Germany and Estonia

The safety training for new and returning employees on the ship is intense.  A week and a half long with scheduled classes throughout the day.  Unfortunately the glass show doesn’t excuse me from this.  I mean it’s important and good information and all but damn is it boring.   I was sitting with the jazz band members who signed on the same day as I did, they had all fallen asleep during the slide show.  I had to poke them awake or the officers will make you come back and re-take the classes.  Needless to say this has been very big obstacle for me to get off of the ship at our ports.  I missed Belgium, but we will be returning there in 3 weeks.  Meanwhile my friends were enjoying waffles, beer and genital shaped chocolates.  Next time for sure!!

Germany!!!  Many of the folks from the ship take a shore excursion bus or train to Berlin.  But it is 3 hours inland from our port.  We actually dock the ship in Warnemunde, which is a super cute little tourist town.  The streets are packed with other boats docked there as well.  Aside from the normal touristy section there is a huge sandy beach.  Not what you would think of when you think of Germany.  People were actually swimming.  I stuck my feet in the Baltic Sea and I think I will wait until we get to the Canary Islands for a swim.  So we sat down at a restaurant and ordered some beer and food.   Aspic.  The waitress could not explain to me in English what it was other than cold pork.  Let’s say it was neither terrible nor amazing, but I’m glad I stepped out of the box a little.  It was like the meat version of a fruitcake.  Cubed ham held together with pickle jell-o.  I kid you not.

This photo of Warnemunde at sunset is a little blurry but you can actually see our ship in the background!

Next stop…Tallin, Estonia.  It’s an adorable old town with cobblestone streets and ornate buildings and churches.  From this hillside view you can see the new city district in the distance.  About half of the ports we go to we can walk to the city centers and not take a shuttle bus.  We headed to a brewery in town that has good beer and wi-fi.  It’s pretty humorous to walk into a place and find at least 10 other crew members huddled with their computers and their obligatory purchase of espresso, food or cocktail.  The décor was great.  A solid block of ruggedly cut, stained wood with furry chair backs.  I would be interested in checking out the new city district but the old town is really charming and much closer to access.  When you have all day to walk around you have time to pay attention to the little details of a city such as: the museum of medieval torture instruments, the antique shop that only has Nazi gear (including gas masks, belt buckles, bugles, guns and other war related antiques), bizarre window displays, signage and graffiti. 

I find myself more interested in these little details that the picturesque landscapes.  To each their own.  And no I didn’t have a drink at this bar.

I will wrap up this blog post with a picture I will title “Home Sweet Home????”