River Cruising Water Cooler

[Roz]

I've tried to educate myself about the pros and cons to Brexit but it's very complicated.  Only time will tell if this a good move or not.  

[Roz]

@Coraland @dogs4fun, hope you see this post.  I didn't want to hijack the Christmas markets thread.  Both of you mentioned your interest in Russia and Russian history, culture, architecture, etc.

 

I took 5 semesters of Russian as an adult.  By adult I mean I was in my 60s.  Talk about something that forces your brain to work overtime!  The first thing was mastering the Cyrillic alphabet.  My teacher made us learn printed and cursive.  It is a beautiful but challenging language.  I think I learned 3 of the 6 cases.  Everyone once in a while I go online and do a Russian lesson or dig out one of my textbooks to review.  

 

I've not visited Russia but it's on my to do list.  

[dogs4fun]

You simply must visit Russia @Roz - especially with your dedicated study of the language. 

[Coral]

39 minutes ago, Roz said:

@Coraland @dogs4fun, hope you see this post.  I didn't want to hijack the Christmas markets thread.  Both of you mentioned your interest in Russia and Russian history, culture, architecture, etc.

 

I took 5 semesters of Russian as an adult.  By adult I mean I was in my 60s.  Talk about something that forces your brain to work overtime!  The first thing was mastering the Cyrillic alphabet.  My teacher made us learn printed and cursive.  It is a beautiful but challenging language.  I think I learned 3 of the 6 cases.  Everyone once in a while I go online and do a Russian lesson or dig out one of my textbooks to review.  

 

I've not visited Russia but it's on my to do list.  

I have only taken a year when I was young. We had one Professor and I don't think he was that good. I struggled because the text was in print obviously and his lessons were in cursive. Night and day IMO. We had a great Russian history Professor so I spent more time on that. My minimal Spanish from high school is better than my college Russian. Both would be considered pathetic though. I was surprised I still could read some print when in Russia 20 years later.

 

I agree with dogs4fun - you must go. I loved my land trip there. I loved staying downtown within walking distance of sites and just wandering around during free time. The subways are gorgeous (stunning!) and even with my minimal Russian - they are easy to get around. I laugh when people say they saw everything they needed in 2 days on a cruise in St. Petersburg...... I could easily spend a week in both cities and still not see all that I really want to see and of what I would see, it would still be rushed. So much history, so many cool things to see, museums, cool architecture. 

Edited January 2, 2021 by Coral

[Coral]

52 minutes ago, Roz said:

I've tried to educate myself about the pros and cons to Brexit but it's very complicated.  Only time will tell if this a good move or not.  

You and me both! When in the UK 2 years ago - I don't even think a lot of locals fully understood if the outcome would be good or bad. I met several guides in Norway who were from England and they had no clue how it would affect their lives either. I know several who said they would vote differently if they knew the implications.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

 

Shingles - I did not know that there is a vaccine. I got shingles next to my lower spine in early 2012. Not too bad compared to other people's but I could not walk properly for three weeks, the pain was intense, the pain killers were mind altering (I felt rather not myself) and the post-herpetic numbness stayed for nearly a year. Homeopathy did a good job with that. No, shingles is no fun at all. Good to have an option of a vaccine.

In the US you have to be 50. It is a 2 dosage vaccine.

[dogs4fun]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

I know several who said they would vote differently if they knew the implications.

Yes, "act in haste, repent at leisure".

9 minutes ago, Coral said:

The subways are gorgeous and even with my minimal Russian - they are easy to get around.

Agree with Coral - the metro stations in both Moscow and Saint Petersburg are gorgeous and they are easy to use.

 

48 minutes ago, Roz said:

I've not visited Russia but it's on my to do list.  

It's a great time to visit Russia due to the price of the ruble against the USD, GBP or Euro. Just dreaming of another trip, I checked the Four Seasons in Saint Petersburg - price was only $283 per night. An unbelievably price for a Four Seasons property! Of course, one need not break the bank and book a 5 star hotel - there are other fine hotels in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Are you contemplating a land trip, ocean cruise or river cruise?

[Roz]

@dogs4fun, I haven't done any serious planning.  This is one of those trips that will need to wait until I'm retired. Probably a combo cruise/land trip.

[Coral]

9 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

It's a great time to visit Russia due to the price of the ruble against the USD, GBP or Euro. Just dreaming of another trip, I checked the Four Seasons in Saint Petersburg - price was only $283 per night. An unbelievably price for a Four Seasons property! Of course, one need not break the bank and book a 5 star hotel - there are other fine hotels in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Are you contemplating a land trip, ocean cruise or river cruise?

I know hotels were so $$$ when I did my river cruise in Russia. Moscow was the most expensive city in the world that year. I looked at hotels probably 4-5 years ago and one could get the Ritz in Moscow for $200 a night at that time. I highly recommend a land trip - my river cruise was incredibly disappointing. I did most of my Baltic via land so have not done the Baltic cruise ship experience. As much as I love my time in Russia, I found Finland just "ok" and probably would not return unless I did a Baltic cruise.

 

I would love to return also (dreaming also) and do things at my pace. Not that I am a slow traveler - there is just so much to see and so many things are glossed over on a ship tour.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Coral

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

In the US you have to be 50. It is a 2 dosage vaccine.

Thanks for the info. Apparently it is the same indication here in Germany. It is "under investigation" by the authorities as it does not seem to be so well tolerated by a few people, it was only authorized a few years ago, long after I had had it. Will keep watching that.

 

2 hours ago, Roz said:

I've tried to educate myself about the pros and cons to Brexit but it's very complicated.  Only time will tell if this a good move or not.  

Definitely an adventure and uncharted territory. I am just learning about the implications as I go along. Had an e-mail from an online shop telling me about the new delivery terms and conditions. Not much change to receiving goodies. That is a relief!

 

Talking of goodies, it is time for an afternoon snack, biscuits! We are still within the festive season, so here is a video on baking cookies, while I am eating some in the background (yes, I can be cruel, sorry):  https://www.dw.com/en/baking-cookies-an-advent-tradition/av-55911490

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Still want to give you the result of the third stollen testing, but I am not quite ready. So here is a different topic. British narrowboats. A young couple spent lockdown in Spring on a narrowboat as they had just returned from long travels and hired the boat as temporary place to live. Now they have made a similar vessel their permanent home: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-leicestershire-55422939

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

As requested re posted keep smiling, this from my craft group, a mixture of spinners, knitters, embroiderers, crocheters and quilters. 
 

10 points to ponder as 2020 draws to a close:

 

1. The dumbest thing I ever bought was a 2020 planner.

2. 2019: stay away from negative people.   2020: stay away from positive people!

3. The world is turned upside down. Old people are sneaking out of the house and the kids are yelling at them to stay in doors! 

4. This morning I saw neighbour talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought it could understood her. I came to my house and told my dog! We had a good laugh.

5. Every few days try your jeans on just to make sure they fit. Pyjamas will have you believe all is well in the kingdom.

6. Does anyone know if we can take showers yet or should we just keep washing your hands?

7. I never thought the comment 'I wouldn't touch them with a 6ft bargepole' would become a national policy.

8. I really need to practice social distancing from the fridge.

9. I hope the weather is good tomorrow for my trip around the garden....I'm getting fed up with the living room.

10. Never thought the day would come when I could walk into a  bank wearing a mask and not get arrested.

[notamermaid]

@Canal archive The first  comment rings so true with me, my planner for 2020 is almost void of entries. Even when I was not well, which was for much of 2016, I made more plans and travelled more. I realized yesterday that I have forgotten to buy a pocket planner for 2021. No rush, will get one in the sales.

 

Three days ago we had an earthquake near Aachen on the Dutch border, not too bad, just 2.8. As it was around breakfast time with many more people at home than usual, there were more worried phone calls than expected, though.

 

Snow as far down as 150m above sea level now. Getting closer to me, I expect some during this night and on Thursday and Friday.

 

Much of UK on stay-at-home order now, I read.

 

Awaiting our authorities to stop debating later today and make a press announcement. Looks like my trip to Luxembourg will need to be postponed.

 

England, here I do not come any time soon! ((Imagine a pained soul uttering sorrow and explitives in the background))

 

Stay safe everyone.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[gnome12]

I was looking at my Tripit statistics last weekend. I had absolutely no travel in all of 2020.

 

However, I did have lots of plans in my iPhone calendar where I keep all the things I do. I had concerts and plays and lectures and synagogue services (all virtual, of course).

[Canal archive]

As requested re posted keep smiling, this from my craft group, a mixture of spinners, knitters, embroiderers, crocheters and quilters. 
 

10 points to ponder as 2020 draws to a close:

 

1. The dumbest thing I ever bought was a 2020 planner.

2. 2019: stay away from negative people.   2020: stay away from positive people!

3. The world is turned upside down. Old people are sneaking out of the house and the kids are yelling at them to stay in doors! 

4. This morning I saw neighbour talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought it could understood her. I came to my house and told my dog! We had a good laugh.

5. Every few days try your jeans on just to make sure they fit. Pyjamas will have you believe all is well in the kingdom.

6. Does anyone know if we can take showers yet or should we just keep washing your hands?

7. I never thought the comment 'I wouldn't touch them with a 6ft bargepole' would become a national policy.

8. I really need to practice social distancing from the fridge.

9. I hope the weather is good tomorrow for my trip around the garden....I'm getting fed up with the living room.

10. Never thought the day would come when I could walk into a  bank wearing a mask and not get arrested.

[Canal archive]

Sorry for some reason the above appeared again. Rubbish at tech strikes again.

Yes Notamermaid we are completely locked down again. Christmas dec’s all down now everything looks so bare. So designing time I have some lovely new fabric for quilting or should it be cross stitch, decisions decisions! CA

[jpalbny]

CA, I see you fell victim to an overzealous browser memory. I can't always figure out why it sometimes does that either! I've gotten used to looking when I hit reply, and about half the time there's text from a previous post lingering about.

 

42 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I was looking at my Tripit statistics last weekend. I had absolutely no travel in all of 2020.

 

I feel for you. We managed to get our Antarctica expedition in for January 2020 but that was it. I had to keep deleting stuff from Tripit which was so painful! 

 

Here is a screenshot of my "travel" apps page on my phone. Every day, Tripit helpfully reminds me that we've got nothing! 😭

 

 

And I can't bear to open my Fly Delta app. That would just taunt me with "You have no upcoming trips" or something equally cruel.

 

I haven't taken November's destinations out of my global clock app yet. But some day I will.

 

***

 

Every day Chris asks me if my cruise critic buddies have any news about when things will open up. It's so strange to have absolutely nothing planned, and no clue when to even start hoping. I have serious doubts about our May SS cruise at this point.

 

(Insert censored words of your choice here)

[notamermaid]

14 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Sorry for some reason the above appeared again. Rubbish at tech strikes again.

Yes Notamermaid we are completely locked down again. Christmas dec’s all down now everything looks so bare. So designing time I have some lovely new fabric for quilting or should it be cross stitch, decisions decisions! CA

Yes, plenty of time to be creative! Quilting and knitting and hammering away in the garage, etc. Problem is, my neighbour's cellar is sorted (all done in the Spring lockdown), which leaves my attic which I really do not feel like sorting and cleaning at 10 degrees Celsius with minimal lighting. I am uncreative with my hands - unless one can call the creases in the ironed laundry a form of art - which is partly to do with me being very left-handed. So after household chores are done this leaves my brain to be creative and I am working on a history project but the archives and libraries are closed. Looks like no return to work before 6 February either ("Tourist? What's a tourist?") so I feel kind of lost.

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

Here is a screenshot of my "travel" apps page on my phone. Every day, Tripit helpfully reminds me that we've got nothing! 😭

I actually do have 2 trips planned in Tripit. The bike and barge for September 2021 that was moved from May 2020, (which has the cruise ports listed and a couple of post cruise hotels) and I have an African Safari booked for July 2022. (I actually also have an African Safari booked for July 2021 which was moved from February 2021, but I don't wish to deal with them, so rather than moving that to 2021 I would rather eat the deposit, if they won't let me hold it for another trip closer to home that would be booked closer to departure.)

[Ritabob]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

... partly to do with me being very left-handed. 

 

notamermaid, I'm sure you've heard " I may be left handed, but I'm always right".  Have you heard " everyone is left handed until they commit their first sin".   Time to polish up your halo! (I do mine weekly 😇)

 

 

[jpalbny]

43 minutes ago, Ritabob said:

" everyone is left handed until they commit their first sin". 

 

That's a new one on me. And I have a hard time believing that it's true (from personal experience)... If I told Chris that one, she might choke on her wine!

 

🤣

Edited January 5, 2021 by jpalbny

[Canal archive]

I am a scarce right hander in a family of mostly lefties, and I still taught a lot of the left handers in my Guide Company how to knit, sit opposite and copy.

We managed two holidays last year, one to the USA wonderful the family are planning our next trip they all want to go to Yosemite among other places fingers crossed in the next few years, the other to Bonnie Scotland, the first before the first lockdown the second in September. We have a barge holiday re-booked for next year on the Canal du Nivernais, fingers crossed again.

Notamermaid creases in ironed articles is of course artistic as is anything pleasing to the eye, does everyone appreciate Klimt!

[Ritabob]

Yes, I am a lefty that went through tough times when an elderly clergyman tried to force the devil out of me and tied my left hand to the table.  Luckily my parents stopped that. I knit right-handed, crochet left-handed, curl left, golf right, etc.  All while keeping my halo perched perfectly atop my head.

RB 

[notamermaid]

Oh, the lefties. And the stories of torture!

22 minutes ago, Ritabob said:

Yes, I am a lefty that went through tough times when an elderly clergyman tried to force the devil out of me and tied my left hand to the table.

Nothing as bad as that, awful! With me it was "nimm das schöne Händchen" - use the nice little hand - but it did not work, ha! My brain refused. So did the spoon and the scissors and the knife, they did not like me and refused to cooperate with my brain, the beasty little things. Come to think of it - neither did the knitting needles nor the shoe laces.

 

Interesting that you vary the hand, I know someone who does that as well. I cannot.

 

Ritabob, a regional nickname for us lot is "Linksdodsch"or Linkstotsch" depending on where in the Rhineland you live. It means left and the word "tatsch" which is related to English "touch" but has a meaning that includes clumsy touching for example. So a right-handed person that is really clumsy might be called that as well. Whichever way you look at it, it means being left-handed is "wrong".

 

3 hours ago, Ritabob said:

notamermaid, I'm sure you've heard " I may be left handed, but I'm always right".  Have you heard " everyone is left handed until they commit their first sin".   Time to polish up your halo! (I do mine weekly 😇)

Know the first, but not the second comment. Nice. I shall keep this in the back of my mind and think about it the next time I cut the bread loaf and somebody complains about the strange pattern on the slice.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by notamermaid
Added info

[Host Jazzbeau]

It goes back at least to the Romans.  In Latin, right hand is 'dexter' [dexterous] and left hand is 'sinister' [bwa-ha-ha]  But we lefties got the last laugh:  nobody learns Latin any more...