Amsterdam to Barcelona

 We planned to sit on the veranda, drink champagne, eat pizza, and fart as we sailed away from Amsterdam at happy hour. It really is a beautiful departure, or at least it would have been if we hadn't had to wait for the lock. We left at 3 a.m. So much for that plan. We had a quiet day at sea on the way to St. Peter Port in Guernsey. It's part of the UK, but they have their own money, their own government, and their own cows. You've heard of "the golden guernsey", no doubt? If not, then you're not as old as dirt, like us.

We tendered ashore to take a walking tour around town and visit Castle Cornet.

Onward to Bordeaux, France (which, by the way, is a very nice place). We had an overnight, and this time we headed out to the famous wine country to visit a couple of vineyards. We went to the St. Emilion area and its village, stopping first at Chateau Pressac.

Here's the village:

The next day, we were off to the Medoc area and Chateau Prieure-Lichine.

This looks like the engine room of the Star Ship Enterprise! Now, this is where we're supposed to rave about the various wines we tasted. Sorry, but in this case, they were all pretty mediocre.

Our departure from Bordeaux ran late. Since we were there last time, in 2018, they built a very weird drawbridge. The entire center section lifts, but only a couple of times a day and not during rush hour. Here's what the bridge looks like as you pass under:

So, this delay of game caused us to miss our next port, which was supposed to be Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France for a visit to Biarritz. Too bad, we kind of wanted to see that.

Now we shall accelerate just a bit. Ferrol, Spain: we stayed aboard. Oporto, Portugal: took the Hop-on Hop-off to our favorite wine store, Cabaz do Infante. Bought wine. Lisbon, Portugal: walked to Cafe Brazil and had risois, bacalhau fritters, and pastis de nata. Alicante, Spain: took a hike.

And bang! Barcelona! On the good dock! The one right at the bottom of Las Ramblas. We went power shopping at Decathlon, Corte Ingles, and Carrefour. Bought more wine and Iberico pate. And so began the last leg of the journey.

Zeebrugge and Amsterdam

 The last time we visited Zeebrugge, we went to Ypres and Flanders Fields. The change in schedule left us scrambling (and practically begging) to get on that tour again. Hooray for Destination Services! They came through for us.

First stop was the museum, which tells the stories and displays the artifacts.

"In Flanders Fields the poppies grow, between the crosses, row on row:

                                                           Fifteen Years Old.

                                                         They Fell Together.

                                                         Unknown.

                                            Known to be buried in this cemetery.

                                                       Freedom isn't free.

The boat turned over in Amsterdam. Not literally...you know what I mean. We had a day to ourselves to wander around and a day for a really fun tour to "This is Holland" that culminated with a canal cruise and gin tasting.

"This is Holland" is one of those immersive rides with a 360 degree screen, visual and sensual inputs (water in your face), and it's one wild ride around the Netherlands in a helicopter...with your feet dangling. Holy shit was that fun! Next door, there's a tall building with a Lookout Tower for great views of the city.

After that, we drank gin on the canal. Did you know that the canals are actually nine feet deep but only three feet are usable? Um hmm. Three feet of trash, three feet of bicycles, and three feet of usable water.

We were on our way to Barcelona.

Invergordon, Scotland And Back to Europe

 At Invergordon, we visited the  Culloden Battlefield and were regaled with tales of the brave Robert the Bruce. Here's Robert's horse:

And here's the battlefield as it appears today. Remember, the way these battles were fought, back then, was for two sides to line up and charge, drums pounding and flags waving. Difficult to imagine.

Our next stop was Edinburgh. We were docked at Leith, which lies just south of the city center. From our ship, we were looking right at the Royal Yacht Britannia (now a museum). After our last visit here, we saw a TV show about Stirling Castle and it looked really interesting. Off we went.

The castle was home to James V, Mary of Guise, and their daughter Mary, Queen of Scots. One of the Ladies in Waiting was embroidering, which was what those Ladies spent most of their time doing.

One of the most impressive rooms in the castle contains the Sterling Heads, oak carvings produced in the 1500's for the Palace ceilings:

Of course there's a beautiful garden!

But can you find the ant?

We stayed overnight, and the second day was ours, so we took the shuttle into town and went to...wait for it...M&S. The town was really crowded since their annual festival was in full swing and that included the evening Edinburgh Tattoo. We didn't know that or we'd have tried to get tickets.

But here came the weather again! Ships coming into Leith have to pass through a lock to get into the sheltered "pool" that is the bay, and exit through the same lock. It was too windy for the lock, so we got a bonus night that became a bonus day. We rode into town on the shuttle again and this time walked back to the dock, stopping for pies along the way. Nice day.

That bonus day in Edinburgh caused us to skip Newcastle on Tyne so we were off to Zeebrugge, Belgium. 

Hammerfest to Kirkwall

 We're happy to report that Mikkel, our favorite Reindeer Sami, and his family continue to thrive. This time, we had the good sense to take the bus up to the camp rather than climb.

Mikkel's traditionally-built "home". This is their tasting room where guests try reindeer meat, smoked, boiled, jerky...an actual Sami home would be not one-third the size.

This is what we meant about the climb up to the camp. Here's the ship, sitting alongside.

Enroute: 71 degrees, .0861 minutes north. The Arctic circle is 66 degrees north. There was no sunset.

 

Midnight, July 29, 2022:

At Honningsvag, Norway, we again took the trip to the North Cape. Last time, it was so foggy that there was nothing to be seen. This time:

Yep. Foiled again.

We were soon on our way to Lerwick, UK, via Molde, Norway. Tempting to pronounce it "Moldy". It's "Mol-day". Of course. Many of the tours were the same as in Kristiansund, so we stayed aboard. It was this portion of the cruise that was a bit redundant since all port calls to Russia were canceled. We stayed aboard and goofed off: you know, reading the dinner menus and drinking champagne. Stuff like that.

Wait! A sunset!

We visited Scalloway Castle, where they like to make a point about defense readiness. 

Nice digs and a beautiful garden:

Aye, bonnie Scotland:

Shetland Ponies! Little baby Shetland Ponies! They are not sweet! They bite!

Next we stopped in Kirkwall in the Orkneys once again. We stayed aboard since the number of tours there are pretty limited. 

This from the culinary corner: some traditional dishes that are still (occasionally) eaten in Scotland.

Krappen Head: (pronounced Crap in Heed) is a mixture of oatmeal, flour and chopped fish livers. It's seasoned with salt and pepper then packed into the fishs' head and poached in salt water. Crap, indeed.

Reestit Mutton: Legs and shoulders of mutton are soaked in brine for several days, then air dried outside till they stop dripping (!). Then they are hung in peat smoke before being taken into the house and hung in the kitchen ceiling for several months. Yeah.

Sour Skate: (pronounced Soor Skate). A reputed aphrodisiac, skate wings were hung on the clothes line for a few days before being boiled and eaten. Also known as Guffin Skate, because it would repeat on some people with an ammonia aftertaste. This could cause one to be so scunnered (disgusted) that one would need a wee dram (a little, or not so little, drink) of the amber nectar (whiskey). As they say in Glasgow: PURE, DEAD, BRILLIANT!