Isafjordur, Iceland

Hello from Isafjordur, Iceland! Boy oh boy we got lucky today.

When we were here in June most of the day the bridge cam looked like this:

Isafjordur, June 6

and we had to get to shore using these:

Tenders taking passengers to shore on June 6

But today? We had two things on our side.

1. Isafjordur is building a new pier and the Captain received word last night we'd be able to skip the tender ride and pull right alongside the brand-spanking new dock. It was so brand new they hadn't even taken off all the plastic they used to keep the rain away from the drying cement.

Once we arrived they moved the plastic and started on some more cement-pouring.

By the end of the day they had made some pretty amazing progress but you could tell it was a rush job. Even the new stuff we walked on was not the best laid concrete. Could be quite hazardous if you weren't careful.

2. The rain never materialized. There were a few drops here and there but nothing Scooter and I couldn't handle. 

And geez, did we handle a lot. It was another day of wandering here, there, and everywhere without a map. I followed the walking man signs for a while but then I veered off my own way.

I called this one training for hurdles

Of course I got my statue and street sign pictures.

Uhh..which way?

I called this one kickball in the street

I made sure I got pictures of a church and other buildings.

Can't pass up the bright colors on a rainbow street...

or the color combinations of the flowers and boats and water found all in one picture. So nice I had to take the picture twice.

I heard about some viewing platforms but as I got closer I realized the hill wasn't going to be my friend so I turned around.

The hike took you up above the green hillside. Yep, not for me.

But I also heard about another viewing spot to the right of town so I tried heading that direction, too. 

Found the trail! Again, not for me.

So I kept going. To the red-roofed house…

Found the house!

Found a baby waterfall

And then I went up to the point where I heard dogs barking. No sense in getting myself in trouble so I turned around. I was farther from town than I thought.

After rolling around about every pathway around every waterway I could (and having to change to the backup battery) I stopped in the grocery store for another pizza focaccia. When I was in Akureyri in July I picked up a pepperoni one and today I picked up a combination one.

I tasted a hint of oregano maybe?

Everywhere I went today I was reminded of how beautiful Iceland's landscape is. Even when returning to the ship.

Tomorrow we're back in the busy city of Reykjavik. See you then!

Akureyri, Iceland

 Hello from Akureyri, Iceland! What a beautiful day.

It started last night when I woke up to go to the bathroom and thought I was getting a sunset picture. (I somehow missed that sunset occurred earlier at 9:45 PM. Oops.) Thank goodness we're so close to the Arctic Circle that the times don't really matter because it's still not getting very dark. 

11:04 PM

It was windy and so very cold but I bundled up on the balcony to search for the Northern Lights. Nope, even more than an hour and a half later it was still too light.

12:42 AM

My middle of the night adventure didn't stop me from being back out there just after 6:00 AM to watch us navigate the fjord as we headed to Akureyri.

Since today was my third and last visit of the summer I had to make the most of the day and squeeze in everything I could. My first plan was to go to the botanical garden but with the city bus A1 route only running once an hour it was going to take up too much of my day.

So for most of the morning I warmed my chilled bones by sitting in the sun on the balcony. With splendid views, of course.

I watched planes take off and land over the top of both my ship and the NCL ship.

What a beautiful ship

Remember, the airstrip goes right up against the water's edge - and right towards the cruise ships.

Photo taken on my June 7 visit

When I finally warmed up I headed back to the grocery store and replenished my stash of my favorite Icelandic snacks. 

These will be going home with me

Then I wandered the town taking tourist photos I missed on the first two visits. I started with the harbor area....

With three pictures of the NCL ship you'd think I had ship envy

and then went onto the Hof Cultural Center.

I rolled a little ways along the waterfront and headed up the hill to the Church of Akureyri, Akureyrarkirkja. They're redoing the steps so no one was climbing up there today.

I looked right and found the Akureyri heart.

I followed the pedestrian area near the heart and found all kinds of shops and restaurants and cafes. The color combinations were, well, colorful.

I was able to people watch and window shop before heading back to the ship. Taking photos of the heart shaped stoplights along the way, of course.

The blue sunny skies made for a spectacular last day here. Pure perfection.

Tomorrow we're off to Isafjordur, Iceland. See you then! 

Cobh, Ireland

Hello from Cobh (pronounced Cove), Ireland!

It was a bit of a blustery day today. While not too cold it was most definitely windy but it didn't stop me from making the rounds around town. 

Cobh (previously called Queenstown) was the final port stop for the Titanic with the ship picking up 123 passengers here before it made its way towards New York. Today I wanted to get to the Titanic Experience before I did anything else. Looking at the plentiful availability of tickets online this morning (tours begin every 15 minutes) I knew I could chance it and go on down early. It was just a few minutes from the ship but took me a little longer once I was out of the port area as I had to manage cobblestones and curbs and people trying to sell me taxi tours.

Follow the walking man to get out of port

When I arrived and asked about the next tour with availability her answer was...in four minutes. Talk about great timing!

Each person is given a boarding pass representing one of the passengers who joined the Titanic in Cobh on April 11, 1912. I had Bridget Driscoll, a 27 year old third class passenger. At the end of tour we would find out whether our passenger was one of the few survivors. 

The tour was part video, part live tour guide, and part self-guided tour. We saw a cabin for third class passengers,

a first class passenger cabin,

and viewed what is left of the actual tender dock where the passengers last stepped foot on land.

We heard stories of both families and individuals. As we stood listening to our tour guide talk about the Titanic it seemed strange to have my ship in the background.

Between the guided and self-guided parts I spent about an hour there. I contemplated whether I wanted to pick up anything for Scooter while I was there (didn't want bad Titanic luck), but when I found out my passenger was one of those who did survive, I made a purchase. 

Can't leave Ireland without more extra luck, too!

By the time I left the gift shop it was packed with people waiting for their tours. I checked the online ticket situation when I got back to the ship and it made me really glad I had gone early.

Yep, it was another
early bird gets the worm situation

I spent the rest of my time in Cobh wandering the streets while trying to avoid the hills. Flowers were abundant and looked nice when paired with the colorful buildings.

As you would expect in Ireland, pubs were everywhere. Need to call a ride?

Several crew members were heading to the churches and cathedrals but with the steep hills I knew wouldn't be able to make it so my pictures were taken from below.

Update: One of the crew members who helps me on and off the ship with the scooter sent me up-close photos he took today. So beautiful!

It was another day of wandering not too far from the ship. After a few hours on Scooter my bum was more than happy to have a nearby home to return to.

We have a couple sea days coming up. We'll have the Most Traveled Guest lunch on one of those days and the other? I'll probably just relax and catch up on the new movies they added to the TV for August. Then on Monday we'll be back in Iceland. See you then!