September 22/23 – Change of Plans – Day at Sea

We got word in Oslo, that due to Hurricane Knud, up from Africa and into the North Sea, Baltic and Skagerrat our next two ports of call will be cancelled.  Instead of leaving Oslo for Gothenburg, Sweden and then going on to Aalborg, Denmark, we will not depart Oslo until the morning and will go directly to Germany, arriving at noon on Sunday.  They will arrange some extra things to do that day, and the Berlin trip on Monday will go off as planned, then on to Copenhagen.  Too bad, we were looking forward to a trip to the Volvo Museum.

The day at sea started with a trip back down the Oslo Fjord before the seas got too rough.

We got into Warnemunde, Germany before noon Sunday.  In the meantime, we spent interesting times on the ship, including lectures from the ship’s historian as well as the ship’s geologist.  We saw the Mr. Rogers movie in the afternoon yesterday.  After dinner, there was a musical show by the ship’s tour director, who happens to be a splendid mezzo-soprano.  Interesting day, although I am sad to miss both Gothenburg, Sweden and Aalborg, Denmark.

Today, after the interesting morning lectures, we got off the ship and took a Viking-provided bus into Rostock.  We went to a museum as well as some churches, and luckily found a cafe which allowed use of their bathrooms without paying €0.60 for the privilege. We have been basically cashless, all plastic, up to this point, but tomorrow in Berlin is probably going to be a challenge