Ok, it might be classified as a bay, but it is a man-made dock here in Copenhagen -- again.
Since my last post we have been to Germany, Sweden's west coast, and two places in Norway. I guess I should have not been so cheap and paid the $0.75 per minute for internet, but I did log on a few times just to get email. Posting a blog takes a lot longer, so now I am sitting on the dock, just off the Eurodam gangway, like many other people who take advantage of the free wifi provided by the port. Other ports do it as well, but sometimes I found it impossible to log on, and was not prepared to spend too much time trying.
Goteburg is definitely worth another visit as is Oslo. In both cities we did a very brief overview in a bus of a few hours. But there were museums, galleries, etc. worthy of exploration that we did not get to see, so this is great to know and plan to come back sometime .
As tomorrow is a very busy day -- off the ship by 4:15 am and catching a flight at 6:45 to connect in Brussels at 10 and be home in Toronto by 12:30, Joan and I elected to stay on board and relax. It is fascinating to watch all the things that need to be done on the ship. Today I watched the refueling for the next week and painting on some of the decks. Also, some of the little life rafts were being checked and having maintenance done. The logistics on this ship have been remarkable. I would travel with these people again. I shake my head when I hear people sitting and complaining. I don't know what kind of mansion they must live in or the mind-reading staff they must have, but it's not the world that I live in. I think that everything from the room, to the food, to the service and the entertainment have been great.
Friday 12 June 2015
Saturday 6 June 2015
Family moment
So, thank you SJ for free internet on the train again. Public transport in Sweden is so commuter and irregular -traveller friendly. For non-Swedes, most of the signage is in English as well as Swedish and, of course, everyone can help you in both languages. The train is on time and well organized -- right down to telling you the order of the cars on the train before it comes into the station. This one even has a bistro on board, so I think I will avail myself of a coffee later.
So it was about 22 hours with Richard and Tova Elise. What a darling! She is talking up a storm and at this point a majority seems to be in Swedish. I say 'seems to be' because there were some phrases/sentences that neither Rich nor I recognized. We played outside and inside both days -- playdo, indoor cycling and outdoor riding. We were at the park up the path and she certainly remembered Underdoggies. Of course it would be nicer to see her more regularly, but these found opportunities are wonderful and she is at the stage where she remembers who I am from one visit to the next. Thanks so much, Richard and Jennie for the opportunity to spend time with you and your little sweetie.
Back to the ship and the remaining ports of call. The night life of Stockholm may be great as well as the 300th voyage celebration that happened on board last evening, but for me -- a certain two-year old trumps them all!
So it was about 22 hours with Richard and Tova Elise. What a darling! She is talking up a storm and at this point a majority seems to be in Swedish. I say 'seems to be' because there were some phrases/sentences that neither Rich nor I recognized. We played outside and inside both days -- playdo, indoor cycling and outdoor riding. We were at the park up the path and she certainly remembered Underdoggies. Of course it would be nicer to see her more regularly, but these found opportunities are wonderful and she is at the stage where she remembers who I am from one visit to the next. Thanks so much, Richard and Jennie for the opportunity to spend time with you and your little sweetie.
Back to the ship and the remaining ports of call. The night life of Stockholm may be great as well as the 300th voyage celebration that happened on board last evening, but for me -- a certain two-year old trumps them all!
Friday 5 June 2015
Eurodam
The ship is huge. She is 290 m long and on this trip, she has just under 2,000 guests, plus about 900 crew. And aside from the mayhem at disembark this morning, the organization has been great.
One can only tell it is a ship (and not a hotel) when you sit still and feel the rumble under your seat, lie in your bed and be gently rocked to sleep, or sit at a table and watch the slight quiver of the orchids.
Since embarking on Monday afternoon, we have spent a morning on tour in Kiel (highlight was the naval memorial and the walk through the U995 submarine), and afternoon poking around through Kiel (WMF store!).
Wednesday was a sea day. I had hoped to swim for some exercise (no, not in the Baltic) but the pools are not set up for that, so it was walking the deck or spend time in the gym. I would rather walk the deck and on level 3, you can make circuits around the ship -- 3 loops equal 1 mile and over the day I strolled for 15 loops. There was almost always another boat to be seen somewhere on the horizon and it is quite amazing how quickly they pass.
Thursday was our day in Helsinki. The Finnish capital is wonderfully clean with many modern and old elements. We walked through the Lutheran cathedral (stark Lutherans), a fabulous modern church built inside the rock (lots of granite here) and checked out the Sibelius monument. I opted to walk back to the ship and spent a few very pleasant hours strolling by the water.
So today is Friday. We are anchored off the docks and had to be tendered to the shore. Mass chaos this morning about how to get the tickets to indicate which boat you will be on. I started waiting early and got on the first one -- lots of time to catch this train and now I am speeding north through countryside green on both sides to Gavle.
One can only tell it is a ship (and not a hotel) when you sit still and feel the rumble under your seat, lie in your bed and be gently rocked to sleep, or sit at a table and watch the slight quiver of the orchids.
Since embarking on Monday afternoon, we have spent a morning on tour in Kiel (highlight was the naval memorial and the walk through the U995 submarine), and afternoon poking around through Kiel (WMF store!).
Wednesday was a sea day. I had hoped to swim for some exercise (no, not in the Baltic) but the pools are not set up for that, so it was walking the deck or spend time in the gym. I would rather walk the deck and on level 3, you can make circuits around the ship -- 3 loops equal 1 mile and over the day I strolled for 15 loops. There was almost always another boat to be seen somewhere on the horizon and it is quite amazing how quickly they pass.
Thursday was our day in Helsinki. The Finnish capital is wonderfully clean with many modern and old elements. We walked through the Lutheran cathedral (stark Lutherans), a fabulous modern church built inside the rock (lots of granite here) and checked out the Sibelius monument. I opted to walk back to the ship and spent a few very pleasant hours strolling by the water.
So today is Friday. We are anchored off the docks and had to be tendered to the shore. Mass chaos this morning about how to get the tickets to indicate which boat you will be on. I started waiting early and got on the first one -- lots of time to catch this train and now I am speeding north through countryside green on both sides to Gavle.
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