Random thoughts from the sea
Days 21-23, 2025 European Odyssey Saturday-Monday, July 19-21, 2025; Grundarfjørdur and Reykjavik, Iceland. The trope that Eskimos have many words for snow is debated among linguists, but it does illustrate the belief that those whose life is filled with snow probably understand its nuances better than people who’ve never seen
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Days 11-13, 2025 European Odyssey Wednesday-Friday, July 9-11, 2025; Húsavík, Akureyri and Ísafjörður, Iceland. When Norse explorers established the first Icelandic settlement in what is now Húsavík in around 860, I’m sure they never would have dreamed that more than a millennium later, the town would be known for its
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Days 6-8, 2025 European Odyssey Friday-Sunday, July 4-6, 2025; Honningsvag, Hammerfest and Alta, Norway. Years ago some guys in a bar in Breckenridge, Colo., asked me where my condo was, and I said, “at the end of the circle.” They proceeded to argue that a circle has no end. I
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Days 4-5, 2025 European Odyssey Wednesday and Thursday, July 2-3, 2025; Trondheim, Norway, and Norwegian Sea. I was late to the game in signing up for a walking tour of Trondheim, Norway. A fellow cruiser on our Cruise Critic roll call (social media threads for each and every cruise) put
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Day 3, 2025 European Odyssey Tuesday, July 1, 2025; Åndalsnes, Norway I’m gearing myself up for a marathon of cruise ports for the next few months. I’m used to long cruises with lots of sea days as we sail across oceans. This summer and fall will consist mainly of two-week
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Day -1, 2025 European Odyssey Saturday, June 28, 2025; Amsterdam, Netherlands I pondered what to call this journey. Previous cruises came with a name — Grand World Voyage, Ultimate Mediterranean, Majestic Japan, Voyage of the Vikings. This time I’m not embarking on a single cruise, but on 10 back-to-back cruises
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Days 114-115, 2025 Grand World Voyage Monday and Tuesday, April 28-29, 2025; Lisbon, Portugal, and Tangier, Morocco. We were so excited to meet up in Barcelona with the Volendam, on its own grand pole-to-pole voyage, that we didn’t notice that both ships would meet up again just a few days
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Day 112, 2025 Grand World Voyage Saturday, April 26, 2025; Alicante, Spain. I stood – simply entranced — for half an hour, watching couples come together for a set of fast-paced swing to music from a portable sound box. Some obviously were couples, but others perhaps strangers drawn together by
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Day 111, 2025 Grand World Voyage Friday, April 25, 2025; Barcelona, Spain. After all the partying and visiting yesterday between the passengers and crews of the Zuiderdam and Volendam, today we got around to actually seeing Barcelona. My sisters Eloise and Elaine, with friends Jett, Kelly and Jolanda from the
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Day 110, 2025 Grand World Voyage Thursday, April 24, 2025; Barcelona, Spain. Holland America exceeded my expectations with an amazing party and drone show tonight in Barcelona. I admit that early on I had my doubts about the Grand Meetup 2025, when Holland America’s Zuiderdam and Volendam – each on
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