A 15-day adventure by Rulocal Read more
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  • Day 13

    Bergen, Norway

    July 26, 2013 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We all got off today, even Sheila.
    We asked Buzz to come with us which he did, I think he was glad of the company.
    He is missing his wife and kids quite badly, which makes the job hard for him.
    Anyway we all jumped the shuttle, a free one I might add, and got dropped off in town.
    We had a bit of a walk around till we found a MacDonalds and headed in for the free WiFi, only thing was, it had the slowest serving staff I've ever encountered.
    Definitely not FAST FOOD lol.
    We must have spent an hour in there, checking email, Facebook etc.
    Buzz downloaded an entire episode of Downton Abbey, only to realise after 30 mins or so, that he'd seen it lol.
    We then had another stroll to find some pressies for Aimee to take home for Mum and Nan.
    Then I spotted what I thought was our ship, so we decided to walk back instead of getting the shuttle....Bad decision, we walked and walked towards the port, with Sheila all the time saying, "I'm sure this is the wrong way".
    Well knowing her sense of direction, we didn't listen.
    Only to eventually find out she was right.
    We'd walked to the opposite side of town that we needed.....oops!
    So we jumped a taxi back to our ship, which Buzz insisted on paying for.
    Still, we had a nice day, and Bergen is a beautiful town, with the slowest Mackie Dees, and if I ever come back, will explore it more.
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  • Day 12

    Geiranger Fjord Norway

    July 25, 2013 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    I've seen some beautiful and stunning places in my time, but none more beautiful or stunning than Geiranger fjord.
    From the Norwegian sea entrance to the fjord, all the way through to Geiranger itself the scenery is absolutely stunning.
    The journey in across the Norwegian sea takes about, five hours, and every inch of the way there are fantastic views to be had.
    About halfway through, you come across the seven sisters waterfalls, where the captain stops the ship and does a couple of 360° turns with the ship, so you get a spectacular panorama of the fjord and the waterfalls.
    Exactly why the waterfalls are called the seven sisters I'm not sure, because according to legend a couple lived on the mountain, with seven children, four boys and three girls, and when the children played outside they had long ropes tied around their waists to stop them falling off the mountain, and the falls are named so, because of the seven children.
    So why the sisters thing and not including the boys, I'm not sure, but I will Google it when I get home lol.
    Btw the photos below do not do the fjord justice sorry.
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  • Day 11

    Dancing with the officers.

    July 24, 2013, Norwegian Sea ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Well she's done it again!
    Got herself on stage and in the limelight.
    They wanted volunteers for a fun competition they have on board every trip, it's a take on dancing with the stars.
    Now guess who they asked to take part, yep got it in one, Sheila, LMAO.....
    No no no, it was Nic, and as usual she'd agreed to do it, even before the guy had finished asking her to take part.
    You know what Nic's like, shy, retiring, doesn't like the limelight, oops!
    I'm getting mixed up again that's Sheila.
    Our Nic was in there like a shot lol.
    The next night was the competition, and surprise surprise, Nic and her partner where couple number1, first in line, first on stage, and first to prove they couldn't dance lol.
    In the end they finished third out of ten couples, but I'm certain that's because our friend Buz Sutherland, the comedian we'd met a few nights earlier, was one of the judges, but I can't prove that LMAO.
    The whole thing was a scream, and as usual Nic was the star....
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  • Day 10

    More new friends.

    July 23, 2013, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Just love cruising for meeting nice people.
    On this one we've met a couple from Bonney Scotland, John and Angela.
    And Jim, who's English and his wife Hanney, who's originally from Holland.
    Then from Arizona USA, there's Jim and Jean Tammen.
    And last night we met the American comedian Buz Sutherland, who was on the theatre.
    We were in the Oceanview cafe having dinner with Jim and Jean, when the comedian came over to say hi to Jim, who he'd met earlier.
    He got chatting and said if we wanted he'd go and get some of his tricks to show is as he did a bit of magic as well as the comedy.
    Well 5 minutes later he was back and did some amazing card tricks for us.
    After he'd finished he gave the props to Aimee, along with a signed DVD for her and one for Jim, and a signed photo for each of us.
    He was a really lovely guy and he told us about his family, who it turned out he was really missing, as he'd been away for over a month up to now.
    On fact he started to get tears in his eyes, so made his excuses and left, what a really genuine and nice guy.
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  • Day 8

    Akureyri

    July 21, 2013 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Today we visited Akureyri in northern Iceland.
    It's only a small place with not a lot here, but it must be lovely to live here for the views alone.
    The town is set at the end of a spectacular fjord and surrounded by snow capped mountains.
    The actual port area is quite small and can only take two cruise ships at a time, so the town is not to crowded with tourists.
    There is a lovely if modern church, set on a hillside which I've spoken about in my last Iceland blog, it's not a particularly pretty church, but does have an interesting bit of modern history attached to it, through the stained glass windows above the alter, which were in the original Coventry cathedral.
    Also it has stunning views of the fjord and the cruise ship with the mountains in the background.
    As I've said it's a lovely town and I personally prefer it to Reykjavik which was our previous stop.
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  • Day 7

    The Famous Blue Lagoon

    July 20, 2013 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Well what a fabulous day we had.
    Celebrity Captains Club, arranged a trip to the Blue Lagoon for all the elite members on board, and best of all it was free.
    I checked on the excursions list and this trip was listed at $299!!
    I couldn't imagine Royal giving you that for free lol.
    The lagoon itself is an amazing place, it is a natural lagoon which is geothermically heated.
    Apparently it is so chock full of minerals that bacteria cannot live in it, so it's perfectly safe to bathe in it, in fact it's supposed to be very good if you have any skin complaints.
    The water is one third fresh water and two thirds salt water, and it's like taking a hot Radox bath, also it's only waist deep so safe for everyone, the only thing you should watch is the lagoon bottom which being volcanic, is quite rough.
    You can also use some of the volcanic mud, which they have in containers around the lagoon, as a face pack.
    It's said that it can make you look ten years younger, but I'm afraid it didn't work on me, I only managed to look 8 years younger!! lol.
    It was a fab day out and one I'd recommend to anyone, it's definitely the best thing about coming to Reykjavik.
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  • Day 7

    Reykjavik port Iceland

    July 20, 2013 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    This is my second visit to Reykjavik, and I'm afraid my opinion is still the same, the people are mostly friendly, but the city itself is very austere, dour and dull.
    It may have plenty of exciting Viking history but except for the odd Leif Ericsson statue there is not much to show for it.
    A lot of the buildings in downtown are covered in painted corrugated iron, and date from the 1920s.
    Even the main cathedral/church, I'm not sure which it is, is very modern and uninspiring.
    The only colourful thing we found was a skateboard park that had brilliant graffiti.
    On fact imho there's not a lot about the city to make you fall in love with the place.
    Also both times I've been here the weather has been dull, overcast and drizzly, so that won't have helped.
    So Reykjavik has been ticked off the list, but I don't think I'll be returning, not unless the cruise was a real giveaway price lol.
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  • Day 5

    Sea day

    July 18, 2013, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌫 12 °C

    Didn't do a lot yesterday as once again the weather wasn't good.
    Aimee and Sheila went for a swim in the solarium pool, which is hotter than you'd have your bath at home.
    On the theatre last night the act was an American comedian, I'm afraid a lot of his humour didn't work with the non Americans, and he had to work really hard to get a reaction from most of the audience.
    Nic and I did our bit to help with a bit of barracking, which he appreciated, only problem was we were in the circle, he even said any aren't you down here, pointing to the stalls.
    At the evening drinks we had a pouting competition which Nic won easily.
    Anyway Reykjavik next so we're going for a walk in the town.
    Tomorrow we've got a free tour to the lava fields and the Blue Lagoon, all courtesy of the Captain's Club, I've looked in the excursion booklet and it's a $399 trip, so we're all looking forward to that.
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  • Day 5

    More Torshavn

    July 18, 2013 in Faroe Islands ⋅ 🌫 12 °C

    After visiting Burger King, we walked around the shopping mall and got Aimee some swimming goggles. Then we decided to do something a bit more cultural.
    We'd spotted a monument on a hill above the town, so decided to walk up and have a look.
    It turns out it was built in 1880, to commemorate the visit to the town in 1874 of the Danish king.
    There is not much to the monument but the climb is well worth it for the wonderful views of Torshavn.
    On the way back down we spotted a golden retriever with a couple of puppies in someone's back garden and stopped for a look.
    A young couple were in the garden and invited us in to see the dogs.
    It was a lovely and friendly thing to do and the dogs were beautiful, but stupid me didn't get any photos.
    Except for the chilly drizzly weather we had a lovely time in Torshavn.
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