Sorry there haven't been regular blog entries. Could not get the wi-fi at the hotel in London to work in the few chances I had to sit down. So I will start with today and then attempt to fill in the past. Tomorrow is a sea day, so we won't be frantically running around touring. Thank God! We need a day off.
We'll be out in the North Sea between now and then—the last time I was on a ship in the North Sea I was so sick I thought death would be an improvement! Of course, that was 53 years ago. The stabilizer art seems to have improved since then! The seas look quite choppy and there's a bit of movement, but nothing very exciting.
Sunday, May 22
Today we arrived in Zeebrugge, Belgium, which is the harbor for Bruges. We had unsuccessfully attempted to book a van to pick us up to take us into Bruges—they have a limited number and the time slots we wanted were not available. So we booked a ship's tour which included transport to town, a guided walk around the town, and a boat trip on the canals. Plus, of course, an hour free for shopping.
Zeebrugge is an industrial port and you can't just walk out. The logistics of cruising in Europe seem to be quite different from cruising in Alaska or the Caribbean. It's much more convenient to be able to come and go from the ship as one pleases.
So, to start off our morning with a bit of drama, Heidi and I came back to the room after breakfast and found ourselves locked out. Neither of our sea passes would work. No sign of the room steward who could have let us in. Of course our passports, excursion tickets, cameras, etc. are locked in the room. So, off to stand in line at Guest Relations to have new sea passes made. By the time we finished standing in line and getting new cards made and picking up our stuff in our room, we are quite late for our excursion. They managed to hold the last bus for us. Our good luck, because we had an excellent guide! I had several interesting conversations with him about Belgian politics, religion, and life in general.
Bruges was larger than London in the Middle Ages and was a major trading center. Their specialty was making fine cloth. What caused their decline was that the river that runs to the sea started silting up, thus inhibiting shipping traffic. Also, the good citizens of Bruges got tired of paying high taxes to the French king (I've forgotten which one), so they popped him in jail the next time he showed up to collect. They also executed a few of his followers.
Needless to say, this didn't sit well with the king. I've forgotten how he managed to get out of jail, but he basically came back and pretty much laid waste to the place. Bruges became kind of a backwater, which saved it from the “improvements” of the industrial age and pretty much ensured that it remained intact as a medieval city. It was mostly spared bomb damage during the two world wars and has since concentrated on restoring its buildings and maintaining its character. It is now a World Heritage Site.
It is beautiful, and very interesting to see, both by walking around and from the canals. It is Sunday, so all the church bells were pealing. It reminded us of living in Germany. Because it was Sunday, we were unable to get into the lady church which contains a Michelangelo madonna and child because there was Mass going on.
I made an excursion to Leonidas and acquired some pralines. They're yummy when they're fresh—will see how they survive the trip home. We met Nelson & Terri in the square where they enjoyed Belgian waffles and coffee and we had Belgian frites. We'd been separated from our trip mates because of being late. We were all on different versions of the same tour.
We had an early sailaway at 3:00 p.m. Because we're a big ship, we can't fit through the Kiel Canal, so we have to sail all around Denmark in order to reach our next port of call, Warnemunde, Germany.
We're currently sailing past a huge wind farm of spinning turbines. Wondering how deep the sea is here in order to construct such a huge bunch. There must be over a hundred of them.
Tonight is the first formal night, so must go and get ready for dinner.
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