Tuesday, 18 September 2011

Tucson, AZ:  Home Again

This is the final posting for my transatlantic cruise--although I will be posting lots more photos once I get everything in order.  The Kodak website has closed down, so I will have to find a new venue for posting and sending.

Friday, 14 September 2012, 6 am






Just as the captain announced last night, at precisely 6 am we pass the Statue of Liberty, brightly lit in the dark early morning sky.  We pass her on the port side, which means I can step onto my verandah in my pj's to get a close-up view.   It's much too dark for photos without special settings on the camera--which I haven't bothered to lern yet (it's a new camera).

The Eurodam is absolutely silent (even on the outer decks) as we glide up the Hudson and turn to the starboard into the pier at 57th Street.  Disembarkation is very carefully choreographed, and my number is even called about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

The biggest problem is trying to get a taxi.  The port authorities have a good system; everyone gets a numbered ticket, so there is no pushing and shoving (except for the stupids with very high numbers who put their luggage on the curb and block everyone else's access).  The problem is there just are no taxis.  I had a 45-minute wait for the 10-minute ride down to my cousin's place on 15th Street.

Friday Afternoon:  911 Memorial

Fortunately it was a beautiful New York Autumn day (my cousin claims I always bring good weather to the City).  In the afternoon we head downtown to the 911 Memorial--which is a maze of lines and security to get into--where the two memorial pools, with their central voids that stand in the footprints of the Twin Towers, have been completed.  The museum building looks almost comp,eye, but none of the underground exhibits have been put in place yet.  The area is actually still a huge construction site, and access and views are somewhat limited.  But when everything is completed there will be open access from all sides of the memorial.

Friday Dinner

Although I am starting my post-cruise withdrawal from all the bad things I ate, I did manage to enjoy a fine dinner of country pate with two mustards and skirt steak with "French" French fries ("pommes frites" to those who have tasted the difference) and root vegetables at Cafe de Loup, a typical West Village bistro with reasonable prices, good food, and, of course, a great deal of noise!  Our cousin Harvey, who lives in Brooklyn, and Helen's friend Cathy, whom I've met before, joined us for dinner.

Saturday Travel

A long day of travel, but the flights left on time and arrived early, and nobody threatened to bump me off, so I don't have much to complain about.  I must take a final moment to commend Delta Airlines for sending out brief service surveys when you reach your destination.  And more importantly for responding to the comments.  I received a phone call from Delta the very next day regarding my complaint about having to wait 30 minutes for wheelchair service in Atlanta.  They actually track down the people involved.  So take the few minutes to fill out the form on line.  I don't know if other airlines do the same, but Delta is very good about it.

Farewell

Goodbye for this trip.  Will and I already have a Scandinavia-Russia cruise planned or next August, and I would really like to do South America.

Thursday, 13 September 2012

Final Day at Sea

I have just returned from the “disembarkation information session” in the Eurodam’s two-level theatre, which is a real reminder that the cruise is coming to an end.  We are scheduled to sail under the Verrazano Bridge at 5:30 am tomorrow morning and to pass the statue of liberty at 6:00.  Because this is the Eurodam’s first visit to an American port in over four months, the customs and immigration officials will be doing a major check of the ship before anyone is allowed to disembark.  So even though we will be at the pier by 7 am, it will be a while after that before disembarkation actually starts.  Each passenger receives a specific disembarkation time and the ship’s crew is very diligent in making sure everyone follows the rules.  I am set to leave the ship at 10 am, which means I will have time for a nice breakfast and a nap after getting up early to capture our entrance into New York harbor.

In my last posting I mentioned that although the food is quite good, some of the standards of classic shipboard cuisine seem to be fading.  Well, wouldn’t you know, that very night the menu served up duck pate, escargot, and two giant lobster tails!  And the next night brought the late-night chocolate extravaganza.  Perhaps tonight we will have the requisite parade of Baked Alaska.

St John’s, Newfoundland, the port on the eastern edge of Canada that we skipped, was really battered by hurricane winds and floods.  The captain made a wise choice to take a course through the channel that runs on the northwestern side of that Island and separates Labrador from Newfoundland (check your maps!).  Instead of coming around the eastern and southern sides of Newfoundland Island into the Atlantic (and the worst of the storms), we took a course  through the Gulf of St Lawrence and the Cabot Strait down to the southern side of Nova Scotia and into Halifax, where we arrived one day ahead of schedule.  Although there was lots of rain during those two sailing days, the winds were calm and the ride was quite comfortable.

We arrived in Halifax on Tuesday at noon to bright sunshine, which continues to be with us as we sail to New York.

Tuesday and Wednesday in Halifax

 

 

Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Halifax, Nova Scotia

This has been a cruise of extremes.  The captain has never had to deal with three hurricanes in one transatlantic journey.  At the same time, he has never had such wonderful weather for our two days in Greenland.

We arrived in Halifax just before noon yesterday to bright sunshine and warm temperatures.  And today promises to be the same.

Halifax is a lovely city built on hills that climb upward from the magnificent harbor, which has been transformed into a vast playground of restaurants, shops, and museums.  The city is home to two major universities and has a youthful population well supplied with pubs, clubs,and bars.  I will post pictures later today.

Monday, 10 September 2012
Sailing the Gulf of St Lawrence and the Cabot Straits  

Although we have been forced to miss two ports (Shetland Islands and St John’s, Newfoundland), it looks like we have skirted the worst of the bad weather.  Although it has been raining quite hard all day, there is little wind and the seas are calm.  Surprisingly we have had good weather for all our port stays (except for a little rain the second day in Reykjavik), and the captain has promised that fair weather will return when we arrive in Halifax tomorrow (for our now two-day stay).  There are lots of activities to keep everyone busy on board the Eurodam—if one chooses to participate.  I have been using the time productively to edit my more than 1,000 photographs taken on the cruise (so far), with which I will bore everyone after I get back to Tucson.

The food and service in the dining room continues to live up to HAL standards.  I have a table to myself on the balcony of the dining room and my two servers, Nandi and Teddi (both from Indonesia), are cordial and helpful—especially when it comes to removing lobster tails from their casings and removing the central bones from fresh fish.  Having said that, however, I do think the menus have changed over the past four years, moving away from classical cuisine to more trendy and adventurous recipes.  So far there has been no escargot and only one serving of paté!

Anthony, the wine steward from two of my previous cruises on the Eurodam, has returned to the ship after doing an around-the-world cruise on the ms Amsterdam—which is why he wasn’t on my cruise to Norway and Scotland last August.  He is working the other side of the dining room, but when I went over to greet him, he remembered my first and last names without any hints.  Last night was the Philippine Crew Show, in which he performs, but I just couldn’t stay awake long enough to take in the midnight show.

Tonight is the final formal night and the Officers’ Black and White Ball.  The late-night “snacks,” which used to a highlight of cruising, are pretty much played down now-a-days.  I wonder if there will be a chocolate buffet at all on this cruise.

All the rain today makes me miss the sunny and warm skies of Tucson.



  

Saturday, 8 September 2012
Nanortalik, Greenland

These two days in Greenland have been worth all the bumpy nights and worries about hurricanes hovering off in the near distance.  What a spectacular place to be privileged to have seen up close.

Yesterday’s sailing through the sounds and fjords of southern Greenland was a majestic reflection of the creative majesty of Nature in its most "sublime"—Wordsworth and Coleridge would have found a oneness with nature here, even at its most frightening heights and dizzying verticals.  The flowing glaciers and tall crags bring one closer to the spirit of self combined with whatever spirits lurk out beyond us. 

Today’s visit to Nanortalik demonstrates how a few hundred happy people celebrate this closeness on a daily basis.  Having a ship as large as the Eurodam drop anchor off the village square is quite an event for the natives.  You can’t blame them for trying to make a few dollars off the tourists (the lineup at the post office for stamps was especially long).  But on the whole they are a friendly and welcoming people, happy to share a wave and a smile, and to pose for the endless photographs we tourists insist on taking.

Backed up against the sheer gray granite of the mountains, the colorful native cottages create a mosaic of bright design.  In the bright sun and mild temperatures a walk through the whole village—and the surrounding suburbs--takes merely a pleasurable hour even at  a slow pace.

As the Eurodam departs from Greenland the captain tells us we will be missing another port--St Johns, Newfoundland, and taking an interior route between Labrador and Newfoundland Island, rather than heading south around the island.  We will head through the Gulf of St Lawrence and the Cabot Strait to try to reach Halifax without going through the center of the now-combine hurricanes Leslie and Michael.  We will spend an extra day in Halifax before heading down the coast to New York on Friday.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Reykjavik, Iceland

For our second full day in Reykjavik we enjoy another day of sunshine—only this time it’s liquid sunshine (as the Icelanders like to describe rain).  I am certainly glad I did my touring yesterday when the sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky.

For those who have been missing my food descriptions, dinner is chilled pear soup with caramelized apples; frisee and maiche salad with dried cherries and cherry tomatoes; chicken Kiev with assorted vegetables; and a lemon-chocolate layered concoction for dessert.

Thursday, 6 September 2012

Sailing from Iceland to Greenland

Today is a lovely day with smooth sailing, which the captain tells us is pretty rare for this part of the world at this time of the year.  As part of the ship’s cultural program, Jon Vidur Sigurdsson gives a preview of tomorrow’s sailing route through the fjords of southern Greenland.  It sounds (and looks from the pictures) like an exciting day; and the captain has promised more fair weather.

Friday, 7 September 2012

Sailing Prins Christian Sund, Greenland

Although I don’t get up at six to watch for whales as we enter Prins Christian Sund, I am up at eight, early enough for the start of a most incredible day.  Rather than sailing around the southern coast of Greenland’s smaller islands, we are sailing through a series of inter-connected sounds, fjords, and narrow passages that first takes the Eurodam westward for about 30 miles. The scenery along the Sund is majestic:  tall mountains with glaciers that stream all the way down to the water and breach calves that float out to sea. At some points the Sund is barely wider than the Eurodam itself. 

At the upper end of the Sund, we make a series of hard right and left turns as we navigate through narrow channels that take us north to the tiny village of Aapppilattoq (where we drop off supplies and pizzas for the locals).  From there we had west and then south down the long and narrow Torsukattaq channel before reaching the ocean water that takes us around the southernmost tip of the mainland.  If you look at a map of Greenland, you can see how our route literally slices across the southern end of the island.  The total journey is 66 miles, but it takes a full day to reach open water.

All the decks and the bow are open to passengers for the entire journey and a lunch buffet is served outdoors by the pool on the Lido Deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Reykjavik, Iceland

After two days at sea it’s nice to be in port again—with the sun shining brightly.  Although it is very cold out here by the dock, warmer central Reykjavík is just a quick taxi ride away.  Taxis are metered and the driver will take almost any currency or credit card.  His meter has built-in currency conversion rates so there is no problem in paying in my remaining Norwegian Kroner (and a credit card on the way back).

I bundle up in t-shirt, shirt, two sweatshirts and a jacket—I should have brought gloves.  But my costume is a little over-kill since the temperature rises as soon as I get away from the water.  I spend this morning doing a short walking tour of central Reykjavik.  It is interesting that most homes are built of corrugated metal; the more expensive ones have a layer of stucco on top of the metal.  Homes are built up the sides of hills surrounding the city, most with lovely gardens and wonderful views.

 

 

After lunch back on the Eurodam I prepare for my afternoon excursion—“Photogenic Iceland.”  This is an intensive five-hour tour to visit some of the most scenic spots on the Reykjanes Peninsula, that juts out westward into the Atlantic south of Reykjavik.  First stop is a fish-drying frame, used as part of Iceland’s largest export—dried fish bones (don’t ask about the smell).  The tour guide was so happy and proud that this stop was available—it’s almost the end of the fishing season—that most of us on the tour didn’t want to puncture his balloon with our total lack of interest.

As we head south the terrain becomes more interesting, changing continuously from moss-covered green hills to moon-like fields of lava and boulders.  NASA astronauts trained for the moon missions in this part of Iceland since the terrain is the most-lunar-like they could find.

Further on glacial lakes of deep blue and green lap against black lava sand beaches.  The rift that separates the European and North American tectonic plates runs right through this area and I stand with one foot in each continent as we visit the Sultun geothermic site (you can’t quite do this in Istanbul unless you are in the middle of a suspension bridge).  This small area is full of bubbling hot lava beds that continuously spout and give off funnels of steam (along with that wonderful sulphuric smell).  If you have visited the northern part of Yellowstone Park you will get a sense of this terrain, although the colors here in Iceland are more muted than those in Wyoming.

We drive through scenes of lush farmland and small villages.  The world-famous Icelandic horses run free here.  They are part of a pure breed that goes back to the very first settlers of the land in 700 AD.  The breeding rules are very strict; if a horse leaves Iceland for any reason it can never come back and must either be settled or sold abroad.

We stop at a small fishing village to watch the last of the day’s catch being unloaded and then head to the westernmost point of the peninsula and the nearby lighthouse.  There is plenty of wild surf crashing against the rocks and black lava sand beaches, all watched over by a six-foot life-size statue of a Great Auk, a species now extinct.

From the lighthouse we drive a short distance to one of the most important tourist sites in all of Iceland—The Blue Lagoon.  Created from the exhaust steam of the nearby power plant, the Lagoon’s blue-white waters are gathered in a large pool with modern bathing facilities.  The water is supposed to have therapeutic value and there are many swimmers today who emerge from the waters covered in a thin layer of white silt.  But the sight of the blue-white water against the background of lava boulders is startlingly beautiful.  For those who wish to spend the day, there is a restaurant, snack bar, changing rooms, and—of course—souvenir shop.

From the Blue Lagoon, the coach takes a more direct route back to Reykjavik, passing Keflavik International Airport, several golf courses built by the American military during the Cold War, and growing suburbs with their shopping centers and high-rise apartments.  Our guide has been quite good, providing factual and interesting background at each of the stops.

The tour arrives back at the Eurodam just in time to dress for dinner and have a glass of champagne.
 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, 1 September 2012
Fläm, Norway

This morning’s scene is even more incongruous than yesterday’s—we are docked alongside the tiny village of Fläm, whose sole purpose is to sell trinkets and serve as the lower end of the Fläm-Myrdal railway connection, the steepest non-rack train in the world.  The line was built to connect the shipping routes of the Aurlandsfjord and the longer Sognefjord with the Oslo-Bergen rail line in Myrdal.  The ride is only 50 minutes each way, but the views of farms, villages and waterfalls are spectacular, as are the tunnels drilled through the mountainside.  The train loops around sharp climbing curves and as I look below I can see the tunnels and covered track protectors I passed through only a few moments before.  The train stops for a 15-minute picture opportunity at a three-tier waterfall that cascades down below the tracks to the fjord; the year-round ice fields at the top of the mountains provide a constant source of torrential water.

There’s not much to do at the top, except admire the views (and the engineers who built the railway), and enjoy Norwegian waffles with jam and sour cream at the Vatnahalsen Hotel, just a few meters below the Myrdal station.  The ride down to Fläm is equally exciting, especially given the opportunity to sit on the other side of the train.  I share seats with a retired couple from Belgium, who are really excited about their first trip to New York.

On my first trip to Europe in 1968 I took an overnight train from Oslo to Bergen, saving some money by sleeping enroute.  I hadn’t even planned to visit Norway at all during that 12-week trip, but Sweden was very expensive (I was a poor graduate student at the time), so after one day in Stockholm, I spent several nights on trains getting to and back from Bergen.  Since I hadn’t researched this part of my trip, I was surprised when most everyone got off the train in Myrdal instead of heading directly west to Bergen.  I soon learned that it was the spectacular train down from Myrdal to Fläm and then the trip by boat from Fläm to Bergen that everyone was opting for. Since I missed this trip back then I am happy to report that I have finally made that ride, albeit 44 years later.

After the train ride I have plenty of time to wander the few shops and local railway museum in Fläm before returning to the ship.  The cruise director had informed everyone that the souvenir shop in Fläm is known as “the most expensive store in Norway.”  And they sure have a captive audience, since there’s nothing else in town.

At six pm the Eurodam does another big U-turn as we prepare for a scenic sail down the Sognefjord. I visited several wonderful fjords on my Norway-Scotland cruise last summer, but  the Sognefjord  gives the best views for the money—and it’s the narrowest and deepest in Europe.  Tour Guide Ian provides narration as the ship glides quietly (it’s amazing how quiet this big ship can be) down to the North Sea near Bergen.  The bow of the ship is again open for passengers to feel as close as possible to the mountains that tower above.

Those of you who have followed my earlier cruises will note that I’m not saying much about food this time.  I’ll just report that it is as varied and well-prepared as on other Holland America cruises and I am quite pleased with the servers at my table.

The Captain keeps us updated on the weather and hopes to outrun the storm by skipping our next port, Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, and heading straight for Reykjavik.  I hope he’s right.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Sunday, 2 September 2012

At sea on the Eurodam, 3 pm

The good news is that my laptop has decided to cooperate and run normally again, so I will try to provide photos again.

The bad news is that we are skipping the port of Lerwick in the northern Shetland Islands.  The captain has announced that there is a big storm in the North Atlantic that he hopes to avoid by making a change in itinerary and heading straight for Reykjavik, Iceland.  He hasn’t said anything about what happens after our two days in Reykjavik, so let’s hope the next announcement is good news.  In the meantime, I will continue where I left off . . .

Friday, 31 August 2012
Stavanger, Norway

I wake to spectacular views of the center of Stavanger from my balcony.  The ship has docked right alongside the streets of the Old Town and we could not be closer to the city—in fact, the massive presence of the ship towering over the cozy wooden houses is quite surreal.  Although the sun is shining, the weather is rather and windy and cool, so I do the old layering-on of clothes and after breakfast in the Lido I head ashore.

Stavanger, the fourth largest city in Norway, lies at the top of the Lysfjord, which connects to a series of larger fjords, as it heads out to the North Sea.  The old town has a series of wooden residences preserved from the 18^th and 19^th centuries that have managed to avoid the fires that routinely destroy the old neighborhoods.  Rich in forestry, lumber was the cheapest and most readily available building material and the risk of conflagration is always great.  There are no major museums or tourist stops, so the best thing is to wander and enjoy the atmosphere of the compact city center and harbor, where another large cruise ship has anchored just behind us.

 

We sail from Stavanger at 5 pm, after the Eurodam has made another of its amazing 180° turns.

From the open bow of the ship, there are spectacular views of islands, mountains, as small villages as we make the journey down the fjord and head to tomorrow’s port, Fläm.

 

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