Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007

[Druke I]

On Adagio (our river boat float down the Danube), they had daily newspapers (sattelite reprint) in the library, which did contain a modicum of world news. On at least two occasions, half the news was from the day before! (Much too much coverage given to OJ's latest brush with the law.)

 

The cabin TV gave us a choice of CNN, SkyTV, and sometimes BBC. There were also stations with local language news.

 

The safes had a touchpad system. When boarding, safes were open - you entered your four digit code, and "went from there". I thought the safes worked well with that system, and I found them preferable to the ones requiring a swipe with a credit card or room key.

[bcscot]

Yes, those keypad safes are the ones that HAL have on their newer ships. I am surprised that Donald had one of the old safes on Oosterdam last year. I seem to remember that we had one of the new ones. Maybe she has a mixture of old & new.

 

Graham.

[Kapricorn]

Ruby, here's a look at the hats worn by passengers at Holland-America's Master Chef's Dinner. I'm the one between the two ladies, one of whom sent me that photograph. I had that hat on for all of 120 seconds. I was astonished by the level of compliance by the other diners in wearing these hats - probably 85% of them.

 

You still wouldn't wear one, eh? :D

 

D'maniac.

[Saga Ruby]

I had that hat on for all of 120 seconds. I was astonished by the level of compliance by the other diners in wearing these hats - probably 85% of them. You still wouldn't wear one, eh? :D

D'maniac.

 

Ohhhhh nooooo!!!!!! Excuse me for a minute. Admiral Ma'am has to compose herself.

 

Thank you for the photo and you do look marvelous but you are correct, sir! I am obviously no longer qualified to be a HAL passenger. Mr. Ouzo and chef hats - when does the conga line start? Harumph.

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

Thank you for the photo and you do look marvelous but you are correct, sir! I am obviously no longer qualified to be a HAL passenger. Mr. Ouzo and chef hats - when does the conga line start? Harumph.Ruby

 

Stuff the hats Admiral Ma'am, but please do not mock Mr Ouzo. He is a very fine little fellow. He also displays a bridge crew with a good sense of humour!

 

PS- I would not rule out HAL on the strength of the silly hats. They are the exception rather than the rule.:)

 

Graham.

[bcscot]

Ruby, here's a look at the hats worn by passengers at Holland-America's Master Chef's Dinner. I'm the one between the two ladies, one of whom sent me that photograph. I had that hat on for all of 120 seconds. D'maniac.

 

It looks like they made you work for your dinner Donald. You have a very Scandanavian looking face. Are you a VIKING?:eek:

 

Graham.

[Kapricorn]

It looks like they made you work for your dinner Donald. You have a very Scandanavian looking face. Are you a VIKING?:eek:

 

Graham.

 

This is not the first time that I've been told that I look Scandinavian. Others have asked if I am from Denmark. But, nope, I'm a fourth-generation Canadian from southern England stock.

 

D'maniac.

[bcscot]

This is not the first time that I've been told that I look Scandinavian. Others have asked if I am from Denmark. But, nope, I'm a fourth-generation Canadian from southern England stock.

D'maniac.

 

Ah, so you are an Angle (from south of Denmark) or a Jute from Jutland, rather than a Saxon or a Norman, (they are a mixed up bunch these English!!!).:D

 

Graham.

[Saga Ruby]

Ah, so you are an Angle . . .Graham.

 

Are we now talking isosceles triangles, plane geometry, and the Pythagorean theory?

 

Doncha just love this Nostalgia Cruise?

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

Ah, so you are an Angle (from south of Denmark) or a Jute from Jutland, rather than a Saxon or a Norman, (they are a mixed up bunch these English!!!).:D

 

Graham.

 

There were no Saxons or Normans in southern England? My paternal ancestors came from Tunbridge Wells, England, in the west part of Kent. Dover, where Ruby and Conte embarked on their recent cruises, is in Kent.

 

D'maniac.

[Druke I]

My father was born in Kent (Sidcup). Does that give me any extra points?

 

I bet he would be pleased that one of his grand-daughters and three great- grandchildren are living fairly close by, over in Woking, Surrey.

 

My wife is of Danish stock, and my mother's family was from Norway (although she was born in that foreign territory of North Dakota!).

[Kapricorn]

My father was born in Kent (Sidcup). Does that give me any extra points?

 

Michael, would people say that you look Scandinavian?

 

Donald d'Maniac.

[bcscot]

OK, OK, so enough of this!

 

Ruby: Please do not mix up your Greek & English history.

 

Donald: I was alluding to your Scandanavian looks, thinking that you maybe had more Danish rather than Norman or Saxon blood in you. However, the Normans were also Vikings who settled in France & mixed with the locals. They all came to England & pushed the Celts out after the Romans left (even that is controversial now). So it is all very confusing.

 

Michael & his wife also seem to have English & Scandanavian blood in them. The vikings settled around the coastal areas of Scotland too, so we have a large Scandanavian gene pool also. I look a bit like Donald. Infact, my wife & I look so Danish that last year in Copenhagen, even when we were in groups of foreign tourists, people would talk to us in Danish & were surprised to find out that we were not.

 

If the truth be told, it seems that I am a viking too. We are all VIKINGS!!!:eek:

 

Graham.

[bcscot]

On second thoughts Donald, D' before a name, such as d'Maniac, was a style used by the Normans. Maybe you are a Norman from Sidcup, like William the Conqueror or even "Stormin' Norman"!! How about "Stormin' Donald D'Maniac the Conqueror, from Sidcup"?

 

Graham.

[Kapricorn]

On second thoughts Donald, D' before a name, such as d'Maniac, was a style used by the Normans. Maybe you are a Norman from Sidcup, like William the Conqueror or even "Stormin' Norman"!! How about "Stormin' Donald D'Maniac the Conqueror, from Sidcup"?

 

Graham.

 

Hey, I don't remember how I got the moniker Donald d'Maniac ... I'd have to go back several posts to find it. However, I believe that it was you, Graham, who more or less came up with that name. Right?

 

Will we see a photograph of you here, to see if you look Scandinavian? I hope that Ruby posts hers in the chef's hat. It would be nice to see faces to names. It was great to see Conte's picture.

 

D'maniac the Dane.

[bcscot]

Having left Vancouver on Ryndam,in very poor weather & with a bad weather forcast, we were pleased to awake on the second day to reasonable weather. We also had a rather disturbed nights sleep on our second night but unlike Donald, this was not due to weather (more on that later). By the third day, we were sailing up Stephen's passage towards Juneau in sunshine, with broken cloudy views of the snow covered peaks around.

 

Standing right up at the bow, as we approached Gastineau Channel, we could see a thick fogbank right ahead. By the time that our view was blanketed by the fog, the ship's horns had started to sound. Inorder to replicate Donald's experience on the Veendam, I bounded up the stairs to the Sports deck so I could stand under those horns as they blew. After the QE2 & the Prinsendam, they were a little tame & definitely more tenor than baritone. It was, none the less, nice to listen to their musical tone as they sang out.

 

As the fog began to thin a little, we returned to our vantage point at the bow. We were sailing up the narrow Gastineau Channel south of Juneau with the view just starting to appear again, the sun shining thinly through the fog behind us. It was at this moment that we experienced three natural phenomena.

 

The first was a 'Brocken Spectre', which I have seen in the mountains but not on a ship. The sun shining through the mist from behind, cast our shadows onto the blanket of mist infront of the ship. Both of us could see the shadow of the bow, infront of the ship, with the ghostly apparition of our own shadow on top of it. This phenomenon was named after a mountain in Germany, called 'Brocken'. It used to scare people in the mountains as they thought that they were seeing a ghost.

 

Around the ghost like shadow was a rainbow coloured halo called the 'glory', caused by the refraction of sunlight through the mist, giving a divine look to the apparition. This was topped off by a 'fogbow', a white rainbow-like band of light which arced round from one side of the bow, out over the fog & around to the other side, like a giant 'lifting ring'.

 

We watched this spectacle for some time before it finally melted away as the fog lifted to reveal Juneau up ahead (& Volendam with Mr Ouzo). We were having more fun at the bow of Ryndam than Leonardo Di Caprio at the bow of Titanic!

 

After a walk around Juneau, the weather was nice enough that my wife & I decided to go up the cablecar on Mount Roberts. We were able to hike from the top of the cablecar quite a way up Mount Roberts & were treated to wonderful views of mountain & sea all around. On the way back down, we had a lovely view of Volendam making her way down Gastineau Channel, way way down below us.

 

All in all, it was our best visit to Juneau so far, & not a bit of fudge passed our lips!

 

Graham.

[bcscot]

Hey, I don't remember how I got the moniker Donald d'Maniac ... I'd have to go back several posts to find it. However, I believe that it was you, Graham, who more or less came up with that name. Right? D'maniac the Dane.

 

Donald: Ruby added the Norman touch.

 

I don't know if anyone saw the drama, 'The Darling Buds of May', but I think it was set around Sidcup somewhere. At least Sidcup comes into the story somewhere. Anyone? Ross? Don't say you missed that one now!

 

Graham.

[Conte Di Savoia]

When we were in Scotland my partner inquired about his grandmother, a McRimmon but probably originally MacCrimmon. She only acknowledged that her family was from Louisiana and Texas (yes Ruby, we have a strong Texas connection in this house, but more about that later). It turns out that the MacCrimmons were pipers to the MacCleods of Harris. So my partner loaded up with a variety of genealogy books about the MacCleod clan. I was very jealous. One of the Brits aboard Saga Rose asked me where my family was from. "Italy" I answered.

"Well, you have a clan too!"

"I do? Which one?"

"The MacAroni's!"

I’m working on the tartan, something with linguini, spaghetti and fettuccine in an interesting pattern.

[Conte Di Savoia]

Oops!

[Druke I]

Celebritymania asked if I looked Scandinavian. Hell, I don't know. I'm long, lean and lanky.

 

Saga Ruby has likened me to Bud Abbot and/or Lee Van Cleef among others, so I don't really know what I look like.

 

My wife definitely looks Scandinavian (blond, blue eyes, etc).

 

This genealogy bit is very confusing, but my father maintained the spelling of our surname in the "old French" roughly translated to Rock Heart, and that it was believed that we were 1st or 2nd cousins to Richard the Lion Heart. Nice story, but I rather doubt that.

[bcscot]

MacCrimmon is the most famous name in piping. They were pipers to the chief of Clan Macleod at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye. They developed & elevated the art of the Highland bagpipe, becoming the leading teachers of piping in the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries. Infact they developed the advanced style of piping called 'piobaireachd'.

 

Originally from the island of Harris in the 12th & 13th centuries, they were driven out by those pesky vikings (they got everywhere) & threw in their lot with the Macleods. The founder of Clan Macleod was himself of viking stock & was the grandson of the King of Man (Isle of Man once again).

 

However I don't know much about the Macaronis. If you boil the different pastas in different coloured dyes & then mix them up, I am sure you will come up with an interesting pasta tartan!

 

When are we getting the next chapter in your saga Conte?

 

Michael: All we VIKINGS are long, lean & lanky, not to mention a bit mean.:D

 

Graham.

[Saga Ruby]

As I ponder uniforms for the Kazoo Orchestra on the Nostalgia Cruise, Conte has given me an idea. Perhaps we could use his Italian tartan for uniforms for the Orchestra as they pipe aboard embarking passengers? Berets with bowtie pasta and spaghetti? Anybody want a Norman or Viking motif? Sudden thought - we need a guy named Norman on this thread.

 

Since Michael has brought up the subject, I do think he looks like Bud Abbott - he is indeed tall and lanky. I am short and stout so onboard Nautica, in my mind, we became Abbott and Costello. Michael’s wife, Virginia, is a lovely Scandinavian with a genteel voice and manners. They are a great couple to enjoy spending a month with. Virginia made the comment to me that she had never traveled anywhere until she was 50 at which point Michael began to waltz her around the world and she quite enjoys it.

 

About family heraldry - my family originated in Spain during the Roman period. When the Romans were run out of town by the Moors, the Romans left behind their aqueducts and other buildings. My ancestors had the bright idea of taking over the bridges of the Roman aqueducts in southeastern Espana and became toll takers. So our family crest is in 3 sections - a fish swimming in pale blue water, crossed iron keys for the bridge’s gate, and a medieval castle. It ain’t lions rampant on a field of scarlet but our family history is there for all to see.

 

I always wanted to be related to scamps and pirates with a few actual skeletons hanging from branches of the family tree. Much more interesting than aristos.

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

Ruby: I am quite certain that the 'aristos' have way more skeletons in their closets than the rest of us put together. So you are a Spanish senora Admiral Ma'am!

 

Here is an interesting little historical diversion. We have all heard of the 'Texas Rangers', but not so many have heard of the 'Georgia Rangers'. In the early days of the development of the American Colonies, about the late 17th & early 18th centuries, there was great concern about the threat from the Spanish in Florida. The terrain was very tough with swamps, jungle & humid heat, which most could not tolerate. The toughest men they could find were a bunch of Scottish Highland mercenaries (long a favoured Scottish profession). These Gaelic speaking men were brought out from their tough life in the Scottish Highlands & they lived in the swamps of Georgia & Florida, fighting the Spanish from horseback with broadsword & targe, clad in tartan plaid. They were Scottish Highland warriors transposed to the Wild West (or south east), they were the Georgia Rangers.

 

Michael, being a cousin of 'Coeur De Lion' who was essentially French & descended from 'Norman the Conk', must be our Norman, Viking, English, American hybrid.

 

As for uniforms, well, I am not too much in favour, but I suppose something with tartan used tastefully & maybe a Viking helmet & brooch may be acceptable. How about one of those MacCrimmons on the pipes?

 

Now back to ships. There is a pub & restaurant in Bristol which is furnished with the woodwork from the old Mauretania. Take a look:

 

www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/item/1491/

&

www.webshots.com/search?query=Mauretania+Restaurant+Bristol%2C+England

 

 

Graham.

[Saga Ruby]

Attached is my photo from the Saga Rose Lido kitchen. Conte - do you recognize the deep fryers?!!! If you squnch up your eyes, you'll see the tiny stuffed red chili pepper on the headband.

 

Graham, I really liked your description of the beautiful unique weather conditions on your cruise. I'm trying to envision those moments. By the bye, did you sprain your wrist when you typed "piobaireachd?"

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

By the bye, did you sprain your wrist when you typed "piobaireachd?" Ruby

 

I thought that you would like that one Ruby!:D

 

Well, I really like the hat Ruby. Donald will be proud of you!:D

You look neither Spanish nor Scandanavian, Texan I would say.

 

Graham.