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Monday, August 16, Djupivogur, Iceland We were up rather early as this is an early port day. I also needed to deliver the tour reminders for the following day's tour from Reykjavik That was quite a chore as one of the couple's rooms on deck 4 aft was hard to reach due to the mid section of deck 4 being closed off for quarantine cabins. I only found one way in and out of that section, from the small hall behind the aft elevator. I did 2000 steps just walking around the ship. We were very intrigued by information at the EXC tables in the crow's nest about Papey Island off Djupivogur. Having visited Djupivogur before, we knew there is little in town to occupy more than 90 or so minutes. I had looked up the ferry information to Papey Island but it said it only ran at 1:00 PM, which does not work with our port schedule of 7:00 AM – 2:30 PM. The ship did not offer a tour to Papey Island either We decided to get off on a tender around 8:15 in hopes that perhaps the ferry service was enterprising enough to take advantage of a potential customer base and have an earlier option. Well, Djupivogur was the least enterprising and least welcoming site we've visited in Iceland. There was no information center, no one at the port offering maps or advice, and the restaurant and coffee shop did not open early to offer their services to the cruisers. Perhaps they just don't like cruise ships? We walked around and took photos of what used to be a church. We stopped by the general store/supermarket at 9:05 (they opened at 9:00) and bought some Icelandic licorice. While in the store we noticed the post office is also inside (open 11:00 – 14:00 only) and the bank (open Mon, Wed, Fri from noon to 3:00 only). We then made our way to see the outdoor art “Eggin / Gledivik” (The Eggs of Merry Bay) on the waterfront perhaps a Kilometer from the tender dock. We took photos and noticed an unusual Orange structure in the distance on the waterfront. Was this some type of lighthouse? While it was a beautiful sunny morning the wind was at least triple the “9 MPH” stated on our cabin TV, and it was biting with the air temperature in the 40's. We stopped in the local souvenir shop as it finally had opened at 10:00 but found nothing of interest and then headed back to the ship on the next tender. After being 'chilled to the bone' by that wind it was time to make use of the hot tubs on board. We certainly thought they were better called 'warm tubs' but still they felt good. Afterwards we enjoyed a few beverages while relaxing by the pool. A light lunch was obtained from the Lido or the Dive-Inn and then we had a happy birthday call with our grandson who was turning six today. I took a few photos of a rainbow that appeared on the east side of the fjord as a rain shower appeared. It was time to freshen up after the swim and soak, and we had a relaxing afternoon. The goal is to stay up tonight for the “Orange party” at 9:30. After preparing for the evening we visited the Grand Dutch Cafe. DW found a 'new' wine at the Cafe and began ordering that one as her previous favorite is no longer available. Sailing along the coast it is very pretty to watch the coastline slide by. During the evening we passed several huge glaciers. With the sun now in the west however it made photography difficult. Dinner was simply superb this evening. Our friends went to Tamarind and enjoyed their dinner as well. Afterwards we made a short visit up to the crow's nest to take a few coastline photos and then settled in at Billboard for a while. We had a great time for the “All request” set and then listened at a distance to the Rock Room set. We stayed for the start of the 9:00 Billboard set and at about 9:15 we moved over to B B King's for the 9:30 Orange Party. The Orange Party was somewhat disappointing. In past years the Orange night has featured lots of Dutch foods as well as drinks and was an overall celebration of Dutch heritage. Now, it is just pushing orange gin-based drinks. It was good to hear the B B King's group. They total eight folks and are very talented. We stayed for their entire set and then called it a night. What made it fun was being with our friends, new and old. Tuesday, August 16, Reykjavik, Iceland. The longest tour of the cruise was booked for our day in Reykjavik. We didn't arrive until 10:00 but the ship is not scheduled to depart until 11:00 PM. We have a '10 hour' South Shore tour booked through Arctic Shoreex. No reason to get up early, we went to the dining room for breakfast at about 8:10. We won't do that again. Service was horribly slow and they don't even seem to come by any more to ask if you want juice or a pastry/bread selection. Another Holland America special treatment that seems to be history. After we finally had our breakfast we went to the lido to find our friends who were just finishing their breakfast. They are doing the “Golden Circle Tour” today which we did some years back. Service in the Canaletto area of the lido is nearly as poor as in the dining room. They like the more comfortable chairs there but the servers completely ignored us latecomers even though we would have liked some coffee and tea. Honestly, the service in the main lido at meal times is quite good and we really appreciate that. Our private tour was to be 13 folks in a 16 passenger mini-bus. Well, one couple ended up 'double-booking' tours for the day. They tried to resell their two prepaid tickets but to no avail, and they went the their other tour as they have been with that touring group of folks at other ports. Then, I had a message on my phone from the three-some in our group that she wasn't feeling well that morning and did a covid self-test which was positive. They were waiting on the official test from the ship but they would not be going. So, we ended up with just eight folks on the 16 passenger mini-bus. The tour did involve a lot of time in the bus so having that extra space ended up working out well for those who actually took the tour. We met at 9:55 at the Dutch Cafe. At about 10:10 an announcement was made that due to 'shore side hiccups' we would not be able to disembark until 10:30, and please do not wait on deck one. So we waited in the Ocean bar on deck two. At about 10:25 the 'clear to go ashore' announcement was made. A comment here is that with a 10:00 arrival time 'everyone wants to get off' right away, and everything should be done by the ship's team to ensure there are no 'hiccups' to cause delays. Even though all aboard is at 10:30 PM, many of the tours from Reykjavik are eight to ten hours long. Ours ended up being 10 hours and 45 minutes, and it could have been longer if we had wanted it to be! We were about the first mini-bus to leave the parking area. Our guide, Tomas, from Arctic ShoreEx was terrific all day. We headed away from Reykjavik and our first stop was a 'bonus stop' due to our small number of passengers. We stopped at an area where thick soft moss covers the very rough volcanic rock. Tomas showed us how the moss regenerates each spring and how even though the rock is extremely sharp you can lay on the moss with no concerns. He said many athletic competitors do exactly that when they complete a competition. We then continued on our way. This area of the ring road is being expanded to two lanes in each direction. Tomas talked about the increase in tourism in Iceland driving the need to improve the infrastructure. Tourism took off after the big 2010 volcanic eruption as news outlets in Europe focused on Iceland for more than a week, often showing some of the beautiful vistas, waterfalls, etc. We made two quick rest stops on our way to the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. Seljalandsfoss is unique in that you can walk behind it. Just four of our group of eight made the trek over the wet rocks to reach the area behind the falls, but it was worth it. We did get quite wet from the wind-blown spray, but everything dried within 30 minutes once back in the bus. The origin of the Seljalandsfoss river is the Eyjafjallajokull glacier volcano, which we were also able to photography part of. From Seljalandsfoss it was a bit of a drive on to the Skogafoss waterfall. Skogafoss is said to be the most photographed in Iceland and one of the top waterfalls for photography in the world. We made a brief stop at the access road as there was a rainbow around the base of the falls and would return later. Tomas said the best photography here if the sun is shining was at about 3 – 4:00. We took a side road to get a closer glimpse of Solheimajokull, an outlet glacier of the Myrdalsjokull ice cap, which covers the Katla volcano. This is the large ice cap I have photos of from our visit to the island of Heimey on a previous visit. We could see Heimey off the coast during our drive. It is a .75 KM walk from the parking area to the overlook of the glacier, which currently ends in a glacial lake. It is an addition and rougher .75 KM to actually reach the face of the glacier. Time constraints meant this was not a possibility. We did see many young folks equipped with gear to actually hike up on the glacier, which is very popular here. We returned to the Skogafoss waterfall for some up close photos and a lunch/supper stop at the hotel located there. At this time I caught some photos of a double rainbow in the falls, truly special. We headed further down the coast to the Reynisfjara beach. This beach is magnificent with its black volcanic sands, geometric basalt columns and caves. There are also the towering Reynisdrangar sea stacks jutting out of the ocean just offshore. This was a most popular spot with a lot of visitors exploring the area, and children and young folks climbing on the columns (which did not appear to be very safe...) Reynisfjara beach represented our furthest point. In discussions with Tomas, we all agreed to forgo the visit to the town of Vik for more time at the other locales. We drove just a few KM back and stopped at Dyrholaey, a spectacular arched cliff with a lighthouse and gorgeous black sand beaches around. We were also able to see puffins which nest in the cliff face. I was able to get photos of a baby puffin in it's nest as well as other puffins standing near their nests. This was truly a magical site and we really enjoyed Dyrholaey. From there we began the long drive back to Reykjavik. We stopped at the same rest area as on our outbound trip, and made a quick post office box drop for some of our tour members to mail their postcards. One couple had asked earlier in the tour if there would be time to visit the Reykjavik church and Tomas said we will have to see our timing. At about 9:00 we approached a highway intersection Tomas asked if folks wanted to make the detour to the church. I told Tomas that we needed to get back to the ship. Tomas dropped us off at 9:15 right at the ship. During our drive he was notified on his phone that despite our gorgeous weather, the following day was a 'code yellow' weather emergency. He was scheduled to drive to our next port for a tour there. I obtained his cell number and told him if we heard anything about our port being canceled before leaving Reykjavik I would send a text. Sure enough, there was a letter from the captain at our cabin telling us our port call had been canceled as we would not be able to run the tenders. So we let Tomas know. We raced to the dining room so that DW could give Hendricka her order for the next evening. We then went up to the NY Deli to grab a little food. The lido also opened for 'late night' at 10:00 due to the number of late tours returning. We met our new Catan friends at the deli and sat with them. A little before 11:00 the bar server came by for 'last call.' Well, that has never happened to us before on a cruise! Of course, on most cruise lines the bar wouldn't be closing at 11:00 either. At 11:11 we entered the elevator to go down to cabin 1111 and called it a night. Wednesday, August 17, Grundarfjordur, Iceland (or not) Our last port call in Iceland was to be a new port for us. However, due to very stormy weather with near 50 MPH winds and high waves, the port was canceled and we enjoyed a sea day. So the Nieuw Statendam had left Reykjavik and headed west-southwest at a leisurely 13-14 knots towards the next port of call in Greenland. The ship was sure shaking as the seas were 4-5 meters (15-20 feet). With no need to get up early and after our very late day we slept late. We found our friends in the lido around 9:45. The pool was fun in the morning along with the hot tub. The ladies did their own thing. We spent the afternoon playing Catan in the lido on a long table for six, using the two-tops next to us to hold beverages and snacks. It all worked out well and our traveling friends won the two matches. Dinner was terrific and we can't say enough good things about our wait staff. We also had a nice chat with the dining room host, Juli. Wine steward Edward found us a bottle of DW's and our friends favorite wine on the ship, the Sextant Zinfandel. Most spots are telling us there is no more available. Hope Edward can find some more! We tried the show, Canadian comedian Andrew Grose. His first two routines first offended any covid anti-vaccination folks (of course there are none on the ship, but we do have friends at home who are not in favor of the vaccines) and then offended US folks for supposedly not knowing anything about Canada. After fifteen minutes we walked out and found seats in Billboard where Gabe & Megan were playing a terrific set. We stayed in Billboard for their second set and then called it a night. The hours go BACK an hour so we get extra sleep tonight! Thursday, August 18, at sea No need to rush anywhere this morning but we were up at about 7:30. I ran into my friend on the way to the Dutch Cafe for coffee and tea. We ended up sitting there a while and then I brought the coffee back to DW. We met up in the lido at about 8:30 for breakfast. The ladies decided they wanted to shop and walk around and the men agreed to go to the pool and hot tubs. The weather is much improved from yesterday and by noon we had a brilliant blue sky and the seas were calming down, but still a bit bumpy from the storm that had passed. During the fourth 'button push' in the hot tub we were remarking how pleasant it was on the pool deck. One of the large deck 10 tables with the couch had not yet been 'claimed,' so we dried off enough to go claim it. We took turns cleaning up from the water and then I began setting up Catan. My friend brought one of the dutch cafe apple pie slices and that was my lunch. We played a two person round while waiting for the ladies who had all gone to the flower arranging demonstration. Although we said we would play at 1:30 no one was especially hungry so we began at about 12:30. While we were setting this up the ladies passed by the “Effy” shop where they were having a contest. DW ended up with the winning ticket and a bag of 'bling.' Perhaps these trinkets might be enjoyed by our granddaughter, we will see. We played two rounds of Catan and had a really nice time. We had the game put away at about 4:45 and went to get ready for dinner. All I needed to do was to put a long sleeve shirt over my Catan tee. The local dinner feature was Arctic Wolf fish. It was actually so good I asked for a second piece of fish. They made it for DW without the breading and she enjoyed it also. After dinner we visited the photo shop as one of the rotating ads was for a time-lapse video of our passage through Prince Christian Sound. We watched the video and will consider buying it. It comes on a jump drive and is in MP4 format. Also on the drive are perhaps two dozen still photos taken by the photography team during the passage. We stopped at the front desk to make sure we did not need any luggage tags for our self-disembark now nine days away. We also made sure we were on the list to be called should the northern lights appear. Both were affirmative. The world stage show tonight is the Step One Dance Company. We saw their show (well, part of it...) when on our March cruise. The dancers are very talented but this is just not our cup of tea. So we found a terrific table in Billboard and listened to the Rock Room across the hall, then enjoyed two sets at Billboard. At 10:30 we called it a night. We gain a second hour back tonight and look forward to our port call tomorrow! At a few minutes before midnight our cabin phone rang. Guest services was calling to tell us that the Northern Lights were visible. We quickly put on some warm clothes (not warm enough!) and went up deck 10. At first we couldn't see anything but oddly enough the camera could. After a short time we could begin to see them ourselves. There was a flash for perhaps 30 seconds where colors other than green were visible, including purple and red. Sure hope the photos look good! It was brutally cold due to a very strong wind so we lasted perhaps 15 minutes before heading back to the warmth of our cabin.

Saturday, August 13, Akureyri, Iceland The alarm woke us at 6:00. Coffee & tea delivered at 6:30. We met our friends in the lido around 7:20. Our private group tour organized by a cruise critic member was meeting at 7:45 at the Grand Dutch Cafe. At about 7:55 hotel manager Rene walked by and said the ship was clear, the announcement was coming, but we could head to the gangway. Just as we started sure enough the announcement was made. We were among the first off the ship and with our group complete, we were the first group tour to leave the parking area. Our guide was Jonas Karisson, owner of Lake Myvatn Private Tours. I was offered the front seat as our organizer really didn't want it. That was terrific and DW enjoyed having her seat to herself as well. Since our last visit a tunnel has been completed and opened which cuts the trip by 15 minutes each way. This is a toll tunnel and therefore the ship's tour buses do not use it. Our guide has an agreement with the tunnel authority to stop mid-way where there is a pull off area. Because the tunnel goes through a geothermal area, the tunnel temperature year round in around 82 degrees F. Then he led us through a door in the tunnel wall into a large carved out 'room' which had to be 20 or 30 degrees warmer, with the walls very warm to the touch. Really a neat thing to experience and I can't say that we have ever before stopped in the middle of a tunnel to get out of the vehicle. From there we headed off to Godafoss, the waterfall of the Gods. Being the first group from the ship upon arrival there were very few folks around, making for some great photo opportunities. By the time we were leaving 45 minutes later there was many tour groups and hundreds of folks milling about. The next stop was Skútustaðagígar, the pseudo-craters. We did a short walk trying to dodge the midges. They seemed about as bad as our previous visit and then we did cross the road to the homemade ice cream, made from the farm's own cow milk, spot even though at 10:30 it was a little early for ice cream. How likely is it we would get this opportunity again? From there we headed on to the incredible lava formations. We walked the yellow trail dodging the midges, which honestly seemed worse than our previous visit. This time we even had full head covering masks (except for the eyes) and they didn't seem to help that much. Even so, we had a nice time taking photos. The men did the entire trail while the ladies went to the shop to get away from the midges. Next we stopped at a site of a geothermal underwater pool in a cave. I didn't actually reach the pool as the 'trail' down seemed rougher to cross than the rocks near the Greenland ice cap. This cave is right at the area where the American and European plates are separating. We passed a spot where some locals built a pipe structure some years ago and could clearly see that the plates had separated by about a meter. At 12:20 we reached the Myvatn geothermal baths. The entire group had a terrific time here and we made the most of our two hours, leaving five minutes 'early' at 2:15. The bar in the baths even had the same incredible German Apple Cider I enjoyed on our Viking River Cruise the prior month. What a way to enjoy the afternoon. I did end up getting a bit sunburned but it was worth it. Who would ever think of getting sunburned in Iceland? After leaving the baths, we made our last stop at the Myvatn Geothermal Area, the area where the sulfur fumes and hot water come up to the surface. The water is boiling as it comes through the mud. From there, we traveled around the north side of Myvatn lake. We stopped at a photo spot and there was a Porsche convertible with Florida license plates! We told the driver we were from Florida and he said he was from Miami Beach. Still can't quite fathom how he got his car to Iceland. There sure are not many 'convertible' type of days to enjoy in Iceland. We stopped at a photo stop for a bird's eye view of Akureyri. Two additional cruise ships had joined the Nieuw Statendam at dock. Finally we stopped at the main Akureyri church, designed by the same architect as the Reykjavik church, and the design is indeed very similar. The guide took a drive around town on the way back to the ship. We were dropped off at 4:10 just after (and just ahead of) two ship's tour buses, so there was quite a line to get back on the ship. I will give Kudos to the ship as many of the bar staff was outside serving warm apple cider to those waiting to board. It took us about 15 minutes to clear the queue and so we were onboard about 4:30. We did not leave the dock until we were well into our dinner, so we had the perfect view for the sail away down the fjord. Today is our friend's birthday so six of the crew came over to sing the Indonesian birthday song and the rich chocolate cake was brought over. After dinner we went up to the pool deck to enjoy some beverages and the view. We saw what we believed to be a large pod of dolphins but there were quite some distance away. Nearly as far we saw the blow of a small whale but it never surfaced enough to be seen. We called it a night after that adventure and found two sets of returned laundry in our cabin. Sunday, August 14; Seydisfjordur, Iceland We've not visited Seydisfjordur before so today was new. This is a town on only about 800 inhabitants but it sits at the end of a beautiful fjord. We heard there were nice waterfalls to be seen and many hiking trails. We are actually tendering in as a Viking cruise ship, the Mars, is docked. With a very long port day of 8:00 – 7:30 we were in no hurry to get off. We met friends for breakfast at about 8:45 and left the ship about 9:30. It was a short tender ride. Showers were again forecasted but they did not appear until early afternoon. Maps were available right after we exited the tender and we were told to follow the main road out of town to the waterfalls. Well, it wasn't really quite that easy. Since we were tendered we were not at the information center, and from a distance it appeared to be within the fenced area for just the Viking ship. So we set out to walk through town (passing many Viking walking tours along the way) and took photos of the blue church. Then we found the main road and began walking. After about 40 minutes we were getting concerned. A few passers-by (other cruise passengers) gave us various stories about the distance to the waterfalls. We saw the small golf course in the distance. I ended up turning around with the ladies while my friend continued on with another two men from the ship. After just a minute or two, two ladies were walking the other way. They had good GPS on their phone showing the actual distance, which was perhaps another 15 minutes. So the ladies continued back to town to shop, and I turned back around, catching up with my friend at the golf course clubhouse. From the clubhouse it was maybe another ¼ mile along the road to the waterfall sign, then a long city block walk along a gravel road to the waterfall. This waterfall is the site of the first electric generating station in Iceland, and there is a museum there (closed on Sunday). We took a lot of photos and then found the sign showing the various walking paths. There is an “Easy” rated path part way up the mountainside that returns to town. We climbed to that path and passed a few smaller falls along the way. Then we talked to a hiker who had just came from town and he assured us the path was well-marked and 'just stay to the left' and it would bring us back to town. Walking the trail was so much better than walking the road. It was a little longer but so much more enjoyable. We saw mushrooms, crossed many tiny streams of water coming down the mountain, and walked through brisk pine forests where we could actually smell the pine. We doubt that many of the Nieuw Statendam's guests (or Viking's for that matter) can say that they enjoyed the scent of an Icelandic pine forest. We also crossed a few larger streams with waterfalls cascading down the mountain. There were wooden bridges built over these streams. Just before the descent back into town we came across a park bench with a wonderful view. We took a few minutes to enjoy the view and drink some water. Then we headed down the hill into town. Just about now it began to rain, gently at first and it became a 'hard drizzle' by the time we were back to the tender pier. We were nearly the last back on the tender before they closed off the line. I ended up sitting at the end of the bench at the open doorway, so I was being rained on a bit. Oh well, everything will dry. At least we were among the first off the tender at about 1:20. We dropped our gear back in the cabin and went to the lido in search of the ladies. We did not find them after a full circuit, so went to get some lunch. While I was getting my lunch the ladies appeared. It turned out they truly took advantage of their 'shopping time' and were on the tender after ours. Most of the purchases were made at the supermarket, which also had a souvenir section. We decided to play a round of Catan and were able to snag the large table on the starboard side of the lido. DW won the first round and our friend who just celebrated his birthday took a big gamble on the second round and won. Perhaps he should be in the casino? Likely not. After Catan dinner was calling. DW had a terrific meal and really enjoyed it. I really wasn't very hungry having overdone lunch but what I had was very good. We had some after dinner beverages in Billboard at then called it a night after an over 16,000 step day!

Thursday, August 11, at sea headed to Iceland We lost another hour overnight and after being up later than usual slept in until after 9:00! We managed to reach the lido about 9:40 and for the first time were in the lido when they began to close down breakfast stations. I went up in my swim gear as the plan was to use the pool and hot tub then take a quick shower and play Catan in the early afternoon. That worked out just fine. Tonight is the second “Dressy night” so we need to leave the late afternoon available to get ready for the evening. A table was set up during the morning hours with the dutch vases on display. We ended up buying several, both for ourselves and as nice gifts. We did enjoy three rounds of Catan. First a four person game that I managed to win, and then a six person island game won by DW. Finally the men stayed for a three person game (on the big board) that my friend won. He was very happy to have ended his dry spell! We obtained some lunch from the lido around 1:00. It really didn't seem as good then as at the earlier times we've often gone. The Ocean view bar staff kept our sodas and beverages coming and it was a very nice time. It was time to get ready for the evening festivities. I joined my friend for his Dutch Cafe coffee and we tried to take care of a billing problem with his account at the Pinnacle but no one was there. We all stopped at the Ocean bar for pre-dinner drinks but did not see each other. The Halibut on the dress up night dinner was terrific. For whatever reason, DW's halibut was very overcooked. Kendrick quickly brought another which she really enjoyed. All the others were perfect. After dinner we stopped to get the Pinnacle charges corrected on our friend's account. Then we headed early to the World Stage for the evening show, a second performance by comedian / musician Chris Pendleton. She was again very entertaining. We've now heard from several crew members that there are just under 2,000 guests on board. Compared to the double occupancy capacity that is about 85%. Crew staffing is also at 85%. We were told that during the holidays of 2019 there were over 2900 guests with the third and fourth berths filled. I just can't imagine this ship that crowded as it is already difficult to get seating in the lounges and certainly the World Stage. The World Stage is too small for the capacity of the ship. We first reported this on the Koningsdam back in 2016. We went 35 minutes early for the show and it was already half-full. By 15 minutes before showtime there were only single seats available. If we don't arrive 15 or more minutes before a Billboard or Rolling Stone performance, there are no seats. And this is with 15% of the cabins empty! We will need to carefully consider this before booking any future trips on the “Pinnacle” class ships. With a very early tour tomorrow we called it a night after the show. Friday, August 12, Isafjordur, Iceland Isafjordur marks the first of six port days in a row in Iceland. The Nieuw Statendam will be making a complete circle around the island starting here in the North. We set the alarm for 6:00 and our coffee & tea were delivered right at 6:30. We made it up to the lido at about 7:30 and obtained breakfast. Our friends were already seated and we joined them. We stopped at the Dutch Cafe for better coffee and got everything ready in our room, then made our way to the theater as we have a ship's tour “Off the beaten path, cruise to Vigur Island.” We were only in the theater for a few moments and we were told that “Tour #1 head to the tenders.” Upon reaching the shore we found that not everyone made it to tender #1, even though it was not full, and we waited for the next tender for a few latecomers. We rode over on a fast boat for 35 minutes or so to the bird island, Vigur Island. Vigur island only has a few full time inhabitants. The island itself is now a 'Down farm' harvesting down feathers from nesting ducks. The island is also home to literally hundreds of thousands of birds, including the elusive puffins. Did we see puffins? We sure did! We saw them flying, and (mostly) just enjoying floating on the waves. We also saw puffins bringing seafood to their burrows, most likely feeding their young. We never got close enough to get super photos (even with our long lenses), although for sure DW got one very clear photo. We also were treated to a traditional Icelandic rhubarb pie, with the rhubarb grown right there on the island. I would have liked the walking tour to go further along the path, but we did have time after the tour to venture out on our own. All in all, this was a very nice tour. We rode the boat back to Isafjordur and then walked around the town. We stopped in a few shops and obtained a coffee at a convenience shop. By the time we returned to the tender port there was no line and we were back onboard at about 1:30. We had some lunch from the lido and went to get everything straightened out in our cabin. It's important to charge the camera batteries before our all day tour the next day! We discussed with our friends future tour plans, and decided that we had enough puffins for the Iceland portion of the trip, so we then went to cancel a shore excursion booked for later the next week. By then it was dinner time. Dining room dinners have been a delight so far on this trip, with us nearly always finishing dessert by about 6:45. In talking with Hendrika we learned he previously served on the Prinsendam and we shared Prinsendam stories. After dinner we visited the Explorations center up on deck 12 and then had an after dinner beverage in Billboard while the Rolling Stone group played across the hall. With a very early meeting time the following morning we called it an evening.

Tuesday, August 9, Qaqortog, Greenland. Qaqortog is one of the highlights of this trip for us. We arranged for our private tour to the Greenland Ice Cap over three years prior. As our northern cruises kept getting canceled we were able to continue rescheduling the tour. We were up for our 7:30 coffee & tea delivery which arrived at 7:20. Then we headed to the lido for breakfast and met our friends there sometime after 8:00. We were in no hurry as the ship was scheduled for a 10:00 AM arrival. We had an 11:00 start time for our tour. It turned out the ship arrived and was cleared shortly with tenders beginning at 9:15 or so. I called our tour mates and we met at 9:30 at the Grand Dutch Cafe to head to our tender. We were able to immediately board a tender and headed over for the 10 minute ride to Qaqortog. The folks there seemed to be quite welcoming. We walked over to the old red church, found the fountain (the first fountain in Greenland), enjoyed the waterfront, and visited a large general store / supermarket. DW had brought a less than ideal toothbrush and she wanted a new one. We bought one along with a bar of Danish chocolate that we enjoyed later in the afternoon with our friends. We walked the higher path back and passed the many rock carvings of animals and fish, including whales. We snapped photos as we moved along. At about 10:40 we saw what we thought was our chartered boat from Blue Ice Explorers arrive at the nearby dock. We had to wait for two 'ship's tour' boats to board and then we were on our way for our ~90 minute ride to a not-so-nearby fjord. I don't know how far we went but we were averaging about 29 knots, so it was quite a distance. Regretfully it became apparent that our very nice and polite guide did not know a lot of English. Yet he was a very good driver and took us to a very secluded cove where there was a brilliant waterfall of water from the ice cap. There were also tall cliffs containing many bird nesting holes and ledges. We enjoyed watching the birds and taking photos and videos. He asked if we were intending to walk over to the ice cap and we affirmed that was the plan. Well, it was the plan. In a nearby site there was a dock waiting for us with some rather steep stairs to get on top of large rocks. We all got out of the boat but DW did not make it past the top end of the stairs. She saw the climbing needed and said “Not for me!” The rest of us did begin the trek. The couple that joined us were troopers and made it perhaps half way to the ice cap. I made it more than 80% and my friend made it more than 90%. The problem is that the closer one gets to the ice cap the worse the conditions are. It became steeper and steeper and the footing became poorer and poorer, with the last 25 yards or so apparently just sand and loose gravel. Climbing on solid rock is very different than going up and down on gravel. I nearly fell several times and just had to turn back. I did stay to take photos of my friend but he couldn't complete the trek either. Going back took just as long (if not longer) than the outbound hike/climb. When we were more than half-way back the driver came looking for us and then he led us back to the landing. The trek was quite the adventure and at least no one was injured. It appeared that we took a different return route with our driver watching for whales. At one point we did see a whale and several successful photos were taken. We also slowed near a few large icebergs for photos. One of them appeared to have a large “Galapagos Turtle” perched on the top. Returning to the pier at about 3:45 we took a look at the shop across the road. If there had been long sleeve t-shirts I would have bought one. Several local folks had tables outside with interesting crafts to sell. DW was interested in a traditional Greenlandic shirt (or jacket?) but nothing close to her size was available, all were either far too small or far too large. We then rode the tender back to the ship and enjoyed a few cold beverages up near the Dive Inn. DW and I split a scoop of gelato. Our new Catan friends joined us and told us of their enjoyable 'walk around the lake.' The lake can't be seen from the shore as it is on the other side of a hill, past some new construction homes being built. It was then dinner time. Our wait staff really is terrific. While the dining room had a light participation this evening, we were finished shortly after 6:30. Everyone was tired and so we tried a few beverages from the Dutch Cafe and then the Ocean Bar. By 7:45 we called it a night and put together our laundry to be ready for the scenic sailing day to come. Wednesday, August 10. Scenic sailing through Prince Christian Sound (Ikerasassuaq) The alarm was set for 6:30 and the bow cam showed fog. I went for coffee & tea and noticed the fog beginning to lift and from the Dutch Cafe could see some rocks. By the time I returned to the cabin we were entering the southern opening to the sound (Torsukattaq) and the clouds were a little higher than the ship. We ventured onto the bow and enjoyed 15 minutes or so out front. The mountains jut nearly straight up out of the sea and this is quite a place. That would be true for much of our transit. We moved back to the aft lido and met our friends. Enjoyed breakfast out back while taking breaks for photos. We began to pass some hanging glaciers with small waterfalls descending from them, a very pretty sight. The path through the sound winds around various mountains and is very scenic. A blue sky once the fog lifted accentuated the experience. We passed the remote village of Aappilatroq, where for eight months of the year the only way in or out is by helicopter. This is said to be the 'most remote' village in Greenland, even though it is one of the most southern. A few more bends and we enter Prince Christian Sound proper. The sound is rather straight and quite long, about 30 nautical miles. At times is is quite narrow, a little over 100 meters. Right around lunch time we stopped at a tidewater glacier. This was a very pretty glacier in that it did not have a lot of dirt and rocks on the surface. We really had nothing to use for scale so it was hard to say how tall the face is. This was one of the arms of the Greenland Ice Cap, and the narrator said that Greenlanders have not named the individual arms. The ship did a 360 and then an additional 180 degree turn before headed back down the sound. We passed two other glaciers including one which the map identifies as the furthest southern point of the ice cap. At about 2:30 we passed the weather station at the eastern entrance to the sound and then we were back in the Atlantic. We rested and warmed up a bit. Later in the afternoon we went to the Ocean Bar for the band and pre-dinner beverages. What we didn't realize was that the ship's course was taking us nearly parallel to the Greenlandic coast and as we moved north it became snow and ice covered. At dinner we were like “Wow, that reminds us of Antarctica.” But by then we were quite a few miles off shore. I wonder if we will have any similar views on the return trip in a week? There is no show tonight in the World Stage, and Billboard is off for the evening. So we went up to deck 10 near the NY Deli and played a long, six person round of Catan. It was fun and DW ended up winning but the game went until nearly 10 o'clock. We did try the evening pretzels and had a very nice time making our own entertainment, and then we called it a night.

Continuing on... Saturday, August 6, Corner brook, Newfoundland We woke shortly before 7:00. We had ordered coffee & tea for 7:15 delivery but it arrived a bit early at like 7:02. No worries, that was good. Turning on the TV I was surprised to see how close we were to the inlet to Corner brook, as docking isn't scheduled until 10:00 AM. So I kept the TV on the bow cam as the mountains look very pretty. There appears to be some high cloud cover as well as a few low clouds hanging in the mountains. The forecast is for 77 degrees today. We enjoyed breakfast in the dining room although it took longer this morning. It was a long sail up the fjord to reach Corner brook. We finally docked just before 10:00 and were cleared to go ashore shortly thereafter. Corner brook is a very nice port call. The folks there are friendly and very happy to see the ship. I'm sure some of the tours would take you far afield, we had a really nice time simply taking the complimentary shuttle to City Hall and walking around. The “Pulp and Paper Mill” seems to be the major employer and benefactor of the city. We walked the Corner brook stream trail (a total of three miles) and saw many birds, ducks, swans, and flowers. The stream hosts Atlantic Salmon but they did not yet appear to be running upstream. It reached 81 degrees in Corner brook, something I'm sure doesn't occur very often. City Hall itself has a rooftop garden which was open for visiting. We did visit and take some photos up there. There was a bit of a craft fair in the square by city hall. The moose antler items were certainly unique. At the port itself there were also folks with booths and tables set up. We did buy a t-shirt and a few gift items. We were back aboard at about 1:30 and enjoyed lunch in the lido. After lunch we set up Catan and invited our new friends to join us. We played two rounds with the first being mostly an introduction for them. As we were cleaning up the game the captain came on with his update. We are headed to Red Bay Labrador for Sunday however it is unsure if we will be able to get ashore with the tenders as 35 knot winds are forecast along with some light rain. Only the morning will tell. We had 6:00 reservations at Canaletto after being convinced by Dal the other evening. On the one hand, that gave us time to finish Catan. On the other, we still have not had a good experience in Canaletto and will not do this again. One positive is we had a terrific view of the sail out down the fjord, not exiting the fjord until just about 8:30. It was also just after 8:30 by the time we finished dinner. It was well over an hour from sitting down until the appetizers were served. That is not acceptable in main dining, let alone a venue where there is an additional cover charge. This was one of our 'comped' specialty dining experiences which was the only reason we did it. Never again. The food itself? It was just barely okay. DW's lamb chops were somewhat overcooked. My shrimp entree were five of the same shrimp that were in the gala evening shrimp cocktail in main dining. Desserts were nothing special either. From dinner we went down and found seating at Billboard for their 9:00 set. We could listen to the Rolling Stone group from across the way. We enjoyed Billboard and the fellow is very talented. At that point we called it a night. Back in our cabin we found we did not have a breakfast order card. I tried calling room service and hung up after two minutes of listening to their recording. Sunday, August 7, Red Bay, Labrador We woke about 7:00. I went to see what was happening up in the crow's nest and got a coffee for DW. They have no breakfast or Darjeeling tea at the coffee place. The Nieuw Statendam appears to be in a sheltered cove, with the community of Red Bay (population less than 200) about a mile away past the aft of the ship. A little about Red Bay: Red Bay is a UNESCO world heritage site as it contains the history of whaling as well as the best preserved 16th century whaling ship (underwater). It is also a unique community being rather remote and far from everywhere. We did not see this ourselves, but understand that the paved road ends at the northern outskirts of town. From there on north in Labrador, the road is gravel. To the South, it is a very long way to the Quebec border and even further to population centers. We enjoyed breakfast in the dining room. About 9:45 we went with our friends to get their tender tickets. Within a few minutes their number was called and we all went to the tender. We ended up being about the last folks in the tender so we had seats right by the 'door.' It was a pleasant enough ride into the pier. The local folks were very happy to have us visit. We were handed a map and quickly saw that the shuttle boat to Saddle Island left from the parks Canada visitor center just up the road. We bought our tickets (also good for the visitor center exhibits and the whaling museum) and were on the next boat for the less than five minute crossing to Saddle Island. Saddle Island was the seasonal home to 15th and 16th century whalers from Spain and France. There are remains of the ovens used to cook the whale fat to produce oil, which provided light to Europe during winter months. Regretfully, the whales were over-harvested and several of these local species are now endangered. There is a nice 1.7 KM trail that circles much of the island. During our visit, the fog rolled in curtailing our views. We did see the remains of a ship that ran aground just off the island in the 1960's After 50+ years, only the metal skeleton remains. Local park naturalists were along the trail to provide information and answer questions. We had a nice conversation with one, who told us he grew up in Red Bay and his family remains there. He said people leave but often return a few years later. Their largest industry now is shrimp harvesting. We completed the trail and returned over to the village. There we walked up the hill to the whaling museum and church, taking photos along the way. The wind shifted and suddenly it felt warmer and the fog was gone. 20 minutes later the wind shifted again and the fog came rolling back in. We visited the gift shop in the restaurant and the craft tent set up near the tender dock. Then we queued up for the return tender to the Nieuw Statendam. Oddly enough, we again ended up being about the last folks on the tender and sat right near the opening, thereby being the first off once tied up at the ship. Back on board, we dropped everything in the cabin and went up to the lido for lunch. Roast Turkey was one of the feature items. Lunch today was much better than the Canaletto dinner the prior evening. We sat out back as it was pleasant enough and the overhead heaters were on as well. After lunch the men decided to use the hot tubs for a while and the ladies went to talk with the spa to make a far future appointment for some treatments using the discount cards left in our mail the prior day. After washing up, the men went to the Dutch cafe for apple pie. There was quite a line as it appeared folks returned from the tender and went directly to the cafe. My friend attempted to get information on our future port of St. Pierre (specifically where we will dock or tender to) and this appears to be a last minute decision by the captain and bridge team. We tried to get seats in the Ocean Bar for pre-dinner drinks. Not a seat was to be found. Neither were there any seats available in Billboard as they were playing trivia there. DW did not want to go to the pool deck as she was dressed for dinner. We ended up discouraged back in our cabin, where we waited the 30 minutes or so until we could head to dinner. The dining room was open early when we arrived. Dinner was very nice. The “Fresh haddock” fish and chips was very good. DW and my friend both had lamb shank that they said was so much better than the overcooked lamb at Canaletto. Hendrick and Oka were happy to see us. We enjoyed a few rounds of beverages as well. There is a 6:30 church service that our friends went to. We would have gone too but I was not willing to sit in a smaller room wearing a mask the whole time. We returned to our cabin and then found a table at the Ocean Bar. Our friends joined us for the 7:15 set at the Ocean Bar. I'm glad they actually have a band here, but I don't really care for this band. The Ocean Bar band historically would play dance music. This band seems to be more of a jazz group, but it's not dance music. We left just before 8:00 to get a table at Billboard. Billboard tonight has three sets, 8:15, 9:15, and 10:15 as the rolling stone group is off. 8:15 was 'hot country' and was very enjoyable. We stayed for the 9:15 “Never #1's” and that was also really nice. After that we called it a night. Monday, August 8, Crossing the Labrador Sea We ordered coffee & tea delivery for 7:30 and it arrived at about 7:35. We took a scenic route to a light breakfast in the lido to deliver my tour reminders as we have a chartered boat the next day in Qaqortog, Greenland. The omelet maker in the lido is terrific and actually makes a much better omelet than what is served in the dining room. That was my entire breakfast today. Our friends joined us and we just enjoyed watching the fog, as well as a few birds (arctic terns?) that were flying alongside the ship, seemingly just inches above the 12 foot waves. I attempted to take a few photos. The ladies then enjoyed a relaxing morning while the men also relaxed in the mid-ship pool and hot tubs. It was very nice. One thing about this cruise, there is no battle over lounge chairs by the pool. It is actually most pleasant at the mid-ship despite the outdoor temperature being in the 40's as the roof is closed. We dried off and cleaned up as we had scheduled a Pinnacle Grill lunch at noon. The Pinnacle Lunch? It seemed to flow well until the end, when it took forever for dessert to arrive. Later in the day I discovered I was charged for six folks rather than four, so needed to make a return visit to have the charge corrected. They also lost our dinner reservation, apparently due to a typo of the cabin number. How can you mess up 1111? Well, at least everything was corrected. After lunch we played Catan up on deck 10 overlooking the pool. There are several odd-shaped long oval tables with a couch. Bringing over two chairs from the nearby Pizza place makes these a great table for six to play. Our new friend won the first game and DW the second, abbreviated game. She scored five victory points on her last move to win the game. Dinner was very nice with Hendrick and Oka. We left the dining room before 7:00. We stopped at Billboard to obtain drinks for the show, as Cantare was doing their second show tonight. It took nearly 20 minutes for the drinks to arrive so when we went to the showroom the only seats available were way around the front. We've seen the show in March so DW and I returned to Billboard for their 7:30 set while our friends stayed to enjoy Cantare. The Billboard set was terrific. Billed as “R&B” I knew all the songs and it was most enjoyable. I spoke with one of the players afterward to ask about a comment that was made that “Every set on this 24 day cruise will be different.” Our experience has been that everything is on a seven day cycle. They said yes, on shorter cruises with less experienced performers that is true. He gave credit to Megan, his partner, who has been doing this “A long time” and knows a huge library of songs and is always looking for more. They've been onboard doing longer cruises so they have taken it as a challenge to develop sets to avoid repeats. He said they now have three set lists for each “Title.” So for example, the first country set (from the prior day) will be totally different from the next country set, and so on. I was so happy to hear this as Billboard is, for us, the best entertainment on the ship. We stayed after the set and listened to the Rolling Stone group from the distance. Then we enjoyed their second set of songs by “Icons.” The entire room seemed to sing along with 'Ring of Fire.' Everyone needs to watch their accounts closely. Billboard charged me for a soda. This likely happened when they handed me someone else's card. I asked about getting it corrected and they said I needed to go to guest services. So after the set I headed to guest services and had our name added to the notification list if the Northern Lights show, and had the erroneous charge removed. This ended the day and we called it an evening.

Thursday, August 4 – At sea We woke on our own and were ready for our morning beverage delivery. I updated my log and perused the TV information. There is no 'morning show' or anything similar like Celebrity and Princess now provide as standard fare. We called our friends to find out that one of them had a contact lens issue. They met us at the dining room and his eye didn't look good. He ended up needing to avoid bright spaces all day. Breakfast was very nice and the waiter Henry was excellent. The cruise critic meet and greet was at 10:00. Attendance was far below the number which signed up, likely due to the port talk being at the same time. Still, I met everyone except one party that is on our “South Shore” tour from Reykjavik as well as the other couple on our tour in Qaqortog. Our friend connected with many of the folks on the ferry tour he set up in St. Pierre a few weeks out. Our friend rested in his dark cabin while the three of us went to the dining room for lunch. Harry was again our server. Lunch was nice. After lunch we explored the ship a little, visiting the lido pool (cover closed, nice and warm), and we sat a while on deck 10 overlooking the pool while 'line dance' class was going on. We visited the Royal Dutch Cafe as our friend wanted to try the Poffertjes. She enjoyed them. We had fog outdoors all day. On the lower decks you can't hear it but upstairs the blasting of the fog horn was a constant reminder. Every now and then the sun kind of peeked through but the fog was relentless. We relaxed a while as there was nothing that really interested us to participate in. We thought about walking the outdoor track in the fog but didn't quite make it. It is a 'gala night' so some time was needed to get prepared. We were ready a little early so we went to the Ocean Bar for pre-dinner drinks. It was quite crowded however one couple left their table just as we arrived so we took their place. There is a small band that plays at the Ocean Bar several times a day. We went to the dining room and arrived just as they opened the doors. Hendrick and Oka were happy to see us. Our friends arrived shortly and his eye is healing but remains sensitive to light, so he sat at the window looking in. The gala night dinner was very good and enjoyable. We were served water several times by Dal, who had a different uniform. Inquiring she told us she works in Canaletto, which was not yet open, so she was helping out in the dining room. This gave us a chance to ask about options in Canaletto with our specific dining needs and she offered several attractive options, so we made reservations for Saturday evening with Dal as our waitress. After dinner we headed to the World stage for the captain's welcome. Beverages were handed out as we entered. The captain's welcome was fine and the gala night show was Cantare. We enjoyed Cantare in March and they are very good. It's just a shame their performance is done to a recorded soundtrack rather than live musicians. Speaking of live musicians, after Cantare we visited the Rolling Stone rock room as they were just beginning a set. We ended up sitting right next to the stage, so we did get a very good view of the performance. This group is very talented and we did enjoy most of their numbers. After that set it was 9:00 and as much as Billboard was enticing we called it a night as tomorrow is an early start and an all day tour. Returning to our room, the laundry we sent out in the morning had been returned. Included with the laundry was a personalized note from Azwar thanking us for using the laundry service. Friday, August 5 – Sydney, Nova Scotia The alarm was set for 6:00. Coffee & Tea were delivered about 6:40. We met our friends at 7:10 to go to the lido for a quick breakfast. The omelets were nicely made. I went out on the aft deck to take a few photos and returned to our cabin to get everything together. At 8:00 the cruise director said we were docked but not yet cleared and please do not crowd the stairways headed to the gangway. At 8:10 she announced we were cleared to go ashore. As our cabin is very close to the mid-ship gangway, we were ashore in about two minutes. We quickly found our guide, Gustone, with Blackwood Tours. We had a 13 passenger minibus with 10 of us as one couple backed out of the tour if everyone would not have to wear a mask all day. On what was literally the 'hottest day of the year' in Sydney that was not in the cards. Gustone gave us an excellent tour up the Cabot Trail. Some of the highlights were the cable ferry, our furthest point at the Celtic Lodge, and the overall beauty of the forested mountains and gorgeous sea. It certainly helped that we had a cloud-free day. It was a challenge for the A/C in the mini-bus to keep up, especially after our brief lunch stop at the general store for lobster or crab sandwiches. I give the tour about four out of five stars simply because we needed to spend just too much time in the van to cover the distance and not enough time or walking around at the stops. We were back at the port at about 3:15. Back on the ship we heard that the buses used for the ship's tours (with 50 persons in each bus) were not air conditioned. Back on the Nieuw Statendam we stopped in the cabin and headed to the Ocean bar needing cold beverages. With only one bartender it was obvious service would not be quick, so we headed to the aft lido. To our shock, the bar there wasn't even open! A 90 degree afternoon and the aft bar not open? Walking through the lido a server stopped us and said she would get us drinks, so we sat at a table and she soon reappeared with beverages. We kept her busy running back and forth to the lido pool bar for three rounds. Another couple that was on our tour saw us and joined us. Note, we found out the next day the reason the bar was not open. This is apparently a Canada rule that while in port ships may only have one open bar per deck. So the servers get in a great deal of steps running back and forth to and from the open bar. Craziness. Along with my friend we had just enough time for a dip in the aft pool and hot tubs before getting ready for dinner. Our friends skipped the dining room as they didn't want to rush and the menu seemed uninspired. DW and I did go to our dining room table and really enjoyed the meal. Kendrick recommended “Chef Rudy's Pot Roast” and it was superb. The meat just fell apart to the touch of the fork, it was that tender. We met our friends at the theater for the 7:30 performance of comedian / instrumentalist Chris Pendleton. Chris is a woman and part of her routine is how everyone expects her to be a man because of her name. Her show was really good and it is hard to say if the comedy part was better or the musical part. For the musical part she was backed up by live musicians; the same ones that play in the Ocean Bar. The show ran long (55 minutes) so by the time we reached Billboard no seats were available. We sat across at the Rolling Stone and listened to Billboard. We stayed for the Rolling Stone set. We had lots of beverages and tried some new ones. One I ordered, the Hemingway Special, I did not enjoy but DW rather liked it. At the end of the set we called it an evening. We returned to find clean laundry on our bed along with the Saturday program.

Hello HAL cruisers. We are back from our 24 day trip to far northern Atlantic Canada, Greenland and Iceland. I keep a log daily during the cruise and typically submit it as a review to cruise critic. Apparently at 21,000 words it is too big a file as the review page will not let me post it. This happened some years ago with our Antarctica cruise as well, and I simply posted it in pieces on a thread like this. So here goes: Nieuw Statendam, Aug 3, 2022, 24-Day Canada, Greenland & Iceland Tuesday, August 2 – fly to Boston We left the house a little after 4:00 AM to meet our friends at their house a half-hour away (but on the way to the airport). We parked our car, transferred our luggage, and off to the airport we raced! We arrived at 5:20 and our friend dropped us off (with all the luggage) at the terminal and he went to park the car. A very helpful American employee helped get all the luggage tagged and checked in. By the time we had it all set our friend arrived from the economy parking and we went through security, had a quick breakfast at the airport Burger King, and boarded our flight. The flight to Philadelphia was really nice as it was only about 50% full. I had an entire three seats to myself and so did DW. At PHL, we had just enough time to enjoy a Chick-Fil-A lemonade before heading to our Boston flight. Right after we arrived at the gate (when boarding was to start) an announcement was made that the airplane was too hot and it needed to be cooled down. This delayed boarding by nearly an hour. This flight to Boston was completely full and we arrived in Boston about 30 minutes late. Sitting in the rear of the plane, by the time we reached baggage claim all our luggage was on the belt. We picked it up and headed to hotel shuttle pick up. I called the Embassy Suites and the timing was just right as about 30 seconds later the shuttle pulled up. I will give the Embassy credit that they did get us checked in on arrival, at about 1:30. But that was about the end of the compliments. We went out for lunch and on the way back picked up a bottle of wine for the evening. Not thinking until we were back at the hotel, we don't have a corkscrew. The hotel refused to open the bottle for us to enjoy in our room. What happened to taking care of your customer? We called the wine shop and they were appalled that the Embassy Suites wouldn't open the bottle. They said we could certainly exchange it for a bottle with a screw top, so DW and I took a late afternoon walk back to the wine shop. Returning to the Embassy the evening reception had begun. Due to a Massachusetts liquor law, no alcoholic beverages are allowed to be served for free, so only soft drinks are complimentary. The snacks were okay but pretty basic. We returned to our room and began to get the Catan game ready. Our friends joined us and we played two rounds. We were also treated to a very nice sunset from our window. Wednesday August 3 – Embarkation day. We received many mixed messages from HAL regarding boarding. This so confused some roll call members that they spent hours on hold to talk to someone at HAL. How accurate the information they were given is questionable but at the end we decided to follow the last message which was to arrive at the terminal at the time assigned on our boarding pass. The other messages (earlier) were that “Due to a Coast Guard inspection, the Nieuw Statendam would be delayed in boarding and PLEASE do not arrive before 1:30 PM. But, you MUST be aboard by 3:00.” To be honest, once we were finished with breakfast and done resorting some of our suitcases we were bored at the Embassy. We purposefully overstuffed our large bags to make the one essential “Carry on” as light as possible (just meds and electronics). We called a Lyft XL who picked us up in about one minute, stuffed it full and headed to the Flynn cruise terminal, arriving at about 10:40. There was already a considerable line (perhaps a city block long) but the porters took our luggage and there were several folks handing out documents as people got into line. One of these documents explained that there was indeed a coast guard drill taking place and embarkation would be delayed. Asking the rep, however, she rather suggested that we stay in line as opposed to leaving to walk the city with our carry-on. She said the line would likely be much longer later. This turned out to be true. The line at least was in the shade and it was a pleasant enough morning to wait. The second document that came along a little later was a note from HAL that due to covid numbers on the previous cruise(s) they were requiring wearing of masks indoors at all times except while eating or drinking. I will avoid being political but I will say that this is not the bucket-list vacation experience that we paid for. HAL's website indicates that mask-wearing is recommended, but optional. It is very likely that had we been informed of this requirement before the 'cruise with confidence' cancel date we would have canceled and tried this trip again in a few years. Moving on... While standing in line we watched an ambulance and police cars pull up to the front of the line. We were too far back to see details but someone was carried away, their trip cut very short. Hope they are okay. A little after 11:00 another employee came along and said to have our passports and boarding pass out. The line then began to move. At the entrance to the open-air terminal (a very old building) two police officers were checking passports. There was then a queue for security screening. It took perhaps 20 minutes to get through the queue. Past security there were two lines. One for folks who had completed Verifly and a longer queue for those who had not. We had preloaded all our boarding and health documents into the “Verifly” application as HAL suggested. That line was short, our photo was taken, passports scanned, and we were told we would only need our boarding pass later to board the ship. We were directed to sit in boarding group 'A' for four-five star mariners and club orange guests. Our traveling friends were right behind us and they joined us. The temperature in the terminal slowly rose as we waited, but we did not find it oppressive. Water bottles were offered to folks along with some small packaged snacks. A woman in the row in front of us ended us fainting. Her companion said she can't handle the humidity. Our friend the doctor tried to help while his wife alerted staff. Folks arrived to help followed by paramedics. After about 30 minutes she too was taken away by ambulance along with her companion. Another trip cut very short. Our assigned boarding time was 12:20. At about 12:40 they announced that boarding would begin and group A was cleared to board. I had been up throwing away an empty water bottle as the announcement was made. DW and friends were walking towards me and we joined the group A parade. We were likely about the 20th or so guests to be welcomed on board. They scanned our boarding pass on the Navigator AP as we boarded and we were told our staterooms were ready. So for us, it was about 2 hours and 10 minutes from arrival until boarding. But about an hour and 20 minutes of that was sitting relatively comfortably. Another cruise critic member arrived after 1:00 and reported a quarter-mile long line outside the terminal. Once inside, they breezed through Verifly and five-star check in but it still took them 1 hour and 56 minutes from arrival until boarding, and that was standing the entire time. Once onboard we immediately verified our dining arrangements. Our dining host from March came through and we have a terrific table at early fixed dining at a port side window. We dropped our carry-on off in our cabin, #1111. This is one of four squarish-shaped inside cabins on deck one. We saw one of these on the Koningsdam back in 2016. There is enough room in these to 'move around' and we are very pleased with the cabin. Our friends are next door in #1115 which is similar but reverse. We went to the lido and found a nice table on the aft lido deck. Beverages were ordered and the ladies went to obtain their lunch. The men followed when the ladies returned. It was very pleasant sitting outdoors in the shade with the light breeze. We would be surprised later in the day by a temperature drop! After lunch we stopped at our muster station for our cards to be scanned, and then went to the Royal Dutch Cafe for dessert. I enjoyed a slice of Apple Pie and a Strongbow cider. We talked with another guest seated nearby while enjoying the atmosphere. By the time we left the Cafe it was getting very busy. We returned to our cabins at about 2:40 to find our luggage had been delivered. We played the safety briefing on the TV. We spent the next hour plus emptying the luggage and storing everything. The luggage fits under the bed. A little after 4:00 we went back to the aft lido for the sail away party. Well, no real party. No band, not even a DJ. One crew person made an announcement wishing us a great cruise. Canned music playing in the background. Long line for a drink. Our friends seemed rather shocked there was no band. The captain came on the speaker to let everyone know that departure was delayed as they were still loading stores. We took a look onto the pier and yes, they were still loading stores. In fact, as we watched, two 18-wheelers pulled up and those were full with additional stores. When did the Nieuw Statendam really depart? About 7:40 PM. We had made pre-cruise reservations for the Pinnacle for this first evening. However, “For operational reasons” the Pinnacle was not open (nor were any of the specialty restaurants). So we stopped at the dining desk to reschedule and make a few other arrangements. This brought us to 5:15 so we headed to the dining room. Knowing where our table is, we bypassed the first evening line and headed straight to our table where we met our waiter, Hendrika (call him Hendrick) and assistant Oka. We discussed DW's special dietary needs and gave our waiter her card that lists her restrictions. Dinner was quite good. Three of us had the Haddock and it was very nice. Dinner moved along quite well until the end. I will likely bypass tea with dessert, as it arrived well after dessert was finished. We did talk with one of the sommeliers who told us that when he was first on the ship (2018) they had 24 wine stewards. They now have just four. The waiters handle all the normal beverage orders. We headed up to the aft lido yet again, but not until we picked up jackets in our cabin. We really enjoyed the sail away. We caught a few sunset photos of the sun behind the Boston skyline. Three Boston Police boats were keeping other boaters away from the Nieuw Statendam as we backed away from the pier and made a large swing to head out of port. The sunset was at 8:00 and all too soon it was too dark for photos, so we didn't see much of the islands on our departure route. We sat for a while and ordered a few beverages. The last cruise really emptied out the stores, as the aft bar has no Sprite Zero, Diet Coke, or Coke Zero. I ended up with water. We set our phones to Atlantic time as the ship's clock goes forward an hour tonight. We ordered coffee and tea delivery for the morning. At this point we called it a night and told our friends we would try dining room breakfast at 8:30 the next morning.

I was able to turn a sizeable amount of TA provided 'refundable' OBC into CASH at guest services on our Nieuw Statendam cruise that ended on Saturday. We had spent the non-refundable earlier in the cruise on overpriced items from the shops. Hank, I think you are correct at least to some degree. I just completed my post-cruise survey and the answer to the question "Will you book your next cruise with Holland America?" my response was a zero out of ten. We were on a "Casino cruise" in March and it was troubling to find that 2/3 of our fellow guests were on complimentary cruises. Celebrity has come back from the shutdown with a much better product.

We love PEI. Our August cruise does not go there, headed mostly further North!

Yes, you are correct. The two musicians in Cologne, the two dancers in Vienna, and in-house pianist Api. Don't know if you would count the glass maker as "Entertainment," but he was very good.

Summary, final thoughts, conclusion, and rating: Now that we are home, looking back on this adventure, what do we think? We really enjoyed seeing the places we went. Other than Kinderdijk & Amsterdam, we likely would have never seen these spots had we not done this “Grand European Tour.” We were able to experience to some degree at least eleven UNESCO world heritage sites, these were: Amsterdam, the ring of canals Kinderdijk The Cologne Cathedral The Upper Middle Rhine Valley Wurzburg Residenz & gardens Bamberg (the entire town) Regensburg (the entire town) Frontiers of the Roman Empire – The Danube Limes (Western Segment) includes Passau Wachau Valley Cultural Landscape Historic center of Vienna Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube We managed to do this entire journey without changing ships due to low (or high) water and were very blessed as the Eistla is apparently the last eastbound Viking vessel to complete the journey until river conditions greatly improve. We were told that those coming aboard the Mimir would be alerted that they will be changing ships once they reach Passau, busing to the next ship on the other side of the low water area. I took a total of 1,082 photos and video clips that will surely take me several weeks to edit down. I was feeling rather negative about the overall trip until when we were driving the rental car back to PBI airport the Cody Johnson song “'Till You Can't” came on the radio. That made me realize that I am grateful we did this trip now. We got to be pretty good friends with a couple about 10 years older than us on the cruise, and he was really struggling with some health issues which made it quite a challenge to participate in the outings and activities. However, my opinion is that Viking needs to find a way to minimize the “Leap-frogging” where they drop off their guests hoping to meet them later some kilometers further on. We were left waiting five times for our ship. When you add up those five times, it is well over three hours, and perhaps four, that we were standing at a pier in the 'middle of nowhere' with nothing to do but wait for the ship. With modern communication technology, at the very least the ship's arrival time can be updated and folks can stay in the destination longer, enjoying a coffeehouse, beer pub, or just soaking in the atmosphere in these incredible places. The advertising all implies (at the least) that a huge advantage of river cruises is that they dock in the middle of town and you can walk to most sites. On this sailing, that was the exception and not the rule. No one on board said anything about being shorthanded, but it did feel like they were not fully staffed, at least in the dining room. Our room steward was tremendous. We chatted with him a little and he previously worked for several ocean cruise lines. He said this was his first Viking sailing but he very much appreciated how Viking was taking care of their employees. I really haven't said anything in the daily reports about Viking and how they are handling Covid related things. I was surprised that their breakfast buffet was still a self-serve buffet, with all the guests touching the serving utensils. I know at least two parties (and likely more) left the ship after testing positive. In Germany and Austria the government guidance still requires five days quarantine. Yet there was lots of coughing heard on the ship, on the buses, etc. We didn't develop symptoms of any kind, but who knows? We still read of folks being tested at workplaces or preparing to go on cruises who have no symptoms whatsoever yet test positive. As far as my final rating on my 0-5 star scale, this Grand European Tour sailing rates a solid three (3). Every cruise starts off as a 5. Here the three-four hours standing on a pier takes away one star, and the slow & occasional attitudes during dining room service takes away one star. The rating is only affected by the service of the ship itself, and not the ports. Overall I would rate the ports four stars in total. Some were certainly five, while others much lower. Air travel issues are not Viking's responsibility so nothing was taken off for that, although I will report an opinion that the air travel nightmares of this summer must be negatively affecting all cruise lines that cater towards a North American clientele. I will give kudos to Viking's emergency team for getting us re-routed and at least 'home' on the same day we planned to be home. Would we do this again if we knew everything we know now when we booked it? That is a really tough call. Midway through the cruise I said “No way.” I just asked my DW and it took her a long time to respond. At the end she said no, we wouldn't have. Like me, she is glad we got to see the places that we saw. For her the real deal-breaker was the air travel struggles in both directions. We did not buy a “Future cruise” deal on board, but with the right opportunity and if things get better with the airlines in future years, we may consider another Viking trip of some type.

Apologies to Sydney. We have been there several times and I realize it is a good sized city and a lovely location. These days with every flight filled to capacity I would question how likely it would be for choice air to find us confirmed flights from Boston-one of the three connections-Sydney in order to meet the shipl

Best of everything for your trip. The airline issues have got to be affecting all the cruise lines in Europe that cater to North American travelers. We texted with friends we made on the Eistla that were on the same delayed flight as we were. They are still "Stuck" in Heathrow two days later, hoping to get on a flight this afternoon. I can't speak for anything in Europe but so far as I, as a US taxpayer are concerned, there is no excuse whatsoever for the US airlines and airports to have these issues. The government "Gave" the airlines $54 BILLION dollars to NOT lay off their workers when no one was traveling. U.S. airlines to defend $54 billion COVID-19 government lifeline | Reuters The 'Devil is in the details" so the airlines avoided laying off workers. They offered early retirement and other incentives to leave. As a taxpayer, I want my money back. We leave August 2 for a 24 day "Bucket list" cruise on HAL from Boston to far northern Canada, Greenland and Iceland. When we booked the air (through 'Flight Ease') these issues were not happening. I now realize that if anything happens to our flight, the day before the cruise, there will be little to no chance of making the cruise. This is a very costly trip that could be torpedoed by a $200 airline flight. I really don't know what we are going to do at this point. I've even considered driving. The first port is Sydney, Nova Scotia which is "Way out there" and I can't imagine there are many flights up that way. Enough of my ranting...

Friday, July 15; Budapest – Home; continued We tried to sleep a little more as our new departure time was 9:15, but I don't think I ever actually feel asleep. By 6:30 we were up and I tried to see if I could do any preliminaries on the Air France AP, but was not successful. To be honest, the flight arrangements on Air France made more sense than our original routing (but of course they ended in Miami). When I originally booked the trip I asked about leaving and returning to Miami and was told there were no flights available. We enjoyed one last breakfast on the Eistla and then just killed time until our group departed. There were about 14 folks on a full size Viking motor coach. We arrived at the Budapest airport to find a very long line for check in. Viking had representatives there to make sure we got into the correct queue. It took about 40 minutes to reach the front of the line. We were checked in and handed a single boarding pass for each of us for both flights. Our checked bags were taken and they offered to also check our carry-ons. Thinking that could happen I made sure we had nothing we couldn't live without in one of them and let them check it. The other, with my camera and computer equipment of course we needed to keep with us. The Viking representative saw that we were all set and told us to have a good flight. Through my Priority Pass membership I had access to the “Platinum lounge.” Even though we only had an hour I never use my entire allotment of lounge visits so we went there. We missed the time for “Hot meals” but I did have a couple of pancakes and drinks and DW enjoyed the coffee with Baileys. We left to board our flight and there was no clear queue. What a mess! Air France needs to take some lessons from Disney or Southwest. Of course, with this being a last-minute replacement flight we had the worst seats on the plane, middles in the last two rows. These were also the tightest seats in the way of legroom we've experienced in years. I never thought of French people as being shorter than average, but from their airline you would think they are all no more than 5 feet tall. Departure was delayed as a very mobile handicapped person was the last to board. Three crew members had to carry him in a wheelchair all the way to row 20. It then took them fifteen minutes to get him situated. Why all airlines do not do like Southwest, and allow mobility challenged folks to sit near the front I will never understand. So we ended up leaving and arriving in Paris 30 minutes late. On the plus side, the snack served was quite tasty. Arriving in Paris we pulled up to a gate. But then we had to walk down stairs and board buses that took us for what seemed like an extremely long ride around the airport. Finally getting off the bus who knows where, we tried to follow signs for the “L” gates but then found a board showing our flight had the gate changed to “K” gates. It was a 30 minute walk to the K gates and we passed through passport control, I assume to check us “Out” of the EU (although we were never stamped “In” in Amsterdam). We had one hour until the flight was supposed to board and searched for an eatery. The Paris airport had all kinds of very high-priced designer shops, but little in the way of places to eat. We ended up buying a liter bottle of water and some almonds from an airport shop. We had macadamia nuts in the carry on from the Vienna market, so that was our “Lunch.” I also asked at the counter if there was any chance for upgraded seating for a fee and was rather rudely told no, the flight was sold out. While waiting I reserved a car rental to get home from Miami, which we will 'return' to Palm Beach International the next day and retrieve my car. Despite the plane sitting at the gate for hours, boarding started 30 minutes late so guess what? We left 30 minutes late. The nine-hour flight to Miami was simply brutal, being stuck in middle seats was UGH. The served dinner was decent for me, but all DW could eat was the chicken and cheese. I gave her my cheese as well. We arrived in Miami and deplaned at about 9:25. We went through Global entry and reached baggage claim. We were surprised that baggage was already on the belt. Some folks were actually leaving. But our three bags were nowhere to be found. Then more bags started appearing and just before 10:00 our three bags came through. Next we headed out to try to get an Uber or a Lyft. I haven't done that from an airport for some time, and for whatever reason it wouldn't go through, and the prices kept going up. So we trekked to the 'people mover' (quite a walk dragging the luggage) and found the National rental car I had reserved. We arrived home at 12:20 AM. So from the time I woke up to discover our original flights were toast, the transit time was 26 hours and 50 minutes. If I only count the time from when we left the Eistla, the transit time was 21 hours and 5 minutes. I will write up a summary and final thoughts on the trip, and post some more photos, as time allows over the coming days. We have a lot to do to 'recover' from this adventure!

We made it to the airport and this crazy check in line. Viking had several representatives at the airport to assist folks. I thought that was very helpful. Air France took our two large bags and one of our carry ons as checked at N/C. We had to keep the one with electronics and meds.

Friday, July 15; Budapest – Home ? I woke up at 2:50 and just thought I would check the British Airways Ap. Sure enough, our flight from Budapest – Heathrow is delayed by five hours, meaning (of course) our connections are toast. I grabbed the “Viking emergency hot line” paper and went to the front desk, who were busy getting the 3:30 group off to the airport. The fellow there kept saying “Wait for the hotel manager.” I went on the internet and could find no alternatives on British Air / American. The hotel manager returned from getting the 3:30 folks off and said I should call the emergency number using the house phone. They got me an outside line and the recording said the “Wait will be less than five minutes.” It was actually nine minutes. I spoke to Robin and after 45 minutes we were confirmed on Air France from Budapest – Paris – Miami. We will find a way from Miami to our car at Palm Beach International. Hope that all works with our flight leaving Budapest at 12:15. In the meantime others on that flight asked to talk to Robin when I was done, but by then the 4:30 shuttle (and those guests) had left for the airport.

Thursday, July 14; Budapest Hungary The sun woke me up at about 4:30 in the morning! I pulled the curtains tighter and went back to sleep before rising at about 6:30. We did our normal morning routine and met our friend for breakfast. Right after breakfast I went up to the forward deck as we were arriving in Budapest. Why do these things happen? The camera I had with me froze up. So I had to use my I-phone to take photos of the major sites along the river until we docked. I charged up the battery but it didn't need much charge. Later in the day, it is working fine. Crazy. I used my larger camera on our excursion. We left the Eistla just at 9:00 for our included Budapest highlights excursion. The A/C on the bus worked well, which is good as the temperature will exceed 90 (F) later in the day. We were driven past many of the sites near the ship, including the market, said to be the “Highest rated city market in the world.” We also passed the inner city church and the waterfront. We stopped at Hero's Square for a necessary stop and photo opportunity. There was a long line of folks queued up for the Art Museum as a traveling exhibit was leaving after this weekend. Back on the bus we crossed over the river. One thing I would have loved to do with a little more time would be to ride the historic funicular. We were dropped off the bus at the Sheraton and walked to the inner city church. This was an interesting stop. This is still an active church reaching out to the community, but in addition during a renovation in 2010 Roman ruins from the second century were found under the church's floor. So part of the floor is now glass and the excavated ruins can be seen from the church. From the church we walked to the main shopping street, a pedestrian zone. We walked a good way down the street as our guide told us about the locally produced items that could be purchased. The spice Paprika is from Hungary. They do a lot a lace work, and grow grapes from which various wines are produced. There is also a good amount of leather work and much hand-painted artsy things. We had a choice now to return to the Eistla with our guide or break off on our own. We decided to return to the Eistla for lunch and that afterwards we would visit the market, just a few blocks from our docking space. In the meantime I have gotten frustrated with British Airways as I have not been able to check in for our flight the next morning. It keeps saying I need to provide “Covid data.” Their VeriFly connection says we are ready to go. I spoke with the front desk who insisted everything will be fine at the airport. Sure hope so! We went to the dining room for lunch due to the outdoor heat. That was a mistake as service was pretty poor. Seemed like they kept passing by our table. Our friends were getting nervous as they were on the “Horsemen” tour at 1:45. We finally received some attention, beverages, and lunch, although DW never received the salmon she was supposed to get with her salad. After lunch we ventured over to the market. Well, I will say this is among the nicest markets we have ever seen. Everything seemed very clean and the vendors quite friendly. I bought a locally made leather belt. DW bought a cap. We also bought some paprika followed by a purchase of a bottle of locally produced Shiraz and locally produced dark chocolate. That will be our pre-dinner party later! We then returned to the Eistla to clean up for dinner and get the chore of packing for our trip home completed. Once done, we took our local wine and chocolate to the Aquavit enjoying watching Budapest traffic go by. We were joined by our friends who went on the Hungarian Horsemen tour and they thought it was terrific. We stayed in the Aquavit during the end of the cruise toasts and enjoyed dinner. After dinner we called it a night.

Wednesday, July 13; Vienna day 2 Vienna is the only spot we are staying for two days during this trip. Last night the hotel manager said “If you like Vienna, you will love Budapest.” It's a shame we only have one day in Budapest followed by a (very) early departure the following morning. We woke a little before 7:00 and enjoyed our typical morning routine. We met our friends for breakfast and then headed back into Vienna with our destination being the large market. We rode the very busy (crowded) U-Bahn to the Karlsplatz station. From there it was just a couple of blocks and we were at the beginning (or end) or the market. Many of the vendors were still setting up for the day as we began touring, but any that were not ready for us we would see on the way back. We did come across a wine shop selling only local Austrian wines. DW told the proprietor what she liked and he offered a taste. It's only 9:30 but we are on vacation, right? She really liked it so we bought a bottle to enjoy later in the afternoon. I also bought a soda and we were invited to sit at one of the tables so I wouldn't have to carry the bottle with me. We also came across a vendor with some unique, nut-filled dates. We bought some of those and some macadamia nuts to enjoy with the wine during our sail away from Vienna. We enjoyed a coffee and tea from one of the vendors and I really like the Vienna “Pots of tea in a cup.” We just have no need for any additional tea mugs or pots in our cabinets or I would have bought a few. After this we headed back to the Karlsplatz station to catch the U-Bahn. We wanted to go to Millennium City and the tower before headed back to the ship. Google maps told us how to do it by U-Bahn and train, but when we got to the train station the names did not match. So we ended up returning to the U-Bahn and getting back to the Eistla for lunch on the very popular Aquavit. After lunch we decided to talk to Millennium City. It ended up being about a mile and a quarter each way. I could not get the tower's website to translate and it talked about views of the city so we thought there was an observation deck. That ended up being inaccurate so we had no chance for overview shots of Vienna. We did walk the mall, checked out a few shops, bought some waters, and then headed back. As we relaxed on a park bench on the walk back we met our friends also walking back from Millennium City. We then finished the rest of the walk with them. It was now nearly 4:00 so we relaxed and got ready for the evening. We arranged to meet our friends at 5:00 in the Aquavit for wine and snacks (from the market) and we would just stay there until dinner. We have never seen the lounge so busy at 5:00. The lone bartender was soon joined by co-workers. It seemed everyone wanted to be out and about for the sail away. Perhaps 30 minutes after leaving dock we came into a large lock and I took some photos. Four river ships fit into the lock together. At 6:30 the program manager gave a brief talk on our day in Budapest and then a longer talk on disembarkation. Mich to our surprise when we received our documents later in the evening our transfer is 4:30 AM on Friday, so we get an hour more rest than we expected. Even though every table in the Aquavit and the outdoor bow was occupied, dinner was finished with dessert at about 8:35. Later in the evening someone in the dining room mentioned their dinner didn't finish until 9:00. Our program director grew up in Bulgaria and offered a talk at 9:00 “Growing up behind the iron curtain.” I stayed for 45 minutes and appreciated the information he shared. After that I called it a night.

A few photos from the WW2 history tour in Nuremburg. Zeppelin field in 1940 versus today.

Oddly enough, in port with us today is the Viking Skadi, on which we sailed the "Tulips & Windmills" in 2013. She was brand new back then. I think we were on her third ever cruise.

Here are a few photos of one of our lock passages. This one surprised me as the lock gate sank into the water to go under the ship as we passed. This lock was between Bamberg & Nuremburg.

Thank you, you are correct. I get my palaces mixed up! Hofburg is what we walked 'through.' It is now broken up into many different uses. As to docks, in Vienna, we are in spot #1. That sounds good but it is actually the furthest from the U-Bann station. In some places we have had good spots.

Tuesday, July 12 – Vienna, Austria (day 1) We set the alarm for 6:00 to make sure we would be ready for the 8:45 departure of the included Vienna overview tour. We did our normal morning routine, and left the Eistla about 8:35 to board the bus. Due to construction projects it took the bus a while to get into the downtown area and we were dropped off on the inside ring road at the Natural History and Art Museums. From there the tour became a walking tour. We walked past and through part of the Schonbrunn palace. I will say that we found this guide the weakest of the guides on this trip. He went down tangents and we ended up standing in the palace courtyard for a very long time talking about history. Then just outside the palace he went on for a very long time about beer, and how if you want to order a beer in Austria you order it by the place it was brewed. We finally moved on down Karntner Strafe past all the very high end designer stores. We were there at 10:00 when all the delivery trucks were still making deliveries (they are permitted until 10:30) in this pedestrian area. We reached St. Stephens cathedral at 10:30 and we had one hour of free time. We were ready to sit a while so we found a coffeehouse and enjoyed some beverages and a slice of Apple Strudel. Afterwards we checked out a for shops but made no purchases. We walked completely around the cathedral and by then it was time to get back to meet the guide. He led us to the bus pick up point (not the same spot we were dropped off) and we headed back to the Eistla for lunch. Arriving back at the Eistla we were surprised to find the Mimir was docked next to us! That was the ship we were supposed to be on. The Mimir is all repaired and will be following us to Budapest, where the crew will rejoin her and the next cruise will take place on the Mimir (at least the first part will...) While we were out the Viking ships also played musical chairs as they need to take turns being the “Outside ship” so they can get fuel from the fuel barge. We enjoyed lunch on the Aquavit and then DW and I took off on our own to the subway station. Since we are docked in “Space 1” it is a little over a KM walk to the station. We purchased 24 hour passes from the ticket machine and validated them, then boarded the Red line and took it down to Karlsplatz station. There we activated the Rick Steve's AP on our phones and began Rick's audio tour of the ringstrasse and the sites along it. We enjoyed the tour (which took about an hour) and then began Rick's audio walking tour of the old city, starting at the Opera House. We took the tour as far as St. Stephens as the stops after that were covered in the morning walk. We went into St. Stephens but did not take the time for the audio tour. To be honest, at this point we are rather “Cathedraled out” because at every single stop on this cruise a major church or cathedral is one of the main points of interest. I find the other buildings, parks, and scenic areas to be of more interest. Upon returning back the hotel manager asked if we had a nice day. He knew I was not happy with being left on the dock the five times earlier in the trip. So we did have a pleasant conversation and I asked about the 'leapfrogging,' specifically if it occurs in both directions. He said that yes, it happens about as much in each direction. I also asked about their docking spots. He said that many of the spots are owned by Viking. In some cases, the docking spots are controlled by local authorities and then they pay docking fees like ocean vessels. He did specifically say that the last incident when the other cruise line's boat was docked at Viking's owned dock they did not have permission to use the dock and that 'management' was in communication with the other company. Apparently because the Danube is somewhat low the other company could not use their dock as the water there was too shallow. That still doesn't excuse them not moving to let the dock's owner's board their guests. We boarded the red line back to near where the Eistla was docked and returned to the ship a little before 5:00. We enjoyed a chance to just relax. There are two 'seatings' for dinner tonight for the folks who are going to the Mozart and Schubert concert in the evening. We listened to Api in the lounge and at about 6:45 found a table ready for the normal dinner seating in the Aquavit. Our friends joined us and we had a nice meal, in fact, there was not much left on anyone's plate this evening. After the meal the executive chef was making the rounds and when we told him we intended to visit the large Vienna farmer's market in the morning he was quite excited. He told us of a few things to look for and also said if we wanted to buy anything that needed to be sealed for transport he could help with that. We called it a night at that point. There is a 10:00 late night snack planned of Goulash soup in the Aquavit open to anyone but intended for those on the concert outing.

Monday, July 11, The Wachau Valley, Austria We woke at about 6:40 and I obtained tea and coffee. We met our friends for breakfast at about 7:40 and enjoyed the time in the dining room as the Eistla docked in Melk. We are on 'group C' for the Melk Abbey tour at 9:15. About 9:00 we left the ship and walked down to the bus parking area. We connected our quiet vox receivers to the “C” channel and had a short bus ride to the Abbey. We waited for our guide while enjoying the courtyard. I especially liked the statue of St. Coloman, carved out of solid oak over 150 years ago. We toured through the Abbey's public areas but no photography was allowed inside. Someone tried to 'sneak' a photo in the church and someone else yelled “No photographs!” After arriving back on the Eistla, I found there are publicly available interior photos on several websites. Along with quite a few others, we decided to walk back to the ship through the delightful town of Melk. Melk is a small town but it has everything anyone would need. We saw several ice cream shops, a number of cafes and restaurants, a small department store, and a few hotels. Every time I see the word “Zimmer” I think of the original Pink Panther movie, but that is off-topic! By looking carefully at the map I found for where the Eistla was docked there was a gravel pathway that saved us 10 minutes of walking, and we were back on the ship at 11:35. I went directly to the Aquavit and grabbed the last large table for lunch with friends. We actually grew the table to five folks today. Lunch was very nice and we really enjoy the serving team in the Aquavit. Plenty of wine, soda, and cider was served along with a nice lunch. The grilled item today was lamb and that made DW very happy. We just stayed in the aquavit for the scenic sailing down the Wachau valley. The entire valley is a UNESCO world heritage site for the two abbeys, the grape cultivation, and the scenery which is unspoiled and very pretty. There are a few castles along the way as well. At one point when the river turned and the Eistla headed straight into the wind all the doors were closed. We moved into the lounge at that time. The very end of the trip was really nice and all too soon we docked in Krems. During the last part of the transit, at 3:30 there was an Austrian tea offered along with a demonstration of the making of Apple Strudel. This was fun and of course everyone was offered a slice of strudel. Viking provided a complimentary shuttle bus to the 'old town' of Krems. We hopped on the first bus, walked the main pedestrian street, and had a nice outing. Krems is nowhere near as old as the other places we've been to. Shopping seemed robust, with lots of cafes and ice cream places available. The main gate to Krems was certainly worth a photo. DW's knee was hurting just a bit so we returned to the bus stop for the first shuttle back to the ship. Back on board we relaxed a little and then went up to get the last inside table at the Aquavit for dinner. Our friends joined us. We listened to the port talk on Vienna, our next stop, and enjoyed dinner. There was a huge crowd outdoors at the Aquavit in addition to the all full inside tables. The matire de was helping out the Aquavit waiters as were the bar staff. Still, we were done with dinner by 8:35, much faster than dinner in the dining room. For entertainment this evening two dancers from Viennese opera houses came on board to demonstrate the history of the Viennese Waltz and then attempted to teach the basic step to any willing participants. They were very talented and the demonstration was appreciated. After this we called it a night as we have a very full day planned for the first day in Vienna.

Yes, absolutely you could if you did not want to tour the Abbey. We walked back, and if you do tour the abbey I would strongly suggest walking back as the town of Melk is charming and within it's small space has everything anyone could need. Beware though that many shops may not open very early! I did not notice opening times. See today's report for more detail!