On Board in Kristiansand, Norway...

Sunday, April 23. Docked in Kristiansand. Slight fog, rained earlier. 12 C.

Home in 19 days.

We are about the same Latitude as Homer, Alaska; Whitehorse in The Yukon and St. Petersburg in Russia. So, we are in Northern Climes for sure and Spring is only emerging.

My mind has turned to Mush! 

We have been on the ship for almost four months now. During that time we have been in a 'Never-Never Land World’: An unreal situation. No work, no stress, nothing but good things on every front. One can go to all sorts of daytime activities, on Sea Days. Everything you ever wanted, from Bridge, Handicrafts, Adult Colouring [?], Origami, Exercise classes, Chinese Checkers, Trivia contests, Martini Hour, Mass each day, Ballroom Dance Hour, After Dinner entertainment or a movie and on and on it goes. They did have some interesting lecturers on board but they seem to have dried up some time ago. It’s a bit like being locked up on a 'Pleasure Ship', for me at least! Ports are a different matter entirely.

We don’t have to think about what to wear for dinner, we are advised, and have various options where to eat. We have to make minor decisions, but not much. There is nothing that could remotely be classified as productive involved, unless you go to Handicrafts and do crafts. Unfortunately I am 'Goal Driven' and need to do something productive every day, and love that life. That productive part of my brain has shrivelled from lack of use. That will be remedied hopefully in 19 days when we get involved in our busy family, home, garden and workshop life.

Fellette and I stayed aboard the ship today, purposely, we find no joy in stepping out of the comfort and unhurried life on such a day. A good book beckons me, a nap, along with catching up on email communications with some,  Fellette can find quiet comfort in many ways.

A Good Day…

Early in the day.

The day turned out OK after all, weather wise.

An interesting ship I thought. A Ferry, it can carry 500 cars and has accommodation for 1500 people, [about the same as this ship],but has six life boats while ours has about 12. Each cabin on that ship has a toilet and shower. It transports people and cars between Norway and The Netherlands.

My super-relaxed much younger wife!

Oslo, Norway...

Saturday, April 22. Docked in Oslo. Brilliant sunny day. 20 C.

Home in 20 days.

We have had very nice weather in the past several days. However we may be in for a bit of wet weather the next few ports, the three days after today in particular, time will tell.

Last night’s Dinner with the Prez. was an outstanding affair. Cocktails in the Crow’s Nest at 6:30, the dinner at the Pinnacle at 7:30. The service and food was lovely, however the whole affair seemed to go on forever. There was some foul-up in the kitchen on the main course, Filet Mignon or Fish, your choice. We never got out of there until 9:45 and we were amongst the first to leave. As a result of a late bedtime, we were grateful for the long sail in to Oslo up the fiord, or entrance, to Oslo with a pilot on board for four hours. The ship was finally cleared and people could go off at 11:35 in the morning.

We spent the morning enjoying the shorelines, on both sides of the ship, that looked the same as one would see in a BC Tourist Brochure. They are so beautiful that we have become immune to the beauty we see every day at home and don’t realize it as we have other things on our mind at home. Sad to say that. Some guests from spots all over the world who do not have mountains and water are fascinated by Mother Nature’s Beauty that we take for granted. Fellette enjoyed the morning reading, I took the opportunity to go to the gym and work on my arms and legs. Late nights do not agree with us!

After a quick bite to eat for lunch, we walked ashore. A short walk to a bustling happening place! My gosh, we were just outside the gate when a Hop-on-Hop-off Agent wanted to trade my Straw Fedora for his Hop-on-Hop-off cap. No sir!

Within a few minutes we are in a mass of humanity, all so young and healthy looking. My gosh, my spirits soared: there are young people out in the real world!!! There was an area where young virile Norwegian males would show off their muscular bodies and muscles on bars set up just for that. Females also seem so fit, blond, confident and darn good looking. [I cannot offer an opinion if the men are good looking.] All I know that everyone looks so young compared to our peers whom we have been living with for four months. My gosh, where did our lives go? It seemed only a few years ago we were somebody, but today, we were the Unseen Ancients: I felt.

After what seemed like an eternity we stepped back on the ship, shed our unneeded clothing and grabbed a cup of coffee that now tastes so good after a two month absence, I had another!

A Great Day…

Last night at the Prez Dinner Marathon.

Cruising up to Oslo this morning. You could swear you were fishing off of Horseshoe Bay or Sechelt. Lovely.

Artificial tree that has the leaves lined with LED lights, for nighttime ambience. Good old North Sea Oil that makes Norway the nation it is. Not part of the EU in some ways but has many EU benefits, as Denmark and Sweden.

Mr. Norway obviously!

Uninspiring architecture abounds here.

Youthful, good looking and well dressed people also abound here.

 

I was actually overwhelmed by the quality of the people here, of all ages. Just enjoying life on a Sunny, Spring, Saturday morning.

The Nobel Prize Building.

Yup, right in the midst of the happy people. Are we prudes?

Imagine living in these costly apartments and then renting a mooring for your boat. The High Life methinks.

Fit Folks strutting their stuff.

Back to our ship. We were overdressed it seems, too hot today as it got higher than forecast.

Copenhagen, Denmark...

Friday, April 21. Blue sky, 16 C. Docked in Copenhagen.  Home three weeks today.

"Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen" Danny Kaye used to sing so cheerfully.

We had a great day in this very Socialized and well run country and city. What can you see in one day in any city? Not much, but we covered what we had set as our goals in a decent time and without stress. It was a bit of a Sentimental Journey for me, retracing my steps of 1960 when I was here on our Vespa Motor Scooter Journey. Jerry and I could not afford to go into Tivoli Gardens then. Today, we wanted to see the Little Mermaid, just for fun, visit the Nyhavn area and visit Tivoli Gardens, plus, have lunch inside Tivoli, which was the inspiration for Walt Disney who apparently got his inspiration for Disneyland: in California, not Disney World, built later in Florida.

Fellette and I did all that and more. We had a couple of interesting conversations with residents as well. Both were from foreign Lands: Persia and Lebanon, decades ago, and so proud of their adopted country. Both were pleased with the way the country treats them, high taxes and all. He said they pay the high taxes with a smile in return for the Social Benefits. Very much like Canada I thought.

We did a lot of walking today, and took a couple of Taxi rides as well. 

We were back on the ship by 2:00, rested and did the blog before getting cleaned up for the Gala Evening with The Prez!

We got a surprise phone call from Wally this afternoon on his way to work at 6:00 am Vancouver time. Delighted to talk to him. Got caught up on work as well!

Oslo, Norway tomorrow.

A Very Good Day…

The Little Mermaid, all covered in tourists, eager to touch her and have their photos taken doing so.

A beautiful Spring day, apparently we were lucky to have such a day.

Europeans certainly love their cut flowers.

A Danish VC winner in WWII, a rarity methinks.

I do not think that Copenhagen got bombed, not sure: occupied, yes. Most buildings are rather plain, new and old, this one is an exception.

Coffee, the European way! Squinting and all. [Lots of blond ladies around here!]

63 years later I take my bride into Tivoli, in style! It was a very nice feeling for both of us. It is a very classy place. Not at all like Disney Land.

China Pavilion?

Indian Pavilion?

A real head-turner this beautiful old fashioned thing.

Note the upside-down roller coaster in the loop.

Tranquility Base!

Fellette thinks we should make a Giant Hanging Basket Support like this one.

A similar two seater Vespa,with luggage rack as we had in Copenhagen 63 years ago. Remember Keith?

A Fun City. This building is not even in Tivoli!

At Sea...

Thursday, April 20. At Sea, Copenhagen tomorrow. 8 C. Calm seas.

We sleep in our own bed in 22 days.

We do indeed have a busy two weeks ahead of us, so many ports in so few days. We have been afloat in this ship sailing in excess of 44,240 miles or 50,911 KM, for 107 days now. During that time we have not been in the Real World, not by my standards at least. There are some people on board who would like to be on a Cruise Ship all the time. I feel sorry that they do not have what I consider a 'Normal home life', but, I have to consider, that to them, life on a cruise ship would be ‘Normal’. Hmmm.

Confession Time:

In the almost four months at Sea, I have had some ups and downs and a couple of minor medical issues that have caused me some stress. As we get closer to home, those problems become almost not worth even thinking about. Things will get back to normal pretty soon at home, trust me!

One of my major ‘Hang ups’ on the cruise is the procedure of going on a Shore Excursion by Coach. You make your way to the Theatre and get a label that you stick on your chest, then sit in the theatre until your label number is called, you then make you way through the passageways with the crowds, check out of the ship, then make your way down the gangway, find your proper Coach and get a seat. Usually the front section is given to, or reserved for, those that have Wheel Chairs, Walkers, Scooters, difficulty walking, overweight or both. However, there are some self-centred physically abled people who are Speed walkers that worm their way to the front seats and ignore those who could really use a seat, near the front. I cannot help it, but those kind of people get my ire up.

Also, the other day, when getting off a coach after an hour ride to the Tulip Gardens in Amsterdam, there was a loud ‘Ugly American Style’ man seated in the back of the coach who tried to berate the passengers in front of the side door that “If you got on the bus from the front door you get off the bus from the front door!!!”. That may sound logical but the side door is 2/3 of the way to the back. Minutes later, when all 48 of us rallied near our guide when entering the Park, that man and another woman in our group had a face to face ugly confrontation that was an embarrassment to  see and hear.

Inasmuch as Coach Tours are one of my biggest hang ups, I am happy to report that Fellette and I only have one more Coach Tour to be on, and that is with a special tour for clients of the Travel Agent we used, and, the Coaches are usually not full. Also as we have some commonality between us all, we are also a more mellow group.

End of Rant!

The President of Holland America Lines is aboard and today gave a gutsy live talk to us passengers aboard. He did  a great talk, which is also a pep talk to die-hard annual World Cruisers. Then he did a ‘Question and Answer’. He has obviously done it before, but also before the Pandemic hit. That was a different world! He did OK on the question and answer questions but there were many, many comments on what people call Cutbacks. It is very obvious to anybody who has been on even one World Cruise, that this was a lame imitation of that wonderful crazy luxurious life before Covid. Those who may never have had a long cruise have nothing but good things to say about the voyage.

In my opinion, he admitted this 2023 World Cruise was an experiment that they had to try, and now they are getting the feed back. It did not go down well. It is their problem how to get out of the mess created by Covid. We will not be part of their solution. 

*** *** ***

Fellette and I, along with Jim and Gail, hope to go ashore, together or alone, in every port the next two weeks. Jim and Gail likely on more excursions, or longer walks than we will. Time will tell, any cold/rainy weather will determine a lot what Fellette and I do in that time. Regardless, it will be fun! 

A Good Day...

Amsterdam, Day 2...

Wednesday, April 19. Docked in Amsterdam. 14 C. Blue sky.

Day 106, 22 to go.

After a restless night we walked off the ship around 9:15 out into a windy Amsterdam, just to take in the hustle-bustle of this interesting city. It is not an easy thing to do because of the number of silent rolling missiles that sneak up on you, these are called Bicycles! Missiles from hell they are! Also the silent motorcycles and other wheeled projectiles that have a right of way over mere walkers. Silent trams, coming out of nowhere also add to the excitement. 

It felt wonderful to be out into such a vibrant and efficient society and so many young healthy people full of life and excitement. We walked past a River Cruise embarkation and disembarkation spot. Several long River Cruisers were tied up where passengers of several European countries were boarding or disembarking. There, we did see some elderly passengers wheeling their bags behind them, going or coming to the train station to head home on the very efficient train system that exists in Europe. Taxis and dogs were conspicuous by their absence.

Last night on our ship, the Holland America Line President was aboard and will be with us till Friday at least, in Copenhagen. Apparently it was quite a show on the Top Deck. All the preparation was done in two days but it was disassembled and virtually gone shortly after breakfast today. The ship was crawling with holland America mucky-mucks and hangers on this morning. It is obviously a Big Deal as the Company celebrates its 150th Anniversary of being in business, originating as a freight shipping company, and then added people to the mix. It played a big part in the beginning of the 20th century when people were coming to the Land of opportunity and freedom, the USA!

We have 12 ports yet to cover in 16 days before we start the six day crossing to Fort Lauderdale. Busy days coming up but a Sea Day tomorrow, fortunately.

A Lovely Quiet Day In Amsterdam...

Lots of fun stuff close at hand.

Elephant Beer. From Belgium I believe. Dynamite!

River Cruise Ships: You can sail from here to the Black Sea In Romania. We did it years ago, ending in Amsterdam. Three weeks, wonderful. 150 passengers, roughly. One similar ship across from us left this morning and another pulled in an hour later.

Man that coffee tasted fantastic this morning. Hat and scarf were needed, cold out!

Amsterdam is all about the water.

Impressive old buildings, difficult to get to because of canals and bridges.

Bikes everywhere.

Keep your eyes open and don’t step into a bike lane!