A Bumpy Re-Entry

We’ve been home for a week. It feels like a month. Re-entry from a great vacation is always challenging, but this one has been especially hard. We were in Airplane Mode for over a month (seriously – it’s how we didn’t spend a fortune on internet access). It was a bit shocking to be fully connected again. Literally and psychologically.

After about 36 hours back at Woodhaven, we remembered the wisdom in having left. Living in a construction zone is exhausting. The noise, the disruption, the decisions, the lack of privacy. When Rob first floated the idea of being on the other side of the planet while our kitchen was being remodeled, I questioned whether we should be so far away in case something went sideways with Tim. Now I believe escaping the chaos was one of the smartest things we've done in a long time.

The past two months of travel have been incredible. I’m still stunned by all that we saw, ate, drank, smelled, gawked at, and thought about. We went places I never imagined I would love (Sweden). We ate food I never considered touching my lips (octopus). We touched parts of Earth I thought were off-limits (Namibian sand dunes).

Yep, I tried it. The taste wasn't bad -
it was in a tomato-based sauce. It was
the texture that got me. It was very
spring-y and snappy. It was impossible
not to think of it being an octopus.

Living on a cruise ship for a month was surprisingly easy. We fell into a much-needed routine pretty quickly. It was fabulous having access to food whenever I wanted it; without a kitchen since March, eating has been ridiculously complicated. It was also nothing short of heavenly to be able to package up our laundry on a whim and have it returned clean a few days later (brand loyalty pays off). No trudging outside. No remembering to bring my house key. No checking the weather report first. Sending out our laundry was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip!

Not a lot fit in each bag, so I handed
over a bag every couple of days.
Keeping track of our laundry orders
became a hobby. Only lost one t-shirt!

Rob and I were both surprised that we did not want our part of the cruise to end. We longed to stay in D423 and continue on to Iceland and across the Atlantic to Canada. We loved the escape, the way of life, the constantly changing scenery, the “free” drinks, the built-in exercise of climbing multiple flights of stairs each day, the mostly daily ice cream cones, the seemingly endless hot water for showers. Our eyes and minds are now open to longer cruises. This is an exciting and dangerous discovery!

Us on our last bus tour. Pretty much summed it up.

We didn’t make any new friends during our travels, other than Itzi who guided us around Spain. We kept to ourselves, eavesdropped, stayed anonymous, and deftly flew deep under the radar. We love people, but peopling takes a lot of energy. At least the all-in, fully-engaged way we do it. We needed the break and it was lovely.

Us blissfully alone not meeting new
people. I asked Rob to stop and take this
photo in Stockholm after telling him
I was going to miss wandering European
cities with him. 

While we were gone, life still happened. Tim plugged along (update coming soon) without too much drama. Bills arrived electronically, making me grateful for online banking. A jury summons was deferred. A nephew was born. The January arrival of another family member was announced. Rob’s dad died.

Dad was suspicious of social media. Out of respect for his memory, I will simply say that we knew his passing was a possibility when we left, but it was still incredibly hard to be so far away when it happened. But, as He does, God showed up at just the right time in just the right way. The day before Dad died, Rob and I were in Visby, Sweden. We had no plans for the day, so we just wandered around and fell in love with the small, Nordic island of Gotland.

Along the way, we found a 13th century stone church. It was simple, beautiful, quiet, peaceful. Without planning it or discussing it, Rob and I each talked to God in that church, thanking Him, trusting Him, and releasing our hearts to Him. Between that and our last visit with Dad shortly before we left, Rob and I both have peace. And we unequivocally know that Dad does, too

St. Mary's Cathedral in Visby, Sweden will always
have a very special place in my heart and memories.

So we are back.

A number of people have asked where we are going next, what’s our next cruise, what travel plans are on the radar. Normally we’d have an answer. And we will soon. Right now, we’re trying to bask in the incredible memories of two trips of a lifetime, 3,049 photos, 30 blog posts, and a meaningful collection of magnets that will eventually make their home on our new fridge in our new kitchen.

Thank you for coming along for the ride. 

Each magnet was carefully chosen
to reflect what resonated with me in
the various cities. The duck magnet
was found in a hide-and-seek game
on the cruise ship.

 

My first visit to Amsterdam!

I have wanted to visit Amsterdam for a number of years. There was a vague interest, and then I saw a segment on one of those Sunday Morning news shows about the Dutch capital. The reporters did a remarkable job painting an incredibly romantic picture of a city famous for its canals. I was SUPER excited to have it as our last fun port on this epic cruise journey. (Fun because our last port is actually Dover, England – noted for its White Cliffs – and where we bid farewell to the Crown Princess and head directly to the airport. Sigh.)

So did Amsterdam live up to Jane Pauley’s hype (yeah, it’s been a minute)?

Maybe.

We started the day with an hour bus ride from the port of IJmuiden (I have no idea, and the capitalized J is not a typo). We toured Amsterdam via a canal boat, and then we just wandered around for a couple of hours before heading back to our ship in I-Town. We had a whopping 5 hours to explore, which was both a long day and far too short.

Jane did not lie. Amsterdam is beautiful.

This is just what I imagined it looked like!
Thanks, Jane!

The canals indeed lend a romanticism to the urbanity. We spent about an hour in the Canal Museum (highly recommended) and learned that in the 1600s, Amsterdam’s popularity and population were growing but the city was running out of land. The city is about 3 feet below sea level, so it is naturally swampy. The Men in Charge at the time concluded the best way to expand Amsterdam’s footprint was to dredge up silt and sand and relocated it to make land where they wanted it. Canals would be used to divert the water that was left behind.

Lots of bridges, lots of bikes, lots of trees

The canals are mostly in concentric horseshoes
around Amsterdam's center, which means they 
softly bend around the city.

Some of the boats on the sides are
personal vehicles; others are houseboats
that people live on or rent out as Airbnbs

Even today, the canals in Amsterdam are dredged regularly – not just of silt but of about 10,000 sunken bicycles every year (like Copenhagen, bicycles are EVERYWHERE!). And the windmills outside of town are used to pump water out to the canals. To be honest, I never stopped to wonder what the famous Dutch windmills were for, other than postcards!

Tons of bike parking lots are scattered around
the city.

A bona fide Dutch windmill!!

The system of canals and bridges was actually pretty easy to follow on foot. You could sense the planning and forethought. There was even a helpful map! If you’ve ever been to Venice, their canals are a spaghetti bowl of confusion. Amsterdam was very easy to navigate without fear of getting lost. Especially since Rob was in charge of the map.

I was honestly disappointed by our canal cruise. Although the boat was wooden and charmingly old-timey and had windows on the top, it was hard to see much. Especially since the woman I was sitting next to spent most of the time hogging the window.

Me wistfully wondering what I'm 
missing beyond all the wood beams

My view most of the ride.
She got some really nice photos.

I tried going outside, but I was too short to see over the boat’s canopy. And a busy social media influencer had commandeered the prime seat in back for perfect posing. So, I concluded the best I could do was enjoy the choppy scenery, hope that Taller Rob was getting better photos when the influencer was editing, and note the rival tour company that has open air boats (Flagship) for our return visit. Because yes, it was already clear that Amsterdam requires a second and longer exploration.

My photo of this really pretty building

Taller Rob's photo of the same 
building, plus others I didn't know
were there

The scenery was much better and delightfully unobstructed once we started walking around. But romantic? Depends where you are.

Amsterdam is gritty. It’s touristy. It’s crowded. It has FAST bikes that are not required to yield to pedestrians, so you have to be on alert at all times. Amsterdam definitely felt like a big city. But it also felt safe, despite the bikes. Even in the Red Light District.

Yep, we went there. But it was by accident. Honest!

We were wandering down a street and the vibe changed considerably. Lots of bars, some adult-themed stores, and an overall essence of “hangover.” Lamp posts were plastered with a zillion stickers, the asphalt was worn from repeated hosing, and the general aroma was the pungent smell of legalized pot occasionally overridden by the odor of doorway pee. People in various states of alertness were adhered to the canal walls, seemingly waiting for it to get dark again. It was very Vegas-esque.

And yes, we did see a leather bikini-clad, unnaturally buxom woman displaying herself in a “store” window, chatting on her phone. She was all kinds of distracting. I didn’t take a picture, for any number of reasons. Prime being: it’s illegal (the photo, not the display).

There really are red lights!!

It took me a while to shake the ooky feeling of seeing that woman in the window. I reminded myself that it’s legal and entirely her choice and probably very lucrative. But it just made me sort of sad. I’m not sure I needed to see that legendary part of Amsterdam.

I decided to be fascinated instead by noticing that many of Amsterdam’s stone houses are listing worse than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Given the swampy foundation, and 300+ years old construction, I guess it should not be surprising that some of the old buildings along Amsterdam’s canals are moving. But it was startling to see, and even more startling that it appeared the buildings are still in use.

If you look closely, you can see the
top of the brick building leaning 
towards the tree

Notice the black material on the left
side of the building in the center. It is
filling in a gap between the buildings
that is much narrower at the top
than at the bottom.

The bottom right side of this
building is totally wonky. And there
is a business in it!

One day in Amsterdam was simply not enough. By the time we were back on our bus, I had a list of Next Visit Must-Dos. Things like going to the Anne Frank House. And the Rembrandt Museum. And the private museum of classic art masterpieces but featuring cats. And the Floating Flower Market. And taking a train to Haarlem where Corrie Ten Boom lived (referenced SO often among my church friends). And heading out to Gouda to learn about and eat a lot of cheese. And taking a canal cruise on a boat without a roof.

Doesn't that look lovely? Pretty flowers,
beverages, unobstructed view. I shall
ride a boat like this someday.

So now we head home to Woodhaven. I’ll write a final blog once we are back settled in. It’s been a cruise of a lifetime! Thank you for coming along!

Looking forward to seeing you again,
Amsterdam!

  

I changed my mind about Copenhagen

We had a long day in Copenhagen today. Our booked tour wasn’t until 4:30pm, so we decided to explore a little on our own. After deftly (actually, it was just discernment and an ooky feeling) avoiding a scammy tour operator, we got ourselves on a Hop On Hop Off bus and toured around Denmark’s capital. Due to technical difficulties with our headphones and lots of extra time, we rode around on the Black Line twice.

Copenhagen is a very pretty city. Similar architecture to Helsinki and Stockholm (that Nordic Renaissance style again), with more blending of old and new. It has castles and royalty and a canal and remnants of a fortress wall and guards that change. It even a famous statue sitting in the water.

Entrance to the Rosenborg Castle which was
just hanging out on a street in Copenhangen.
The castle was originally built as a
country summerhouse in 1606.

Copenhagen City Hall. I thought it was a palace.
Nope, just a 19th-century office building.

This is a pretty famous spot called Nyhavn. Lots
of shopping and tourists. It sort of reminded me (on
the ground level) of Fisherman's Wharf in
San Francisco. 

Royal Guards on their way to Amalienborg Palace
to change shifts. Our tour bus tailgated them for a bit.

The famous Little Mermaid statue.
It was a popular tourist attraction
long before the Disney movie. I know
that because Vicki and Captain Stubing
went there at least 5 years before
the animated classic came out.

The Little Mermaid is very small. If you squint,
you can see her just above the green bushes
below the red signs on the left.

Copenhagen has all the stuff you'd want in a large, historical European city. And yet, both Rob and I were just ho hum about it. It wasn’t special or particularly interesting or especially memorable. At least not like Stockholm. Other than the bicycles.

Goodness, there are TONS of bicycles in Copenhagen! I thought Portland was a bike city. HA! Novices, all of them.

Copenhagen’s bike lanes are wide, some even have stop lights, and pedestrians know to watch out for bikes as much as cars. Large chunks of sidewalks are dedicated to bicycle parking, with some looking like parking lots. Many Copenhageners ride their own bikes, but temporary rentals are popular, too. And helmets? Meh. Some people wear them, but they are clearly not required.

I kept trying to see if people locked up their bikes.
It seemed like many did...and many didn't.

I was fascinated by little carts that a lot of bikes had attached to their front. At first I thought the carts were for carrying groceries. And I suppose you could. But instead, I only saw the carts carrying people (and in one instance, a large dog). I couldn’t tell if they were paid rides, or people who knew each other and rock-paper-scissored for which one got to be the passenger princess. It was bizarre to see grown-ups being carted around like toddlers.

I would have been mortified at that
age to be chauffeured around like that.
At 58? My knees and back are not
getting me out of that thing, so 
no, thank you. Maybe that's why
the older woman is driving?

Given our lukewarm reaction to our morning ride around Copenhagen, Rob and I were less excited about our booked Canal Ride and Tivoli Garden visit. Well…what a difference a tour makes. We got to see other parts of Copenhagen – parts that felt more hidden and more local – and we changed our minds. Copenhagen has some spunk after all!

The canal ride was fascinating. Instead of touring inside the city like we assumed, we went on the outskirts. We got to see some fascinating architecture of newer buildings as well as the totally beguiling way some Copenhageners live on the water. Trendy apartments, repurposed military barracks and gun boat houses, lots of small bridges, tons of waterside bars and steps to hang out on. It looked so relaxing and social and fun. And so lively on a Wednesday evening! I didn't take a ton of photos because I didn't want to be That Tourist.

Copenhagen's Opera House. It's a little hard to 
see, but the base is round. Inside is a round concert
hall made out of maple wood for the acoustics.
In other news, this opera house is one of the most
expensive ones ever built (about $370 million in 2004).

A personal sauna on a personal dock.

We also saw people knitting, drinking, and 
playing the guitar. Not all at once...

Tons of sunbathers, drinkers, chatters, and 
general hanger-outers.

We ended our day at Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli is basically a small amusement park in the midst of Big City Copenhagen. Founded in 1843, Tivoli Gardens is the second-oldest amusement park in the world and boasts having the world’s oldest roller coaster. Sadly, they don’t boast loudly enough because I didn’t know that until after we left. Boo!

Main entrance in the heart of
Copenhagen

We weren’t sure what to expect from Tivoli, other than what we had seen on a two-part episode of “The Love Boat” in Season 8 when Vicki falls in love with a Danish Prince who is pretending to be a deckhand. Yes, fine, that episode is what got me excited about Copenhagen when I first saw it on our itinerary. I plan to watch it again when we get back home.

We were given two hours to wander Tivoli's amusements on our own. It was just long enough to take a lap around the gardens and sit a spell, and just short enough not to be able to really settle in and do anything. Like go on a ride or eat a proper meal in one of the many lovely restaurants featuring linen tablecloths and wine lists.

A main meeting point that instantly reminded me
of Disneyland's central hub on Main Street USA
with the statue of Walt and Mickey

I had a hard time figuring out what Tivoli Gardens is supposed to be. Yes, it’s an amusement park, with a smattering of rides for little kids and a smaller smattering for thrill-seeking teenagers. It’s also a gorgeous middle-of-urbanity escape into curated nature, with beautiful flowers and trees and water features. It had a feeling of old-timey Jules Verne/Steampunk design, but it also had a few modern rides and a deep dedication to recycling and being ecofriendly.

Isn't that stunning?? The castle in the back is 
not part of the Gardens. It's part of Copenhagen.

The little air balloons are the Ferris Wheel!
The ride was originally steam-powered.
The version today was inaugurated in 1943.

Tons of food, beer, and odd Danish food
restaurants. Oh to have more time!

Apparently I paid about 75 cents extra
for my plastic cup, which I could then 
return here. Naturally, it's coming
home as a souvenir.

Tivoli Gardens felt like a super small Disneyland. Actually, it felt like what inspired Walt in designing Disneyland. And some Googling later confirmed that’s exactly what happened. Walt hung out at Tivoli a number of times, taking copious notes. Tivoli had little areas with their own themes, there was a main square, there was beautiful landscaping, it was impeccably clean, it was an escape from what surrounds it. All hallmarks of Walt's magic kingdoms.

A little Taj Mahal, a little Matterhorn, a little
Jules Verne-ish tower. And see any litter?
Me, neither. 

The English version of the map. Which Rob
found on our way out. The Danish one we had
during our visit was rather tricky!

But what Walt did much better was create a bubble. At Disney, you purposely can’t see the world outside. You are drawn into Walt’s world, and you get lost in the magic and wonder. As enchanting as Tivoli is, the outside world is all too visible. Granted, some of what is visible are castles. But there are also office buildings and construction cranes and double-decker tour buses.

Some Japan, a modern roller coaster,
and an even more modern office
building in the background.

I highly enjoyed my wander around Tivoli Gardens, but it was too short. I would have loved time to linger over a nice dinner, and I would have loved to stay late enough to see all the lights come on. Our tour description enticingly included “brightly lit at night with over 100,000 colored lights, the Gardens look as if it belongs in a fairy tale.” The description neglected to mention that the sun doesn’t set until nearly 10:00pm this time of year. Our ship left at 9:00pm. So, we had a sunlit glass of wine instead.

I bet that wall of lights looks magical
in the dark. You know, after the ship
has long gone...

We enjoyed a glass of rose and watched some
of Tivoli Gardens go by. It was lovely. And too short.

So, I will remember Copenhagen after all! I will remember its bicycle carts, I will remember the lively canal neighborhoods, and I will remember a lovely walk around the beautifully charming but confusing Tivoli Gardens. I would totally consider a return visit to Copenhagen just for Tivoli Gardens. And Disney fans? Add The Gardens to your Bucket List!

With more time (do you sense a theme?)
I would have tried the Swing Carousel
in the background.

Next stop: Amsterdam, The Netherlands!

In love again in Sweden

Oh my gosh. I didn’t expect this. At all. I mean, I only have a modest appreciation for ABBA. And zero appreciation for herring. But Sweden, I love you!

Yesterday was our second (and tearfully, last) Swedish port on this trip. I was absolutely enchanted by the small, medieval Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland several days ago. I was very curious how the other end of the Swedish spectrum might hit me, as we spent the day in the capital city of Stockholm. Population about 1 million – about 40 times that of Visby.

Yep, I LOVED IT!

Stockholm is one of the most beautiful, sparkly, architecturally interesting cities I have ever visited. It is comprised of 14 islands (I had no idea!), so there is lots of water and boats meandering through the city. Like Visby, Stockholm is clean, organized, comfortable, and it felt very safe. And, blessedly, English is commonly spoken. Tack gode Gud!

Just like Barcelona, something new and intriguing caught my eye at nearly every turn in Stockholm. The Royal Palace, the Opera House, the Ice Bar, the open market, the island with Old Town, the sunken 17th-century warship that was unearthed in 1961 largely preserved and intact, the Viking museum. Yes, even the ABBA museum. SO much I didn’t get to explore.

Even through a bus window, Stockholm is
so beautiful! 

No idea why this street had butterfly streamers
overhead, but what a fun touch!

Flower garland arches?!? So pretty! And
apparently so common, our tour guide
didn't mention them. 

Our tour was Nobel Prize-based. We started in Stockholm’s City Hall where the annual banquet is held for the esteemed laureates. We then toured the Nobel Prize Museum nearby.

City Hall was stunning. Built in 1923 after a fire burned down the old one, Stockholm’s City Hall (Stadshus) is brick on the outside and granite, wood, marble, and mosaic inside. Many rooms had wood floors that creaked and had that slightly musty smell of old wood and tapestries. Both made me smile.

The gold top of the far dome is three crowns.
Three crowns are the symbol for Sweden, but
there's no agreement on what they stand for.

Each room in City Hall made me gasp. The simple lines blended with just enough ornate touches to be elegant. Each room, its construction, and its decoration were incredibly intentional. Because I’m built for details, I always appreciate those small decisions.

The hall where the Nobel Prize banquet is held.
It was designed to mimic a courtyard.

The marble stairs in the banquet hall
were intentionally made extra wide and
not as tall as typical stairs. The architect's
wife helped determine the precise measurements,
with thoughts of high heels and ballgowns in mind.
Such a small change but WOW, those were the
easiest stairs I have ever climbed.

City Hall is a working building - people
work here so you can only tour with a guide.
This is the Council Chamber where the
Stockholm City Council meets. The canopy
above the main chairs is to help with 
acoustics despite being a little more
fancypants than the architect had in mind.

I absolutely LOVE the color of these
columns! It is a dark midnight blue.
Assuming the columns were painted, 
I was all ready to find the color and 
figure out what room at Woodhaven
should be Stockholm City Hall Blue.
Instead, the columns are made from a
stone called diabase. It's like granite.
And unlikely to find its way to
Woodhaven. Boo!

Called The Golden Hall for obvious
reasons. This is where the Nobel people
dance after the banquet. The walls have 
over 18 million gold mosaic tiles telling
Sweden's history. It was stunning.

Even the curtains in random hallways
were beautiful!

The Nobel Prize Museum was interesting but also a little disappointing. It was pretty small (only one floor in a modest-sized old-timey building, part of which was commandeered by a cafe and museum store). There was one room that barely contained our 16 tour mates that was dedicated to Alfred Nobel’s life.

Museum is the larger pink building on the right.
It used to be the Stock Exchange.

Born and raised in Stockholm, Alfred Nobel was a creative inventor who figured out how to make dynamite, among other things. There are remnants of a slightly exploded building on the Stockholm island of Södermalm as proof of his experimentation.

Alfred became very wealthy as a result of his explosive invention. Some years later when his brother died, the obituary referred to Alfred as “the merchant of death” due to dynamite’s violent possibilities. This description hit Alfred hard. It wasn’t the legacy he wanted. So, he came up with what we know now as the Nobel Prizes as a soulful and societal apology. His legacy now is to honor people each year who have "conferred the greatest benefit to humankind."

Nobel Prizes for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine, Literature, and Economic Sciences are awarded at the Stockholm Concert Hall (the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway). Then a swanky dinner banquet is held in Stockholm’s City Hall.

When we signed up for the museum tour, I was hoping to see examples of the prizes themselves. You know, some fancy gold coins on fabric ribbons – or at least replicas.

Piglet for scale. Although, I assume
the real medals are a bit smaller.

Instead, we got something that proved even more interesting. Nobel Prize winners are asked to donate something of meaning and significance to the museum for display. Due to size limits, only a fraction is on display. But the choices were fascinating.

Dresses, ties, stethoscopes, typewriters, notebooks, models of molecules, hiking boots, a bottle of Tide detergent, a jar of peanut butter. With more time, stronger air conditioning, and a less cranky back, I would have read every single artifact’s description. The stories were an unexpected peek behind invention and inspiration.

The two winners had many collaborative 
conversations in offices and cafes, but they often
ran out of time. They each lived in apartments
without laundry facilities, so they started 
coordinating their Laundry Days and spent
even more hours talking in laundromats.

Several of the ties have custom-made patterns.
The bright blue one has chemical structures 
including nitric oxide what was fundamental
to the winner's research. The yellow-cream
tie has the pattern of Viagra tablets. Yes,
that invention won a Nobel Prize...

The organic chemistry textbook eventually led
the winner to pursue chemistry research. The
peanut butter is her favorite brand and is 
a "source of energy and helps her think."

Rob and I got back on the ship with sadness, but Sweden wasn’t done with us yet.

Thanks to a time of year when the sun barely sets at the 59th parallel (Stockholm is about even with Anchorage, Alaska), we had bright sunlight illuminating our evening departure through the Swedish archipelago. Rob and I stationed ourselves in the corner of a top-deck nightclub and watched our ship wind its way through an incredibly complicated collection of treed islands. Complicated enough that there were two additional pilots onboard to help navigate.

The passage was spectacular. There were islands of all sizes dotting the blue water. Some were simply rocks. Almost all were green with whitish rocks. Some had beaches. Many had homes on them, as it is very common for Swedes to have summer homes on the water. While it sounds decadent, many of the homes do not have electricity or running water. But wow, the scenery and the privacy! (Well, except when a cruise ship floats by).

Not the greatest photos since we 
were looking through tinted windows.
But our seats were too good to risk
leaving for better photos. Hopefully
the beauty still comes through. You
can also see lots of houses dotted here
and there if you look closely.

Islands of all sizes!

We had some passes even more narrow
than this! It was really impressive.
And see? PRIME seating!

Tiny island with a house all by itself!

We watched for a couple of hours, nearly missing dinner (did I mention the sun does not set here during the summer?). As we exited to open waters, Rob and I were already discussing future itineraries to experience the passage again. It was truly one of the best sailings we have ever experienced, ranking with the St. Lawrence River in northeastern Canada and Cape Horn around the tip of South America. There are many things I love about vacationing via cruise ship. Experiences like last night, floating through the dazzling beauty of the zillions of islands in Sweden tops the list.

Jag älskar dig Sverige!
And I love Rob, too!

Next stop: Copenhagen, Denmark!