. The flowers and produce were [and may still be] used by the staff for decorative as well as practical purposes. We did not explore the livestock although we could see cattle and sheep in the fields. For that matter, we saw cattle and sheep everywhere we drove today except in the cities and towns.
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<br />The castle has been maintained as a museum dedicated to QM Elizabeth. All of her furnishings, tapestries, tchotchkes, clothing, etc. are on display and, in each room of the castle, there were docents to explain everything. No pictures were allowed inside, but we saw Christmas cards she sent; her favorite blue outfit [she had 4 copies]; the dining room set up for entertaining; the sitting room where she met guests; the kitchen; and other rooms used by family or retainers. It was a much better castle from our point of view than Stirling Castle yesterday. The only drawback, again, was the existence of steep and narrow staircases. None of us fell.
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<br />The staff at the Castle gift shop said that there was a pub at John o’Groat, another spot on Jay’s list. Barbara and Marvin followed us there, keeping closer this time. We arrived there around noon and discovered that there was no there there. John o’Groat was really just a tourist trap of shops and a café which served beer. This was not our idea of a pub but we were hungry so we stayed. To our surprise, the food was pretty good. Some had soup; some had toasties [grilled cheese and something sandwiches]; and several had both. MA had a cheese and onion toastie and D had a bacon and cheese one, both on good brown bread. We were disappointed yet satisfied.
<br />We were going to go from there to a quarry to see exhibits about minerals and such, but Navigator Jay realized that we would have to go south to get there and we weren’t so sure of the time involved with the extra driving and the “tour” itself, so we continued back to Thurso, the village next to Scrabster. We debated going straight to the pier, dropping off the car and returning to town on the HAL shuttle but parked near the center of town and walked around. Somewhere along the way back, we lost Marvin and Barbara and assumed they had gone back to the ship. Their names were not called when we were ready to depart, so we knew they were on board.
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<br />We were in time for trivia but placed second, then stayed and chatted with other players who are also CC people. Nap and journal time before a drink and dinner [seafood Cobb salad/seared tuna]. We returned to the cabin only to find a message from Richard in Guest Services, so we trekked back upstairs to see him. There were, alas, no surprises – HAL was not willing to give us the million dollars to vacate our staterooms. We were welcome to stay for the entire trip although they would honor the original offer of refund/free cruise/on-board credit. There is little likelihood of an upgrade for the last two weeks. He also explained the confusion over MA’s gel nails – the process is available on the other HAL ships but not on the Prinsendam yet. And he offered the services of a priest or rabbi if we wanted one for the disposal of Henry and Pokey’s ashes. We declined that offer, too, fearing that their ghosts would haunt us if there was any hint of religion in the proceedings.
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<br />And so to bed and sleep by 10:30. We have to up early again tomorrow for our third port in three days.
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<br />Next – Runavik, Faroe Islands
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<br /><strong><u>Wednesday, July 28, 2010</u></strong>
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<br /><strong><u>Sheep May Safely Graze or a Tail of Two Cities</u></strong>
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<br />Today’s port of call is Runavik [roon-uh-wick], Faroe Islands. The Faroes are north of Scotland but are associated with Denmark. They print their own paper money, for example, but use Danish coins. When their youngsters go to university, they can have free tuition in Denmark. The language, on the other hand, may be closer to Icelandic. According to our guide, whom we called Rolf, there was no written Faroese until about 150 years ago.
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<br />We were to make port in Torshavn [tore-shawn], the capital, but today marks the beginning of a two-day national celebration and there were already two other ships landing in Torshavn. Since it is an hour away by car, we opted not to join the mayhem. Instead, we had a driving tour of several of the northern islands. There are a dozen or more islands in the Faroes, connected and ferries. There is only one bridge connecting islands in the chain.
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<br />As the captain said this afternoon, we were lucky with the weather. There was a mix of cloud and sun – and fog – depending where we were and which side of an island we were on. The islands themselves seem to consist of either fjords or mountains, the highest of which is 880 meters [about 2500 feet] high. The mountains presented steep but stepped facades. They would have been easy for a mountain climber but were still sheer by tourist standards. Because of erosion, they appeared to be in steps or distinct strata. Each lower level was a little wider or closer to the valley floor. As the steps widened, they became grass covered
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<br />Erosion not only created the step effect, it also provided boulders for use in low walls between fields and even as a way to keep sheep from the higher steps. The hills and valleys were a bright green dotted with rocks and sheep but not trees. The only trees we saw had been imported. The fields were not used for vegetables but provided a limitless buffet for the sheep which seem to outnumber the people. There are so many sheep [How many sheep are there?] that periodically there are “sheep gates” in the road; like cattle gates in the US, these are metal tubes [rollers?] across the road to prevent the sheep from wandering away. At the sides of the road where these gates are install, barbed wire fencing connects to the fences in the fields. This system allows the sheep to cross the road [no chicken jokes, please] without becoming lost.
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<br />According to Rolf, there are only 48000 people living in the Faroes. Their main occupations are sheep ranching, fishing and sailing. The sheep are raised for food not for their wool and represent a major element of the islanders’ diet. Rolf said that they actually import lamb from New Zealand to meet the need. There are some cattle and geese but no swine. Rolf said they was a farmer who tried unsuccessfully to raise pigs but “they all burned.” In a supreme irony, the farmer was Moslem.
<br />The population of native Faroese seems to be shrinking, supplemented by immigrants from everywhere but especially the Philippines. The young people who go away for college tend not to return which drains the resources of the island nation.
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<br />We had a marvelous day with Rolf. Mostly, we saw scenery, often a phantasmagoria of clouds and fjords. One minute we would see a fjord filled with cotton-candy-like clouds and then we would return five minutes later to find a clear view of the other side. We never tired of seeing the mountains with and without their hats, as Rold called the highest clouds. There were several cascading waterfalls and countless rivulets pouring down the mountainsides. And black and white [and black-and-white] sheep everywhere.
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<br />We saw, from a distance, a deserted village which was falling into disrepair. One day, all of the men in the village died on their boats during a bad storm, leaving only the women and children to live there. Soon after, the survivors all moved out because they could live there without the men. We found a little pocket park late in the day. It featured a bronze statue of a mother and her two children looking out for their husband and father who had been lost either at sea or on a mountain.
<br />Life in the Faroes can be harsh. Not only are there occupational dangers, but also the weather can be hazardous, especially in the winter. Snow and strong winds combine to make living there dangerous; if it’s not one, it’s the other or, even worse, both. There is a good road system so the villages are not too isolated, but some of the villages have only half-a-dozen houses. Life can be lonely, too.
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<br />Small town life isn’t all bad, though. Before Rolf suggested a place for lunch, he called ahead to ask the owner of a crafts store across the street if she would open for us. She drove in, opened the shop and made a couple of sales for her efforts. Our lunch was in a restaurant in a little town with an unpronounceable name [as were most of them]. We had a buffet which had meatballs; sloppy Joes without the bread; breaded pork patties; roasted pork belly; fried fish; potatoes; and vegetables [frozen, we are sure]. There was little confusion about paying since D was the only one with Danish currency, but the proprietor was willing to take US dollars, British pounds and euros. Magnetic strip credit cards were not accepted. Despite the variety of payment options, D still had to bail out Ed who didn’t have any small bills.
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<br />Our last adventure of the day had us driving across the Atlantic Ocean. Last year, the Cruise Director swam across by taking a dip in the ship’s pool as we passed the half-way mark on our crossing of the ocean. Today, we drove across the only bridge connecting islands in the Faroes. Since the water is technically the Atlantic, we drove across the ocean. Tricky, but now we have bragging rights over most of our friends.
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<br />We arrived back too late for trivia [awww] but early enough for naptime and journal writing. Dinner was a curried vegetable cutlet and roast beef, followed by laughter and chocolate.
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<br />Tomorrow is a well-deserved sea day, so we can sleep in a little.</span>
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<br />David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-75503371796076839522010-07-26T14:10:00.000-07:002010-07-26T14:14:39.707-07:00<p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Monday, July 26, 2010</u></strong></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><p><strong><u>Firth of Forth, Fifth of Scotch</u></strong></p><p>Today was the first of many early mornings. We try to get out of bed 2 hours before tours begin. As a result, we were up just before 6 because our breakfast try arrived early. We met Marvin, Barbara, Ed and Roxanne at the Stuyvesant Room and went in search of our minvan and “tour consultant” whom we had yet to meet. He missed Sunday’s meet-and-great because he was under the weather, so we did not know what he looked like. We had no trouble, however, as he was right in front of the only minivan on the parking lot. We set off a bit after 8:00.</p><p><br />Our driver, who was not a licensed guide, was charming. Craig told stories about Scotland and its history and gave us a feel for the country. Of course, he also told us much about himself and his youthful transgressions. We enjoyed his company all day.</p><p><br />We were docked at Rosyth, one of several ports serving Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. Rosyth is situated on the Firth of Forth, the estuary of the Forth River leading to the North Sea. Our first stop today was the Stirling Castle, the Royal Lodgings of James V when his wife, Mary of Guise was in residence with their child Mary [Queen of Scots].</p><p><br /> As castles go, it wasn’t great. The main attraction, the palace, has been closed for repairs for five years. We were able to see what little there was to the Regimental Museum in the King’s Old Building; the Great Hall [which wasn’t so great]; and the Chapel Royal where Mary Queen of Scots’ grandson was baptized. The battlements were interesting and the view from the walls was magnificent until the clouds rolled in and the drizzle started. We could see the entire valley spread out before us almost to Bannockburn, site of Robert the Bruce’s most famous victory over the British. </p><p><br />Closer to the Castle was the site of William Wallace’s best-known battle against the English, immortalized by Mel Gibson in Braveheart. There is now a monument to Wallace atop the hill overlooking the battle site itself, but there will be more about that shortly. What Wallace did, and Robert the Bruce imitated, was to lure the British away from their practically impregnable castle and into the open. In Wallace’s case, his men were on the afore-mentioned hill; when the British tried to storm the hill, they fell into Wallace’s trap: water from the nearby river had been brought in to soak the river bank creating a quagmire that trapped the attackers’ horses. This made their riders easy targets for the Scots. When the ground forces crossed over, they, too, were bogged down. They could stay and fight – and die – or flee back to the river where they were weighed down by their armor and drowned. Note that by 1776, 200 years later, the British still did not know how to handle unorthodox or guerilla warfare when the faced the Colonists.</p><p><br />Craig suggested that we spend 90 minutes or so at the Castle, in retrospect way too much time. When we arrived at 9:05, we had to wait for the gates to open at 9:30, so we didn’t leave there until 11:00 a.m. Following our visit to the Castle, we drove through Stirling and across the valley to the Wallace Memorial. The drive up the hill was twisting and narrow and we were glad not to meet any vehicles coming down. The road reminded D a little of the roadway to the House of Mary outside Ephesus. From the “gateway” we took a shuttle bus up the remainder of the hill and got out into a fine mist – not exactly rain but wet enough to make us glad we had our rain jackets. Ed and Jay had paid to climb the 264 steps of the Tower [built in the 19th Century]. The rest of the party exercised its collective right to survival. Apparently the view would have been marvelous if not for the clouds and rain. There were exhibits at several levels which afforded them the chance to catch their breath as they climbed. The rest of us were relegated to [wait for it!] the gift shop. At least it was dry.</p><p><br />By the time we re-joined Craig at the entrance, it was 12:15, time to go to our last stop. All of us were starting to get hungry, but instead of stopping for lunch, we went straight to the Falkirk Wheel. In hindsight, it was good that we did. We arrived at the Wheel at 12:45 and bought tickets for the next “ride,” scheduled for 1:30. While we waited, we wolfed down dry sandwiches like the ones in vending machines. This was not a typical or gourmet meals, but we were starving.<br />We joined the line at 1:20 for what was really a short boat ride, but the ride was the least important part of the experience. Roxanne and Ed were science teachers and Jay was an engineer, so they can probably explain the Wheel more accurately, but….Picture a giant capital S with a spindle in its center. The bottom half of the S is barely in the water creating a cradle with the top half directly above it. Next, picture a flat-bottom passenger boat in the cradle formed by the S. The S rotates on the spindle and the boat rises 115 feet in the air where it is released into a canal. What makes it more ingenious is that the boat is actually in a water-tight compartment and the entire compartment is lifted up with the water and the boat in it. As with traditional step locks,the process is reversed to get the boat down. A series of gears keeps the boat level; and no water is lost, just moved up and down. The process of lifting the boat the 115 feet takes 4-1/2 minutes. Watching the process was much more interesting than actually being in the boat for an hour.</p><p><br />We meandered on the way back to the Prinsendam since we did not have to be aboard until 4:00. Craig took the scenic route through Dunfermline [made famous in Sir Patrick Spens] where we passed the childhood home of Andrew Carnegie as well as the Carnegie Museum and the church where most of Robert the Bruce is buried; his heart was supposed to go to the Holy Land during the Crusades but rumor has it that is still [or back] in Scotland.</p><p><br />We were on board just past 4:00 and headed off to our rooms to rest. After cookies, pizza and iced tea, MA took a nap while D wrote in the journal while he could still remember most of what we did. Because we were tired from our excursion, we skipped the evening drink but met the rest of the table in time to go into the MDR together [chopped salad/sauerbraten]. We laughed through dinner and then all headed to bed.</p><p><br />We have another early day tomorrow in Scrabster. We expect it to be even more exciting than today!</span></p>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-56681881311156887262010-07-25T14:18:00.000-07:002010-07-25T14:19:44.003-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Sunday, July 25, 2010</u></strong></span>
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<br /><strong><u>Fun and Games</u></strong>
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<br /></u></strong>Today was our first full sea day although we could have been in Tilbury still based on the ship’s motion. The seas were perfectly flat as we sailed toward the North Sea and Scotland. On the way this morning we passed a wind farm full of large windmills in the middle of the water as well as quite a number of oil rigs. Shades of the Gulf of Mexico [without the oil skimmers]. We expect to see many more off-shore rigs as we travel north toward the Faroe Islands.
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<br />As usual, we had breakfast in the MDR before heading to the Crow’s Nest for the first meeting of the Cruise Critic contingent. For those who have not read any of the other blogs, CC is a loose aggregation of passengers who have met on the internet and exchanged information about the ship, the cruise and shore excursions. Some of the members have met on previous tours and other via the “Roll Call” devoted strictly to this trip. We met Ed & Roxanne and Barbara & Marvin through CC prior to previous cruises. This year, we have hooked up with some additional members in order to lower expenses on shore excursions.
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<br />The meeting featured remarks from the Captain, the Hotel Manager, the Beverage Manager and the Cruise Director as well as the Future Cruise lady [who is married to the Cruise Director]. Following their presentations, the group broke up so people could finally meet the people with whom they had been chatting on line for the past year or so. D found two of the three members who are touring with us in Runavik and collected their share of the cost, but otherwise we had little interaction outside our group. Last year, when D became group-leader-by-default, we had only the Beverage Manager, Roger, at our meeting, but we took the time to introduce and tell a little about ourselves. We missed that this year. Rather than “playing it by ear,” the organizers have already scheduled 4 more meetings which we plan to ignore; who would expect us to meet a bunch of relative strangers at 8:30 in the morning? We will have to be up early on shore days --- we will sleep in a little on sea days.
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<br />After the CC meeting, we went to the cabin to gather our things and then went to the Ocean Bar for trivia. We read while we waited for the competition to begin. We lost by a wide margin again, but none of us really wanted the key chains anyway. [What country prints postage stamps without the including name of the country? How many total degrees in the interior angles of a pentagon? What type of triangle has 3 unequal sides?] Afterwards, we read until we got hungry and went to the MDR for lunch [MA – salad; D – paella]. A quick e-mail check and then MA’s nap while D went elsewhere to update the journal and read.
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<br />Tonight was the first of TEN [!] formal nights. MA looked beautiful and D looked like a Swiss banker. The officers were all in their dress uniforms and even the waiters were dressed up a little. Before dinner we were having our usual drink in the Ocean Bar [lemon drop martini/ice water] when Roger Flauta, the Beverage Manager stopped by to chat. We met Roger last year when he was the contact person for our CC meetings. He reserved the Crow’s Nest for us, provided refreshments and even sent out the printed reminders. We enjoyed meeting him last year. Tonight, he sat and chatted with us for about 10 – 15 minutes, mostly about his life. We are looking forward to seeing more of him on this cruise and next year’s as well.
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<br />The dinner menu was a little fancier tonight. Shrimp cocktail, pheasant and a lobster/fillet surf-and-turf were available. Of course, MA had the vegetable lasagna but D opted for the surf-and-turf. Dessert was a pear tart which was really more like cheesecake and cinnamon ice cream.
<br />By the time we left the table, it was almost 10:00 but the sky still held a little light. The North Sea was calm, the sky starting to clear. Tomorrow in Rosyth, Scotland, we have an all-day [6 hour] tour that another CC member [Jay] organized and we have to be on the dock at 8:00 a.m. Breakfast will be delivered to the cabin between 6 and 6:30.
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<br />And so to bed, a bit early.</span>
<br /></span>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-26737848498389105992010-07-23T15:57:00.000-07:002010-07-24T14:31:44.057-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Saturday, July 24, 2010</u></strong> </span>
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<br /><strong><u>Sailing Away</u></strong>
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<br />The water was so smooth this morning it was as if we weren’t sailing at all. Well, we weren’t; we were still docked at Tilbury awaiting a 5:00 p.m. departure. After breakfast this morning, we all piled onto the Tilbury Shuttle [no, not the Teaberry Shuffle] and went to the superstore. It was a lot like Walmart except it was clean and the employees went out of their way to be helpful. D bought some flat batteries in hopes of getting a reading light to work but could find only two when he really needed three. Still, it was a start. Naturally, they didn’t make the situation any better but he discovered that if he squeezed the light’s housing it would work. He will try it tonight or tomorrow to see if using it is feasible.
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<br />Back in the room, we spoke to Made [MAH-day] our cabin steward about stowing the luggage and about putting MA’s gel brace in a freezer for future use. No problem. By the time we met up with Made and his partner, also named Made, they had made up the room, brought the apples we requested and taken care of the laundry. [BTW, <em>Made</em> means <em>second son</em> indicating their place in the birth order].
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<br />We ate lunch in the MDR with Marvin & Barbara [meatloaf sandwiches and apple crisp for both] before meeting with a representative from Ship’s Services about a possible upgrade for the second segment of the cruise. The morning we flew out of Miami, Ted our travel agent called to say the HAL had offered a full refund, a free 2 week cruise next year and $500 in shipboard credit if we would disembark in Amsterdam instead of Tilbury. He and we assume they oversold the ship or at least our category. If we had not made plans to visit friends in London in August and if we did not have non-refundable tickets and if we had looked so forward to the Baltic, we would have jumped at the chance. Today, we suggested to Richard from the Front Office that we would be willing to take an upgrade [not an upsell] to a better cabin [with the right of refusal if we didn’t like it] if they really needed our cabin. We also let him know that we would be willing to vacate if the offer were sweetened; since we have already booked a cruise for next year, we thought HAL might give that one to us instead of the 2-week offer. It never hurts to ask. D told Ed & Roxanne about the conversation and suggested they should talk to Richard as well. We reassured them that we would not abandon them and the<em> Prinsendam</em>. Richard seemed less than thrilled to hear from a second couple but said he would let us know when he heard from the main office in Seattle. With an eight hour time difference, we don’t expect to hear before tomorrow morning our time.
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<br />And then it was time for the first Team Trivia [TT] of the cruise. We weren’t even close to winning but had a good time [What product used the slogan “Hello, boys?” What color is the black box on an airplane?] Following TT, there was a boat drill, a standard procedure on cruise ships. This time, however, passengers were told not to wear their life jackets to the life boat stations. Naturally, some did anyway. We theorized that HAL was trying to minimize injuries caused when passengers untie their vests; drag the ties on the floor and steps; and thereby trip others. The drill itself was orderly and efficient unlike some of the social events we have witnessed in the past. Shortly after the drill, the Prinsendam began its journey down the Thames.
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<br />Nap time. Drink time. Dinner [vegetarian/beef]. Done at 10, MA went to the cabin to go to bed while D went to finish the journal.
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<br />Tomorrow – The first sea day and Cruise Critic Meet-and-Greet.</span>
<br /></span>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-29291635507774242492010-07-23T15:54:00.000-07:002010-07-24T14:35:33.702-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Friday, July 23, 2010</u></strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>All Aboard</u></strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We all agreed at dinner tonight that starting a cruise without actually cruising is the most relaxing way to do it. Normally, the first day on board is frenetic with lots of running around trying to find out everything, but there was no rush today knowing that we could always go ashore tomorrow if we forgot something.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We left the hotel around 11 this morning and traveled almost without incident to the Tilbury Passenger Terminal. Without incident because our departure was a bit delayed due to the fact that today’s driver could not figure out how to load all of our collective luggage into his minivan. The bellman/doorman at the hotel saw his dilemma and took over, rearranging everything so we had more space than we did when we drove in from Heathrow.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Check-in at the pier was smooth and there was only a little wait as passengers boarded the Prinsendam. As soon as the six of us were on the ship, we stowed our carry-on pieces in the Stuyvesant Room [which is right across the hall from our cabin] and went to the dining room for an alumni lunch. The peasants [i.e., new HAL cruisers] were relegated to the Lido buffet. While we ate, the beverage services staff came to the table hawking wine packages and drink card. As 4-star Mariners [alumni], we thought we were eligible for a 50% discount on these, so we paid for Marvin’s wine which will save him almost $25. By the time we were finished lunch, the cabins were ready. When we went to ours, three out of four bags were already in the room. Maybe there something to this alumni thing.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We went wandering the ship for a bit. MA booked a nail appointment but was disheartened/angry that the nail tech on board does not do gels [whatever they are]. D had called HAL’s office in Seattle specifically to ask about gels before the last nail appointment in West Palm. The Ships’ Services staffer even put him on hold to double check before asserting that gels were available. Not so, and we will let HAL know of our displeasure before the cruise is done.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We also took the time to sign up for internet time and noticed that the maximum time package has gotten smaller but the per-minute cost has gone up. Then it was time to return to the room and unpack. For better or worse, the fourth bag had arrived, so there was no excuse not to unpack.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">By 4:00, the clothes and other things were stowed away and MA took a nap while D played with electronics before he, too, lay down to rest. We were up at 6:15 to shower and dress for dinner. A bit past 7, we went to the Ocean Bar, our regular hangout last year, for a pre-dinner drink [mojito and ice water]. Marvin and Barbara joined us in time to walk into the MDR together where we found Roxanne and Ed already at our table for 6.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The MDR on the Prinsendam is on one level unlike the double-deck dining rooms on the other ships. Those of us who prefer to eat at the same time and table every night have what is called “fixed” dining. We are eating in the smaller, outer area. Those who want the flexibility to eat when and with whom they want can opt for “As You Wish” dining, what Norwegian calls “freestyle.” We prefer the fixed because we will have the same wait staff every night; the steward and his assistant will quickly learn our likes and dislikes and hope to be rewarded accordingly. The waiters in the AYW section don’t have the same motivation to provide excellent service.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We laughed and talked all through dinner [Mediterranean salad for her; halibut for him] and were the last ones to leave to MDR at 10:00 p.m. We agreed to meet tomorrow at 10 a.m. to take the free shuttle into Tilbury in hopes of finding the local version of Walmart since we all need something. Back in the room, MA hung up some c lothes which had been on the shelves and then read before going to sleep [Thanks, again, kids for the Kindles!]. D went upstairs to complete the journal in an area with better wi-fi, then he, too, turned in for the night.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Tomorrow- Retail therapy in Tilbury.</span>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-16140861609145306272010-07-22T16:41:00.000-07:002010-07-24T14:34:33.444-07:00<strong><u><span style="font-family:arial;">Thursday, July 23, 2010</span></u></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Boats and Billy</u></strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After a restless night, we met Ed & Roxanne for breakfast where we giggled and made plans for the day. We are, indeed, going to take London’s version of the bateau mouche, a tour boat down the Thames as far as Greenwich which was our original port of departure. The concierge also gave us the paper work we will need to get our tickets for tonight’s show.<br /><br />Cruising down the Thames will be interesting because yesterday we flew up the Thames. As we approached Heathrow airport, we followed the river past the Tower of London, Buckingham palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament and the London Eye, a large Ferris wheel constructed for the Millennium. Our boat trip to Greenwich took us by all but the Palace. We were also able to spot St. Paul’s Cathedral through the crowd of buildings on the shore and passed under the new London Bridge [the original is in Lake Havasu, Arizona].<br /><br />We started the trip on the top deck of the river boat but soon went under cover as the rain started. Even though we had our matching rain jackets, it was a prudent move. Once the rain let up, Ed went back on deck to take more pictures; Ed is the one who says that if he doesn’t have a picture of it, he wasn’t there. We were surprised to learn that we had to change boats at the Tower Bridge. The Tower Bridge is the one seen most often in pictures of London. In fact, it is so iconic that most people believe that it is London Bridge. Tower Bridge is adjacent to the Tower of London which is, in fact, a collection of buildings surrounded by battlements and not a tower at all. Remember – two countries divided by one language.<br /><br />Although there had been no narration of the sights as we meandered from the Embankment dock where we started until we reached Tower Bridge, the driver of the boat from Tower Bridge to Greenwich was positively chatty, in a British sort of way. He pointed out a church and cemetery where the captain and some of the crew of the Mayflower were buried practically next to a pub with a replica of the ship on its weathervane. Mostly, though, we saw converted warehouses and “wharves” which were now expensive condos.<br /><br />At Greenwich, we walked through [or past] the Old Royal Navy College campus and spent a little time in the National Maritime Museum, but it wasn’t all that interesting once we got there. What eventually became the Royal Naval College was originally designed by Sir Christopher Wren as Greenwich Hospital for veteran sailors. Before that the site was home to a palace in which both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born. We also walked past the <em>Cutty Sark</em>, a tea clipper built in 1869 but best known for the Scotch whiskey of the same name. Alas, she is under repairs [and under wraps], so we could not see anything.<br /><br />Because of the intermittent showers, we opted to find a pub and get lunch. Armies and tourists travel on their stomachs. Indeed, we found The King’s Arms and three of us had jacket potatoes and Cokes whilst Ed had fish and chips and a Guiness. Perhaps next time, if there is one, we will walk through Greenwich Park and visit the observatory and stand on the Prime meridian.<br />After lunch we easily found our way back to the dock and took the express boat back to Embankment and then walked to our hotel. By then it was 3:30, nap and journal time. D called Marvin to let him know that we were meeting at 6:15 in the lobby to go to see <em>Billy Elliott</em>.<br /><br />Perhaps <em>The Thirty-Nine Steps</em> would have been a better play to see because it seemed that all we did once we left the hotel was climb up or down steps. There were steps from the roadway to the entrance of the Tube station; several flights down to the platform [we picked the right one by sheer luck]; steps both up and down to exit the Tube station at Victoria and more steps, mostly up, to reach our seats in the Dress Circle which is fancy talk for first balcony. And at the end of the show, of course, we did all of it in reverse!<br /><br />And we would do it all again for <em>Billy Elliott</em> was well worth the effort it took to get to the theater. The cast was marvelous; the dancing superb; and the story one to tug at the heart-strings. We had only two minor annoyances – we had trouble hearing and understanding some of the dialog because of the accents used and the theater was abnormally warm. We can only imagine how hot and tired the cast was, yet they performed with unimaginable energy even in the blockbuster finale/curtain call. We were exhausted from watching the show.<br /><br />We had had no dinner before hand, so we schlepped back to the hotel [see above] and were able to get sandwiches and drinks in the lounge. We sat and made small talk with Ed & Roxanne now on familiar terms with Marvin & Barbara. To top it off, Marvin had a 50% off food coupon which we used.<br /><br />Tomorrow, we leave the hotel for the Prinsendam and will actually sail from Tilbury on Saturday.</span>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-44003511155336643462010-07-21T14:06:00.000-07:002010-07-24T14:33:10.821-07:00<u><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Wednesday, July 21, 2010</strong></span></u><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><u>Let the Games Begin</u></strong><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We arrived in London a bit early today but made up for it by waiting on the tarmac until there was an available gate for our plane. We flew on Virgin Atlantic for the first time; we figured if they were good enough to partner with Singapore airlines, they had to be good enough for us. The flight wasn’t too bad despite occasional turbulence, but we didn’t get the rest we wanted. We were in the “premium economy” seating area which meant that we had more hip room no more leg room than in the regular economy. There may have been better food and baggage handling, but we’ll never know for sure. [Food Note: MA had Thai red curry for dinner and D had brisket; both dishes met with approval. Breakfast was a choice of a ham-and-cheese bagel or an egg croissant. Again, both were more than adequate.]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">As usual when we travel, we had requested a wheel chair, so we were told to wait until the plane was empty before exiting. We did as we were told but discovered that we could have gotten off with the rest of the passengers since the chair had been there the whole time. Ours was the only one this morning, more proof that we were not in Florida anymore. Our wheelie, as we call the designated pushers, zoomed through Heathrow so quickly that D had trouble keeping up with him and MA. Eventually we came to the top of the ramp to Immigration and baggage claim [or re-claim, as the signs called it]. At this point, we were told that we would have to wait for someone else to come with a different wheelchair to take us the rest of the way. Since there were no steps involved and we were almost at the end, we decided to forsake the chair and strike out on our own. Several others who had been waiting when reached this transfer point did the same, not wanting to wait another 15 minutes or more.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The line for Immigration was short by the time we got to it but became crowded shortly after we joined the queue. We breezed through and headed for the baggage claim area. There were no luggage trolleys at the near end, so MA sat and waited while D retrieved one from the far end of the area and then circled back for the bags. Because we had taken so long to get to this point, our luggage was waiting beside the belt, making it easy to find and avoiding the strained back associated with chasing and retrieving baggage.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">With our trolley loaded with 4 matching suitcases and our 2 carry-ons, we headed for the exit where we immediately saw our traveling companion Roxanne. Next we saw our driver holding a sign with both couples’ last names and lastly, we found Ed who had gotten separated from Roxanne somehow. Colin, the driver, pushed Ed’s trolley while D pushed ours which did not want to go in a straight line; it acted like a drunk on a highway, weaving left and right and forcing to D to over-steer in order to make any headway. For readers of the 2008 blog, Colin reminded all of us of Mr. Otah, the befuddled guide we had in Kobe/Osaka. He forgot to push elevator buttons; wasn’t sure how to pack all of us and our possessions into the van; and had to have us figure it out plus keep count of the bags. Once we and the luggage were stowed, we proceeded to our hotel in the Covent Garden section of London.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">By the time we arrived at the Swissotel The Howard, it was not quite 11:15. MA had hoped to meet a former student for coffee at 10:30, but the student could not wait for us so she left a note. Our rooms were not ready, so we checked in, checked our bags and went to the hotel’s outdoor café for a light lunch [MA – goat cheese salad; D – lox and horseradish sandwich. Both yummy]. While the others sat and talked, D explored the hotel’s Wi-Fi and discovered that if one joined the Swissotel “club,” the Wi-Fi was free. So he joined. Roxanne and Ed had stayed at a Swissotel property in Istanbul, so they didn’t even have to sign up.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After lunch, it was time to go to our rooms which were finally ready. D set up the Wi-Fi and tried to change seats for our return flight, but there were no bulkhead seats available. Since we will be traveling during daylight, the legroom issue won’t be so great; other passengers are not as likely to recline their seats into our knees.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We had decided at lunch to pursue theater tickets for tomorrow night and selected Billy Elliott which looked like a good choice. D called Barbara and Marvin, other travel friends, to see if they were interested and left a message. Then, we all took naps with varying degrees of success. When we got up later we found an e-mail from Barbara saying to include them in the theater party. Since they will be arriving from NY tomorrow, they said we should kick them if they started to snore during the show.<br /><br />We met Ed and Roxanne in the lobby at 6:30 and walked through the neighborhood to find some place to eat dinner. We are not far from the theater district and may even be able to walk to and/or from the show tomorrow. We ate at Live Bait, a seafood restaurant a 15-minute walk from the hotel and had a very enjoyable meal [MA – scallop risotto; D – seafood stew of mussels, fish, prawns and tiny scallops]. Then, back to the hotel to relax and try to get on the new time schedule.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Tomorrow we may take a riverboat cruise down the Thames since we won’t see much when our ship sails from Tilbury on Saturday afternoon.</span>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819750366054570007.post-8386143236954526592009-09-28T17:46:00.000-07:002010-02-28T19:33:47.899-08:00<div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><u><strong>To the Top of the World and Baltic Capitals</strong></u></span></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><u><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span></u></div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We began planning this trip in April, 2009, while cruising the Mediterranean and Black Sea. This year we will cruise from London to Iceland and Norway, then on to the Baltic capitals. Except for London and Amsterdam, every place is new to us. Since we have already visited Antarctica, we thought it would be appropriate if we went as far north as we could, so we will spend several days north of the Arctic Circle. Here's a map of our trip:</span> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzPCXzCtcaZcpWpcRkUWz-rXgE7ICQFsjy8SxQGlWquFZU1HafQWEwOLd55LSp0im0v1cVcXCxwVwLniyqgnDbor0mg1qQQcF7V37E5FDUWFufo0khZSkdcN8zAWBcdc35y0vOrdd2dwG/s1600-h/map.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386685541090327090" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 269px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzPCXzCtcaZcpWpcRkUWz-rXgE7ICQFsjy8SxQGlWquFZU1HafQWEwOLd55LSp0im0v1cVcXCxwVwLniyqgnDbor0mg1qQQcF7V37E5FDUWFufo0khZSkdcN8zAWBcdc35y0vOrdd2dwG/s400/map.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">We will leave for London on July 20, 2010, and return to South Florida on August 29. Join us as we explore new places.</span><br /></span><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"></div>David and Mary Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04747160653729530164noreply@blogger.com0