Sojourn in the Norwegian Sea

As is often the case when jet-lagged by travel, our night was uneven. We were first rocked to sleep by the swaying of the ship (the Sojourn), then awakened by biorhythms unaccustomed to this time zone (6 hours ahead of Charlotte). So I was awake at 3:30 AM in the few hours of darkness days have here (about 11PM-4AM), watching the lights of other ships in the sea and reading in an attempt to get back to sleep.

I woke again around 6:30AM when Mike brought in tea from the coffee bar at the stern end of our deck. Our cabin is almost all the way forward¸ so we're getting some exercise just moving around the ship. We took advantage of u-shaped walkway a couple of decks below for our morning walk, mostly under cover. but cool in the morning air as the ship powered through somewhat windy seas.
We had to learn how to use the very efficient and modern shower, then followed our noses to the varied and tasty breakfast buffet. Mike signed us up for a tour of the ship's bridge, a geek's dream with its array of electronic marvels from GPS to radar, all backed up by alternatives. In the midst of such modern equipment, it was amusing to see the fairly simple way in which the bridge is constructed to help them bring it alongside piers for docking. There are control stations in wings on each side of the ship where the captain or pilot can operate it. Included at each station is a glass insert in the floor so that they can actually look down to see that they have positioned this huge vessel exactly where they want it.

On a white board in the bridge are listed facts about who is on the ship, listing the numbers aboard of crew members, "PAX" for passengers and "SOB" for souls on board. The Second Officer, Johanna from Finland, was our guide and made it all sound both efficient and amazing. The view from the bridge is amazing and they have an officer acting as lookout at all times in addition to the officer(s) who monitor the equipment. The lookout literally keeps his eyes on the sea ahead and around the ship. It is somehow reassuring that they have both the most up-to-date equipment and keen human eyes on the job.

The rest of the day has included lunch (cruises are always about food and more food and the Sojourn doesn't disappoint us in this area), a lecturer offering some history of Norway, cards and meandering. The lecture, while interesting, still inspired some napping. The poor guy was talking to people who had already consumed two meals and were being constantly rocked by the ocean. I think only a few fell asleep right in front of him; I napped in our room as his voice lulled me via the television broadcast.

The card game was made happier by our onboard barrista who cheerfully made me a Jamaican Latte, more than half of which was a lovely dark rum. Mike, of course, hoped that I would be less wily in my card play, but I managed to overcome the rum and beat him anyway. Perhaps next time he will seek the power of rum for himself.

Not wishing dress up for the "formal optional" evening tonight, we are enjoying the room service option instead, preparing to dine in view of the passing waves, maybe watch a movie. They have films available that are in theaters now, so we may opt for "The Green Hornet." The service and choice for both food and entertainment here is as good as we've ever had anywhere and it's easy to be utterly spoiled. It's a recipe for a wonderful vacation.

Tomorrow we'll be miles into our first fjord and we look forward to our first venture onto Norwegian soil and a railway trip, as well. When those of you in the U.S. are still fast asleep, we anticipate oohing and aahing over beautiful blue waters, mountainsides and the many photo ops we'll have to share at the end of our Friday in Norway's Vestlandt.

Charlotte to Copenhagen and On to Norway

As I write this we are sailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, on the Sojourn, a Seabourn ship. Getting here was a bit of a trial, flying from Charlotte Tuesday afternoon to Atlanta, then through the night to land in Copenhagen Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, neither of us slept much, so cranked off the plane at the airport feeling as twisted as pretzels.

We did have one of those felicitous moments in the departure gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta that travelers sometimes experience. While lining up to board, we chatted with a woman from the San Francisco area who asked us where we were from. When we replied "Charlotte," she asked if we knew Giverny. That's our neighborhood and we discovered that her family moved to the Bay area about the same time we moved to Charlotte. We seem to be reminded often that this is a small world.

Once in Copenhagen¸ feet on the ground and weary bodies unkinking, we enjoyed a ride through the city with a driver who gave us quite a bit of history on the way to the harbor. It's not a huge city, but it was founded in the 12th century, he said, and has wonderful buildings, including twisted towers, and green parks. The water is never far away, seagulls float overhead and today's weather has been picture perfect. There's a Carolina blue sky (perhaps they would say Danish blue) and the blades of the wind farms offshore are turning steadily. Our driver told us that Denmark generates more than 20 percent of its electricity from wind.

Despite our weariness, we made the obligatory safety muster, learning to put on our life jackets properly. Then there was a party on the pool deck as we prepared to sail. We watched a couple of much larger cruise ships move out ahead of ours, then began making our way toward Flam up Norway's west coast. There are sailboats all around, windmills in the water and a really long bridge in the distance. So much of Scandanavia is made up of islands that bridges and ferries are a part of life.

I am enjoying the throb of the engines under the decks. It feels as if the ship has a beating heart. We both relish the occasional roll of the ship beneath our feet and know that the swaying will rock us to sleep tonight, as if we needed any help as tired as we are now.

As I close, we are passing beautiful farmland, green pastures spread across the lowlands along the coast. Based on the World Atlas provided in our stateroom, what we are seeing must be in Sweden. Our course will take us up through the Kattegat and the Skagerak, relatively narrow waterways that wind up from Copenhagen to the Norwegian Sea where we'll go north in and out of the fjords before coming back to Oslo and Copenhagen for our return home. The captain has warned that we might have some rougher seas ahead, but, for now, it's truly smooth sailing.

We'll be at sea all day Thursday, a perfect time to catch up on our rest, find our way around the ship and just enjoy the cool breezes here. It is heavenly to have 70-degree days ahead and we don't even mind the rain in the forecast. After the early summer heat in the South, the cooler temperatures here are blissful.

The Danish Coast