Hello From Eurodam!

[AlohaPride]

What a wonderful gift!! Happy Birthday!!!!

[Aussie Gal]

Brian,

 

Am enjoying your posts. We loved Stavenger when we visited there back in 2005. We especially enjoyed the Norwegian Petroleum Museum and spent a couple of hours there. It is a lovely seaport.

 

Happy Birthday for whenever it is.

 

Jennie

[marle7]

Very much enjoying your posts, Brian. Did I miss it, or was your mom given her surprise by your dad? If so, what was it? (sorry, computer problems have kept me offline. Don't ever let anyone tell you that a glass of port spilled all over a laptop won't damage it!):D

[PathfinderEss]

Nice present Brian, how appropriate with the ship on it, Happy Birthday!

Thanks for the great reports, loving everyone of them!

[rebeljohn]

Enjoying your posts, Brian..........Thanks for taking the time and $$$ to bring us along with you...............

[BrianTom]

Brian,

 

Great reading. I am FINALLY caught up. I found the thread late, but better than never. It never occurred to me to cruise this area and now I am hooked. I am considering revising my plans in 2009 for a similar itinerary. The trip sounds amazing.

 

Tom

[innlady1]

Thank you, Brian, for such wonderful reports...I enjoy each and every one!

The itinerary brings back wonderful memories for me of my 3 weeks in Scandinavia with my mom and sister...albeit, 25 years ago! We did the train tour, too. The scenery is breathtaking.

[fireman845]

Brian, I see your B-day is the 28th, Happy Birthday!! Will you still be onboard?

[cusyl]

Lurking and laughing Brian. We are certainly enjoying your reports.

I have one question for you.. How many empty suitcases did you bring to take all those souveniers home in? LOL :D

Happy Birthday!

[earl_m]

Glad you are enjoying your cruise!!!!

[innlady1]

Have a wonderful birthday, Brian! ;) :) :D

[BuckeyeGal1956]

Brian !! -- I have NEVER run into another person with my mother's name. Can you ask her how she got it? I never learned how Mom came into it, as her family was plain New England Yankees.

 

 

Hi Brian,

 

Thought I'd let you know I forwarded this on to Wilda and she answered the writer. So - one less thing you have to do before you end this great cruise.

 

Am enjoying all three "live from" threads. Each of you have different styles and emphasis. Makes us wish even more that we were there, too.

 

Lynn

[sammiedawg]

Happy Birthday Brian and we have really enjoyed your reports. Great job, enjoy

[bepsf]

Captain’s Cocktails #2

After boarding the ship, we learned that the troublesome gangways had caused Adele to trip and fall - she bruised her knee and got a black-eye. It could have been far-far worse as she’s in good shape and received an icepack for her shiner. which she has been able to cover up with a little help from Max Factor so she could attend the Captain’s Cocktail Reception.

 

Several CC’ers were invited to another cocktail reception in the Queen’s Room - we dragged along Susan and John so that they could bring a gift to Jeroen: Reading of his interest in home repair and renovation on the Eurodam Blog, Susan thoughtfully brought a large stack of home-repair magazines from the States which he joyously accepted. Susan also included a People Magazine for Pam, but Pam gleefully informed us that Jeroen enjoyed reading People as much if not more than she!

While we were seated chatting and enjoying drinks, I prompted Dad to pull a little white box from the pocket of his Dinner Jacket: A pair of drop earrings with semi-precious stones for Mom. When she finished putting them on, he pulled out another box: a matching bracelet. As we finished clipping this around her slender wrist, the group had become intrigued: it was at this point that I dug into my pocket and dragged out a matching necklace, surprising them both! Once she had this clipped around her neck and everyone was ooh-ing and aah-ing, I reached into another pocket and pulled out a watch for Dad.

I think he liked it.

 

Tamarind

We enjoyed the best dinner in Tamarind - there were 6 of us at our table and we all ordered different dishes to get a feel for the style of service, etc. All the dishes were exceptional and were served in a most eye-pleasing manner by the delightful Indonesian ladies - if you tell them that you saw their graduation photo from M/S Jakarta (on the Eurodam Blog) they are most pleased. Ordering is similar to Pinnacle where one orders a soup, a starter, a main course and a pair of sides such as rice or stir-fried vegetables. If I were to go again, I would definitely order the stir-fried lamb dish...

Afterwards, we adjourned to the Silk Den where we commandeered one of the booth areas to enjoy a selection of Sake-tinis. Although we liked the concept of the Silk-Den booths for a larger group, we felt that the two chaises simply didn’t provide sufficient seating: we were sprawled out on the steps leading up to the platform, the chaises prevented several of us from sitting back, yet the back wall area remained unused since there weren’t even stools to pull up and sit on. Even so, we enjoyed a delightful evening, then made our way to the Crow’s Nest for a nightcap before retiring.

[bepsf]

July 11 – Newcastle-on-Tyne

 

Thank goodness for the time change - we gained an hour west-bound last night: Scotty heard a loud ticking and after asking what it was, I took my nightlight and shone it on the wallclock as it reset from 2am to 1am. However from prowling the corridors and staircases later, it seems that the clock in the suite was the only thing that reset to the correct time as the clocks are all over the place time-wise on this ship.

 

Castle Alnwick (pronounced “An-nik”)

After assembling for our tour in the showlounge, we departed a bit late - and as we made our way down the gangplank, folks were already trying to make their way up into the ship: there really ought to have been a pair of gangways lowered to help alleviate the congestion and confusion.

We boarded our coach and rode off through the English suburban landscape and a dizzying array of roundabouts - even on the A1 we encountered un-regulated roundabouts rather than overpasses at major crossings. Our tour guide was very informative, telling us all sorts of interesting things about the passing scenery and even involving Matty, our driver, in her chatty narration.

When we finally turned off the main road into Alnwick, which is off the River Aln (pronounced “Aln”) we were in the midst of the classic english countryside that one expects from the English costume-dramas depicted on PBS and in the movies. The castle itself is a fairly unimposing pile - the towers don’t appear to be as tall as one might expect, but the walls do sprawl over the hills and the towers are topped by a wide variety of statues that are intended to give the effect of many guards and warriors guarding the castle. The castle is surrounded by narrow tree-lined cobbled lanes and formal Georgian outbuildings that include housing, shops and schools for the community of Alnwick.

Our guide brought us into the Castle’s Keep where there were shops and a cafe, then eventually through another gate where several sites that were used for the Harry Potter movies were filmed.

Our guide gave us tickets to tour the Castle staterooms, where she urged us to pay attention to the vast art collection which includes several canvases by Titian and Canolletto, which prompted one ignorant woman on our tour to say “ Canolletto? Is that named for the Italian Restaurant on the ship?”

 

The State Rooms within Alnwick are as imposing as the walls aren’t: A Tudor vestibule with walls lined in armory, pistols, powderhorns and trophies of the hunt leads to a Grand Georgian Staircase and Gallery filled with an overwhelming collection of artworks by Titian, Van Diyk, Carravaggio, Canolletto as well as gilded consoles laden with bronzes and ceramics, plus a variety of portraits of the various Dukes and Duchesses of Northumberland - the Percy’s - who have inhabited Alnwick since the 13th Century. The Gallery leads on one side to the octagonal private chapel which is lined with Flemish Tapestries - and on the other side to the two-story Italinate Library with its 3 grand fireplaces, overhanging balcony, priceless collection of leather-bound books and overstuffed sofas, lounge chairs, marquetry desks, elaborate silk window hangings, taxidermed family pets resting on silken bergeres and cushions, family photographs in sterling frames, and a large Sony Flatscreen Television that the Percy’s use while in residence during the off-season. We then trooped through the Saloon, which was under renovation, into a Crimson Silk Damask Drawing Room which was filled with more treasures and elaborate furnishings, including an entire suite of gilded French bergeres and settees and a pair of massive matched armoires with ormolu and bas-relief inlays that had belonged to Louis XIV and purchased at auction by an earlier Duke after the French Revolution. Onward to the Dining Saloon with it’s heavy Green Silk Damask-upholstered Chippendale Armchairs and gigantic portraits of earlier Dukes and Duchesses, and a heavily carved oak ceiling with coats of arms mounted on the trap doors which could be opened from above to allow gasoliers to drop into the room to provide illumination at dinners. Behind this room is a long winding China gallery which is lined nearly from the floor to ceiling with some of the most elaborate collections of china I’ve ever seen: entire services of elaborately hand-painted and decorated Limoges, Meissen and Wedgwood in pastoral, garden and hunt scenes - including great tureens, platters and compotes, perforated dessert sets, and a collection of giant domed lids each with their own bird and animal figurines mounted as handles.

 

After we wound our way through the back halls and outside, we walked through the gatehouse at the back of the castle towards the gardens where we encountered very modern pavilions containing giftshops, tearooms and private halls - one of which had been let for a wedding reception that was underway. Amongst the champagne-drinking celebrants who were perfectly dressed for the occasion in their garden dresses and hats, suits and cutaways were the confused and loud tourists and children running about - all this overlooked an Italianate Cascading waterfeature that originated up a slope from elegantly laid gardens and mazes.

 

After a walk through the gardens and a refreshing tea in the pavilion, we browsed the giftshop and met our tourgroup to reboard our coach and return to the ship where we changed and enjoyed a quiet dinner followed by the usual nightcaps in the Crow’s Nest.

[bepsf]

July 12 - Queensferry/Edinburgh

We awoke to a dreary day: We were anchored in the harbor near the Firth of Forth bridge. After dressing and lazily making our way to the tender gangway where we waited for shoddily dressed day-visitors to board the ship, we took a lightly laden tender to the pier in Queensferry and went up to the street where we were informed that one long line was waiting for shuttles into Edinburgh, or another shorter line waited for taxis. We stood for nearly 15 minutes before a single taxi came along to take the one group in line ahead of us. We then stood for another 15 minutes before a single shuttle took a few people from the ever-lengthening shuttle line. At this point I had just about had enough - we had been waiting for over half an hour beneath the dank grey skies which looked like they would open into a downpour at any moment: I just wanted to get somewhere warm and the ship’s spa was looking more and more inviting with every chilly moment. Just as I was about to abandon my family to the vagaries of the Scottish transport system a single taxi pulled up followed shortly by a second: After an hour of waiting on tenders and taxis we were finally on our way to Edinburgh through the suburban landscape.

25 Pounds later, we arrived on a High Street near the Castle where we did some shopping and found a cozy-appearing pub for some of the most unimpressive fish and chips I’ve ever encountered served by persons of Slavic origins. We then made our way between the tourbusses and along the crowded streets past a pair of museums and over a bridge to the Royal Mile, now populated by the bottom-crust of society. The square in front of the castle was blocked by the ugliest prefabricated stadium in place for next month’s Tattoo. We fought our ways up the hill to the Castle itself which was cluttered with as many souvenir shops, ticket offices and crowd-management mazes as San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Peoples from every continent were pushing back and forth carrying bags of tartan themed future-landfill: at this point I was done. Scotty sensed my ennui and sought out a taxi for another 25 pound return drive to Queensferry: I suddenly realized that this day had cost us $100 round trip for transportation alone.

It was at this point where I realized that I have no further desire to experience the larger cities of Europe in the summertime - I’ll gladly stick to the smaller villages and countryside where there are fewer tourists to ruin the sights and the locals are much more appreciative of our presence in seeking out the real cultures of the countries we are visiting, or go to the larger cities in the off-season when the weather may be worse but the crowds will be much reduced.

It was with relief and joy when we finally boarded our warm ship where Scotty and I went up to the spa to relax and warm up before I took a nap and dressed for cocktails followed by one of the most relaxed yet expeditiously served dinners we’ve enjoyed on this trip - Dinner took but 90 minutes from sitting to dessert.

Afterwards, we again prowled the giftshops while making our way to the Crow’s Nest for drinks, then down to the Northern Lights for even more dancing and carousing: I didn’t make it in until well after 1am.

[bepsf]

July 13 - Invergordon

Poor Scotty - I have to remind him to not mix his drinkies: He awoke with a severe hangover so I had to urge him to drink his fill in water and juice and have some fruit before meeting up with the group for our day’s excursion.

 

Loch Ness and Castle Urquart

Today’s excursions were the earliest we’ve ever had on this trip, and they left from the showlounge earlier than their posted times - so we were on one of the last coaches with a lovely tartan-clad guide who told us all about Scotland with her sweet high-pitched brogue. We drove out of the little town through the loveliest sunny countryside where we could see seals, rabbits, sheep, and hairy cows in the fields which are punctuated by some of the most picturesque cottages and villages ever seen.

Pam Van Donsellaar was on our tour group, and we had a great time teasing with her and her friend from Norway on this excursion along with John and Maria. We stopped at a little village inn for Scones and Tea, then on the road again towards a visitor’s center that took gave us a roundabout education on the hoax of the Loch Ness Monster: after going through this exhibit that explained away the “sightings” and illustrated the extensive scientific research, I realized that we’d come all this way to see a huge lake filled with wandering fish and methane bubbles.

Even so, we reboarded the coach which took us to the Castle Urquart visitor’s center which was crowded beyond belief - we waited for an 8 minute film of the 1000 year history of the Castle which culminated with the screen retracting and the drapery backdrop opening to reveal a stunning view of the castle ruins. We had but 30 minutes to explore the ruins and snap photos before returning to our coach for our return trip to the ship through which I mostly napped.

Upon our return, dozens of coaches arrived at the same time - the line to reboard the ship extended along the pier and the local bagpipe band played for us as we waited. I was reminded of how much more enjoyable the smaller ports of call are for us and how appreciative the local people are of our presence.

Final Formal Night

As I dressed for dinner, there was a knock at the door: Eco, our cabin steward stood there bearing a huge bottle of Bailey’s - a gift from the ladies in the Neptune! I doubt that we’ll make much of a dent before we leave the ship, but I’m sure that those of us who are on the following Baltics itinerary will enjoy it very much.

Once again, we gathered in the Ocean Bar in our evening finery to enjoy cocktails and company and watching our friends Bill S and Virginia dance before Jeroen entered to greet us: He made sure that we knew that we knew that he had personally sent a couple bottles of wine for our dinner - He told us that he had a fairly relaxing day aboard ship, and I teased him that of course that was the case since we had Pam with us for the day!

 

Our tables were filled with our group once again - not a person was absent and we all enjoyed the last formal dinner of this cruise. Eventually, the “Baked Alaska” parade began, sans flames or sparklers of any kind, and the vast majority of us insisted on the regular dessert menus to order from, as there were other selections which were much more desirable and delicious than the meringue-coated ice cream.

As is our custom, we avoided the evening show to retire up to the Crow’s Nest for boisterous conversation and nightcaps, but as we had all had a long day and were losing an hour’s worth of sleep, we retired at Midnight.

[bepsf]

July 14 - At Sea

Days at sea are among my favorite while cruising - and yet this is also the last day at sea which is often filled with a combination of angst and dread. Today has been alternately joyful in the Mariner’s Receptions and Suite Passenger’s buffet luncheon where we celebrated our patronage of the Holland America line - and frustration when we learned that this evening was the Master Chef’s Menu which has some of the worst selections on the HAL menus. We scrambled to make arrangements to dine elsewhere: I’ll be squeezing in at an 8.30 with some of the gang at a table in the Italian restaurant and I’ve lucked into a 6.30pm table for 2 in Pinnacle for Mom and Dad’s enjoyment - a result of a late-cancellation by another couple in the Neptune Lounge.

Arrangements are being made for tours and the cabin shuffle for the next cruise - I’ll be logging into the UAL website to try to check-in for my flights home to SFO tomorrow afternoon. I have yet to think of packing, but I can do this later - right now I need to post this and attempt to use up as many of the online minutes that I’ll be forfeiting at the end of this cruise for lack of time to log in and post. As much as I enjoyed this itinerary, we all wish that there was a day at sea between Norway and the British Isles when we could have relaxed and caught up on our shipboard activities, as much of the pre-purchased spa time, internet time, etc. has gone unused. There are a great many things I wish I had been able to include in my writings and sights that we saw - I do hope that Rev Greg and others who have posted have been able to fill in some of the blanks from my recollections.

Now it’s time to haul out the luggage for packing, clean up and get ready for hors d’oervres and prepare for the evening.

 

And thanks so much for the early Birthday Wishes - My birthday is actually on the 24th after I return home, but I intend to celebrate as much as I can tonite.

:)

[Sue's Mom]

Thank you so much, Brian, for the wonderful reports and your precious time. May I wish you a safe, comfortable and speedy journey home.

[Ine]

Thanks for all the great reports Brian, we enjoyed reading them.

(and those of Greg and John).

Have a safe trip home.

[twinkletoes4445]

While we were seated chatting and enjoying drinks, I prompted Dad to pull a little white box from the pocket of his Dinner Jacket: A pair of drop earrings with semi-precious stones for Mom. When she finished putting them on, he pulled out another box: a matching bracelet. As we finished clipping this around her slender wrist, the group had become intrigued: it was at this point that I dug into my pocket and dragged out a matching necklace, surprising them both! Once she had this clipped around her neck and everyone was ooh-ing and aah-ing, I reached into another pocket and pulled out a watch for Dad.

I think he liked it.

 

How sweet!!! I just LOVE surprises like that. :)

 

Thanks for the wonderful trip reports. I know this takes time away from your vacation, but I sure appreciate your posts.

 

 

Poor Scotty - I have to remind him to not mix his drinkies: He awoke with a severe hangover so I had to urge him to drink his fill in water and juice and have some fruit before meeting up with the group for our day’s excursion.

 

Been there, done that! And each time I say "never again." :)

 

Happy Birthday! :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Brian,I hope all of you enjoy a wonderful final evening on board the Eurodam.

I wish you all Safe Travels Home :)

[mamaofami]

Brian, Thank you so much for all the postings you've taken time to write. I'm sorry your cruise is at an end....I know it's a bittersweet feeling...or maybe just bitter. Safe flying home and Happy Birthday again.

[innlady1]

Thank you, Brian, for taking us along with you on the Inaugural! I love your reports! And best wishes for a wonderful last evening on board, a safe journey home to SF, and a very happy birthday! ;)

[HeatherInFlorida]

And so your part of this cruise draws to a close. Always a bit sad, but so many new memories to have forever.

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences with all of us. As always, your writing truly delights and I've really enjoyed it.

 

Safe journey home, Brian.:)