Fjord Cruise – Our last European adventure (other than packing)

We are happy to report to you, our four faithful blog readers, that we are indeed moving back to the United States later this month! Start spreading the news, we’re Big Apple bound.
Yes, it’s sad to leave Germany behind, and, if I looked at this move pessimistically, as I’m wont to do, I’d say we’re trading charming church bells for ear-splitting sirens, cobblestoned oldtowns for graffiti’d downtowns, and big schnitzels for Big Macs.

But that’s not really the truth. The truth is that our lives will be different, but not worse. Instead of weekend trips to Spain, there will be weekend trips to Maine. Instead of packages taking five weeks to arrive at our door, we can trust the USPS to get it to us in … ooh roughly the same time. And instead of lots of charming little pastry shops and knick-knack stores, there will be big grocery stores, malls, and convenience stores that, while not as charming, will take care of all our wants and needs in a cheaper and more convenient way.

Some things will in fact be a lot better. Instead of schnitzel, there will be Mexican food, doughnuts, bagels, Brazilian BBQ, Korean food, and other drool-inducing delights. Instead of paying to download our favorite shows and movies, we can go to hulu.com (not available outside the U.S.). And instead of fumbling around in foreign languages we can order from menus freely and clearly (except in some parts of NYC of course).

Yes, the weather won’t be as mild and the toys won’t be wooden. But the people will be friendlier (sorry Germans!), the sun will shine more, and the tap water (as well as the fluoride it contains) comes for free! Plus, we will be less than an overnight flight away from the majority of our family.

We’re now in the home stretch …. No more weekend trips. No more work travel. This is it.
And so here was our last European adventure – a weeklong Norwegian fjord cruise – one that we enjoyed as much as humanly possible:

Here's a short video made up of about half the videos I wanted to show (technical issues, sorry):

Geiranger – Lots of pictures from this UNESCO World Heritage site, including some of the seven sisters waterfalls and Elizabeth schnoozing in front of them. She woke up later and donned a life jacket.

Bergen – Norway’s second city was cited as the pearl of the fjords, a beautiful old harbor town with magnificent views and a lively old fish market. We liked it so much that we got a little crazy … including visiting the local aquarium, wearing some goofy free glasses that were being given away at some fest, and gorging on some local soft ice. (Instead of soft ice, Kate was über excited about some dark chocolate ice cream on a stick. Without being able to read the label, she got that instead and discovered upon her first lick that it was not dark chocolate but … licorice-flavored. Ah, Scandinavia!) This last picture is Kate’s least favorite of the bunch. But I wanted to show the nice views leaving Bergen … so just pretend it’s cropped.

Stavanger – We waved bye-bye to our boat as we headed on a smaller boat (run by “Rodne”) to see the Lysefjord. This was the best part of the whole week (except for the nose biting). The Lysefjord is home to some of the best fjord and island views in all of Norway, including the Preikestolen. When we didn’t block your view with our heads, we saw some local goats, a sunbathing seal, and a waterfall that we literally bumped into while getting close enough for one of Rodne’s stewards to hold out a bucket and collect pure mountain water for us all to drink. And drink we did, even Elizabeth.

Aarhus, Denmark – Although not a ‘fjord’ destination, Denmark’s second largest city was very a lively port with an actual old town … right next to a recreated “old town” (called “The Old Town” or “Den Gamle By”), which depicts Danish town life at least 100 years ago … a time when you could see Asian children bowling and German tourists noshing on licorice. In fact, it was on our way here that we discovered Elizabeth’s love of licorice. Perhaps she’s been spending too much time in Europe!

Kiel/Hamburg – We departed from and returned to Kiel – a city I will always remember from Herr Schmidt’s Germ 301 class as “Die Hauptstadt von Schleswig-Holstein” (the capital of Schleswig-Holstein). Although there’s nothing special about Kiel, it had a long and charming pedestrian street with outdoor cafes, churches, and a play area where Elizabeth could blow kisses to construction workers and kids alike. We then took a car to the Hamburg airport where Elizabeth flashed about 100 people during a diaper change.

Latvia and Warsaw

I almost squeaked with joy about a week ago when I heard about a potential work trip to Latvia (a country I hadn't been to yet) and Warsaw (the city from which my last name was derived many hundreds of years ago ... and which I also hadn't been to yet).

I went with a bevy of high-ranking, heavy-drinking military officers of various ages, races, and services, including an admiral and a general. Here's our ragtag crew in Warsaw, during a walking tour of the old town.

Riga, Latvia - We just spent the night here, as the actual purpose of the trip was in a small community about two hours north. But the town was really quaint and old and ... apparently ... vibrant with a wild nightlife filled with stag parties, college-aged youth, and the boom-boom beats of industrial dance music. Our crew just went out to dinner and didn't feel like dancing. I think we would have looked like the Village People.

Warsaw - I wasn't expecting much, after having heard that the city was completely destroyed during WWII, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a charming old town with winding, cobbled streets and lots of lody (ice cream) shops. I was unpleasantly reminded, though, of the alarmingly high rate of male shirtlessness seen throughout Poland, something we discovered during our first summer sojourn into Poland in 2007.

The above picture is of the Palace of Culture and Science, the tallest building in Poland and a constant reminder of the Soviet occupation. The Poles are apparently divided on their appreciation of it. The below picture is of the narrowest building in Warsaw, Poland, or the world. It's in the corner, between the other buildings. This isn't a good shot. Here's a better one.

And here are the shirtless fellows, who were about a dime a dozen. I tried to be discrete about snapping photos, hence the fuzziness and bad angles.

And finally, an apparent tradition in Polish households is to have a small picture or doll of an old Jewish man bearing money. This is to bring good financial luck into the home. At first I thought I should be insulted. Then I thought, well, everyone here does this. So it's normal. Then I thought, but wait, that doesn't make it acceptable. But then I thought, well, they're not being insulting, they're actually admiring the Jews, regardless of whether it's bigoted. Either way, I needed to bring a reminder of this trip back home ... and what better way that purchasing a mildly offensive and yet somehow respectful trinket that can so very easily summarize a place's past. We now have one in our apartment.