Trips

Tues., 8/20 - Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)

The port is a long way from the center of town and we have been to Belfast before so we opted instead for an afternoon “Ards Peninsula Scenic Drive.” Our tour guide was a local, retired teacher, who was a field hockey player when younger. She was an excellent guide. She explained how Belfast grew on the mud flats left after the glaciers receded leaving the low hills on each side and the Strangford Lough (bay or inlet) where our ship is docked.

Our first stop was at Stormont, the seat of Northern Ireland’s parliament. The building was built (1921 - 1932) when NI became an independent country. Northern Ireland had many rich people in the early 1900s and they wanted to be separate from the farming culture to the south. The north had connections to England and wanted to stay in the UK when the British Commonwealth broke up. During WW2 Stormont was coated with tar and manure so the Blitzkrieg wouldn’t see its white Portland stone and bomb it. It took seven years to clean it off. The parliament building is in a 400-acre park, once the Stormont Estate, and is always open and enjoyed by the public.

Flag of the United Kingdom	Northern Ireland License Plate
Parliament building - the six columns represent the six counties of NI	View from the front of the Parliament building
After a lovely ride through the countryside and along the shore, we stopped and visited the abby ruins in Grey Abby. The abby was founded by a woman, Affreca, and was used by Cistercian monks from 1193 to 1541. There were about 45 monks - some choir monks (the sons of rich men and who prayed 8 times a day and were the learned ones) and lay monks who did the labor to make the abby self-sufficient. We walked around the ruins, heard the history, and heard about the local wealthy family of Montgomery. Montgomery, Alabama, is named after one of this family.
Original layout	Cemetery and church ruins
Church tower	Cemetery
Plaques in memory of Montgomery family members
	The last stop was in the sea town of Donaghadee where we had an included Irish coffee at Pier 36 pub. It was a cute town with a light house (first in Ireland to use electric light), a yacht club giving sailing lessons to sunfish boaters, and swimmers crossing the inlet, which they do every day of the year.
Donaghadee lighthouse	Swimmers
Manhole cover	Local market
Pier 36 Pub	Irish coffee mustache
This is our "we were there trip photo" - we try to take one per trip, usually at a landmark but there are exceptions
Wed., 8/21 - At Sea Today we had our Mariners’ reception. Medallions were given out to those with 100, 300, 500, or 1,000 days at sea on Holland America. One lady, in the President’s group, has sailed 1600+ days! We now have 200 days - it gets us free laundry. The rest of the day was the typical "at sea" day - lectures, crafts, rest, eating. Thurs., 8/22 - Djupivogur, Iceland Last night was pretty rough in the North Atlantic but finally the Zuiderdam anchored on the south east corner of Iceland at the fishing village of Djupivogur. The tender ride of 15 minutes into the pier was quite bouncy. It was raining lightly, but we went in anyway. Once in our rain jackets and pants and hiking boots, rain doesn’t really bother us. After obtaining a map at the visitor center/cafe/souvenir/WC building, we walked out of town. Djupivogur has lots of walking paths for birding and exercise. We strolled along enjoying fresh air and the Icelandic landscape. We walked over the hill of town to two small fresh water lakes: Fyluvogur and Breidivogur. There was a bird-blind at each lake but not many birds. The rest of the peninsula was marsh. The ground was covered with moss and lichen and lots of Lupine plants, but they were not in bloom. There were also Jacob’s Ladder and what we know as Mountain pinks. Of course there were dandelions. At some time of the year the land must be very colorful. Back in town we walked up to the wooden church, stopped in a grocery store (well stocked - peanut butter was 559 krona + $4.55 for a small jar), and looked in at a souvenir shop. Town was getting crowded with bus loads of tourists, so we went back to the ship and ate a warm lunch.
The map makes it look larger than it is
Scenic	Harbor
Trees have been planted	Houses and mountains
Fresh water lakes - Fyluvogur and Breidivogur	Local airport
Wooden church	Sailing away
Fri., 8/23 - Reykjavik, Iceland We docked in Reykjavik at 11AM. The dock is 2.5 miles from the city center. After the people on expensive tours left the ship, Marge and I got off, got Wifi at the terminal building, and a map at the Icewear souvenir and info building. Then we walked along the sea wall toward town. After a while, we saw a flag for a Subway shop and gas station and went to ask where there was an ATM machine. The bank was next door so I withdrew about $75 US and got one 5,000 and four 1,000 krona (k) bills. The bank gave me change for the 5,000 bill but all in 100k and 10k coins that are very heavy. I don’t know if there are smaller bills. A city bus ride costs 470k, you must have exact change, and it turns out to be a handful of coins! It was a sunny pleasant afternoon but the clouds came back in the evening. It was probably close to 60°. Before dinner, we watched about 50 swimmers swim across to Videy Island and back. There were zodiacs and kayaks accompanying them. I think it was part of tomorrow’s city celebration. Sat., 8/24 - Reykjavik, Iceland Today was a special day in Reykjavik - Culture Day. “The festival celebrates the city's culture with a plethora of different events and happenings. There's so much going on in the city that everyone should be able to find something to enjoy.” Roads into the city were closed off, first for a marathon race from 7 AM to 1 PM and then for the celebration of Icelandic culture ending with fireworks at 11 PM - it takes that long to get dark. We decided to walk into town to see what was going on. Today's walk along the sea wall took us further than yesterday's - past the house where Reagan and Gorbachev met in 1986, the Hofdi House. Further along was the Solar or Sun Voyager sculpture. It is a dream boat or an “ode to the sun.” It has become the symbol of Reykjavik. A short detour along the city streets found marathoners still plodding along and lots of people heading to the celebration. Music blared from several locations as we headed home to our ship. It was again a warm 55 or 60° and partly sunny. We left Reykjavik at 11 PM in time to watch the fireworks in the city. There was no wind to blow the smoke away but we had a good view of the whole show from our veranda.
Welcome	View of downtown from near the port
Skarfagarðs Lighthouse	Land reclamation
Hofdi House - meeting place of Reagan and Gorbachev in 1986	Sun Voyager sculpture - a dream boat or an “ode to the sun.” It has become the symbol of Reykjavik.
Street scene	Videy Island
People swimming off Videy Island - the water can't be very warm!	Fireworks

Continue on next page