The Great 30th Birthday Trip page 1 | page 2 | page 3
Thoughts on the MS Nordam

Sunday, the next day, was Visby. We took the tenders to shore fairly early, and explored the small town and its ruins with David and Linda. Very charming and picturesque town, though quite leisurely and quiet on a Sunday morning. They were, however, having a medieval festival, so we were able to attend an open ait brass concert at the old church, sitting on the lawn. Very relaxing. We browsed through the medieval market next, which was fun to see, but similar to a Renaissance festival at home, so all I bought was a Christmas ornament. We had just enough time to watch the parade befoe we had to return to the ship.

We had a nice afternoon at sea, played and won some games, and dressed up for our final formal night. Before dinner, and after champagne with David and Linda, we played the Not So Newlywed game, at which we failed miserably. Dinner was an extravagant affair that night - lots of fun, show and spectacle. I became a true cruise passenger, and ordered two appetizers. It was just too hard o choose between escargot and caviar. And if you don't have to choose, why do it? That night the nurse got me some good medicine after dinner so I was finally able to breathe, and sleep. I definitely needed a good night's sleep to get me through the upcoming day.

Monday was our long day at port - Warnemunde Germany. Having breakfast in the Lido that morning, I heard them announce on the intercom the weather forecast for the day… 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I thought it was a joke, but no punch line was forthcoming. We dressed for the heat and set out. We took the train to Rostock, which, surprisingly was about a 20 minute walk to the city center from the station. We had some difficulty finding our way, and were also surprised at the apparent unfriendliness of the locals. This was something we had not encountered in Germany last year. We finally found our way though, and spent some time in Rostock, and enjoyed a big hearty German lunch right by the harbor of fish and potatoes, before taking a train to Stralsund. Disappointingly, Stralsund was just another town similar to Rostock, and we endured a train ride with no AC and closed window to get there. The heat, and my inability to find a bottle of water with "no gas" did little for my humor, and we decided to call it a day. Luckily the train on the way back was cooled, and I had a (finally) big bottle of still water and a chocolate ice cream cone to cheer me up.

Despite all my talk of people who go on cruises, and eat on board instead of in the country they are in, we did precisely that. There we were - Germany right outside the ship, and we ate in the dining room. I think it was the point in the trip that I needed something to be easy, and we had that option so I took it. Besides, I consoled myself with the fact that Warnemunde was a touristy port town, little more culturally enriching than eating on board.

Tuesday was our last day at sea. Good day to recuperate after our taxing travel schedule of the preceding 10 days or so. We lounged around , did our packing (which necessitated buying an extra bag for our souvenirs) did a little laundry when we were able to get to a machine that wasn't heavily guarded by angry women, played some games, and of course ate. We had some cocktails with David and Linda in the Crow's Nest before dinner, polished off our last bottle of Merlot at dinner, and were completely soused by the time we played Trivia. For the first time, we lost.

It was sad leaving the ship Wednesday, even though we were headed to further adventure in Paris. It had come to feel like home in the 10 days we were on board. We made friends, we relaxed, we traveled to wonderful places, we ate lots of yummy food, and I think I would have stayed if I could. Come to think of it, that could be why I just sent my application in to Holland America to work on board .