Nordic Travels

We're on our way to the top of the world and the land of Santa Claus. Whoever thought I would actually SEE the North Pole? It's been kind of blasé though because of the weather we've been having. Oslo was the only really decent day we've had so far. It was kind of chilly, but I guess that's expected for being so far north. It was sunny though so that was nice. I strolled around town and enjoyed the Nordic atmosphere. I grabbed an ice cream and just enjoyed the walk. I've been there several times, so I didn't feel like sightseeing today with anyone. After we left Oslo, the ports started getting dreary. We had a few rocky nights heading up the western side of Norway and into some fjords. The sightseeing along the fjords was amazing. The cliffs are so smoothed out from glaciers past. The cliffs are also very steep and the water there is deep enough to get right along side of them providing stunning views from the ship. Since it was raining there were many waterfalls just trickling down the sides of the cliffs. It was so serene. It was a full day of scenic cruising before we left the channel and headed out to the ocean again to make our way into Bergen (what used to be the medieval empire of Norway). Now in Bergen we docked alongside. I went ashore with one of my friends and we started out going the wrong way at first. No worries. We did get some scenery viewing in and saw some of the residential places since we were so far off course. We made our way to Bergenhus Castle and grounds on our way back to the wharf area. The grounds had some beautiful views of the port from the lush mesas on top of the cliffs. It was fabulous. We strolled long the castle grounds and finally made it to the wharf area where there was definitely some civilization. We passed a church called Håkonshallon and a tower called Rosenkrantztårnet, which were on the castle grounds and very much in the style of the old world with stonework walls. These structures were originally built around the 10th century. Down the street was one of UNESCO's World Heritage sights of the old medieval village of Bryggen. These old houses built side by side were once the old trading headquarters for the Hanseatic League (an association of towns for the protection of trading interests). These houses were built after the great fire of 1702. Most of them now are art studios or boutiques. It is so interesting to walk through this area. First of all most of the buildings are leaning into one another. It looks almost structurally unsound, but UNESCO keeps them well preserved. You definitely get the rustic feeling as you walk down the narrow streets. The unique features of the houses are the old-fashioned pulley system that you can find on the top floor of each house and jutting out over the street. I assume these were used to pull furniture or even large crates for storage up to each floor. We stayed around here for a while and took it all in. I've never seen anything like this before and this seemed truly Nordic. Bergen is said to be one of the rainiest places and boy was that one pegged. It was raining when we got off the ship and then it stopped for a bit while we were in the old medieval quarter. We decided to walk to the funicular station to take us to the tope of Mt. Fløien. We found another friend and got in the cue to go to the top. I was told there were interesting troll carvings at the top and life-size troll statues along with the incredible views of the harbor below. The ride up was definitely amazing. It was so angled; sitting inside was like sitting in rows at the theatre. The ride up was fast. It only took about 7 minutes to travel up about 400 feet. As soon as we got of the funicular it started to pour and the wind was incredibly strong up there. We walked around for a bit trying to grab some pictures in between the slow rain and the hard rain. We were up there about 20 minutes before we decided to head down. I was slightly annoyed because I really wanted to go hiking today and the rain was just too strong along with the wind. Besides I don't hike while carrying an umbrella. I just didn't want to damage my camera by getting it wet. We took the funicular down meeting up with everyone else that came off the ship and went to the top. They ended up taking a rest at the Irish pub at the bottom. I stayed for a bit to see if the rain would let up, but I had no such luck and decided to take the rain and go for a walk. I had an umbrella so I thought I'd be fine. I walked through the fish market at the end of the wharf. It was definitely aromatic, but there were all sorts of fresh berries and vegetables as well, and it was definitely a popular spot for the locals. The town is pretty progressive with all your high-end stores along with various art shops and cafés. It was nice to walk through for a while and then the hard rain came again. My feet got wet and then the bottom of my pants and pretty soon my entire back (because of the wind). I took this as a sign to go back and started heading in. I just wish it were a nicer day because there was so much potential for exploring this port extensively. I don't see myself coming back here independently since Norway is expensive AND so far north. Cold weather isn't really my forte.

Yesterday we were in Geiranger, Norway. I walked up to breakfast that morning and it was stunning. The sun was out and shining down the steep green slopes of the mountainside. We were sitting right in the middle of a fjord. Geirangerfjord to be exact. We dropped some passengers off real early this morning in Hellesylt so they could enjoy some tours. I didn't get up until we were already anchored and sitting in the bay. There were waterfalls trickling down the mountainside and one large one running through the center of town. I was so taken aback and sad that I was stuck on board today. The sail in was supposed to be quite amazing, but that was about 5:00am this morning. I thought I would just catch the sail away later that afternoon. There was a glacier hike planned for that day that I wish I got to take advantage of, but beside the IPM and the day being a show day that was not going to happen. I'm thankful I got to do that way back in 2000 in Alaska. I did manage to make it shore side in the afternoon. One of our girls decided she only needed a few hours out in port before she wanted to come back and rest for the afternoon. I ventured out in her place and boy did I venture. The tender ride was interesting to say the least. It usually only takes 5 minutes, but we must have had a trainee driving since it took him about 3 times to finally park the boat at the dock. I got out and the first mission was to find this "soft-ijs" that I read about. It's supposedly the first ever soft serve custard and it has a reputation of being devilishly rich and good. It's something about the Norwegian milk. I got to taste this treat for a mere $5 (yes, quite expensive for a soft serve) doused with chocolate powder. It was so creamy rich I almost couldn't finish it. Wow!! I wanted to follow the riverbed as high as I could in the time that I had. I was able to get on land about 2:30pm and the last tender to the ship was at 4:00pm. I started my climb up the road following the riverbed. Needless to say there were MANY riverbeds and all the scenic waterfalls I was passing kept overwhelming me. These were not just any waterfalls where water falls a few inches over some rocks. These were substantial waterfalls tricking more than 20 feet at times over mossy rocks. Sometimes the riverbeds had a nest in them that looked pretty much like a beaver home. I wish I could have seen a few working on their homes. My curiosity got the best of me and I found myself at times running up the road the steep climb to get closer to the massive waterfalls I saw near the top of the mountain. Ultimately I would've loved to reach the top and see the source of all this water pouring over the Cliffside. As I got higher there were some astonishing views of the fjord below and our ship sitting anchored in it. The water was so clear coming down these riverbeds, you could drink it. In fact I ran into some friends on the way up and they DID drink the water. It was natural spring water after all. We're taking up a bunch in reserve for the ship's drinking water. They won't have to purify it much and it should be real good to clean in and drink. One of my stops was at this campsite I'd say about 8km inland. There was a HUGE waterfall running through it and I was able to get real close. It was amazing. I kept on climbing. By now it was 3:10pm and I knew I had quite a ways to get back, but still I pressed forward. I finally stopped at a turn around point. I wasn't happy about stopping, but I knew if I didn’t do it now I'd be in trouble. I followed a walking path into the mossy forest and right alongside another fascinating waterfall. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. The air was so incredibly fresh. It wasn't too cold today either and no rain. I took loads of photos and headed on my way back to the port area. I didn't just walk either. By now it was 3:25pm when I came out of the path and it took me a good hour to get this far. That would make it too late if I just walked all the way down. So I ran. I got to the port area in about 10 minutes. I couldn't believe it. I was all sweaty and I'll probably have some soreness tomorrow from this aerobic adventure, but I got back and with some good photos. Now we begin our journey out of the fjord and into open water again before heading to Brønnøysund (a new port for Holland America). I hope to get some more pictures of our sail away through these fascinating fjords.

The sail out of the Geirangerfjord was amazing. There were waterfalls literally at every turn. We sailed away kind of late due to a coiling problem with the anchor and being a show night I like to eat dinner real early so that my food isn't bouncing around in my stomach while I'm dancing. Dinner started at 5:30pm and that's just about the time we were ready to go. We started pulling out in the midst of my dinner so I was back and forth snapping photos as we passed these magnificent sights. I've never seen anything like it. It was water just pouring off these cliffs all over the place like the top of the fjord was just full and overflowing. There were farms perched in the midst of some of these places and you have to wonder what life is like there. They can only get to their homes via boat and some look like there's a steep climb from their docks. So you have to wonder if they use other forms of transportation to get in and out of such high places. What if you forgot the milk at the grocery store, but then again they probably make their own. Nevertheless errands would be a pain if you forgot to do one. It was about an hour of solid scenic cruising through these steep fjords cut away by former glaciers. Wow is all that need be said. Pictures cannot capture the beauty you see here.

Today was Brønnøysund and it was pretty much a secluded little residential area. There was beauty and nature all around. We pulled in about 1:00pm and I didn't plan for the day. My friends were all taking bikes off and the office for rental on board was now closed. I was out of luck and somewhat saddened. I went out and strolled into town. After about an hour of walking around I figured today was definitely a biking day and that I needed to get one if I wanted to see some interesting scenery. I could get my workout in as well. I got one for 2 hours although I found out later I didn't need the full 2 hours. I went biking along the paths made before they completely ran out. I was on a stretch of highway heading towards a large mountain. I really wanted to hike today, but the mountains seemed so far away and we were on a stretch of flat lands each separated by water. I got to the base of the mountain and it took about 20 minutes to get there from town. This also meant a 20-minute ride back. I was hoping to maybe get some height, but to my dismay there was a large goat farm at the base and it looked like there weren't any suitable paths to start climbing. I'm not trained in face climbing, so I wouldn't even dare trying that in my tennies and by myself. I turned around at this point after snapping some scenic shots and headed back into town. There were some interesting trails and a large bridge that went up about a mile high over the channel I wanted to check out. I went down that way and took the steep climb up the bridge on a narrow strip of trail. It was kind of nerve-wracking since there wasn't really any protection to keep you from falling over if you lost your balance. I got to the top accomplished and took some more shots. After this I was pretty done with today's port. I returned the bike and headed back to the ship. Tonight we cross the Arctic Circle and there's word that the Aurora Borealis is a 6/10 for viewing tonight. FABULOUS!! I've always wanted to see this phenomenon and I never got to see it in Alaska because of the cloud cover, time of year, or light pollution. I hope to see it sometime tonight or over the next few days as we head to the North Pole.

Artful Amsterdam...

The other day was another day in Amsterdam. It was kind of rainy to start and to finish, but the middle was absolutely gorgeous. I went off with some of my cast friends and then we met up with one of our friends who used to play in the band on board. Once we all met and said hello and chatted for a bit, we all set off on our separate ways. We all had things to accomplish that day. I went off on my own to find the Van Gogh museum. I bought tickets online the previous day and was interested in seeing that exhibit as well as the Anne Frank museum. I realized though that it would be 2 big events for one day and settled for just the one. The cue for the Anne Frank House was noted for being long so I figure I'll save that for a day when I have more time to spare. I followed the same path that we followed the previous time to the American Book Store. It was a bookstore, much like Borders or Barnes & Noble only not so commercial, full of English books. Harry Potter was the new biggie that day. The final chapter. It was going as fast as I thought (probably because it was in English in a Dutch speaking country). I got my little pocket map there for about 3 Euro, which would also help me later when I had LOTS of time to roam around without limitation. It was easy to follow and I stumbled upon the museum. At this point I was sorry for not bringing my camera because the scene was gorgeous. However, I'll have lots of time for pictures when I stay here for a bit. I went into the Rijksmuseum thinking that's where I needed to go and judging by the size of it I thought I might need another day to explore. I was wrong however. This was the more general art museum. I went down the block to the smaller and more specified Van Gogh museum. It was all dedicated to Van Gogh's work, his influences, and the people he influenced. It was 4 floors and 2 buildings of art. Just my size for an art museum. Especially for art that was, for its time, the start of modern art. His brush strokes, I find, are what make his art unique. He was self taught and studied with some of the greats of his time like Paul Signac, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Paul Gaugin. He studied figure and landscapes first drawing them in pencil sketches and then exploring these concepts with color. All of his drawings were on display and some of them looked like drawings you would find from someone actually studying art in a master class. He was misunderstood all his life and felt the greats that were successful and even some of his friends were not up to par as artists. He was conflicted with these emotions and ended up in a clinic depressed and troubled. At this time in his life he spewed out disturbing images and very unique concepts. Even his self-portraits of this time looked troubled and distorted. This point in time is where he so famously cut off a portion of his ear lobe. He studies reproductions of Rembrandt, Millet, and Delacroix later in his life copying them and adding his own flair. As he was just starting to gain recognition, his depression took over and he shot himself. It's tragic what the art world can do and what people will do for something they believe strongly in. It was so interesting to walk through the gallery with my minor knowledge of his lifespan (with the aid of the free pamphlet) and notice these changes in his life from the places he resided and the emotions he was experiencing. Although I found them interesting in general his type of art is not really my taste. I did like a few pieces that are pretty famous. One was "The Potato Eaters" where I found out this was his first major achievement in the human study. He was studying the human form at the time and used a lot of scenes from the peasant lifestyle. He took on this massive project to create a peasant family while eating dinner. At the time it was a failure, but now it's one of his most recognizable pieces. I also liked a piece of his entitled "Avenue of Poplars in Autumn." It just struck my eye and made me reflect on the piece a little more than the others. One of his self portraits entitled "Self Portrait with Straw Hat and Artists' Smock" grabbed my eye as well just because of the way he used his brush. Everything in the piece, which is also a pretty popular piece, seemed to radiate out from the center of his face. He even used the brush strokes to define the musculature underneath, which was fascinating since that's what I remember learning in my basic art sketch drawing class in college. A few other of his influences really caught my eye and were scenery oriented, which is more to my liking. There was one that was absolutely fascinating the way the painter caught the light reflecting off a river rolling over some rocks and the sun gleaming off the leaves in the trees and clouds surrounding the center of the piece. It was gorgeous. The whole experience was eye opening and even though I'm not quite the art lover as someone, I enjoyed it. I left the museum content and began my trek back through the city. I stopped at the cheese shop again this time to pick up some more smoked cheese and to try out this green cheese I saw last time. It was blatantly green with green specs in it. I immediately though of Dr. Seuss when I saw it last and was dying of curiosity to try some. I saw another customer try some other cheese so I asked the clerk to slice me a piece. It was young Gouda cheese with pesto in it. The pesto of course is what made it green throughout. I was blown away by the flavor. Since I have a refrigerator on board, I bought a small portion to take back. I have to look this cheese up in the states when I can cook again. I figure this cheese would be great on a bagel with some sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and this sprinkled over the top. A little toasting in the oven and then you have the best little pizza ever. Yum!! I walked a little ways more taking in all the scents from the various "herbal" shops along the way. Marihuana is legal here and grown commercially. There's one street where the air is just filled with it. My day wouldn't be complete without a stroll through the ever so famous red-light district. I still can't believe that in broad daylight there are women in door sized windows just taunting people as they walk by hoping they will come on in for a little afternoon delight. I kept on walking stopping at the Apple Store along the way and meeting friends. We got caught in a windy hail and rain storm on the way back to the ship, but we were on board in time for the passenger boat drill we all have to go through on an embark day. It was our last one for now. Until the next contract that is.

Poland or Queens...

Today was a new port for me in the Baltic, Gdansk in Poland. At first sight it was just like any other place in the world. We ported in a totally residential area and commercial port. I took about a 45-minute walk and the entire area looked like some place in Queens, New York. I was disheartened since we were supposed to leave so early and I didn't do any research on the port itself. I was thinking I should've taken a tour. I came back and found there was a better part of town and to get there would cost 25 Euro. I thought for a moment that it wouldn't be worth it, but if there were enough people we could try. I looked up the port on line and it said that Gdansk was the most beautiful European port. Now this peaked my interest. I got back and one of my cast mates, Niffer, wanted to go into town too so we headed out. We managed to grab a cab for what we thought was $20 round trip. To our dismay we got there and he misunderstood and said it was $20 for one way. Since we made sure beforehand that he was in understanding that it was for a round trip, and he agreed, we tried to bargain for $10 one way and ended up paying $15. This was still not bad since the original price I heard was 25 Euro one way, which amounts to about $30. We walked into town and there was definitely a difference from the Queens looking place to the rich architecture and vibe of the downtown area. We walked along the Royal Route to through the market place. This is the area where all the events and parades are orchestrated over the many centuries this town has been a town. It starts at one end with the prison tower and torture museum by the Golden Gate and stretches along the route to the Green Gate. We had lunch at this café where I ordered real Polish pierogies and some cappuccino. The pierogie was filled with sauerkraut and mushrooms. It was so good. We left there and headed to the scenic Motlawa River just outside the Green Gate. After taking in the river we walked up the route towards the torture museum and along the way there were all kinds of street performers and even performers peering out the windows at the tops of the buildings. We were eating lunch and there were so many people looking up, I had to check it out. I noticed there was a statue peering out of one of the windows above and told Niffer that. However she asked why would people be video taping so I checked it out again and it turns out it was an actual person up there instead of a statue. Sure enough after lunch she was gone. Once we saw the torture museum at the other end of the strip it was pretty much time to go. It was a short day in port today. We took our cab back and this time it did cost $20, but that was way better than 25 Euro.

Stockholm Surprise...

Today was a delightful day in Sweden with a little unexpected ending. I couldn't take advantage really of the outcome, but I did what I could while I had the time and energy. I got out in the early afternoon today because of an early rehearsal we had for our upcoming show. We went off into old town, Gamla Stan, and enjoyed lunch at this restaurant my friend Trisha and I enjoyed last year in the Baltic. This restaurant was in an old prison. We all got the daily special, which turned out to be pretty cheap. We strolled around all the familiar areas before deciding to head back to the ship. Before heading out this afternoon there was a strong chance that we'd be here overnight in Stockholm due to bad weather. Bad weather did keep us in. It turns out there were gale force winds out in the Baltic area so it would be hard to navigate the channels of Stockholm and we wouldn't get to tender into port tomorrow in Kalmar due to rough waters. We got the official word later this evening and everyone started to make plans. It turns out it could be an expensive evening since there seems to be or is rumored to be a 92% tax on alcohol and most places have huge cover charges and are far distances away requiring huge fares on cab rides. Someone said a good evening out could cost one in the midst of $200 - $300 for fun. I wasn't too keen on that and got invited out by a friend to meet with his friend from high school. Imagine that. He had a friend here from high school. She was going to bring a friend and there would be 4 of us. We met her and it turns out her friend couldn't make it, so then there were 3. Oh well. I bummed along anyway. We went up to this area on the side of this hill that was overlooking the city. It was in Sodermalm, which is the southern portion of the city. She was interested in our way of life on board as were we about her life as an American here in Sweden for the past 7 years. They enjoyed a drink and I a coffee since it was the night before our live show. The jazz music started wafting out from the inside café just down the way. The scene here was bustling. There were people everywhere milling about and enjoying the warmer evening. It was also a Wednesday here, which I guess is a mini Saturday for them. It seemed just as busy as a weekend night. We went into the café where the jazz music emanated out of and sat down for a spell. It was fabulous. There were 5 young musicians just tearing up the stage on bone, sax, drums, upright bass, and piano. It was smooth jazz and the environment was reminiscent of this old coffee house on my college campus. They had time to catch up a bit while I enjoyed the music, a glass of wine, and an intense chess game happening right next to me with timers and everything. Out beyond the stage you could see the sun setting over the city skyline through the large windows. It was divine and I reached a moment of pure happiness. We stayed a while and enjoyed the atmosphere before heading out for the evening. It got chilly all of a sudden. The weather is so freaky here. It even rained on and off throughout the day and temps went up and down as it did. We walked through the area down the hill where we parted with his friend for the night. It was around midnight when we left her and we decided to walk through town a bit. We were both exhausted, so we headed back to the ship. I started to feel a tickle in my throat again because of the cold air and we decided to head in. Sad day that there was an overnight with a morning departure and we couldn't take advantage of it since we partied so hard over the weekend. All these port days as well just add to the exhaustion. It was still an unexpected pleasure to have a night out in Stockholm.

Baltic Refresher...

As I walked through the Lido pool area this morning (2:00pm) there was a refreshing wind blowing in the air that was reminiscent of spring on the cusp of summer. It was that scent as well and it was delightful and brings such happiness and elation into my system. That is my favorite time of the year and favorite refreshing wind when spring is just turning into summer. It's not too hot and not too cold. The temperature is just right. All the flowers are awakening and the trees are coming back to life from their dead winter state. Of course being that it is well into July it isn't that time of year, but here in Russia it sure felt like it when I walked through to get my lunch. San Diego pretty much has this kind of weather all year round and that is lovely. It could explain why most of the time I was happy out there. It has been an interesting couple of days. We're sailing through the Baltic now and seeing ports I've seen many times last year. Russia included. It's been cold and rainy most of the time, which for July is not my favorite. I like my July to be hot (except for this morning at 2:00pm, hehe). We've been to Germany and Finland already. I was able to get out in Germany, but the corporate politic finally cracked down on In Port Manning on this ship and I was stuck on board in Finland. The Russian experience this time was new and exciting. The club wasn't as happening as in past times, but we had the crew there from the Prinsendam. It was a party on land and all had a good time. I was even daring enough to try Absinthe. It has a stigma about it that it causes ethereal highs because of its strong content. In Russia they light it on fire and you inhale the fumes twice before they pour it into a shot glass. They turn the hot glass upside down onto a napkin and a straw and you suck out the remaining fumes. It was an instant high. The liquid itself is not too flavorful. If you like licorice, it's very much like that anise seed flavor. I'm not a fan and chased it with a Pepsi. One was bought for me and then I did another one. It was quite the evening. The day wasn't quite as long as I remember from the past and I suspect it's because we passed the summer solstice. As we get into the later months, the days get rapidly shorter here. I'm hoping for a long day on our next "Top of the World" voyage since we'll be in the Arctic Circle. We left the club and headed to the Seaman's Center. This is a place where the crew can go to inexpensively enjoy an evening out not too far from the ship. There's a club, bar, food, and plenty of Russian women to help out the sailors. It was hilarious to see all this happening. Since the taxi situation is a racket here, we only took the cab to the Seaman's Center to get the $2 shuttle back to the ship, which was coming 20 minutes after we arrived. Perfect timing. We all packed up the shuttle and were back on board by 5:00am. It was one of those nights. St. Petersburg has done it again.

Amsterdam Delights...

Today we transit the Kiel Canal in Germany. We’re taking this route not only for a new and interesting way to get across the Baltic, but also so we don’t have to go all the way around Denmark to get to the Eastern Region in the Baltic Sea. We dropped a small group of people off in Hamburg, Germany today so they can enjoy the countryside. It was a spontaneous venture promoted by our tour department. Unfortunately, that would not include any crew, but maybe one person overseeing the events of that tour. Yesterday was fascinating. We were docked in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Wow!!! I’ve never seen a country so free. It seems as though whatever you can imagine is legal there. Prostitutes are even protected and kept safe by the government. Disabled people (in wheelchairs) who want to go have sex with them are covered by the government health insurance to do so. The day didn’t start off too exciting weather wise. I guess in the north Europe has been experiencing some damp weather as we saw in France the last couple days and the temperatures have been low. The morning was dreary and cold. I was hopeful though since in most of the ports the morning wetness dried off and got warmer in the afternoon. We walked along the harbor to the train station where we hopped on a canal boat for a little preview of Amsterdam by waterway. Canals run all through Amsterdam creating somewhere in the midst of 50 islands in the city. It started off sketchy although we were in a patch of blue sky and sunshine. In the distance were the ominous dark thunderclouds and you could occasionally see a lightening flash. No worries though since the boat had a retractable top. The whole experience of traveling down the canal was fascinating. Buildings side by side in true Dutch style. They pay tax by the width of the house (just like in New York, which used to be Nieuw Amsterdam) so there are literally homes that are one window wide and as many floors as they need to go up. Also since some of the ground the houses were built on was unstable at the time there are quite a few homes that lean into each other. We did end up hitting that patch of darkness and lo and behold a thunderclap sounded. I started to head to the covered part of the boat, but the driver was two steps ahead of me and started to close the top. Sure enough at least two minutes after he closed it, downpour. It was fine. We were underneath the protection of the glass dome. We continued our transit along the canal passing the Anne Frank House and other notable sights listening to the commentary of the prerecorded voice as well as our driver. The rain soon let up enough that he was able to open the dome a little bit. We kept on going through the canal under the many bridges that went over the waterways. It was almost like Venice here. There was one area that was very notable for its romantic charm because of the bridges all lined up one after the other. It was all so scenic. We sailed out into the harbor where it was raining again and so he closed the dome. We passed our ship along the way and headed back to our starting point. When we got out of the boat it was still sprinkling and we were all caught without an umbrella. It only went on for another 10 minutes or so before the clouds parted and the sun burned off the remaining clouds for the day. We headed into the famed red-light district just to see the other “interesting” parts of Amsterdam. I kid you not there were adult shops everywhere. Porn shops, marijuana shops, bars, and all kinds of other things just in this localized section of town. We stopped at a local dive that had cheap noodles for lunch. Some of our group went next door to the Irish Pub to have a nicer meal with the Irish beer, Guinness. Since they took a while with their meal I went and scoped out the area. We got a tip for a local herbal place and a free sample so I went to find it along with some other sights so we weren’t shuffling around with a large group of people with no destination. I came back with sights all lined up and we were off. We went through all the alleys of the red-light district and all the scenes that have been in movies about the ladies in the windows with the red lights (hence the name) were true. There were cubicles with large windows and ladies just waiting and tantalizing everyone that walked by. Even families were in this area just looking at this interesting phenom that is such a taboo in most parts of the world. Those crazy Dutch I tell ya. We left the district and headed to the shopping part of town past the Dam Plaza and the Dam Palace. In this plaza was Madame Toussads. This really was like New York in a way right down to the tourist attractions. We found the shopping street. It was packed and filled with lots of retail and trendy places. Through all of this we found the American Book Shop where we made a pit stop to see if we could gather any titles. The new Harry Potter book was coming out soon, so one of our girls made an order for it to pick up the next time we’re in Amsterdam. We found the herbal shop and what you find in there was pretty amazing. You could get anything from hash lollies and cookies to herbal remedies, shrooms, flavored marijuana and all sorts of paraphernalia to various detoxifiers and other herbal teas. Some friends snorted a bit of herbal energizer that was laced with cinnamon and some other herbs and we got our free sample of a stimulant that would increase brain activity. No worries, all herbs and nothing that was illegal in any part of the world. We left this area and started to head back to the ship after a full day in Amsterdam. I was completely exhausted as usual from getting up early and walking all day. Next time we’re here I plan to bike around the city and visit the Anne Frank House as well as the Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam seems to be such a lively and free place and it appears that I will be disembarking here now instead of in Dublin, Ireland. That only means I have to come back to Europe in the future and do my own Celtic adventure. It also means I’ll be closer to Paris and just do the Netherlands, France, and Germany on my little back pack adventure. I can’t wait to come back to Amsterdam though. It’s just another hip city like Vancouver, Paris, Sydney, and all those other places in the world free from the social taboos and stress we have in the United States.

Living Art...

There have been new ports since leaving Lisbon a few days ago. Yesterday was Bilbao, Spain and then La Rochelle, France. Both pretty exciting. Bilbao is home to the Guggenheim museum designed by the famous architect Frank Ghery in 1997 who also did numerous other works with the same wavy look. It houses modern art so I wasn't really thinking about going inside to take a look around. Outside of the museum are a few pieces that were interesting to see. Two are by the same artist, Jeff Koons, entitled Puppy and Tulips. The huge Puppy is a statue made out of different colored flowers and sits right in front of the museum. It was built in 1992 and has been quite a staple after seeing all the trinkets honoring the exhibit in all the tourist trap shops. The other exhibit by this artist is Tulips and they almost look like bright shiny candy hanging out in back of the museum. They're made of stainless steel and in very bright colors. The shapes are most like balloons, which a guidebook says, "transmits a sense of weightlessness that contrasts with the heavy material from which it has been constructed, adding to the irony of the work." Just down the way from the Tulips is another interesting metal sculpture that resembles a spider right up to the eight legs digging into the ground and the net sack on its underbelly. The steel it's constructed with makes it look quite intimidating accentuating all the muscles in the legs with its shiny frame. The city itself is very vibrant and clean. There are a lot of shops from high end to simple fashion and it looks like it would have a fabulous nightlife. It's situated in what appears to be a valley since these beautiful mountains stretching up and away from the city center surround it. The sky was so perfectly blue that day and I was so grateful I got to go off and see this great place. I had lunch buffet style (I know I get buffet everyday in the Lido, but this was so good and different) for only 8 Euro. That's cheap compared to the other restaurants advertising paella for 15 Euro and other main dishes upwards of that price. The city seemed to be teeming with art. Along the main street there were just numbers as you walked from end to end. I only saw numbers 2-8, but I guess there were more. Also there were pieces that had forms of "love" in different languages and stacked differently. There was a place where there were all these different light posts just in a clustered area of grass around one of the museums. I wish I could see the piece lit up at night just to see what other meaning it would add to the piece. There just seemed to be a lot of culture present in all parts of the city from theatre to music to dance. More time more time is all I want. The day ended well going back to the Guggenheim and snapping more pictures of this interesting piece of art in itself.

The other day was another day in the French countryside. I got up early and went into the town of La Rochelle, France, which I learned later translates to "Little Cliff" in English. The day didn't start off to well as it was rainy and cold in the morning. I went into town and it was so perfectly French. The buildings, the shops, the cafes were all so cute. I walked along the cobblestone streets and did a little shopping. I only had an hour before I had to get back to the ship to get ready for my afternoon tour. The rain was so fine it was getting quite annoying, but thankfully some of the sidewalks were covered since they were underneath the construction of the building. La Rochelle was just a little fishing village to start, but now it's pretty populated as I saw from the traffic and the people walking around. The area around here is known for Cognac. Unfortunately I didn't get on those tours today, but I did get to go into the French countryside. Bordeaux is not far from here and neither is Rochefort or Lyon. Isle de Re is also another place here that's supposed to be a sight to see with bird sanctuaries, cafes, markets, and bike paths. Just not enough time. Especially since the shuttle ride is 30 minutes into town. My afternoon tour started at 1:00pm and it was a trip to the "Green Venice" (La Venise Verte). I had no idea what I signed up for and went with the flow. We started out on the highway and soon were on the country roads passing through cute towns. Our guide was saying that most of the buildings constructed here are out of limestone with Roman tile roofs. The area so called the "Green Venice" was given its name because up until the 20th century roads were not present in this area of France. It's a marshland so all the houses are built on waterways. Flat bottom boats are used to carry people, livestock, and other materials from one place to the next. At one point this area had a huge problem with Malaria because it is a marshland and prone to mosquitoes. One town, St. Haillard du Palard, was so named for such a problem. Palard referring to the disease of malaria. We drove through Courcon and St. Haillard du Palard before stopping in Arcais. Here is where we stopped for our flat bottom boat ride. Okay, I thought. A boat ride along the swamps. It was so interesting. At every turn it was like a Thomas Kinkade painting. I was living the pictures of the pieces of art I so admire for their dreamy quality no matter how commercial and fabricated they are. We had a gondolier who took us along the many paths in the waterways and we saw some very large geese grazing in an open field along the way. There were MANY bugs skipping across the water as we went along that might be a part of the mosquito family. It was all still very interesting and breathtaking. The clouds dispersed by this time of day and the sun was poking through all the trees burning off the dampness in the area giving everything a little bit of a glow just like in the paintings as well. We were floating along and I was in a boat with some ladies from Alabama and another from New Zealand both remarking on how in such a place in their hometowns there would be crocs and snakes also habitating the area. No such thing here. Just peace and harmony. They also said how much it reminded them of home. Mostly the southern ladies and how much it resembled the bayou in some parts. We stopped at one point and the gondoliers roused up some of the mud on the floor of the canal causing the methane gas to rise to the top. They lit the canal on fire. It's from all the decomposition of the plant life in the area. It leaves a layer of methane gas on the bottom from the bacterial discharge. When it rises to the top it's like the gas your body releases after digestion and you can light it on fire. Once the boat ride was over we had some free time so I stopped in the local café and ordered, in French, a sugar crepe. We got back on the bus and drove down to Coulon to have some more free time. It was just one of the marsh towns on the tour where we could have some free shopping time and get some local items. It was a great day indeed and on the drive back I had a nice nap.

Another lovely day in the French countryside although today was more of a Celtic countryside than French. This region is called Bretagne (or Brittany for English folk). The language comes from the northern Celtic region and is a form of Gaelic called Breton. I was on a passenger tour today going to the towns of Quimper and Locronan. The weather didn't start off too well as we pulled in. It was raining a bit and it was cold enough to wear a small jacket. Boo. A jacket in July. That reminded me of Alaska. Anyway, I got out and got on the bus of a group of 30 as a bagpiper was playing the in the background and we drove off into the countryside. Our guide, Jils, was telling us that the region is part of France and the French Republic, but the elders will still keep the old language of Breton alive. Therefore all the signs we passed in the area were in 2 languages. The people of the area are bilingual and learn both the languages. French didn't really become an official language until the 20th century. The language of Breton doesn't even resemble French in the slightest and has a real guttural sound like the German/Arabic languages. I didn't see any of L'Orient at all really, which is where we ported, but did learn that it started out as a shipyard called L'Orient and grew into a city. It was so named because of the East India Company and all their ships that came here on trade routes. The town was heavily bombed during WWII and we were told a lot of the areas from the old city are still damaged. There are still remnants of the German sub stations here in the bay and a grounded and bombed submarine. He spewed off a lot of history on our drive up to Quimper and I soon discovered the lovely land of sleep as I always do on long bus rides. We finally arrived about an hour later in this bustling town. The title of the tour was called Quaint Quimper and Lovely Locronan. However Quimper was nothing near quaint. It was just like any other metropolitan city with the beauty of the countryside infused into it. The local craft was the special pottery you can typically find in home stores with the colorful hens on them and the interesting swooping designs. This would be the area and place where those designs were inspired. They are also known for their doilies and other knit pieces of linen and clothing. The crepe, invented in Breton, resembles such a trade as nit work because of its flat and holy structure. In French crepe actually means embroidery. We were told that the towns of Breton were typically poor until well into the 20th century and that crepes were a large staple of food. They would ground up the flour to mix with the fresh eggs and milk to create this flat pancake that they would stuff with meats and cheeses (a sandwich) and take into the fields with them for later. Hence the lovely crepe dishes of the area. They are salt crepes to hold the meats and cheeses and sweet crepes to hold the jams and honeys. Yum!! I followed the guided tour to the Cathedral in the heart of town. It was built in two different decades to create one church and you can see that in the design. It actually goes crooked right in the middle of the church where they added on to it. The town looks totally different from all the other towns I have been to in France. The houses are totally stone with a different roof than what we've been seeing with the Roman tiles. The ivy grows right up the sides and there are these huge bulbous flowers everywhere that make the air so fragrant and the look of the scenery that much more picturesque. I strolled through town on my free time and found a fabulous local market selling all the local cheeses and meats. Oh how I wish I could've stayed longer. I did stop in a local wine shop and got some of the Pineau I learned about from yesterday. It's not Pinot as in Pinot Noir, but Pineau. This wine is laced with Cognac and I learned that despite the large alcohol content, you might not taste it at all because of its sweetness. I was back on the bus a few moments later and we were on our way to Locronan. We had a rendezvous with the local creperie there and were told we would get 3 crepes. One was going to be filled with scallops and a special béarnaise type sauce, another with ham, and the last with a local honey jam spread. We arrived in Locronan and it was straight out of a fairy tale town. If my iPod were charged, frown, I would've played selections from Irish folk music to The Secret Garden and it would've been perfect. The restaurant we stopped in was called Ly Cox Creperie and Bar. It was inside this stone house that had an atmosphere I cannot possibly describe. It was decorated fabulously and gave me such a warm feeling. The crepes came and they were absolutely delicious as I washed them down with the local cider. I also bought a bottle of this cider since it was so amazing at the table and came highly recommended by our tour guide. I strolled around town and just got lost and wrapped up in all the beauty that was around me. I felt like I went back in time about 1,000 years or more. It was on a sort of plateau that overlooked the Breton countryside and there were some stunning views. I stopped in the local bakery and also partook in some of the local Breton cookie. Yum!! I used my French as much as possible. It's amazing what the mind can remember. I think I just need total immersion at this point to force me back into learning it again. I was on the bus after a very satisfying day where I enjoyed another nap for most of the way home. Au Revoir to France now as we head into the Scandinavian area.