Wave outside our window - notice how high it is to the window. This was not normal!!Friday, July 31, 2009
Wave outside our window!
Wave outside our window - notice how high it is to the window. This was not normal!!
Day 12 – Waves and Wind on the High Seas!
Normally I would not write about our day at sea since there isn’t really anything exciting which happens. Well, I was wrong about it for our last day. Thursday night around dinner time (~ 8PM) the sea started to get rough. I didn’t think anything of it since it wasn’t bothering me. However, Mom was getting a little seasick so she took some Dramamine to help calm her stomach and the feeling of dizziness she had. So off to dinner we went. After sitting down, I could tell she was not doing well. In fact, she looked a little green. She ordered her food hoping this would help, but she knew she couldn’t make it through dinner so she went back to the room to lie down. After dinner, I went back to the room to check on her and I noticed by the elevators they had the bags you see on planes for air sickness. Apparently this was affecting a lot of people.
I went to bed and didn’t think anything of the waves. Only hoped they would lull me to sleep and be gone when the morning arrived. Well it didn’t quite happen liked I had hoped. During the night the waves picked up as did the winds. I woke up at 7 and at 8. Mom woke up too and asked if I felt the waves during the night. I said I did but then she proceeded to tell me the waves were up to our window when she looked out during the night. I didn’t need to hear to one. She decided to call the concierge to see if there was any update on when they thought the waves might lessen in intensity. They thought between 11 and 12 noon. We went back to sleep after hearing this. When we woke up again about 11:40 it wasn’t much better. In fact, we turned on the TV and it said we were having high waves (duh!) and the winds were 45mph. Just as a side note, a tropical depression has winds of at least 35mph and as the winds increase they look to see if it will become a hurricane. We didn’t have to worry about this since it was sunny outside and the water is much too cold for a hurricane to form in the North Sea. It is now 5:05PM for us and it seems like the waves have started to calm just a little. A couple of hours ago, I turned on the TV to check out the waves (still high) and the winds. The winds were down to 30 mph.
After having the hurricane come through Ohio last year, I never wanted to experience high winds like those again. Well, I guess I can be thankful the winds didn’t get any higher than 45mph but I am ready for the boat to stop rocking and to be on dry land once again!
I went to bed and didn’t think anything of the waves. Only hoped they would lull me to sleep and be gone when the morning arrived. Well it didn’t quite happen liked I had hoped. During the night the waves picked up as did the winds. I woke up at 7 and at 8. Mom woke up too and asked if I felt the waves during the night. I said I did but then she proceeded to tell me the waves were up to our window when she looked out during the night. I didn’t need to hear to one. She decided to call the concierge to see if there was any update on when they thought the waves might lessen in intensity. They thought between 11 and 12 noon. We went back to sleep after hearing this. When we woke up again about 11:40 it wasn’t much better. In fact, we turned on the TV and it said we were having high waves (duh!) and the winds were 45mph. Just as a side note, a tropical depression has winds of at least 35mph and as the winds increase they look to see if it will become a hurricane. We didn’t have to worry about this since it was sunny outside and the water is much too cold for a hurricane to form in the North Sea. It is now 5:05PM for us and it seems like the waves have started to calm just a little. A couple of hours ago, I turned on the TV to check out the waves (still high) and the winds. The winds were down to 30 mph.
After having the hurricane come through Ohio last year, I never wanted to experience high winds like those again. Well, I guess I can be thankful the winds didn’t get any higher than 45mph but I am ready for the boat to stop rocking and to be on dry land once again!
Day 11 – Copenhagen Denmark
We arrived in Copenhagen Denmark around 7AM. When looking outside after waking up, the weather was beautiful. However as we were eating breakfast (something I usually do not have), I noticed the clouds getting darker. I was praying the possible rain would hold off until after our tour (~ 2PM). Well my prayers didn’t work. As we were departing the ship, we noticed the rain had started. During our trip, this is really the only place we have had rain. It called for it in most of the locations, but never really materialized. Thank heavens this was a bus tour although we were going to be taking a tour of the harbor in a canal boat.
It was interesting to learn that Denmark is made up of a mainland peninsula, Jutland, and 406 islands. Copenhagen is the largest city in all of Scandinavia. Something I found interesting is in 2000 a transnational bridge was built that connected Denmark and Sweden. It is called the Oresund Bridge and this will allow Sweden and Denmark to work together to foster their labor markets. We drove by the Frihedsmuseet (Museum of the Danish Resistance Movement), Amalienborg Slot (Amalienborg Palace), and Tivoli Gardens. We made a stop at Tivoli Gardens which is said to be the inspiration Walt Disney had for his theme parks. Tivoli Gardens was built over 150 years ago and is a combination of a beautiful garden and amusement park. Reminds of what Coney Island in New York looks like. Nothing like King’s Island!
After visiting Tivoli for about an hour it was time for our canal cruise. It was, of course, still raining off and on and we were walking to where we needed to board the canal boat. In fact, it rained so hard at one point our guide found some shelter since most people didn’t have umbrellas or coats with hoods. After a brief pause, we made it to the boat and boarded. It was covered but the windows would slide up for air and picture taking. Not like our cars windows, but these were curved windows in sections to slide along the tracks to open. Shortly after starting, the rain quit and the sun came out. It was turning out to be a beautiful day. We cruised around the harbor seeing the various sites. When we came to the end of the canal cruise, they left us off near our ship which also happened to be quite close to the statue of Hans Christian Anderson’s Little Mermaid. In Danish, she is called Den Lille Havfrue (Little Mermaid). The story says she is the sea king’s half-human and half-fish daughter who must wait 300 years until she can enter the world of humans. Since she was put up in 1913, you can see she still has a long way to go.
That’s the last of my updates from our ports of call. I will update more if something really interesting happens though. So be on the look out!
It was interesting to learn that Denmark is made up of a mainland peninsula, Jutland, and 406 islands. Copenhagen is the largest city in all of Scandinavia. Something I found interesting is in 2000 a transnational bridge was built that connected Denmark and Sweden. It is called the Oresund Bridge and this will allow Sweden and Denmark to work together to foster their labor markets. We drove by the Frihedsmuseet (Museum of the Danish Resistance Movement), Amalienborg Slot (Amalienborg Palace), and Tivoli Gardens. We made a stop at Tivoli Gardens which is said to be the inspiration Walt Disney had for his theme parks. Tivoli Gardens was built over 150 years ago and is a combination of a beautiful garden and amusement park. Reminds of what Coney Island in New York looks like. Nothing like King’s Island!
After visiting Tivoli for about an hour it was time for our canal cruise. It was, of course, still raining off and on and we were walking to where we needed to board the canal boat. In fact, it rained so hard at one point our guide found some shelter since most people didn’t have umbrellas or coats with hoods. After a brief pause, we made it to the boat and boarded. It was covered but the windows would slide up for air and picture taking. Not like our cars windows, but these were curved windows in sections to slide along the tracks to open. Shortly after starting, the rain quit and the sun came out. It was turning out to be a beautiful day. We cruised around the harbor seeing the various sites. When we came to the end of the canal cruise, they left us off near our ship which also happened to be quite close to the statue of Hans Christian Anderson’s Little Mermaid. In Danish, she is called Den Lille Havfrue (Little Mermaid). The story says she is the sea king’s half-human and half-fish daughter who must wait 300 years until she can enter the world of humans. Since she was put up in 1913, you can see she still has a long way to go.
That’s the last of my updates from our ports of call. I will update more if something really interesting happens though. So be on the look out!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)