Back on Terra Firma!

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Well, that was a fabulous cruise - apart from the extravagant cost (I paid 4 times the amount the people in the cabin opposite me paid and they had an additional £150 upgrade!) - I found out that the cost is directly proportional to my ability to bargain and not to do it in a travel agent but on the net - I live and (hopefully) learn!

So, flew into Edinburgh on Friday 4th at 7am, dumped my BLOODY heavy suitcase in the train lockup (£12!!!) and walked the Royal Mile and got the obligatory photo outside Edinburgh castle with the guard on duty (how they must be SO bored with that) and did the national Museum, had a soup and roll, collected the BLOODY heavy suitcase and headed via bus to the Ocean Terminal where I had a bit of a kuffuffle getting onboard as I didn't have the obligatory luggage tags, health check etc that everyone else seemed to have - I just had a letter from the travel agent and a visa receipt! Because I didn't get all the travel info like the others, I missed out on the late lunch (5pm) and Captain's Welcome Cocktail Party (8pm) and settled for a cuppa in my cabin!

Cruised the North Sea day 1 and then hit the fabulous Norwegian coast on day 2 - to me, breathtaking scenery - rugged and craggy snow capped mountains only a few hundred metres from the shore, numerous fjords and little (sometimes only one house!) communities nestled on the coastal strip of land. This was repeated along the entire coast. Somewhwere in that expanse of ocean water we sailed past a vast array of wind turbines (I counted 68 using the binoculars given to me by Doreen - many thanks), several huge oil rigs and various small sailing craft, other liners and oil carriers.
Stops along the way were (get the atlas out) Molde, Andalsnes, Tromso, Honnigsvog, Bear Island (circumnavigated) Spitzbergen (Longyearbyen and Ny Alesund) and back to Bergen (Norway) and then Leith (Edinburgh) on the 18th July.
So many stories - the Great Atlantic Road from Molde was an amazing day trip - a beaut piece of roadwork joining all the outlying islands together to the mainland and passing beautiful scenery along the way - as it was a Sunday and early in the day (9am - noon) there weren't many people about (I speid 2!). In Andalsnes I forgo the fantastic bus trip up the Trollsteigen (was upset at emptying the bank account so fast in the initial outlay and I foolishly decided to save the $s and walk the town - pleasant but not nearly as interesting as the others reported) a road that had numerous switchbacks up a mountain with a view back to the fjord.

Tromso was fabulous - spent the first one and a half hours in the Botanic Gardens - fabulous setup (they displayed Dandelions and Oxalis!) and amazed that the main horticulturalist there was negroid! I'm so insular in my thinking and understanding of the world - then got a lift into town with a Norwegian who sold fish and was planning a 10hour drive that night to Murmansk and offered me a lift there! no thanks - went to the Catholic cathedral with the biggest stained window in Europe and walked to the Cable car, went up a mountain to get stunning views of Tromso, (and after 3 photos the battery on my camera went dead - another lesson in being prepared!) which hopes to host the 2014(?) winter olympics (saw the ski jumps - would like to have a go on a LITTLE one!) Here I met a wonderful Norwegian couple, Janice and Per - she born in USA and lived in Norway 40 yrs, he a nativeborn - and they generously gave me a lift to the museum where we viewed beautiful bearded seals and numerous 'fishy things' and then Janice and I walked all over an historical sealing ship (gruesome in the detail) and then they invited me to have lunch with them - we sat on the dock and peeled and ate about 2kgs of delicious shrimp (prawns) and then had a beer in the nearby beer garden where we met the Fish seller who gave me the lift in the morning - he saying "Hi Sydney" when I walked in!

Had to race to get the last shuttle bus back to the boat, went into my cabin to get out the charger to charge said camera battery only to discover, to my horror, that I no longer had said beaut camera (actually, it's Terry's - I gave it to him for Xmas and he generously offered it to me to take away as it's better than mine). The gangway was up and we were away as I raced up on deck in tears to farewell Tromso - enter two wonderful women - one, Margaret (who was seated with me at dinner and had the 'posh' cabin on the 8th deck - large, with private balcony and fresh fruit delivered each day) had lived and worked in Norway for many years and was fluent in Norwegian. She immediately called the Cablecar place (as that's where I was convinced that I had left it - in the loo) to inquire on my behalf to be told "No - call back tomorrow". I was devastated and tried to get over it by telling myself "It's only a camera - get over it" but I was grieving the loss of the photos you haven't seen yet!!!

Next morning arrived in Honnigsvog, Moerygen and off by bus to the North cape - the furthest spot north on the Eurasian mainland (it's on an island?) - cloudy as usual! However, my girlfriend took the obligatory photo on her camera at the tourist spot! Margaret rang the chairlift people for me only to be told "No - not found/handed in" and she didn't sound very helpful. Back in Honnigsvog, I decided to replace the lost camera and so went shopping to find one - not as good as Tez's and more expensive, but not having my visa card on me, I had to return to the boat to retrieve it and when I entered my cabin, there was a note on the bed asking me to ring a phone number re my camera! Back on shore, Dorothy (the other fabulous Scotish woman, who had the most wonderful sense of humour)generously used her mobile (mine was out of credit) to phone and I thought I was talking to the chairlift people, but voila - it was the Norwegian couple - I'd left it in their car! They had gone to all the trouble of locating the ship - I hadn't told them the name of it - phoned it and were prepared to mail it on to Bergen for me, so that by the time I'd gone to Svalbard and back it would be waiting and they wouldn't accept any remuneration for the cost and effort - what a great gift! So, very happy now!


2 days cruising via Bear island and an interesting performance put on by the entertainment people around the pool as we crossed the 82nd parallel and entered the Arctic Circle officially (Neptune in court punishing the Captain and officers of the ship for violations - kissing wet fish and being unceremoniously thrown into the pool) we finally docked into Longyearbyen port - 2degrees with a light snow falling! Went on an expensive and disappointing so called Glacier hike (just like walking on the snow fields at Thredbo) - the fun part for me being that I purpousely took a large plastic bag (from my cabin steward) with me so that I could slide down the steep part on return - much enjoyed that! A cuppa and some smoked seal meat with sour cream on rye crispbread (very tasty) and back to the ship. Margaret and I then decided to walk back into 'town' rather than have dinner aboard - went to the local 'pub' where we sampled the smoked whale meat (tasty and a bit like a cross between steak and liver in texture) with a beer, sauntered back to see an arctic fox on the roadway harranging some poor tern's nest and then back on board to sail to Ny Alesund. Docked the following morning and wandered around the scientific community (not allowed to go off the beaten track) and posted the obligatory postcards for the unique postal mark and back to the ship. (By the way, if I've posted you a postcard, could you save them for me upon my return please.) Cruised to the Billiefjorden for an hour or two and back to Ny Alesund (we were needing to take on water) for dinner. After which, Dorothy, Margaret and I went ashore to find the pub - found a hot spa tub with several naked Norwegians in it drinking and they said there wasn't enough room for us and we would have to return to the 1st house we passed - that was the pub! It had the windows blacked out (24hr sunlight) to give the impression of a nightclub (loud music, disco lights-n-all) and there we stayed drinking and eventually chatting with the wary locals. Margaret left around 1.30am and Margaret and I drank on until about 3am when we stumbled in harmony, thoroughly sozzled, back to the ship - the longest and funniest 150m I've ever walked! Margaret witnessed the stagger/fall/crawl/stumble and said "it was a pearler"!

Next day cruised up the west coast to the Magdelenafjorden - and just sat there for a few hours looking at the stunning scenery - the blue ice face of the glacier at the waters edge was breathtakingly beautiful - but unfortunately no calving icebergs - the biggest one we saw was about 4m square and 2m high! Also saw a seal and a few dolphins and numerous sea birds but others (not me) saw a few whales, other than that no sealife.

2 days cruising back to the Norwegian city of Bergen (the old capital) and a day traipsing around the shops helping Margaret put a hole in her credit card (I resisted the temptation to add any extra weight to the bloody heavy suitcase - I WAS tempted) and then a jaunt up the mountainside via furnicular railway to the stunning views of Bergen and surrounding sea and islands - just magical. Also saw the biggest gull ever - at least 4 times the size we have at home with a wingspan equal to my outstretched arms - so majestic in flight. I would like to return here to do the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour which includes a rail ride up a mountain and then one down a tricky bit (built by the Germans during WW2), boat trip through 2 fjords, bus up a 13 switchback mountain ride where vertigo sufferers are warned, and the a train back - whole thing takes 10hours and looks SO stunning - it's on the list (which is growing rapidly!)

2 days cruising through the becalmed North Sea (where everybody assured me earlier on would be a rocky-n-wild journey as the Atlantic currents meet the North Sea - I was expecting wind and mountainous seas) where the ocean looked like a mill pond, literally - like oil on water! On the secondlast night aboard, there was a bingo game where Margaret won the 'pot' of £265 to cover the hole in the plastic and later an amateur show of entertainers was called for - and you know me - I sang Janice Ian's "Bright Lights and Promises" - Dorothy got the obligatory photos - many thanks - and I got very good 'reviews' from fellow passengers - 'you won' type comments - and felt very smug, got a bumbag for a prize! Oh, the perks.

Back in Leith, I stashed my gear in Margaret's car and we joined up to see the very elegant and sadly no longer sailing Royal 'yacht' Britannia - spent a good 4 hours looking over every inch allowed and all the photos and tidbits from years used as a political and holiday vessel - really interesting. Queen Liz n Phil chose the decor to resemble "a country house at sea" and so it was. Back at the car I discovered that the shoulder strap to my carry bag had been removed (despite going back to the ship and they searching for it and asking the onshore baggage handlers) not to be found (very pissed off at the inconvenience of having to hand carry it), so Margaret generously gave me one of hers, she said she never used it and I gratefully accepted - then spent the next 2 hours wandering all the department stores in Edinburgh trying, to no avail, to secure another one. It was at this point that I seriously thought about applying for a job with Fred Olsen Cruiseline (because it specialises for the over 55s and they seem to be less of a bother than 18-28 yr olds) to take advantage of the free accommodation/food/travel/day trips ashore, good company and a little pay to boot - sounds like a good plan.

Got the bus, along with the bloody heavy suitcase, to the new YHA in Eduinburgh and proceeded to do the walkabout - climbed the Scott Monument, sauntered along the Princess Street Gardens (beautifully laid out and in full flower - Begonias and Roses everywhere), viewed 2 church/cathedrals and their adjoining cemetries (ghoulish but good), the National Art Gallery and while there was entertained by a bunch of 6 fierce looking (one bearded) Scotsmen, dressed in brown wraparound brown tartan wool strips as 'skirts', bare chested, tattooed and booted with said tartan wrapped around their calves, who were beating up a storm of rhythm on numerous drums - a cracking good half hour - they offered 'shakers' to members of the audience to join them on the 'stage' as accompaniers or 'deal with Jimmy' (the biggest one!) and yours truely was selected - asked a woman to "take a photo of me with the group - just put me in the corner" and she got me and the girl next to me - can't get good help anywhere! Tried several shops to purchase Loreal Ferrier "Chocolat Cherry" permanent hair dye, as the grey is now quiet evident in front, to no avail - every other bloody colour though is available - went to a hairdresser to see if they could match the colour and, yes, for the exhorbitant fee of £80 - about $170A - it could be done - I continue to deteriorate! That night went to a 'Doors' tribute band night at the Polish club - pretty good and in the morning was told that I'd missed 'The Proclaimers' concert at the castle - SOOOO disappointed - would have much rather sand along with a bunch of Scots. Oh well, will keep eyes/ears open for another one.

Back at the Y, met John (he an x-forrester and now counsellor?!) at the desk and we started to chat and then went to the Portrait Museum for 1 1/2hour tour, had a coffee and then proceeded to wander around the beautifully peaceful and well laid out Botanic Garden for the next 2 hours, chatting most amicably. He put me onto the Servas organisation - started in Spain to promote world peace and cultural understanding - it has an interview process and initial joinup fees (about $80A all up), the outcome is that you can stay in peoples homes as 'one of the family' for a few days in numerous countries around the world (there is a 'host' list) for NO exchange of money - but it would be nice to take your host out to dinner or for a drink or whatever seems most appropriate for the situation - so as not to abuse the setup. So immediately sent home to Tez to see if he could enlist us!! I await the outcome - look into it if you have a mind to travel - sounds like a great way to make new friends globally! The website is www.servas.com - check it out!

Moved on to Stirling - a place steeped in bloody history - literally! It's where William Wallace (Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" fame) routed the British King Edward's army and went on to an inglorious end - Stirling Castle was the scene for the nobility to abuse everyone - kidnapping, conspiracy, murder, torture, inveigling of all sorts - the usual monarchy battle stuff. The guides were very knowledgable and did a great job in explaining the whole struggle for Scotish independence from the hated English. The 2 blokes dressed up as infantry men of the period were SO funny and entertaining in explaining how all the terrible instruments of hand to hand combat were used and the way the story unfolded during the Wallace time - highly recommended. Would you believe, there was a group of campanologists (bell ringers) giving a performance in the main ahll and they were very good - highly enjoyed SITTING and listening to their upbeat music. Climbed the 247 steps inside the Victorian built Wallace memorial and walked all over the town as well as the Town of Allan nearby. Very medieaval feel to Stirling - narrow cobbled streets and so many ancient buildings, Church of the Holy Rude (meaning rod?!) where King James VI (son of Mary Queen of Scots) was first christened as a Catholic (at 9 months of age) and then invested as King at a Protestant ceremony some years later! Went to a 'ceilidh' (pronounced keyly - a traditional Scotish knees-up dance and drink event) at the pub - but as usual, despite being promised it would be a hoot and so talked 2 women (German and English) at the Y to accompany me for the anticipated good night out, only got 2 blokes to have a dance each with me and then the 2 women alternated with me and we were really the only ones to dance the whole night till closing - me leading as usual. The band thanked me for my efforts and the members of the aucience applauded our strutting!

Moved via bus and the with the bloody heavy suitcase (there's a theme here) to the Oban YHA on the west coast, walked about the town and port. Next day took a bustrip (only 2 going) to Kilmartin about 30mls south - inundated with ancientness, pre-viking standing stones everywhere, cairns, cists (stone burial chambers in the cairns), carved stone burial tablets, cow horn pipes, stone method of grain grinding, tool making (hands on stuff), fabulous museum - got to play a game of draughts on a 3000 yr old stone tablet there with a 9 yr old Scottish girl and missed the last bus back into town and hitched a ride back with a lovely local woman! Intended to go to Iona and Mull Isles YHAs but no accommodation available there, so stayed on and went to a Highland Game just out of town. A lovely generous Scotsman (local B&B owner) dumped his ladder and watering can (he was watering the fabulous array of hanging baskets on the outside walls - everyone seems to do this and it adds a much needed splash of colour to an otherwise drab stone - usually bluestone or dull brown or whitewashed - facade) and went and got his car out and drove me to the place as he said it was too far to walk, too hilly and there wasn't another bus for 3 hours and I would miss the main events - how good was that? There were big blokes in skirts tossing trees about and moving other bloody heavy concrete balls onto barrels (Oh, the strain!), chucking haggis with a pitchfork over a raised bar, throwing a gumboot to billyo and some sort of sculpted lump of rock looking thingy too and generally participating in a shambles of an athletics carnival all done on a newly mown field out in the boondocks 5mls south of town beside a picturesque loch. There were pipers singular and in marching band order, girls energetically doing their dancing thing throwing arms and legs about with precision and numerous kiddies sideshow events - the ubiquitous jumping castle type of thing - tartans for sale and lots of food - I sampled the venison hamburger, delicious. Then watched as many people deteriorated throughout the afternoon via the whiskey tent into a decidedly wobbly evening. On the way back, I picked up some free range multicoloured eggs and a small "can can" plant and stopped in at the B&B to give a thankyou gift to the generous bloke of the carriage ride in the morning - we both felt good!

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Photos

The great bridge on the Atlantic Ocean Road
The outlying islands finally get connected to the mainland

More fantastic coastal scenery
Little 'communities' all along the coastal fringe

Passing the 82nd parallel
Officially entering the Arctic \\\\\\circle

Bergen - the old capital
Outside the old Hanseatic buildings

A Bergen street scene
Johannes Church where the organ recital took place