Friday 31 August At Sea

Friday 31 August - at sea

Lasted two songs last night, not our cup of tea. We gain an hour overnight so we sleep in and meet up for breakfast at 9. It is a beautiful sunny morning, calm seas and an expected top temp of 21. After breakfast we attend the cooking show which was very entertaining. We have been extremely lucky with the weather, only one day where rain had some impact and much better weather than has been experienced in Melbourne. At dinner last night our waiter Arthur treated us to some more napkin folding and we had lots of laughs.

Ross and Karen and John and Kaye have had great weather for their first two cruises. The only times when it did get a bit bumpy was at night and when you are lying in bed it has little effect.

Norway was a great trip, but it did get repetitive with all the fiords, waterfalls and beautiful little towns. There is only so much beautiful scenery you can see each day. It is an expensive place and it would more expensive if you had to pay for meals and accommodation. It was certainly a great trip but not one we would repeat.

We have checked our tickets and rail passes and everything checks out so hopefully we don’t have any issues. We arrive at Southampton tomorrow at 7am and have transport booked for 8.30 to take us to Heathrow. Our plane departs at 1.45 and we arrive at Zurich at 4.30. From there we catch a train to Lucerne where we can walk to our hotel. It is going to be a long day tomorrow.

Sayings being used on the tour so far include: just saying (courtesy Kate Hoy), meet at muster point, you people, ja ja, Mabo and the vibe, this rose is so easy to drink (mostly by Luggy), the deck!

The afternoon is spent packing suitcases. The weather has remained mild and the seas calm. We will have one last go at trivia!

Bergen

Bergen

This morning we arrive at our last port of call. It is raining early but expected to clear. Bergen has over 270 days of rain a year so we will be lucky to get a clear day, in fact Bergen even has an umbrella dispensing machine.

Once again it is a very pretty city. By the time we head off at 9.30 it has cleared and the sun is shining. The temp is up around 17, we are very lucky. The town is beautiful and has some wide mall areas and a beautiful garden, plaza and water fountain. We walk through the fish market where there are large crabs, lobsters, prawns, fish and whale meat along with reindeer and moose. Ann is shocked by the sale of whale. The girls do a bit of shopping and we walk around the water front area. The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day. We have an early sail away at 2 pm so we head back to the ship at 11.30.

After lunch we watch our last sail away from our balconies and Ross and Karen bring a bottle of our favourite Rose.

We are not talking about trivia today!

We have our formal night tonight and tomorrow we are at sea. The show sounds interesting tonight as the performer is Phillip Browne who starred in the Lion King as Mufasa.

Alesund

Alesund

We meet up at 8.30 for breakfast. Alesund appears to be a very pretty town of 45000 inhabitants. Our berth is very close to the town centre. We have a tour booked on a little blue train which winds its way through the city sights and to the top of Mt Aksla.  We get off the ship just after 10, our tour starts at 11. The weather is cloudy and a bit cool, top temp of 15.

We board our train and head off. The majority of the town was destroyed by fire in 1904 and was completely rebuilt by 1908 in the Art Nouveau style. The houses are visually striking. The views from the train back down to the harbour are fantastic. When we get to the top we have 15 mins for photos. The views back down on the town are incredible. You can walk up to the top from the town via 418 steps that look very daunting. After our train ride we walk around for another hour admiring the houses before getting back on board for lunch. 

Afternoon trivia sees us score 15, the winners had 18. We don’t seem able to get past 15.

We have an early show tonight, it is The Fabulous Funky Fiddler “E Sarah Carter”. She is fantastic. She is moving around the stage and among the audience, she plays one piece while standing on her head! Her experience included playing in Lord of the Dance. She was very entertaining.

I have found out that the fish we caught were pollock.

Tomorrow is our last port of Bergen and then we set sail for Southampton.

Tuesday 28 August At Sea

At sea

We had a great nights sleep last night, sleeping through to 8.15. The beds are so comfortable, but the air conditioning tends to dry you out overnight. It was very smooth sailing and after the physical day yesterday we needed a good nights sleep.

Today is cloudy with the occasional sunny breaks, top temp of only 14. It is cool outside but comfortable walking round the ship. The seas are slight with minimal movement. We have a relaxing day today and play cards in the afternoon. Ann started off as the banker in pontoon and nearly cleaned us out. All but Ross had a turn at banker and generally the banker won. It was great fun with lots of laughs.

Our waiter Arthur has warmed to us and he is now folding napkins into risqué poses. He is very funny. Tomorrow we are at Alesund our second last port of call.

Lofoten Islands

Gravdal

Today we think is Monday, getting harder and harder to remember the days. It was a bit rough overnight with the ship moving around a fair bit, but everyone is ok. The boys are up early for our fishing trip. Our tour starts at 10 and we must make sure we are on an early tender to be on time. After breakfast we line up for tender tickets at 8.30. They start to allocate tickets at 8.50 and we are in the first 50. We get called to the first tender just after 9 and we are on the dock by 9.20. The weather is cool with a max of 14 and occasional showers, but light winds.

Daniela is a bit worried when no one has turned up by 10 so she rings them. Turns out there was a mix up as we are on the 12 o’clock tour. 

It is drizzling rain when we are picked up by the skipper, a friendly guy who finishes every sentence with “ya”. As we have some time to kill he takes us on a tour o the fishing village and the fish factory. The factory is stocked with dried cod and there is a sorting process going on for export. It has a very strong odour. When we get back he suggests we put on spare dry suits that available. 

12 o’clock arrives and we get on board. There are 12 including us. We head out and it is about a 35 minute cruise to the fishing grounds. The boat is rolling quite a bit in the swell. We arrive and after circling around the skipper gives us the ok to start fishing. We are using heavy gear with up to four lures on the line and we drop the line to the bottom and start jigging the line up and down. I catch the first fish which is about 8 inches long. Then others start catching them. I get another and then Ross gets a double. We drift off the mark and the skipper gets us to bring the lines in and he circles round again to find the mark again. Ross has three, I have four and Luggy has one. The skipper then says he will find some bigger fish so we head off again. 

At the bigger fish spot Ross is a magnet. First he brings in a whopper, about three feet long. The skipper has a wicked looking gaff that he expertly brings the fish on board. Others are getting fish but Luggy and I can’t get anything. I have missed a couple but Luggy just keeps getting caught in other lines. We are all fishing pretty close to each other and when a fish is on it is easy to get a crossover. In the meanwhile Ross has another double with two big fish. Then Ross gets another and another and I finally catch one and Luggy gets tangled again. It is ironic as I am beside Ross less then 4 feet away and Luggy is beside me, but it was Ross who gets all the action. He is exhausted! We think he had special help from Scuffy!!

We return to the dock and are then driven back to the ship tender. It was a great day, the skipper was fantastic and others on board who had sailed with him before say he is the best. We thank Daniela and her partner Wilfred for organising the trip. They also caught a number of big fish. When we get back the girls were worried as I told Ann I thought we would be back around 2 but it is now 4.30. We could not contact them and they had no details of the fishing trip. They had a lovely day washing clothes.

For dinner tonight we had another speciality restaurant, the Sterling streak house and it was another great night. Tomorrow we are at sea all day, so Ross will have time to recover from his strenuous fishing expedition!

Tromso

We all had a great sleep last night, could have been something to do with not drinking? Hope this doesn’t continue.

The weather is very cool and a bit breezy. We have purchased shuttle tickets to get to the city centre. We go to two museums, the Polar museum which is very informative on how the early trappers/hunters lived with exhibits of stuffed animals and the hunters utensils and weapons. The polarium was another museum which included a film on the northern lights and the wilds of the arctic. They had an aquarium which included fish and seals and a couple of king crabs. After the museums we headed back to the ship arriving around 1.40 and then had lunch. Bombed out at trivia again with 14. After trivia we head out on deck to view the sail away. Luggy loves to watch the untying of the ropes. I have a look at the other side and there is a tug boat preparing to help pull us away as their is another ship berthed in front of us and the wind is blowing us into the dock. 

I race back to the other side to let Ross know that Scuffy was on the other side. He quickly follows me and he is so excited to see Scuffy at work. Scuffy did a great job in pulling us out from the berth and Ross is so proud!

We head and inside to break our no alcohol fast! While relaxing with a drink we see Wilfred our fishing partner standing in line for the restaurant and on his phone. Turns out he was trying to contact me about meeting up tomorrow for our fishing trip. We agree on a time and place.

It is a beautiful sunny afternoon, a bit cool but lovely clear skies, hopefully promising for tomorrow.

Honningsvag

This morning (Saturday) we arrived in Honningsvag. It is fairly still, cloudy to overcast and cool but not as cold as yesterday. We expect a temperature of 15 degrees. There was a bit of movement of the ship overnight but we all slept well.

Honningsvag is the last town in the northern hemisphere and is only 1304 miles from the North Pole. We are told to prepare for four seasons in a day, so it feels like home. The town is bigger than we thought, although the population is only 3250, it seems bigger with houses and businesses. With our cruise ship the population has doubled.

We decided not to take tours to the North Cape as the wind could be howling with low cloud and fog. We thought it was not worth the money or risk so we would around the town and to the lookout. Their church was one of the very few buildings left standing after the nazis during world war 2 retreated and razed the whole area.

The weather is quite mild, no wind and no rain, maybe those who went to the cape had a good day. In any case we have enjoyed ourselves in Honningsvag.

We have now started having a regular coffee meeting around 3.15 which then leads into to trivia. Improved with 15 but 3 off the winners. We have had an alcohol free day today and for pre dinner drinks I had a Diet Coke while everyone else had No - Jitos an alcohol free cocktail. Luggy nearly chocked on the mint while sucking the dregs out of his drinks!

Our waiter was most surprised when we did not have wine at dinner, but we told him we would make up for it tomorrow night. After dinner there was going to be a sailway party but the weather did not cooperate so it was postponed.

We are at Tromso tomorrow.

Friday 24 August

Friday 24 August - At sea

Last night we dined at Sabatinis, one of the ship’s speciality restaurants. Kirk our travel agent paid for it and also supplied a free bottle of wine. We had a delicious meal and lots of laughs. After dinner we went to the show, The beatback beatles, another tribute band. Very disappointing, they missed chords, voices average, stage presence annoying and they referred to themselves as John, Paul, George and Ringo. Just slightly better than Tina Turnoff.

We have now crossed the arctic circle and the weather is cloudy and cold. We have a relaxing day at sea.

We have a sleep in and a late breakfast. The shops are open and there are sales so the girls have a wander round. At 12.15 we attend a lecture on the northern lights which was very interesting. It is too late in the season so we will not have that experience. We have lunch and then plan to meet up at 3 for coffees to stimulate our brains for trivia. We do ok with 14 but are 4 off the pace. We are happy though because the know all bastards didn’t win either. We sit around for a while and then decide to have a pre dinner pre dinner drink.

At dinner tonight there is a spectacular sunset we can just view from our table. There are beautiful red, mauve and blue colours. I must remember to bring my camera tomorrow night. 

We try the show after dinner by the Princess dancers and singers, but only last two and half songs. Dance routine very ordinary.

Trondheim

Thursday - Trondheim This morning we wake to cloudy skies as we sail into Trondheim. Felt the ship move around a bit last night but no one had any problems. Today is tipped to be partly cloudy with max. temperature of 17. We head off at 10, it is about a 15 min walk to the city centre. It is a pleasant walk from the pier. When we are in the sun it is quite warm, but cool in the shade. We visit the main sites of the Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palace and armoury, the old bridge to old town and the royal residence. 

In the old town they have a bike lift to help riders up a steep hill. You sit on your bike and place one foot on the lift and it takes you up like an escalator. There is a large sun dial in the city centre, but unfortunately that whole area is undergoing renovations, so we could only see the statue. 

The city is very picturesque and the water side very pleasant.  We get back on board at 12.30. Just in time for lunch!

We have been having a debate about tug boats ever since we saw smaller boats that are used to transfer the ropes to the mooring anchors. Ross has been calling them Scuffy the tug boat. We have insisted it is Tuffy the tug boat. Today was the first time we were able to check it on the internet and the answer Scuffy. Ross graciously accepted our apologies and moved on (NOT). He is a modest winner (NOT).

We are due to set sail for Honninsvag around 4.30. 

We have another go at trivia and end up with 15 out of 20. Some smart arse group won with 20.  We sail away at 5 pm. The captain gives us a run down on tomorrow where we can expect winds of 30 to 40 knots and a max temp of 12 degrees, he also said that at about 5 am tomorrow morning we we pass the arctic circle. He added that the further north we go there will be difficulty with the internet signal, so I may not be able to post for the next few days.

Geiranger

Last night we tried the show again. Peter Howarth the current singer with Hollies was performing. Apparently he also starred in the West End with the Roy Orbison story. He has been the hollies lead singer since 2004. He was great. Really good voice and very entertaining. Sang a few Hollies songs a couple of Roy Orbison and a cliff Richard song. It was so much better then Tina Turnoff.

This morning we have a short stop at Hellesylt and then on to Geiranger which is further up the fiord. It is cold and raining this morning but still spectacular scenery. We stop at Hellesylt for 90 mins. to allow some passengers to get off for their Princess excursions. They will meet up with us again at Geiranger. It is still raining and does not look like letting up. We slowly cruise into to Geiranger and do a 180 degrees turn and then back into our area. We tie up to two anchor points in the fiord and then the floating sea walk comes out to meet us. It is fascinating to watch, all up an hours worth of entertainment. Unfortunately it is still raining. The Lugg’s and Johnstones decide to get off while we stay on board.

By 3.30pm the rain has stopped so we get off to have a look around. It is a small area with shops and a waterfall. Those who went on tours may be disappointed as there would be little to no views with the overcast skies. It is a lovely sail out as we drink our wine on the balconies.

Tomorrow is Trondheim.

Tuesday 21 August Flaam

Yesterday we were at Stavanger. It was a bit cooler only reaching 18 degrees and a bit breezy. The ship is very stable with very little movement. We berth in a fiord right in the town. We have a cruise up one of the fiords to Pulpit rock. The boat is a large twin hulled vessel and it is quite modern. Comfortable seats and spacious interior with plenty of room up on top. While waiting in line we encounter queue police. An American woman who will not let anyone jump the queue. Her husband is an inspector gadget. He is wearing a fishing type vest and has dangling from it a torch, hand cleaner, rubber bands and other items!
The cruise up the fiord to Pulpit rock was fantastic - great scenery. It was a great day. After dinner the Johnstones and the Hoy’s went to the show- a Tina Turner tribute singer. We lasted 3 songs, she was not only crap but annoying. I forgot to mention on the sea day we attended an interview with Pete Best, the fifth beatle, he was fantastic.

Today we berth at Flaam, the scenery is even better than Stavanger. We are deep in the fiord and right beside the town with soaring rock faces on both sides. It is very picturesque. The sun is shining and the weather mild, hardly any wind. We head off on our train ride to MYRDAL. It is a great train ride as we head upwards, passing through tunnels and valleys. Incredible scenery and many waterfalls including one where we stop for 5 mins to take photos, an amazing sight. Back on board we have hamburgers for lunch. Our sail away is 4.30 and should be spectacular. Have plenty of photos to upload when the internet is more reliable. Luggy keeps saying he needs to stop eating as much, but that is all he does, he still keeps eating. The food is really good.

Still talking to each other and having a great time.

Sunday 19 August at sea

Had a great breakfast at the hotel, walked around the city for a while and made some last minute purchases (wine, drugs, etc). Checked out at 11 and walked to the cruise terminal. As we were early we have a bit of a wait to get on board. The cabins feel better laid out and the balcony feels slightly bigger. May only post every second day and no pictures as the internet is very slow and it is minute based.
We celebrate the start of this cruise with drinks on the balcony. Our dinner table is number 1. It is just inside the door but out of the way. Our waiters are friendly.
The weather in Southampton was mid 20s and today at sea we expect around 19. However the further north we go the the temps are predicted to fall. The seas have a bit of movement but the ship is stable.

Still talking to each other and having a great time.

Our curse strikes again with Kofi Anan.

Southampton

Ross amd Karen still missing!!!! Ha Ha just kidding, they arrived just before 8pm and were welcomed back. We celebrated in usual style with beers and hamburgers (except for Luggy who had a steak).  This morning we head off for second cruise it is a short walk to the cruise terminal so no transport worries.

Friday 17 August Southampton .

Last night we sailed under one of the longest bridges in the world, it runs from Denmark to Sweden and as the sun was setting it was a spectacular sight.
As we disembark our ship we notice there are still taxis waiting!   Never mind everything goes smoothly and our driver turns up and we are off to Copenhagen airport. It is self serve! We work it out pay our luggage fees and head off to wait for our departure. We have a couple of hours to kill.
Finally we get a gate number and head off, only to run into passport control. The Lugg’s pick the best line and are through, we change lines and finally get through, the Johnstones have the slowest line!
We then head off to check in and the Johnstones are stopped. It appears their flight is not the same as ours and is 3 hours after ours. As they have already checked their baggage through there is little point in trying to get on the same flight, but their ticket does not allow changes anyway.
Our travel agent has booked them on the wrong flight. They will have to find their own way to Southampton.
The flight is basic and fine, no audio, no food or drink unless you pay for it. We sail through passport control and pick up baggage straight away. We find our driver and are on our way. It is about 2 hours, our driver takes us a scenic route to avoid traffic jams. Southampton is quite a nice city very easy to get around. The hotel we are staying at is great. Very old but well appointed and walking distance to the cruise terminal. We hear Karen and Ross have landed and will get the bus. We expect them to arrive around 7.45 pm. It hasn’t been the same without them.

Thursday 16 August at sea

Today was a relaxing day at sea. A lovely sunny day and light winds and mid 20s. We were up late, and Ross, Karen and I went to a cooking demonstration by the head chef and the Maître D. It was very funny and entertaining. After lunch we have to pack to start our next leg. We discuss whether there will be an issue picking up a couple of cabs as there are conflicting stories about availability. In the end we decide to book a transfer. We have paid up front so hopefully they will turn up on time.
We were going to have an alcohol free day, but after packing we all felt the need for a beer.
As we draw this part of the journey to a close we are looking forward to the next phase. As an introductory cruise for Ross, Karen, John and Kaye it could not have been better. The seas have been very slight with minimal movement. The food plentiful and the wine drinkable. Can’t believe we haven’t even reached the half way mark.
Tomorrow we head to Southampton.

Hoy travel curse

Havent been prepared to call it in but now with Aretha Franklin dying I think the curse has struck again - Nicholas Betts (Kenyan Hurdler), Jarrod Lyle and the Queens physician.

Photos

Stockholm

Wow what a dinner we had last night. There were 8 of us, two Americans joined us and fortunately they understood our sense of humour. We had a great night. Each meal had a specially selected drink to accompany it and enhance the experience. The waiter would give an explanation of the dish and the wine to go with it. To start with we had a champagne cocktail that included apple vodka and other ingredients which went with our tuna tartare and golden caviar etc. Hope this gives you an idea of the standard because I can’t recall the details as we finished off with a few limencelos. Afterwards we had the balloon drop and listened to the music, ended up being a late night.

Today we head into Stockholm. Because the winds are light they are able to use the floating dock, which concertinas out to meet the ship. It is a 45 minute drive into Stockholm where we pick up our guide Cristina. It is a bit disorganised because there was a mix up with the starting time, normally the tour commences at 10, but all on the tour have 9 start. Hence the guide is late. We start off with city hall where the Nobel banquet takes place. Then we drive to another area and walk around. It seems a bit haphazard. We do get to see the start of the changing of the guard at the palace. After lunch we move on to the Vasa Museum and this is a highlight. In 1628 the Vasa sank on its launching and was salad aged in 1961. It is an awesome sight.
Stockholm is built on islands in the lake and around its river. As such it has many bridges, narrow laneways and a lot of work being done in the roads. Everywhere in Europe and Scandinavia we visit there seems to be road works going on.

We get back to the ship just before 4 pm. Tomorrow we have a sea day.

Helsinki

Today is Tuesday we think. We arrive in Helsinki around 7 am and it is a beautiful sunny morning, although quite cool around 9 degrees. We get up late after a big night last night. After dinner the girls went to look at the shops while John, Ross and I found a nice place to have a drink and listen to some music. Around 10.15 the Beatlemanics start up. They are playing below us on deck 5 in the atrium and we are on deck 7. They are fantastic playing Beatles songs and hair styles to suit. The girls come back and we have a great night with a couple of ports.
We decide to take the hoho bus as it has a stop right outside the ship. We have to wait around 20 mins for the bus to come but we board and are away. We plan to ride it from our stop of 10 to stop 19 (there are a total of 22 stops) so we can see some of the sights before we get off. It is quite cool so we stay downstairs. The traffic is heavy and there are a lot of roadworks being undertaken. After three more stops the bus is full and I mean really full! We debate whether to get off at stop 14 but there are so many people we would have to push through we decide to stay. More people get on, the aisles and stairways are full. We eventually get to our stop after about an hour and force our way off!
We walk to the rock church have a look around and then walk back to the main city area. It is a beautiful area and spend some time there walking around. Luggy has a donut and then Ann and I have a salted licorice ice cream which tempts Luggy and he grabs one also. They are very yummy.

After about an hour and half we head back to the hoho bus stop to head back to the ship. We arrive back at the ship at 2.30 to have lunch. Tonight is a formal night and we have purchased a Wine Cellar event where we have a special meal with matched wines, should be a good night.

St Petersburg Day 2

Meet up with Kate at 8. Smooth going through immigration, still no smiles. Today we start off with a canal boat ride and we get great views of the buildings from the water. The ride lasts about an hour and we end up at the Faberge Museum. An incredible array of faberge eggs, and other jewellery and gold and silver items. In the afternoon we go to Peterhof gardens. Incredible array of fountains amongst expansive gardens. We get back to the ship at 5pm and say farewell to Kate and St Petersburg, now for Helsinki.

St Petersburg

Wow, been a busy few days. Saturday we were in Tallinn, then Sunday and Monday in Russia, and both days have been hectic. The weather has turned a bit with the temperature barely getting into the 20s plus some rain during Monday.

We start early on Sunday, as we have been warned it may take some time to progress through the Russian immigration. We have to meet our tour guide at 8 am so we head off to the ship meet ing point at 7.10. The ship is coordinating the immigration process, our number is 138. The first group of 50 are called and barely 15 mins later we  are called. There are plenty of gates open and the lines have between 3 to 5 people lined up and we proceed through pretty quickly. The immigration officers are not very friendly. We find our tour and there are 15 of us with our guide Kate and driver Serg.

Kate gives us the rundown on what we will do and see today and warns us it will be a long day, she was not wrong. She is full of information and does not let up the whole day in telling us about the history of St Petersburg. Apart from the few Communist built buildings which are very bland, St Petersburg is a beautiful city with very large buildings and structures. It is very European in its outlook, and Kate informs us that Peter the great and the Romanoffs were inspired by the French style  and wanted St Petersburg to follow suit. We drive to the city and our first stop is to view a cathedral/church. The churches/cathedrals are Russian orthodox. They are magnificent inside and outside. There are no pews inside as everyone stands during the service. There is so much to see and we really only have time to get an understanding of what is here.

The winter palace is incredible in size, architecture, interior and its contents. We are warned not to get lost and we are very obedient in keeping Up with Kate. We visit the Church of our Saviour of the spilled blood, another magnificent building. After lunch we go to the Yusupov Palace, which is a huge mansion that was owned by the Yusupovs. This is also the place where a plot to kill Rasputin was planned and carried out. We eventually get back to the ship at 6pm. I could go on and on about what we saw and heard, but I need to do other things.

Tallinn

Today we have a walking tour of Tallinn, it is about a 20 minute walk from our ship to the town. Just after we berth two other ships arrive a Celebrity silhouette  and the Disney Magic. The town will be flooded with at least 10000 tourists. Tallinn is a lovely city with cobble stone roads and narrow streets. It is crowded. We start our tour at noon, and our guide is Miriam, she is chirpy and full of information. She takes us to all the key places and gives us a history of Estonia’s road to independence. She tells us that Estonians are very private people and as an example, a shy person when talking to someone would look at their own feet, they would not look directly at the person. Whereas an outgoing Estonian would look at the other persons feet.

Friday 11 August at sea

As we enetered our cabin last night I thought I heard thunder. I went out on the balcony and Ann and I saw a great light show with thunder and lightning. When I asked the rest of our group about last nights thunder, Luggy said he heard it but dismissed it as the ships rumbling.
Today was a quiet day sailing in beautiful sunny weather with a temp around 24 degrees. By afternoon the wind has picked up quite a bit and the ship is moving around a little bit, not enough to affect any of us. I warn them when they see sick bags placed on the stairs then we can expect some rough weather.
We have another go at trivia and score 16 out of 21. Not too bad but the winners had 19.

Ann has been having coughing attacks, she does not feel unwell, but can’t stop coughing when she starts. She was in two minds about attending the formal night as she did not want to inconvenience anyone. We convince her to come and she has a solution in that she will not talk. With note pad and a biro we head off and it is a hilarious night, between charades and note writing. We finish off dinner with a couple of baileys. Tomorrow we arrive in Tallinn Estonia.

Berlin photos

Berlin

This morning we are up early as we have to meet our tour between 7 and 7.30, so it is an early breakfast. The day promises to be a long and enjoyable one. Berlin is expecting 35 degrees. From the port of Warnemünde to Berlin it will take 3 hours, with a short break after about 2 hrs 45 mins. There are about 30 of us on this bus and we don’t pick up our guide until we get to Berlin. So no commentary on the drive but everyone is happy to doze and look at all the wind turbines.

Our first stop is at the Olympic stadium, built for the 1936 games. It is impressively stark and bleak. Our guide is Heather and she is from Pennsylvania, but has now lived in Berlin for 12 years. She is a wealth of information. It is hot and we have a busy day. We would have liked to spend more time at some sites, but then we would not have seen the number we did. Most of the time we were in east Germany, as this is where the historical sites are. We did have time at the Kaiser Wilhelm church which was destroyed by bombs but partially restored, and the French donated stained glass for the construction of a new church at the back of the old church tower, it was donated as a gesture of reconciliation. At night the church shines purple.

We then drive to the Reichstag and walk to the Brandenburg gate, an amazing place, from there we move on to the Holocaust Memorial, a truly somber area. There are 2711 stones all of varying sizes. Not one size is the same. The number is meaningless as it was the most they could fit into that area. The ground is undulating and as you walk through them the stones tower over you, it is left to your imagination as to what they represent. It is somber and impressive. We then move on to the site of Hitlers bunker, it lies underground below a car park area. It has been destroyed and filled in, there is only a sign to indicate it. From there we move on to checkpoint Charlie, moving back into West Germany. The soviet side has been completely demolished, but the small American hut remains.

We drive past a number of other landmarks and end up at the remains of the Berlin Wall. It was surprising as it was not that thick, but it was explained there was actually two walls, one to keep the East Germans in which was more of a fence and then 50 yard or more gap before the concrete wall, and the gap was heavily patrolled and was where the escapees came to grief. Where we were was also the excavated basement of the gestapo building, just brick walls, but there displays of people who had been captured, tortured and disappeared.

Our guide Helen was great giving us a lot of new information about those times and the impact on the current generation.

We board our bus at 4 for our return journey. After about an hour we pull into a rest area and our driver tells us his bus is playing up and we have to split up and go into two other buses. We all end up in a Chinese tourist bus. Luggy is approache by an American woman from our tour who is genuinely concerned we are being kidnaped. He reassures her and tells her he is pretty good in a fight!!!

We arrive back at the ship just after 7.30. A long but rewarding day. Tonight we have our special dinner and though tired we have a great night. Fortunately we have a sea day tomorrow and can sleep in.

Goodbye Oslo

Another great meal for dinner amongst great friends. After dinner we congregate on the balcony for the sail away. It is a spectacular sight sailing out of Oslo, but we expect better when we sail the land of the midnight sun.
We are at sea all day today and it is a bit breezy this morning, but the seas are still slight with little movement being experienced. No one is affected by sea sickness.

We do well at trivia with the full team with 18 out of 20 and tie for first, but are defeated on the tie breaker. The wind has died down by the afternoon, it is in the mid 20s and the sea is flat. We congregate on our balconies at 4.30 and enjoy wine, cheese and biscuits. You would think we were sailing the South Pacific, calm seas and warm sunshine. This area is also a busy shipping channel with a number of ships sailing by. Tomorrow we have our trip to Berlin, it is a 3 hour bus drive there and another 3 back. A long drive tomorrow.

Oslo

We enjoy are sail away with chocolate strawberries supplied by our travel agent Kirk. These are washed down with a couple of the bottles we brought on. “Wonder what the poor people are doing”

Our dinner time is 8pm ahd we head down to our table. We are on deck 14 and our dining area is on deck 6. We are guided to our table in a discreet area next to a window, it is a great location. After a lovely four course meal we are feeling pretty tired and we head back to our rooms at 10pm.

The sea is fairly calm with minimal swell and there is little movement of the ship. We all have a good nights sleep and are up and about by 7.30. We are moving in to Oslo through a narrow passage and are out on the balcony enjoying the views. We don’t dock until 9.30. After breakfast in the dining room we head ashore. Our  hop on hop cruise departs at 11.45 and we get off to visit some museums. After a 15 minute walk we reach the Viking ship museum, but it is a disappointment. There are large crowds there and from what we can see from the entrance there is one ship and maybe some artefacts, so we bail and head back. On the way back we stop off at the Kon Tiki museum and this was great. We get back on the ferry and head back to our ship, getting back around 3pm. Have a late lunch and call in on trivia. We are down to four as Karen and Ross have some minor issue to sort out with the office. They arrive back just in time to see us win with 15 out of 20 correct answers. We win very valuable wine stoppers. After a drink to celebrate our win it is time for a rest.

Some more photos

Danes are really tall.

Two little mermaids

Goodbye Copenhagen

Today we leave Copenhagen and board our ship to start a cruise. After much discussion last night with Luggy as to whether we are on a boat or a ship, I have explained to him that the difference is a ship can carry a boat, but a boat cannot carry a ship.

Prior to leaving our hotel we visit Rosenberg again as I have read that the changing of the guard start from there and March to Amaeliborg castle. We arrive just before 11.30 and watch some drill work and then the palace guards appear and start their march towards the castle.

It is a bit cool compared to the last few days but still in the 20s. We have a van booked for 1pm and it arrives on time and we are at the docks by 1.30 and on board by 2pm. We have all brought a bottle of wine with us and are singled out for a check. We are allowed to bring one each and the officer just smiles and says “you Australians.” It is a big ship!! We have lunch and a bit of a wander and then have a safety drill at 4.30. After the drill we go back to our cabins to enjoy some wine and the sail away.
Copenhagen has been great and we are glad we had the three days here, but we are excited about the next phase.

Photos

Some photos of Copenhagen