Silver Wind Live! Helsinki to Hamburg, June 4-16, 2023

[ging466]

Finally caught up with all the posts (although have seen a lot of JP's pics on the FB group).

It's certainly been a very interesting and scenic expedition. Thanks to all for posting.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[daddyo]

This Silversea Voyage rates in our top five. We really enjoyed the off the “radar” stops that most people will never see!  It was good to meet the regular posters. Despite a 7 hour  layover in Heathrow, we were home yesterday by 6:00pm. Looking forward to Wind, Nome to Vancouver in September!

[jpalbny]

Great meeting you @daddyo and we agree, this cruise was really special. Some really interesting stops, off the beaten path, and great activities. Hope your next trip is as much fun! 

 

We are on our way home from Hamburg now. Our flight from Hamburg to Amsterdam was a few minutes early and we were bussed to a good location for the transfer gates. We were through passport control and lounge hunting within 10 minutes of landing. 

 

The new KLM lounge here on the Non-Schengen side is really nice! It's right by the Rijksmuseum. Up one flight and they have self check-in. From there, multiple lounge areas and a nice bar.

 

Up another level and there is a self-seating restaurant and bar where they serve "premium" food and drink. We'll check that out in an hour or so. We board in two hours so that should be about right. 

 

Will post some Hamburg pix in a bit.

Edited June 18, 2023 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

Friday June 16th. Disembarkation in Hamburg. 

 

We awoke from one bad dream to another. We had to leave today! I guess that's good in some ways, since I can barely fit into my clothes at this point. 

 

Some breakfast in LT then we left the suite to wait in Panorama. At about 8:50 we were politely told that we needed to leave.

 

We were taken to Fraser Suites by bus and as expected, the rooms weren't ready so it was a bit of a cluster. They sent the whole group from downstairs to upstairs and back again for no reason that I could discern. It did seem disorganized. 

 

Finally we figured out how to leave our backpacks so we could proceed. We walked to the Botanical Gardens and had a nice stroll. There were water features, 

 

 

And enough pollen to make you sneeze like crazy. 

 

 

But the bees were happy about that I think. 

 

 

There was a rose garden. Many blooms were past their prime but enough pretty ones to merit closer inspection. 

 

 

 

This was labeled as a "hotel for wild bees." It didn't look as luxurious as a SS ship but then again I didn't get close enough to be certain. 

 

 

More pretty blossoms. 

 

 

Apparently someone lost their glasses. Or the bees stole them?

 

 

A nice lake in the middle of the park was full of waterfowl, including this pair of tufted ducks. 

 

 

 

The TV tower looked pretty from this angle. 

 

 

We exited the park and headed towards our next stop at the Binnenalster. Outside the park, there was a lot of nice architecture. I don't know what this building is. 

 

 

Now time for lunch! It's been a few hours since SS left us to fend for ourselves and I have this strange feeling in my gut...could it be hunger? 

[jpalbny]

Friday June 16th, Hamburg part two.

 

We walked to Binnenalster and grabbed a table at a busy place for lunch. The drinks arrived quickly and for a moment I thought we were back on SS.

 

 

The food was fast too, and tasty. I had currywurst and Chris had a schnitzel. But all comparisons to SS evaporated when they asked us to pay for the food and drink!

 

So we walked around the Binnenalster admiring the views. The Rathaus looks nice from this distance. 

 

 

On the lake, a Greylag Goose.

 

 

From the far side of the Binnenalster, the spires of Hamburg make a nice reflection. 

 

 

Now it was after 14:00 so in theory our rooms would be ready. So we headed back to check in.

 

We knew it would be complicated because our TA had reserved a second night for us, independently of the SS reservation. But the agent found it and we checked in for both. We just had to come back before 11AM tomorrow to reprogram the keys.

 

It took a while to find our backpacks. We had to look in four different rooms! Finally we found them in the first room. We were taken to the suite and told that our larger bags would be delivered soon.

 

So we waited... After about 45 minutes, we went to the front desk to inquire. "Did you go to the luggage room to identify them?" No, we weren't asked to... So a trip to the basement to yet another room find our bags, which were there. We got the prize for having the smallest bags, so we got to bring them to the suite ourselves. Which was fine with us.

 

Now we headed down to the harbor. We hadn't fully explored this area last time, so we took our time. Beautiful brick buildings! 

 

 

 

And a nice view of St. Katherine's church.

 

 

At the far end of Speicherstadt, this view awaited. Worth the walk.

 

 

Now we turned back towards the Elbe and there were many more photo opportunities. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we dragged ourselves back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We'd made a reservation at a tapas restaurant and it didn't disappoint.

 

We had Padron peppers, ham, and a delicious Mallorcan potato salad that we've not seen on menus before. 

 

 

We also had delicious sautéed mushrooms, chorizo roasted with potatoes, and of course gambas al ajillo. All went well with a bottle of Grauburgunder.

 

The proprietor was surprised to find two tourists from New York at his place, as it was a hole in the wall. But it's the #4 restaurant on another site so why not try it? Glad we did!

 

We shuffled back home to sleep but managed to enjoy the view of the spire of St. Nicholas's church. From here you can't really tell that it's a ruin.

 

 

27,000 steps later we called it a day. These trips are going to wear me out! 

[LAexNY]

Sunday, Newcastle England

 

Several tours were offered:  Alnwick Castle & Garden where Harry Potter and Downton Abbey were filmed, Hadrian’s Wall and Durham City & Cathederal.

We chose to do Newcastle on our own.  Charming city with great architecture.

Oceania Marina was in port near us.  About five times the size of the Wind.

Food and service onboard remain excellent.

[jpalbny]

Saturday June 17th. Extra day in Hamburg.

 

Turns out that we have done most of what we wanted to do already. But that won't stop us from running ourselves ragged.

 

We were up early and at breakfast by 7:30 since we'd bought entry tickets for Miniature Wunderland for 8:30. We were greeted at the empty breakfast room, by a serious fellow who asked if we'd made a reservation... No (seriously, for breakfast)? Fine... room number? OK we have a table for you...

 

It was OK but glad it's included. Then we went to see the Miniature Wunderland. It was even better than we'd expected! Lots of German, Swiss, and Austrian landscapes. This view of Neuschwanstein is familiar but the background looks different! 

 

 

They had tons of model train stations, and a huge airport where planes landed and took off. Saw the Concorde too!

 

 

Plenty of other places modeled there as well. The Arctic Cathedral in Tromso was familiar.

 

 

And Antarctica too!

 

 

We spent about two hours there, and could have stayed longer. But we had to get to the hotel to change the keys.

 

A little line ahead of us with some former shipmates checking out. Then the desk agent informed us that she can't find our reservation. I showed her the email confirmation and explained that we'd already checked in yesterday with your colleague (at the next desk) so we had to wait for that person to fix it...which she did easily. A few kinks to work out here I guess.

 

We looked for more to do and found a walk out in the hinterlands. So I got Metro tickets on my HVV app, and off we went. We started off along a stream which gradually widened into a canal.

 

 

 

We saw other odd sights too. At one point a railroad bridge for the U-Bahn crossed the canal. We walked under and saw a rowdy bunch of shirtless men up to something... Drinking was definitely involved! 

 

As we continued onward, I looked back to see what they were up to... And I caught an eyeful. A naked man had scaled the bridge, and as I watched incredulously, he leaped off and did a rather impressive backflip into the water below!

 

No pictures, but it did happen! 

 

Instead, as we continued, the canal widened into a lake.

 

 

We made it to the shore of the Aussenalster. Three men in a (small) boat awaited.

 

 

And more beautiful views.

 

 

We walked the shore of Aussenalster until we finally turned inland, looking for lunch. Found a street where every other building was a restaurant, and settled on an Italian wine bar.

 

I had Spargel with a delicious schnitzel, and Chris had asparagus risotto with ham. We tried a white blend from a favorite Alto Adige winery, Hoffstäter, which was very nice.

 

We headed home to rest our feet. Then out to the Rathaus for some distorted pictures. It's just impossible!

 

 

We'd kicked our list and then some. So we decided to try the Elbtunnel again. As we approached, the weather got a little intense.

 

 

Through the tunnel - it's a really nice walk.

 

 

Unfortunately when we exited the other side, it was pouring! We waited a bit but it got even stronger, so we decided to bail. We walked back through the tunnel. Of course, the sun was out again when we got back. Crazy weather! 

 

For dinner we went to a place a block away from the hotel. We had a Flammekuchen and a meat & cheese tray. And here we thought that we'd start eating light. One of those containers was pure lard! As if the butter isn't fatty enough. 

 

 

 

We walked home in the beautiful late summer light.

 

 

Only 23000 steps today. We are slipping. Good thing we fly home tomorrow! 

Edited June 18, 2023 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

25 minutes ago, LAexNY said:

Food and service onboard remain excellent.

 

But how are you faring at trivia? 🤣

 

We miss you, and wish we could have stayed on. We're in Amsterdam now, on the plane, almost ready to go.

[TLCOhio]

29 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

We're in Amsterdam now, on the plane, almost ready to go.

 

Safe travels home for J.P. and Chris.  Super enjoyed all of the interesting architecture, history, food and sights from Hamburg.  Great sharing.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[LAexNY]

We had to reconstitute our trivia team after losing Jpalbny and Rachel G.  We went for more international diversity this time adding a Canadian and an Aussie to us Americans.

We made second place yesterday and tied for first today.

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Apparently someone lost their glasses. Or the bees stole them?

 

I think that's a Dalek.  When they get old they apparently need glasses [just like us!]

[avalong]

Thanks so much for the beautiful pics of Hamburg. They are a real eye-opener. Apparently I've seen too many Beatles documentaries emphasizing the seedier side of Hamburg. Who knew it was charming?

[LAexNY]

Monday 19 June

Holy Island of Lindisarne, England, near the Scottish border.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Is that JP and Chris scaling the castle wall? 🤣

[Mr Luxury]

On 6/18/2023 at 1:31 PM, jpalbny said:

Friday June 16th. Disembarkation in Hamburg. 

 

We awoke from one bad dream to another. We had to leave today! I guess that's good in some ways, since I can barely fit into my clothes at this point. 

 

Some breakfast in LT then we left the suite to wait in Panorama. At about 8:50 we were politely told that we needed to leave.

 

We were taken to Fraser Suites by bus and as expected, the rooms weren't ready so it was a bit of a cluster. They sent the whole group from downstairs to upstairs and back again for no reason that I could discern. It did seem disorganized. 

 

Finally we figured out how to leave our backpacks so we could proceed. We walked to the Botanical Gardens and had a nice stroll. There were water features, 

 

 

And enough pollen to make you sneeze like crazy. 

 

 

But the bees were happy about that I think. 

 

 

There was a rose garden. Many blooms were past their prime but enough pretty ones to merit closer inspection. 

 

 

 

This was labeled as a "hotel for wild bees." It didn't look as luxurious as a SS ship but then again I didn't get close enough to be certain. 

 

 

More pretty blossoms. 

 

 

Apparently someone lost their glasses. Or the bees stole them?

 

 

A nice lake in the middle of the park was full of waterfowl, including this pair of tufted ducks. 

 

 

 

The TV tower looked pretty from this angle. 

 

 

We exited the park and headed towards our next stop at the Binnenalster. Outside the park, there was a lot of nice architecture. I don't know what this building is. 

 

 

Now time for lunch! It's been a few hours since SS left us to fend for ourselves and I have this strange feeling in my gut...could it be hunger? 

No it's an ulcer.

[CruisinPashmina]

Thank you ALL for such a wonderful, comprehensive thread. I think it’s the best one I have ever read on CC. It was terrific fun to sail along with you, to pretend I was hiking and to order off the menus along side of you. 
The Wind was our first SS ship in 1998 so she will always be special. Long may she sail, and may she always sail with lively, appreciative voyagers!

[LAexNY]

Tuesday 20 June

St. Abbs, Scotland

[LAexNY]

Tuesday evening, Isle of May Scotland.  Puffins galore.

[RachelG]

JP, have you scheduled your cardiac bypass surgery yet after that meal?

[Host Jazzbeau]

5 minutes ago, RachelG said:

JP, have you scheduled your cardiac bypass surgery yet after that meal?

He did it himself while Chris was driving home from the airport! 🤣

[RachelG]

Our flight from Hamburg to LHR was uneventful.  We landed at terminal 5, and had to go back through security again even though our next flight was out of terminal 5 as well.  The board didn't show a gate for our onward flight to Boston even though it said gate would be open at 1600, and it was 1620.  Flight was to leave at 1715, so we headed to the BA lounge to find out more information.  The first lady said no gate yet, but flight was still listed as on time.  We waited a few minutes and asked another lady, who said go to the gate now, it is boarding, so we hustled on down.  

 

There had been a change of aircraft, so my carefully chosen seats had been changed and not in a good way, but we survived.

 

We landed in Boston, collected our bags and went to the Hilton Airport and crashed.  We got a good nights sleep.  

 

Back to the airport next morning, we found our flight was delayed, but only 30 minutes, so not a big deal.  We eventually boarded, and waited, and waited.  The pilot said there was paperwork to be done.  After an hour (1 1/2 hr delay total),, we finally pulled back from the gate.  I had been watching our once comfortable connection get smaller and smaller.  Now we only had 30 minutes to make our connection, doable in DFW but tight.  And a girl in her 20's comes running down the aisle demanding to be let off the plane as she was going to miss her connection in DFW and didn't want to stay in Dallas by herself over night.  She was having a melt down, crying and running back and forth down the aisle.  The flight attendants finally got her settled down, and we took off, but that took 15 minutes.

 

So we missed our connection in DFW, but got the last 2 seats on the next flight.  and our luggage arrived with us.

 

And first night home, Tulsa had a huge windstorm with winds 100 mph, not a tornado, just straight winds.  We didn't lose power but most of the city did.  Still over 150,000 without power as of this am.  one son lost his fence.  The other was without power for 2 days.  I slept right though the storm!

 

[jpalbny]

3 hours ago, RachelG said:

JP, have you scheduled your cardiac bypass surgery yet after that meal?

 

I picked up a home PCI kit at Hearts'R'us. And we started our diet yesterday.

 

Your journey home sounded like quite an adventure! And that windstorm was not exactly the kind of welcome home I'd be looking for.

 

Our journey home was relatively easy but not without some minor annoyances. We slept in and went to breakfast only to find that it wasn't included on day #2 (different reservation), even though the person who checked us in had told us it was. No big deal as we weren't crazy about it, so we just had a coffee in the room.

 

The Hamburg airport website had made a point of saying to arrive 3h prior to you flight so we got the S1 train, from the station about 2 blocks from the hotel, which goes directly to the airport. You just have to know that the train splits one stop ahead of the airport and the first half goes to the airport - the second half goes elsewhere. Luckily I had figured that out ahead of time and we were in the right group of cars. So we got to Hamburg airport about 9:30 for our 12:15 flight - and a guy guarding the lines at the KLM/AF counters would not let us get in the check-in line! "Amsterdam? No!! Come back in 45 minutes!"

 

So that was a waste of time. We went up to the 3rd floor and hung out on the open-air deck of the McCafe to catch some fresh air, such as it was. Back down around 10:10 and he let us into the Sky Priority line. Phew! The line was initially moving very slowly and we finally figured out that the AF Paris-bound flight ahead of us was canceled, so the agents were taking a long time to get that straightened out. Once we got to the desk, the agent asked us, "Paris or Amsterdam?" and was very relieved to know that we were going to Amsterdam. We were checked in quickly and headed to security. And @Stumblefoot, we checked our suitcases! Reason being is that we had too many liquids to fit into a 1qt bag.

 

No line at security though they selected Chris's backpack for a random swabbing. To the lounge where initially the food offerings were skimpy but they brought out the sausages and potato salad around 11:00 so we were happy. To the gate around 11:45, boarded quickly, and out a few minutes early. We arrived in AMS early, but had to be bussed to the terminal. That turned out OK since we were let off past security, and close to where we had to go through passport control to exit Schengen. Less than 5 minutes wait there, and we headed to the KLM lounge.

 

It had been a while since we were last at the non-Schengen KLM lounge and it's been totally redone. It was quite nice, with multiple levels, a sky deck where you can sit outdoors, and multiple "zones" that divide up the cavernous space to make it seem smaller and more intimate. Unfortunately the restaurant and bar upstairs serve pretty much everything for an upcharge so we looked at the menu and left. Downstairs, the free food selection was limited but enough to get us by until our flight.

 

We headed to our gate around the time that boarding was supposed to start and as we approached, they put up the signs to guide you to the correct line for your zone. So we were first in line, and first on the plane after pre-boarding. That got us enough time for a glass of Champagne and a refill! We left on time and the flight was uneventful. Meals were nice and I enjoyed the mini-rijsttafel for dinner, though the snack before landing was a weird "hamburger" that wasn't any better than the Silver Wind's version. 

 

Landed in Boston,  and to the gate on time. Global Entry was absolute chaos though and it took at least 15 minutes to get through. Then we waited another 25 minutes for bags as the "priority" tags came out way later than other bags. This is why I hate checking bags...

 

We got to the bus stop and waited about 15 minutes for the bus to Framingham which wasn't bad, and with minimal traffic on a Sunday night, we were at the parking lot by 8:00. We started out at 8:10 and I drove the whole way somehow. Chris stayed awake most of the way to make sure I didn't fall asleep. We rolled into our driveway at 10:20, exhausted, and went straight to bed. Luckily the 19th was a holiday so we didn't have to go back to work until today!

 

Until next time! (June 2024, The Kimberly) - signing off. And I'm making hamburgers for dinner! The real kind, with ground beef, no fillers, and grilled to medium-rare perfection.

 

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by jpalbny

[WesW]

JP, our last segment of the Indian Ocean Grand Voyage on the Silver Cloud in early June 2024 goes from Singapore to Darwin (May 24-Jun 9), when are Chris and you doing your Kimberley voyage? Hope u enjoyed your burgers, we pair a nice Zin with our Burgers but some folks prefer beer.

[jpalbny]

26 minutes ago, WesW said:

JP, our last segment of the Indian Ocean Grand Voyage on the Silver Cloud in early June 2024 goes from Singapore to Darwin (May 24-Jun 9), when are Chris and you doing your Kimberley voyage? Hope u enjoyed your burgers, we pair a nice Zin with our Burgers but some folks prefer beer.

 

What a coincidence! We will embark on Cloud on June 9th. I didn't realize that it was the first voyage of the season. Hope we have a chance to meet up!

[Stumblefoot]

On 6/20/2023 at 5:40 PM, jpalbny said:

And @Stumblefoot, we checked our suitcases! Reason being is that we had too many liquids to fit into a 1qt bag. 

Proud of you.