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MS EUROPA Nice-Bilbao 5/29-6/12/18, daily narrative and pictures


Catlover54
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I forced myself to walk up the Mirador steps to see the Camera Obscura and the views. They were indeed obscured.

 

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There is a lot of remaining Moorish influence in the architecture in Cadiz.

 

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Sanctuary:

 

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Here we have a madonna keeping an eye out on a public WC which has an ad on it for a sarcophagus exhibit, and as is common in big cities in Europe and elsewhere, grafitti soiling otherwise beautiful objects, here, a huge tree:

 

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The old:

 

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vs. more modern art murals in a square:

 

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I had built up an appetite for ossobucco for late lunch in the Venezia Italian venue:

 

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That evening in MDR there was a parade of chefs who had been responsible for various favorite dishes, which were also on the menu again ( two dozen choices) , overseen by head chef Tilman Fischer. Half were Filipino, and gave their mini-speeches in English.

 

Everyone got little marzipan chefs as they exited the MDR. I added mine to my suite fruit collection after sending DH a picture. He wanted to know what happened to the ears.

 

 

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I had one of my favorite desserts which was raspberry-themed, real cream:

 

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Last two days, Lisbon:

 

This was my third time in Lisbon, where we arrived to another overcast sky, over the views from the port:

 

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Almost everyone was off on the standard early morning organized tours of the city or Cintra palace, so I had the outdoor Lido terrace for breakfast almost to myself with a port area view:

 

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As someone who cruises on multiple luxury lines, I noticed something that looked familiar near us:

 

 

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As I left the ship, I said hello to the Silver Wind, which was trying to nuzzle the Europa, (two lonely ships, most pax off on day trips, perhaps exchanging stories about odd luxury passengers they had transported inside them over the last few weeks, maybe about those who had violated dress codes on formal night, or who has the better caviar):

 

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It was going to be an interesting day in Lisbon, an increasingly popular tourist destination, for good reason. I would be seeing and learning many new things, and unbeknownst to me at the time, even the details of the history of Lisbon’s most famous serial killer.[emoji15]

 

 

 

 

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Immediately after exiting the terminal, where I had planned to get a marked taxi across the street to take me to the view spot of Santa Luzia where I had enjoyed lingering two years ago, I saw a small group of old men in civilian clothing hanging out talking to some young port officials who were in uniform. The seniors were holding hand drawn basic “Lisbon tour” signs. One of them looked like a harmless old soul and politely asked in broken German if I needed a taxi. I replied yes, to Miradouro Santa Luzia. I had prepared and read what Lisbon taxi rates, set by law, are, so knew I did not have to worry too much about rate rip-off.

 

The man, who later said his name was Miguel, took me to his odd-looking six-door old unmarked Mercedes sedan. I noted there was no taxi sign on the roof and no meter, so I figured he was an unofficial moonlighter who somehow had an in with port security ( my guess would be a bribe) so he could get first access to pax leaving the port. I felt a bit sorry for an old man having to work at his age, and trusted my instincts that he was not dangerous, so I got in. The seat in back was soft and I was comfortable. The back alleys we drove through were often very narrow, and I was surprised he took a large car like that through them, but very skillfully.

 

He asked, in a puzzled tone, why I wanted to go to the Miradouro ( view spot) de Santa Luzia and convinced me, in good English, to go to a better view spot he recommended, the Miradouro da Senhora de Monte, “ Our Lady of the Hill” viewpoint. But he also encouraged me to let him show me “real Lisbon” , more than just a taxi ride for a few minutes, and assured me that because he has been a tour guide for many years, what he would tell me would be “the real truth.” I was of course a bit skeptical I would hear “the real truth” but figured I would take my chances and worse case scenario I would hear the unreal truth, and after checking the door handles were not locked, that I could jump out any time I wanted and go look for the unreal Lisbon.

 

What was supposed to be a short cab ride then turned into a fascinating half-day tour of Lisbon, complete with back alleys and hideaways definitely off the usual tourist routes, with tales of Lisbon’s history per Miguel, plus some expected tourist spots.

 

The views from Miradouro Senhora de Monte were indeed beautiful, Miguel was right , better than Santa Luzia, and we got there just as the sun started coming out:

 

 

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A key bridge in Lisbon looks very similar to ours in San Francisco, and there are common architectural links.

 

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This is the highest viewpoint point in Lisbon and a favorite spot for lovers to put locks on fences, as is the style in other parts of Europe these days. Unfortunately others spoiled the pureness of love sentiments by writing their own incoherent or ugly messages

shown below.

 

 

Miguel spoke English quite well, and told me that after studying business at university while Salazar had still been in power, he had worked many years as liason to the Argentinian embassy and then even more years as a tour guide ( after which he whipped out what looked like his guide license). He spoke Portugese and Spanish fluently, and said he could also communicate basics in German and Italian. Miguel claimed he could retire as he felt he had enough money but still wanted to work, not just to show visitors the real Lisbon, his home, but to keep his mind active. “Work is a vitamin,” he insisted, one that keeps the mind healthy and prevents it from wondering off into boredom and depression.

 

 

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My guess is the guys defacing pieces of Lisbon could use a bit of Miguel’s vitamins.

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Miguel stopped periodically where there were photo opps so I could take pictures as long as I wanted. After not too long he suggested I ride in the front of the car with him to make it easier for him to talk to me and to have a better view of the streets as we drove. The inner city was crowded and parking extremely limited everywhere on this Sunday, but somehow Miguel managed to be able to stop and insert his giant Mercedes into spots that looked like they were almost certainly illegal. At various points police drove by his Mercedes, and I thought for sure he would get a ticket, but they just waved at Miguel and he waved back. He claimed to know “over 60% of Lisbon policeman” personally.

 

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Our ship in the distance:

 

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After a stop at a colorful flea market, which was crowded with locals with no obvious tourists other than me anywhere in site, Miguel claimed thieves liked to sell their stolen goods there at low prices. He then asked me matter of factly if BTW I needed anything, but I said I was fine (!).

 

The tour continued, as did his education about Lisbon and its past and present and his often funny editorials about what is good and what is bad. I could hear the pride he had in his city, though it was coupled with a slight sense of disappointment. He knew the nooks and crannies by heart, and could even give a history of individual houses.

 

 

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There were many houses with tiled facades:

 

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After an hour or so he pointed out a little hole in the wall cafe and asked if I would let him buy me a coffee. Much as I would have liked a coffee I was afraid that after coffee I would soon need to find a bathroom, and based on my experience less than two years ago with little locals’ café toilets in some parts of Lisbon, i.e., dirty and without locks or functioning lights, and where exclusively local rough-looking men hung out drinking, I preferred to decline.

 

 

I asked Miguel what the highest marginal income tax rate was in Portugal. A cloud came over his face, and with a tone of resentment he pronounced, “Here, man works for the state”. He complained that even middle class tour guides are forced to pay well over 50% of earnings to the government, between close to 50% income tax for his level coupled with VAT taxes of 23% for most goods, lower VAT for food.

“What are we paying for?” He dismissively waved at a bunch of healthy-looking dudes hanging out smoking on a stoop and he said “ people work hard all day for others to sit and enjoy themselves.” As a little challenge I noted he gets “free health care” at which he scoffed and told me his story about how he readily paid 400 Euros cash to a private renowned ophthalmologist because he did not want to wait four months to see “some guy they assign me to for free, who knows who he is.” He thought 400 Euro out of pocket was a deal for almost immediate service by a known expert. He said because taxes are so high, there is a large underground economy designed to bypass the high tax rates, people are keen on figuring out tax avoidance . It sounded a lot like complaints I heard from local guides, and locals, in other western European countries.

 

He then went on to tell me his ideas about all the different ailments aloe vera is good for, and how he had once revived an older American lady tourist who was dizzy by pulling out a tube of aloe vera and rubbing it on her, (?), after which he asked if I was doing ok, I assured him I was.

 

 

 

 

 

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Our drive continued through more little streets and alleys, with one of several Lisbon castles and view spots on a hill in the background.

I heard many languages amongst the tourists, including quite a few Russians.

 

 

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This structure needs a bit of renovation:

 

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Perhaps the many different house numbers reflect different owners and lots in the history, or even now, and disagreement on what to do, though I speculated the entrepeneurs selling stacks of oranges at #9 would eventually get something done.

 

 

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We then drive on to the pretty Park of British Edward VII, built to commemorate the 1903 visit of the king. Portugal was on Britain’s side in WWI.

Miguel stopped at a park view spot. The park was hosting a book fair below:

 

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I then fixated on taking a video of the flag wildly waving in the brisk wind. There were what looked like some mostly vertical concrete blobs next to it and without thinking it through I asked Miguel if these were ruins or ongoing construction, and if so for what. He looked a bit embarassed and said “it is deliberate, but it is not my favorite” , and I then realized these chunks were supposed to be modern art. Usually there is a running fountain, but not this time so the “art” was a bit disguised and less obvious

 

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This chunk of semi-phallic stuff supposedly honours the day of the important Carnation Revolution that ended years of fascistic rule in Portugal, April 25, 1974, after a group of left-leaning young military officers sick of fighting wars in Portugese colonies Angola and Mozambique, and supported by workers, students etc. tired of decades of civil liberties restrictions, launched a bloodless military junta overthrowing the old regime.

 

I learned the “ sculpture” is the work of Portugese artist João Cutileiro. Apparently, according to a guide of a group next to us I eavesdropped on, there was controversy when it first went “up” for modesty rather than aesthetic reasons. It allegedly depicts the masses rising up, taking over, and fusing with Portugal culture as it was meant to be, or some such thing, plus it is supposed to show the carnations many people put into the barrels of their allied military revolution supporters that day, flowing over.

 

Now of course April 25 is a big national independence holiday (though sometimes original participants boycott it, depending on what the latest government is doing). Portugal had to have a bailout from the EU of 70 billion Euros a few years ago due to massive debt from overspending on social welfare projects and funds diverted to corruption. The subsequent austerity measures were not popular amongst many, including assorted government employees who had their salaries cut as much as 25 %, and retirement age increased.

 

Miquel tried to get me to look more at the view downhill some more towards the park and port, instead of the stones, and told me about several museums I could go to if I wanted to see “much better” Portugese art.

 

 

 

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The old but competent Mercedes slowly made its way up the wide promenade of designer shops, resembling Paris, past the Argentinian embassy where Miguel used to work as a Portugal liaison, and to a less traveled part of Lisbon, a calm and tidy neighborhood close to parts of Lisbon’s aqueduct and an engineering marvel, built in the early 1700’s.

 

Here is a link with a little history and an overview picture someone unknown took from afar of the Gothic style supports for the aqueduct:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Águas_Livres_Aqueduct

 

This is the Amereiros neighborhood, in NW Lisbon, where you can find a variety of sites to incorporate into self-guided walking tours, e.g., from an app on “GPS my city dot com.” Lisbon’s old synagogue is also here, still active, and there are some small interesting crafts shops, plus also a huge shopping center I did not go into.

 

Not far is a Water Museum, which can be interesting for both engineers and non-engineers, all about Lisbon’s and general water supply challenges and technology, and about the aqueduct, and it has illustrative old equipment on display. I made a note of it, to visit with tech-loving DH when we go back to Lisbon so we can enjoy it together.

 

 

I noted there was no graffiti at all as we cruised down an especially quiet neighborhood headed for an aqueduct arch, and Miguel told me it was because people living there would not tolerate it. The way he said it ([emoji49]) made me definitely not want to be one of the defilers getting caught.

 

 

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Surprisingly it turned out to be his neighborhood, and he showed me the house where he said he had raised his two daughters, one of whom now lives in Paris with her banker husband. He was vague about the other one, said “she reads a lot.”

He had secured private, cash pay educations for both of them, said the public government schools had been a mess, and sadly were getting worse, and he opine that kids are not taught to appreciate reading and learning and working ( sounded familiar).That is how he spends his time if he is not showing tourists around, i.e., reading, if not taking his work “vitamin.” He planned to go to the book fair in the Edward VII park after finishing my tour and look for good prices on books about Portugese history. No amazon book shopping for him, no kindle either, as he likes to touch and feel the old pages.

 

The old man I had felt sorry for at the port as I thought he was short cash, had actually likely done ok for himself, if he could afford a nice house in that neighborhood and non-government schools. It became clear he was likely honest when he said he does tours because he likes to do them, rather than because he needs money, though of course some extra Euros never hurt.

 

 

 

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We arrived at this spot looking at the old aqueduct area:

 

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The streets were deserted, dark clouds were drifting in, and there was a sudden eerie chill in the air and not another soul to be seen as we got out and walked a bit. Miguel suddenly and enthusiastically revealed that this is the place where Lisbon’s famous serial killer Diogo Alves had raped over 70 women in the mid 1800’s. He said Alves had abused dozens of women returning home from their work or travel days, and then thrown them off the very bridge we were looking at, before he was finally caught and executed.

 

For a fleeting moment I had to wonder if I was next, and what-the-heck-had-I-been- thinking when I impulsively got into an unofficial car with a stranger. Miguel then described in detail how after Alves’ execution his head was preserved for the medical community at Lisbon Universiry so they could study evil. He was keen to go back to the car, where he rummaged around a bit in some piles and then pulled out a tattered old paperback to show me this picture:

 

 

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I took a picture of the picture so I could later confirm I had not imagined it and could research this whole fanciful story on my own when I was (hopefully) back at the ship with better internet access. The reported story was pretty close but not identical to that of Lisbon old-timer Miguel, but who knows what the real truth is.

 

The few details that were different, for example in the link below, say the murders were of travelers for the purpose of robbery, and not just of women whom Alves raped.

 

I contemplated the bizarresness of sitting in a car with an old Portugese man I barely knew looking at a ghoulish picture of the preserved head of a serial rapist and killer in a paperback he happened to have handy, and thought maybe I had had enough local color and it was time to get back to my ship and do things normal cruisers do like shuffleboard and cocktail drinking, (especially the latter). But I had to ask Miguel what the medical researchers had learned about “evil” when they studied Alves’ dissected caput. “They found nothing ,” he replied, sadness and fatigue in his voice. “Evil — just is.”

 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/diogo-alves-head-lisbon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Miguel dropped me off at the Europa. I paid him a very reasonable fee for his services, and only regretted that I did not have energy to continue for a few more hours of unusual touring with him and more provocative discussions.

 

I spent a few hours using my in-port hot spot off my iphone looking up various things he had said, and reading more about Portugal and trying to figure out when and how I could fit in a land trip with a longer stay in the future to see and learn more. The overnight idea here and in Barcelona were appreciated, but not enough.

 

It was the second formal night, and most pax chose to dine on their delicious seven courses on board rather than in Lisbon.

 

I chose an unusual presentation of delicious beef stroganoff as my entree:

 

 

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The meat was extremely tender and flavorful.

 

 

If with DH we probably would have gone out to dine in town, walk around with DH’s portable little tripod to take some unusual night pictures, and hear fado music like I had two years ago, when in Lisbon a few days pre-cruise as the town’s heart is close to the port.There are several online companies that offer sunset walking tours with food and fado, it is beautiful and interesting.

 

Lisbon has many night spots and has become a very popular city to visit in the last few years, as many here know.

 

 

 

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Portugal has come a long way since the days of abject poverty after WW2, in standard of living, and in working towards recovering from the recession of the last decade. Though much of it is funded by money borrowed from the EU, at least GDP is rising, though slowly, with increased tourism an increasing part of it.

 

There are of course still some instabilities and growing pains in Portugal , e.g., we did not port in Portimaio but instead went to Cadiz because of the imminent port strike there. It also has a very low fertility rate of only 1.5 and many young people have left the country to work elsewhere, of concern to politicians, economists, and investors. Many countryside villages in Portugal, as in Italy, Greece, and Spain, the economic “PIGS” countries the EU worries about, are deserted or have marked population declines.

 

I read that household income remains still low at under 1000 euros a month in Portugal , plus of course extensive though problematic and controversial levels of social welfare benefits, with high debt and investor insecurity.

 

Portugal has some, but not many, recent immigrants from the middle east and Africa, (not counting the 1 million ethnic Portugese who came to Portugal after they were thrown out of Angola and Mozambique in the 1970’s when those countries gained independence, and who have assimilated; those new governments did not want white descendants of former colonists to stay).

 

Various charts from Pew and other demographic research centers show only 0.4% Muslim population, compared with 6-7% in Germany, but this is not necessarily because Portugese do not welcome immigrants. Miguel claimed most native Portugese like immigrants from anywhere who work, do not commit crimes, learn Portugese, and respect Portugal’s rule of law and culture.

But he also said most new immigrants, ( he claimed to know many) many of whom who are seeking cash for remittance payments to relatives who stayed back home, prefer to go to Germany, Sweden, Britain or even France, countries where monthly cash payments, subsidies, and entry level blue collar salaries are much higher than in Portugal where minimum guaranteed income is only 600 Euro give or take per month ( not counting social welfare subsidies for health care, public education, art, transport, etc., which cannot be sent home, and yet cost of living and VAT taxes are still EU high. )

 

Average Portugese simply do not have money left over for big vacation travels, like Germans, Brits, and Scandinavians do these days.

Do they need more cruisers and other tourists to stimulate their economy?

 

 

 

 

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On our last half-day in Lisbon, I went to the Gulbenkian museum in Lisbon, definitely worth a stop ( half day or all day if you have time, energy and interest) if you want to see a major collection of hundreds of selected art pieces from antiquity to early 20th century that this Armenian millionaire philanthropist donated to for an art foundation ( 5000 total, many from the old Soviet Union, sale of Hermitage art when the communists needed cash).

 

You can do a virtual tour off their website, gulbenkian.pt

 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calouste_Gulbenkian_Museum

 

The man led an interesting life:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calouste_Gulbenkian

 

 

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Anyone care to guess who did this butterfly dragon lady broche?

 

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I’m not sure what’s supposed to be going on in this one:

 

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I liked this Monet, but not the frame:

 

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All luxury cruisers know this guy:

 

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An octogenarian German art lover with a cane was so enthusiastic about the collection that he got carried away and practically took over the English tour guide’s rehearsed speeches, to the horror of his meek and quiet wife, who repeatedly whispered to him that he should talk less because he sounded like he was “preaching.” He claimed for all to hear in English that it was one of the finest collections he had seen across all of Europe.

 

I hoped that if I ever make it to over 80, I will have enough brain power left to be equally enthusiastic about art, or something else.

 

 

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The Gulbenkian museum also had some small gardens I strolled through, where I encountered some bears:

 

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This is what these were supposed to represent:

 

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Needless to say, Mama and Baby Bear were not part of the original collection.

 

 

 

An elderly German in the small excursion bus returned and to no one in particular and for unclear reasons announced, while taking off his coat, that he is just a “modest, unassuming German citizen, so is that wrong?” Someone else chimed in that “we need more modest, unassuming citizens.” I did not get the point of the statements, if there was one, or how the Gulbenkian museum inspired them, unless they were confused about and did not understand the bears.

 

 

 

 

 

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It was then late lunchtime and time for sailaway. As usual I went to a window table in the MDR, and was surprised when I saw the view of the Golden Gate bridge go by — oops, I mean the Bridge of the 25th of April, as it is called in Lisbon since 1974’s Carnation Revolution. The same American company that built our San Francisco-Oakland bay bridge built this, in 1966 under the dictator prime minister Salazar, when it was creatively named the Salazar bridge:

 

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Public anger created by an increase in tolls in 1995 may have contributed to the shift in government from right wing to left wing at the time, if you believe this reference:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_de_Abril_Bridge

 

Bridge related emotions are similar in San Francisco relating to the Golden Gate, where tolls are high and toll booth employees are out of a job because tolls are automatically charged by license-plate reading camera sensors (though unlike in Lisbon, the government did not change sides when workers lost jobs and the tolls went up) :) .

 

 

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I have forgotten to say anything about the other guest classical entertainment on board, the very blond talented pianist brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen who look like a couple of lads dressed up as Aryans for Halloween, but who play “like driving two BMWs at the same time”:

 

http://arthurandlucasjussen.com/en/bio

 

A sample of their four hand piano work when they were younger:

 

 

 

Also offered were a magician ( I went to one of his two shows, was too drawn out) and a cabaret comedian ( went to none of his shows after hearing a sample of them at the beginning of the cruise). Both of course were in German, so these are shows non-German understanders would not benefit from. Instead, I again listened to the Impulse band in Gatsby’s on those days, a cocktail made by the Swiss bartender in hand.

 

The crew did a finale performance of assorted sailing songs, and Captain Olaf Hartmann participated ( nice baritone). Some Filipino crew did their version of a mournful-sounding Filipino sailors’ song. It is hard to imagine crew maintaining enthusiasm doing this show 20 times per year, on each of the cruises:

 

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Later came a public auctioning off of a customized MS Europa towel, done in a comic way, with an officer parading around in it in the atrium as if it were a high fashion item (yes, Germans can laugh at themselves!) . Funds go to the crew (this is in addition to an optional tip jar at reception which looked pretty full). So, a very old gent went home with a 2000 Europa beach towel. Crew will probably easily remember him next cruise, maybe as late as when he uses the towel at the pool, or more likely as soon as he boards. However, pre-tipping issues notwithstanding, as someone who was in a simple veranda suite and not a VIP, one thing I greatly valued on this luxury cruise is that I received unequivocal and reliably consistent luxury service from all, and I did not have to push or fight for it.

 

The extra charge DVD video of the cruise highlights, including excerpts from the Barcelona concert, was at my door the evening prior to disembarkation. I filled out evaluation forms and within two weeks received a personally signed thank you letter from HL customer service, addressing my comments. I learned my DVD did not play properly at home, (hung up after 15 minutes) , so I am working on remedying this (either replacement, alternative, or refund) through that rep.

 

Disembarkation was easy on a rainy day, no lines, smooth and efficient, by colored groups, vacate room by 9, must be off by 10. My final accounting had been flawless, no errors. The captain said goodbye to everyone and shook their hands as people passed to disembark. I told him I greatly enjoyed the trip, and would be back on board in a couple months. He seemed surprised (most pax probably wait longer before reboarding, but this garden cruise itinerary around Britain was one I could not resist so I had booked it back in late 2016 when it first opened up for sale even though timing is a bit closer to the Ocean Sun Festival than ideal:

 

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Looking forward to the next cruise is helping me get over having to get off this wonderful ship, with its classical music, fine luxury food and service, and interesting ports experience. The garden cruise will not have classical music, will have to settle on a bagpipe player :). I will do that one with a German friend who loves gardens, and in Hamburg will visit another German friend who used to live near me in California and who I have been trying to talk into doing a HL cruise with me:)

 

 

Back home, with return to my daily reality of many doctors’ appointments for me, DH, and two sick old cats, not to mention work (mixed feelings about returning there), even though my life in northern CA is by all objective standards very comfortable, I do miss being on board. I wonder how long it would take for me to get bored. Our weekend home is on the ocean, and I can thus at least regularly look at waves crashing and see small fishing vessels on the horizon, or walk to a seal sanctuary, so it reminds me of cruising, but is not quite the same.

 

Writing this blog and organizing my iphone pictures helps me remember and relive the cruise, and to think about what is still left unseen in the various ports, which went by all too quickly.

 

I hope readers of this blog enjoyed at least parts of it, and I wish you all happy sailing!

 

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The official CC review is here, for reference ( it is long and overlaps a lot with the text of the blog so if you slogged through the whole blog, you can skip it unless you need more ship details).

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=623167

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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