LieberTwin Eurotrip Blog

Queen Mary 2

2007-09-02T16:17:00.001-07:00

First of all let me just say that we found a trip for Penny! The Queen Mary 2 has a Kennel! All pets are allowed! They even sell Queen Mary cat and doggie bowls, neck collars, sitting mats and animal clothing all sporting the Queen Mary and Cunard logo! Penny can be treated like the Queen she is on this ocean liner!

The Queen Mary 2 is the largest and grandest ocean liner in the world. We could not think of a better way to end our European Lieber-Trip than with a transatlantic voyage home on the Queen Mary 2. This ship holds about 4,000 people and they serve over 15,000 meals a day! The Cunard Cruise Line is known for their “Whit Star Service” this means they pledge to make this a legendary, elegant and memorable cruising experience.

To our surprise when we boarded the ship, we had gotten an upgrade and we had some lovely gifts waiting for us in our room! Thank you! Our days on board were spent winning our Cunard Golden Tickets (very similar to the Holland America Dam Dollas), playing trivia, darts and other games like shuffle board and quoits. Of course Josh won at quoits beating a man probably twice his age, this is an old Lieberman tactic that we learned from our dad when he goes and plays tennis, we finally figured out how he wins! Also, Scott got first place in darts! We also did get a perfect score during one of the trivia events (they repeated the quiz from earlier in the week and we remembered the answers)! We need to give a “shout-out” to our new friends from Worcester; she threw a bean bag into the pool and has a sock puppet, but that’s ok because she is from Worcester so we do understand! We also got to experience a planetarium and an audio walking tour of the ship!

On the first night in the casino we were playing 50 cent tokens on roulette in honor of Stacy’s birthday and we both won! At first I was paid out as if we were playing with dollar tokens and then when Scott was getting a payout he caught himself and paid Scott in 50 cent tokens and he then proceeded to pay me again with the 50 cent payout! I made three times my actual winnings! Holla! On this cruise we met two French girls who sat at our table and had a blast with them, we did some dancing like Marilyn Monroe (the British will understand that). We attended an Ascot Ball where all the women wore some crazy hats, played baggies and wacky bowling and we are happy to report that neither of us ended up making any donations to the casino. Sally spin the wheel, Sally spin the wheel!

This cruise was great!

It is 5:30am on August 31, 2007 and we have just cruised past the Statue of Liberty, you know what this means, we are home! It is has been an amazing journey filled with good times, lots of laughter, amazing sights and opportunities. The friendships that we have made and the ones we have been reunited with along the way is what truly helped make this a journey of a lifetime! Thank you all for everything! Well, I guess the real question is, where are we going to go next summer?

Happy Birthday Stacy (8/25), Bournemouth, England, The Hardcastle’s, and Cricket

2007-08-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

After leaving Bath, we took a train to visit the hometown of another great camp friend, Luke Hardcastle. We were only spending 24 hours there, but boy did we see and do a lot. Bournemouth is a town which is situated along the bluffs of England’s Southern Coast. When you walk the coastline you have amazing views of the sea.

When we arrived Luke gave us a tour of the outskirts of the city, the costal views were amazing. We then went to his house, where we unloaded and talked in their backyard with flowers, grape plants and a little pond. We were then treated to a freshly made traditional English dinner. It was delicious and had mashed potatoes, beef, and a brown sauce. We also had some Peas and Rolls. It was a very nice home cooked meal. Later that evening we walked to a local pub near the beach. After having a few drinks we walked to the edge of the bluff and saw fireworks in the distance. It was a very nice way to end the evening. It was especially nice of Luke to arrange the fireworks for our arrival.

The next morning we woke up to a very busy day. We had so much to do as this was our last day in England. We woke up early and had a full English breakfast, some of the brave even tried haggis. We were then off to find a ₤ .99 store, see where Luke worked, go to the ship to drop off luggage, find a customs agent, call Stacy to wish her a happy birthday, watch Luke play cricket, and then take a train back to Southampton before the ship left us in England. We succeeded; everything was completed with a few moments to spare.

One of the highlights of being in Bournemouth was watching Luke play Cricket. I will be completely honest when I had no idea what was going on, but it was nice to see Luke bowl. His team was winning when we left to go to the train station, so I hope they kept scoring those runs.

Luke we just wanted to say you and your family are truly amazing. Thank you for hosting us while we stayed in Bournemouth. We can’t wait to see you when you come to New York or, maybe we will see you in February.

Bath, England, Stonehenge, and Simon's Family

2007-08-25T01:55:00.000-07:00

Bath was transformed into England’s first spa resort by the Roman’s in the 18th century. With its bubbling pool of water at the heart of the city, this is one of Britain’s greatest memorials to the Roman era. Bath also many other riches such as a beautiful Abbey, The Pulteney Bridge, and many Crescents where people live.

When we arrived, Simon picked us up from the train station and drove us to our hotel. Simon is one of our first “overseas friends” who we met at Camp Frank A. Day. He has not changed much except he now has a lovely wife Heidi and a beautiful daughter Phoebe. Phoebe who is only three months old is the most precious thing we have seen on this trip. She is so cute and definitely gets her looks from Heidi.

Our hotel was amazing, picture an old castle like building sitting in the country side along rolling hills with lots of gardens housing private sitting areas. It couldn’t be a more beautiful picturesque scene. Our first evening in Bath was a lot of fun. We met with Simon and participated in a Bizarre Bath evening tour. It was a great comedy tour recommended by Simon. After the tour we had a few drinks and laughs at different pubs. Simon even taught us a new game to play.

The next day, Simon picked us up at the hotel and drove us around Bath and the surrounding areas towards Stonehenge. During the trip, he gave us his own narrated tour with history and points of interests including tidbits of white horses which we eventually saw. I am not sure about the whole story of the White Horses, but it has to do with winning a battle. In either case, Stonehenge was one of the most amazing monuments we’ve seen on this trip. Many centuries ago ancient people mapped the course of the sun and moon to build this massive monument. Nobody is quite sure how they moved the stones in place, but it was quite impressive. After visiting Stonehenge, Simon drove us back to the Bath where we spent the day walking around the city. Later that evening, Simon picked us up from the town center and drove us to his house for an unforgettable barbeque dinner which was filled with food, pictures from the past, laughs, the baby, and their wedding video/photographs. This is just what we needed after weeks and weeks od traveling.

Bath was truly an amazing part of the trip. We thank Simon, Heidi and Phoebe for hosting and putting up with us (including Randi) during our trip. When you come to New York, feel free to use our grill and cook us another dinner again and Josh might even buy you a new pair of sunglasses. Oh and the lobster was delicious!

Cheers Mate!

London

2007-08-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

The train ride from Brussels to London was awesome. We went on a Eurostar train under the Chunnel. The whole ride took 2 ½ hours, but we lost an hour heading west so time wise the trip was only 1½ hours long. We had first class service with snacks, dinner, and drinks. We also met some very nice ladies who were celebrating a birthday. Their names were Elaine and the birthday girl Sonia. We all had a nice time, must most importantly, thanks to Elaine with the lastminute.com suggestion. We saw an amazing West End show called Blood Brothers. It was an amazing show about twins separated at birth. Sitting only eleven rows from the stage for ₤18.50 we did not miss anything.

When we arrived in London it was a great surprise to see Randi in the station with Jessica. We then made our way to the Five Star Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel which hosts UK’s version of the Emmy’s. The icing on the cake was the air conditioner didn’t work in one of the rooms so we got upgraded to a suite. We could have been sleeping on the same bed where Sir Elton John might have slept. I could have sat on the same throne as Ozzy Osbourne. Anywho enough about the Loo.

The first night we went out for dinner with Luke, Angela, Randi, and Randi’s friends Jeremy and Krista. We had a low key night not too far from the hotel. It was great to see everybody again. It was just like old times.

The next 48 hours was filled with touring, fog, friends, rain, a show, and fun. We took a traditional Double Decker Bus Tour around London in addition to a River Cruise on the Thames. Just to name a few, some of the things we saw included The Millennium Foot Bridge, West Minister Abby, The London Tower, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, a Cruise Ship Parked in the Thames, and the tower which houses “Big Ben”. Did you know, the clock which spans over 30 feet is not “Big Ben”, but the bell inside is the real “Big Ben”. One of the most fun things we did was go on the London Eye. Luke treated and we all saw spectacular views of London it was definitely one of the trips highlights. Thank You Luke!

Our last night in London was very enjoyable and sad. We had dinner in Trafalgar Square with Randi, Angela, Jessica, and our Kiwi friend Renee. After dinner we all walked to Covent Gardens for a drink. It was bittersweet because we had to say some goodbyes because tomorrow we are off to Bath.

Cologne, Germany and Amsterdam, Kingdom of the Netherlands

2007-08-20T00:39:00.000-07:00

Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany. It is known for its many cathedrals, its young population, its Roman heritage, and its production of beer. We spent the day taking a walking tour of the city. The tour included visiting the Cologne Cathedral which houses the Shrine of the Three Kings and a beer tasting at the Fruh Brewery.

Something we found interesting was that when the people of Cologne start new construction projects, they usually unearth artifacts dating back to medieval times. The deeper they dig, the more artifacts they find. This delays most construction projects because they have to call archeologist to determine how to remove and classify the artifacts. A major construction project which has had numerous delays is the building of the new underground railway system. Cost wise and time wise, this might put the Boston’s BIG DIG to shame. We even took a picture of the oldest road in Cologne which was uncovered while doing some digging for a subway station. Even though the city is pretty modern, they have an old town which has been restored to its natural beauty. They even have the cute cobble stone streets with the uneven surfaces. As you might have guessed it, we had another accident involving an elderly woman. She was walking along the cobble stone and took a fall. She is ok and was able to continue on for the rest of the cruise. The other person will not be joining us for the remainder of the trip.

Amsterdam, Kingdom of the Netherlands

All I can say is WATCH OUT FOR THOSE DAM BIKES!!! If you are not watching carefully, THEY WILL TAKE YOU OUT!!!! Josh spent some time directing passenger traffic so they would not get into accidents with the bicycles. On the trip we already had two ladies fall on the streets, one was taken to the hospital for surgery; we were not taking any chances on our last full day with the River Cruise. I think he found a new calling in life.

Today we had a tour of Rijksmuseum and a water boat tour of the city of Amsterdam. We saw some masterpieces painted by Rembrandt and Frans Hals. We also saw the infamous Night Watch painted by Rembrandt. After going back to the ship for dinner and a farewell get together. We decided to visit the oldest section of Amsterdam with a friend. If you could only imagine these little cobble stone streets and alleys, lots of little shops, waterways intertwining with the streets, beautiful flower boxes everywhere, so rich in history this area was really something and filled with culture. There was so much to see and do before we had to return to the ship. Only having a few hours to spend, we window shopped and had a few beers. It really was interesting seeing things in all different ages, shapes, and sizes. The Red Light District was truly a cultural experience. Talk about Bachelor Party Number 1, HOLLA!

One of the funniest things that happened this evening was having many people from the ship ask us if they could join us for the expedition of The Red Light District. One couple even asked if we would take their daughter and her friend along to sure they did not get into any trouble! Oh, if they only knew us! A GREAT time was had by all even a wild a crazy lady who is a “proper” mom and does not want her name to be mentioned (if her family read’s this just check the pictures, we have proof).

As the night went on we went back to the ship for a late night happy hour with some champagne and watched as the crew wondered back on to the ship one by one!

It is our last day in Amsterdam and we did some street shopping and of course wanted to make sure we did not leave any corners unexplored in the oldest part of town! Off to London!

Wertheim, Glassblowing, Horse Racing, Mainz, Rudesheim

2007-08-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

What a busy 48 hours. We visited three cities, participated in a Glassblowing demonstration, had two happy hours, got lost, and were horses. Now that isn’t bad for a river cruise.

Wertheim, Germany

Throughout history, Wertheim has been known as a “safe town” with the friendliest inhabitants in Germany. Located between the Tauber and Main Rivers they have had many visitors and merchants come through via boat. It has been said in the past they’ve shared liquor unique to their region with most visitors who passed through. On an average, each house had three barrels of this wine/liquor in their basement. They even offered this liquor to the allies during WWII to show they were not Nazis and were friends. Rumor has it the Mayor went to the top of the Burg or castle with an Oompa Band and this liquor to show armies the residents of Wertheim were not Nazis and not to open fire. The town was not fired upon and it is still home to one of the largest stone fortresses in Germany belonging to the many Counts of Wertheim. Wertheim also has a strong Jewish Heritage which they try to preserve. They have set up many monuments through out the town and we also learned you can find many Jewish residents of Israel, England, and the United States with a last name similar to Wertheim. If you ask them their heritage, their family was probably from Wertheim and escaped during the Holocaust. Another interesting fact was when a bar had fresh beer or liquor they would post a picture over their door because most people couldn’t read. This picture of this sign was a Star of David with a Beer Stein in the middle. You can see a picture of this old sign in our photos.

Well the tradition still stands today. We met a man name Hans Ittig a 6th generation glassblower in town who apparently knows Mark Goldschmidt’s brother, Eric from visiting The Glass Blowing Museum in Corning, New York. Anyway, we started talking because he liked our last name “Lieberman” which translates to “love man” so he gave us each a bottle of Jagermeister. We spoke some more and he let us use his Internet and we had some laughs. Hans also did a glass blowing demonstration on our ship and Josh was picked to make a one of a kind piece. CHECK OUT THE VIDEO!!!

Later that evening, Josh and I were asked to be two horses during the horse race for the ship. The crowd loved it, and we had a good time. You can check out the pictures in the slideshow.

Mainz, Germany

Mainz is a bustling city where old meets new. There were plenty of historic buildings intertwined with newly built modern buildings. Mainz is also the capital of Rhieland-Palatinate and is situated on the Rhine River. In addition to political and religious reasons, which I am not going to talk about, Mainz is famous for being the birthplace of Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. We went to the Gutenberg museum, and Josh helped a tour guide press a verse of the bible using the press. It was very interesting. We then went back to the ship after getting lost trying to find a supermarket for happy hour supplies.

Rudesheim, Germany

Today we took a tour of the Siegfried’s Musikkabinett or Siegfried’s Music Museum. It was a small museum which housed organs, pianos, record players, and self playing instruments from the 18th through the 20th centuries. Each unit was very detailed and played an array of familiar sounds and instruments using both cardboard and wooden spools to play/trigger the notes of the different instruments. Since it was a nice day with a breeze coming from the river, Josh and I along with a fellow passenger decided to climb a mountain to reach the Denkmal. The Denkmal is a shrine that stands high above the Rhine River. It was a nice uphill hike through vineyards and country side with spectacular views. We waved to a lot fellow passenger who took the Drosselgasse or Ski lift to the top. We thought it would be nice to take the ski lift down, but the cost was 4.50 euros for a one way ticket or 6.50 euros for a roundtrip ticket. So we walked down and saved the money to get cultured. We spent the evening getting cultured in the little town. We had a nice time and met some people from the ship for drinks in the various café’s and bars.

Fruhschoppen and Bamberg, Wurzburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

2007-08-15T02:14:00.000-07:00

Today we had a traditional Fruhschoppen on board the Viking Pride. What is a Fruhschoppen you might ask? Well… most Germans in traditional cities will stop at a local shop or stand between 10:30am – 11:00am to have a beer, some soft pretzels, and sausages while listening to music and enjoying each others company. Josh and I participated in this highly cultural event.

Bamberg, Germany

Bamberg is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany. The town is divided into two parts by a river. The river separates the old part of town and the newer part of town. All throughout Bamberg you can cross between old and new town using one of the many bridges. I got lost because I was reading the map wrong AGAIN. Josh had the idea of holding the map upside down which put everything back into perspective and we found our way to our meeting point. Bamberg is a great city that kept most of its medieval appeal. It has also been noted as one of the few towns in Germany to sustain almost no damage during WWII. An interesting souvenir out of Bamberg is “smoked beer”. I am not sure how it is made, but it tastes as if the beer has been infused with smoked almonds. It was something nice to try once, but defiantly not one of our favorites.

Wurzburg, Germany

Located in the middle of Franconian Vineyards along the banks of the Main River, Wurzburg hosts a beautiful Baroque palace which we were able to tour. The palace is one of the largest ones in Germany and was built in the 1700’s. One of the most amazing finds in this palace was the grand staircase with a vaulted ceiling of over 6400 square feet covered with a masterpiece by Balthasar Neumann. Neumann depicted all known continents of the time with drawings of people, animals, and landscapes from each region. It was very impressive.

Our tour group suffered a minor setback when an older woman fell and broke her elbow. She tripped on cobble stone while backing up to take a picture of her friend. We found out after being taken away by ambulance, she endured a three hour surgery and might be joining the cruise again in a couple of days. Her friend is back on the boat and one of the local guides who showed us around Wurzburg is going to visit her in the hospital and keep in touch with the boat via cell phone. Luckily for her, this is the same place where the x-ray was invented (and cochlear implants).

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is located by the Tauber River. Most people call this town Rothenburg for short. This beautiful picturesque town has been preserved since the 16th century with medieval buildings, old fort walls, fountains and cobble stone streets. It was nice to walk around and climb up to the top of one of the fort walls. We also had a traditional lunch with sausages and sauerkraut.

Regensburg Germany, Nuremberg, Germany, and Main Canal

2007-08-13T05:10:00.000-07:00

Regensburg, Germany

We spent the morning trying to complete the daily quiz and challenging our minds to a game of Sudoku. Last night we had a happy hour with some people we have met on the river cruise. One of the couples had a magnificent room on the top deck which has enough room for eight people and a window that opened. We had a nice time before dinner with fresh air from the Danube.

When we docked in Regensburg we took a walking tour of the town. We got to hear more of the David and Goliath story, see the oldest stone bridge and tour the oldest sausage factory in Germany. Of course we also visited the lovely churches (St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Old Town Hall and the Holy Trinity Church, Dominican Church, New Parish Church, and The Holy Chapel)…One of the most interesting things about Regensburg was that you need to get married at the Old Town Hall. Now this is a very picturesque spot with tiny cobble stone roads, old architecture and the buildings all have window boxes filled with flowers of all sorts, it is picture perfect for a wedding, despite all the tour groups, cars, taxis and buses that just happen to be roaming through. We may have seen at least six different weddings while walking through town and in some cases they even served champagne in the streets!

After dinner, we thought we were going to have a lesson on how to speak German. Needless to say, they prefaced the lesson on what happens to river cruises when the river water levels get too high or too low. The hotel manager showed us pictures of past river cruises that have endured tragedies. We learned that if the water levels get too high, you might be asked to pack your bags and finish your trip using busses and hotel accommodations because the ship cannot pass under the bridges. If the water gets too low, the ships have run aground, been stuck on rocks, propellers have been damaged, and some river cruises end in the middle of the Danube. The pictures were incredible, but we have had non-stop rain for three days, I am afraid, the waters levels might be getting too high for the ship to pass under some of the bridges… Only time will tell…

Nuremberg, Germany

This is the sight of Hitler’s uprising, lots of Nazi party rallies and the famous Nuremberg Trial’s. Before the 20th century Nuremburg was one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Germany. Located at the crossroads of major trade routes; anything you wanted could find at Nuremberg. Nuremberg was regarded as the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (this becomes a very important piece of psychological information). In Nuremberg you can tour the Kaiserburg Castle which is something not to be missed! The views are outstanding and you feel like your walking through a medieval village.

Over the years prior to the 20th century Nuremberg’s political and economic importance started to decline. Amongst other reasons, Hitler used this to his advantage to rally Germans and eventually launch his Nazi Empire. He played these mind games and promised the citizens that they would again become the awesome power (Roman Empire of Germany) they once were 5 to 10 centuries ago. Hitler even started to build buildings that would be bigger and better than the Coliseum in Rome. Needless to say his “Coliseum” was never finished and to this day remains unfinished and unused. It is now known as Congress Hall; it gives detailed information about the history of the Party Rallies and exposes them as manipulative rituals of Nazi propaganda. We also visited the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, the location of the Nuremberg war-crime trials.

Main Canal

Main Canal pronounced “Mein” connects the Danube and Rhine Rivers. It stretches over 106 miles between Kelheim and Bamberg Germany. The highest point of the canal is 1,340 feet above sea level. It is an awesome sight to watch the canal reservoirs fill as the ship lowers. Our river cruise has left the Danube River and has been traveling the full length of the Main Canal over 68 locks. We will end up in the Rhine River to continue our travels through Germany eventually ending in Amsterdam.

Melk, Austria and Passau, Germany

2007-08-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

Melk, Austria

While in Vienna some of our friends that we had met decided to go the Schonbrunn Palace, they then proceeded to come back with some pictures for Scott and convince him to have his wedding there; I guess we will all be taking a river cruise as a family next October!

On a side note, we would like to go back and tell you another fun fact about Budapest that we had forgotten to mention. Did you know that Professor Rubric was a professor at a university in Budapest? He invented the Rubric’s Cube to help teach math concepts to his students!

In Melk Austria, this was our last chance to have any Arnold sightings. Did you know that the “Governator” is portrayed as one of Austria’s most famous people? Anyhow, Melk lies at the Western end of one of the loveliest stretches of the Danube River, the Wachau. Everywhere you look on the river you can find, old towers, churches, colorful houses and the famous Benedictine Abbey which itself houses (yes you guessed it) paintings (as well as ceiling paintings), sculptures, a beautiful library and some of the best views of the town. Our tour in Melk was at the abbey, during this tour we learned that it was painted yellow because that was one of the least expensive colors to purchase.

While on the tour we met a few people who decided to have a happy hour on the boat, so our Laura Lieberman/boy scout survival skills were put to the test. Needless to say our Swiss-Army Knife and ‘for-later’ skills have come in handy. We had a mini buffet on the top deck which would make our mom proud!

Passau, Germany

Well I am sorry to say we had no winners at Bingo last night, that was one of the two activities offered on board, the other was apple strudel making! Passau is a very interesting place to visit! First of all, we were (SCOTT was) reading the map completely wrong and yet we never got lost! In Passau we took a walking tour which ended in a church that gave us a pipe organ concert that was outstanding.

Passau, a frontier town between Bavaria and Austria and know as the “Town of the Three Rivers”, lies in a marvelous setting at the junction of the INN river, the DANUBE river and the small LLZ river. Lots of little cobble stone roads, nicely painted houses and lovely architecture. Naturally when two rivers join up with the Danube it almost doubles the flow volume of the Danube. This is interesting because we learned that when Hitler was five years old he fell into the river (he grew up in Passau) and a “good Samaritan” went into the icy cold river and saved Hitler’s life.

*Be sure to check out the video on how close the River Boat was to hitting the bridge, with all of the rain that fell during the short period of time and the point where the three river’s meet, we were almost asked to pack up our cabins and take a bus to the next location! You can see the Captain’s head sticking out of the top of the ship, all of the tables and chairs were taking off the top deck, even the side fence along the top decks were taken down. It was an amazing experience….just look at the captain, and his crew ducking down and double checking to see that we cleared the bridge!

Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria

2007-08-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

As we have quickly learned, a river cruise is VERY different from our usual ocean liner cruise. The security is very different; you can have 3 to 5 river boats tied up to each other and the only way to get to your boat is to pass through the other ones, no ID, just push the button and the door opens. Another difference is that you can openly bring your goods on to the boat without being searched, beer, soda, liquor and any other items one may find on shore are all welcomed to the ship and finally YOU DO NOT HAVE 24 HOUR ROOM SERVICE, however we met a group that brings little zip lock bags to breakfast and lunch so they can have some “for-laters” and they have given us a bag because they wanted us to keep quiet about what they were doing!

Bratislava is the capital city of Slovakia with over 450,000 inhabitants. First settled over 2,000 years ago by Celtic tribes, Bratislava has seen the rise and fall of many empires and has only had stability since 1919. The capitals city center is filled with many cafes with WIFI internet hot spots, modern art sculptures, and many historic government and university buildings. Today we took a train car tour and saw sights such as the Bratislava Castle, Michaels Gate, Slovak National Theater, Primate’s Palace, and the Old Town Hall. In Bratislava, we ventured off to the city square with hopes of seeing the blue neon lights that flow through the city, needless to say, we saw one light (supposedly the others were broken) we also met up with some people from the ship who decided to have a beer with us. The nightlife in Bratislava was very nice, a young and cheap city with lots of history and lots to see and do.

Vienna, Austria

At the beginning of the river cruise, we did a mitzvah and today it paid off. A couple we have met arrived to Budapest without their luggage. Today in Vienna, they received their luggage and rewarded us for doing a good deed by treating us to a beer and giving us a bunch of peanuts and goodies that they had hidden in their luggage for the trip.

Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria. Vienna is filled with churches, monuments, palaces, opera houses and yes it even has a handful of museums. Today we did a city tour of Vienna which included a stop at the Belvedere Palace and museum. After the tour, we were encouraged by the tour guide to use public transportation to get back to the ship if we wanted to stay in the city center for a longer period of time, the only thing we had to remember was the name of the subway stop (Schiffahrtszentrum). We opted to go back to the ship for lunch using the tour bus. After lunch, we ventured out once more, and went to Wiener Prater. Wiener Prater is an amusement park that houses the famous Wiener Riesenrad or Giant Ferris Wheel. After riding the Weiner Riesenrad we rode some roller coasters, tried the slot machine casino, and walked through a four story dinosaur maze attraction. We had a great time and a lot of fun. We also a lot of “wiener” talks! How’s that for culture!

Viking Pride and Budapest, Hungry

2007-08-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

After leaving Venice on a 9:27pm train ride we arrived in Budapest at 3:00pm the following day. Josh and I were in a sleeper car with a roommate who is a Kiwi but now lives in Essex, England. We had a pleasant ride but were awoken many times by various officials when crossing borders between different countries. Chris, the Kiwi was a gentleman and woke us if we did not hear the door. All in all we got three stamps in our passports during the over night journey.

When we arrived in Budapest, we went straight to the river to board the Viking Pride. We got dropped off by a taxi, walked down a steep ramp with our massive luggage, right onto a Viking River Cruise Ship, and gave them our names. The gentleman at the front desk looked at us and said, “Do you have a reservation? We weren’t expecting any new passengers today.” Josh and I said, “Yes” while showing him the confirmation forms. He then smiled and said in his accented voice, “Oh, you are supposed to be in Prague.” Josh almost freaked, the gentleman didn’t say “Prague” he said “Pride”. We then had to walk along the river about a ½ mile until we found our ship. It isn’t like any type of cruising we’ve done before. They have one lounge (with a one man band), ONLY ONE place to eat (ha ha ha), and an upper deck with some chairs and tables. Some other differences include, more personalized service, a new port in the heart of different cities each day, and we have different tours arranged for us while in port daily. It will prove to be a very relaxing and culture filled journey.

After dinner and getting some things settled on the boat, we spent the first night in Budapest with our friend Luke. We walked around a “pedestrian only” area and found some shops, a historic marching band, some local attractions, and a local bar with very cheap drinks. We had a very nice evening filled with laughs, stories, and memories of out times together.

The following day, we took a tour with our group from the boat. We saw many sights on both the Buda side and the Pescht side. Yes, it might be spelled Pest, but it is pronounced, “Pescht”. Some of the sites included Hero Square, Varosliget Park, Budapest Opera House, one of the largest Synagogue in Europe, St. Stephen’s Basilica, and some Parliament Buildings. We also had time to explore Castle Hill, the Royal Palace, Gellert Hill, and the Gellert Hotel. We came back to the boat for lunch and then walked on a bridge across the Danube River, and spent a few hours in Gellert Hotel enjoying their Roman pools and spas. We didn’t get a special treatment, but we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves. The evening started with both Josh and myself standing on the bow of the boat waving goodbye to Luke as he waited on a bridge. The river cruise passed under the bridge and we started our departure from Budapest. We took pictures of each other and we passed, and they will be posted as soon as Luke arrives home safely. We then went inside and had a lovely “Around the World” dinner. We then spent some time on the top enjoying the scenic cruise.

Florence and Venice, Italy

2007-08-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

Florence, Italy

We would like to apologize for not writing as soon as we would have hoped. The Internet hasn’t been as accessible as we would have hoped....

Holla from Florence or shall I say Ciao!
We traveled between Rome and Florence by bus. We learned that if you take the bus, the travel time is almost four hours, by train it is only one and a half hours. As we were driving along the highway to get out of Rome, you will find a lot of pretty ladies. Now these ladies are waiting at bus stops, but are not waiting for the bus. In some cases they even forgot to put their pants on! Go Figure! Anyhow we drove along the Highway of the Sun north into Tuscany and its hills of vineyards, which house the chianti wine, ending in Florence, also known as the cradle of the Renaissance.

The next morning, we drove along the Arno River before our morning tour. During the bus ride, hype was built up about the prada outlet, olive oil tasting, and of course the art and culture in Florence. The morning tour included a trip to the Academy of Fine Arts with Michelangelo’s celebrated David and the cathedral. We saw the colorful Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistery’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and the Signoria Square that is filled with different sculptures, even an exact replica of David. After the tour we opted to participate in leather making, gold making and olive oil tasting classes. Did you know that you can taste olive oil the same way people taste wine! You drink in from a wine glass!

Of course we also had our eyes open for the gypsies! We found two very clever gypsies team. One was a group that had phony headsets and decided to walk along side of the tours that had headsets and other acted as a tourist couple and they came into the middle of our group to take a picture of one of the monuments and then she dropped her camera on the floor and batteries went flying everywhere! So ideally when people would bend over to help her, her friends would go to work cleaning out the group. The only problem was we all moved away and no one helped her! The funny thing was; we saw this same team at the next stop on our tour!

In the afternoon, Luke and I decided to go to the Hills of Tuscany and go wine tasting at the Chianti Winery and visit La Cantina, the Wine Museum (THIS IS HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED). It was a 6 Euro round trip air-conditioned 35 minute bus ride to a little town with shops and restaurants and La Cantina. We never made it to the Winery but the wine museum was great. You get a little credit card and you walk around learning about wines, testing them until your card runs out of credits, they have all sorts of wines. You also can partake in olive oil tasting!

Scott and Jessica spent the afternoon cavorting in Florence.
Venice, Italy

What else can be said except for, no cars and the streets are canals. Venice is a uniquely amazing city unlike any other we’ve seen. Venice was built on a series of islands and houses fabulous art and architecture.

When we arrived in Venice, we left our luggage behind and walked along the Grand Canal towards our hotel. Experiencing all of the people and the bustling canals is quite amazing. After arriving at the hotel our luggage was already in the lobby which had arrived by vaporetto or water taxi. We checked into our rooms and had a day of sightseeing ahead of us. Our first stop was the Piazza San Marco or San Marco Square where we explored Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica.

Doge was a ruler of the Venetian and a tour of his palace takes you through many richly decorated chambers, rooms, and halls. You finally end with the Bridge of Sighs and the prisons. The prisons were our favorite part because there were many candid shots of the canal through the windows. Next it was off to visit what has been called one of Europe’s greatest buildings. This massive building was built three times; once it was destroyed by fire and once it was torn down to make way for a building that represented the growing power of the Republic. The interior is filled with mosaics gleaming with gold and houses many different statues, icons, and famous horses.

Today we slept late and enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards we met up with Jessica and took a gondola ride. The trip was perfect, relaxing, and priceless. I just wish Randi was there too. In the afternoon, we went to Borano Island and had an excellent seafood lunch and did some shopping. This evening we are off to Budapest to join our river cruise.

Pisa and Rome, Italy

2007-07-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

Pisa, Italy

Well the tower is still crooked. We did not set it straight no matter how hard we tried. It actually almost fell on Josh (check out the pictures). Pisa is a great city and easy to navigate. We arrived there after taking a train from Nice, France. It was a very beautiful journey along the coasts of France and Italy with the Mediterranean Sea as the boarder and backdrop.

Pisa itself is very famous for its “Pisa Romanesque” architecture. Most buildings boasting this beautiful architecture boarder narrow streets leading to the infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa. After going over the river and through some winding streets, you come upon the beautiful “Leaning Tower of Pisa”. The streets are lined with stores and cafes, but this tower is a very magnificent building built with similar marble to that of Philadelphia’s City Hall. Although we didn’t have the time to walk to the top of the tower, we had a great time taking pictures. After we left Pisa, we were off to Rome, the capital of Italy with the grandest monuments I have ever seen.

Rome, Italy

We made it to Rome in one piece! Scott, myself, Luke and Jessica took a train from Pisa. We saw some cruise ships along the way and of course our eyes were wide open looking for olive trees and grape bunches. When we got our hotel in Rome and met with our tour group. We were quickly warned about the Gypsies. Our tour guide had her own stories to tell, but there was a family traveling from the United States who had already became a victim of the gypsy game. An old man pretended to trip and fall right in front of them and as they were helping him up, they got pick pocketed from all directions and within seconds it was all over.

Today was a very busy day, we got up at 6:30am to meet the group for breakfast and we were off. Scott and I went to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgment. Our tour then continued to the monumental St. Peter’s Square and Basilica. We then crossed the Tiber River and visited the Coliseum and the Roman Forum all which were just AMAZING! Every piece of Rome has such amazing history. Did you know when you use your cell phone in Rome, you are “ROMEing”…. (well Scott made that up, but it is pretty funny). In the afternoon, we met up with Luke and Jessica and explored the Spanish Steps, visited where Julius Caesar was killed by Brutus and of course threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain. At the fountain we saw Gypsies in action targeting tourist. Unfortunately for the Gypsy, the targeted tourist caught on to what was happening and wasted no time in slapping the little girl. We find the whole gypsy culture to be very interesting because they can’t be arrested or exiled due to their age and race.

Everything was so exciting today. Imagine walking through tiny side streets only to find a huge Piazza with fountains, statues, and places to sit and people watch at the end without warning. Rome is great and we recommend this city to anyone who visits’s Italy. Definitely take a tour, it made everything that much easier access and the tour guides are very knowledgeable.

Scott and I gave a new meaning to the term “holy sh-t” and I’m sure you can guess how we did it!

We ended the day with a great dinner in a local restaurant. Tomorrow we are off to Florence and Tuscany. I can’t wait to taste and try wines and olive oil.

Thank you for reading. Holla Back when you can.

Nice, France

2007-07-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

Lets start out by saying, Yes Grandma we can all see you comments. It worked!!!

Now to talk about Nice: What can I say; Luke and Jessica are here, hot summer weather, hundreds of café’s and bars, The Mediterranean, and TOPLESS BEACHES!!! French boobies might not be as big, but they sure are TAN!!!

As a past member of the Genoese League, the city of Nice offers ancient Roman ruins and picturesque villages along an endless stretch of exquisite Mediterranean. There is a tremendous wealth of culture to be explored while eating and driving in a side walk café. Nice is a true charm in Frances’ southern region.

Last night we explored Nice by having dinner at an outdoor restaurant in the main downtown area followed by bar hopping. We met some locals but mainly chatted and reminisced about our past travels and experiences together.

Today we just RELAXED!!! Josh and I woke up around 9:30am and went to the gym. After that we went back to the room and woke Jessica and Luke. We all then went to the top floor and swam in the pool which over looks The Mediterranean. It was so much fun. After that we got some lunch in a little café in town and I ate some very VERY fresh seafood, including shrimps with the head still on them. After lunch, we went to the beach. It was very nice, but their beaches do not have sand, they are lined with rocks. After you move some rocks around, it was comfortable. Josh then gave us some hot stone treatments before we went swimming.

After the beach, we spent the afternoon walking around town and “window shopping” on the shore line. We tried to make it to Monaco, but we didn’t know the buses and trains were on a special schedule today and missed the opportunity. Tomorrow we are off to Pisa where we will try to set the tower straight once and for all!

p.s. I used a bidet for the first time and I think I did it wrong - Scott

Last Day at Sea, Rotterdam, Paris

2007-07-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

The last day at sea was a very busy one for us; we got invited to two private cocktail parties, had a scheduled appointment for our first every haircut on the high seas, go to the gym, had to pack, turn our dam dollars into prizes and continue with our regular scheduled events. Needless to say I think this was the busiest we have been since the start of the trip. I know you’re all wondering with our 101 dam dollars we got four nice large Holland America beach towels and a water bottle!

Rotterdam was a bitter sweet day for us; we said our goodbyes the night before and when we woke up, we were off the ship so quickly and effortlessly, just like our cruise was over, no more buffets, no one cleaning up after ourselves and no more little animals made out of towels left on our beds at night! The cruise was great and exceeded all of our expectations!

In Rotterdam we walked around, met up with one of the families, we have become good friends with along our 17 day journey. How could we not become friends, they are fellow New Yorkers! It turns out that we would all end up being on the same train from Rotterdam to France. As we walked around Rotterdam, we found the world sailing teams docked getting ready for the next portion of their race (a very impressive site), we also found the cruise ship and we all were thinking the same thing, let’s try and sneak on for one last taste of the buffet.

Paris, France

We have arrived in France! Yippee! Our good friend Luke has also arrived from England and he will be joining us for the next portion of the trip! Who knows what will happen, I know we will have a great time, we already got into a water gun fight with one of the local bartenders! Our first task is to find water guns of our own oh and of course experience the culture!

Our first full day in France and no time to rest! We went to Notre-Dame, Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, climbed to the top of the Arc de Triumphe and took a little detour to Versailles. No time to rest and definitely not enough time to do everything! What a fun full day!

Today we did some laundry and then continued on to your Euro Disney. We had a BLAST!!! It was very easy to get to from the Paris city center by train. My only complaint was there was a lot of tourist and the wait times were long. What can you expect? It is the Happiest Place on Earth.

Days 14, 15, 16 Norway

2007-07-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

Stavanger, Norway

Stavanger is a port on the western part of Norway. It is known as the “capital” of Norway’s off-shore oil industry. Its old cobblestone streets, cafes, museums, restaurants, and shops, make this port a popular stop.

Today the weather was 62 degrees and it felt like the first day of spring for the people of Stavanger, they have just gotten over weeks of cold rain. We had a great day in town; we went to the Norsk Oljemuseum (Norwegian Petroleum Museum), which is an oil refinery museum. Did you know that Norway is the second largest produce of oil in the world. This museum was great, a lot of hands on exhibits, they even built the museum to resemble the shape and architecture of an oil rig. This definitely was something not to miss.

We also walked around town and found the Stavanger Domkirke, a cathedral which dates back to the 12th century. Another museum we visited was the Hermetikkmuseet (Canning Museum) which tells the story of Stavanger fisheries. This museum had some of the best views of Stavanger, overlooking the harbor.

Although we saw a lot, most of the excitement happened while we were walking around town. We found ourselves trying some shrimp with the heads and eyes still attached, chatting with our celebrity guest chef from NYC, Chef Brad Farmerie and sharing lots of laugh with Geraldine Doyle and her husband Pat. Geraldine was voted Australia’s funniest female comic and has won numerous other awards, needless to say, hopefully she will be joining us on some future Dam Dolla events so she can get some new ides for her comedy routine. According to her, she has never laughed so hard until she met us. I hope we don’t become the topics of her next act!

After a fun fill day, the Captain decided to take the ship through the Lysefjord. After leaving the port, the ship was quickly engulfed by massive mountains. We saw great landscapes, waterfalls, and a bridge that we thought we would hit. We also found a perfect house for Stacy under that bridge (check out the pictures). We had a beautiful sunset to end the day.

Kristiansand, Norway

Kristiansand is located on Norway’s southern coastline. The city was founded by King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway; because he wanted a town graced with is name he created Kristiansand. Maybe we should have a town on Long Island known as Liebermanville. This town was originally an admiralty base, used to control the entrances to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, but it gradually changed its focus from military to administration and trade. A unique legend about Kristiansand is that King Christian IV marked the four corners of the city with his with his walking stick, which gave the city its square grid. Even though Kristiansand has the title of the “sunniest city” in Norway, today was the first day we experienced rain.

We walked around town and had a great time. We found a post office, a shopping area, a fish market, many cobble stone lined plazas, and an old church. We didn’t buy much, but had a great day exploring. When we got back to the ship, we participated in trivia with our good friends from our dining room table and enjoyed a spectacular production of our dinner from the dinning room and ship staff. This was a dining room show unlike any other. Every course of the meal was accompanied by some sort of song and dance from the show, cruise and dining room staff.

Oslo, Norway

Hallo From Oslo

Oslo is considered one of Europe’s smallest “first cities” with fewer then 500,000 residents. Most buildings are less than 100 years old. Even though Oslo was formally established during the Middle Ages due to an attack from Denmark, a plague, a major fire, and other tragedies this city is one of the youngest European capitals.

Today we took a tour around the city via a bus called the Oslo Vision. We were able to Hop on, Hop Off and the bus would return every 30 minutes. The tour also had narrations in 8 different languages. If you ever go to Norway, I recommend using this company. They can be found on the internet at www.hmk.no. Josh and I explored in detail The City Hall, Vigeland Sculpture Park (which was amazing), and the Akershus slot og festning(the old city and fortress). We ended the day with a Viking beer at the Fritjof Nansens plass (a shopping plaza).

Even sailing away from Oslo was a great event. As we sailed away we were in port with the Maasdam’s sister ship, the ms Prisendam. As we were sailing alongside the other vessel, the captains of both ships signaled their horns while passengers and crew members alike were waiving and cheering. We were wishing each other a fond farewell and safe travels. We tired to do a group mooning and flashing of the other boat but our fellow passengers would not join in! Go figure! The other ship was in the process of completing a world cruise.

Holla from Torshava, Faroe Islands and Day at Sea

2007-07-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

The Faroe Islands are located Northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway. The streets are narrow with cobble stones and some of the roof tops are covered with grass, this was definitely a great place to spend the day, and for those of you that were worried, we did not get attacked by any pirates.

We had a lot of fun walking around the town, went up to one of the highest points in Torshava and walked through a park hidden in the middle of the city. We also were able to take a picture of a typical little house that the tiny people of Torshava live in (check out the photos). At the end of the day, we found ourselves watching a man throw bread into a little stream. He was chuckling to himself having a blast feeding ducks so we decided to see what was so funny. The trout which were swimming upstream would quickly jump out of the water between the duck and the bread scaring the duck and seizing an opportunity for a snack. Sometimes the duck would win and the man would cheer.

As mentioned before some of the rooftops were covered with growing grass, the reason for this was so sheep and goats in the middle of the winter could have some food to eat. What the locals would do is build a ramp to the roof tops for the animals. We also tried to call home from Torshava, but the phone center we were looking for which was clearly marked on the map from the ship, no longer existed; oh well we will try again in the next port.

On a side note, some of the information in this section of the blog is false, if you think you can figure out what it is, you may be eligible to win a prize from our vacation. Please post your comments.

Day At Sea

Today is one of our last full days at sea, after this we go to three ports Norway, one right after the other. Today started with our daily Dam-Dolla competition, Scott walked away with 2 and Josh had none. Not to worry the day is still young.

We also had the pleasure of participating in something that is unique to the Holland America Cruise Line, we were able to attend a live taping of a cooking demonstration. They had celebrity guest chef Brad Farmerie do a cooking demonstration on board in a kitchen designed by Food and Wine Magazine. Chef Brad Farnerie works in New York City at Public. Believe it or not, this is the Monday meeting location for the NYC Rotary Chapter. I believe he said his restaurant is located North of Little Italy, just before you get to SOHO in a part of town called Noritaly.

For all of you health nuts we learned some new things:
1. Use an ingredient called Quinoa, instead of cous cous, it is like cous cous, a little grainer, but it has more nutritional value, it is one of three vegetables that can be used for a full protein.
2. Purple Potato’s have more antioxidants then blueberries.
3. You should also use “Mauldin” salt when cooking and seasoning your foods, although it is more expensive then regular salt, it tastes better and has less chemical impurities.

After the cooking demonstration, people from our dinner table participated in trivia, we had a great time but we did not win. We then participated in an event where you could win a bottle of wine, but we weren’t successful. We just won some more Dam Dollars.

Before dinner we decided to have a swim. Today was the first day since we left Boston the cruise line filled the uncovered outdoor pool. Josh and I swam did not hesitate to jump in and feel refreshed. If you could imagine, we were the only people who ventured outside for a swim. It really was not that cold. When we looked over the horizon, we saw an oil rig, so I took a picture. Other than that, we had a very relaxing day and evening. Tomorrow we are in Stavanger, Norway. We will update in two days. Holla Back when you can.

Days 10 and 11 – Reykjavik and Djupivogur, Iceland

2007-07-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

Iceland is a beautiful island filled glaciers, waterfalls, geysers, geothermic pools, and mountains. With only 266,000 people living on the island, Josh was shocked to learn that nine world chess champions call Iceland their home.

In Reykjavík, our day started with a 3 mile walk into the city from the port. It was a very nice walk with a lot of greenery, mountains, and cool blue water. We walked to the visitor’s center and hired a taxi to take us to the infamous Blue Lagoon.

The ride to the Blue Lagoon was approximately 30 minutes long. During the ride we saw a beach, an inactive volcano, some old churches, and a power plant that has a revolving restaurant on the top. When we arrived at the Blue Lagoon, Josh and I swam and put mud on our faces. It was very neat to swim in Iceland in a geothermically heated pool that has unique nutrients to help improve your health in many different ways. We took pictures so you can check it out.

Today we were in Djupivogur, Iceland. Djupivogur is a small fishing village of 450 people. It is on Iceland’s east coast and is set in a region of incomparable natural beauty. You can see by the pictures how magical everything looks. Today Josh and I took a scenic tour that included visiting the Hellisbjarg (the islands highest point) and the Skaftafellsjokull (a glacier and the islands lowest point). We actually road in their version of a “duck”. The duck took us on a glacier and in the surrounding waters. It was nice, scenic, and interesting to learn about glaciers and the Icelandic people. We also learned it is very important to not refer to a baby horse as a “pony”. You must call it a “little horse”. The locals will get very VERY angry. Another great thing about Djupivogur was they had a lot of BLACK SHEEPS!!!

Tomorrow we are stopping in the Faroe Islands; isn’t that where some pirates attacked a cruise ship not too long ago? Wish us luck!

Two Days at Sea

2007-07-15T03:45:00.000-07:00

Who knew two days at sea could be so much fun! If you ask anybody on the ship what they have been doing, and most people will say, “Not a Dam thing.” Well Josh and I can tell you otherwise. We have been busy winning “Dam Dollas”. Josh was the first place winner in the poker bean bag toss, he took third in the firsbee throw, and placed in another golf putting tournament. I placed third in the poker bean bag toss, tied for fourth in the frisbee throw, and lost miserably in ping pong, but still got a “Dam Dolla”. In addition, we have been doing the usual walking around the deck, participating in various trivia games, and of course eating.

We decided to do our laundry on board during this stretch of days at sea…that was an experience! You have to figure we have approximately 12 washers and dryers on board for a ship of over 1200 passengers. It is like trying to find a parking space in New York City. Needless to say we managed to find two machines on the 6th floor, we had a third but Scott got a look from a lady who asked if it was necessary for us to use three machines. Needless to say that was a good thing because we miscalculated our quarter situation. A half hour later we came back loaded with our quarters ready to use the dryer and put our third load in…So that is what we did, and even though we freed up a washer, we got the “evil eye” because we were still using a washer. Oh well we went on our way. Now we came back for a third time to take one load of dry clothes back to the room and put the last load in the dryer. This is when it started to get interesting; people were sitting in the laundry room watching our every move and squatting. By the time we got our final load out of the dryer, there were about 8 people standing/sitting in this small hallway of a room. NOBODY WOULD MOVE! They would not even let us fold our laundry in the laundry room on the folding table. They were sitting, watching, and staring. You could feel the tension in the air; it was so quiet you could even hear a pin drop. Josh said, “We’re hot, they were all staring at our underwear go round and round.”

Over the last few days we’ve seen a lot of animals around the ship. We saw a few whales and we have seen a lot of birds flying alongside the ship. We are not sure where they are going or what possessed them to follow a ship in the middle of nowhere, but they are on both sides of the ship. We took some pictures so you can see what we are talking about. They might be hard to make out, but they are there.

Two Days at Sea and Nuuk, Greenland

2007-07-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

On day one, we woke up and saw our first iceberg floating outside our window! It is quite amazing to see the icebergs just floating along crashing in the water. We spent the day cruising along the scenic coast of Labrador, Canada. The boat was a little rocky and yes, today Josh finally gave into the cooler temperatures and decided to use his jacket.

Scott was a finalist in the football toss! That’s right he took third place! Who knew he could play football. Other activities today included basketball, shuffle board, a slot tournament and the infamous Titanic talk. Just a side note, one of the half of dozen people that was rescued from the water, stayed warm by drinking whisky. So when you are on a cruise, you should drink lots of whiskey just incase you have any sort of emergency or get cold.

Day two at sea was a big day for us! We slept late due to the hours we’ve been losing and went to the gym. We then had to get ready for our 11:00am Mariners Society Award Brunch. We received our 100th day at sea medallion! What a great party! We had a picture with the captain, got recognized, and Josh met some lovely single cruise staff lady. Not to mention we participated by trying some of the complementary cocktails and eating at a private full service sit down brunch.

We decided to try our luck at a Columbian Emerald Jewelry and Art Gallery raffle, but we had no luck! That is quite alright, we still got the free champagne at both functions. We both think that we should save our good fortune for a very big grand prize at the end of the cruise!

We also learned today that Holland America Cruise line is building more ships and expanding their fleet? They have a competition to name one of the new ships. The name that won in the last competition was the Eurodam picked by a crew member. Now they have a competition for the next ship which will be afloat in 2010, naturally we submitted Holladam!

We made a mistake above and only had two days at sea. Today we anchored in Nuuk, Greenland. Nuuk is the capital of Greenland. The residents of Nuuk pride themselves on being the “world’s smallest capital”. They also failed at an attempt to establish Santa Claus’ birthplace in the center of the capital. People feel St. Nick could have lived here and have established an enormous mail box to accumulate his mail.

Today we walked around the capital and found ourselves shopping for food. It is kind of ironic if you think about it, but it is the truth. We then purchased some knickknacks from the local shops. It was a bustling little city with not a lot to do. We only spent four hours there, but were able to see a museum, cathedral, a coffee shop, a supermarket, and purchased some Hap Seal Fur stuff. The best part of the day was the sail away. We sailed along the amazing Godthabsfjorden this is a network of channels that stretch more than 100 miles and is one of the worlds largest fjords. You can see the pictures labeled as Fjords.

Josh and Scott

p.s. Josh was the big winner today at the Poker Bean Bag Toss with four ten’s and I got an answer right during trivia.. “What company uses a red roof as the logo for their brand?”

St. John's Newfoundland and Day at Sea

2007-07-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

What a Holla-Day!
Today was filled with great local flare and of course lieber/griswald fun
We started the day off with some dam dollar competition, normally we would not write about this, but Scotty ended up being the high scorer in basketball! Yes, a Lieberman dominated in basketball (againt75/80 year olds).

Today we were in St. John’s (Newfoundland) a province of Canada. What a port! St. John’s is full history and great people. Most residents are of English or Irish descent. Isolated from Europe and even somewhat fro m North American mainland,”Newfies” developed their own unique culture, but traditions of Ireland and England still survive. We did not get a chance to try fried scrod tongues or challenge our taste buds at high tea rum, but we still were able to get involved with the local culture in other ways.

We climbed up to the top of signal hill and got lost on a supposedly well marked street, yes one road that leads to the top (go figure). We found ourselves following a path that led us into people’s backyards, climbing steps along side their houses, and following trails on mountain sides. At one point we were literally hanging on to roots of trees…Not! Needless to say, we made to our final destination Cabot Tower on the top of signal hill. Cabot tower is the most eastern point in North America, it is where Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901, and it has been noted as the last North American landmark Charles Lindberg sighted during his solo flight to Paris in 1927.

We were also amazed that so many others from our ship had taken this walk up the top of Signal Hill! How could they have survived such a treacherous journey? We quickly learned that we were the only two American’s who have been trespassing and rock-climbing for no apparent reason, following the main road would have done just fine! No need to go Indiana Jones in St. John’s! We also went to a geological museum, which was great! My only complaint was that they focused on a Titanic theme. This did not go well with the whole cruise excursion that we were about to embark on! You see, we will be passing icebergs on our way to Iceland! Very close to where the Titanic went down!

The next three days are at sea, I can’t wait to see what happens!
Be Good! Holla Back!

St. Pierre, France

2007-07-09T17:56:00.001-07:00

Today we stopped at a beautiful fishing village known as St. Pierre et Miquelon. St. Pierre is an archipelago of islands off the cost of Canada, but this area is known politically as a mainland French Region. They use Euros here, but U.S. and Canadian currencies were accepted in most shops. We walked over two miles each way between the ship/town and then walked the narrow streets. It was very nice and very low key. The locals were excited to see a cruise ship in port.

Yesterday we were busy with a day at sea trying to win “Dam Dollars”. Dam Dollars are used to get people to participate in various activities. With the dollars you win, you can redeem them for prizes at the end of the trip. We played many games such as whale racing, moose / seal droppings, ping pong, golf putting, quoits, and a ring toss competition. Don’t let age fool you; some of these people bring it on! Just ask how well Scott did during his ping pong tourney. They turn off the nice little grandparent like faces and turn into fierce competitors.

I hope things are cooling off in NY. We’ve seen in the news the temperatures are close to 100 degrees…. We are experiencing the exact opposite. Today’s temperature was 57 degrees.

Anyway, we are off to the Du Pain – Du Vin et Du Boursin Sailaway Party. Then Josh and I might take a nap before dinner. Since we started on the journey, we have been losing one hour of beauty rest each day!!!

July 6, 2007 and July 7, 2007

2007-07-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Holla from our Lieber-Holla-day!

Well the trip is off to a great start! We spent the night in Sturbridge and then had a full day in Boston. Mom joined us on a duck tour and now has more boating hours on the water then Sheldon.

We had a slight delay leaving Boston due to a generator problem, but after they fixed it, we sailed off and watched the Bostonian skyline disappear in the distance. We also sailed along side Logan Airport and the airplanes were taking off right over the ship, what an experience.

Since it was 07-07-07 we decided to try our luck. First we went to the spa for the Champagne raffle, and did not win a thing! This was good because we did not want to waste our luck on personal training sessions and facials. Then Josh went to the singles mingle and had no luck there, maybe one of the seventy something’s have a granddaughter for him. At the end, he did manage to save the day by helping an older gentleman who wasn’t able to get out of his seat and ended up on the floor. Nobody from the cruise staff bothered to help him, and Josh used his O.T. skills to help him up. Go O.T.’s Go! Our luck started changing when we met an “alive” couple from California. YES ALIVE!!! We danced to “Baby Got Back” and all decided to go to the Casino for our last chance at a 07/07/07 Jack Pot!!! At the Casino I ended up winning some “Holla Dollas” so I was happy.

We are off and have a full day at sea ahead of us. Moose Droppings and Putting, here we come...

The Journey Begins

2007-06-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Starting 07/07/07, the European Nations will be INVADED by the

LIEBERTWINS..... HOLLA!!!