Raging seas have we rowed in
But we seldom saw them thus,
Our master is angry with Odin and
Odin is angry with us! - Rudyard Kipling

September 25th - We departed Amsterdam at dawn and headed out into the North Sea.  It was rough to say the least.  Of course the stabilizers kept the rolling down to a reasonable level, but they could do nothing for the ( Read more... )

I am standing on the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength and I stand and watch her
until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come down to mingle
with each other. - Charles Henry Brent

September 24th - We ( Read more... )

September 23 - During the night we entered the Kiel Canal which runs along the border between Denmark and Germany.  The 61 mile long canal was built in 1887 when Kaiser Wilhelm felt that he needed a waterway to bring German warships from the Baltic to the North Sea without having to go through the narrow waters between Denmark and Sweden.

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Over the crest she flies from,
Into its hollow she drops,
Cringes and clears her eyes from
The wind-torn breaker-tops, - Rudyard Kipling

September 22 - Our first port of call was Lubeck, Germany, the former Queen of the Hanseatic League.  Although the city was considered a major Baltic port, it is actually located some 20 miles up the Trave River.

We ( Read more... )

Heh! Walk her round. Heave, ah, heave her short again! Over, snatch her over, there, and hold her on the pawl. Loose all sail, and brace your yards aback and full -- Ready jib to pay her off and heave short all! - Kipling
September 21 - We were up early this morning with plenty of time to have a nice breakfast at the hotel and then take a cab to ( Read more... )

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen
Salty old girl of the sea! - Danny Kaye in Hans Christian Anderson

September 20 - We awoke to a breezy, cool, but sunny day and decided it would be perfect for walking around Copenhagen.  We supplied ourselves with a good breakfast to fuel our walk, grabbed our cameras and started out.  Word of warning about walking in ( Read more... )

Shove off from the wharf-edge! Steady!
Watch for a smooth! Give way!
If she feels the lop already
She'll stand on her head in the bay. - Rudyard Kipling

September 19 - Since all of our gear had arrived and the weather promised to be fine we decided that today would be good for our long-awaited visit to the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde.  Read more... )

Off we go, into the wild blue yonder
Flying high into the sky!

September 17 - We departed home at a reasonable hour and caught our flight from Huntsville to Atlanta.  We had a lengthy lay-over in Atlanta, which we planned that way to insure there were no problems with connecting to our overseas flight.  This gave us time to exchange American dollars ( Read more... )

Heh! Walk her round. Heave, ah, heave her short again! Over, snatch her over, there, and hold her on the pawl. Loose all sail, and brace your yards aback and full -- Ready jib to pay her off and heave short all! - KiplingWell here we go again! After talking about it now for three years, Brock and I are ( Read more... )

Well at least to the eastern edge of the United States....

Brock and I spent last weekend on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  We went out to attend his sister's wedding on Saturday but flew out on Thursday so that we had time to do a bit of the touristy thing as well as spend some time with family and eat lots of good seafood.

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