Dream come true

How wonderful it is to finally realise my dream of seeing icebergs really close up. They are so stunningly beautiful, pristine and unbelievably varied in size and form. Many of them do not look real, varying between a huge blob of meringue to glistening white  plastic . Whatever they look like, they are just gorgeous . 

Our first sighting was about 19.00 last night just before the sun started to set. It was a really exciting moment. Wish I had had a good telephoto lens, but am still pretty happy with the photos and wonderful memories.

Here the first view very far into the distance.

 

Then after dinner on the deck,  I stood for nearly 2 hours absolutely mesmorised by the view and the icy shapes in the distance and subsequently by such a breathtakingly beautiful and colourful sunset , which ultimately completely upstaged the ice bergs! 

 

 

We all got pretty cold, but luckily I was covered head to toe in merino clothing. Brilliant 😀

Somehow the magic show in the theatre after the colours had faded outside, though fantastic and clever, paled into insignificance compared to  the natural wonders we had just seen. 

I woke early today because I wanted to be off the ship by 8 am as the last boat back to the Albatross was at 11.30. The view from the ship was stunning - a picturesque sweeping bay surrounded by mountains and spotted with icebergs. Wow! 

Below , the view from Ammassalii, a tiny town with just 2000 inhabitants. 

 

It is such a colourful town, as seen in the photos, but quite poor and unbelievably littered. I cannot comprehend how, with such a tiny population, they cannot resolve this issue. There are lots of children here and big schools, so perhaps it must start there.at least the rubbish scattered around , consisting of everything imagineable including teddy bears, clothing, etc, keeps the oung husky puppies busy,. I saw several picking things up and carrying them back to their parents, who are chained up. 

The two cuties below followed me around for quite a while - mum was unimpressed! 

 

We had enough time to walk around most of the streets. The views from the top street are spectacular and I really enjoyed watching the kids playing in the streets. Virtually no cars, so very safe. I felt a bit of an intruder to be honest, but was pleased to be walking alone and not in a big group. 

 

The place I loved the most, apart from the swarms of mosquitoes there, was the valley leading to the graveyard. It was nice to get away from the houses for a little while and into the country. I can't say the peace and quiet, because it was incredibly noisy thanks to dozens of husky families, most with 2 or 3 pups who were loose , whilst parents were tied up. When the puppies wandered off , the parents howled. At one point the entire pack started howling. It was so spooky but suddenly as the howling reached a crescendo we saw a really tiny puppy running back to its mum and then the howling stopped. 🙂

The graveyard was beautiful and wild, tucked into the valley. It would have been wonderful to have walked further but sadly I didn't have time.

 

As we left, we sailed past such a lovely iceberg. It gets my award for the day. 

Looks like the skies and light on the water have competition now!

 I finished the afternoon after our land farewell with a salsa course, sadly we are not doing any more tango,  and then table tennis. Fantastic! I met some really nice people when I was eating outside and it looks as if I will always eat out if at all possible. I love the calm and the fresh air, plus the outsiders in general seem chatty! 

Eyjafjord , Akureyi and Lake Mytvatn

What a wonderful day it was yesterday! I was awake early - we have put the clock back one hour each day for 3 days so I am fine at 6.00 and what is even better, if I leave the cabin before 7.30 I miss the 'good morning' song! We are woken every day by a very gentle and soothing meditation music with birdsong. It is nice. For me, the subsequent bright and bouncy good morning song is over the top at that time of day.  I only need to look out of the port holes to feel that it is a good morning😀

Anyway, we had been told we  might see whales as we travelled down Iceland's longest fiords, Eyjagjord, so I wanted to be there. I was thankful for my multi- layers of merino, as it was very chilly! I was treated to my first ever sighting of a whale in the wild. Veryexciting even though it was quite a distance from the ship  and quite small. We saw  quite a few more - I was delighted and am now looking forward to more.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the morning was the amazing cloud formations . I feel that light, sun  and cloud will be a major part of my blog. Even though at sea we are surrounded by water which doesn't change that much ( it would be great if it stayed so calm), but the light on the water changes constantly, as you will see over the next weeks.

 

We had the morning to stroll through Akureyi, Iceland's second biggest city and winter sport capital of the north. It was a very pretty place, particularly the old town with its colourful wooden houses. It reminded me a lot of Lyttleton. Sadly no ohotos on my Ipad, but I did take a picture of this wonderful mural of a young girl in the modern part of the town. It also reminded me of Christchurch and our lovely street art after the earthquakes. I could not find out anything about this. Pity!

 

After a light lunch on deck, we left on a bus tour with first stop at the  very beautiful Godafoss falls. We only had a short stop, but I would certainly love to do more photography there. it is really fabulous. 

 

The entire journey was spectacular and took us over passes, through magnificent deep glacial valleys and then to the truly fantastic Lake Myvatn , rich in birdlife and minerals and surrounded by the most amazing volcanic landscape/ moonscape. Our guide told us that America had sent astronauts there before their trip to the moon, and to be honest we could see why. There were the most incredible pseudo craters everywhere and lava fields. It was rather frustrating as we were not allowed a photo stop but nevertheless we were lucky to have seen it in such perfect weather. I will come back here next year by plane and travel around by car . I can see that the roads are good and drivers careful so it should be fine. 

The next stop planned was the Myvatn pools. A really marvelous place with stunning views over the volcanic area around us. The pools were also interesting in that the temperature varied dramatically from one area of the pool to another. The rules for showering before going  to the pools are for us rather weird and it was truly hectic as we all got changed together in cramped conditions, had to shower naked together , with pictures showing which parts of the body needed to be soaped! ( I am not sure what would have happened if we had missed a part!). It was a remarkable experience. Pulling on a swimming costume over a wet body is also not so easy! After all the effort, it was great to relax in the pools! 😎

Language lesson for the day , followed by a photo showing what a gorgeous place Myvatn Pools was, with Lake Myvatn in the distance.

 

 

Actually, the local guide told us the name of the lake means 'lake of mosquitoes'. There are many different species there and also 3 speccies in the rivers. Reassuringly we learnt that the lake mosquitoes do not bite ( a sigh of relief went round the bus) and only one of the river varieties does ( oops, we celebrated too early). Apparently, though, they do not bite if you are indoors or in a tent. I figured that this would mean that we would be bitten alive in the pools as they must be very hungry! Luckily, not a bug in sight😄 - perhaps the soap scared them off?

As we left Akureyi at 19.30 the sun was beginning to sink into the low cloud, lighting up the beautiful, partially forested hills along the fjord. So clear and so special.

 

As mentioned, cloud formations are a huge part of my day, as are sunrises and in particular sunsets. My father specialised in photos of gulls and I can remember wondering why he took so many photos of the same thing. I am sure you are all wondering the same about the sunsets!

 

Minutes later clouds move in over the hills.

 

And minutes later, we had this fantastic view of the still partially snow clad hills , just before heading back out to sea and en route to Greenland.

 

This morning I treated myself once again to an early morning spa on the top deck. Completely alone apart from a friendly crew member who took this photo. I love these early spas before the passengers wake, sharing the lovely views with only the accompanying gulls, which glide with such ease behind the ship. They are so graceful . It is so relaxing to watch them soar, twist and turn. Their life seems almost as easy as ours here on board, though they have to catch the fish and we simply need to go and fetch it!

 

As i started writing this we suddenly headed into a thick patch of sea fog - once again surreal.

 

Tonight, we have been told we should see our first ice bergs 🤓

On the trail of the Elves

What a way to start the day after a day feeling rather queasy and sleeping! I woke to perfect weather without a cloud in the sky. The clocks had gone back so getting up at 6 did not seem too difficult and it was definitely worth it - for the spectacular cliffs and first views of Iceland, the weather with its amazingly mild temperatures and the spa pool on the top deck with only two people on the deck instead of the usual dozens. 

 

A heavenly way to get going! Just as i got out of the spa we entered the Seydisfjord which we were followed down by a more local ferry just as the sun lit up the water once again with that wonderful silvery light. Just awesome.

 

And the rest of the day was equally magical, though I did miss Alan, our great Rabbie's driver and guide, who would have stopped so often and told us more fascinating and funny stories. Unfortunately, tours can never match our Islands of Scotland tour.  Certainly the scenery and weather were incredible. I did struggle a little with the passengers, who were nowhere like our wonderful group in Scotland. As I said, hard to match!

 

Our first stop after over an hour of driving was at an area where puffins usually nest. Sadly they had already flown south it seemed, but nevertheless the scenery was marvelous.  

Below a little introduction to the icelandic language. 

 

Our lunch stop was a pretty little village , Bakkagerol , on the east coast of Iceland. The landscape was spectacular and the colours so rich. We had an hour to explore so I took the opportunity to walk back to a beautiful bay we had passed.

 

 

I was pleased I had made the effort. It was just brilliant sitting there completely on my own with such views and only the gentle  sound of the waves . 

We had lunch at the one and only cafe in the area. A delicious meal of fresh soup, followed by a wonderful fish dish with salad. Very simple but very good.

Outside the restaurant were rows and rows of dried fish, mostly heads. They did not look very inviting, but I am sure they have some special recipes !

The road back to the ship was also fantastic. I must be getting braver as I was not at all phased  by the talk of rock slides and the narrow road with sheer drops. It did not seem so bad even to me . The guide told us lots of elf and troll tales fron the area. They really seem to believe in them here.

 

 

Return to the ship and time to set sail again, once again to the most magical lighting effects. 

 

It is just unbelievable how beautiful and how different the patterns on the water are. 

 

I sat outside on the deck from the time I got back to past sunset. It is just too nice to go inside. I am sure we will have some nights when I will be happy to head to the warmth of the restaurant. Tonight I met a very friendly elderly couple in their late seventies, married 52  years. We chatted for hours. Was great. I love how everyone here asks me if I am Swiss!,😀

 

The end of a fantastic day.

On the way to Iceland and Greenland

We arrived in Bremerhaven Sunday evening after a long but easy train journey. Only one change and a good break in Hannover , which looked like a really great city. We were lucky enough to have a reasonable time to enjoy a fantastic exhibition in Bremerhaven - global climate. The building itself was amazing as you can see below.

 

And i loved the sign by thebridge wecrossed to get there  , on foot not by tank 😀

 

The views from the top of the Klimahaus were fantastic though I could not quite see our ship.

 

I would definitely recommend the Klimahaus where we were taken on a journey through various countries at 8 degrees longtitude from Bremerhaven through Switzerland, Sardinia, NigerIa, Samoa and Antarctic, showing the countries ' customs and environmental issues particularly relating to the climate change. Really interesting and informative and brilliantly presented - for all ages excellent and lots to think about. The only thing I found strange was that there were no solar panels on the massive roof!

In the same building was a fabulous shopping centre constructed to look like a Mediterranean village. It wasgorgeous - calm, clean, and colourful .

Now we are on board. Everything is new and fascinating here on the MS Albatross. I last did a cruise at the age of 19 with my parents, so I need to get used to how it all works. With constant entertainment, food and drink and people, nearly all Germans and retired! It is nice to feel quite young and not so overweight 😊Luckily there are only 830 passengers and about 300 crew 😀 I cannot imagine being on a ship with thousands. After a rather long evacuation training , we were ready to leave. It took ages for everyone to get to the assembly points, so I really hope we will not have to evacuate! 

We were incredibly lucky with the weather and sea on departure. Just before the sun sank into light cloud to light up the sky with its fiery rays, we were treated to a silver sea 

 

We left to  a spectacular sunset and virtually no waves 😀 heaven sent! Ihope my sea sickness tablets remain untouched!

 

With a band playing and a delicious buffet on the deck there was a really special atmosphere. I wish I could have shared it with you all. 

 

It was brilliant gazing at the nearly full moon behind us and the sunset beside us. 

 

Now I am sitting by the pool writing this with a band playing and nothing but sea all around. It seems rather surreal. It is beautiful watching the gannets following the ship enjoying the updraughts above the wake. There was a very interesting talk on the local bird life and so I am already hoping for a glimpse of some puffins, my favourite birds. Hope to be ableto put some photos on my blog. We get to land the day after tomorrow.

 I am looking forward to a swim later, when everyone has left the area around the pool. Bit too public now as everyone enjoys their beers and prosecco. Believe it or, I am not into pre lunch drinks. It doesnt stop me enjoying the atmosphere.

But evenings, cheers !

 

End of amazing Summer campsf

So, I started my Zuoz stay in early July in a wine barrel in Madulain, waking to snow on the mountains and even to the valley. Beautiful!

 

And finished the camps mid August to a similar view from my luxurious room in the Lyceum 😏

 

Actually I dont worry as I find the light powdering of snow on the peaks really beautiful.

I couldn't leave Zuoz without a last walk in the valley, to one of my favourite little lakes near Bever. Near perfect weather and fabulous to spend afternoon with friends.

 

How gorgeous!

We had a busy final week both workwise and socialising. It was a fantastic team once again. We had so many nights singing and even dancing in our little sitting room, it was incredible. Both teams were amazingly social! I might need a few early nights to recover!

Anyway, it is over and I am writing this on the train home - rather heavy-hearted to have said goodbye to many for a year, and to others for a month or more, - but also with the thought that my next exciting journey is only 2 days away .😀

Iceland and Greenland here we (Uschi and I ) come ! 

The Fex Tal and Diavolezza

The weekend was so good to us. Brilliant weather and amazing places to visit. It was great to see Yvonne my academia boss of many years and to spend a couple of days visiting some of my favourite places.

Sunday, what more beautiful place to visit than the Fex Tal with its impressive glacier , the picturesque little villages with their lovely stone houses and fast flowing crystal clear  river

 

 

A great day followed by a really wonderful meal in a very pretty local village .

Then Monday ,knowing  the weather was due to change today, we, Yvonne, Marco, Dennis and I  headed up to Diavolezza, with its truly spectacular views of the Bernina Pass and Lago Bianco from the cable car

 

Better was still to come. What a breathtaking sight of the many peaks and the fabulous glaciers. 

 

I loved the cairns , which added a certain  dimension to the whole scene.

What a fabulous area .I am not really looking forward to leaving, but have my fantastic cruise to Iceland and Greenland to look forward to 😀

Chamuesch dorf fest and Scuol Tarasp

 

We have been very lucky with the weather here, some days being a bit on the hot side for open hillside areas but perfect for a walk along the River Inn. I love it there with  its panoramic views, gentle breeze and wild flowers. Super restful. I have also found a fantastic restaurant in the little village of Madulain , where I stayed in a winebarrel 4 days prior to camp. Unbelievably friendly owners, super views and the best English breakfast tea I have had in Switzerland!

One village further is Le Punt, Chamuesch, where we relaxed between camps, enjoying their wonderful village festival - always great atmosphere and good raclette. I dontthink I have missed a festival in the 11 years I have worked here.the houses in the area are also very pretty with lots of typical sgraffiti from the area.

 

For years the stunning Scuol Tarasp castle , perched high above the deep Inn gorge, looking like something from a movie, has  impressed me. Today , I finally got there and fell in love with this spectacular area of the Unter Engadine Valley

 

It was a perfect day starting with my first close up views of this awesome castle from the pretty neighbouring hamlet. Sadly, I missed the tour so could only enjoy the castle from the outside. mind you , I was totally satisfied with that.

The houses were amazing with so many flowers and beautiful murals. I particularly loved this one below, with its ibex and marmots and the wonderful backdrop of surrounding mountain peaks. 

 

I was tempted to be lazy and not climb to a lookout, but I am very pleased I did. The views in all directions were breathtaking. What a brilliant spot for a snack!

Next stop, after a steady climb, was this fantastic little lake, nestled into the forests and mountains - lake Nair. It was so lovely, so quiet and the reflections were  amazing. I found it hard to leave such a pretty restful place.

Another short climb and then a long traverse with expansive views of both the castle side of the valley and Tarasp Fontana,

 and Ftan on the other side - a place I still really want to visit. Perhaps in autumn. 

 

A lovely  day in a new place. Looking forward to a visit from Yvonne, my ex boss and good friend, tomorrow when we will walk in the Ober Engadine ( the other end of the valley) .