Wednesday 3 August: Kristiansand
After my morning sleep-in, I leave the ship around 10:30 am. Kristiansand is a small city (Norway’s second largest) that reminds me very much of Christchurch, New Zealand. Situated at the very southernmost point of Norway, it’s a place for strolling and lolling, since there are no “must-see” attractions. But there is a new opera house under construction right at the seafront where the Eurodam docks and the results of a sand-sculpture contest at the town beach not too far away. The cathedral and town hall sit at the center of the city and there is (as in most European cities) a pedestrians-only shopping zone. The highlight of Kristiansand is the Poselyn neighborhood, five square blocks of wooden houses that survived the fire of 1892. I think the theme of this trip will be “domestic architecture,” since Norway provides such a variety of wonderful examples.
I return to the ship for a late lunch (corned beef and Swiss cheese sandwich) and at 4 pm we slip out of the harbor heading west and north to Bergen. So far it has been very smooth and quiet sailing—and I seem to have lucked out and planned my visit for Norway’s two-week summer weather.
First Formal Night
Tonight is the first formal night and my blue blazer and red tie will have to do. There aren’t many tuxedoes in the dining room and I’m glad I decided to leave mine home for this cruise. Tonight’s dinner is jumbo shrimp cocktail, duck paté in warm puff pastry, and rack of lamb with mustard-garlic sauce. The dining staff is excellent and I am continually reminded how much better the food and service is on Holland America than it was on the Cunard Mediterranean cruise last October.
The sun doesn’t set until well after 10 pm and after dinner I stroll the decks and watch the gently rolling shoreline as we sail quietly up the North Sea.
The web is very slow tonight, so no pictures--will try to add some tomorrow.
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