Day 9 - Sea Day (July 9th)

Our 2nd sea day was the most heavily anticipated sea day of the three. We booked our cruise on the Rotterdam for two reasons. It was the only ship that was guaranteed not to have over 500 children running around and it offered 3 sea days to buffer the intensive itinerary. The weather was awesome and I spent most of the day sunning and socializing by the aft pool. I caught up with Inger, the Swedish American lady I met in Tallinn who introduced me to some of her extended family. There were about twelve of them traveling together and the three I met there were all avid swimmers. I must have seen her cousin swim at least 100 laps in that 12-foot pool and she exclaimed more than a few times, "It's not icy enough!" They told me stories of their day in Sweden where they escaped the tourist traps of Stockholm by visiting relatives in some unheard of country hamlets. How envious I was.

Janet desperately tried to grab some sleep. I made arrangements to meet her for lunch in the dining room so that we would have the opportunity to meet some more people. Remarkably she turned up, eyes still bloodshot but game for a relaxing day. We were seated with Elly and Dan from Nashville and Jack and Sally from Long Island. Jack and Sally shared stories of white water rafting in Alaska. Elly gave us great tips on visiting the one place in the US I haven't been to but am dying to see: Memphis. If it hadn't been for her I would have never known that you could take an elevator up the St. Louis arch or that every show in Branson is family friendly G-rated. Dan didn't speak but for the occasional, "That's right Elly." I think he may have been hard of hearing. When Elly's burger arrived without ketchup, I could see that she was distressed but not bold enough to do anything about it. When I managed to flag the waiter down for some ketchup, she grabbed my arm and said to me, "You have to sit with me for the rest of the cruise!"

Customary cruise activities such as bingo, blackjack tournaments or the ever-popular "Not so Newlywed" game don't enthrall me but a booze clinic I never miss. This afternoon in the Crow's Nest they were offering "Cocktail Magic: The Art of Mixology." Of course Janet and I were the first to arrive. Not as entertaining or generous in samples as the martini clinics we attended on the Norwegian Dawn, the class did teach us how to make our own "Sours" not to mention the proper way of mashing the mint for a Mojito (< pic left). Pearl and Alan's anniversary dinner was non-stop entertainment from the moment we sat down til we left. In fact our table was the last to empty the dining room. They were all taken aback when I told them we might rent a car and drive to Berlin. "Adventurous and Crazy," they exclaimed. But all I could think of was getting out on the open road and really experiencing a country. I couldn't wait.