Day 2 - At sea

Sea day today will find us sitting right here in the Euro observation deck, enjoying the scenery, reading a book...and doing very little...between meals. We always look for this type of lounge on every cruise, and label it 'the office.' Ah, the good life! Quick update...we are taking the Digital Workshop...today we learned how to edit photos using Win Live Photo Gallery...instructor is about to show us how to do a blog! I may learn something new!!! Stay tuned for a later update....hugs, y'all!

Hello from the Baltic Sea! We were rolling and bumping quite a bit last night, and many folks found it difficult to walk, needing to hold onto the handrails. It wasn’t that bad, but with the weather being so grey outside, it wasn’t a good photo op for our departure. As Dick pointed out, we get to depart CPH again, so we hope for a pretty day on the 14th.
The ship is very nice...not gaudy as some are. Of course being an experienced cruiser, I look at things with a more critical eye, such as the nice recliners in "the office" are tasteful (not these in the picture above), however they are gravity chairs...the leg rest only comes up when you lower your back. Hellllooo...I wanted to sit upright to read, with my legs elevated...no can do. And the lighting system is not designed for readers either, not being overhead the chairs. And the padded tables between the chairs are again lovely...however, they are in a V shape...with a sort of black, feltish circle in the center where you place your drink. Hmmm, this is a moving vessel. Dontcha think they’d make every effort to keep tables FLAT? Just a suggestion, but I did watch two champagne flutes sit there this morning and they didn’t fall over, so what do I know?!
We’ve got ‘anytime dining.’ That meant that we had to wait 45 minutes to get a table in the main dining room last night. Tonight is formal night...yippy skippy...we tried to make a reservation in the main DR...can’t, so Dick was successful in changing us to the later seating dinner, so that will avoid waiting.
The fun thing we did was attend the Digital Workshop offered onboard. The gal is very knowledgeable and funny, and has done an excellent job in teaching photo editing and blogging. I set up another blog...groan...for this trip...I should be able to post current pictures. Of course, I spent HOURS setting up daily blogs before we left...groaning again...so there might just be a combination of both of them for this trip. I’ll post the link when I begin using the Windows Live blog. We really like the instructor (Brian, you should be here!!!)...she is single, turns 36 tomorrow, athletic, and has average but nails:-)
We’ve gotta get hosed off for the dress up affair tonight. Y’all leave me a comment...you lurkers, that means you TOO...cuz the comments will be sent to my email inbox and I can read them offline. Have fun on your Tuesday....

Day 1 - Welkoam aan boord the Eurodam!

Hello, everyone! Dick and I will board this beautiful ship (christened just a month ago) today in Copenhagen as we begin a beautiful new adventure for pretty much the whole month of August. I will have an Internet connection, but the connections are always slow, so I have been busy collecting pictures of the ship and some of our destinations so that you can follow our itinerary each day to know where we are and what we are doing. I'll try to give a live update as often as possible.

Here are some Eurodam facts:

Ship's Registry The Netherlands
Passenger capacity 2,104
Crew members 800
Gross tonnage 86,000grt
Length 936 feet
Beam 105.8
Maximum speed 23.9 knots

Our only catastrophe thus far has been the handle breaking off one of our rolling suitcases. What, was it too heavy??? No, I think it was just poor construction:-) And yes, it was on the top of the pulling extension that broke....Dick got it fixed. He's a smart and talented fella. We've just got to get to the boat, then from the boat to the flight home at the end of the month. We'll manage if it breaks again. Just a small bump in the travel plans.

Jeff/Bjarne left this morning to fly to Bergen, Norway, so Jeff arranged for friend Mette to come over and join us for breakfast at the apartment. Mette and her twenty-something son were in the States last fall, staying with Brian (he met them on his cycling trip when he was here visiting). Brian brought them to Mayberry to experience an American Thanksgiving with us, so it was good seeing her again. It was raining this morning, so we didn't go for the walkabout we had planned on doing. That's OK...we enjoyed sitting and visiting with her all morning.

Life's short...go cruising......y'all come along for the ride! Hope your Monday is great!!!

Copenhagen today...

Jeff, Dick and Sandy at lunch...

This is the new theatre above, with the also new opera house across the water. We could see a row of windmills behind the opera house. We were standing on the pier for the water taxi, and turning to my R is the view below...
A little nap has helped everyone feel better. We'll head out to dinner after awhile. Cheers!

If it's Sunday, it must be Copenhagen!

After an all night flight, we arrived in Copenhagen at 9ish local time, and were met at the airport by Jeff, Dick's nephew, who lives here. We took the metro back to his apt. and dropped off our bags, then went out to have lunch by the water. Will post pic after a nap. I didn't sleep on the plane at all, so I am totally jet lagged. We'll stay the night...and I'll update the blog with today's pics later.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Saturday at the Aquarium...and departure!!!

Woohooo...blogger finally got its bytes out of its wad!!! They labeled me as SPAM. Well, after last night's dinner and eating at the Flying Biscuit this morning, we may have added just a bit of spam to our bellies, but we I think we walked it off at the beautiful Georgia Aquarium this morning. This is a great place and worthy of another visit...

Two female Belugas and one male cavorting...they really have personalities and love to bump the glass...
See the fishies....and the tall guy...where's the other tall fella???
We are back at Brian's house...he just left to head to Mayberry, lured by the lake and cooler temps up there. We'll head to the airport after awhile...our flight leaves at 5:40 for Copenhagen so we've got plenty of time. Now we are getting excited about the upcoming trip. Come along for the ride, y'all...that is, if blogger behaves. Life is good.

Happy birthday, Brian...

Here is a cute little fella on three wheels...

Then you moved on to two wheels, and even ONE wheel (yes, he can still ride a unicycle). You've come a long way, dear son, from when you used to sleep in the back seat of the plane between West Palm and Mayberry. Here you are using Ginger as a pillow...
And now you are a bonafide pilot...and cyclist...and all around good guy.

Happy birthday, honey. We are looking forward to having dinner with you tonight. It is your day, so you get to pick the place! We love ya bunches 'n bunches!!! Mom and Dad

Cruise itinerary...Copenhagen to NYC!

Holland America Lines Eurodam will be our home for 26 days, beginning 8/4 in Copenhagen and ending up in New York on 8/29. Here is a map of our route:
We'll be met at the airport in CPH on 8/3 by Dick's nephew, Jeff, and partner Bjarne. They hosted us once before, as well as son Brian for part of his European cycling trip, and Amy and Jason when Doodlebug was just a baby bump. We'll only be there overnight, but we'll pack in as much visiting as our jet lagged bodies will allow.

On Monday, we'll board the beautiful new Eurodam for a grand adventure. I plan to set up daily posts in advance so y'all can at least follow our itinerary and have an idea of where we are and what we'll be doing. I am culling/stealing pictures where I can to help keep it interesting. I will have Internet onboard, however my past experience has been slow connections onboard, and NO uploading of pictures. That will have to wait until our return, unfortunately. But....y'all leave me comments, because they will be emailed to me and I can read them!!! Life's short...go cruising.