Jim and Sue's Gray Nomad Adventures

Ronne is on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. A short walk today and quite warm and sunny. We were a bit early today so very few people around – and also we were the only cruise ship in port so no great throngs of tourists. Once we got away from the centre it was very quiet.

Started with a couple of local manhole covers.

Market square.

St Nikolai church

Next to our ship on the dock was a stockpile of wind turbines waiting to be shipped to Germany. They get loaded onto an installation ship four at a time which then sails to the destination and installs them.

The blades weigh 3.4 tonnes each.

Generator housings (nacelles). They look like something out of War of the Worlds..

The installation ship. It is jacked up out of the water while it uses its crane to load the hardware and also for installation at the destination to provide stability.

I found a manhole cover with Wismar on it.

We did a 4Km walk around the old town. Not as many tourists as we have had in other ports because we ventured out earlier than normal – so very pleasant. Weather was 26C so quite warm but there was usually a nice breeze to compensate.

This is a sundial which shows the time that matched my watch. Unfortunately the adjacent building is casting a shadow over the face but you can still see the time that is being indicated.

Feather toys.

A display of fungi in a shop window.

Random upside down pig 🙂

No shortage of church towers.

We transited the Kiel Canal from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. Perfect weather.

This is a flying ferry, suspended by cables from the bridge above, it carries cars and pedestrians from one side of the canal to the other

There are many ferries crossing the canal and they are free.

We have seen many wind turbines in this part of the world.

A very large solar array to supplement the wind turbines.

About to enter the Baltic Sea

We shared the lock with two smaller boats.

The adjacent lock.

We had about an eight hour sail in up the river Elbe into Hamburg, arriving at 8pm.

Another manhole cover unique to the town we are in

This image was captured just after our arrival taken from our seat in the dining room.

The next day we caught a shuttle into the city centre and did our usual walk around.

The church was built in 1874 on the site of a former church that was burned down. During World War II the church was irreparably damaged and the nave building was torn down. The tower was left and the ruins are a memorial to the destruction of the war.

Walking on, came across some sculptures.

Hamburg has a lot of interesting and avant garde architecture.

St Catherines Church. The base of its spire, dating from the 13th century, is the second oldest building preserved in the city.

An interesting juxtaposition of the old and the new – clock tower beside a communications tower in the background.

While waiting for the shuttle bus, we did a quick exploration of a nearby shopping mall.

We were docked in Amsterdam and it was a short walk to the complex of canals and interesting sights.

Many European cities have unique motifs on the manhole covers. If possible I like to capture ones that have the town’s name or an interesting motif

River cruise boats ready to go.

Yesterday was a big football match and many bars are decorated in orange.

We stopped for a rest and lunch by the canal.

This was a shop dedicated to ducks

Photo taken through the window focussing on the array of ducks inside. Photobombed by a startled rabbit 🙂

Amsterdam has something for everyone.

Sailing out of Amsterdam, some interesting architecture.

The armchairs in the suites were replaced today, the workers seemed to think the old ones were ok. Jumped out of them as soon as a supervisor appeared.

We docked in Zeebrugge and did a ships tour into Bruges which was a walking tour, canal boat cruise and some free time. Bruges is an amazingly well preserved medieval city with lots of canals, cobblestone roads and old buildings. It gets about 8 million visitors a year!

There are many convents in Bruges, most of which are no longer used as such. They arose due to the need for women widowed by the Crusades to have safe accommodation. This convent’s lease expire in about 12 years but that is unlikely to be an issue as there are only seven or eight nuns living there now and they are all in their 80s

We arrived in Bruges quite early and there were very few people around, which was a big advantage of an early departure from the ship.

As the time got later the crowds started to grow.

By mid morning there were a lot of people.

Cygnets with mum. The presence of swans in Bruges is from a legend here https://www.greenparkhotelbrugge.com/en/blog/the-legend-of-the-swans-in-bruges-explained#:~:text=Legend%20says%2C%20the%20emperor%20eventually,Bruges%20would%20fall%20to%20ruin.

At the end of the tour we had some free time so found a chocolatier and bought some handmade Bruge/Belgian chocolate which may not make it back to Australia! We then went to a cafe and had an aperol spritz and some Belgian fries with mayonnaise – a Bruges specialty. Oh, and of course we found some Belgian chocolate, but no pics of that!

We overachieved on the fries – we were looking for a small serve to share not two lots of meals for six! We found out later that if we had just ordered the drinks, we would have had a small bowl of fries included – oh well, we know for next time.

As the ship was going to be docked in Rouen and stay for two days, we had organised an overnight trip to Paris. There were two objectives – do a dinner tour on a double decker bus that we had booked and do some clothes shopping.

We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel just off the Champs Elysees. The hotel was small and staff very attentive. We had a room with a terrace with the idea that we would sit out and enjoy the atmosphere but sadly it was either rainy or too cold when we wanted to use it.

The room had very high ceilings and there was a very large mural on the ceiling.

We booked an evening activity called Bustronome – a gastronomic dinner on board a double decker bus that tours around the sights of Paris while you are dining. see https://www.bustronome.com/en/paris/

The kitchen was downstairs and the upper deck was restaurant seating with a glass roof allowing a good view as we drove around.

The experience was truly gastronomic and we were able to get a very quick once over lightly of the main Paris highlights.

The descriptions on the menu do not do the dishes justice – the meal was an amazing titillation of our taste buds.

The strawberry desert had a runny strawberry syrup centre which oozed out when I cut into it. Unfortunately my cut for the photo wasn’t deep enough to fully expose it. Some customers didn’t want their desert – their loss because it was amazing!

The next morning we decided to go full calorie and just have a sample of things from a boulangerie that was across the road from the hotel. Stuffed with apple, currants and sultanas and chocolate, they were amazing.

Some photos of our drive around, taken through the bus windows.

We did a walk around on the second day and stumbled across a local market which was fascinating and quite extensive.

Lovely view as we sailed into another attractive French port

We anchored and tendered into the port by the entrance to the old town.

Very substantial fortifications.

We passed a boulangerie that was obviously very popular as evidenced by the line to get in.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art. It is one of several museums affiliated to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. I am sure many would see it as sacrilege that we choose to walk to the old town, which was quite a walk, rather than peruse the art collection.

Unfortunately our ambition exceeded our capability and a considerable distance into the walk we decided that the round trip was not achievable so we turned around without reaching the old town. We did however capture a couple of interesting photos on the way. In hindsight, the Guggenheim Museum might have been a better opportunity for photos, but nevertheless, we achieved the exercise we needed 🙂

As you sail into Lisbon there are three impressive sights: first is the Belem Tower.

Close by is the Age of Discoveries monument.

A short distance further on is the 25th April suspension bridge.

As we had been to Lisbon before a couple of times and we were both recovering from the lurgy, we decided to take a short walk to find some Portuguese tarts to give to our suite attendants who look after us so well.

We had to share the port with two large ships – Anthem of the seas (4,905 pax) and Carnival Voyager (2,124 pax).

Docked – view from our suite.

As we had been to Lisbon before a couple of times and we were both recovering from the lurgy, we decided to take a short walk to find some Portuguese tarts to give to our suite attendants who look after us so well.

The Portuguese tarts were very well received. Ironically, Seabourn had the same idea and we were all treated to Portuguese tarts when we got back to our suites after dinner!

We visited the Picasso museum and did a short walk around the area.

Picasso museum – some of his work.

An interesting “factory” to find!

After the museum we went to cafe for an olive oil tasting and nibbles.

The ceiling of the cafe had a stained glass panel.

More streetscapes.

The cathedral was originally a mosque. To make the building more christian, a facade was applied.

Docked close to town. Very hazy due to dust from Sahara. We didn’t start walking around until after 11 so found most places closed up for siesta.

We were docked right next to the town

We came across an indoor market selling an amazing array of mainly meat, fish, cheese and vegetables.

Tendered ashore and then a pleasant walk around the town.

Interesting narrow alleyways

There was no shortage of high end motor cars and luxury yachts.

Today is our 49th wedding anniversary. Seabourn prepared a special dinner for us. Started with caviar on mashed potato stuffed in a baked potato shell, surrounded by the usual caviar trimmings of crumbled egg white, yolk sour cream and onion.

Then lobster mornay

Desert was apple strudel.

At the end of the meal the restaurant manager presented us with a cake that the chefs had prepared for us. We were too full from the meal to eat it so they sent it to our room.

It was a most delicious and memorable meal.

We visited Ajaccio on the island of Corsica today. Ajaccio is the birthplace of Napoleon.

Civitavecchia is a fairly big city and is the port for Rome, two hours away. As we are coming back to Rome for three days in September we decided to just walk around the local area.

Before getting back on to the ship we stopped at an outdoor cafe and had a pizza. It was up there with the best pizza we have had.

Our next stop was Golfo Aranci, Sardinia. The town’s main attribute is its beaches. Seabourn provided a bus to take us 30 minutes to a more interesting town called Olbia. A couple of cruise ships were anchored offshore so lots of tourists in town – although I with patience I did manage to get some photos without lots of photo bombers!

We were anchored off the island of Lipari and tendered ashore. A lovely town to walk around.

The weather was quite warm and sunny for the most part but there were threatening clouds that fortunately didn’t interfere with our visit.

The climb up to the peak was more challenging than this photo shows.

After leaving Lipari we passed by the Stromboli volcano

We were docked close to the esplanade and the remains of the old fortifications. We followed the wall around for a while and then walked along the esplanade.

Sailing away from Kotor we sat on our balcony with caviar and wine, enjoying the view of the coastline and a spectacular sunset.

We docked immediately adjacent to the old town. First off we went shopping with the chef in the local market where he bought cheeses, cured meats – including horse! – olives, strawberries and cherries.

When the chef had finished shopping we then wandered around the old town on our own. A really lovely old town similar in many ways to Dubrovnik but without the crowds – although there were still plenty of tourists.

We were docked in Dubrovnik which meant we had a shuttle bus ride to the old town. On some previous visits we were anchored and had a tender ride right to the old town, which is obviously preferable.

While there were only two other cruise ships in port, and lesser capacity than the giants, the crowds were still thick – although not as bad as we have seen.

Over the 15 years we have been visiting Dubrovnik, we have seen the crowds reach a level which totally spoils the charm of the place.

Although with patience and selective framing I was able to minimise the impact of the crowd.

In the evening, Seabourn had a special event for those on the Grand European Voyage; we were taken to the old town and treated to an amazing classical concert performed by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra in a beautiful concert hall, the Marina Drzica.

When we left the concert hall to return to the ship, the crowds had thinned out a bit and some buildings were illuminated.

When we returned to the ship we were greeted by enthusiastic staff and refreshments.

As we sailed away from Dubrovnik, we were afforded a spectacular view of the Franjo Tudman cable stayed bridge.

Tendered ashore and walked around. A bit hilly and Sue had left her crutch on board so we didn’t do a lot of walking.

An eclectic collection of photos.

We were docked right next to the old town.

We did our usual walk around. Beautiful weather and an attractive town.

Cruise ships can’t dock in Venice any more so we were docked in Fusina on the mainland and were shuttled into the old Maritime terminal in Venice, about a 40 minute drive. The weather started out sunny but as the day progressed it became overcast and started to rain just as we left the town to catch the shuttle back.

Fusina is an industrial port and not particularly attractive. However, just opposite our suite there was a small boat harbour that bucked the trend.

We were the only cruise ship in Venice today but the crowds were still thick at the main hotspots. If some of the larger cruise ships were also in port it would have been even worse.

Once we moved away from the main tourist area, there was really no crowding.

One of our aims was to find the little restaurant that we ate at 10 years ago on our last visit and have a pizza for lunch. We were successful!

Another aim, at least of Sue, was to find a shop that sold Murano glass jewellery. And again we were successful. A shop that has been open since 1980 and has beautiful things.

Sadly it was rainy and overcast the day we visited Rovinj. It is such a beautiful town and very reminiscent of Venice. The rain eased after lunch so we did a quick walk around but barely scratched the surface before we had to head back. The wet cobblestones were particularly hazardous.

A beautiful sunny day in Corfu with temperatures the mid 20s (celsius). We caught the shuttle bus into town and it dropped us right outside the old fortress, so we started with that.

Corfu was very busy because there was a huge Norwegian Cruise Line ship in port with 4,266 passengers.

I climbed to the very top while Sue waited below – a wise choice because the cobblestones were very slippery and a very steep climb. But having reached the top, the views were spectacular.

By the time we had finished roaming the fort, we were a bit hot and bothered and I was certainly weary from the climb so we caught the shuttle back to our floating restaurant.

If we came again we would skip the fort and spend the time in the old town which looked very interesting as we drove through it.

After a day at sea, we anchored off the town of Sami on the island of Cephalonia. It was an overcast day with occasional sun bursts and then in the afternoon it became very misty. Temperature was warm and comfortable for our walk around the town.

We were docked close to the main shopping area and wandered around as usual. We have been here a couple of times but not for 10 years – amazing to see how it has changed. In order to get out of the cruise terminal you have to pass by a phalanx of stallholders all wanting you to have a look.

Our ship’s capacity is 450 passengers. We were dwarfed by Celebrity Ascent docked alongside – 3,260 passengers.

In the evening we were treated to an exclusive event – a classical concert in the odeon theatre in the ruins of Ephesus. An amazing experience.

Dikili was a quick walk around to discover not much to see 🙂

We did come across an interesting capability – a bicycle maintenance post. It had various tools tethered to the post and a pump.

The next day was Bodrum.

Another Greek island today. Traditional blue and white everywhere. Very few cars but teeming with motor scooters darting everywhere. Horse and carts were available for tourist travel.

Anchored off shore and tendered into the centre of town.

A lot of mosaic work done by laying flat stones vertically. Makes it an interesting sensation to walk on and probably more so if in bare feet.

First impressions as we sailed in to port suggested that this was an amazing place – and it was!

Rhodes started out as an overcast day. We did a four hour drive around the island with a few photo stops. The tour was interesting and the bus was very comfortable.

One of our stops was at a pottery factory where we had an explanation and demonstration.

A photo stop was outside the village of Lindos. Vehicles are not allowed in Lindos so to visit you need to park some distance and then it is a considerable walk up/down a steep climb to the village. When we arrived the car parks were full and the area teeming with tourists. We only took photos from a distance.

In the afternoon the sun burnt through the clouds and it turned out to be a bright, warm day. The ship was docked right next to the old town so I did a wander around. Another quite large cruise ship was also in port so the areas was very busy with tourists.

Today was Antalya in Turkey. Fifth largest city in Turkey with a population of 2.6 million people. As we came into port we saw the rugged mountains around the area.

We adopted our now regular routine of catching the shuttle bus into town and then walk around. Antalya is quite picturesque and the weather was perfect for walking.

The inscription reads:

THIS STATUE, METAL WASTES, MY RETURN, WITH THEIR METHODS, AGAIN BY INDUSTRIAL WORKERS, TO THE ENVIRONMENT

blame Google if you don’t like the translation!

Hadrian’s Gate is a memorial gate built in the name of the Roman emperor Hadrian, who visited the city in 130 CE.

Today we are in Cyprus at Limassol. We caught the shuttle bus into town and did the usual walk around.

First in the old town area.

Then we headed to the promenade.

There are many interesting sculptures along the promenade.

We had three consecutive sea days – AKA “Slow News Day”. And to compound the lack of photogenic activity, we had two days in Alexandria where we elected to stay on board and enjoy the almost empty ship. We had been here before, visited the pyramids and Luxor so decided that eight hours on a bus to revisit wasn’t worth it.

In an attempt to find material I collected some photos of food. Some of the photos look a little unusual colour wise due to the coloured lights in the different venues. I attempted to do colour correction as best I could.

The first series of photos are from a dinner in Solis, a mediterranean style restaurant and the only one that you need to make a reservation for because it can only seat around 40 people.

Sadly I didn’t get photos of desert – they were consumed when I wasn’t paying attention!

The next lot of photos are from the al fresco restaurant Earth and Ocean. This restaurant also has limited seating but you are unable to make a reservation. The weather is perfect of outdoor evening dining and it is our favourite place for dinner.

A shuttle was provided from the ship’s gangway into the centre of town. We got off the ship around 1030 and headed out. We wandered around checking the sights and watching people.

The centrepiece attraction is probably the Palma Cathedral which is very impressive.

Here are some photos of things that captured my interest as we wandered around.

A narrow street with lots of artist’s studios with some interesting displays.

Our cruise starts a day before with a Gala Night at Castel de Sant Marsal

Castel de Sant Marçal is a castle that was built in the 11th century and is now used as a function venue.

Before dinner we had drinks and tapas along with some entertainment from a band. The tapas were excellent – sardines, calamari prosciutto/iberian ham and a potato delicacy that I can’t recall its name.

The dinner was very pleasant with assigned seating. We had a very convivial group and easy conversation.

The dinner started with a soup of langoustine cream and mushrooms then 24 hour slow cooked lamb and finished with a chocolate mouse encased in chocolate.

At the end of the meal we had a group of guitarists play for us and then they were joined by two flamenco dancers with castanets who put on a great show.

What a fantastic start to our Grand European Voyage!

We were an hour late getting into Barcelona so by the time we collected our bags our driver had given up waiting. I was able to get onto the company doing the transfer and after an anxious 20 minute wait they called me back advising that they had arranged a taxi.

Check in at the hotel was no problem. We are staying three nights; we had booked two nights in an upmarket room with the third night being provided as part of the Seabourn cruise package but in a standard room. Fortunately we were able to pay the difference and stay in our first room for the whole time.

When we got into the room we discovered that it was nicer than the website description, with a separate lounge, large bedroom, huge bathroom and a walk in closet. There was also a second separate toilet for guests!

Needless to say we are very comfortable.

A shorter flight of about eight hours. Boarding was non eventful, although my earlier reconnaissance was a fail because I measured the time to the wrong gate!w

We sat on the ground for about 60 minutes past our scheduled departure time waiting for delayed connections.

First Class is normally serene but on this flight a family group of six adults and four children ranging from a toddler up were sharing it with us. And they were noisy! Spread around the cabin they communicated by screeching (toddler) and shouting (the rest). To add insult to injury the family all had a terrible sounding rattling cough… I fear we will succumb after eight hours of exposure!

On the food front we had been recommended on the previous flight by a staff member that the wagyu beef sliders were the pick of the menu; so that is what we had. I decided that the caviar from the last flight was so good, I would revisit that too.

And for libation, I chose a 2006 Bordeaux from a winery next door to Chateu Lafite

After finishing that lot, I saw that Sue had ordered a desert and it looked so good I had to try also. It was an almond streusel cake with chantilly cream and toffee sauce. Needless to say it was exquisite.

And because I could, I had a 2011 Louis Latour

We arrived at Terminal 3 and were meant to depart from there as well, making the transit simple.

However, due to the recent flooding some changes had been made and we were now departing from Terminal 1.

We were greeted by a First Class hostess as we got off the aircraft and escorted to a bus to take us across to the other side of the airfield. This was no ordinary bus – very comfy seating.

Quite a long walk from the bus stop to the lounge but good to get the legs moving. Sue was subjected to yet another explosive residue test and a pat down in a private room because her two new hips set off the metal detector!

The lounge is not as extensive as that in Terminal 3 but it is a First Class only facility so more intimate.

Despite being a smaller lounge, it has the same menu as the main lounge in Terminal 3 and it is very extensive – and tempting. But we held off as we had only recently had a substantial breakfast. Menu below.

Lots of tables for two and there is also a nice selection of buffet items too.

A downside to the smaller lounge is that you don’t board direct to the aircraft from the lounge so we have a “short” walk to the gate. Short is not well defined but the walk will be good for us (gotta love cognitive dissonance!!). After writing that I did a reconnaissance and it is less than two minutes and most of it on a moving walkway.

After the rigmarole of transferring between the two terminals we were left with only a two hour wait.

We flew from Canberra to Melbourne to pick up our 14 hour flight to Dubai. We chose Melbourne for our jump off point because the transfer from domestic to international is much simpler than in Sydney.

On board the A380 and in our cocoons. Plenty of drinks and snacks on tap.

We checked out the in flight dining options. The menu was full of very tempting and substantial offerings but as it was late we opted for something light.

After a few hours sleep we checked out breakfast. Similarly superb.

Our itinerary is at this page…

/Grand European Voyage 2024

We have taken a proactive approach by shipping most of our luggage two weeks ahead of our departure. This will alleviate the burden of carrying it all with us, allowing for a more relaxed and comfortable travel experience. Not having to worry about heavy suitcases during our journey can enable us to fully immerse ourselves in the excitement of the upcoming adventure. Additionally, having our luggage awaiting our arrival on the ship adds a touch of anticipation, almost like a special welcoming gesture from our belongings as we embark on our voyage. (I wrote something much simpler but AI suggested the above!!)

Arrived in Vienna in the evening and the next day visited the museum and wandered around the town.

for photos from our time in Vienna click here

More info and links to photos have been loaded.

Click here to see the updated information

The first phase of our European Adventure for 2018 is now finished.  We had 45 days on Seabourn Quest cruising up the West coast of the UK making stops in Northern Island, Scotland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and  England.  It was an amazing and fascinating trip.

There are lots of photos here: To see photos of our adventures click here

The photos are grouped by location and in chronological order.

Phase two commences on Friday when we start our Uniworld river cruise in Bucharest, Romania.

We will be spending three months in Europe to escape winter – although a lot of the time we will be in Iceland and Norway so temperatures may well be colder than our winter!

European Adventure 2018

See here for photos of our adventure which will be updated regularly

I have resurrected our travel blog.  Click on the links on the image at the top of the main page.

Click here to see photographic highlights of our journey around Australia