Epilog

Epilog: Time to Reflect

Our trip to Europe is now finished.  The clothes are unpacked, washed and put away.  We

A handheld GPS can really help you get around

have signed papers on the sale of the house.  We have paid all of the bills that piled up during the month we were gone. We are still waking at 4:00 AM and hope we get over the jet lag soon.  All of the blog entries have been posted.

We would like to share some raves, rants and observations from our trip.- John and Donna Mollan

Rants:

·         Airlines should have a “screaming baby” section apart from the general public.
·         Subways and train stations should have elevators or escalators to accommodate people with mobility issues.
·         With just a tiny bit of effort, most hotels could be wheelchair-friendly.
·         Charging for tap water in a bottle at fancy restaurants really sucks.
·         Taxis should take credit cards.  When first arriving in a country, don’t expect visitors to have Norwegian or Icelandic Kroners or British pounds.
·         Train stations and shopping malls would do well to have non-pay toilets.  Not all travelers carry the local coinage on first entering the country.
·         If you carry only an American Express card, you will have problems in many places.
·         Why can’t the English figure out modern plumbing?
·         Major train stations need to have someone who can really answer questions.
·         People who require assistance with luggage on intercity and international trains are out of luck.
·         None of the places we stayed had an adequate number of electrical outlets.
·         Perhaps I made some bad selections, but some the Belgian beer I tried was unpalatable.
·         Why is the English spoken by the Norwegians and Dutch easier to understand than that spoken by the English?
·         Brussels could use more road signs and directional markers.
·         Would it be too much trouble for hotels to run courtesy vans?
·         Why did we get strange looks from the hotel staff when we asked for ice in our room?
·         Norway is very expensive.  A simple woman’s haircut would run you at least $70, without styling.
·         Europeans smoke everywhere.
Why is it the nearly everyone is taking selfies?
·         Nobody wants to stamp your passport any more.
·         Much of the Wi-Fi, especially the expensive kind on the ship, was unreliable and slow.
·         Your American cell phone won’t work here without special stuff.
·         Be aware that some grocery stores do not supply bags.

Raves:   (commendations)
·         Say what you will about the French, but without exception, they were courteous and helpful.
·         On every type of conveyance, in each country, at least one person offered to give up their seat to Donna without being asked. Kudos!
·         Many of the pedestrian walk lights give you a digital count-down.
·         The Paris subway system is wonderful, once you figure it out.  We were among the few senior couples traveling on it.
·         The cruise port at Harwich is, perhaps, the most efficient operation of its type we have ever encountered.

• Taxes are included in the price you pay. There is no added sales tax.
• Tips are not expected for normal service at restaurants and taxis.
• Alesund Norway is beautiful, uncrowded and un-touristy.  
• What a pleasant surprise!Take the river cruise on the Seine and the canal cruises in Amsterdam.

·         The best kind of food in Paris, is simple French food.  If you want Lebanese or Greek food here, you take your chances.
·         Belgian chocolates are every bit as good as they claim to be.
·         Norway continues to be stunningly beautiful.
·         The crossing from Holland to England on the Stena Line ferry was an interesting experience.
·         With the exception of Iceland, reminders of the Holocaust kept popping up everywhere.
·         Overseas flights still include meals and no baggage charges.  (I wish they included leg room!)
·         Bergen, Norway is still wonderful.
·         There are tiny cars in Europe that make Smart Cars look spacious.
·         Norway and Iceland are relatively crime-free and quite clean.

Comments:
·         John was not solicited by prostitutes in Amsterdam, nor did either of us show any interest in purchasing cannabis at a local “coffee shop.”
·         Everybody is on a cell phone all the time.  Even bicyclists in heavy traffic were texting away.
·         If you don’t watch carefully when you cross the street in Amsterdam, you will get run down by a bicycle, motor scooter or tram (streetcar).
·         The North Sea lives up to its reputation for nasty weather.
·         Drop your laundry off at a neighborhood laundry and have it done for you.  Don’t waste a valuable day of your vacation watching washers spin.
·         Iceland is about the size of New Mexico.  Don’t try to see even a fraction of it in one day.
·         It appears that a majority of workers in England are of Indian origin.
·         Brussels has many interesting things to see, once you find them.
·         While we speak neither Dutch nor French, we were able to read many menus and signs using our knowledge of Spanish and Norwegian.
·         Klaksvik, Faroe Islands, was the only place we saw no graffiti.
·         When you consider the security lines and wait time, it is faster to travel from Paris to Amsterdam on the high speed rail, than it is by air.  You also travel from city centers.  A notice on your rail tickets requests that you be there two minutes before departure.
·         If Paris was only a three hour trip from here, I would travel there several times each year.
·         Don’t waste your time eating at American fast-food places when traveling overseas.  When in Rome…
·         There appeared to be an absence of older people on the streets and on public transportation.
·         It’s really hard to spell Reykjavik correctly.
·         The USA really needs high-speed rail travel.
·         In the Faroe Islands, many shops don’t open until 1:00 PM.
·         You never know what you will have to take off when you go through airport security.
·         Set one of your watches for local time and keep the other on home time.
·         Skype or Facebook can make calling home easier and much cheaper.
·         If you haven’t shed tears at least once during your travels, you haven’t really been there.
·         Always have a second way of taking pictures, other than just your phone or camera.
·         Read at least one book on art history before you leave home.
·         Pack dark clothing.  They will keep clean longer.
·         Be sure to pack a voltage adapter.  Europeans use different voltages and plugs.
·         Pack lightly.  You can buy toothpaste in Europe.
·         Bring your Ziploc bags to breakfast and you won’t have to stop for lunch.
·         A handheld GPS will get you back to your hotel.
·         Take a screenshot of the maps on your smart phone and you can use them, even when offline.
·         Consider using hop on and off style buses to give you an orientation to a new city.

The Longest Day

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

The Longest Day

“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” - Yogi Berra

Sunrise over Harwich harbor, August 10

We landed in Harwich, our original point of departure, early on the morning of August 10, grabbed a quick snack at the buffet and were soon off the ship.  We were surprised that we didn’t have to go through customs or immigration.  Perhaps it was because the UK is part of the European Union.  We delivered our bags to the motor coach (translation: bus) that Royal Caribbean had chartered and headed toward Heathrow Airport, a trip of several hours on the motorway. 

Although we have been to a number of countries that drive on the left side of the road, it always sets us a bit off balance to see vehicles pass on the right and take roundabouts in the opposite direction.  The UK and Ireland are the only two countries in Europe that follow this model.  The motorways that we followed did not allow much in the way of scenery, most being screened from the countryside by rows of trees and shrubs.

We were soon at Heathrow, where our driver deposited us at terminal 2.  It has been many years since we were in this airport and the strangeness of this huge complex had us totally baffled.  Our first intention was to go the British Air counter to get our seat assignments and boarding passes for our Tuesday morning flight.  With forty or more airlines serving this terminal, it was soon apparent that we were in the wrong place. With persistence, we finally got some help and were directed to Terminal 5, which could be reached by an underground train.  With the assistance of a number of airport employees, we found the train and reached the correct terminal, where BA was the only carrier.

We, again, required assistance for information and finally got our seat assignments.  Thank God they speak English there!  We grabbed a taxi and headed to our hotel, which advertised itself as being only two miles from the airport.  This may be true, but since Heathrow occupies more real estate than a few small countries, it took us a while to get there.  Our taxi fare was 20 pounds, the most costly of our entire trip, and the driver did not take foreign currency or credit cards.  Donna exchanged $40 at the hotel desk, was able to pay the driver and had a few coins left over.  Apparently, the hotel made a fair amount on the exchange.

We would have to stay overnight and then catch our flight the next morning.  Our room was just big enough for the bed and one suitcase.  It reminded us of some cruise ship cabins.  Oh, well we would only be there overnight.

During our European trip, we were informed by our Realtor that an offer was made on our home on Anderson Island.  We corresponded this entire time by e-mail, although connections were spotty, especially on the ship.  Since the house had been up for sale for over two years, we could not hold back our excitement and apprehension.  Fortunately, everything fell into place (after some additional outlay of money) and it appeared that the house would close a week after our return home.

Even though the trip and cruise were fantastic, we really wanted to be back home to take care of the details of the home sale.

Tuesday would be the longest day of our lives.  Since England is eight hours ahead of the Pacific Time zone, the total length of August 11 would be 32 hours!  We reached Terminal 5 by shuttle bus (and at less than half the fare of the taxi), checked through security, took another Heathrow subway, and were able to board the giant double-decker Airbus that would be our home for the next 12 hours. The airliner was well equipped with video screens and other features, but legroom was not one of them.  John mad the error of not defending his legroom properly and had his knees pinned for much of the trip as the passenger in front of him reclined his seat soon after the flight began. All in all, the flight was tolerable, especially when considering the year or so it would have taken our ancestors to travel this distance; London to Los Angeles, via Cape Horn, in the hold of a square-rigged sailing ship.

Tired, but excited we reached LAX (Los Angeles) at about noon, only a bit behind schedule. We worked our way through immigration, rechecked our undamaged bags for Seattle and tried to find our way over to the Alaska Airlines terminal.  Of all the airports through which we travel, LAX tops the list for confusion and poor design.  Although dog-tired and only through tenacity and mutual support, we were finally able to find our way over the correct terminal, only to find that we, again had to work our way through airport security!

home again, home again

We boarded the Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle and exited the plane shortly after 6:00 PM, nineteen hours after boarding the Airbus at Heathrow.  Arriving at baggage claim, we discovered that the extension handle on our largest bag had been broken somewhere between LAX and Sea-Tac!  This awkward, oversize, 50 lb. tan suitcase had survived three airplane trips, a ferry ride, a cruise, four intercity train trips, countless taxi and bus rides, five hotel rooms and numerous types of abuse, being hauled up and down various staircases, only to be put out of its misery by the baggage bashers at
Alaska Airlines.  Rest in peace.  You’ve done gallant service.

Twenty eight days after the day of departure, we picked up our car from the parking lot. Driving through light traffic, we pulled into our driveway in Lacey, opened the front door and were greeted by our cat, Ocho at 8:00 PM, August 11, exactly 24 hours after waking in London that morning, definitely our longest day!

Choppy Seas on Way Back--Saturday August 8th

August 8th, Saturday-At Sea
Today was a sea day from Iceland south-east in the north Atlantic, heading toward the coast of Scotland. We awoke to stormy seas and rain as we headed back toward the UK. There are no more post days so we are glad that the choppy weather waited until our return trip. We were so lucky to get great weather in all of the ports.
Since it is a sea day, we know it to be a work day for us. We were surprised to learn that we only were only scheduled to present a show today as our Sunday show is cancelled due to a scheduling conflict in the show lounge. We rehearsed in our stateroom in the morning where we were definitely feeling the rolling of the ship in this choppy North Sea conditions.
We attended the Captain's Corner presentation and listened to the senior officers explain the workings of this lovely ship and answer questions from the audience. We always learn something new at these shows and we were not disappointed. 
By the time of our show at 2pm, we were actually surprised to see the large crowd in the audience as

many of the guests were hunkered down in their staterooms due to sea sickness. It was very rocky with 80mph winds across the decks. All of the outside decks were closed.
We had some computer problems during the start of the lecture which added to our stress from the weather conditions but we worked our way through them. We were both stressed but did not show it as we know that regardless, the show must go on. We announced that the Scandinavian trolls that we saw so often in each port must have taken over our computer since the audio did not work at the start of the show and then started working as the show continued. By the ending of the show, we were happy that our Sunday show had been cancelled as we weren't sure what the trolls might do if we had to present another show.
After our show, we retreated to the stateroom for a few hours to relax after the computer stress during our show. Tonight was a formal night but neither of us had the desire to get all dressed up and go to the dining room so we picked up a snack at the snack bar in the Solarium. We attended an excellent production show of tango dancing. We were surprised at how well the dancers did with the rocking of the ship. It was beautifully executed with the dancers tossing each other around and never missing a step or dropping one of the dancers!
We went to bed early as it was easier to do than to try and walk around the ship with the rock and roll conditions. Tomorrow is the final day at sea so we will be relaxing and packing our suitcases in preparation for disembarkation early on Monday morning. We are scheduled to leave the ship by 7 am in Harwich, England and then board a bus for a couple of hour trip to London's Heathrow airport. We are staying overnight near the airport as we

80 mph headwinds across the deck.

have a very long non-stop flight to Los Angeles and then a shorter flight to Seattle. We are both ready to return home after this wonderful month away.

Farewell to Iceland

August 7, 2015
Our time in Iceland was short.  Although the days were long, we only had a limited time to see the many wonders the island. 

We heard some wonderful tales about Iceland's past, many of which were told with a sparklingly dry Scandinavian wit.  By the end of the hour, the musician-storyteller had most of the audience singing along.

fishing nets at dockside

Our ship was in port all night Thursday night,  we decided to enjoy the Icelandic entertainers who were scheduled to perform on our ship at 10:00 PM.  We certainly made the right decision.  The entertainers, most of whom were from the same family, had a wide range of materials, including songs and stories about Iceland.  Some of the songs that the packed theater enjoyed were in English.  Others were sung in Icelandic. 
We awoke at 6:30 on Friday morning, had our breakfast at the Windjammer Cafe and prepared to go ashore, knowing that we must return to the ship by 12:30.  As we stolled out onto an open deck, we were met my a blast of frigid air from the. North.  This caused us to reasess our plans.  We were told that most of the shops in Reykjavik would not be open at an early and there was really not much to do there.  We decided to visit a small dockside souvenir shop and pick up a few items.  The rest of the morning was to be spent refining our next show and relaxing on the solarium deck.

something about strangled bananas?

We may have made a wise decision staying onboard.  Ten minutes before thè gangway was scheduled to be pulled, seven names were called on the ship's intercom.  Apparently these were passengers who had not checked in.  The time for All Aboard passed and, at the last minutè, we spotted three individuals making a dash for the ship from one of the buses.  We never did find out what happened to the other four.
About two hours after our departure, as we were putting our two miles in on the ship's decks, we heard an announcement on the intercom that the ship would be stopping for a helicopter lift for a medical emergency.  The copter hovered over the landing zone for a while and then the patient was hauled aboard. We have witnessed this a few times previously, but it is still quite unusual.
The evening show was hilarious. It was called Graffiti Classics and it was four string players who were not only very talented classical players but they combined their playing with a very funny comedy bit. It reminded us of the old Victor Borge shows that we saw years ago onstage in Portland Oregon.
Two more days with no more ports means two more shows for us to present to the guests. We are looking forward to presenting our shows and also to be preparing to return to our home on Tuesday.

Sunshine in Iceland...A Nice Surprise!

Aug 5-6 Cruising north to Iceland 64 degrees north
Wednesday Aug 5 was a sea day and therefore a work day for us. We rehearsed our afternoon show in the morning and presented it in the main theater at 2 pm. We had a nice sized crowd and they seemed to enjoy our show about the great Danish author that we all remember from our childhood, Hans Christian Andersen.
In the evening, we attended the show featuring a hypnotist. We usually don't care for that kind of show but this one was ok. Just ok not great. He hynotized 16 people from the audience and then had them perform various silly tasks.
On Thursday, our ship docked in the harbor of sunny Reykjavik Iceland.We had never anticipated sunshine in Iceland but the day was perfect. This is our final port of call and we will overnight here. This industrial port is about 2 miles from the city center so the only way to go into town is by excursion or taxi as it is not an easy walk to town.

lava desert

Kari surprised John with a great birthday gift. She emailed to us that she had purchased admission and transportation for both of us to the famous Blue Lagoon. The bus picked us up at 10am and the drive took about 45 minutes to arrive at its destination. This well know tourist attraction seems to be the drawing point for every tourist as it was very busy. The lagoon itself is quite large so it didn't seem crowded to us. They have it so well organized with digital wristbands that lock and open the locker where you leave your clothes and store the bands as you exit. The water was very nice at a temperature around 100 degrees. Even with a breeze the lagoon felt very relaxing. Thanks for a great gift, Kari.
We came back to ship on the bus. It was a large tour bus and the driver asked each person where they wanted to be dropped off and he accomodated everyone. Some wanted to go to the city and others to hotels and some of us wanted to come back to the ship. He made a list of everyoone's destination and drove each of us there.
We had a late lunch and then relaxed in the solarium. It was actually warm enough to change into shorts for the first time since embarking on the cruise.
On Friday, we will still be in port until noon so after breakfast, we will take a shuttle bus into the city and see what is happening in this very modern looking capital city. This is the farthest north capital in the world  and the most northerly point that we have ever been so that is somewhat

Donna at Blue Lagoon

exciting.

On the Way to the Faroes

August 3-4, 2015
Klaksvik, Faroe Islands
We spend the entire day of August 3 crossing the Norwegian Sea.  This stretch of the North Atlantic stretches from Norway to Iceland and is infamous for its stormy weather during all seasons.  We were quite fortunate that the seas were moderate.  While there were many breakers and whitecaps, the wonderful design of the Brilliance of the Seas made for a smooth, pleasant crossing.
I can't ever think about the Norwegian Sea then to think of the horrors faced by the mèrchant seamen during the Second World War as they passed through this area.  Under the terms of the Lend-Lease Act, our ships were attempting to supply our Soviet Allies which much-needed supplies and arms to fight off the Nazi invasion of thier country.  The supplies were bound for Murmansk, a port in the Arctic, directly east of Finland.  As they crossed this stretch of ocean, they were subject to attacks from wolf packs of German U-boats.  As they got further north, German bombers based in Norway put many of these convoys under constant attack. Fortunately, we are in a time of peace now and our ship was able to pass this killing ground without having watch for periscopes and enemy aircraft.
We made our third, and most successful presentation, "Fire and Iceland" at 2:00 got many wonderful comments from the guests following the show.  The comments mean a lot to us and encouraged us to do even better.

"Wool is the gold of the Faroes."

Monday was a formal night and Donna looked beautiful in her outfit.  We were also invited to a special reception. With the captain following dinner, which was quite elegant. The evening's show featurèd a singer, Lorraine Brown, whose talent owned the stage, beginning with her first song.

The Faroese celebrate their Viking ancestry.

John enjoys birthday cake and local brew in Klaksvik

Tuesday, August 4, was John's birthday and we were in the snug little port of Klaksvik, in the Faroe Islands.  This Atlantic outpost is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and has a total population of 50,000 Faroese, most of whom are of Viking descent.  With nasty-looking rain clouds looming, we donned our woolens and anoraks and headed into the town. We were pleased by the simplicity  Therè were few tourist attractions and within two hours, we were able to walk from one end of the town to another.  We stopped by a gift shop and for birthday cake and a beer before returning to the ship for lunch.  Fortunately, the weather held for us and we relaxed in the afternoon in the Solarium Deck.

Norway in Three Days--July 31-Aug 2

We have been having some technical difficulties with the computer emails here on board the ship so this is a combined posting on Norway from our wonderful three days. We will not try to post photos here as it seems easier to do so on our fb pages. When we arrive home, we will update the blog with photos.
Friday, July 31...We arrived in the beautiful city of Bergen on Friday morning and were off to

enourmous crab in the fish market

explore the city as soon as the ship was cleared. We try not to schedule any shore excursions in most ports as we we find that it is much more interesting to just start walking and exploring the ports on our own. We had been to Bergen many years ago so we were somewhat familiar with this lovely city so we just started to walk up and down all of the streets and canal walks. This Hanseatic City is extremely picturesque with its variety of colored buildings that hug the waterways. There were some other ships in port so the shopping areas were bustling with tourists like ourselves. We darted into a few shops to look for some me

Bergen alleyway

mentos for our travel shelves at home and found somethings that we liked. We first changed some of our Euros to Norwegian krone but made sure that we didn't get more than we knew we could spend during the three days in Norway.
Most of the day in Bergen was sunny with the exception of a little rain in the early morning as we made our way through the fisketorvet (fish market) area. It was surprisingly nice weather for the remainder of our day of exploring. We did a complete circle of the downtown area before returning to the ship with tired feet from about 7 miles of walking. The rest of the afternoon was spent on board ship. We relaxed and did not participate in the ship's activities as we don't really enjoy the rather silly competitions and games that are provided for the guests. Maybe we have become rather tired of them after 45 cruises.We usually enjoy the evening shows and were not disappointed with the group of musicians/singers that were on stage that evening. They were a British group called the Zoots and they did great Beatles music.

Saturday, August 1...Dawn broke and we had traveled to Alesund, Norway, a smaller town north of

Alesund - stunningly picturesque!

Bergen. We were pleasantly surprised at just how charming and large this city was. We had expected a small town but found that this is a mid-sized city with hardly any tourism. It is a quiet city that was completely destroyed in a massive fire in 1904 and was rebuilt completely within 3 years in an Art Nouveau style. It is absolutely prestine with its rosemalling on the buildings and the canals lined with a variety of buildings all in the same style but in a variety of colors.
We walked for another 6+ miles all over the city, which is built on hillsides with canals cutting through the city at many places. Lots of steep hills that afforded spectacular views from each hilltop.  We walked up to the the maritime university and throughout the lovely neighborhoods and were pleasantly surprised at not only the beauty of the buildings but also how quiet and non-touristy it was. What a nice change to the busy port of Bergen.
After returning to the ship, we decided to try some email and were shocked to see that our computer was displaying a rather ominous warning message that would not disappear, warning us of a critical problem! Since we still have 4 shows to present on board, it was rather stressful for us to se that our computer might not be useable. We know that we have everything backed up on an external hard drive and also a flash drive but we still  hope that all will be ok at today's show.
We went to a movie to try and forget about the computer problem and saw "The Theory of

Alesund is an active fishing port.

Everything". This is an excellent story of Steven Hawking and a film that we had wanted to see. We then attended the first of three production shows presented by the ship's singers and dancers. They did a great job. Off to bed with apprehension about the computer!
Sunday, Aug 2...John decided to do a restore on our computer this morning and brought it back to early July. This eliminated the warning message that had taken over our computer screen. We hope that all will work on the computer but we decided to only use the computer for our shows and do the emailing, etc here on the tablet or on the cell phone.

Our ship in Geiranger Fjord

Octagon Church on a Sunday morning

kaffe! Ja da.

Our ship cruised through one of the loveliest fjords in Norway, Geiranger Fjord. We did not get up at predawn to see this as we knew that we would been reversing the trip later in the afternoon as we exited the fjord so we could enjoy the scenery then. On ship docked in the small village at the head of the fjord and we spent the day wandering up the hills to see the spectacular views of the town and the fjord. The scenery was unbelievably gorgeous in every direction we looked as we climbed the steep hills up to the octagonal church sitting high above the town. The weather again surpised us with only a few drops of rain so we have felt very lucky in Norway. Guess the trolls have supplied us with unusually dry conditions for all three ports in Norway.
We did find a place to spend a few kroner, as john ordered a cup of wonderful cup of kaffe in perfect Norwegian.  This was nowt easy, since nearly all Norwegians speak flawless English.
We finished or 6+ miles of walking in this charming farming community back at the ship. We found an excellent place to park our tired feet in the solarium and watched as we slowly sailed out the fjord passing numerous waterfalls and farms perched high on the hillsides. There didn't seem to be any roads leading to many of the farms, so we surmised, that the people rowed their boats to the shore and then hiked up to their farms, many seeming to be very high up the mountainsides above the water. What a different life than what we are used to. This fjord reminds us of many in Alaska but not as rugged or snowing as the Alaska arms. It was fun to stay up and see that the sun still had not set by 10 pm when we made our way to our stateroom. Goodbye to Norway and off across the Norwegian Sea to the Faroe Islands.

A Night at Faulty Towers

July 29 2015

Aboard Brilliance of the Seas off Harwich, England

A Night at Faulty Towers

Imagine an English hotel-apartment that was built along the seashore in the 19^th Century and had all the appearance of a classic inn.  Now imagine that after entering this place with a skeleton-type key you noticed a random collection of furnishings from IKEA and other odd sources that looked dreadfully out of place. 

Upon entering the kitchen, you noticed a strange amalgam of appliances, a few utensils and other items that you could not figure out.

Notice how tub fills from ceiling.

Our recent visit to this Essex “hotel” brought the British sit-com Faulty Towers to mind.  Our first impression upon entering the hallway that doubled as an office was “Is this really a hotel?”  Upon check-out the following morning, the question remained.  If there was an academy award for disorganization, this place would win, hands down.

The bedroom was located on the second story, accessible via a narrow, winding staircase that lacked even rudimentary safety rails.
The upstairs bath had “design” features that must have come from a mental patient.  The proprietor, a senior lady, pointed out that, in order to use the modern bathtub, you had to turn on two wall faucets, whereby the water would fill from a nozzle located in the ceiling eight feet above the tub!  The apartment also had a stall shower, complete with crumbling tiles and an odd array of horizontal spray nozzles, but no conventional overhead shower head, just a round grille in the ceiling with holes in it.  Upon using this novel shower the next morning, we would realize that the overhead shower had inadequate pressure to rinse Donna’s hair.  Furthermore, possibly due to some loose shower tiles, water dripped down the staircase when the shower was being used.

The ponds in the garden were covered with what appeared to be, green slime.  It was obvious that no outside maintenance had taken place this year.  I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

a beautiful morning stroll along the Harwich promenade

The breakfast, which was included, consisted of an odd array of items served by a young woman, who obviously never worked in a restaurant.  The food, while decent, was an strange selection of items.

classic Tudor-style homes

After breakfast, we took a wonderful morning walk along Harwich’s picturesque beachfront for about an hour.  Quite a few dog-walkers were enjoying the brisk, sunny day and we marveled at the variety of architecture from the ocean-view homes.  A few reminded us of Toad Hall.  Many had as many as 26 chimneys. 

We finally packed our bags and our taxi picked us up and transported us to the cruise port.  We were surprised by the efficiency and courtesy shown to us by the port staff and we were able to board right away, without any delay. 

We were pleased by our stateroom on the Brilliance of the Seas, located at the very bow of the ship, right behind the bridge and on the starboard side.  It was an inside room, but it seemed larger than those we were used to.

We met with our contact with the cruise staff and found out that we had been scheduled for two presentations on the next day, something that rarely happens.

This is really a multinational cruise, with 1000 Brits and about half as many American passengers.  We also had large contingents of Canadians, Germans,Asians and Israelis.

Now off to bed and ready for work the next day.

Holland to England

July 28, 2015

Leaving the Continent

Today would be an interesting day of travel for us.  We checked out of our wonderful Amsterdam hotel early in this blustery morning to catch the ferry to England.  Our Dutch taxi moved effortlessly through the morning traffic to the station where were scheduled to take the train to Rotterdam and then make connections  Our timetable showed this as a 30 minute trip, while the same trip four days before and taken us 90 minutes. Little we realize that we were booked on the high-speed Thalys for the first leg.  Unlike Brussels, Amsterdam has elevators that make train travel a pleasure.

We had ridden the same train from Paris to Brussels and marveled at the speed and comfort.  We even found a place to stow our large suitcase!  The helpfulness of the train passengers all over this part of Europe is amazing, since trains in this area don’t check luggage or have porters.

We were soon in Rotterdam and waited a short time for the local train to Hook of Holland, where we would board our ferry. The train ride was a run of less than 20 miles and stopped every mile or two, a real “milk run.”

The Hollandia, our ferry

Our stop in Hook of Holland was at a vacant station in an industrial port area.  We spotted our ferry about a block away.  We found the nearly-empty passenger terminal, checked our baggage and waited to board the ship.  When we hear the word “ferry,” we visualize a rather small craft.  The Stena Line’s Hollandia, by contrast, is an oceangoing ship, complete with staterooms and the ability to carry hundreds of cars and trucks. Kari had reserved us space in a first-class passenger lounge and we enjoyed the six hour crossing from Holland, across the English Channel and North Sea, to Harwich, in Essex.

The weather was not pleasant, but the crossing was uneventful.  Although the vehicle decks were packed, there were very few walk-ons, like us. 
We eventually reached the terminal, went through a rather awkward disembarking and unorganized, but we caught a British taxi which brought us to our quirky hotel. 

An Emotional Dutch Day

Monday was our last full day in Amsterdam before we leave the continent and our "vacation" part of the trip. Today, Tuesday we depart for England and our working part of the month's adventures. We have experienced so many extraordinary sights and things during our first 13 days abroad and now look forward to our days on the cruise.  We will board the ship from Harwich England tomorrow and cruise for another 12 days. (Our email probably may not be very reliable so we may not have the ability to blog each day but we will catcch up when we have a connection).

As the title of this day suggests, it was an emotional day for us. Not only was it the finish of our exploring on our own in Europe but it was the day of a tour that we had planned for a long time. Since the first day that we started to work with Kari, we knew that when we were in Amsterdam we would want to spend some time walking in the footsteps of the numerous people who had sadly lived and died during WWII suffering the atrocities brought forth by Nazi Germany when they marched into Amsterdam. We both were very familiar with Anne Frank's life and knew that many other Jews had been torn from their homes in Amsterdam and sent to their deaths at the hands of the Nazis when they invaded this and other cities. But we had not realized the great amount of Jews that had lived in this beautiful city prior to and after the war. There were  over 100,000 Jewish citizens in this city prior to 1940 and fewer than 10% were left after the war. A very small number had left prior to the invasion but most were sent to the concentration camps when they were herded, like animals just because of their religion.

interior of the Portuguese synagogue

As Jews ourselves, we wanted to see everything we could, not just the obligatory Anne Frank that everyone visits while in Amsterdam. Kari pre-booked us into a 5 hour tour of Jewish Amsterdam which included the late 15th century Portuguese Synagogue. This lovely building is still as it was when built in the 16th century and has a lovely history that proves the strength of the souls that withstood the wars. It is still used for special occasions in much the same matter as early days with no electricy for lights or heat. We learned that it was called Portuguese because the Spanish Jews were not being permitted to emigrate into Amsterdam in the 15th century during the Inquisition in Spain by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand ,so the immigrants said they were from Portugal and not Spain where many of them had actually fled from.
This emotionally interesting tour also included the collections of items in the basement of the synagogue and also the Jewish Historical Museum. These two buildings house hundreds of artifacts including the largest library of books and scholarly Jewish writings in current use in the world.
Our tour included a diamond factory owned by Jews for hundreds of years and it was interesting. We had expected a more high pressure tour trying to sell us diamonds but we were pleasantly surprised that it was not that kind of tour. Very interesting.

Anne Frank remembered

The day ended with a tour through the Anne Frank house. Since we had purchased the package tour, we did not have to stand in the rain for 3 hours waiting to get into this place that the Frank family spent their final days in Amsterdam before being rounded up and taken to Auschwitz where all but the father, Otto died. Anne wrote this touching story of her family's days in hiding and then died in thee camp just a month before liberation. I think everyone has read this book sometime during their lives.

Entrance to the hideout

 I also acted in the play and was the student director of, "The Dairy of Anne Frank" while I was in drama in high school, so I was very familiar with the story but visiting house was so much more emotional to me. Walking the very floors and stairs that this family so secretly walked for so long gave me a much better understanding of just how cramped this space was for the eight people in hiding.  It took almost 2 hours to meander through the house, along with the hundreds of other silent people reading everything written and trying to understand what a difficult emotional time this must have been for all involved in this and other similar families. A time of uncertainty, not knowing who might be sabotaging them with the Nazis, who were intent on capturing all of the Jews for eventual extermination in the camps.
We somberly returned to our hotel after walking for over ten hours and found that we had added another 7.5 miles on our pedometer. After a stop for dinner at an Argentinian steak house,  we spent the rest of the evening packing and resting up the the next part of our adventure, two more train trips and a 6 hour ferry from the Netherlands to England.
Our new adventures begin tomorrow...on to England and Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas.  

Amsterdam - Sunday - continuation

Continuation from previous post--
Note to reader:  This tablet sometimes takes off and adds weird characteristics to postings.  This is not due to the incompetence of the operator (85% of the time), but is due to cyber-pixies and compu-trolls embedded deep within the CPU. -JM

We thoroughly enjoyed the spirit and life in Amsterdam's Jordaan district.  The love for life of the many residents on this beautiful Sunday afternoon was inspiring. Young families with their children in tow, countless, bicycles, motor scooters, trams with bells ringing and pedestrian traffic made the sidèwalks and crossings risky, although we never saw any actual accidents.  If you dislike positive, but frenetic activity, avoid Amsterdam.

We had planned to takè a tram back to our hotel, but the activity on the the streets just pulled us along, like a giant magnet.  As we approached Dam Square, the site of the city's origin, the crowds thickened, at times, reminding us of Disneyland's Main Street.  Unlike many city's central business districts, which are silent on Sundays, Amsterdam was running full tilt, in party mode.

Working our way through the teeming crowds and the twisting canals and streets, we were soon back at the Carlton.  After slipping out of our shoes off, we checked our smart phone and discovered we had logged over six miles so far today.

Turning on our tablet to check our messages, we received a note from Heidi Hoas, a distant cousin of John's, who had driven down from Norway and was in the city.  We had corresponded with her many times online, but had never met her in person.  She is a charming woman in her early 20s who was traveling with her boyfriend. A few years ago, she was an exchange student in the United States.  Her English was flawless. We had drinks in the hotel's bar and learned many things about life in Norway. This was certainly a high point of our trip.

Returning to our room, too tired for dinner, we snacked on a few items we had stashed in our fridge and turned in at about 10:30, after watching "Funniest Videos" on TV, in German, a language neither of us speak.

He have drinks with John's Norwegian cousin, Heidi, who is also in Amsterdam

a view form our Amsterdam hotel room on a quiet day.

A day on the Dam town

John at drawbridge

Sunday, July 26, Amsterdam
Since our last posting, we have seen much and done even more.
Last night, we went out looking for a nearby restaurant with local flavor.  Wandering through our neighborhood, we found many steakhouses (We seldom eat beef) a few pizzerias, Burger King, McDonald's (why even leave home if that's all you decide on?) a Mexican joint or two, and a number of high-end places.  Finally, we spotted a place that offered tapas and burgers.  Since we like Spanish food, stepped inside.
Although the restaurant was too dark to read the menu, with the aid of a flashlight, wè finally spotted one of our favorite dishes in the menu, paella con mariscos, that tasty concoction the we had learned to love during our trip to Spain over 20 years ago!  The savory dish lived up to its reputation and we retired to our hotel room full and smiling.
Sunday morning brought sunshine with a few broken clouds, a contrast to the gale-force winds and rains of the previous day.   After a buffet breakfast in the dining room, we decided to take the Hop-on-hop-off boat for a trip to our next destination.  Walking along canal-side on this beautiful morning, we noticed many downed limbs and several downed trees, a result of Saturday's storm.  Some had fallen into the canals, a few hitting houseboats and other watercraft tied up to pilings.

Canal dwellers taking their morning dip.

We reached the boat landing after about a 20 minute walk from the hotel and were surprised to see a couple who lived on one of the boats, jumping into the canal for a morning swim.  Although we didn't check the water temperature out ourselves, we can't imagine that it was anything but brisk.
We were soon on the boat.  The experience was much more pleasant than the previous day, due to the pleasant weather.  It looked so nice that John decided to open the sliding window next to our seats.  As soon as he grabbed the handlè the window glass disintegrated.into hundreds of of pieces.  Fortunately, it was tempered glass and no harm was done to anyone near us.  Wè all had a good laugh, even the crèwman, who commented on John's strength.

Vincent Van Gogh, self portrait

The Kitchen Maid, Vermeer's most famous work 

The Rijksmuseum is the nationl art museum of the Netherlands and was number one on our list of museums to visit since we were in the Louvre, earlier in our trip.  Upon reaching the second floor, we astounded to see a series of stained glass windows.  Upon inspection, we noticed that they were images of great artists, and not saints. We finally had the opportunityy to view, in person, many painting by the Great Masters that we had only read about.  Rembrandt was #1 on our list and were not disappointed.  I had never realized the enoumous size of some of the paintings, where some of the

Amsterdam's last windmill

figures were, literally, larger than life.  Night Watch, originally painted under another title, took an an entire will and was as good as its reputation.
We are certainly not art history experts, but fully appreciated other artists of the 17th Century including Vermeer and Van Dyke. On a lower floor were many of the impressionist paintings, including the famous self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh, a Dutchman who was not recognized in his home country during his own lifetime.
After departing. The museum, we ate a picnic lunch in the square that faces the building's rear entrance.  We had planned to take a tram to the Jordaan, a historic neighborhood that has been revitalized, according to recent publications.  We decided to walk there, with the aid of a number of maps and our trusty Garmin GPS. 

This was also the neighborhood where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis after the country was invaded and occupied by Germany during World War II

(to be. Continued)

Donna relaxes after five miles of walking (3 more to go!)