Dave’s Live from Zuiderdam Voyage of the Vikings, July 30 – Sept. 3, 2019

[RetiredMustang]

1 hour ago, Copper10-8 said:

Heck of a job on the play-by-play of your VOV, Dave! Keep up the great work and enjoy! 

 

Thanks!  Welcome back to land, for a while.  DW and I are really enjoying it so far, fog and all.  If I mess something up and put out wrong info, I presume you'll amend my waywardness.  (Cool avatar, BTW).

 

 

Dave

 

[RetiredMustang]

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

Dave, thank you for all that information about the CD's job and the new port talks.  We just booked a last-minute Alaska cruise which leaves Seattle on Monday, and I will be checking into the new procedures on board ms. Amsterdam.😀  I wonder if they will still bring on the park rangers, etc..

 

Ann,

 

If I got the info right, yours may be one of the ships that has already adopted the new scheme.  If so, perhaps you can tell us what is really going on based on actual experience.

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 7, Nanortalik, Greenland

 

We were awakened about 4:30 by daylight coming in through a gap we had inadvertently left in the balcony door curtains.  We checked, hoping to see blue skies and sun.   Nope, still foggy, although possibly a bit thinner than yesterday.  According to the ship’s position on the TV, we are only a few miles away from Nanortalik.  I hope the captain can find a way in and we can tender today; the citizens in Mudville are getting a mite restless 😁.

 

 

Here is today’s When and Where:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is the Nanortalik port guide:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 7, Nanortalik (Cont.)

 

The fog has lifted – only about 100 feet/30 meters, but enough to see the approaches to Nanortalik.  We are maneuvering around the channels and it is looking hopeful that we will make it safely to the anchorage.  If the fog stays aloft, we should be able to go ashore.  It is 44F/6C, but with practically no wind.

 

Here are a couple of photos to show the conditions:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[Krazy Kruizers]

I sure hope that you make it to Nanortalik.  Glad the fog is lifting.

 

Love the pictures.

[puppycanducruise]

Loving your report.

Thanks for the pictures.

[RuthC]

Eerily beautiful there.

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 7, Nanortalik (Cont.)

 

Bottom line:  We made it!

 

We proceeded slowly but steadily to our anchorage, with the captain backing the ship, end toward the town, but far enough away from icebergs.  The fog stayed low but did not descend, and we were able to see Nanortalik from the anchorage:

 

 

 

The ship lowered tenders which waited until all clear to start carrying passengers:

 

 

We decided to go early, in case the fog came back down later.  We were in the first tender shortly after 8 a.m.  We walked along the waterfront street toward the visitor center.  Here are some of the many photos I took of the colorful houses and vegetation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the tourist bureau, DW and I toured the small souvenir shop.  This is indeed small, and as time went on and more people arrived, there was line waiting to get in.  In the same building is the post office, hand for those who wanted to buy stamps to send postcards from Greenland to friends and relatives.  There was also a public toilet upstairs.

 

 

 

Just past the tourist bureau is the church, which is being scraped prior to being repainted.  Here are some shots of the exterior and one of the interior:

 

 

 

 

 

The villagers held choir performances in the church on the hour starting at 10; cost was $20 per person.

 

More later,

Dave

 

[RuthC]

Did your tender pass by any of the bergs? From that level, they look so huge (which they are). It's a perspective you don't get from the ship.

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 7, Nanortalik (Cont.)

 

A bit further down the road was the open-air museum, a collection of 10 or so old buildings housing many artifacts of the town’s history and culture.  There were men at the entrance selling wrist-bands for $5 per person; these were your tickets to the whole museum.  We had toured it on previous visits, and knew it was very well worth the five bucks to tour.

 

Inside the area is a large stone, on which a flagpole has been mounted:

 

 

 

We knew that if we climbed the path from the street, we would find the stairs leading to the top:

 

 

 

These were very steep and seemed rickety, but they easily held my weight, and I am pretty large.  The view from the top were worth the climb.  Here is one showing the church, and other buildings; the red building to the left with the two roof skylights is the main museum building.

 

 

 

Here are photos of just some of the exhibits inside:

 

 

 

 

 

Other buildings about are mostly 19^th or early 20^th century construction, and hold a wide variety of exhibits, from the old radio station, to old bakery machines, a doctor and dentist, kayaks and how they are built, and many others showing life in the town over the decades. 

 

 

 

 

Just for a sample, here are two shots of a small family kitchen and living room – not separate rooms, just one small one that also held a small dining table:

 

 

 

There is also a reconstruction of an older style house – a turf house, built in 1989.  The sign the last authentic turf house in Nanortalik was abandoned in 1978.  We couldn’t imagine living in such a house, but I suppose it was warmer than a frame house.  Here are photos of the exterior and interior:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

 

[RetiredMustang]

13 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Did your tender pass by any of the bergs? From that level, they look so huge (which they are). It's a perspective you don't get from the ship.

 

Not this trip, although we have done in a previous visit.  This time, the closest iceberg was to the port of the ship, not on the path the tenders took:

 

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 7, Nanortalik (Cont.)

 

While we were in the museum grounds, we saw a container ship entering port, and passing Zuiderdam:

 

 

 

After we left the museum, we went back to the tourist bureau area, and to the town’s largest store across the street.  This is larger and has more items than last time we were here six years ago:

 

 

 

 

 

Then, we wandered up side streets and around the town back to the tender pier.  Here are some shots I took, including two sentinel animals – high and low sentinel, the tender pier across the water, and some more houses and plants:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nanortalik has grown, and there are some new apartment buildings and new houses, but some of the old ones have been shuttered.  And, many others need coats of paint.  On the other hand, there is a new small container pier and port, and plenty of vehicles, and other signs of prosperity. 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 7, Nanortalik (Cont.)

 

We boarded a tender back to the ship about 10:20, and we noticed that it seemed to be getting brighter.  The fog had lifted a bit in the morning, but was still no more than 100 meters above ground level and looked like it might come back down at any time.  But, by the time we got to the ship and dropped our stuff, it was obvious that the weather was improving somewhat.  By noon, the fog and clouds had lifted off of most of the hills and mountains, although it still is lurking out to sea waiting for us to dare to come out of port.

 

Here is a shot of the town from the aft Lido deck taken about noon:

 

 

 

At the same time, I took a shot of the nearby mountains – these look very much like some of the scenery I hope we get to see tomorrow in Prins Christian Sund:

 

 

 

Fellow passengers who waited to go ashore should be seeing brighter colors in the filtered sunlight … but are also probably encountering more people everywhere.  For us, it was fun to visit Nanortalik again, and to be able to walk a few miles not in tight circles. 

 

More later,

Dave

[Cruising-along]

Great photos!  Brings back some good memories.  🙂  

[Vict0riann]

Love the fire escape ? ladder hanging off the upper window of the Tourism Service building.  I wouldn't like to have to use it - probably break something!

[Polar Bear Mom]

Enjoying your blog.  DH and I will be joining the cruise on Aug. 16.  Looking forward to meeting you onboard.  Last week we received a nice upgrade.  Went from a Signature Suite to a Neptune.  This is our fourth time on the Zuiderdam and fourth time in the same cabin.  A corner aft.  The views should be beautiul.  

 

Nancy

[FlorenceItaly]

14 minutes ago, Polar Bear Mom said:

Enjoying your blog.  DH and I will be joining the cruise on Aug. 16.  Looking forward to meeting you onboard.  Last week we received a nice upgrade.  Went from a Signature Suite to a Neptune.  This is our fourth time on the Zuiderdam and fourth time in the same cabin.  A corner aft.  The views should be beautiul.  

 

Nancy

Nancy, Congratulations!  Was this an upsell, and if so, it sounds like it came about two weeks before sailing?

[Polar Bear Mom]

Yes and it was a great deal.  

 

Nancy

[FlorenceItaly]

3 minutes ago, Polar Bear Mom said:

Yes and it was a great deal.  

 

Nancy

Fabulous!  Thanks.  I am a collector of information, lol.  Have a wonderful cruise!

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 7, Nanortalik (Cont.)

 

The weather actually improved through the afternoon, and the temp got to about 55F/12C, with mostly sunny conditions … in the harbor and town.  We set sail about 30 minutes ago, and the fog that lurked and snickered offshore has enveloped us again, and the horns are sounding.

 

The captain said he hopes to enter Prins Christian Sund around 7 a.m. if we can get in.  Hopefully we can, and the fog lifts soon after.  But, after we exit, he expects to hit some 6 meter seas and 25 knot winds.  Well, at least we will lose the fog if that turns out to be correct.  And, being an old Sailor, I will sleep especially well tomorrow night.

 

Here are tonight’s dinner and dessert menus.  DW had DAM soup for starters and I had asparagus soup.  We both had the prime rib:

 

 

 

 

And, here is the Lido dinner menu:

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[erewhon]

Thank you for your interesting reports and photos.......cute black cat.

[quack2]

I'm really enjoying this blog.  Thanks for doing it.

 

Even with the port access/weather risks, I would love to do this cruise.

 

Is Holland not doing the chilled fruit soups as an appetizer anymore?  They were my favorites.

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 8, Prins Christian Sund

 

We awoke to fog and the horns sounding, but as we head toward the entrance to the sound, we are starting to see more and more clouds and blue skies above the fog.  We hope this means it will lift enough to navigate safely into the sound, and then that conditions improve as the morning progesses.  The captain said yesterday as we left Nanortalik that if we can get safely into the sound, he felt confident we would be fine after that.

 

Here is today’s When and Where:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 8, Prins Christian Sund (Cont.)

 

This is the first of what I hope will be several posts to share the scenery.  Just before 7 a.m., we suddenly came out of the fog bank like passing beyond a curtain, into glorious early morning sunlight and blue sky.  Here are photos of the approach to the sound and the entrance:

 

 

 

 

As we passed the entrance, I took a shot back along our track to show where the fog still was:

 

 

 

After a quick breakfast, we went to the Crow’s Nest to check out the view (which IMAO would be better if they hadn’t blocked the best view with that virtual bridge):

 

 

 

 

 

And here a few shots I got during the early cruising:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is now about 8:30 a.m.  We are scheduled to pass the tiny village of Apillitoq at about 9:30 (Ruth, this is the one we’ve discussed before).  I hope the weather holds.  I’ll be back later to share more (internet willing).

 

 

Dave

[puppycanducruise]

 Thanks for all the pictures.