Day 4 - Stockholm

Hi Everyone, Sailor here.  I'm missing my Dorothy but here's the dispatch from Stockholm.

The sky couldn’t be bluer and the temperature couldn’t be better.  I am adding an additional charge to everyone’s shipboard account for this spectacular weather I brought with me from Florida.

We opted not to do one of the ship’s tours and instead had a look around the “Old Town” of Stockholm ourselves.  Stockholm is a city of islands (I didn’t know that even though I read all three “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” books).  One of the best ways to get around is by the “Hop On - Hop Off”  tourist boat – which took me to the Vasa Museum.

WOW!!

The Vasa was a warship launched by King Gustav the somethingth.  It took over two years to build, has more than 700 carvings on board … and sailed for all of about 20 minutes after it was launched.  The ship simply was too tall and too narrow and there wasn’t enough ballast.  A close to shore disaster - it sat on the bottom of the harbor for 333 years, largely forgotten, and was lifted in 1961 when the technology to bring it up had been developed.   I think it’s the largest  preservation project of its kind in the world.  Not going to swear by that statement, but that’s what they said in the museum.

Seeing the ship was one of those “OMG, hit-you-in-the-gut, take your breath away moments.  There’s no photo or documentary that can capture the feeling that you get when you walk up to it in person.  This photo is of the stern (back) of the ship – taken with my phone camera since the AA batteries I bought for my regular camera at the dollar store turn out to be worth less than what I paid for them.  Glad I had the phone along in my pocket as a back-up.

It might be genetic, but I do have a fascination with boats, ships and certainly shipwrecks.  I think everyone is fascinated by a shipwreck, as long as they’re not on it.  The low temperatures of the Baltic and the lack of oxygen in the water (due to pollution) helped preserve the ship as well as (gasp) the bodies of those who went down with it.  There were  bits of fabric and leather remaining after all this time, archaeologists were even able to examine the brain of one of the sailors who perished with the ship.  Yeah, that’s kind of gross to think about,  don’t want to dwell on it – what a fountain of knowledge this shipwreck contains.  

Scientists have been able to reconstruct personal profiles of a number of the skeletons discovered and they have a fascinating exhibition which takes you through a reconstruction from the skull to what the individual actually looked like.  They can tell if someone was well-fed or malnourished, what their status in life probably was – they bring a level of personalization to the exhibit that I’ve never seen  before.   You get a feeling for the poor souls who perished on board.  I’m not going to ruin all the surprise for those who do get to go visit, but I will say that this is another MUST see for anyone’s list.

Who was responsible for the shipwreck?  Well the King had a hand in the design, as did the naval architect – but they were both out of the country when the Vasa sank, and the shipbuilder had died.  There has never been an outcome to the inquest.

The Coastal Scenery

I’ve determined that God has created more beauty than man has the vocabulary to describe.  Right at the moment I’m grateful that  I took typing in high school because to look away from these thousands of isles and islets and inlets and harbors and straights and picture perfect postcard idyllic scenery , and, and … well I just can’t do it.   

Lovely homes with families having dinner outside in the long evening’s sunlight; even the little dog playing in the yard.    Stairways winding down the sides of the hills to docks with small boats tied alongside.  Remote cabins and elaborate Victorian homes… everything in harmony with the pine forests and rocky shoreline.  Tiny little unexpected islets that pop up off the shore.   I couldn’t make this up.   

It’s almost as if you’re looking at a flawless diorama entitled “June Along the Swedish Coast”.   I feel  guilty if I glance away.  I think I’m trying drink my fill (and then some) so I can store it up to draw on in the future.  I find myself talking to complete strangers just to hear myself say how pretty it is out loud – like I need somebody to confirm that I’m really seeing this.  

 

If you are sailing along here you can’t go inside and miss a single moment.  You want to buy a little bitty island or claim a small lighthouse for your own.   It’s mesmerizing, charming, magical.  I wish I had Ernie Hemingway here to help me put it to words, I’m not capable of adequately describing what I’m seeing. 

I just realized that I’m actually trying to open my eyes wider to suck in all the view I can.  It’s 8:30 PM and watching the shadow of the ship slip past the pine trees and houses and bulkheads of the shore I’m sort of glad the light is finally starting to wane.  I need to process this, but for now, while there is still light and we continue our process back toward the Baltic Sea, I just have to look.  I just have to look and look and look some more. It will be light for another two hours or more, I’m captivated – literally, I’m held captive by this view, I’m going to be a happy prisoner of the Swedish shoreline for a few more hours.

I had high expectations for this voyage, and they have been exceeded. 

I hope Sailor has plenty of fresh water and is getting lots of hugs.

                                                                                                                                                                                 

Day 3 – Another Day at Sea - Same View as Yesterday.

But who can complain about an ocean vista?  People pay a lot of money for oceanviews, ask any realtor.  It would be exciting to see a whale breach or something, guess I should just be grateful the seas are calm and the sun is shining.  There were a few people sitting out on deck in bathing suits.  I think it’s safe to assume they are not from Florida or Southern California.

Dressing up for dinner AGAIN?  Another walk down the starboard side corridor (red) in 4” patent leather heels?  Eyeliner, war paint, sparkly dress, gems (paste) the whole shebang?   This dressy dinner thing every night is wearing me down.  I would have done poorly in a royal palace, probably worse than poor Fergie.  Can’t imagine why Kate or Camilla wanted any part of it.  When I get home I’m going to eat dinner in my bathing suit … just because I can.

One of the women at my table has brought a different dress for every evening (she planned ALL 14 DAYS ahead of time)  in steadily increasing sizes.  Good thing she’s starting out as about a size 1.   As with all other cruises I’ve ever been on, throughout the cruise people stick to the same seat at the dinner table that they sat in on the first night of the cruise.  Our English couple is always the first to arrive and sit in the same seats.  Tonight Pam & I went early and took their seats.  Just because we could.  It’s the little things that keep me childish and petty.

Met a very nice woman at the Blackjack table named …. Wait for it

.

.

.

.

.

Dorothy! 

We put her grandson in between us and he had stereo Dorothys, didn’t help our luck at all and I will not be going back to the Blackjack table.  Or the slots for that matter.

We’ll be taking stock of Stockholm in the morning.  Let the souvenir search begin. 

Sailor, I woof you.

Day 2 – The Nicest People and a Few Obscure Observations

No photos in this blog.  I'll tell you why tomorrow. 

Well, I’ve me the nicest people.  Let’s start with Pam, my roommate.  Pam, her husband Peter, and I met four years ago, sailing through the Panama Canal on a Princess cruise.  They hail from New Zealand -the land of wooly sheep - so they speak with a funny accent and use some expressions we yanks aren’t accustomed to, but those are minor hurdles.  Pam, Peter and I became friends in Cartagena, Colombia and hung about a bit in several ports after that.  Towards  the end of the 16 night sailing it was discovered that Peter’s family was a “bunch of crazy Irishmen”.  His mother’s maiden name was Brady and her family was originally from County Cork, Ireland.  Here’s the thing: MY mother’s maiden was Brady and HER family originally hailed from County Cork, Ireland.  So Peter and I started calling each other cousin. You meet the darndest people on cruise ships.

Long story short, we’ve kept in touch and Pam has come along on this sailing with me.  She’s a great roommate;  adventurous, well-traveled, independent and actually a good influence on me, except when it comes to chocolate desserts.  We each go off and do our own thing, but get together for things we’re both interested in .  She tells me I talk in my sleep, but I’ve been told that many times, unfortunately nobody will tell me what I say. 

I had the honor of sitting  next to a very nice young man on the plane who is in the Air Force but for security reasons could not tell me what he did.  We had a great talk (about non-classified issues) and I thanked him for all he did for our country.  

The counter supervisor at Delta, Angela, deserves a gold star for calming my nerves as much as possible during the non-existing passport incident.  Bless her for keeping her head while I was losing mine.  Apparently it’s a daily occurrence in her line of business.

Our table mates are interesting also, one couple is from  the north of England, and the other is from Australia (I’ve always liked Australians in general).

A few observations:

• Who knew the ship would be so bloody full of Brits?  As an American I guess I just didn’t think about a sailing from Southampton being loaded with Englishmen.  Of course it makes sense, but I just hadn’t considered it.
  
• The carpets on the port side corridors are blue (blue, left, port – all have four letters), and starboard side corridors have red carpeting.  In flower arrangements the top flower points toward the bow of the ship - helps you orient yourself, when you can’t see out a window.  Clever, huh?
  
• The average passenger age on this sailing is 75+.  As many of you know, I live with my 92 year old mother in her retirement village.  This was to be a bit of a break, but I’m afraid it backfired.  I’m the young blood around here and the disco is hardly cranking.
  
• There are a lot less tattoos than I see on Carnival ships.  Or maybe they’ve just faded over time and into the wrinkles.
  
• The hoi-poloi don’t mix with the riff raff. You need to insert your card key in the elevator to go up to the Princess Grill or Queens Grill level suites (which also have their own dining rooms & lounge).  The class systems still exists on Cunard.
  
• Being on deck one I expected to be issued a pair of oars with my card key, but am told I won’t actually have to help row.  Good thing or we’d probably miss a few ports.
  
• Most of the hangars in the closet are “perma hangars” – the kind you slide into a little device on the clothes rod so that people won’t steal the hangars.  I was a little disappointed by this, on the mass market cruise lines I expect it,  I had thought that a 5-star line wouldn’t need to go there.   Makes me want to steal one of the two regular hangers just for spite.  (But I won’t.)  Maybe this only applies in steerage class.  I’ll have to ask around.  Maybe top drawer passengers get real hangars.
  
• Almost the only people gambling in the casino are the few Americans on board.  I’m told that Brits don’t gamble.  (Who knew?)  As usual, I lost – but only $10 so I’ll just consider it a contribution.
  
• No denim in public areas after 6 PM.  Refreshing, but makes for more stuff to pack.
  
• And that’s all I’ve got for today.  There hasn’t been a single belly flop contest or sexy legs or hairy chest contest.  No pool volleyball.  There was, however, a paddle tennis competition, a watercolour art class, and shuffleboard tournament.  Not to mention a ballroom dance class. How genteel.
  
• The view from my treadmill this afternoon was much nicer than at home.

No weird souvenirs yet … this is CUNARD after all. I’m sure I find something soon.

Keep Calm & Sail On.

Missing Sailor!!

Day 1 – Rookie Mistakes

I am by no means the first person to show up at an airline counter without a passport. In fact, it turns out that airline personnel are quite accustomed to this.  I am, however, supposed to know better – but we all make mistakes.  Having the passport case is of no consequence when it’s missing its main component.  Sky miles cards, a vaccination record and some old Bahamian and Hungarian currency are nice, but they won’t get you through customs.  

Rather than being in its rightful place, said document  was in the copy machine where I left it around midnight last night.  

All my paperwork -  tickets, boarding pass, insurance confirmation, itinerary, passport – everything was together in one large, brightly colored envelope, just like I advise my clients to do.  But in a fit  of additional caution last night I decided to make another copy of the passport to put in my suitcase.  In addition to the one in my purse, the one in my carry-on and the one in my desk drawer.   This is not a decision you should make at midnight, when you’re tired, stressed and getting frantic about wrapping up all you need to do before leaving.

The word that escaped me at the check-in counter when I discovered my mistake was supposed to have been eliminated from my vocabulary after an incident at a Harvard club party back in the late 70’s.  Guess it was more deeply rooted than I thought.  

So this is where I was yesterday afternoon:

• Running late for the airport because of a last minute issue with credit card payments for an international client.

•  Trying to book  another client on a 2014 European sailing before promotional pricing expired –in between catching the shuttle from the parking lot and waiting in line to check my luggage.
  
  
• Changing voice mail and e-mail messages to advise that I would be out of town until mid-June.
  
• Standing in front of the Delta counter with an empty passport holder and a shell shocked look of paralysis on my face.

God bless my neighbor Jan, who rescued the passport from my copy machine and drove it to the airport while I counted down the minutes ‘til boarding.  I owe him this “vacation”.

After the adrenaline rush, the fear sweat, the shaking hands  and the self-recrimination I thought I would crash (physically) once I was safely on the plane and on my way.  I’d forgotten just how uncomfortable airline seats are – they defy sleep.

And so I arrived in London – tired, dazed and still harboring concerns about tasks not yet completed.   Things like setting up accounts at a new bank, sending out proper confirmations,  adding insurance to a booking , sending the May newsletter &mailing a congratulations card to a new high school graduate (the card is in my purse, addressed & stamped, but there were no mailboxes on Concourse F in Atlanta).  Lawson, I am going to send it from the ship – might be late, but it was well intended and will probably have a German postmark.

Starting writing the blog on the motor coach from London to Southampton, but spent too much time talking to a lovely couple from Missouri.

The ship is beautiful, the weather in Southampton (the English one, not the New York one) is clear, sunny and warm, to everyone’s great delight and surprise, and the sail-away was stunning.  So picture perfect it was like stepping out of a painting.  The only thing missing is Sailor. 

Hope he is getting lots of walks and lots of treats.

As they say on the Queen Victoria … Keep Calm and Sail On.  Guess I’ll have to buy the T-shirt.

·