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We Came for the Cider and Chowder

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Day 21, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Monday, Aug. 19, Dublin, Ireland On a trip to Ireland a few years ago, my sister Elaine and her young adult son Zan enjoyed seafood chowder and a pint of Irish cider nearly every day for lunch or dinner. So that’s what the

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A Castle, Distillery and Every Shade of Green

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Day 20, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Sunday, Aug. 18, Cobh, Ireland Our tour guide solved one mystery for me near the end of our day. The port city Cobh is pronounced like “cove,” and that’s what it means in the Irish language. The Irish “bh” combination sounds like our

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Good Friends Make the Best Port Calls

Posted on August 17, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Day 18, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Friday, Aug. 16, Rotterdam, Netherlands Today we had the treat of spending our time ashore with good family friends who live about an hour or so out of Rotterdam. About the time I went to college, our mother learned quilling, a craft that

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Is Three Company or a Crowd?

Posted on August 16, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Day 17, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Thursday, Aug. 15, At Sea, North Sea At the midpoint of our 35-day Voyage of the Vikings, my two sisters and I have settled comfortably into our inside cabin (category J, forward on deck one). We briefly considered booking an ocean-view cabin but

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I’ll Definitely Come Back to Norway

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Day 16, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Wednesday, Aug. 14, Bergen, Norway At noon in Bergen the fiskedisken, or open-air fish market, is packed with tourists sampling the fresh fare and escaping a rain shower under the awnings. The displays are filled with salmon, crab and some unfamiliar-to-me fish local

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Pleasant Days at Sea After the Storm

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Day 15, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Tuesday, Aug. 13, At Sea, Norwegian Sea The predicted storm passed during the night after we left Akureyri, Iceland. By mid morning on Monday, the skies were lighter, and the ship motion returned to normal. Capt. Vaartjes reported that the winds between midnight

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A Rainy Day in Akureyri

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Day 13, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Sunday, Aug. 11, Akureyri, Iceland As we continued along the north side of Iceland, the temperatures fell into the 30s and the wind whipped the icy rain at times. Not an ideal summer day in Akureyri, but it is what it is. So

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Not Quite Icy in Iceland, But Close

Posted on August 10, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Day 10, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Saturday, Aug. 10, Isafjördur, Iceland The weather turned colder overnight as we approached the Westfjord region of Iceland, and when I left the cabin this morning I saw a column of people walking through dressed as if for an arctic expedition. The captain

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Cruising through Prince Christian Sund

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Day 10, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Thursday, Aug. 8, Cruising Prince Christian Sund, Greenland Wow! We were blessed with a beautiful day of cruising today through the Prince Christian Sund (or sound) in southern Greenland. The waterway and fjord system separates the main island of Greenland from the small

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Up Close and Personal with an Iceberg

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Jo Johnston

Up Close and Personal with an Iceberg Day 9, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Wednesday, Aug. 7, Nanortalik, Greenland It’s true. Not only can icebergs have a blue or gray hue, but they also can sport a streak of pure blue ice. I saw it myself when our small tour

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