Oslo Norway

We visited the Kon Tiki Museum and learned of the voyages of Thor Heirdahl as he proved ancient peoples could sail across the ocean in rafts. We saw the raft that Thor sailed across the Atlantic as well as Raj II, the reed boat.

We saw the changing of the guard at the palace, which had much pomp, circumtancce and pagentry. here were horses, a band and a regiment of soldiers. Then we visited City Hall with the 5 faced clock, wonderful brickwork and carvings outside and lovely frescos inside.

The building where the Nobel Peace prize is awarded was lovely.

It was cold and windy here today, and arrived back at the ship just before the rain.

South Queensferry, Scotland

We dropped anchor in front of the Firth of Forth Bridge. This is an engineering marvel and massive structure built in the 1800’s and still carries cars and trains. We tendered into the So.Queensferry which is a quaint village built on the hillside with old buildings and narrow cobbled streets. Very romantic. We visited the Falkirk Wheel which is the first of its type. It is a water wheel type structure that replaces 11 locks and raises boats 115 feet to the Union Canal. You can see the two “bathtubs” that counter balance each other behind Don. The boats go into the bathtubs and one goes up while the other goes down. We also visited the Antonine Wall at Rough Castle ruins built by the Romans. Sunset on the deck watching for lighthouses as we sail away is becoming standard. We saw nine lighthouses tonight.

Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Wonderful sunshine and adventurous spirits today. We took a shuttle, train, bus, ferry and bus to get to a very famous lighthouse. We saw several “firsts”. This had a range light that was lit with mirrors sending light from the main lens down a floor and out another partial lens. The function of this partial The main lens was 4.5 tons and I pushed it around with one hand since it is still riding on the original mercury bath. The lens was an unconventional first order having three sides and being double decker. What a thrill to see it. The original carbon arc mechanism was on display and we saw the original weight appratus that turned the lens. They are still using an antique phone in the tower and original door handles in the shape of a fist. The kitchen, sleeping quarters and mechanical rooms have all been restored. It is staffed with wonderful interpreters and volunteers. I mentioned a pop can sitting in the kitchen and the man smiled and said "look around. You will see several things out of place. We put them there and ask the kids to find all the things that don't belong!" It was a fun place for us and obviously a great place for all.

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

This city was destroyed during WWII and has been completely rebuilt. In most towns we have been able to see numerous church steeples. Not here, we just heard them on Sunday morning. Wonderful bells from numerous churches created a soothing atmosphere as we walked. Great (sometimes weird) modern architecture, good public transportation, bike lanes and wide sidewalks. Bikes everywhere ridden by old and young, but not a helmet in sight. Ships and the longest canal boats stay in the channel, but small pleasure craft, water taxi, and smaller narrow canal boats zip in and out the numerous canals and under the shortest bridges with inches to spare. The small amount of cars was amazing. These people are fit. They walk and bike everywhere. Nice parks, museums and green spaces. Lots of water, ponds, streams, etc. so there are birds and water fowl everywhere. We enjoyed the sunset as we left Rotterdam cruising the 30km to the sea past the huge flood gates and the industrial port. It is one of the largest ports in the world and one of the busiest. It appears they dug the wetlands into channels and piers – miles and miles of industrial lands with water access and windmills.

Dover, England

The white cliffs of Dover. Beautiful! We spent most of the day exploring the Dover castle on top of the cliffs. It wasn’t just one building, but the keep, a church, houses, stables, barns, garrison, and fortifications of all kinds including moats, tunnels, towers, numerous gates and draw bridges. The oldest building there was a Roman lighthouse from 120AD. We didn’t have time to tour the secret tunnels from WWII but had great fun anyway. Lovely sunshine and light breeze made the day delightful. We stopped in town for a short time where we saw Dickens Corner before going back to the ship.

LeHevre, France

Pretty gardens and parks in town. I think the ship brought too many tourists at once. People were snooty and not helpful. Neat canal locks.

Plymouth, England

These are the ruins of an old fort in the Plymouth harbor and one of the lighthouses on the jetty.

Great little city with beautiful buildings. Wonderful green spaces and public parks. Row houses may not be common on the west coast, but they have been here for centuries. Most have lovely stone and bick work. Notice they are parked on the wrong side of the road! It is disconcerting to even be a passenger. I'm sure glad I'm not driving.

We visited The Hoe, where the tower from Edystone Rock was placed in 1932. Here is a picture of Don (with green bag), the Tower and our ship in the background. Food on the ship has been good in the dining room and breakfast is good at the buffet. Dinner has been disappointing at the buffet, so we just won’t go there anymore.

I spent time on the deck watching the tenders being loaded back on the ship.

We enjoyed the sail out as we left Plymouth soaking up the sun – FINALLY.

Waterford, Ireland

The weather and high seas are still causing problems. We were to tender into the port, but the seas were too high to make it safe, so we docked at an industrial port a few miles away. The transportation to Hook Lighthouse I had planned didn’t work from the new port, so we walked the countryside and had a quiet day. Note the hedges of hawthorne(white) and gorse(yellow). We did see Hook and two other lighthouses on the way out to sea.

Liverpool, England

As we ate breakfast, we watched the ferry cross the Mersey. The old song came to mind setting the lighthearted tone for the day.

The Albert Docks was our target area. To reach it we walked past these beautiful government buildings. The Beatles Museum was a must see as well as the Maritime Museum there. They had a very informative exhibit on slavery and it's impact on maritme practices of the day. Lots of shops and galleries too. There are still boats being used and docked at Albert Dock, but they must be old/historically significant to be docked there. Don got into a long discussion with a very nice man at the port and he invited us to go aboard his boat there and have a beer. We have met such friendly people on this trip so far.

The sun was out, but the wind was strong making walking near the docks less enjoyable. We were able to see last lightship used on the Mersey River by Albert Dock and three lighthouses as we sailed out that evening.

Belfast, Ireland

Belfast is a lovely city. The people are very proud of their new government and happy to say “the troubles” are over. There are political signs everywhere since there is an election next week but it seems to be healthy diversity, not political unrest.

We walked around town in the morning Checking out the Belfast wheel and the local market square. They had all kinds of wonderful food, including a pig on a spit!

During the afternoon, we went out to the Ards Peninsula. We saw the first power generator using tidal currents. The locals think it is an eyesore and it has yet to be determined if it will be profitable. Of course we saw five lighthouses and the gorgeous countryside.

The rolling hills, fields, stone houses, and hedgerows are just as we read about.

There is a church on every corner and most are hundreds of years old.

Greystone Abbey was a treat to visit. There were ruins of many old buildings with the new church (only a few hundred years old) on the hill overlooking it all. The cemetary was very interesting with carved stone headstones and many generations buried there.

I have never seen so many people with gorgeous red hair – every imaginable shade and since many were children, probably natural colors.

More Rock and Roll

The North Atlantic was showing it’s power with up to 27 foot waves and storming for most of the four day crossing. I went walking one morning and couldn’t get the outside door open because of the wind. Staying on the side away from the wind was the only way I could walk outside that day. The power and intensity was grand. I was very surprised that I got my sea legs and Don was the one to struggle with seasickness.

I found MahJong players and I agree with Carol, cards are the pits. I miss REAL chinese Mahjong. Every night we find new towel friends in our room. This is me with a puppy, the turkey was enormous and was my favorite!