Five Things I Love about Cunard

Every cruise line has its own personality and appeals to different sorts of cruisers.

We call Carnival the "Party Ships." The main atrium through which we entered is also a bar which many passengers never leave. 'Nuff said.

Holland America is lovingly referred to as "the old farts' line." (Please don't misunderstand. We love HAL! We've got 106 cruise days with them so they must be doing something right! We feel young every time we board one of their "daam" ships.)

Princess is our "Goldilocks" cruise line--a good mix of everything so it's just about right.

Norwegian is sort of a stealth operation. I never recall much about the ships, just the ports we visited with them.

In the interests of full disclosure, we've also been on Costa, which has been permanently x'd from our list after the Concordia disaster. The now defunct American Hawaiian line has a special place in our hearts. We rounded the Islands for our 25th on that old  ship, one of the last cruises it made because the company went belly-up after 9-11. And our first cruise together was on the pint-sized Dolphin which I think is no longer running.

Some lines were not as good a fit for us as others, but we've found something to like on all our seafaring adventures. We were excited to try Cunard. Let me start with the things we love:

1. Smooth embarkation! As soon as one of Cunard's agents noticed Herkimer (my portable oxygen concentrator), we were guided to a special needs line where we zipped through the process and boarded before noon! 
2. Excellent music! We were treated to performances of classical guitar, and several pianists. A visiting ensemble of young artists (Green Spring) put on several concerts. Every lounge boasted its harpist or string trio or jazz pianist taking requests.
3. Exceptional ride! Normally I have to use a scopolamine patch to fight sea sickness. Not on the stable-as-my-living room QM2! Even on the one day the North Sea kicked up a ruckus and there were gale force winds, my insides were perfectly content.
4. Lectures and classes and planetariums, oh my! Whether it was the tongue-in-cheek "Vikings and How to Cure Them"  speaker, the visiting RAS astronomy professor, or the young lady who was a prima ballerina AND held a doctorate in quantum physics, the lecture series was exceptional. We thoroughly enjoyed our watercolor classes, did our best in the dance classes, and the planetarium at sea was a delightful novelty, especially when the visiting astronomer gave a live show of the night sky.
5. Outstanding service! Over time, we've come to expect to be treated like long-lost royalty on a cruise and the QM2 crew did not disappoint. Our cabin steward and dining servers were attentive, thoughtful, and always so pleasant. It's so hard to go back our normal, non-royal lives... 

We had a wonderful time on the QM2. Our 21 days were filled with moments I'll never forget. But I'll have to admit there were a few things we loved ... less on board.  

I'll share those in a few days. 

And On the Other Hand...

He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea. ~Thomas Fuller

August 15^th Part Two

Now I’m embarrassed because a small retraction is in order. The directors did finally come up with a way to get us some of the music for choir. They seemed astonished at how quickly and easily the rehearsal went when we were all on the same page in regard to pitches and rhythms. (Not that we sang anything strictly as written. They simplified many dotted quarter and eighth note to straight time.) But it made me happier to have the notes in my hand.

Then later during a heart-stoppingly beautiful piano concert by Ratko Delarko, I felt more movement in the ship that any we’d experienced previously. Later the captain came over the loudspeaker to announce that a medical emergency had required us to change course and head for Newfoundland. The Canadian coastguard was sending a helicopter to meet us, hover over the top deck, and take the ill passenger to a land-based hospital. The rest of us were forbidden to go out on deck or even on our private balconies during this procedure.  

This reminded me why it’s so important to put to sea with a cruise line with a track record of taking care of their passengers. We’ve felt very safe with Cunard, but things can happen wherever you are, at home or away. It’s reassuring to know this cruise line will do what’s necessary in an emergency.

August 17^th addendum

As we were chugging along toward New York this afternoon around 1:45, the familiar rumble of Queen Mary 2’s engines went silent. The captain came on to let us know an alarm had been raised and the matter was being investigated. In the meantime, we’re dead in the water.

Fortunately, the sea is very calm.

We went ahead to another piano recital. (This time Mr. Delarko played one of his own compositions. It’s a rare and beautiful thing to hear a composer perform his own work! It was like listening to Mozart or Beethoven or Liszt play! And yes, I bought the CD!)

But the QM2 was still floating like a stunned cod.

So we decided to head down to the secret spot we’ve found on the ship that has the best (read: not good, but better than the nothing we get in our stateroom) wifi. The elevator doors whirred open and a tall, capable-looking officer was in there. We joined him and when the doors closed again, I said, “I don’t suppose you can tell us what’s happened.”

He shook his head, but told us everything was under control and we’d be underway very soon. He got off the lift on deck 6 and we were continuing on down to 2.

“You know,” the DH said once the elevator doors closed again. “That would have been much more reassuring if he hadn’t been carrying a wad of duct tape the size of a basketball.”

Q & A

Q. If I send out my laundry, will Cunard shrink my clothes?
A. The crew is very accommodating. If you ask nicely, I’m sure they will.

August 14 ~ Somewhere in the North Atlantic

You hear the darnedest things on cruise ships. The little vignette at the top of this post came from a conversation with a couple we lunched with on one of our Norwegian excursions.

One of our current table mates told of her most unusual dinner companion while cruising. Those gathered around the table that first night introduced themselves and shared what they did for a living.  All except one. She grandly announced that no one would guess her vocation.

Turns out, she was a self-proclaimed medium. She had a disconcerting habit of looking over the others’ shoulders and announcing that there was someone there in the empty air, but they were not to worry. The spirit meant them well.

She also considered herself a healer and quickly noticed my new friend’s husband used a cane. The woman began running her hand over his hip and thigh without asking permission. The next night, he put his metal flask in his pants’ pocket. When she started her unwanted massage, she encountered not flesh, but hard metal.

“Oh! I say!” she exclaimed.

Evidently, she wasn’t psychic enough to recognize a whiskey flash when she felt one.

Now to our small doings. We continue to do only the things that interest us, singing in the choir and attending astronomy lectures, and spending lovely times together reading or lounging in our cabin.

But one very exciting development has arisen. I didn’t realize when we booked this cruise that the British National Ballet company would be joining us.  Yesterday, they had an open rehearsal in the Royal Court Theatre and we were able to watch the principals and the director mark through their routines, getting a sense of the space, arranging the lighting cues and adjusting to the slight rock of the Queen Mary 2. Then they’d actually perform the piece. Such grace, such strength, and in the case of the contemporary dances, such innovation. They are breathtaking. We’ll have a full performance on the evening of the 16^th.

I can’t wait.

In other news, my gastronomic adventures continue. We lunched at the Golden Lion Pub yesterday where I had something called Bubble and Squeak!

And last night, at the urging of our British tablemates, I ordered the grilled octopus for my appetizer. It wasn’t bad, not unlike calimari.

Tonight is yet another formal night.  I’d never have made it as a Regency lady who had to change her clothes three or four times a day. But I do love seeing the DH in his James Bond duds.

More soon…

Where in the World is the QM2?

She watched the gap between ship and shore grow to a huge gulf. Perhaps this was a little like dying, the departed no longer visible to the others, yet both still existed, only in different worlds. ~ Susan Wiggs

August 15, 2019—in a fog bank south of Greenland

As we near the end of our journey, I’m starting to have homeward thoughts. The gap between us and our loved ones on land is still quite large, but it’s shrinking every day.

You can barely make out the extended wing of the bridge.

We woke to the melodious low tones of the QM2’s deep fog horn. I’m sure the bridge has ways of tracking other vessels but from time to time, the ship sends out the long message that “we are here—stay back!”

There is no horizon. Sky and water melt into a grey miasma and stepping onto the balcony means we’re coated with mist.  So today is an indoor sort of day.

We breakfasted on the Lido deck and then queued (Read: lined up. See how British I’m becoming!) for tickets to the live planetarium show. We’ve been to several of the canned presentations, but they aren’t much more than inverted projections of something you might see on the science channel. 

Today our visiting astronomy professor (whose 3^rd lecture we’ll be attending later today) will guide us through the night sky. (Eat your heart out, David Whigham! Wish you and Kristy were here!) We’re really looking forward to it.

After the planetarium show, we’ll go to choir practice. Let me preface this next bit by saying music is important to us. We are active in a wonderful church choir at home and enjoy singing in community choir as well. When we did the world cruise in 2018 on the Pacific Princess, the choir practice every sea day was a source of fun and friendship as well as making music. Our director presented us with full packets of music on the first sea day and we sang concerts in the theater at the end of each segment.

For choir here on the QM2, we’ve been given singles sheets of lyrics only (except for Jerusalem, a nationalistic English hymn for which we do have actual music, but no separate vocal parts other than the melody.) Even though the tunes of the rest of our repertoire are vaguely familiar, no one is certain of the exact rhythm or pitches. It’s like singing mass karaoke. 

We are being directed by three people at the same time—the 2 budding screamers from the production shows and the least accomplished pianist on board (he has yet to play the Jerusalem accompaniment as written. We’ve heard him in the pub taking requests so I’m sure he plays mostly by ear, which is a talent to be sure, but not one that leads to precision.) But since there are three of them in charge, and all of them are trying to bring us in at different times, the effect is disastrous. They are trying to teach the altos, tenors and basses some harmony parts by rote repetition—things we could learn in 5 minutes if we only had music.

At one point, they asked if any of us would like to have actual sheet music. Almost every hand (about 50 people) shot up.

The next day they announced that they weren’t allowed to use so much paper and anyway the copy machine was broken.

We’d be willing to pay a fee for music, just as we paid to get the art supplies for our watercolor class. Cunard is giving their guests who participate in choir very short shrift.  I was ready to give up on it, but then we started singing Bring Him Home from Les Miserables.

I can’t walk away from that beautiful prayer.

Later today, we’ll attend the third astronomy lecture and after supper we’re going to the movie—Bohemian Rhapsody.

More soon…

Heard along the way...

Q. If I send out my laundry, will Cunard shrink my clothes?
A. The crew is very accommodating. If you ask nicely, I’m sure they will.

August 14 ~ Somewhere in the North Atlantic

You hear the darnedest things on cruise ships. The little vignette at the top of this post came from a conversation with a couple we lunched with on one of our Norwegian excursions.

One of our current table mates told of her most unusual dinner companion while cruising. Those gathered around the table that first night introduced themselves and shared what they did for a living.  All except one. She grandly announced that no one would guess her vocation.

Turns out, she was a self-proclaimed medium. She had a disconcerting habit of looking over the others’ shoulders and announcing that there was someone there in the empty air, but they were not to worry. The spirit meant them well.

She also considered herself a healer and quickly noticed my new friend’s husband used a cane. The woman began running her hand over his hip and thigh without asking permission. The next night, he put his metal flask in his pants’ pocket. When she started her unwanted massage, she encountered not flesh, but hard metal.

“Oh! I say!”she exclaimed.

Evidently, she wasn’t psychic enough to recognize a whiskey flash when she felt one.

Now to our small doings. We continue to do only the things that interest us, singing in the choir and attending astronomy lectures, and spend lovely times together reading or lounging in our cabin.

But one very exciting development has arisen. I didn’t realize when we booked this cruise that the British National Ballet company would be joining us.  Yesterday, they had an open rehearsal in the Royal Court Theatre and we were able to watch the principals and the director mark through their routines, getting a sense of the space, arranging the lighting cues and adjusting to the slight rock of the Queen Mary 2. Then they’d actually perform the piece. Such grace, such strength, and in the case of the contemporary dances, such innovation. They are breathtaking. We’ll have a full performance on the evening of the 16^th.

I can’t wait.

In other news, my gastronomic adventures continue. We lunched at the Golden Lion Pub yesterday where I had something called Bubble and Squeak! Still not quite sure what's in it, but I've learned it doesn't do to inquire too closely into the ingredients of English delicacies.

And last night, at the urging of our British tablemates, I ordered the grilled octopus for my appetizer. It wasn’t bad, not unlike calimari.

Tonight is yet another formal night. The bloom is off the rose for me. I guess I’m just not cut out to enjoy bling for the sake of it three or more times a week. 

I’d never have made it as a Regency lady who had to change her clothes three or four times a day. But I do love seeing the DH in his James Bond duds. For this cruise, he has the standard black tie, which he wrestles with manfully, a pre-tied purple bowtie, seen at right, a red bow tie, and a red vest with matching regular tie.

Bless his heart. He tried to coordinate with me.

More soon…

Discovery Day

“To eat well in England, you should have a breakfast three times a day.”
~ W. Somerset Maughan

August 12, 2019

I’m not sure Maughan realized he was obliquely condemning all other English food with that quote, but he’s right about one thing. An English breakfast is feast. We went down to the Britannia Dining Room this morning and were treated to the Cunard Get Up and Go plate. It consisted of scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, English grilled back bacon, a Cumberland sausage, Bury Black sausage (a relative of the haggis family), hash browns, and a stewed tomato.

While we ate, we got to know some new fellow passengers, most notably Pat and Bill from near Southampton. They were both widowed many years ago, but still loved to travel. Eight years ago, they met during Week 5 of a round the world cruise on the P&O line. You hear about shipboard romances, but this is the first time I’ve ever met a couple who really lived it. They’re a lovely couple and we look forward to singing with them when the passenger choir meets to practice for the first time this afternoon.

This morning we intend further exploration of this beautiful ship. We’ve yet to find the library. And there’s a fabled glass elevator that only goes from deck 12 to 7 somewhere near the front of the ship. We haven’t found the Commodore lounge or the Chart Room, and we’ve been told there’s a place we can view the bridge but cannot enter. So like Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring (the movie TOLKIEN is currently running in a continuous loop on our cabin TV), we are off on a quest!

More soon…

Later…(August 13^th)

Here are some of our discoveries!

Queen Mary 2's lovely library

 

The ship's "poop" deck, as it were. There are 23 dogs in the kennel for this segment, plus one service animal that stays with its person in their stateroom. QM2 boasts the only kennel at sea.

We next discovered the Commodore Club, a quiet place to have a soda and relax to some soft jazz.

We weren't allowed on the bridge, but we could look at the bridge crew and all the blinkin' llights through double paned glass. No photos allowed. Sorry.

After a bit of sleuthing, we found the secret glass elevator. Turns out it only goes from Deck 11 to 7.

Oh! Before I forget, I need to give the answer to "what is this stuff?" from a previous post. It's marmite. The jar says it's a yeast extract and it's a bit of an acquired taste, a sort of cousin to the Aussie's vegemite. It's very salty and savory and a little dab of it went well on my omelet yesterday. Not something I'll find in the stores at home, but that's okay. Part of the fun of travel is trying new things!

And now a nautical note! All three Cunard Queens were in Southampton and set sail in a row when we left England, first Victoria, then Elizabeth and lastly the flagship of the line. Having all three of the girls in port at the same time only happens about once a year.

More soon...

Socialism Norwegian Style

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
~ William Arthur Ward

August 10, 2019 ~ Sea Day

I promised to talk about Norway’s socialist democracy. As a disclaimer, let me begin by saying this is only my opinion. You're free to disagree. The nice thing about being an American is that we can say anything we like as long as we respect each other.

But because so many people in my own country are proposing we change to this system, I thought it might be appropriate to share my observations of the Scandinavian version of socialism. (Venezula’s collapse under the same system is never mentioned by those who hail socialism as the future, but then it wouldn’t be, would it?)

Our guide in Stavanger assured us that Norwegians are protected from cradle to grave. They are given many goodies—free universal healthcare (with a nominal fee for each doctor appointment), free public schooling (including university except for room, board and books), and generous maternity leave (full pay for 9 months and a guaranteed job to return to!). If a person loses their job, they receive full pay for 2 years while they find another. Salaries average 50K a year. Unemployment is about 4%.

“It works,” our guide told us. (Though evidently not for all because we were greeted by a homeless beggar in Bergen. I have to admit that surprised me.)

There are a couple of things to consider about the Norway that are much different than the US. For one, Norway has a relatively small population, only about 5 million people, or 1.8 per square mile of land. The cost of living is 60% HIGHER than any other European nation. I’m not sure what sort of property and income taxes they pay, but there is a 25% VAT on goods. With a Value Added Tax, the 25% is paid each time a product changes hands—producer, wholesaler, distributer, merchant and finally consumer. No wonder the COL is so high.

The government also receives almost unlimited buckets of money from oil. In 1969, oil was discovered in the North Sea. The wealth has been flowing in ever since. This bounty subsidizes the socialist system and keeps all the goodies afloat.

And here is a bit of a conundrum for the Norwegian people. As committed environmentalists, they eschew using petrol products themselves. In fact, even though they have plenty of oil, their gasoline sells for about 15.75 Kroner per liter ($1.00 = @ 6 Kroner), so electric cars are encouraged. They have so many waterfalls in the mountains, hydro-electric power is their “white gold.” (However, our guide admits that Norwegians suffer from “range anxiety” in the winter when running the heater severeIy restricts battery life in their cars.) Still, the country’s stated environmental goal is Zero emissions by 2030.   

However, while they reject oil, they have no problem selling it to others. In fact, their way of life depends upon it.

Make of that what you will. But I wonder what will happen when the oil finally dries up or their Green activists convince them to stop drilling.

What I glean from what I’ve learned is that while some of our politicians may point to Scandinavian style socialism as a viable option for the US, there are many differences that would make its adoption difficult. We are a much larger population. NYC alone is many times the population of Norway. We don’t have a bottomless source of OtherPeople’sMoney (Norway’s revenue from the sale of nationalized oil). Americans are tax averse. A 25% VAT would be a terrible gut punch to our economy.

It’s like Margaret Thatcher said, “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”

That hasn’t changed. Socialism tends to fall under its own weight. No matter who tries it.

August 11, 2019

Last night we said goodbye to our friends from Bristol. They were lovely tablemates this week.

John, Alan, Odette, & Joyce

Now for 50 points, can anyone guess what this is on my spoon? I tried it on my eggs this morning at breakfast.

More soon…

Stavanger

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
– Jawaharial Nehru

August 9, 2019 ~ Stavanger

Our last port in Norway…heavy sigh!

For such a large ship, the Queen Mary 2 can squeeze into some very tight places. Our berth in Stavanger was snugged right up to the city center. 

A collection of charming older homes sprouted all higglety-pigglety on the hillside next to us. Most are painted white, with only the number of stories of the house and the color of the roof to differentiate it from its neighbor. Flowers erupt from every window box. Everything is clean and neat, as if they were expecting guests.

Well, here we are!

Our excursion to cruise the Lysefjord and to see Pulpit Rock departed at 9:00 AM. We secured a seat next to a window and enjoyed watching Stavanger go by. Our guide pointed out the oil museum, which showcases the industry that bankrolls most of Norway’s prosperity.

Stavanger is built on several islands, all connected by bridges.

He also showed us several salmon farms. The fish are hatched in fresh water, high in the mountains and left there to grow to fingerling size. Then they are moved to the enclosures in Stavanger bay where they grow for 4-5 years.

Fishing is a big industry here and it’s so important to Norway, in fact, there’s even been an opera written about it—“Cod, the Opera.” One reviewer states it is “the best opera ever written…about cod.”

Talk about damning something with faint praise!

After a while, our tour stopped at a fjord-side restaurant to try some Norwegian waffles and coffee. The waffles reminded me of kringla, a special Christmas treat in the DH’s family, but instead of being crisp, these waffles were limp like pancakes. But slathered with homemade strawberry jam and sour cream they were very tasty.

Pulpit Rock rises over 1800 ft from the water's edge.

Then we sped on to the highlights of our tour—a very tall waterfall, and Pulpit Rock, a very distinctive rock formation that resembles a Brobdignagian pulpit. There are no guard rails at the top, but our guide assures us that no one has ever fallen off...accidentally.

According to our guide, some whiskey smugglers hid out in this cave to avoid paying taxes on their goods!

Our guide was very informative about all things Norway, specifically their socialist economic policies. That deserves a separate post, which I’ll pen tomorrow.

More soon…

Unlike most cruise ships that are flat across the aft portion, QM2 has a broad-beamed, round backside!

In early spring I'll bet this fall is much wider!

Sometimes when we're looking about, someone else is looking back!

Sognefjord & Flaam

“Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”
– Ray Bradbury

August 8, 2019 ~ Flaam

During the night, the QM2 negotiated Sognefjord, a snaking body of water that’s deeper than the Grand Canyon and twice as long. We sidled up to Flaam (pronounced “Flome” with a bit of a tonal lift) at 7 in the morning. Today we had another long excursion, starting with a train ride up Norway’s most scenic railway, but before that, we wandered into the charming village I suspect is seasonal to do a little shopping.

Picture-pretty Flaam. Neat, clean and well-tended

We passed a vendor selling sausage and stopped to try some samples. It wasn’t the standard fare. We tried moose, reindeer and, I’m a bit ashamed to say, even whale. Norway, along with Japan, is one of the few industrial countries that still harvests whales. The vendor was quick to tell us the sausage is made of Minsk whales, a small non-endangered species. We decided to bring home the moose instead.

Gotta have some rain to get a rainbow!

The Flaam railway is run on electricity, as almost everything in Norway is. We whirred out of the village and began our trek up the mountain. About a mile in, we passed the old village of Flaam, where a number of houses are still inhabited. It makes me think that at one time, the water in the fjord came up higher, closer to the old town.

A river cavorted alongside and each bend gave us new spectacular vistas of rock and cascades of water. We passed through several tunnels, many of which had been dug out by hand! The train stopped near the head of the largest waterfall to allow us to step out onto the platform to get pictures. 

In the distance, a woman in a red dress was dancing near the deep pool at the first of many falls. After a few minutes, she disappeared as if she’d leaped into the water, though I'm sure there must have been a ledge just out of our sight.

Our guide told us this was Udri (probably not spelled correctly) a mountain spirit who sang so beautifully she beguiled men away from their wives, stealing them away never to be seen again. 

(Good thing the DH and I are connected by Herkimer’s 7 foot cannula! Besides, I'm a classically trained soprano. I can sing that Udri into the ground!)

Lutheran is the most popular religion in Norway. 

When the Flaam train reached the summit, we switched to a different train that would take us to the town of Voss. Voss is a lovely community of about 14,000 souls. It sits on the shores of an alpine lake, ringed by mountain peaks. During our lunch of seafood, spicy chicken wings and chocolate mousse for dessert, we visited with a family from England on holiday. Meeting new people is part of the fun of travel. Then we boarded a motor coach for the ride back to Flaam.  

Once again, our excursion was the last to return to the ship and we set sail shortly after boarding. We were sad to leave Sognefjord because the DH's family originally came from this area. Because we didn’t get a chance to see the fjord on the way in, it being dark then and all, we decided not to go down to dinner. Instead we called out for room service and sat on our balcony while we munched.

Perhaps it was all the talk of trolls, both yesterday and today, but we both seemed to see fantastic figures and faces in the rock faces we glided by. It was great fun—like we were a couple of kids lying in the grass, watching clouds morph into dragons overhead.

More soon…

Alesund, Norway

Tusen Takk ~ Norwegian for Thank You

August 7, 2019 ~ Alesund

This morning in Alesund marks the furthest north we’ll be traveling this trip. We’re slightly more northerly than Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, making this our highest latitude ever. During the summer, Alesund has over 19 hours of daylight. 

By winter, well, you do the math, but it’s pretty dark most of the time.

The earliest mention of the area is in connection with Rollo the Walker—a Viking so formidable it was said they could find no horse large enough for him to ride. This fellow eventually went on to pillage his way into becoming the Duke of Normandy. He was the ancestor of William the Bastard, also known as William the Conqueror.

The picture at the right gives you an idea of how dicey the weather was. Sometimes, the clouds would part and set the water in the fjord sparkling. At other times, the white puffs would settle on the shoulders of the peaks like a wet stole. Fortunately, we dodged most of the raindrops. We managed to stop during respites. It seemed like each time we reboarded the coach, the heavens would open and drench everything. 

Norway is a very wet country.

Wood is the Norwegians’ most favored building material. As a result, many towns have suffered cataclysmic fires. In 1904, most of Alesund was burned to the ground and 10,000 were left homeless. In just 4 years, the lost buildings were replaced with classically beautiful Art Nouveau buildings, leaving Alesund one of the most modern little towns in Europe for its time.

We drove through many kilometers of tunnels today!

But today we weren’t on the trail of history. We were after a Norwegian mystery—the legend of trolls!

Our excursion was an all day affair, so we rose early to grab a quick breakfast and then make our way to the coach for our trip to the Land of the Trolls!

Bales of hay are wrapped in plastic to protect them from the frequent rains.

I always like to get out of cities and into the countryside to see how people live. Norway is still very rural, except that it has roughly the same percentage of arable land as Yemen. Farmland accounts for only 2%, dense evergreen forest for 40%, and the rest of the country is roughly vertical rock. But that doesn’t stop the farmers from trying. We passed countless neat white farmsteads with red barns. (The red barns are another throwback to the Viking era when the animal sheds were painted with the blood of slaughtered beasts. Modern farmers use red paint, thank goodness!)

Trolls are said to be small, painfully ugly creatures who act maliciously toward humans who are cruel to them. They may have two or more heads and the females have tails!  

Surprisingly, we didn’t spot any trolls, but we saw many dramatic rock formations, breathtaking waterfalls, and a steep switchback road with 12 hairpin turns. All take their place names from trolls. Unfortunately, without being able to upload pictures (Cunard’s wifi continues to rival my old AOL dial-up for reliability and speed) I can’t really share the amazing sights we saw until we get home. But I will say that each mountain peak seemed to have another higher one poking its head through the clouds behind it, each valley opening into yet more grandeur. It’s the sort of country you never seem to come to the end of.

We lunched at a buffet which featured salmon, chicken wings, steamed vegetables & potatoes, and an unusual concoction of seafood, peas & carrots, and slices of boiled egg suspended in clear gelatin. It was quite good actually. I may see if I can find a recipe for something similar when I get home.

I would hate to hazard a guess at how many miles we rode today, but it was a lot. Our excursion was the last one back and the QM2 crew pulled the gangplank in after us.

More soon…

The unique color of the water comes from glacial run-off. 

Crossing the most narrow bridge in Norway!

Usually, Cunard schedules formal nights on sea days, but because we have so many ports of call this week, we have the Black & White Ball on a port day.

My mom loaned me the fabulous "statement necklace" I'm wearing.