Sunday September 5

Rachel's Bit: Well, our cruise has finally arrived! We get a taxi from the house to go to the train station (where the coach was picking us up) at 6:15am. Our coach left on time, at 6:45am. Harwich (where the ship leaves from) is 242 miles from York. Sounds like a 4 hour trip, eh? WRONG! It took us 3 hours just to get out of Yorkshire! We pitied the couple behind us, who had been on the coach since 4am. It took 9 hours to get to the ship. If we do something like this again, we're making our own way down.

The scariest part was when I had to leave my passport with the purser. I'll get it back before we go into St. Petersburg, but have to give it back until we dock back in Harwich. I can just imagine them losing it. I'd kill 'em.

Shortly after getting settled, we had a lifeboat drill. Quite interesting, seeing 300 people crammed into the Majestic Lounge with their life jackets on. Quite informative and reassuring that they know what they're doing and have a good plan of action.

Between the lifeboat drill and dinner, we went to a talk about Oslo, our first port of call. It wasn't all that informative, just made us glad that we booked an excursion. We won't be going to anymore of those talks.

Dinner was at 8:30pm because we chose the later seating, so that if we were out and about, we wouldn't have to rush back for dinner prematurely.

There was quite a choice on the menu. We didn't order all the courses, but we made a dent in it. I'm sure we'll have ample opportunity to thoroughly make pigs of ourselves!

Monday September 6

Rachel's Bit: A full day cruising is on the schedule, along with Formal Night and The Captains Cocktail Party.

We had breakfast poolside at the buffet. Lots to choose from. They really want to fatten us up!

We wandered about the ship, taking pictures and finding our way. We wandered a bit last night, but that was a bit fuzzy from being tired. We also booked a tour of the bridge. It's nothing like The Love Boat. We learned that there are extra inflatable life rafts that will pop up, even if the ship goes down, so there shouldn't be people just bobbing about, they can get dry and keep away from those sharks that are vacationing around England. J

The weather has been fabulous so far. We've been doing a lot of lazing about on deck, drinking coffee and tea. We've also been hanging about the slot machines. They've been quite nice to us.

Lunch was at the poolside buffet. Lots of salad stuff. We figure that was safer than getting stuffed in the dining room. It's been a blast so far, eating outside like a picnic. Especially since it's been sunny and warm.

They put on a Casino demonstration, so we all could learn to play roulette and blackjack. Needless to say, later I took some money down and "donated" it to the Casino. £20 ($30) lasted over a half-hour at £2 a pop. Gerry didn't think it would last 5 minutes. It was good fun. We'll probably go and play roulette after dinner tonight. It'll be cheaper. It's only 25p (37c) a go on it, unless you're placing outside bets, then it's £2 ($3) minimum.

Gerry's Bit: I went to see a cocktail demonstration, while Rachel was having a read. My intention was to go and play shuffleboard, but no one else was there. The demonstration was interesting, since I don't drink spirits I didn't volunteer for the tasting. They made nearly a dozen different cocktails and shared them out for tasting purposes, this at 10:15 in the morning! I am sure they measure more carefully when you pay for them. The costs of drinks are slightly cheaper than pub prices. The hard part is getting used to signing for them instead of paying. The only place cash is used is in the Casino. Cigarettes are £1.25 for a pack of 20!!

It was formal dress tonight and the Captain's Cocktail Party. Rachel looked absolutely stunning as always. We got to know everyone at our table better tonight. We all introduced ourselves. Margaret and Dorothy are very humorous. Margaret more so. After dinner we decided to hit the Casino. We took £10 ($15) each and played the Roulette table. There was myself, Rachel and one other woman playing. All the luck was with the women, both Rachel and the other woman won. Rachel winning £40 ($60). Then 2 big spenders came in and the fun aspect was gone. It was fun though. Margaret and Dorothy came in to see how we were doing. Then Ian and

Ann came in. Ann ended up playing and won as well. Tomorrow is Oslo and our first excursion. Looking forward to that.

Tuesday September 7

Gerry's Bit: Today was our first port of call, Oslo. We had pre-booked our day our for here. The trip took us through the centre of Oslo, which looked a nice city. We travelled up to the Olympic Ski Jump. When you see the ski jump on television it looks high, but you just don't get the feeling of how high and steep it really is. It is frighteningly high and very steep where they land. The actually arena area of the ski jump was full of water. I assume they leave it to freeze over in the winter and with the snow on top keeps it solid.

After the ski jump we headed off to see the Hadeland Glass Factory. It was amazing to see them making everything from small glasses to huge vases. The amazing thing was the number of people that are involved in the making of one item. The sheer skill of the person moulding the glass to the person adding the colour was well worth the visit. We had intended to get some postcard, but we looked in the factory shop and ended up buying 3 pieces of glass, 1 sheep for Rachel, a vase and a Viking. This left us with 3 Kroner, definitely not enough to get 1 postcard.

Once we left the glass factory it was time to go for lunch. This was at a lovely hotel. The lunch included a cold buffet and a choice of drink, a variety of puddings and coffee or tea. It was a very enjoyable meal indeed. It also gave us a chance for a talk with some other passengers who we had not met (that leaves about another 200+ to go). After the lunch and a rest it was off to see a Viking ship that had been discovered intact. Along with that we went to see Ra II and the Kon Tiki. The highlight of the trip was definitely the glass factory, for me anyway. (And me too! R)

Another good evening dinner. The food and the company at dinner are both excellent. We have been very lucky with the people we were put with for our dinners.

We ventured down to the Casino again. I played the slot machines for awhile, and actually won! Rachel played Roulette and Blackjack. I always seem to get nervous when Rachel plays Blackjack, probably because I am not good at cards or something. Anyway Rachel played very well and won. We then both played Roulette and this time we both won. Our total winnings was £70 ($105)!!! The 2 other players who we both feel are serious gamblers came in, and as usual, the fun seemed to go out of the game. They are not very friendly, in fact I would go as far as to say rude. Maybe they think the same about us. We don't bet as high as them then we are not real gamblers. That's true, we are not, but we know how to enjoy ourselves.

The cruise is brilliant, I am really enjoying the holiday, especially since at long last myself and Rachel are on holiday together without anyone else to think about. It's good to see Rachel having a good time after she has worked so hard and long for this holiday. There isn't a day that goes by without the thought of how lucky I am that Rachel said yes to marrying me. She is without doubt one amazing woman

and I love her so much, more and more as each day goes by (is that possible?). Anyway, Copenhagen tomorrow, time for some sleep.

Rachel's Bit: We went to another National Trust talk today, "The History of Cruising". Quite fascinating to find out that cruising went back as far as 1810! And that the Germans found the commercial value of people cruising for the fun of it! People had been booking passages on ships since ships were built. But they didn't do it for fun or excursions. We didn't stay for the whole thing cause we had to get ready for dinner. But for the hour (yes, 1 hour!) that we stayed, we were riveted. I wish they would have done a cassette about it.

Wednesday September 8

Rachel's Bit: Today: Copenhagen Denmark. We decided to forgo the excursions and just take the shuttle into town and explore on our own. Quite enjoyable to just walk around with only the deadline to get back to the ship. And with no one else's idea of what you should see while you were in port. Granted, we have strange ideas about what we like to see. I enjoyed looking at the Royal Copenhagen Porcelains and Crystals. Nice to be able to afford some of that! I did get a wee Royal Copenhagen souvenir plate, about 3" across with a lighthouse illustration on it. And we found the 2 cheapest places in town for postcards, 2 DKr and 1 DKr each. I think everyone else was paying 6-20 DKr. The exchange rate was 10 DKr (Denmark Krone) to £1. We got our currency on the ship. Last time we do that! They gave us 10.05 DKr-£1 and charged us 10 DKr for the privilege. We saw in town that we could have got 11.29 DKr-£1, not that it really would have made much difference. We ended up with 104 DKr left over, but could only exchange the 100 DKr note. Got a whole £8 for it. They charged us £2 for doing it. It's always something. I think I should have got all the currency from Mark's and Spencer before we left England. At least there wouldn't have been a surcharge for it.

There were so many things and places to see that we could have spent all our time rushing from place to place to see it all. But we just wanted to experience the city. And we did. We also passed by all the American restaurants (well, except for KFC for a final Pepsi before returning) and went for one of the street vendors. They had these hotdog/baguette things like pigs-in-a-blanket. They were Fab! Better than McD's or BK anyday. There seemed to be McD's and BK on every block in the shopping district. They must be rather popular.

We tried to find The Little Mermaid, but we couldn't figure out where it was in relation to the boat. The map we had was just of downtown. It had it marked on it, but we thought it would take us forever to get there, get back tot he shuttle, and back to the boat. Little did we know that it isn't terribly far from the boat. Unfortunately, Gerry found out after we got back to the boat. They told him the direction and that it wasn't far, but gave up instead of straying farther from the ship. Bless him!

Gerry's Bit: Just to add my little bit to Rachel's entry. One thing that really caught my eye when we were in town was a huge office block building. Strange thing to catch your eye in a beautiful city, but what it was was that on every spare area in-between the windows was an advert in lights for a company. A different company in each space so there was around 30 of them. Bet that looked interesting when lit up.

Thursday September 9

Gerry's Bit: A day at sea on our way to St. Petersburg. Since we have to put our clocks forward 1 hour, we didn't get to bed until 1:30am, so woke up late. I decided to enter the Gentlemen's Shuffleboard competition. Having no idea what was involved made me think I would be last, but was pleased to hear that my fellow competitors hadn't played before either. Basically you shove this solid wooden block with a pole to try and get the highest score. Also avoiding the -10 score point. Well I by sheer luck made it to the final. We both managed to put our first shuffle in the -10! Then my opponent got a 2 so was on a final score of -8. All I had to do was get over 3, but my skill left me and I didn't even reach the score area with my last shot.

In the afternoon we watched the beginner's line dancing class, which was amusing. I also entered the quiz and got a massive 3/20!! Later in the afternoon when Rachel decided to have a rest I spent a pleasant time chatting to Ian and Ann, who are at our dinner table. We entered the Brainteaser quiz and won with a score of 12/20. The prize was an Ocean Majesty pen, no expense spared there!J

The main topic of conversation at dinner was aobut St. Petersburg and what tours, if any, everyone was going on. Ian, Ann, Dorothy and Margaret have independent visas so are going to explore by themselves for part of our time there. Margaret and Dorothy were a bit nervous about it, after seeing all the red tape etc just to go on an organised excursion. But felt more reassured that others were doing the same.

After dinner we went to see the evenings show, which was okay, it was themed Music Hall. The comedien was funny at times and the singers were pretty good. But definitely not aimed at Rachel and mine age group. Afterwards we went to the Casino. Surprise surprise. I won £5 for a change. I don't think I would play Roulette anywhere else. It's just a fun thing to do on holiday.

Well, it's 2:05am so time to get some sleep before we arrive in St. Petersburg Russia.

Friday September 10

Rachel's Bit: Today was an exciting day. We watched the vegetable carving demonstration. They carved the next set of veggie art to replace the wilted ones. Rather neat. Of course, we got pictures of them all. We also participated in the brainteaser quiz. Didn't win, but it was something to do. I missed out on making paper flowers in the Arts & Crafts session that was on at the same time as the quiz.

We docked at 1:00pm in St. Petersburg. We were 1 hour early again. People with independent visas were allowed ashore by 2:00. But we had to wait until 5:00 for our Folklore Excursion.

It was a lovely concert with 2 sessions and an interval, where we had nibbles (including caviar, which I didn't have) and champagne and vodka. It wasn't until we were going back in for the second half that I saw the sodas and juices. But we did get cds of the 2 groups that were performing. I'll probably drive the neighbours crazy for awhile.

Dinner was all messed up. We usually have just 2 settings. We've been eating at the second sitting, about 8:30pm, but they had 3 settings. 5:30 - participants of the ballet excursion (because they wouldn't be back until 10:30), 7:15 for non-tour participants (people who had visas and didn't go on excursions and for people who did neither), and 9:15 for the folklore people. So we had a long wait from lunchtime until dinner.

Saturday September 11

Rachel's Bit: It was an early rise this morning. Our City Tour was at 8:30am and we had to get up early enough to get ready and have breakfast. We'll have just enough time between tours to have a bite of lunch. But at least we'll be back in time from the second tour for our normal dinner sitting.

The City Tour: 4 hours of a Russian Guide droning on in broken English doesn't sound like a good idea. Fortunately, our guide spoke rather good English so it was quite an enjoyable time. They took us around on a bus, allowing us to get out of the bus occasionally to take pictures. And, of course, everywhere we stopped there were street vendors, trying to get your money. There were price differences everywhere we went. But it got old by the end of the second day. But if you were patient enough and said no enough times, they'd drop their prices to a rather reasonable level. I forgot to mention that these street vendors were on foot and approached you with their wares. They'd follow you until you either said ok or got out of their little area. But there were stationary vendors as well. You could bargain with them, but not as good.

I did get a few bargains. They sold a few things on the ship, so we had a bit of a base to go by. Then there was a stationary vendor just outside the immigration building. So there was another example for us. I definitely realised that I should have bought the stacking dolls outside the Folklore concert. They were selling them 3 for $5! Anyway, I got a few brooches with tiny dolls on them at a halfway good price, and a bargain on a large wool scarf/shawl and a porcelain doll. Both for $25, got $5 off those. But we didn't have bargaining power at our last stop. It was a shop, but they did have some nice traditional things, which I got a few of.

We saw lots of palaces and huge buildings. The strange thing was that they kept the buildings in good condition and the insides immaculate, but the outsides needed cleaning or painted. You could tell the buildings that belonged to foreign

interests. They were the clean buildings. But that didn't detract from the overall beauty of them. In fact, if all the buildings were spotless, the city would just overawe everyone. It would make you feel like you just didn't belong there.

The whole city seems to be in various stages of restoration. Which is a good thing. There were quite a few churches and buildings that, up until 3 years or so ago, had been closed. Some churches and Mosques had been handed back to "the believers" and allowed to get restoration underway and opened again.

There is a large amount of real gold on the tops of some of the buildings and on some statues. One good thing that came out of Lenin's regime was that he told everyone that the art galleries etc. weren't to be destroyed. At least he was smart enough to realise the value of their heritage and insure its safety. It's unfortunate that changes in regimes all over the world result in the loss of valuable art and the long heritage of countries. And it's good that Lenin was able to achieve this. He wasn't able to save all the churches. About 1/3 were destroyed. That left over 200. But more might have been lost without his intervention.

The City Tour showed us quite a bit of St. Petersburg, but just enough to make us want to get back for longer, and to get independent visas to be able to wander around on our own.

The Hermitage Museum: Another long excursion with a horrible guide. Luckily, we were able to wander about on our own, as long as we got back to the bus on time.

The guide started us out on some paintings. Now, we aren't painting type people, so this started to bode ill for us. Then the shipboard singer came up and started chatting to us about how we'd been doing in the Casino. He reminded us that we could go about on our own, so we made our escape!

Granted, there were lots and lots of paintings in the museum, but there were more objects, statues, furniture, etc. to look at. An amazing undertaking, just to see it all. We should have taken a pen and grabbed a map to mark off the rooms we saw.

The things that caught our eye the most was these giant (and I mean giant!) birdbath type things. Made from stuff like marble, Malachite, Jasper, etc., they were big enough (some of them) for a couple people to bathe in! Just something for the back garden. J

Most of the stuff was from the royal collection. But they nationalised all the art in the country, so noble families had to turn their stuff over to the museums so that the "commoners" could see it too. Kinda crappy if something's been in your family for a couple hundreds years or more and you have to hand over millions worth for nothing. Horrible if that's what your family's wealth is based on.

After traipsing about for a couple hours, we decided to go out to the coach. A) the coach was locked and the driver was somewhere else; and B) the vendors and beggars mobbed us. You just want to get fresh air and relax, but these people won't let you alone. Even after you tell them to go away, they come back to annoy you. It just gets to be a bit much. We ended up going back inside to get away from them all (after I ended up buying something at a rather reduced price for a friend. But I made the vendor work for it. J) and got quite a few strange looks from people going out. Maybe it had something to do with the 4 Russian security guards hanging around us. They were on their break, but no one could tell. Guess everyone thought we'd got into trouble, especially with the worn down looks we had on our faces. Even one of the cruise people asked us if everything was all right, looking from us to the guards.

But soon we were back on the coach and back on our way to the ship. We spent a bit more at the vendors outside the ship. I'd had my eye on a particular set of stacking dolls for myself and hadn't seen anything like it anywhere else, plus there were cds and Christmas ornaments. We got a few cds, since they were $2 each. Couldn't pass it up. And also got a set of ornaments, along with the stacking dolls. We got a couple dollars knocked off because Gerry pulled the money out of his pocket and told the guy that that's all we had left and I passed everyone else's dolls up just to come back to him. He gave in. Not quickly, but he wanted to make it look good.

Sunday September 12

Rachel's Bit: It's Sunday, so it must be Helsinki. Another place we decided to wander into town ourselves instead of getting an excursion.

First we checked out the little market within spitting distance for the ship and picked out what we were going to buy on the way back to the ship. The town was mostly closed, but there were a few things open. We went (get this!) to the local flea market. Thought maybe it was going to be a little market, but it was a car boot sale thing! But there seemed to be lots of new clothes but loads of second-hand stalls. Good thing, too, because I wanted to get a smallish bag to tote back our souvenirs in. I got one for 10 Fmk (Finnish Marks), which was about £1.20 ($1.80). And all the stuff fits in, with room for souvenirs yet to come.

We ended up getting a few pictures taken, but just taking in the city and relaxing.

We bought this wee reindeer hide tee-pee thing with a little Santa/Laplander in it. We thought it was pretty cool, anyway, and Gerry got a baseball cap. OH! And I got a Finnish Lighthouse T-shirt to add to my collection.

We've spent a horrid amount of money, but we still have some left and Stockholm, Kalmar, and Amsterdam to go!

Cruise Special:

Maybe we should tell you about the people around us. Our dinner companions are Dorothy & Margaret (sisters), Ian & Ann, and John & Heather. Ian and Ann are on the same deck as us and the rest are on the deck below us.

We all seem to be from different walks of life, but we all get along great. John's the amusing one, doing impressions, telling jokes and stories, and reciting lines from comedy that he's seen. And generally embarrassing his wife Heather. I think she's afraid that we'll think he's a complete dork. She's relaxed quite a bit and enjoys herself more. Ian works for Ford in some sort of diagnostic and R&D area. Quite highly paid. Works with a lot of tire companies. We hang about with him and Ann, since we seem to like a lot of the same things. They seem like the types that worked hard all their lives to get where they are and raided their kids, and can't believe that they are able to do the things they do. Ian does a lot of flitting about all over the world for his company. And they've been on a few other cruises, so they've been a real help to us all. The sisters are hysterical! Especially when Dorothy gets a bit of wine in her. Both sisters are retired teachers, so it's been rather interesting with them.

Everyone seems to have a bit to add about the places we've visited. I think it's a cross between being before and researching well. Or just knowing what you'd like to visit.

Ian and Ann like to just wander about the towns, getting the feel of the place, whereas the others like visiting the cathedrals and the museums. That's all well and good, but in most places you wouldn't be able to see anything else BUT the cathedrals or the bits-of-old-boat museums. J

The staff on board has been great too. Our cabin Steward George took good care of us. Always keeping us tidy and comfy. And our busboy at dinner, Iwayan, kept our water glasses full and was quick about getting our plates shifted. The chefs kept us full and satisfied, the bar staff kept us lubricated and the casino staff kept us interested.

There were shows and movies, activities and excursions. We shouldn't forget the guess lecturers or the guy who told us about the places we visited.

There was friendliness everywhere, from the cruise company staff to the staff on the boat. Considering how many different groups that see to your comfort, they all kept a really high standard. And with it being a smaller ship (holding between 586-635 people), there seemed to be a great deal of personal service. I can't imagine what it would be like on a bigger ship. But we're willing to do the research!!

Monday September 13

Rachel's Bit: Today was Stockholm. With so much to see in Stockholm, we stayed mainly in The Old Town (Swedish: Gamla Stan). Stockholm started out on this little chunk of land and expanded to what it is today. The Royal residence is still in the Palace in Old Town. We got a free guide to Stockholm when we left the ship and it had a walk around Gamla Stan in it, plus some historical stuff. We got to see things on the walk that you wouldn't just happen by.

Like, in the back garden of a church there is a wee statue only 14 cm high that people put summer hats and winter hats and scarves on or put money in front of him.

Or the oldest wooden statue, which happens to be St. George and the Dragon, that's inside another church.

Or the hotel where they found buried treasure and bits of an old tower.

Or that some of the shops still have their original glass ceilings.

Or that there's a cannon ball (a small one) still embedded in the outside corner of a building.

Or the narrowest lane in Stockholm, only 90 cm (3 feet) wide.

There was also a walkthrough of the newer part of the city, but we didn't have the time or energy to do that. We could have done with a couple more hours, but we were on a schedule. No one would have minded if it was longer. Everyone seemed to have wanted a bit more time just about everywhere we went. Too many museums, so little time.

But we found quite a few good gift and souvenir shops and spent money, of course.

Just a couple more stops to go and a day of cruising.

Tuesday September 14

Rachel'l Bit: Today we were in Kalmar Sweden. We weren't very impressed with it. We could just about see all the sights from the deck of the ship.

Tourist information wasn't much help to us. Except to direct us to the post office to change currency. They told us where the gift shops were. Or where they were SUPPOSED to be. But that area was private businesses, not retail shops.

We only had 4 hours in port. The unfortunate thing was that the shops in Sweden don't open until 10am, but we were off the ship at 9am and had to be back by 12:45.

We found out, after were back aboard, that probably the best souvenirs could be had at the museum across from where the ship was docked!

The only saving grace was that there was this fabulous castle there. We didn't go in it (not enough time), but we got pictures of it from the ship. Yep, we forgot to take the camera ashore with us and didn't want to waste the time to go back and get it. Not that there was much to take pictures of.

Tonight is the last formal night on board. It's also our farewell gala dinner. It was supposed to be tomorrow night, but they switched it because they thought it was going to be rough tomorrow evening.

I went to the salon and had them put my hair up for me. It looked great. Everyone seemed amazed just how well I scrub up. I've been wearing my hair tied back most of the time because of the wind we get on deck. Especially while we're eating. And I dress for comfort most of the time, ski pants and t-shirts.

The photographer came around and took pictures of all the tables. There have been a few Kodak moments. We've bought quite a few of them. Nice to have some nice mementoes, plus we'll be able to show everyone who we hung about with.

Wednesday September 15

Rachel's Bit: A full day of cruising the Kiel Canal on our way to Amsterdam. The scenery reminds me of Southern Ohio, trees and farmland.

It's going to be a relaxing day, even though there's plenty planned for us to attend, if we want to. I'll probably go to the casino again.

First stop, though, was the napkin folding demonstration. Now we know a few things to impress our dinner guests with. But only if we can remember it all.

Everyday we've been having quizzes, but haven't had the time to participate. But we did today, twice even. We lost both time, but had fun doing it.

Then it was off to the casino. I'm just glad there aren't casinos in York. The Bingo Hall is bad enough! Technically, while we are waiting in a lock in the canal, the casino should be closed. But the casino manager told the staff that since they weren't docking there, just waiting, to keep the casino open. The staff said that normally everyone is up on deck watching instead of gambling. So we had to be the weird ones. But it was fun anyway.

Gerry went to see "Day of the Jackal" in the cinema before dinner, while I took a nap. I think the salami sandwiches for afternoon tea didn't agree with me.

On this cruise, we've all been telling time by the food times.

7:00-7:30 - Early Bird coffee and tea
7:30-9:30 - Breakfast (buffet by the pool and in dining room)
11:00-12:00 - Morning tea and coffee
12:00- 2:00 - Lunch (Buffet and dining room)
3:45-4:45 - Afternoon tea and coffee (with finger sandwiches)
6:00-8:00 - First sitting dinner
8:00-10:00 - Second sitting dinner
11:30-12:00 - Late night snacks

Plenty of food opportunities, but it's nice to know this schedule when we're in dock so you know when to be back aboard for free food!

Food and the casino aren't the only entertainment we've had on the ship. There have been talks about the ports we've been visiting, National Trust talks, shows (cabarets), quizzes, dance classes, movies, music, lovely scenery and excursions.

The easiest thing to get used to and hardest to break is signing for our drinks instead of paying for them up front. But we've kept all the receipts and kept a running total to keep ahead of it. Plus we've been putting money aside so that we don't have to worry about running out of money before the bill comes! Tomorrow we settle up and pay cash for drinks all day. Then we'll be heading back to Jolly Ol'.

Thursday September 16

Rachel's Bit: Yes, Amsterdam was just about what we expected.

We'd been docking everywhere an hour early and Amsterdam was no exception. In reality, we were 2 hours early, when we checked the original itinerary. But it was nice being early. That meant that we had time before our excursion in the afternoon to go exploring.

We looked in a few souvenir shops, found the sex museum and Madame Tussaud's, and headed towards the red light district and dodgy café area. On the way there, we found this fabulous shop. It had all sorts of dragons and wizards and fairies and trolls in it. They're hoping to be on the Internet next year, so of course we left our email address with them in their special book.

Some of the other shops actually in the red light district you had to take a second look in their windows to guess what some of the stuff was used for!

We thought it was a bit early for the ladies to be advertising in their windows, but we ran across a couple of them. Quite an experience.

We thought we'd go back into Amsterdam after our excursion to see the sex museum and M. Tussaud's and maybe buy something from the dragon shop, but we were tired and all spent up by then.

The windmills, clogs, and cheeses excursion was interesting. First we stopped at a cheese farm and they told us how they made the cheeses. Then we were able to sample the cheeses and make purchases. We bought a garlic/herb one that was rather nice.

Then we moved on to the town of Edam (like the cheese). We had to walk through the town because the streets were too narrow for the coach. Lots of buildings there were built in the 16th and 17th centuries and are still in use. Edam used to be the place for cheese, but they moved most of the productions to the farms instead of bringing the mil into the town to process.

Next was an open-air museum with windmills in it and a clog maker and some delft works.

In the time of Peter the Great there were 650 windmills, now there are only 12. The windmill we visited ground up natural things for dye, like chalk and some tropical woods. Another one there sliced up logs and the other 3 ground nuts for oil. And the way things are going there probably won't be any working windmills by the middle of the next century.

The clog making was interesting. If you'd make them by hand, a pair of clogs would take 6 hours to carve. But with the copy lathe thing, it only takes 15 minutes for a pair. Of course, it still takes a few weeks to dry them out and paint them, no matter which way they're carved.

They also have a large shop that was a certified dealer in Delftware. Kinda nice and mostly reasonably priced.

On the way to and from our excursion we saw that most of the countryside was below water level. That's why they have dykes along the waterways.

We also saw lots and lots of houseboats and houseboat communities. Some of them looked like mobile homes on platforms or proper houses on platforms. Nothing resembling the houseboats we know. One advantage I can think of is that they don't have to mow the grass. More and more interesting countryside and views that just keep adding to the holiday.

Tonight was our last dinner with everyone. We had commented throughout the trip that someone at our table should have a birthday or anniversary so that we'd get a special cake and sung to by the waiters. So I had approached the cruise staff and told them about our anniversary being in a week, but that we'd like to celebrate it on the last day of the cruise. Boy was Gerry surprised!! And everyone was excited about getting a piece of the cake. It was good. A nice ending to the cruise.

Friday September 17

Rachel's Bit: Well, we're leaving the ship today. The holiday is officially over. Time to eat one last breakfast and get the coach home. It was nice while it lasted, but we're ready for home. We're glad we were able to go on this holiday. It was a new experience and great exploring. We hope to cruise again sometime and we definitely want to return to some of the places we've visited.

All in all, there are lots of memories of a fantastic time.