Viking Cruise – Barbara Schnell, author

June 19, 2024June 19, 2024

Dubrovnik and Split Croatia

The next stop was Dubrovnik, Croatia. Dubrovnik is an ancient walled city surrounded by mountains and the sea. Very picturesque. Our guide explained the history of the place and the fact that very few people live in the old part of the city. For one thing, it’s inundated with tourists. For another, I don’t think they allow the residents to modify their apartments so electrical and plumbing must be a problem. The guide said she lives outside the walls, and it takes her 20 minutes to get to work at her summer job of being a guide. I think she said she taught French at the university during the winter months. Sounds a lot like the US. She talked about the 1991 war but didn’t explain what it was about. She just said that it was started by the Montenegrins who come over to apologize every now and then. She said she was too young to really remember much about it but there are still lots of hard feelings. We toured the Franciscan monastery and apothecary, the world’s oldest working pharmacy. Then she cut us loose for private time. We wandered the streets which are geared for tourists. Game of Thrones was filmed in Dubrovnik and there are shops dedicated to the series. One of the shops even had a copy of the Iron Throne. I thought about having my picture taken with it but it looked really uncomfortable. We kept seeing signs (in English!) telling about the 1991 war. The signs mostly were reminiscences of the day the war started. The bombing started at 5 a.m. without warning and caused a lot of damage. Maps showed what had been destroyed but never said what started the war. So we googled it. When Tito died some of the countries who’d been forced into one country called Yugoslavia wanted independence. The centralists didn’t want to let them go. So what is now Montenegro bombed what is now Croatia. There aren’t many signs of the war left. It’s a beautiful country. And they love Hollywood.

We went back to the ship and Gordon joined me by the pool but we didn’t stay long. We played Trivia and got our butts kicked. An English bunch next to us listened to us argue and took our answers. They also ‘corrected’ our paper and said some of our right answers were wrong. Stupid way to win a stupid game but I was glad the colonists revolted in 1776. And I know why, too. Bloody buggers.

Dinner was a seafood buffet on the forward deck, and we met Billy and Dawn there. I loved the food, but Gordon went to the world café and got food there. He’s’ not a lobster, shrimp, or crab lover. He asked for milk again and, again, the staff thought he was nuts. But they brought him a glass of milk—over ice. It was a lovely night outside.

Next day we toured the town of Split, one of the oldest cities in Croatia. We toured the ancient Roman palace of Emperor Diocletian. The subterranean chambers were originally used for storage, I think (they’re very cool) but most recently they were used as the dragons’ den in Game of Thrones. We enjoyed the ruins of the palace and were let loose for private time. Gordon and I went to the area the guide called the upscale shopping district. It’s where the locals shop. There was some nice stuff but nothing I couldn’t live without. My problem was I kept setting off the alarm. I set it off going into the store. I obviously hadn’t stolen anything, so the security guy waved me through. Unfortunately, when I came out, I set off the alarm again. People came running but the guard just said, “Oh, it’s you. It’s okay.” And waved me on. We stopped at the town square for a coffee and a rest. I liked watching life as the locals live it. Very civilized. No muggings, no shootings, no riots. I could get used to it.

After a light dinner, Gordon and I went to the last show onboard. They did a Beatles medley. I enjoyed the light show and the musicians, but the singers? Meh. The girls weren’t bad. Not much stage presence but not bad but the two boys? Very pitchy. I expected better. I compared them to the entertainment on our American Queen Mississippi cruise. Extraordinary talent. Americans may not have ancient history, but we can put on a show. We went to bed right after the show. We had a tour of Venice the next day.

Well in the courtyard of the Franciscan monastery in Dubrovnik

This is us being tired tourists in the courtyard of Split

June 12, 2024

Katakolon, Corfu, and Kotor

Our next excursion was to Katakolon, the site of the original Olympic games. Apparently, the site was buried under centuries of silt and debris from floods. They’re still digging it out. We saw the original training and barracks areas. There are altars to the various gods and the markers for the 100 meter dash. Some of the tourists ran the dash and those of us who climbed the hillside cheered them on. We were also shown the site where the contemporary Olympic flame is lit. I thought they’d start the flame at one of the altars, but they direct a lens on some kindling in a spot on the gravel road. I didn’t see anything special about the area but that’s where they do it. They even have a second flame just in case the original flame goes out as it travels around the world. We were lectured about the foliage in the area then we were turned loose for our free time. Gordon and Billy headed for the museum, but Dawn and I walked to Katakolon to shop. Our guide explained that the shops didn’t open until the cruise ships anchored. Tourists are the lifeblood of the town so everybody speaks English. I found a leather purse I wanted but couldn’t find my wallet. I freaked out, of course, but Dawn calmed me down. She even paid for the purse. I paid her back in American dollars, but I worried about my wallet. When we got back to the ship I hurried to the safe where I found the wallet, safe and sound. What bothered me is: I didn’t remember putting it there. It was the smart thing to do but I seem to be losing my marbles. Not a comforting thought. I prefer to think that I was still jet-lagged. Yeah, that’s it: jet lag.

Gordon took a nap but I decided to take advantage of the pool on board. It was two strokes across for Gordon which explained his lack of interest in it but I was happy to paddle around or float. I wasn’t even embarrassed about being seen in a bathing suit. I may not be able to keep up with 25-year-old starlets but in the land of the over-the-hill gang I’m still a hot little trick. At least my skin doesn’t hang in folds. Gittin’ old ain’t pretty.

We met Dawn and Billy for dinner at the Chef’s Table on board that night. It was a seafood meal with paired wines for each course. I enjoyed it tremendously, but Gordon didn’t care for the sashimi course. He doesn’t eat bait. I do and I ate his too. Can’t waste a thing. Dinner ran long so we watched the evening’s entertainer from the TV in our suite. I think they had a piano player that night. He was good but I was tired. I slept through it.

We went to Corfu the following day. Prince Phillip was born there, and it seems like a nice place, but it was so crowded with my fellow tourists I didn’t really enjoy it. I remarked to Gordon on how clear the water was, and I appreciated seeing where the Durrells of Corfu was filmed but I got tired of fighting crowds. We toured some churches and shopped in the picturesque old town, but we decided to walk back to the ship instead of waiting for the shuttle. The guide said it was only a 15-minute walk. Maybe if I was a greyhound. It took us half an hour and we don’t walk slow. We had to go through customs, of course, before we were allowed on the pier. We took the afternoon off then met Billy and Dawn for dinner at The Restaurant on board. Excellent meal as usual but it took 2 ½ hours. We were dining European style. That meant we missed the entertainment. We watched from our room. It was a young woman comic/singer. She had a wonderful voice, but I didn’t think much of her comedy. Didn’t feel like I missed much.

We left Greece for Montenegro the next day. Montenegro gets its name (Black Mountain) from the firs growing on the surrounding hillside. There’s a 16-mile channel between the Adriatic and the town of Kotor which was known as a ship building center in the Middle Ages. Kotor looks like it’s surrounded by mountains because of the turning of the channel. The guide told us it’s the longest fjord south of Scandinavia. I liked Kotor better than Corfu. It’s a beautiful walled city. And it’s not as crowded. The city is doing well. I wondered if life under the Russians was difficult, but the guide said Tito protected them. She sounded wistful about the Tito days. We went back to the ship because we had a concert later that afternoon at St Nicholas’ church farther down the coast. We took a boat to the site and were met by our guide who referred to us as ‘good and beautiful people’ in a Boris and Natasha accent. He told lots of jokes, some funny, but was basically a kick. We toured the church and were treated to champagne before the concert began. The two artists were guitar players who specialized in local music. They were excellent and got a richly deserved standing O. Then we boated home. We weren’t very hungry, so we went to the 24-hour World Café on board. It was another early night in our delightful suite. I could learn to love traveling like this.

Barracks ruins at Olympia

Me in full-tourist regalia in Corfu. The water was so clear!

I think this was a church at Kotor. they all started to look alike after a while. That’s what happens on whirl-wind tours.

May 27, 2024

Athens, Greece

On May 9th, we Ubered to LAX at noon to catch a 2:30 flight. The cats were a little distraught, but we figured they had each other. Unfortunately, they don’t like each other. That’s life. Anyway, we left plenty of time for any stafus of which there were none for once and headed to the VIP lounge. That’s one of the perks of flying Business Class, you get better chairs to nap in and free snacks. I didn’t realize there were so many VIPs. We had a hard time finding someplace to sit. But we managed and were in time to board our plane without a lot of puffing and begging people to excuse us. We each got our own cubicle complete with pillow, blanket, and water bottle. I was a little put off when the remote for the movie screen was attached by a cord (how old is this plane?) but I finally got things working after the flight attendant re-booted the system. I enjoyed my glass of sparkling wine and settled down for the twelve-hour flight to London. I stretched out and slept most of the way. It’s so nice not be exhausted by the flight. We landed at Heathrow and were met by a Viking rep–which is a good thing. Heathrow has got to be one of the screwiest airports in the world. I tried to find arrival/departure signs as we followed the rep but I couldn’t see any. We went up and down, around and through, and finally got on a shuttle to another terminal which was about 20 minutes away. I’d never have found my way to the new terminal on my own. We got on a plane and found ourselves on a Southwest type plane. We’d paid for Business and were flying economy for the three hours to Athens. I wasn’t happy. This was the second time we’d gotten on some screwy flight. But there wasn’t much I could do. At least Gordon and I had the row to ourselves. I slept for the three hours to Athens.

We went through customs and got our luggage at the Athens airport then found the Viking rep. We all had to wait because the airlines had lost the luggage of two Viking passengers. We waited for two hours. Thank God, I’d slept most of the way or I’d have gone ballistic. The couple finally got through the process of reporting their lost luggage and we got in the shuttle for the Marriott hotel. We didn’t get in until 8 in the evening, so we had dinner at the hotel (marginal) and went to bed. I don’t know why I find sitting on my butt so tiring, but I do. I wanted to be rested up for touring the next day.

We had the breakfast buffet at the hotel the next day and caught a shuttle to our tour. We stopped at the stadium built for the 1896 Olympics for pictures then drove to a government building to watch the guards do their little dance. The guide told us the soldiers were all over six feet tall and chosen for their looks. They had to parade for an hour which would have destroyed my quads. Plie, releve, up and down. The poms poms on their shoes bobbed to the choreography.

We were driven past the Hotel Bretagne, considered the nicest hotel in Athens and was commandeered by the Nazis for their headquarters in WWII. We saw the ruins of Hadrian’s’ Temple (or something). We saw lots of statues dedicated to Lord Byron. It’s an interesting city. Then we spent an hour and a half at the Acropolis Museum. We got lots of information about what we’d be seeing later on we climbed the hill. I’m glad we got the lecture. At least I understood what I was looking at when we got to the Acropolis. I thought the climb up the hill would be a lot tougher but the path wound around so it was manageable. We toured the Parthenon and various temples. I joked to the guide that I’d been to the Parthenon in Nashville, and she replied that the real thing was three times the size. I was surprised she knew about the Nashville Parthenon but I’m probably not the first tourist to mention it. The real thing is truly impressive. It’s boggling to think how the builders got all that rock up the hill–and made art from it. It’s awe-inspiring to consider how old the temple is and how well it’s stood up–especially since it was filled with ammo which blew up at some point. Athens, along with some European arts council, is paying to have it rebuilt. Good to know.

We went back to the hotel for a nap then Ubered to Plaka to meet our cruise companions, Billy and Dawn Williams, for dinner. Plaka is Old Town Athens and is picturesque. The William’s hotel was in the middle of everything and had a roof-top deck where we had a glass of wine before dinner. We shopped and had gyros. I’m glad Billy and Dawn stayed in Plaka; I might have missed it otherwise.

Next day we had our buffet breakfast and were shuttled to the ship, called the Jupiter. When we checked in the customer relations person told us we’d been upgraded. I was skeptical. We’d been screwed over on our flights and I’d lost faith in Viking. I told her I’d like to check out the room before I agreed to anything. She looked faintly taken aback but let me inspect the room. Well, I guess they were making up for our screwy flights because they upgraded us to an Explorer Cabin. We had a living room with a fireplace, a dining room. double sinks in the bathroom with a separate shower/tub room that had a TV. It had a walk-in closet with a dressing area. The deck with two lounge chairs was bigger than the cabin we had on our first Viking cruise. This is how rich people cruise. I graciously accepted the upgrade and texted Dawn: “You’re not going to believe this.” It was great. Fritzie, our housekeeper, gave us instructions on how everything worked. We got changed and met our friends at Manfredi’s, the Italian restaurant on board, for our first meal. It was a lovely day.

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Acropolis from the deck of Billy and Dawn’s hotel in Plaka.

Theater at the Acropolis

Gordon at the original Olympic stadium built in 1896

July 6, 2022

Alborg, Oslo, Stavanger, Eidfjord, Bergen

Alborg, Denmark was a smallish college town. We toured historic buildings including a monastery built in 1506. The story was: a monk and a nun had an affair, and the nun had a baby. So, they walled up the nun and her baby, alive, around a support pillar. The guide explained that that was why the pillar was so much thicker. Nothing happened to the monk. They probably couldn’t figure out which one was the father. All the women in the tour were outraged, of course (as I suspected were the men), but it’s done. Thank God we’ve come a long way, baby. During the walk we kept running into costumed students celebrating the end of exams or something. They shared their beer with some of our members. It reminded me of Hobo Day at South Dakota State University. The kids were having a ball as they staggered down the street. They kept it up for hours and the parade just got bigger. It was fun. But it was time to go back to the ship. We were on our way to Oslo.

Remember me mentioning Pat and Linda? The couple we met on the first tour? When we got back to the ship Pat was sitting in the atrium with a mask on. He explained that Linda’s spit had tested positive for COVID that morning. He tested negative so he was allowed the run of the ship, but he had to wear a mask. Pat said Linda felt fine except for being forced to spend a portion of a very expensive trip in quarantine on the third deck. We learned later that some crew as well as tourists tested positive for COVID. I don’t know how it spread. We all supposedly tested negative before we were allowed on the ship. It explained the daily spit tests and the crew in hazmat suits. But I felt bad for Pat and Linda. Put a damper on their trip.

We didn’t take the downtown tour of Oslo. Wish we had but there wasn’t time. We toured a lovely park with spectacular artwork. Sort of an outdoor museum. Then we were taken to the training facility for the ski-jumping team. Those kids must have a death wish. The guide told us the kids started jumping at age 9. There was also a training ground for cross-country skiing. No wonder the Norwegians clean up in the Winter Olympic games. They earn it. We saw the summer house and church where the royal family spend their down time. I wish we’d gotten inside the parliament, but I’ll make a point of visiting those sites if we ever manage to get back. Oslo is a lovely city.

We chose to visit the Fram museum the next day. The Fram was an Antarctic expeditionary ship that is housed in its own building. The Norwegians were famous explorers and I enjoyed learning the history of the ship. They treated us to champagne then we went to another building that housed Viking boats. I learned a lot about exploration; it was fascinating. We were disappointed when we couldn’t get into the Kon-Tiki building. We peeked through the windows but couldn’t see anything. We asked why we couldn’t get in and were told that it was a holiday (boy, they have a lot of holidays) and even getting to see the Fram was a big deal. Kon-Tiki is something else to see if I ever get back.

We went to Stavanger the next day. We took a RIB (rigid inflatable boat() tour of the fjords. We knew it would be like white-water rafting so Gordon and I tried to get the front seats to get the most bounce for our buck. Another couple beat us to it so we sat behind them. Turned out to be good for us. It was cold and started raining. We huddled down behind the couple in front of us to cut the wind and rain. The woman turned at one point and said, “The wind is blowing the rain down the front of my thermal suit. Even my socks are cold and wet.” It was a long trip for her. I enjoyed bouncing around and the close-up view of the fjords was spectacular. I’d do it again if given the chance.

Waterfall in the fjord next to a tour boat.

We went to Eidfjord the next day. They drove us on a bus for an hour and a half to a small cruise ship. We were supposed to have a lovely cruise down the river so we could enjoy the waterfalls in the fjords but it rained again. We spent the entire cruise huddled inside. Then we had that LONG bus ride back to the ship. It was a wasted day for me. I learned that Norway is still having trouble with their roads. There’s little flat land and getting roads next to the fjords is difficult. Those fjords are gorgeous but all you can do is look at them. Farming and industry are hard businesses. We were told that Norway was a very poor country until an American oil company drilled. The company was allowed to take the oil for ten years then everything reverted to Norway. So now Norway has money. Thank you, American industry. I thought the snide comments about American business were thoughtless. The Norwegians would still be trying to make a living on a fishing economy and still be poor without oil. And the Americans lived up tp their agreement. You wouldn’t see the Russians doing that.

We spent our last day in Bergen. It rained again. The guide said it rains 280 days a year. Depressing. Then he asked if anyone in our group had Norwegian heritage and I pointed to Gordon. Gordon explained that his family came from a farm outside of Bergen and the guide said, “I thought you looked Viking!” All of the tourists stared at Gordon which embarrassed him, but he really does look like pictures of the Vikings; aggressive nose, high cheekbones, broad forehead. He should be wearing a wolf-pelt and swinging an ax. Anway, we saw the theater dedicated to Ibsen and statues of Grieg. I was surprised that the arts were celebrated more in Bergen than Oslo. The guide explained that Bergen had been the capitol until some king decided to move to Oslo. Maybe it doesn’t rain so much there. But it’s a charming city. I wish we could have spent more time there. One interesting note: the Norwegians are solidly on the side of Ukraine in the war. We saw graffiti of a dove pooping on Putin’s head.

Ibsen outside the theater. Rather odd statue.

We had one more night of dining and entertainment then we had to pack for the trip home. Our luggage had to be outside our room by ten o’clock and we had to be in the atrium of the ship by three a.m. in order to catch our plane to Copenhagen where we changed flights. We landed in Copenhagen at 7 and were dreading the day ahead. We had a 5 and a half hour lay-over before catching a flight to Washington DC where we had another 5 hour lay-over. On our way to check into the next flight I noticed on the departures board that there was a non-stop flight to Los Angeles in two hours. I looked at Gordon and said, “Why the hell aren’t we on that flight?” So, we buzzed over to the SAS counter to see if we couldn’t change flights. We were even willing to pay if we had to. Well, SAS didn’t give us a hard time. They changed our flight and made sure our luggage traveled with us. The flight home was as uneventful as the flight over had been hard. We saved nine hours of travel time and were home in time to feed Gracie ourselves. She was glad to see us.

Scandanavia was a pleasure. Everybody there speaks English. I was told that English is required in all the schools. Most of the people I talked to didn’t even have an accent. They sounded American. Even the Ghanaian barista I met sounded American. One of the guides made a joke about American Imperialism with reference to culture. And he was right. Our marketing expertise is a powerful thing. But it makes traveling easy for someone like me who only speaks one language.

I recommend you save your pennies and travel with Viking. The hotel travels with you instead of you having to shlep luggage all over. I enjoyed the food and entertainment. I got to dip my toe in various cultures. And I know where I want to spend more time if I go back. Good time.

June 9, 2022

Stockholm

Gordon and I bought a Viking Baltic cruise three years ago. We were excited to see Northern Europe, land of our ancestors. Unfortunately, COVID hit, and the cruise was postponed. When COVID finally abated a bit Putin attacked Ukraine. St. Petersburg was taken off the list–too dangerous of Americans and other living things. Viking finalized a new tour that included Gdansk, Berlin, and Oslo in place of three days in St. Petersburg. Most people I talked to were disappointed but I’d never seen Gdansk, Berlin or Oslo so I was fine with the change. On the morning of May 19 our Uber driver picked us up at 5:45. We tried to say ‘goodbye’ to Gracie, but she wasn’t having it. She knows what suitcase means and she refused to let us touch her. What’s the difference between Grace and a vulture? A vulture waits until you’re dead to rip your heart out. I really did feel bad about leaving her. She’d never been alone; she’d always had George before. We thought about putting her in ‘jail’ but figured she’d just be lonely in a cage. Home alone seemed the best option. I just hoped a raccoon named Joe Pechi didn’t invade.

At LAX we were supposed to leave from the American terminal, Building A, but the Uber driver explained that really meant Building B. He showed us on the app that that was true. He was trying to save us steps. Well, we did take off from Building B, but we had to check our luggage in Building A, so we had to shlep anyway. He meant well. When we checked our luggage, we found out that our SAS flight to Stockholm had been cancelled (God know why) and we’d be catching a FinnAir flight that went to Helsinki when we changed in Chicago. Ooookay. That added 5 hours of travel time; an hour of flight time to Helsinki, a 3-hour layover, and a puddle-jumper to Stockholm. What could we do? We got on our American flight and changed at O’Hare which is a zoo. I almost got busted for drugs because I’d forgotten to empty my water bottle. “Do have anything you don’t want me to know about?” asked the suspicious TSA agent. I said ‘no’ and she pulled out my water bottle. I explained that I’d forgotten about the water but that I wanted to keep the bottle. Bless her heart, she offered to empty the bottle and give it back. And, of course, I expressed my sincere thanks. We took the tram to the international terminal and got through customs. The flight was nine hours long, but we had the extra-large seats and the row entirely to ourselves. We were given good, basic food. We got blueberry juice for breakfast. Blueberries grow in Scandanavia, so they’re used in everything. The juice was a little sweet for me, but the color was great. I have no complaints about FinnAir. Everything was new, clean, and as comfortable as a flight can be. We couldn’t go anywhere in Helsinki, not enough time, but the puddle-jumper was on time. It was packed but only took 45 minutes. When we got to Stockholm, Viking hired a Mercedes taxi to take us directly to the ship. That was their way of smoothing feathers due to the botched flights. Not their fault, I suppose, but we didn’t get to see anything of Stockholm that day due to all the delays. We met up with an old high school/band buddy of Gordon’s, Bill, and his wife, Dawn. for dinner that night. I think. I’d been traveling for over 24 hours and was exhausted. I went to bed early but was up at 2:30 a.m. Stockholm time. I discovered an old TV series called Limitless. I really liked it–for a while anyway. It put me back to sleep. So every time I couldn’t sleep I’d turn on Limitless. Worked like a charm. I’d fall asleep in different places so I had to repeat episodes. It took me the entire two weeks to get through the series but I made it. It’s on Paramount+ now. Check it out.

The next day we toured the palace and a theater that was built for the royals in the 1700s. Sweden didn’t have much money back then, so the palace is concrete painted to look like marble. It was a nice enough palace. The gardens looked like a small Versailles, but the theater was particularly interesting to me. The stage was deep and steeply raked. The flats were wooden and painted. They still had a lightning machine, a rain machine, and a thunder machine in the pit. Historic costumes from various productions were on display. I thought it was a great tour. We took a boat from the palace back to the ship. We met Pat and Linda, a couple from San Diego. Pat was a retired percussionist and he told us about playing in the pit for touring shows and for the San Diego Symphony. They were fun. We had a quiet afternoon, and a pleasant dinner with Bill and Dawn. Then we went to a show in the Star Theater. If I remember correctly the talent was two boys and two girls doing a medley of something or other. It was a pleasant day, but I resented missing seeing any of Old Town Stockholm. Everybody told us it was wonderful. We went to bed, and I watched another episode of Limitless. I was starting to get seriously tired.

The next day we went to a small town on a small island called Mariehamn which means Marie’s harbor. Marie was queen of something or other. All the royals were starting to run together in my mind. We got a tour of the island. It reminded me of parts of the Midwest–with water. It was Sunday so all the shops were closed. The historic church we stopped at didn’t want us inside. They were getting ready for the service so you can’t really blame them. I peeked in anyway. Old, old, old. Think it was built in the 1100s. Electricity had been included (a silo sort of thing attached to the exterior) so there were chandeliers instead of candles. I was puzzled by a ship hanging in between the chandeliers but couldn’t ask anybody about it. Then we were taken to the top of a hill to enjoy the views. We got the scrambled history of the place. I think that’s where the spoken language is Swedish, but the island was given to Finland after World War II. God knows why. It was lovely but Viking could have skipped Mariehamn for all I cared but

I think Gordon and I had a hot dog as a late lunch and skipped dinner, but my memory is hazy. I still wasn’t sleeping well and running around a lot is hard on an old lady. At breakfast I explained to Dawn about my sleeping difficulties (she’s a retired nurse) and she gave me magnesium pills. I tried them that night and they worked like a charm. I slept for 6 1/2 straight hours. I only got to watch one episode of Limitless but I was refreshed and looking forward to the next day at sea. No tour!