Cobh, Ireland (Thursday, August 10)
We were very pleased that after leaving Rotterdam we had a "sea day". It was nice to relax and recover from all the miles we put in roaming around Delft and Rotterdam.
Cobh has a population of around 13,000 and is the home to Ireland's only dedicated cruise terminal. Historically, the harbor was believed to have been first visited around 1000 BC. Unfortunately for those folks, it is also believed that they were wiped out shortly thereafter by a plague. Fast-forwarding a bit, between 1848 and 1950 over 2.5 million Irish embarked ships in Cobh headed for North America. On April 11, 1912, the Titanic left Cobh for what was to be the final leg of its maiden voyage. One hundred twenty-two passengers boarded the Titanic in Cobh, of which only 44 survived. Legend has it that one Titanic crew member, John Coffey, who was a native of Cobh left the ship for some unknown reason. I didn't research what happened to John after making that decision, hopefully he bought a lottery ticket!
The cruise terminal in Cobh is multipurpose and also serves as a train station. There are several trains per hour that run from Cobh to the larger city of Cork (pop 220,000). The cost is around $3.00 and it's about a 20-minute journey. As soon as we got off the ship we headed for the train station and caught a train to Cork. The train station in Cork isn't quite as convenient to the city center as the one in Cobh, but it was an easy 20 minute walk. The walk was only made slightly difficult by the weather, which was foggy, windy and intermittently drizzly throughout the day.
Cork is a very nice city that we enjoyed roaming around for a couple of hours. There are a number of "pedestrian only" streets that made the roaming around more enjoyable. Also, worth visiting if you find yourself in Cork is the English Market. The market is full of various types of foods, breads, drinks and more, and it's also "covered" which was nice for this particular day. We enjoyed the couple of hours we spent in Cork and could easily see how you could fill several days in and around the city, but we also wanted to enjoy Cobh, so we made our way back to the train station for the return trip.
The train ride gave us time to do a little research on restaurants in Cobh that we might enjoy for lunch. We settled on "Ellen's Kitchen" a small "non-touristy" place which was located about 15-20 minutes from the train station and out of the city center. The walk there and back was quite scenic, the food very tasty and the hospitality incredible. We told them we had read such great things about them and we were looking forward to our meal. Before we finished, all of the waitstaff (4-5 servers) had come over to say hello. When I told them they could expect another 5 star Trip Advisor review, one of them went into the kitchen and brought Ellen out to say hello!
We enjoyed the small, colorful city center of Cobh for a while. Sometimes with the umbrellas open and at other times closed. I'm not an expert on Irish weather, but I think that's fairly typical and helps explain the colorful flowers and green grass. Someone far wiser than me once said, "don't judge the day by the weather". I guess there can be a few exceptions for hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, etc., but for the most part that statement rings true. It was certainly a great day in both Cobh and Cork.
Belfast, Northern Ireland (Friday, August 11)
Weather wise, what a difference a day can make. We woke up around 6:00 AM under clear skies and temperatures in the mid-60's. We had no real plans for the day, but that quickly changed. Beth had the great idea for us to walk over to where the tour buses were leaving from to see if there was any availability on any tours that might be of interest. The first gentleman we asked said there was capacity on his bus and that they were going to the Giants Causeway. We had visited the Giants Causeway a few years ago and really enjoyed it. We also knew there were several other stops along the route, so it sounded like a good deal.
The guide was a retired history professor who filled our brains with interesting stories and specific dates from the scenic beginning of the tour until our return to the ship some 6.5-7 hours later. While the Giants Causeway was the main attraction the other stops along the way were also very enjoyable.
Belfast has had its share of challenges throughout the years. In particular from the late 1960's until 1998, which is often referred to as "The Troubles". While it is considered by experts to have been political, there were also strong religious ties with the opposing sides aligned as protestant and catholic. I guess it's fair to say that some progress has been made, but there are still issues that are keeping real progress from happening. Our tour guide pointed out that 93% of all children in Northern Ireland are educated in segregated schools based upon religion. It seems like there is still a long way to go.
Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland (Saturday, August 11)
The Outer Hebrides is a collection of islands located about 45 miles off the Scottish Mainland. Most of the islands are small and uninhabited, however, fifteen of the islands do have permanent residents. The largest of the inhabited islands is the Isle of Lewis and Harris (it's one island divided into two separate parts).
With a population of around 6,000, Stornoway is the largest city on the island and is also the capital. Although not real large, it was bustling on the day we were there with a festival that started on Friday evening and was scheduled to continue through Sunday. We had a bit of rain in the morning, but it didn't stop us from enjoying roaming the 600 acres of the Lewis Castle grounds as well as several nearby trails.
There was a festival parade scheduled for the afternoon, however, the heavens opened up more and it unfortunately had to be cancelled. I'm sure a lot of work had gone into the planning and preparation of what was a big event for the island. As we made our way back towards the tender we were pleased to see that the day wasn't a complete loss. Many of the parade participants who were wearing their finest kilts were seeking refuge in the numerous pubs around the city center.
Djupivogur, Iceland, (Monday, August 14)
Sunrise in Iceland at this time of year was listed as 4:42 AM and Sunset at 10:30 PM. However, even after sunset it never really got dark. I'm sure the 500 residents of Djupivogur, like all Icelanders enjoy the long days, especially knowing that even though it's August the days are getting shorter by around six minutes per day. The long days are also appreciated by those who choose to drive the Iceland Ring Road. This 828 mile drive circles much of the islands incredibly scenic coast. Most people who drive the entire ring road take 5-8 days to complete the adventure. This gives plenty of time to enjoy the scenery as well as the small towns and villages along the way.
Djupivogur has earned a Cittaslow designation, which is something that we liked. It means there is an intentional effort on local production, as well as an easy and calm lifestyle. Hopefully being invaded by 2,000 cruise ship passengers didn't cause too much of a disruption.
Reykjavik, Iceland (Tuesday & Wednesday, August 15-16)
We had enjoyed visiting Reykjavik, the worlds northern most capital, almost twenty years ago. We were anxious to get back and see how it may have changed through the years. While it has grown (current population is around 140,000), it certainly hasn't lost it's charm!
We were scheduled to arrive at 11:00 AM and had booked a tour of the Golden Circle for the afternoon. Unfortunately, the arrival and tendering operation was a little delayed and we missed our tour. It was not booked through the ship, so we lost a little money, but it was no big deal. We knew when we booked it there was a chance that would happen. If you're visiting Reykjavik, the Golden Circle is one of the most popular activities and certainly not something to be missed. Thankfully we have memories of doing it on our first visit.
Although we missed the tour, we had a great day walking from the ship, all around the city center and then back to the ship. It's a great city that can easily be explored by foot!
Our second day in Reykjavik was a full day with an "all aboard" time of 10:30 PM. We had booked a 10-hour South Island Coast tour through Viator. We've used Viator quite a few times previously and have always found them to be a very reputable and dependable tour operator and this tour was no exception. Our guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and never stopped smiling the whole day. Not only was she smiling, but we were also smiling as well as we passed volcanos (there are 32 active volcanos on the island), visited waterfalls, a glacier and a black sand beach. There were hundreds of puffins hanging out on the steep cliffs as they got ready for their migration southward toward the Canadian Maritimes. An interesting, but somewhat meaningless fact that I learned from our guide was that Vik (we passed through it) is the southernmost city in Iceland. If you left Vik and sailed directly south, the next land mass you would hit is Antarctica, 9,637 miles away!
Cruising Prince Christian Sound (Friday, August 18)
Cruising Prince Christian Sound was the only "repeat" on the thirty-five-day Voyage of the Vikings itinerary. Our first time through we were eastbound, this time we were westbound. It really didn't matter which way we were going; the scenery was magnificent and well worth the repeat visit!
Qaqortoq, Greenland (Saturday, August 19)
Like our previous two ports of call in Greenland, Qaqortoq was small and scenic. If you're visiting Greenland by ship there really is no need to book a tour, you'll have a great day simply roaming around and imagining what life must be like in the colorful, small and remote fishing villages along the coast.
The local fish market had unique samples of a local favorite for any brave tourist to taste..........whale blubber! Sustainable whaling is still practiced in Greenland and provides essential food and other products to the villagers. Our cruise director told us that he tried the local delicacy on a previous voyage. He said it tasted like what WD-40 probably tasted like and had the consistency of a bicycle tire. He suggested that we not try it, and we took him at his word!
St. Anthony, Newfoundland Canada (Monday, August 21)
This was our first ever visit to the town of St. Anthony and we were treated to several really memorable experiences. First we hiked to the Fisherman's Point Park (approx. 2 miles). At the park there were numerous trails along the rocky coastline including the Dare Devils Trail. While there wasn't anything particularly dare devilish about the trail, there were 476 steps along the way that led to a peak that offered 360 degree views of the land and sea around St. Anthony. The views from the top were well worth the effort.
After enjoying a bit of time at the top, we hiked back down the Dare Devils Trail and the 476 steps. After the successful ascent and descent, we decided to reward ourselves with lunch at the Lightkeepers Cafe, which was located in Fisherman's Point Park. The Fish and Chips were some of the best we've ever had anywhere, and we had a great show thrown in for free. The restaurant overlooked the bay and we spotted a couple of whale spouts just a few hundred yards offshore. We were excited to see them cruising around. We got really excited when they decided to put on a show. For about five minutes they were slapping their tails on the water and breeching over and over again. On our way out we thanked our friendly server for the great meal and arranging such a spectacular show.
St John's, Newfoundland Canada (Tuesday, August 22)
It was drizzly and overcast when we arrived at St. Johns. It was drizzly and overcast when we departed St. John's that evening. In spite of the less than ideal weather, we had a really nice time in this city of 30,000, which is also the capital city of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Just a few weeks prior to our arrival, St. John's had been a focal point for worldwide news. It was from here that the boat carrying the Titian submarine departed on what turned out to be an ill-fated attempt to reach the Titanic. The news crews had packed up and headed home well before we arrived, and St. John's had returned to the scenic and laidback town that it takes great pride in being.
We don't often use them, but in St. John's we did take the "Hop on Hop Off" bus. It was a nice way to see many of the local points of interest including Signal Hill, Cape Spear, The Rooms Museum and Quidi Vidi Village. At the end of the day, before heading back to the ship, we enjoyed a walk along George Street, which is St. John's pedestrian only street.
Halifax, Nova Scotia (Thursday, August 24)
In spite of being a little bummed about this being the last port on this 35-day Voyage of the Vikings, in true Viking spirit we fought our way through it bravely. The weather was perfect, and we were docked near the city center. There is a great walkway along the waterfront that we enjoyed strolling from the ship to the ferry terminal (about 2 miles). For a whopping $2 per person, we took a ferry across the river where we took the Woodside Walking Path to Dartmouth (also about 2 miles). A Peach and Blue Raspberry Cider from Lake City Cider quenched our thirst before we ferried back across and enjoyed a casual stroll around the Public Gardens before heading back to the ship for the final leg of the journey.
Boston, Massachusetts (August 26)
Thirty-five days, over 6,000 nautical miles and we're right back where it all started. There were so many memorable moments along the way. We're very appreciative of the adventures we get to share, the memories that we make and the friends we meet along the way!
