Iceland Cruise | Where is Sherry Now?

On My Way Home

Wed, 31 Jul 2013 12:55:32 +0200

Well, we docked in Hamburg again on the 29th to let off about 1000 passengers (mostly German) and pick up about that many more. Some of the new passengers were just coming along for the ride for two nights to Southampton. There were two Swiss gentlemen sitting at the table next to me who boarded in Hamburg, were going to Southampton and then immediately flying back to Switzerland. Doesn't seem worth it to me for two nights, but they seemed to be enjoying it. Anyway, yesterday was packing day which didn't take long. It rained most of the day, but we finally got a little sun late in the afternoon. It started raining again this morning as we docked in Southampton, but had quit by the time I got off the ship about 8:30. My bags were waiting for me inside the terminal (yay! I always worry that they won't be there) and the bus to the airport was waiting for me outside the terminal. It takes about 2 1/2 hours to get from the docks to the airport. No problems checking in or going through security, so here I am in the Delta lounge in the airport, waiting for my 2:30 departure. There were masses of people at the airport this morning - I don't know where they all come from, but London seems to be full of middle-easterners and I think all of them were at the airport this morning. The Delta lounge is actually shared with several airlines and is run by Etihad airlines owned by Dubai. The staff is very nice, but I feel like I'm somewhere in the middle east. Oh, well, I'll be back in the good ol' USA by tonight. Happy trails.

Akureyri and beyond

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 11:15:44 +0200

Well, as usual, I'm running behind on my blog posts. We docked in Akureyri (pronounced ash-coo-RARE-ee), our final port in Iceland on the 24th. Originally settled by the Vikings in the 9th century, Akureyri is the second largest populated area after Reykjavik. It sits at the bottom of a 40 mile long fjord on the northern coast of Iceland. Akureyri is a fishing port and is only 60 miles from the Arctic Circle, but the harbor doesn't freeze. We arrived in a fairly heavy fog. I had signed up for a tour which took us out to the countryside and as soon as we left the harbor area and drove up into the mountains, the fog disappeared and it was a beautiful day with temps in the mid 60's. The tour took us to a waterfall called Godafoss (Falls of the Gods), so named because it was used for pagan rituals before the arrival of Christianity. The falls are only about 30 feet high, but the amount of water pouring over them is amazing! We then drove to see some turf houses, built of stone with grass turf used as roofing material. The stone houses were several hundred years old, but there were also some built of wood with turf roofs that were newer and the local church built of wood was only about 100 years old. The last stop on the tour was back in Akureyri at the local botanical garden. The Icelandics are very proud of their botanical gardens. This one was a good bit larger than the one in Isafjordur with some beautiful flowers. Photos.

Isafjordur

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 12:08:06 +0200

I'm here in the land of the midnight sun. Ever since we left Scotland, the days have gotten longer and longer and the nights now are only about 3 hours long. Even then, it never really gets dark and it seems strange to look outside at 2 or 3 in the morning and it's still light enough to see out. It's also hard to sleep unless the curtains are shut tight. We've had heavy fog the last couple of nights with the eerie sound of foghorns going off throughout the night, but in our next port of Isafjordur (pronounced EEE-sah-fee-order), it was beautiful weather. Clear blue skies and temps in the upper 50s to low 60s. Isafjordur was first settled in the 10th century by the Vikings. The Danish set up a trading post in 1602, but the town wasn't granted municipal status until 1786. Since then, the town has been a major trading center and was the center of the dried fish industry and Icelandic shrimp industry. The town grew and prospered until the 1980's when the fishing industry declined. The small fishing boats were replaced by large trawlers and the city has acquired hi-tech processing plants. The port is busy with tourist ships and container vessels. Even with all this, Isafjordur is small, by our standards, with a population of 3,000 and only 9,600 people living in the whole Westfjords area around Isafjordur. It's a beautiful place in the summer months, but a very harsh environment in the winter. I think you would have to be very strong and self sufficient to live here. My tour here took me out into the countryside, first to a little town called Flateyri where we visited the local church and a young lady in native dress played and sang several Icelandic songs for us. She had a beautiful voice. I took pictures of the stained glass windows in the church - made by a supposedly famous Icelandic artist. We were also given a sample of local pastries made by local ladies and served in a little restaurant on the one street in town. Then, we drove to the local botanical garden created and maintained by local ladies. It is quite small but nicely kept and the flowers were beautiful, especially a blue poppy which I had never seen before. Photos.

Reykjavik

Tue, 23 Jul 2013 23:41:25 +0200

After two days at sea, we docked at our first port in Iceland, the capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik (pronounced rake-yah-vick). It is the northernmost capital city in the world and is situated on the southwest corner of Iceland. Iceland's western and northern coasts are mostly mountains and fjords where glaciers lie in the valleys and feed hundreds of rivers and streams. Large waterfalls are everywhere. The southern region, including Reykjavik, is mostly rolling hills with farms dating back to the 12th century, many still owned by the original settlers, raising Icelandic cattle, Icelandic horses and sheep. Much of Iceland's energy is produced from steam from underground. The earth's crust is very thin in much of Iceland. You can see steam shooting up from the ground in many areas and Iceland has built some geothermal power plants to create electricity for heating buildings. Reykjavik is fairly modern. Iceland was very poor until World War II when the British and American military built bases there and improved the economy. Iceland is now a very prosperous country, exporting fish, aluminum and other products to other countries. My tour of the area around Reykavik included a visit to a national park where the North American and European tectonic plates meet causing lava flows and serious earthquakes. You can walk through the fault that has opened up where the plates have separated. We also visited the area where there are hot springs and geysers bubbling and spraying hot water everywhere. Not quite as impressive as Old Faithful, but still pretty impressive. We then visited a beautiful waterfall called Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall). Photos. The weather is not quite as good - overcast skies with temperatures in the mid to upper 50's. The sun peeks through every now and then. Back to the ship and on to our next port on the northern coast of Iceland.

Edinburgh

Tue, 23 Jul 2013 18:47:26 +0200

Today, we anchored off the small town of South Queensferry in the Firth of Fourth. I had scheduled a tour of Edinburgh Castle which Sam and I visited in the early 80's on a bus tour of Scotland. I am happy to report that the castle is still there, still sitting way up on it's extinct volcano, overlooking the city of Edinburgh. Since the buses can't drive up the hill, it's a long climb up the road to the castle. Buildings inside the castle walls include St Margaret's Chapel built in the 12th century, the Great Hall built by James IV, buildings containing the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, and many others. We had a couple of hours to wander the castle grounds and check out the shops along the street called the Royal Mile. No, this time I didn't buy anything. Back on the bus, we were driven around the newer parts of Edinburgh, buildings from the 1600s to 1800s. Photos Back to the ship by 4:30, we sailed at 6:00.

Hamburg

Thu, 18 Jul 2013 11:22:47 +0200

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany (Berlin is the largest) with about 1.7 million people and the second largest port in Europe (after Rotterdam). It is 70 miles up the Elba River in Northern Germany. The city dates back to early 9th century when the Emperor Charlemagne built a castle there. Because of its location on both the Elbe River and the Alster and Bille Rivers, it has always been a trading center and is a major port and commercial center. The city has two lakes and many canals, making it resemble Venice or Amsterdam. As you can see from my photos, most of the older buildings were built of red brick (some of sandstone.) I apologize for the quality of the photos - most of them were taken from inside the bus and I was on the wrong side of the bus for the good shots. The highlight of the tour was a visit to the Lutheren Church of St Michael. Also built of red brick, it is large enough to seat 2500 people and we were there in time to hear an organ recital - loved it!

Cruising

Tue, 16 Jul 2013 22:32:41 +0200

Well, as usual, I'm running behind on my blog. It's Monday night, about 9:30 pm and the sun is just setting. We set sail from Southampton hesterday afternoon at 4:45 pm and have spent the day cruising the North Sea along the coast of Europe. In a few minutes, we will pick up the pilot and head up the Elba River in Germany, arriving at Hamburg at about 6:00 am.

But let me tell you about the trip over to England. I left Ft Walton Beach at 4:15 pm CDT, right on schedule and arrived in Atlanta at 6:30 pm EDl, again, right on schedule despite the bumpy weather along the way. We left Atlanta an hour later than scheduled because the plane was late getting to Atlanta and they had to clean and stock the plane for our overseas flight. I didn't mind that because I was afraid I would get to the hotel in London too early to check in anyway. The flight was good - a little bumpy at times, but mostly a smooth flight. Arrived in London about 11:30 am. Everything was good - my bag made it and I sailed through customs, only to come to a screeching halt when I got outside of customs and my driver wasn't there. Usually, the driver is standing just outside customs holding a little sign with either my name or Cunard on it. I went up and down the line of drivers several times and hung around the arrivals area for almost an hour waiting for the driver or a Cunard representative to show up. I was really beginning to panic when a guy in a suit approached me and asked if I was waiting for a Princess rep. I told him I was waiting for a Cunard rep or driver. He checked his cell phone for his list of pickups and there was my name - he also knew what hotel I was going to, so off I went with him. He was a very good driver and got me to the hotel. I had to walk (with him pulling my bags) the last couple of blocks because public works had all the streets blocked off for road repairs and he couldn't get me right up to the hotel entrance. The hotel was nice, but I think I prefer the one that I usually stay at.

I'm Off!

Sun, 14 Jul 2013 01:06:22 +0200

Well, I'm off on my long-awaited trip to Iceland. I left Ft Walton Beach on time at 4:15 pm and arrived in Atlanta at 6:10. It was a bumpy ride with thunderstorms all the way from FWB to Atlanta, but I made it. I hope the flight to London is a little smoother. Not much to tell yet - I'm sitting here in the Delta Sky Club where it's a lot more comfortable than sitting at the gate for a couple of hours. My flight to London leaves at 6:30 pm EDT and arrives in London at 11:10 am tomorrow (good Lord willing and the creek don't rise.) See you when I get there.

Stay Tuned

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 05:58:50 +0200

I'll be leaving the States on July 13, spending one night in London, then boarding the ship on the 15th. Can't wait!