In the Wake of the Vikings Cruise

The isolated Faroe Islands are 18 rocky islands between Iceland and Norway. The entire population is 49,200 That is about 1/4 of Des Moines' population. It has the oddest landscapes I've ever seen. Two joys: the sun is shining, and I can walk without falling down! Seriously, this is an amazing place. The landscapes are stunning with wide vistas. The only wild life are birds. Wandering about the capital of Torshavn brought various delights. One was a gated public garden full of beautiful flowers and trees.Another was noticing many houses painted black.  I wonder what folks would say if we painted our house black. Can you even buy black house paint in Iowa? Denny is standing by the first Viking Parliament.

Use this link in your browser if the video doesn't play.    https://youtu.be/eQk-WojeqhU The bow of` the ship hit the wave with a boom that rang through the vessel's theater. On the stage, the lecturer continued his history of the Iceland to Russia WW2 convoys without a pause. Boom! A few of the passengers in the audience looked wide eyed at each other. Boom!  I struggled to stay awake and lost the battle. I roused to groggy wakefulness, when the captain made an intercom announcement to assure guests the booming noise was nothing to be alarmed about. I awoke next to Denny tapping my knee. The lecture was over.  Rats, I really wanted to hear this lecture.  It was a significant piece of history I'd never heard of before. Oh, well, I needed urgently to get back to our cabin to finish my morning nap. I hadn't felt this drowsy since coming out of a surgery. I woke up for lunch well rested an alert. Should I take another Dramamine? Was I feeling seasick? Nop...

Bergen, Norway receives twice the rain of Seattle, Washington. If it weren't so far north it might be a rain forest. So we were not surprised to meet our ship the Viking Sun in a down pour. Before booking a tour, I check the average weather of each port during a particular voyage's time of the year.  In every port on this cruise it was 70% chance of rain and average high of 50 degrees Fahrenheit . So we knew exactly what to expect and prepared for it. All the passengers on the ship were in high spirits throughout the entire trip. Braving Noah's deluge was part of the adventure. There is a saying in the North, "There is no such thing as bad weather; only bad clothing." Every time the bus stopped on our tour of the city to take in a vista or a historic district, everyone got eagerly off the bus. I loved their cheerful attitudes and 'let's go for it' actions. We were suppose to set sail Sunday evening for the Shetland Islands. After our tour o...

Sailing across an open ocean is an experience I have avoided for 18 years. Don't get me wrong my husband, Denny, and I love to cruise. However, I avoid roller coasters for the same reason. You see, I'm certain I'll be seasick.   After all there was that time we suffered a bit of rough water on a Mediterranean crossing from the toe of Italy to Majorca , Spain.  The Norwegian Cruise Line's ship the Epic is a large, stable ship. Yet my queasiness spoiled dinner, and I disliked grabbing railings, chair backs, and walls as I careened across the deck like a drunken sailor.  Then there were all those carnival rides when I was a teenager. I'd exit the Scrambler or The Wild Mouse with the skin color of Kermit the Frog. "That was awesome"  I'd tell my friends. No one wants to look like a loser to their friends, right? Anyway I was sitting on the couch one day this summer, doing my morning Duolingo Spanish lesson, Denny stopped surfing the Internet to sa...