May 3, 2026



Greetings and Salutations Friends!!!

Finally, finally a sunshiny morning where I can sit outside on the patio swing without a jacket! I turned off the heat and opened up the kitchen window. The metro is awash in flowering trees and the lovely light green of fresh new leaves on the tall trees.The sky is bluer than blue.

The hubster is working on the plantings just outside the porch. He’s listening to Celtic Crush which just played a Christmas song with the following lyrics,” My sisters all are whack jobs.”

What a perfect environment to start writing about our trip to the British Isles! I am reminded of the same spirited Irish reaction to Queen Victoria’s request after her beloved Albert passed.
She wanted all to paint their doors black. According to the tour guide, that is when Dubliners began to paint their doors bright colors. And as the tour bus drove through neighborhoods, those bright individual doors still define Dublin.

Now I realize that I am taking what the tour guides were saying as truth, but, in all fairness, in Scotland two of them wore kilts and the sgian-dubh, the small knife tucked into the top of the kilt hose and were former policemen. Why would I not believe them?

The trip was a rapid sampling of what the British Isles offer. Now I know where I want to return. It was my first ever trip to Europe. The eight hour flight had always been a deterrent. Now I know I can do it. And I am looking forward to a return trip. London, yes, but also Cornwall, Coventry, and Carlisle.

Amsterdam, though, Amsterdam with its construction zones within the terminal was truly a challenge after a red eye flight. The zig zag lines to enter into Europe were packed and hot, even though we were entertained by the St. Peter Minnesota high school band just ahead of us. Their enthusiasm for the experience was notable.

By the time we got to Bergen, Norway, the quiet terminal was appreciated. And that’s where we started.

And stopped. We couldn’t go to our next stop at Shetland because of high winds and waves. Dang it. Still on my bucket list.

We were later on also prevented from visiting Wales due to Storm Dave. The terminal guide in Liverpool said many smaller structures were blown over there, too. The hubster and I were pelted by sleet on our individual expeditions.

Wales is still on my bucket list because of their creative spelling (Pontrhdyfen and Fforde, birthplace of Richard Burton, and a favorite author, respectively)

Now you may be wondering how life on a cruise ship is altered by high winds and waves. Well, spectacularly is one word that comes to mind. On Viking when the weather report includes high waves, small leather pouches with paper barf bags will appear hanging from the railings in the elevators. We appreciated the thoughtfulness.

The ship travels at night so when I would get up in the dark to answer nature’s call, on the way back to bed I would sidetrack to the balcony. As I walked past the end of the bed, I would often be walking up hill. Down hill to the balcony door would follow. Open the door and stretch to the balcony railing, again up hill. Hang on and enjoy the view, fresh air, strong breezes and frothy sea below. We both used scopolamine patches which ameliorated the sea sickness. You still had to be smart, though. For instance, in bed, I discovered that lying flat on my back was much more conducive to less sea sickness that lying on my side where I would rock.

And, just by the way, waves don’t rock a ship like a cradle or a ride on a train. They go all over the place. In all directions. And when you’re walking down the hallway, the railings are well used because all the passengers then walk like they’re three sheets to the wind. The staff show us up everytime.

When the ship docks out in the bay instead of at a pier, small flat covered boats called tenders are used to take the passengers to the pier. One morning as I was preparing to board the tender, my eyes got wide as I saw the floor of the tender rise six feet up from the floor of the ship I was standing on and then drop just as fast. I looked at the staff member who would help me board the tender and he said, “ It’s all about timing.” And then a huge wave crashed through between tender and ship. Yep. It was like waiting for the right moment in jump roping. Remember that?

There are more stories to come. Be sure to hug the ones you love. Listen to some favorite music. Enjoy this weather.

Love,

Janet