Monday, September 8, 2008
Berlin, Germany
09/07/2008 We docked this morning in Warnemunde, a city of 8,000 founded in 1323 but did not come to life until it’s wealthy neighbors of Rostock discovered the pleasures of the sea, In the early 1900’s it was noted for it’s strictly segregated men’s and women’s beaches. Warnemunde has advanced over the past 108 years and now boasts of its beach dedicated to nude bathing. Our day started with a three hour train ride to Berlin. We caught a hop-on-hop-off bus for 12 Euro each to see the city. Our mistake; we got on a bus where the guide alternated between Germen and English description of the sights. It was hard to follow thus taking away from the city. I am glad we went to Berlin but I don’t see us coming back; it’s just another big city and the history has been changed with new construction. Over the past 100 years all the old building were either destroyed in WWII or have been replaced with new construction, many times replicating the old but still new. I found it confusing that most of the sights worth seeing were in East Berlin and not West Berlin. The history of the Gate and the Wall were interesting and did bring back memories but overall Berlin was disappointing to all of us.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Copenhagen, Denmark
09/05/2008 I turned a year older today, (23,360 days alive) not to go unnoticed by Ron and Avie. While relaxing on the sun deck I was jarred to consciousness by the public announcement, “This guy is celebrating his birthday today, that’s right it’s his birthday.” Ron stood over me making his declaration to over five hundred sunning cruisers.
I took my first bicycle spinning class and I’m looking forward to my next opportunity to bring this aging body back to fighting form. The evening ended with a lobster and grouper dinner (singing waters, “Happy Birthday”, cake) again courtesy of Ron and Avie, and a 70’s musical stage production that ended with a tribute to the group Queen. They couldn’t have chosen better for Nita and me; we sang along with every word.
What a fabulous way to celebrate your birthday, (one of the days I will remember) last year we did it in China.
Copenhagen, Denmark
09/06/2008 As we moved up the Baltic Sea the weather changed from 61 and sunny to 58 rainy and overcast but cleared by noon. Nita and Avie met Lars, one of Avie’s internet students for a private day tour while Ron and I sought out the free bikes that are available around Copenhagen. It turned out that the availability of bikes was not plentiful but after two and a half hours of walking Copenhagen we did find two bikes to finish out our city exploration. We found Copenhagen to be inviting, friendly and easy to get around in with many pedestrian areas. Most notable were the Danish women, they are beautiful; blond deep tanned skin, full figured and friendly. Not being able to locate the free bikes readily we made it a point to ask for help in our search from only beautiful women. This added to our difficulty because we often found it hard to follow their instructions having spent most of our time with them admiring their “features”.
Lars met Nita and Avie and they toured the city via the double decker bus with side trips to Tivoli Park, the pedestrian shopping area and the city lakes. The NCL cruise ships all operate under a “freestyle” eating plan which gives us a choice of eleven restaurants to eat in each evening thus we are with new people every night adding to the cruising experience.
I took my first bicycle spinning class and I’m looking forward to my next opportunity to bring this aging body back to fighting form. The evening ended with a lobster and grouper dinner (singing waters, “Happy Birthday”, cake) again courtesy of Ron and Avie, and a 70’s musical stage production that ended with a tribute to the group Queen. They couldn’t have chosen better for Nita and me; we sang along with every word.
What a fabulous way to celebrate your birthday, (one of the days I will remember) last year we did it in China.
Copenhagen, Denmark
09/06/2008 As we moved up the Baltic Sea the weather changed from 61 and sunny to 58 rainy and overcast but cleared by noon. Nita and Avie met Lars, one of Avie’s internet students for a private day tour while Ron and I sought out the free bikes that are available around Copenhagen. It turned out that the availability of bikes was not plentiful but after two and a half hours of walking Copenhagen we did find two bikes to finish out our city exploration. We found Copenhagen to be inviting, friendly and easy to get around in with many pedestrian areas. Most notable were the Danish women, they are beautiful; blond deep tanned skin, full figured and friendly. Not being able to locate the free bikes readily we made it a point to ask for help in our search from only beautiful women. This added to our difficulty because we often found it hard to follow their instructions having spent most of our time with them admiring their “features”.
Lars met Nita and Avie and they toured the city via the double decker bus with side trips to Tivoli Park, the pedestrian shopping area and the city lakes. The NCL cruise ships all operate under a “freestyle” eating plan which gives us a choice of eleven restaurants to eat in each evening thus we are with new people every night adding to the cruising experience.
Friday, September 5, 2008
The Norwegian Jewel out of Dover England
Thursday 6:30 PM we find ourselves at the Tzars dinning room; smoked salmon appetizer, leg of lamb entrée, and soufflé for desert. Exactly 24 hours have passed since we boarded our plane in Birmingham and we are now in the English Channel heading for the Baltic Sea. Those 24 hours are a blur. We did have a plane ride to London, little to no sleep, a bus ride from London to Dover, lunch and still little to no sleep.
We can’t help making comparisons between our new ship and the Royal Caribbean that took us to Spain in May. The RC was a floating luxurious Spa City, the NCL is a floating Ritz Carlton, and thus far the food is better on the NCL; then there’s the Carnival out of Mobile… it’s a NASCAR race with good food and good entertainment.
Ron survived the two plane rides, and swears that he has had his last. Our first stop will be Copenhagen, Denmark Saturday morning 8:00 AM; Friday is for relaxation and sleep.
We can’t help making comparisons between our new ship and the Royal Caribbean that took us to Spain in May. The RC was a floating luxurious Spa City, the NCL is a floating Ritz Carlton, and thus far the food is better on the NCL; then there’s the Carnival out of Mobile… it’s a NASCAR race with good food and good entertainment.
Ron survived the two plane rides, and swears that he has had his last. Our first stop will be Copenhagen, Denmark Saturday morning 8:00 AM; Friday is for relaxation and sleep.
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