View of Zuiderdam from Half Moon Cay

For our part, we had a delightful time. I even rented a floating map ($10 for the day), which was from Frontgate and something I might invest in for when the pool is finished at home. We did have some rain showers pass through intermittently, but it wasn’t really an issue for us as they weren’t accompanied by lightning or thunder. Plus, it was both novel and fun to swim in the rain.

The ladies ate the included lunch at the Island BBQ (decent enough). I opted for the path less frequently taken to visit the “Lobster Shack” for Caribbean lobster roll ($13).

Lobster Shack vs. Island Barbeque

We’d planned on having dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, but the swells started to kick up as we sailed south. This caught us off guard, making Emerson motion sick before we could get Dramamine into her. So, we rebooked our fancy dinner for the following night and opted for the main dining room again in case we needed to leave early (which we did).

This was built by one of Denmark’s most popular and (initially anyway) successful kings, Christian IV:

(Here’s a fun Christian IV fact: he was kind of a perv, having kept a collection of “erotica”–that is to say, porn–and installed a mirror on the floor in one room to enable him to look up the skirts of ladies. See… history isn’t all dates of births, deaths, and battles.) 

The architecture of the castle is pleasing, though not wildly spectacular by European castle standards. It is, however, very finely furnished with original and unique pieces.  By far, the 3rd floor throne room was the grandest:

This small picture struck us as especially unusual,  having seen nothing like it (from this time period) before. It’s like early op art–a single painting of two daughters with one visible from the left side and the other visible from the right:

We also visited the royal treasury, home to Denmark’s Crown Jewels. 

In the afternoon, we visited a few churches and did a bit of shopping before heading to the airport. 

Unfortunately, our short flight to London was delayed by nearly an hour and a half, plus we faced an hour long wait at immigration in the U.K. (thanks to austerity measures by the Tories!) and a significant traffic jam due to roadwork shutting down the M4 at night. Good grief. So, rather then arriving at the hotel by 8:30ish as I’d expected, it was well past 11:00 when we rolled into the Marriott in Kensington. 

We spent a happy morning and lunch in this seaside village. It’s really a very charming place. We strolled about the city, took in the canals and beachfront, and also tried to enjoy as much as Germany has to offer–all in half a day: fresh strawberries, a Berliner (donut), a pretzel stick, fried seafood & chips (mit sauce), dark German beer, and an “eis” treat. 

Wunderbar! Wunderbar! Wunderbar!

Canal view:

The girls at the lighthouse:

Beach:

Charming cottages and shops:

Delightful town:

Cool seafood boats along the canal:

Serving a great lunch:

Happy Libby:

Local dunkel beer (happy Paul):

Of course, NCL couldn’t get the logistics right (again) — making us stand in line to board for well over an hour (surprise — more irate guests!).

Speaking of which, I didn’t want to waste another day at sea, and I’ve just grown tired of these morons. Sooo… I made a game time decision to abandon the cruise at our last port of Stockholm (actually a port an hour outside of Stockholm–they changed it shortly before we left for the trip!). 

So, I booked us two nights of hotel rooms and train tickets back to Copenhagen. That’ll give us a full extra day (really day and a half) in Stockholm. Why? I value my time more than I value a few dollars. So this 9-night round trip cruise is becoming a 7-night one way journey. And, I’m once again at peace, even if we’re missing Estonia. 

Happily back aboard the Norwegian Getaway:

Afternoon update:

We’re still sailing around in circles with no hope to dock anytime soon. I have taken to watching French movies with subtitles. All hope is lost. 

Evening update:

During dinner, the captain informed us that we wouldn’t be docking at all today. Instead, our official arrival has been pushed until tomorrow for a shortened visit (so folks wanting to go to Berlin still cannot). That means we’ll also now miss our visit to Tallin, Estonia — the only new country on this trip for Emerson, Libby, and me. 

Why didn’t we just skip Germany altogether? Well, we couldn’t because it’s an alternative port of embarkation / disembarkation for NCL, as well as where we’re picking up our food for the rest of the cruise. So, basically, the vast majority of paying passengers get screwed because of weather and (more specifically) to accommodate NCL’s logistical needs. 

What is NCL going to do about it? Nada, it seems. 

On top of that, we returned from dinner to learn our second day’s execursions in St. Petersburg have been cancelled. Now pissed off to the point of not seeing straight, I went down to the (closed) shore execursion desk where I proceeded to bitch loudly at staff until they grudgingly fetched me the ShoreEx manager. He thankfully was helpful and rebooked everything in Russia, but really they ought to have had more than banker’s hours given the volume of people with issues on this ship at this point. 

So, in summary, Admiral Paul sends the captain (and really all of NCL) greetings and suggestions on how to dock this ship in his (their) derrière. 

Note: I’m posting this from Germany on Wednesday morning. Due to being back at sea early today, all day tomorrow, and then in Russia for two days — expect no further updates from me until Sunday. 

Got photos working in Germany on 4/14.

We more or less retraced our route back to the hotel, stopping in a few shops along the way. The stretch of the Stroget close to Nyhavn is populated with the shops of international, high-end, luxury brands. Toward the City Hall, the retailers seem to be a bit more local, as well as targeting the tourist trade. This included a pretty awesome Lego store, which pleased Emerson greatly. 

We checked out of the hotel a little after 11am and took a taxi to the ship, the Norwegian Getaway. 

We spent the remainder of the day doing what one does on the first day of cruise: check-in, having lunch, exploring the ship, making plans (dining reservations and shore excursions), muster drill, etc. 

We especially enjoyed a show of all female abstract expressionist painters, many of whom struggled to be fully accepted or appreciated as artists equal to their male counterparts in the Ab Ex movement. Much of their work was simply sensational and a joy to view collectively. 

Here are a few favorites from the show…

Lee Krasner:

Sonia Gechtoff:

Mary Abbott:

In the afternoon, we relaxed a bit and spent a good deal of time book shopping, especially at Denver’s fabulous Tattered Cover Book Store. For dinner, we headed to Lucky Pie for some top quality, craft pizza and beer. 

I should probably pause to reflect on accomplishing the goal. Unlike last summer when we hit country #100, we did enjoy a greater sense of achieving something today. We’ve earned the “well traveled” badge in my book. But, it’s also kind of like reaching the level of black belt in martial arts: there is much more to learn and master. 

Our next challenge is figuring out what comes next. Where to go, what to do, how to get there? Plus (potentially) new goal(s), new bucket list, or something else? Good problem to have. 

Anyway, back to the immediate trip…

Once in New Mexico, we visited Clayton Lake State Park. 

The “lake” is actually a man-made recreational reservoir that’s surrounded by camping facilities. Out in the middle of nowhere grasslands, it feels like quite an oasis and seems like a good camping and fishing spot. During our picnic, we viewed a lot of wildlife including rabbits and roadrunners (we just needed a coyote and a pig to stage a full-on cartoon). We also saw an abundance of dragonflies and butterflies. 

However, none of that is why we drove an hour out of our way to visit this park. 

This is why we came here:

Dinosaur footprints! 

There’s an entire field of them at Clayton Lake:

After our short hike to the dinosaur tracks, we drove to Santa Fe, where we’re staying downtown in the heart of it all at the Drury Inn and Suites (which I picked for its location and good reviews).

We hit the first rain of our trip here in Santa Fe last night, which limited our explorations a bit. But, we did stroll down to the plaza and have an awesome meal of New Mexican cuisine at La Plazuela. 

Here’s an appetizer of creamy goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms: 

Today’s box score: +2 states (Oklahoma & New Mexico)

Emerson seemed to especially like the aquarium:

Here’s a striking example of a sea nettle:

From the zoo, we drove a little over six hours to Dodge City, KS following a route southwest that was mostly off interstates through farmland and the occasional small town. While this didn’t provide the sort of majestic and sublime vistas that we enjoyed in the Rockies, we’ve enjoyed seeing the heartland of the prairie. 

The people who live I these rural communities live such a different life than we’re accustomed to leading. Even in modern America, this part of the country feels pretty isolated and in some important ways declining due to “rural flight” (as big agribusiness pushes out smaller farmers). Yet, there are interesting little museums, historical markers, and curiosities to be found nearly everywhere, if you bother to observe. 

For example, we passed through tiny Garfield, KS (pop. 190 or so) today. It’s named for the 20th President of the United States, James A. Garfield. Passing through the town–assuming you don’t blink–you’ll see a minuscule wayside memorial chapel that contains a church bell donated by the former President to the town. Garfield donated the bell for their first church (which no longer stands) in order to thank the town for making itself after him. 

These are the kinds of stories you can find all over America and the world. You just have to get out and look!

Today’s box score: +1 state (Kansas)

We departed fairly early for Badlands NP. Of all of the NPs we’ve visited on this trip thus far, this one is by far the most deceptive.  Approaching it from the north, you hardly even realize it’s there as you just drive through the grasslands of the upper prairie.  Then you reach “The Wall” where the prairie just kind of gives way to this vastly different landscape caused by erosion:

While it’s interesting to view from above, you get a much better sense once you’re down driving within it:

But, to really understand what gives the Badlands its name, you need to go out and walk within it. Here’s a view back to the “Door” notch (center in the distance) that we walked through to get to this spot along an easy, well-marked trail:

Without the markers, it would be far more challenging to navigate across this terrain. While some describe it as bizarre and “like the moon,” it didn’t feel as otherworldly as say Haleakala on Maui to me. But, it’s certainly an unusual and interesting feature and worth the visit. 

From the Badlands, we drove across South Dakota. At Libby’s urging, we stopped in Mitchell to see its corn palace:

From there we drove to Souix Falls, SD, then south to Souix City, IA, and finally stopped in Omaha, NE for the night. By doing tomorrow’s drive today, we’re now a day ahead of schedule and will have more time in the morning to explore Omaha! Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll start heading southwest toward Dodge City and ultimately Santa Fe. 

Today’s box score: +2 states (Iowa and Nebraska)  

From there, we drove north to the Lakes Region on New Hampshire, which I understand is a popular destination for vacationers / weekend homes. We started our exploration in Laconia, a surprisingly big town given its seeming remoteness. We then moved on to the village of Weirs Beach, which felt the most obviously touristy of areas in the Lakes Region.

Weirs Beach, NH

Wolfeboro, NH

After the museum, we headed to Novare Res Bier Cafe for a drink and snack before exploring the quaint shops in Old Port. For dinner, we thought about going go Duck Fat, but the wait was too long and we didn’t like the scene (share tables) generally. Instead we went to Zapoteca, which is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants anywhere. It also makes awesome cocktails, including fruit and habanero-infused margaritas. Ole!

Wasting away again in Portland…

Awesome salsa trio…