As we reflect on all that we experienced on this voyage, we are in agreement that it was a special time. We were exposed to many new things, and had the opportunity to revisit old haunts. The weather was not the best, but it did not dampen the spirits of the people we met. Nor did it dampen ours. Travel brings us many joys. Seeing new places, experiencing other cultures and passing through history are great. But most rewarding are the interactions with the local people. There is so much kindness in the world.
Thank you for following along. We will try to chronicle our future travels.
August 17, 2015 - Rosyth, Scotland
Here we are again. It is almost 5 weeks since we visited here at the beginning of this great voyage. Then we went to the Falkirk Wheel. This time the sun is shining. Today we will take the shuttle bus to the train station in Inverkeithing. This is the where most people will catch the train for the 30 minute trip to Edinburgh. We will not. The city will be crowded because there are many festivals in progress.
Tonight we will attend the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh on a ship's excursion. For this reason we have opted to spend the day exploring the local scene. Our ride to the station was quite nice. The route took us over the Firth of Forth. There is a new bridge under construction near this older bridge. It will be completed in 2016, and will help alleviate the congestion on the current bridge.
We were impressed with the countryside we drove through considering how close we were to Edinburgh. Rolling hills featured patches of varying shades of green gleaming in the sunshine. We skirted Rosyth, which we had been told had nothing to offer. Soon Inverkeithing rose ahead of us. It looked very nice. This should be fun.
At the station we paused to use the free internet. It was fast. We checked our emails, and I uploaded a blog post. Then we were off to explore. The station was downhill from the main street. It was a gentle grade to get to the top. There we found the cathedral and cemetery not far from an old residence with an intact turret. We dutifully explored the graveyard. The church was locked. It was just us and the birds. None of the passengers had stayed to linger here.
Moving on we passed nice older home with beautiful gardens. As we admired flowers in front of one home, a man came out to speak to us. We complimented him on his garden. He told us he was concerned over the lack of bees this year. The tall blossoms we had been admiring were normally full of bees. There were none. This lack of pollination had him worried about future propagation. They have not identified the reason for this scarcity of bees.
Next we walked through the town center. It had all of the essentials. There were a couple of hotels, a few restaurants, a grocery store, a barber/salon, a hardware store and a computer shop. There were not many people out as it was lunch time now. Those we did see were gracious and friendly.
We turned down a side street that led to a park. As we walked through the garden we came to an overlook. There, in front of us, was an expansive view of the firth. The tide was out and the muddy bottom reflected the sun. Many boats were resting on the mud. We could also see the highway bridge in the distance. To the left of it was the old cantilevered railway bridge. It dated to the late 1800's. To the right were the towers for the new suspension bridge under construction. There were benches to rest and enjoy the view. They were occupied with people having lunch and young families. We decided to find our way down to the water.
We left the park and returned to the center. As we passed a pub, a man standing out front asked where we were from. We chatted a bit. The he asked if we had been to Dr. Livingston's house. You know, Dr. Livingston I presume. We did not even know such a thing existed here. He proudly explained where it was and gave excellent directions. We thanked him and headed off to find it.
Fortunately it was on the way to the water, but it was a bit off the path. We decided to see it on our way back, and headed down a street toward the bottom of the hills. At the bottom we crossed railroad tracks on an old wooden bridge. Then we followed a stream that emptied into a small harbor. Where the stream emptied into this were 5 signets and the mother swan. They were playfully floating around except for one signet with its head tucked under its wing.
We were still a way from the firth, but we were now close to the grounded boats. looking ahead we could see a row of sailboats resting on the bottom with their masts slightly above the weedy shoreline. We set off to find how these boats could be boarded when the tide came in. As we walked the pavement took us up to the high shore. Then the pavement ended. We could see a break in the hedge alongside, and ventured through it. There we found a narrow path through the weeds that ended at a chainlink fence and gate. The gate was not locked. We passed through and there were the boat masts. A rusty sign indicated that this was a yacht club. The boats were tied to trees. It was apparent that with the tide in these boats could be easily boarded from shore. The tidal range was about 18 feet. We retraced or steps, being careful not to venture too close to the edge.
Back on the road we spotted a man walking to his car, and asked him if the road we were on would take us to the station. We did not want to go back the same way we had come. He told us it would, but it would be confusing. He gave us directions for a more direct route through a car park, across the tracks and up a bridge. We thanked him.
Following his directions was easy. They were very good. As we approached the street leading to the car park we realized we had not been to Dr. Livingston's house yet. A slight detour brought us to the unassuming abode.
Then we returned to the car park. We had been told that at the far end of the car park we would find a gate and a signal. We were only to open the gate and cross the tracks if the signal was green. We obediently followed these instructions. As we crossed the tracks we noticed that they were very rusty and there was a wooden gate across them. The signal must never turn red.
On the other side of the tracks we closed the gate and followed the path. It led to stairs up to a bridge over the "live" tracks. We crossed the bridge and walked down the hill right into the train station parking lot. Perfect. The shuttle had pulled out just as we came down the hill. We would have a 15 to 20 minute wait for the next one. While we waited, a train from Edinburgh arrived and disgorged a crowd of cruisers. We had nice chats as we waited for the shuttle. It arrive after 25 minutes. There was room for all of us. In 20 minutes we were at the ship.
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| Will I Have to Sit at the Top? |
Oops! The tide was coming in. This necessitated moving the gang way to a lower deck. We waited and watched this 20 minute process. Onboard we rested briefly in our room before going to Dive In on deck 11 for burgers. It was 5 o'clock and our bus to the tattoo would leave at 6:00. The dining room and Lido were not open for dinner yet.
Timing was perfect. Our bus left on time for a pleasant drive to Edinburgh Castle. Our guide kept reminding us to remember how we got from the bus park to the castle as he walked us through Grass Market at the bottom of the hill. We would make 4 left turns on our way. That would take us to the queue for the Tattoo. Everything was well organized. Yellow vested wardens controlled the crowd. Orange vested vendors sold official programs. For those of us who no longer carried pounds sterling there was a kiosk selling authorized products that accepted credit cards. We had a choice to either join the queue or visit a restaurant or pub. It would be 45 minutes to an hour before seating would open. We joined the queue, and started to people watch. Everything was very orderly.
The wardens were friendly. Some were even funny as they monitored the growing crowd. Shortly the line began to move. Security checked our bags. Then our tickets were scanned and we were in. There in front of us were the grandstands, the kiosk and under the grandstands were the portable toilets.
The guide had told about the portables and suggesting visiting a pub to use their toilets. We were here and we joined the potty line. Well, Alice did. The men's had no line. When we heard portable toilets we thought porta potties like at home. These were modular toilet buildings with hard plumbing for waste and water. They had multiple stalls and sinks. And they were clean.
After looking out over the city from the side walls, we visited the kiosk and bought a program. Then we went inside. Wow! The esplanade had stands built on either side and the end we had just come through. at the far end ahead of us was the castle. Our seats were to the right of the entrance and faced the castle. Wonderful. The performers would enter from the castle and exit right below us.
It was still an hour to show time. We were kept amused watching people come in and make their way to their seats. Then an announcer started thanking sponsors and telling us what groups were present. There were cheers for each, and a rousing cheer when Prinsendam was announced.
At last it was show time. This started with some pageantry as the guests of honor were introduced. Then the castle was lit and the pipers played as they entered. It was show time.
And then, it was over. This truly was a spectacle. We are so blessed to have been able to attend. Now it was the walk back to the bus. This time we made 4 right turns. Guides or Shorex people were located at each turn directing us so we could not go wrong. We were in a crowd of 10,000 people, but all went perfectly. Our bus had some empty seats on the journey in. Now it was full. Some attendees had ventured into the city and stayed all day before meeting the tour at the Tattoo. We were met at the ship with hot chocolate and sandwiches. It was 12:15 AM.
We tried to relax and put the excitement of the evening aside. We finally fell asleep knowing that we could sleep in in the morning. It is a sea day.
August 18, 2015 - Sea Day
This is it. Our last full day. It is dedicated to packing and saying farewell to friends. Tomorrow we disembark at about 8AM. The day progressed well. We met Ken and Marian for Happy Hour in the Crow's Nest to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Then it was the last supper in the dining room.
Our luggage was in the hall by 10:00.
This was the bittersweet end of another grand voyage.
August 19, 2015 - Going Home
We got up early and had breakfast in the Lido. After a few more goodbyes we waited in our cabin for the call for Pink 2 to disembark. It came at 8:00. We were scanned out for the last time, and went to find our baggage. It was easy to find and wheel to our bus for the airport.
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| Bye Bye Prinsendam! |
At 8;20 we were on our way. Today is the first day of Sail Amsterdam. Tall Ships from around the world were gathered for this event. We saw a few of them on the canal as we proceeded to the airport. We also saw hundreds of people with lawn chairs lining the canal banks for the viewing.
At 9:00 we were at Schipol. I loaded our bags on a free trolley and we walked them to terminal for our check in. All went smoothly. Even our checking an extra bag. We got the custom stamp on tax free Scotland purchase, and dropped the form in the mail. We will see if that works.
By 10:00 we were at our gate.
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| Our Ship Home |
We boarded and took off on time. The flight was smooth. Arrival in Chicago was sweet at 2:00 local time. Global Entry worked perfectly, and we were at the luggage carousel before the luggage was. Our bags came off together in one of the early batches. We were through customs before 3:00 and in our house by 3:15.
Happy Ending!!!
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