GERMANY WON THE SOCCER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!

Last night the German team won the Soccer World Championship Game against Argentina. It was a “nail biter” game. No goals throughout the entire game and the first set of 15 min overtime. Then, when all the players were exhausted, in the second 15 min of overtime, Mario Götze secured the winning goal and with that the title of World Champions. This is the fourth time in Soccer history that Germany won the Championship!

It was a sad day for Argentina. They played well, had great chances and showed a lot of effort but this is a game where only one team can win. Second and third place it really not that bad. If your team qualified to play in this competition in the first place – you got to be good.

Now Germany can go on with normal life. I was informed that all the German flags are not out because Germans are so patriotic but only in support of the German Soccer team. They will now be packed away again until the next World Championship in 2018 in Russia. Until then the flags will be replaced with flags of their favorite teams, their regional district or simply decorative flags. I guess that means that our American flag will be the only patriotic country flag proudly waving in the wind on this German Campground.

What is the latest from our new life? We truly enjoy retirement and the simplified lifestyle as long term campers. Our new home is so small that I keep wearing my reading glasses all the time – lol. But no, seriously, it is really cute. We still have a rather unpredictable weather pattern. A mixed bag of beautiful sunshine, storm, heavy rain, thunder storms and currently temperatures lower than desirable for mid of July. The 2000 predicted hours of sunshine on this island must be squeezed into the later part of summer. We do enjoy the fact that we have daylight often with the sun still shining until 9:30/10:00 pm to sit outside. It gets cold as soon as the sun disappears behind the trees.

Our new bikes arrived and are all assembled waiting for a stretch of nice weather to be taken for a ride. The internet is still a big problem. We are in constant contact with the provider but find customer service is terrible. No communication with the customer, no call back, no refund. It is so frustrating to sit and try to connect to the internet again and again. To get disconnected every few minutes or not to be able to connect in the first place. I guess we are rather spoiled with high speed internet connection and 4G service everywhere.

We have very nice neighbors in our little cul-de-sac. One had discovered a rather large wasp nest between his vent cover and the screen. That took some careful action to get it safely removed.  This couple only comes every two weeks for a few days. Others across the way stay all summer or for 3 weeks at a time. Behind our camper, past a wide ditch, we had a large area for tent campers. That usually was a bit rowdy on the weekends. Campground rules though are followed and everybody calms down around 11:00 pm. Now, much of that tent area has been turned into the boat storage area and the weekends are much quieter now.

We went to Burg auf Fehmarn a few times. We biked, walked and also tried the Bürgerbus. This bus runs 3 times a day and is operated by volunteer seniors. It’s just a simple tour bus and costs only €0.50 for people with Ostseekarte (a certain tourist discount card). In town we can shop for pretty much anything we need and, since we don’t need much, we can transport it back home in the baskets of our bikes or carry it to the bus stop.

Last week Wednesday we picked up our new grill. It’s a small 2 burner Broil Master. Noting fancy, nothing big for the two of us. It does have a side burner if needed. We already had a few small gatherings with new friends and everything cooked very well. Since I don’t have a cook stove in my kitchen yet I find it interesting to prepare dinner for a few people on a 2 burner electric stove. For just the two of us it is perfectly fine but for a group of friends one has to become a bit creative. It is possible though in combination of the electric cook top and the large toaster oven we have. End of the month we will be able to install our ceramic cook top and our oven. Another step toward permanent camping in style.

A car is still not one of our desires since we don’t have to be anywhere at a certain time and also, with a little bit of prior planning, public transportation is readily available.

We have spoken to several other camping enthusiasts that stayed at the campground through the winter and it doesn't sound too bad. It’s good to gather some information and pick the brains of people that have been here in winter. All of the people we talked to have/had canvas/heavy tent material camper extensions while ours is a hard shell with plexi glass windows and insulation material in the walls, floor and ceiling. We hear that it could be damp and clammy at night and in the morning. I assume that can be remedied by a steady supply of propane for the heaters. We shall see. I decided to look for a large carpet to keep floor temperatures comfortable and to prevent heat to escape through the floor. Heated mattress pad will also be a must have.

The individual beds in our camper will not work for us long term. They are too narrow. Strangely, they are wider on one side than on the other. It will be an early fall project to replace the bed design with a large sleeping platform, almost the size of a king size bed. Our “living room” space was originally the dinette part of the camper. Not comfortable to sit and watch TV for a few hours. It’s a square U-shaped set-up and it has to go. We are looking at an IKEA Manstad sleeper sofa. It has two seats on one side and a lounger on the other. It should fit in the space and we will still have some bed box storage space. Besides, it will look much nicer.

THE FIRST MONTH BACK IN GERMANY

We live a very quiet lifestyle here and truly enjoy the fact that we honestly don’t NEED to do anything. The first 2 weeks were filled with hunting and gathering for household and food items I hate to be without. All in all I can say that by now we are almost all set. This weekend we are picking up our new stove and a new grill is also on the way. The grill that we found in our shed was too small for 2 steaks and unfortunately was very rusty. Certain things are very important to me in my household, for example Teflon coated frying pans. I’m not completely opposed to coated pots and pans but once I detect any peeling, the pans have to go. We also organized a different dining table. The one we have is round/oval and takes up too much space with the extensions in and without the extensions it is too small. So we switched to a square table. Both ends extend to easily accommodate a moderate crowd if needed.

o find the foods that are important to me took a bit longer. It was not a problem to find Coconut oil and shredded Coconut, raw Honey, Peanut Butter (for Tom) and other little kitchen supplies. Black seed oil and Black seeds, Flax seeds, Hemp oil and seeds on the other hand were not available on the island.

The next two weeks we spent in Kassel, Germany at my daughters house. Meanwhile the 2014 Soccer World Cup countdown has begun and every evening is filled with soccer. From my daughters roof-top patio we can see the Aue Stadion (soccer stadium) where the games are displayed on the big screen for public viewing. After Germany won the first game, pretty much every car in Kassel was on the road; people sitting on top of cars and hanging out of side windows with flags waving, honking all available horns, singing, drinking and congratulating each other like they already won the final game. This convoy of happiness snaked all over the city with no cops anywhere in sight! It was a lot of fun riding around with our grandson (a big soccer fan).

A few very positive things struck me with surprise. For one, pet dogs are allowed almost everywhere the owners are allowed. They go into grocery stores, restaurants, offices and on public transportation. I have to say, German dogs are extremely well behaved and their owners are very concerned to pick up their messes. I have not encountered any dogs pulling the owners all over creation nor have I seen a dog barking in places where they should not. In fact, I have seen more misbehaving children than dogs. I compare that with some dogs we owned and they could not be taken out in public. I really like the fact that they can go where the owner goes because it prevents dogs from getting overheated in parked cars and also don’t have to stay home alone for long hours.

Shopping carts in all stores are chained together and are released by inserting a Euro or a special reusable disc. After shopping, the chain plug from the cart in front is inserted into the slot of your cart and returns your money or disc. You don’t see shopping carts in a 2 mile radius around the store or scattered in the parking lot. People are trained to bring their carts back, and they want to, because they want their money or disc back.

Plastic/glass bottles and soda cans are recycled for cash back. Every store or beverage market has a section where customers insert their bottles or cans into a machine which counts and calculates their refund. 0.25 Euro per bottle adds up and reduces your final shopping bill or provides cash. Therefore, you don’t find many empty drink containers on the ground.

Trash is separated by bio, hazardous, paper and card board, and compost for recycling as well. Nobody complains about taking out 3 or 4 trash bags, and collectors pick up several times a week. The residential garbage cans are locked and occupants of apartment buildings all have a key. This prevents dumpster diving or animals rummaging through the trash and creating a mess.

People drink beer at any time of the day or night – in public! What a concept. Don’t think they are always drunk, but beer is one of the staple beverages. Most households buy it by the case and rarely will you find the case empty. Of course there are always people that drink too much – just like in the US.

Public transportation! This is the best way to travel! You can go from anywhere to anywhere by city train, bus, regional train to long distance train or airplane. You never have to wait long, the vehicles are very clean (even though they transport a lot of dogs), and your bicycle can also be taken onto the trains in case you have to travel from the station to your home or work by bike. Besides the convenience, it is very affordable to use the public transportation system; we paid 7 Euro for a 24 hour ticket for two travelers. That ticket is good for any lines. You can get on the train in the morning and ride from end station to end station, switch to another one and again go from end station to end station. Take an ice cream break and do some shopping or sightseeing and continue your trip all day long. Parking downtown is a nightmare since spaces in parking garages are super narrow and you have to be a skinny belly dancer to get in or out of your car. The parking fees are also rather expensive and free curbside parking is very hard to come by.

Man-powered transportation is extremely popular. So much more walking or biking results in a population, in general, that is not as overweight as people in the US; most people are slim and trim. For many people a bike is the main means of transportation. They have a relatively new systemin Kassel called Konrad http://www.konrad-kassel.de/. They distribute bikes in many different locations all over town and people can rent them. You register on line and then you can pick up a bike in one location and drop it off at another. It costs next to nothing and provides a great alternative to the other transportation systems available. 99.9% of roadways are split up into train tracks in the middle, road ways, pedestrian walk ways and bike trails. Of course, the bikes too have to follow traffic regulations. This is the case in most inner city environments.

Now let’s talk about food. German food has an old, very positive worldwide reputation. There are bakeries and butchers everywhere. Everything is super fresh and delicious. Food is one of the things that irritated me a lot in the US since it is all laden with chemicals, preservatives, food coloring and taste enhancers. Many of the poisonous additives are prohibited in Germany and Europe. As a result, everything comes in smaller packages. The first shopping trip, I made the mistake of buying bulk (just for Tom and myself), to find out that we were not able to eat it all before it spoiled. In the US I bought milk with an expiration date a month and a half out and it was still good on that date! Not here; milk comes in 1L cartons (no plastic jugs that sit in the landfills for the next 250 years) and you better drink it or it will spoil. Raw honey is not something you need to search for or pay extra for the chemicals you DON’T get, it’s readily available in any grocery store. Tomatoes also go bad very fast too, what tells me that they are not sprayed and irradiated like US produce. I could go on forever about the food, but let me just finish by saying that many items that we have to buy organic in the US are not specially labeled as “bio” since they are, without question. There certainly are exceptions to the rule. Fast food places are somewhat rare and not on every street corner like in the US. In Kassel we saw only 2 McDonalds, one BK and one Pizza Hut. In commercials on TV they are also not as overpowering. Fast food is not glorified as the great food it pretends to be in the US.

We are now back on the island and will be here for several months before we return to Kassel or travel elsewhere. Local trips are possible but nothing it scheduled yet.

QUEEN MARY 2 IN PICTURES

If you consider a transatlantic crossing, we suggest to select Cunards Queen Mary2. In the pictures below you will see why we feel this way. We are open to answer any questions you might have as we feel qualified to answer. Enjoy the tour.

RAINY DAY ACTIVITY

Today is the first day of rain and it’s a great opportunity to give you an update and tell you about our first week and a half on the island.

Let’s start with the end of our Transatlantic Crossing. We used the two port days in South Hampton, England and Seebrügge, Belgium to further explore the ship and to get ready for disembarkation in Hamburg, Germany. Before dinner, on May 25, we placed all of our luggage outside our state room door and it magically disappeared by the time we returned. We woke up early Monday morning because the engine of the ship sounded differently and we knew that we were already in docking mode. We wanted to be up to see the ship approaching Hamburg, but that happened in the dark of night and we didn’t wake up in time. There were already people at the pier waiting for arriving travelers. We told our pick up crew, our oldest daughter, grandson with girlfriend, best friend with husband and her 2 adult children not to be there until about 9:00 am. Our instructions for disembarking let us know that we were not able to leave the ship until 8:30 am. I figured that disembarking would be just as smooth as checking in on the May 16.

Just as planned, we had breakfast, at the Kings Court, as usual. With plenty of time to spare we went out on deck 7 with our coffee/tea and watched the activities in port for a while and then strolled to the Princess Room, our assigned gathering place and waited for further instructions. At 8:30 am sharp we were able to make our way off the ship. Our family and friends were already waiting for us and helped us gather and load our luggage. We sat down for some more coffee/tea for a few minutes before we headed to our final destination, the island of Fehmarn, Germany. It about an hour and a half by car at the end of A7 Autobahn. The roadways feel scarily narrow compared to American Highways, especially going 100+ miles/hour.

Arriving at the campground we found American decorations in and outside our camper and the American flag was blowing in the wind. Everything was set up ready for us to use. My daughter did a fantastic job getting everything ready for us to start living comfortably from day one. Everything we needed was ready to go and, of course, we had some coffee/tea and enjoyed each other’s company for several hours until our friends left and went back to Hamburg and our daughter went to her camper to make dinner. While she was cooking I used the opportunity to empty our suitcases and store all of our belongings in the cubby spaces of the camper and was surprised that, after all suitcases were empty and packed away, we had plenty of space left to accommodate the full 66 pound box that is in transit and will arrive mid of July. After dinner we played a few rounds of rummy and headed “home” to go to bed. We slept very well on our cozy little bedroom. It’s beautiful to wake up to birds chirping and the wind blowing.

The first full day we went to the town of Burg to do some shopping. I needed some coat hangers, food, certain ingredients to prepare meals, new pillows and a few necessities. It took about 3 days to set up everything just right. The good thing was that it was very windy and we didn't want to spend much time outside. The first week flew by and Saturday afternoon we went with another set of friends to the Rapsblütenfest in Burg. Many vendors offered locally made good, traditional German “fair” food like crusty rolls with pickled herring Lebkuchen hearts, roasted almonds, cotton candy, Bratwurst,

pastries and beer. For the kids they offered face painting, rides and other fun activities. One in particular caught my attention. It took place on the little town pond. Large, clear vinyl bubbles to climb in and walk/crawl on water. That looked like a lot of fun – not only for kids.

http://www.wowbubbles.com

Sunday we had our first birthday party invitation. My best friend, the one from Hamburg that came to pick us up at the pier, celebrated her birthday. We enjoyed our first German BBQ followed up by wonderful pastry deserts.

The wind stayed for almost the entire first week before it turned nice sunny and warm. We were somewhat sunshine deprived and soaked up the warm rays, resulting in our first sunburns. Not to the point of pain, but red and a bit sensitive.

Yesterday we worked on our bikes (as in bicycle) all day. That will be our main means of transportation for a while and since they stay outside all the time they needed some TLC. New tires, new brakes a transformer, new handle bars and BASKETS. The baskets are most important for transporting food home from the store. I have one in the front and one in the back and Tom has only one in the back. Tom takes a trip to the store every morning to get fresh crusty rolls for breakfast and the local paper. German breakfast without rolls is not German….at least for me J

We didn't really go and explore the area much. The change in the climate, the food and the calm lifestyle makes us really tired. Multiple naps are not uncommon and very welcome.
  

I had mentioned earlier in the Blog that Metro PCS told us that our cell phones should work in Germany just fine. Well, they sold us a bunch of lies! Nothing works at all. Not being able to communicate is not fun. I ended up establishing a Skype phone number to call Metro PCS just to find out that they don’t offer service outside the US and that the sales crew in the Manchester, NH is either completely clueless or they flat out lied! Now we have a situation where our service with them has to be in place for 90 days before they can unlock the phones to try if they work with a German sim-card. The service was established April 17. Ninety days will bring us to July 17 until we can unlock the phones to test it. But until then they expect us to pay for service we don’t have on phones that don’t work. Makes sense??? Another company on the list of American corporations to watch out for. It’s all for corporate profits and never in the interest of the end consumer. It is very upsetting.

Internet with Outland http://hotspot.outland-net.de, a local provider, was rather frustrating in the beginning as well, but after a few complaints it seems to be more reliable. A better solution still has to be found. We are considering purchasing our own hotspot. That worked well while in the remote location in Maine and hopefully will work here too. More research has to be done. All that will be easier while in my home town Kassel, Germany for the following two weeks.

For now let me close with a general feeling of calm and happiness. It seems it was a good decision and so far we have no regrets. 

Hi, its Tom again.

One week ago today we arrived in our new home on Fehmarn. It has been a week of get togethers, breakfast and dinners with the family and a birthday party in Hamburg.The beach is maybe 5 minutes away and our trailer, being at the end of a side street sees very little traffic; the only thing that we hear mostly are the birds.

Life here is a lot slower and its hard to keep track of the days and the time. I think I have my "land legs" back as I stopped feeling wobbly yesterday. When the wind blows from the West we can hear the train crossing the Fehmarn Bridge. The pigeons are the size of chickens and at dusk until morning there are rabbits all over. (No jackalopes yet) We went to our first Town Fest (Rapsblutenfest) yesterday in Petersdorf; a small town circle fest with food booths, candy, locally made goods, delicious German cakes and some sort of marinated hering on bread. We also had dinner at the Globetrotter restaurant on the campground both yesterday and the day before. Thursday I had liver and onions and yesterday I had Neck Steak.....delicious.

The neighbors are all friendly and everyone says "good morning" or "good day" as you pass. There is a small store by the registration building that sells fresh rolls in the morning and they ARE delicious with butter and cheese or just with butter.

We attended a birthday party yesterday in Hamburg for an old friend of Dagmars, which was very nice with quite a few people. It is interesting to listen to the many conversations and I am picking up more and more words and phrases as the conversations go on. The drive back was quite fast with speeds, outside of city limits, reaching roughly 136 mph. (210 kph) Normal driving speed is around 96 mph. Just what the Autobahn is made for.

I changed a lot of this post because I realized that is sounded very negative but I didn't mean it to, so this is the updated version.

DAY NINE

The journey is coming to an end. We had a wonderful time and it perfectly matched our needs. It was very relaxing – even though we had high winds, huge waves, overcast skies and rain. Entertainment was always available all day and night. There was always food in sight and it was hard to stick with healthy choices when the most delicate deserts were twinkling at us. So for 10 days we tossed all health and weight concerns out of the window and ate whatever our taste buds desired.

Cunard provided an excellent service. All staff members were most helpful, always very friendly, looked after our room twice a day to keep it spotless and waited on us royally. If we requested something or voiced a need, the response followed within minutes. It will take a moment to get back to the reality of having to cook our own food and then to do the dishes. It is super easy to get really lazy in this environment. – Just what we needed –

Now, almost all the bags and suitcases are packed and ready to go. Waiting for the washer and dryer to be done to complete the packing. We place the luggage outside our state room and it will magically, in silence, disappear until tomorrow morning when we leave this beautiful ship.

We, wholeheartedly, recommend travelling on the Queen Mary 2. This will not be our last time. We are already looking at west bound crossings into New York.

You will hear from us again tomorrow.

DAY EIGHT

Today we have a big rotation on board. Many of the people we used to have dinner with have left and the QM2 is in process of boarding about 1500 new passengers. Mostly Germans who are now going back to Germany, do a northern loop to include Norway and a few islands and then back to South Hampton to sail across the Atlantic west bound to New York.

We docked early this morning in South Hampton, England. It has been raining all day. For a little while it actually looked like snowflakes or at least slightly frozen rain drops. Combined with the strong wind it is just really raw outside.  I feel bad for the passengers that booked port excursions, sightseeing or shopping trips. Visibility is very low.  The Queen Victoria, another Cunard ship, is docked behind us and two other cruise ships are in an opposite docking area. Typical harbor activities are loading and unloading cargo (mostly vehicles), and on our ship outside maintenance started immediately. The poor ship took a beating this crossing.

It is 2:00p now and we have another 3 ½ hours until we sail across to Belgium. We will dock in Seebrügge early tomorrow morning. Another day when most passengers leave the ship to explore the port area. We will stay “home”. Then we have to start packing and prepare for our arrival in Hamburg, Germany.

DAY SEVEN

Last night as by far the worst in regards of high winds and waves! It was so bad that for the formal event I took my heels off and walked barefoot. Heels and waves in combination with a damaged ankle don’t go along well. It is really funny when you watch people walk. Tom enhanced it a bit by increasing the motion and flung himself from side to side and went down to his knees and then stretched to tip-toes as gravity dictated it. I was behind him in the hallway laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.

My sleep pattern is completely messed up. They steel an hour a day, but our meal times are still the same. So we eat dinner at 8:30 pm but, by now on our time, it would be already 1:30 am. By the time I get tired it is around 3:00 am and I don’t wake up until noon. Tomorrow morning I will get up with the alarm again to train my body for the new time zone. Tom doesn’t seem to be effected by the time changes at all.

After dinner last night we poked into the ball room for the Ascott ball to admire the ladies hats. That was rather amusing. Some ladies had made hats the afternoon before and came up with unbelievable creations! Not anything I would be seen in public with – but it was just for the fun of it. We stayed for the dance performance, strolled through a few clubs and ended up in the movie theater.

Today we checked out the professional pictures and selected the ones we liked best.

It was much less windy and we went for a walk again. LAND IN SIGHT!!!! The very southern part of England was visible today. A few other ships joined us as well. Tomorrow morning many passengers get off the ship to either take tours of South Hampton or to complete their journey. We will stay on board since we will be in driving distance and at a later point visit for a few days.

All this delicious food, available around the clock, with a disturbed body clock is very dangerous! Once we arrive I believe we have to tape out mouths shut! Gaining weight is super easy here. The on board gym is always full but I haven’t seen the inside yet.  We just eat, sleep and have fun!

DAY SIX

This day turned out to be much different than anticipated. I woke up with a massive headache that didn’t want to let go. Besides we have HUGE waves outside and items on the counter are actually sliding around. It was interesting taking a shower today, because you had to lean against the wall to stabilize yourself. So far we’ve had only one and a half days of somewhat nice weather, but that’s alright. There is so much to do indoors and the view through the countless windows is still spectacular. Today we are moving towards Bishop Rock, passing over the Porcupine Abyssal Plain in the North Atlantic Ocean. England is a little less than 1000 nautical miles away.

We have TV in the room and can tune in many different channels in several languages. Right now we find a lot of soccer games leading up to this year’s Soccer World Cup.

Tonight is the Royal Ascot Ball. Formal attire required. It is a beautiful sight when men and women are dressed in gowns and suits. Woman also will show off their favorite hats tonight. There is actually a hat decorating class on the schedule this afternoon. Well, I will not wear a hat. I guess it is a British custom to wear hats at certain occasions.

About half of the passengers are British and will disembark the ship in South Hampton. Others, like American Tourists will also disembark and continue by train or car to either be back on board in June when the QMII travels back to New York or others fly back to the US. I have met a few German passengers so far who will continue the journey to Hamburg, Germany.

DAY FIVE

We are now at the midpoint of our Transatlantic Crossing and finally had some sunshine. It felt so good to feel the warmth. It was still windy but the sun made a huge difference. Every day we set the clocks ahead one hour – meaning, we lose an hour at mid-day. Somehow this is not easy to deal with. This afternoon we went to see a movie again, The Wolf of Wall Street, at the Illuminations Theatre and we had to rush getting ready for dinner.

In the morning after breakfast we checked out some dance classes. First Ballroom dancing with Wilfried and Ilona as instructors. They taught the Quick-Step today. Right after was some line dancing lesson. Tomorrow we will participate in the Ballroom class and learn the Rumba. That should be fun.

I took a lot of pictures today and will post them once I have reliable internet connection. There is no high speed internet on the ship and to upload pictures would take forever.

Dinner once again was lovely. Everything was very tasty and beautifully presented. The staff, on any level of service, from the Officers to the maintenance personnel are all very helpful and always nice. I spoke to one of the waitresses today, she is from Lithuania, and she told me that she is on her second crossing and that she is enjoying her job a lot. The staff provides a composition of 57 different nationalities! The restaurant Britannia, our dinner restaurant, serves 12,000 meals per day! Tomorrow we actually have the opportunity to visit the kitchen and watch the activities that lead up to our evening feast.

The last two days were informal days and we could stay somewhat casual. Tomorrow is another formal day. It is interesting to see the variety of styles and tastes in fashion and the understanding of formal and informal dress code.

But for now I need to get some sleep. It’s almost 1:00 am and we have another busy day ahead.

DAY FOUR

It is still very windy and over cast. Blow drying my hair is absolutely useless. The wind will do it’s thing. We spend most of the time indoors. There is a long hallway with windows on either side of the ship lined with card tables. We played a game of Monopoly. We haven’t played in decades! Tom bankrupted me rather fast…. 

Later in the afternoon we went to the Theater and watched The LEGO Movie in 3D. That was pretty cool. I had thought of my grandson, who created his own LEGO YouTube channel (LEGO EVERYDAY) and within a few weeks 20,000 people viewed it

.

We have very interesting dinner company. A gentleman from Ohio with his student. He is a professor in forensic psychology, specialized in sociopathic disorder. His student is a 24 year old male, who just graduated. We also have a British couple at the table. There are many British people on board and some German travelers as well. After dinner we usually stroll from club to club and theater to theater until we get tired. 

DAY TWO

We were tired or better exhausted. Tom was feeling nauseated because we had some really strong winds! All outside areas were blocked off and inside, especially in the front of the ship, the motion was intense. The Queen was, and still is, creaking in her seams. Nevertheless we did so some walking, sitting outside later in the day and Tom after some Dramamine took a nap on deck and later we took another nap inside before getting ready for dinner. After dinner we stayed in one of the theaters for some good old Motown tunes.

Our information about the dress code had a glitch. The Black & White event tonight was listed as an informal event. Well, it wasn't informal. I believe other people didn't know it was formal either. I did not feel out of place after all.

As Tom was getting ready for the event is got a little stressful. I’m pretty sure that he packed his cuff links but they are nowhere to be found. So, I assume as soon as we go and buy some new ones the old ones will magically turn up.

We are having some trouble with the time change at one hour per day since our cell phones will not change until we are in fact at the next time zone. Good that Tom has his wrist watch.

The service on the ship is excellent and so far all the food and the variety of it is phenomenal. The waiters are very attentive and right there when needed. Room service comes twice a day the check the room and make sure it’s all clean and we have everything we need.

All hallways are heavily carpeted and the ship seems to be very well insulated since we don’t hear what is going on outside of our room. 

DAY ONE

We had a smooth ride to New York. A friend of mine travels to NY twice a month and had given me her favorite route. We really appreciate her suggestion. There was traffic, but it was always moving at a decent speed all the way to Brooklyn, NY. The transaction with Enterprise Car Rentals also was a great experience. Everything went without a hitch. We loaded our luggage in front of our home and unloaded it right in front of the terminal onto provided luggage carts. We arrived about 30 minutes early and proceeded through the check-in line without delay. There were minimal waiting times and everything seemed to be very organized and coordinated.

Once in our State Room, our luggage was delivered and we were able to store some in the closet, and the big ones under the bed. By now we were hungry and visited the buffet on the 7. floor.  Delicious food and plenty variety. We now had some time to do first exploration of the ship. It had turned very windy and we needed 2 tug boats to keep the Queen at the pier. At 4:00 pm we gathered for safety drill and instructions. It took place in the gym since it was too windy and rainy outside.

We were supposed to leave at 5:30 pm and we decided to go out on deck to watch. There was not much to see today. Lower Manhattan was hidden in thick clouds and the financial district was not much better. Even the Statue of Liberty was fogged in. The wind, the rain and the fog made the Captain skip the Lady Liberty drive-by and finally, at about 6:15 pm, we headed out to see. With the Ship picking up speed the wind and rain increased and we had to go put some more clothes on, but came back outside just in time to pass under the Verrazano Bridge – with only a few feet to spare.

While sitting on deck we already met some people from Hamburg, Germany on their way home. Now it was time to get ready for dinner. The first night was an informal night. We were ready early and went for a walk to see what all we can do in the next 10 days. The ship is beautiful!

Dinner was scheduled at 8:30 pm and we were assigned to a table with a British couple and two gentlemen from Ohio. Both parties are experienced cruisers. We were informed that we are not on a cruise or on a cruise ship but on a crossing – to be specific, on a transatlantic crossing. The Queen Mary is very different from other cruise ships. The hull is V-shaped to cut deep into the water while cruise ships have a somewhat flat bottom.

It was difficult to decide what to select from the dinner menu. We decided for a Liver Pate with honey glazed cranberry onions and bread as the appetizer. As the Entrée I chose portabella mushroom with chicken and Tom had a seafood fettuccini. Caramel Pecan pie with vanilla ice cream completed the meal for me.

Now we are rather tired and will not indulge in available activities but get some sleep.

PICTURES

 Safety equipment in place...

...and we are leaving New York

it was very windy and cold

Congratulations! We are on our merry way!

Leaving the NY Brooklyn Cruise Terminal

Looks like a "yellow cab" but it really is a tug boat

Statue of Liberty. It was too late and too windy to circle around. 

We headed straight for the Verrazano Bridge

The QM2 has to leave in time to make sure she fits under the bridge. 

We left a bit later than planned and had

only a few feet to spare

Sitting on deck 7 on the way out we met this nice mother-daughter couple from Hamburg. 

Can you see how cold it is???

 We stopped at the wintergarden to write a few post cards

The chairs are now all tied up to prevent them from blowing across the deck.

This beautiful chimney is one of the original four Titanic chimneys 

 The lifeboats

Looking down to deck 7

Deck 7 - Three laps equal 1.9 miles. Usually it's very busy here

Deck 11 with indoor and outdoor pool and the Ragatta Bar and Lounge

The view out to the back of the ship

The middle of the Atlantic Ocean 

Deck Stuarts hard at work

The nose - I wanted to stand there at night like in the Titanic movie, but it's restricted.

Here you see extra propellers. The look very small from up top. In reality the are very large but still decorative.

The view from the observation deck, right below the bridge.

The bridge with the shadow of your Captain

 The doggy park - not very attractive but functional. The dogs are supervised all day and have individual kennels. Sorry, no grass until England

One of the endless hallways. Narrow, so you can touch the walls and railings at high seas.

The stairwell and elevators on deck 6

Go up to deck 7, to the Kings Court buffet area and the wonderful  promenade deck

Plaques like this are on the walls all around the ship from hundreds of locations around the world

BON VOYAGE

On the way to NY. The rental provides a comfortable ride and is big enough for all the luggage. We got a GMC Yucon XL - it's nice, but I miss my muscle van. Lol

This is it!!

Sleep one more time in our bed and off we go. Not sure if I can see the road through the curtain of tears but I'll try. It's hard to say good bye even if its not permanent. Much can happen in a year or even a week.

Yesterday we gave the Crombie fleet their last ride. With 338.000 miles and 248.000 miles they served us very well.

Kiss the older brother good bye.....

The rental is is in the driveway already packed and ready to go. Last items to be added in the morning and we will be on our way. 

We might have a 10 day silence period but I promise you will hear all about it once we are connected again.

For right now, I need some sleep