kochleffel

At Skagen in Denmark. Walked out the sand spit that separates the North Sea from the Baltic. As far as I am concerned, eels should stay where they belong, which is in rivers and the ocean. And Royal Caribbean should not label a dish "pasta with salmon" and then put shrimps, no matter how tiny, in it. And autocorrect should not change eels to feels.

Unanswerable question: why do people whose goal is to talk constantly and loudly choose a venue where there is live music to do it? And: why do people push their way into an elevator before others can exit the elevator and make room for them?

Rabbit, rabbit. I stopped myself before saying that to a server in Café Promenade— the menu there is limited and certainly doesn’t include rabbit. I particularly like ginger (red tabby) cats but don’t have one. This is the only sea day and I am sprawled on a lounger in the solarium. I have no interest in, or talent for, music trivia, which there seems to be a lot of, or in a half-price sale on t-shirts depicting ports that the itinerary doesn’t visit.

About trains: if you don't need a car at the port, regular Amtrak trains go from NYC, DC, etc., to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami.

Yes, or 2024.

I would be interested in sailing from Port Canaveral, and have done on aNother Cruise Line. It’s convenient for me to fly into SFB.

At Kristiansand, Norway, today, and rode the Setesdal railway. Many people were complaining about the short train ride (and longer bus ride to get to it), but the description was clear about the length of the surviving part of the historic narrow-gauge line. A beautiful sunny day, although things were damp from rain overnight. I don’t have the ideal mix of clothing. Outdoors is OK, but I didn’t expect the public areas of the ship to be as frigid as they are.

Today I visited the Norsk Folkemuseet. It needs more than a day, maybe more than a week, and I barely got back to the ship in time. A question that is not specific to HAL, but applies to every cruise line in my experience, including HAL: is it typical for crew members to address a passenger as Mr. Firstname, or does it only happen because my surname is difficult?

NCL has offered this in their app for a while and I liked it, although I wouldn’t be happy if paper were discontinued. I’m on the Voyager now and I don’t think it’s offered. I’ll try not to comment on those who are ostentatiously proud of locking their phones in the safe, leaving them at home, or still using a phone where you wait for an operator to come on and ask, “Number, plee-uz.”

On the Jade in May, it was stated explicitly that this wasn’t allowed. I had no reason to try.

Today I visited the Munch Museum. I’ll save pix for when Oslo is the port of the day. While I was there, I received voicemail and email from the dentist’s office in Copenhagen, trying to confirm an appointment for 5:30 p.m. today. It was a mistake: when I called on Saturday, the receptionist didn’t understand that I needed an appointment the same today, and put it down for today. When I explained and the dentist agreed to see me in an hour, the Tuesday appointment stayed in the file. I emailed back, thanking them for seeing me on Saturday and saying that I was OK (and in Oslo). It’s a good thing that the Junior Cat doesn’t go out, because if she caught a bat she would probably bring it in alive and ask me what to do with it.

Docked in Oslo. Bravo call to deck 1 and it was several minutes before they announced that it was only a drill. I slept until 9:30. Now having coffee and a croissant with smoked salmon in Café Promenade.

Tonight I had beef pie, made with Guinness, and did OK but chewing only on one side. In the roll call we were discussing the addition of both main-course pies and Indian dishes to the menus -- I remember that a Baltic cruise on the Serenade in 2019 had many British passengers, although no specifically British food. Also many passengers from Spain, but everyone I've heard speaking so far who wasn't American was speaking French or German.

I boarded the Voyager OTS at noon. So far I find it annoying, but that’s typical for embarkation day. OTOH, it seems to be less refined, more glitzy than the Radiance-class ships — and also freezing cold. I wish I could post a photo of Addison and Fergus, littermates who are now reunited at the Rainbow Bridge, but I don’t have one on any device that I brought. Many thanks for inclusion in the cares list. No pain or bleeding, so I think I’m OK.

The worst aspect of the dental emergency was not being able to eat lunch until late afternoon, when it would have been too close to dinner. Food in Copenhagen is too good to miss a meal voluntarily. And not being able to eat Danish bread at breakfast this morning, because it demands chewing.

As of 2018, there were stoppers. The sinks in studios aren't large but if you don't need to wash anything bulky it will be OK. I packed light (but checked a bag anyway) because I had dislocated my shoulder just before that cruise.

Back from having a failed dental implant removed. Dentistry is a relative bargain in Denmark: it was the same price as dinner last night.

I spent all of Friday outdoors but now it's raining in Copenhagen and I need to see a dentist. I also need to fill out the health form in the RCI app and do an emed test. Very good dinner last night at Cap Horn in Nyhavn and this morning they sent me a request for a review -- in Danish, which I can almost but not quite read.

There were many real dogs in Kongens Have but here's an alternative, an organic hot dog stand.

Currently sitting on a shaded bench in the botanical garden -- supposed to be in daylight to relieve jet lag but too tired to do anything. Copenhagen magpie:

Good morning from Schiphol, where I’m waiting for a flight to Copenhagen. Our flight landed on the Polderbaan, the outermost runway, and when it touched down, the flight display indicated that we were still five miles from the terminal. I feel like I walked about that much more inside the terminal.

I have a private tour booked for next week that doesn't allow canes or hiking sticks. The stated reason is that the terrain is unsuitable, but it's all city sidewalk. I think they just don't want anyone with impaired mobility.

Good news on a couple of fronts. First, I finally received the path report from my colonoscopy, which was on July 26. Nothing of interest, so next one can wait 10 years. Second, I put the new registration sticker on my car windshield, necessary because it would expire while I'm cruising around Norway. In New York the sticker goes on the inside of the windshield, and quite a few people, no matter how long they have lived here, don't know how to remove the old one. They scrape and scrape and scrape with a razor blade, but the correct tool is a wet sponge.

I think I visit Cartagena in 2023 on the Oosterdam for the Spanish Farewell. I didn't do much real work during the tent sale yesterday, but I'm exhausted from talking with people all day. The excitement today was driving 55 miles each way in thunderstorms for an office visit required by the RSV vaccine trial. They pay me for things like that--I've earned more than $500 so far.

The yard sale cleared just short of $900, with no rain until just before the end. I don't know whether the volunteers were pleased (I thought they should be), or disappointed, but as worn out by talking with them all day. I'm not prepared, in either practical or mental terms, to leave for a cruise on Wednesday. I can deal with the practical issues, probably not with the mental ones.