We arrived in Copenhagen without really a plan, and it turned out quite nice. The weather was beautiful, again, so we got off the ship and walked toward town. The town, of course, was beautiful, full of canals and old buildings with copper roofs. We stopped to buy some tickets for a hop-on hop-off canal rides and found that the Little Mermaid statue was just a few minutes away. But while buying the tickets, we discovered we were right by the "New" Little Mermaid statue. The kids were rather fascinated that she had no shirt (and the statue was VERY clear about that fact, if you catch my drift), but Amelia started to get a little irate that this looked nothing like Disney's Ariel. That was nothing compared with her displeasure when we actually found the Little Mermaid statue. Amelia was very vocal about how she hated it, that it looked nothing like Ariel and she didn't even have long hair like Ariel (even though the statue did, in fact, have long hair). The rest of us enjoyed it, though I expected it to be a little bigger, they way it had been talked about.
We continued on through town, walking through an old fort, and an area guarded by soldiers in big, fuzzy hats, who looked to be about 18 years old and none too pleased with their summer outfits. We came across Tivoli Gardens in the heart of the city, and the kids finally declared this to be their kind of vacation. Tivoli Gardens is a big amusement park, and it was right up the kids' alley. They had a ton of fun, especially when they discovered the cotton candy and, of course, the carousel. I went on a roller coaster (lots of upside down and twists and turns) and a mini coaster-type ride with Amelia (who loved the speed and the bumps). For those who are going green, for every drink you bought, you paid a 5 kroner deposit (probably around a dollar), and they had deposit machines at the exits, and you'd put your cup in, close the door, and your deposit would be returned to you. Pretty smart thinking. So if you wanted a souvenir cup, you could keep it, but this way, no cups were going to waste.
We took a canal ride back from Tivoli Gardens (it was hard to drag Amelia away, but Jack crashed hard in the stroller, no surprise) and headed back to the ship. A wonderful day, followed by a great dinner and sending the kids off (willingly) to the Kids' Club. This night was Alien Night. And when I came to pick them up, they were putting a giant helmet over Amelia's head, calling it a spaceship, and saying that they were turning the kids into aliens. It was pretty funny to watch. They made goofy antenna hats, and they got sticky googly eyes on their foreheads as third eyes. Apparently they also colored paper plates, which are now hanging from the ceiling of the club.
T.J. and I went to see a show -- a singing and dancing extravaganza to the hits of the 70s. Now, I say this knowing that I have no singing or dancing talent, and anything these folks do is worlds better than what I can. But the whole thing reminded me of an American Idol audition where Simon Cowell would say that a performer is more suited towards cruise ship entertainment. It was campy and goofy, but it was funny to see the older crowd get down to YMCA and Queen.
Thursday, July 31, Warnemunde, Germany
We took a canal ride back from Tivoli Gardens (it was hard to drag Amelia away, but Jack crashed hard in the stroller, no surprise) and headed back to the ship. A wonderful day, followed by a great dinner and sending the kids off (willingly) to the Kids' Club. This night was Alien Night. And when I came to pick them up, they were putting a giant helmet over Amelia's head, calling it a spaceship, and saying that they were turning the kids into aliens. It was pretty funny to watch. They made goofy antenna hats, and they got sticky googly eyes on their foreheads as third eyes. Apparently they also colored paper plates, which are now hanging from the ceiling of the club.
T.J. and I went to see a show -- a singing and dancing extravaganza to the hits of the 70s. Now, I say this knowing that I have no singing or dancing talent, and anything these folks do is worlds better than what I can. But the whole thing reminded me of an American Idol audition where Simon Cowell would say that a performer is more suited towards cruise ship entertainment. It was campy and goofy, but it was funny to see the older crowd get down to YMCA and Queen.
Thursday, July 31, Warnemunde, Germany
I got up early this morning to go exercise (a little gym, a little outdoors) and tried to enjoy the scene coming into port (a little industrial, not much to see). I picked up breakfast for myself and the kids and brought it back to the room, only to find everyone still asleep. I took my breakfast back downstairs and ate outside, which was nice. We pulled into port around 8, and it didn't look like there was much to see. Except a nuclear power plant. For many people, the destination today was Berlin (2.5 hours by train), but we opted to stay close. And it turned out nice. We walked into town, which was actually quite charming. Lots of shops and restaurants lining a harbour. We bought tickets for a sightseeing cruise, which turned out to be the most disappointing cruise we've ever been on. They took us by all the industrial sites (including not too far from the power plant), and commented in German. We didn't take one picture the whole time, save for one shot of our ship as we went by.
That done, we continued down the harbour. T.J. graciously took the kids to the beach (apparently this is a very popular beach town, and T.J. said the beach was mobbed) while I did a little shopping. After lunch and ice cream, T.J. brought the kids back to the boat to go swimming while I hit a few last shops. I must say, the kids are napping wonderfully here. Even Amelia. All that fresh air and exercise, I suppose. Unfortunately, T.J. started feeling poorly again after his nap (fever, chills). So we'll see where that goes. I took the kids to the club (Carnival night!) and left T.J. watching CNN in the room, and I'm poolside composing the blog. We head out at 10 tonight and have a sea day tomorrow en route to ... Helsinki, I think? (oops, no, it's Stockholm)
I forgot to announce that T.J. WON the poker tournament on board on Tuesday. We're all quite proud, and they even gave us matching casino t-shirts (in case the cash prize wasn't enough). Yay for him!!
T.J. went to bed early, and I picked the kids up around 9 and took them to the café for crepes (yum). They've gotten to stay up awfully late this cruise! Anyway, we got back around 10, just as we were setting sail and leaving the dock. It was almost dark, but you could see HUNDREDS of people lined up on the docks and along the shore, waving and hooting and hollering, taking pictures all the while. As we left the port, 4 big tour boats (filled with people) chugged alongside of us, tooting their horns and cheering. And several other small fishing boats also tried to keep up. When our ship gave its toot (although much deeper than a toot -- what would you call a cruise ship's horn?), the whole crowd cheered. It was quite a sight. It even roused T.J. from bed to see what was going on. It was by far the coolest departure we've ever had...
That done, we continued down the harbour. T.J. graciously took the kids to the beach (apparently this is a very popular beach town, and T.J. said the beach was mobbed) while I did a little shopping. After lunch and ice cream, T.J. brought the kids back to the boat to go swimming while I hit a few last shops. I must say, the kids are napping wonderfully here. Even Amelia. All that fresh air and exercise, I suppose. Unfortunately, T.J. started feeling poorly again after his nap (fever, chills). So we'll see where that goes. I took the kids to the club (Carnival night!) and left T.J. watching CNN in the room, and I'm poolside composing the blog. We head out at 10 tonight and have a sea day tomorrow en route to ... Helsinki, I think? (oops, no, it's Stockholm)
I forgot to announce that T.J. WON the poker tournament on board on Tuesday. We're all quite proud, and they even gave us matching casino t-shirts (in case the cash prize wasn't enough). Yay for him!!
T.J. went to bed early, and I picked the kids up around 9 and took them to the café for crepes (yum). They've gotten to stay up awfully late this cruise! Anyway, we got back around 10, just as we were setting sail and leaving the dock. It was almost dark, but you could see HUNDREDS of people lined up on the docks and along the shore, waving and hooting and hollering, taking pictures all the while. As we left the port, 4 big tour boats (filled with people) chugged alongside of us, tooting their horns and cheering. And several other small fishing boats also tried to keep up. When our ship gave its toot (although much deeper than a toot -- what would you call a cruise ship's horn?), the whole crowd cheered. It was quite a sight. It even roused T.J. from bed to see what was going on. It was by far the coolest departure we've ever had...
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