6/29/12 day 65: Copenhagen, Denmark

Grey and rainy in Copenhagen today and I loved it. Maybe because I came prepared with an umbrella and jacket but also because I really dig this city and its gonna take more than rain to sour my opinion. It was coming down hard and people were still riding their bikes around. Honey badger don't give a shit! I love it.

Must be graduation day for high schoolers too because there were about 6 different flat bed trucks rolling around downtown decorated w banners and loaded up with rowdy kids dancing to music and carrying on. I remember that from Aachen. There was a big "Abitur" graduation party In the city square and we all hopped on a flat bed pulled by a tractor. I have one shaky picture from that tractor ride.

Had a great lunch catching up with my old Freiburg friend AV and then made my way slowly back to the ship, patiently watching my shoes get wet. Wish i had more time in the city because today would have been a good day to hole up in a pub, enjoy some øl and watch some soccer. Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards. First night of a new cruise means I have to be "on" and that takes all my energy and focus, really. Would have been a perfect day for the Dubliner though... Next time.

It was a good first night in the club. Had a great crowd and enjoyed the Surf and Turf menu in the Colonnade Restaurant with a couple from Australia that were on the last cruise. Should be a great 14 day cruise into Norway. Here is the itinerary: Flåm, Ålesund, Leknes, Tromsø, Honnigsvåg, Olden, Bergen, Stavanger, and then back to Copenhagen.

And I am impressed with the new band. They did Josie by Steely Dan among some other gems. They'll be great.

6/28/12 day 64: At Sea

Super chill day today. Not much to report. Saying goodbye to guests as we make our way west, slow and steady to Copenhagen. Tomorrow it's a new load of guests and some new crew including a new band (from the US). Should be interesting. Gonna miss the Sojourn Orchestra but it's time for them to head back to the Philippines and see their families.

Copenhagen tomorrow. Love this city. Heard the weather is gonna be nice too. Gonna meet up with an old friend from my year studying (well, some studying did happen) in Freiburg, Germany. Should be fun to reconnect.

Got my IPM (in port manning) schedule for July. It's crazy to think ill be home soon. As interesting and unique as this experience is, I'm getting excited to come home to Phoenix. Still got a month left and some really cool ports, but looking forward to stepping off the plane in Phoenix and getting knocked over by the heat... Well maybe not that, but everything else.

The pics are of the Sojourn orchestra. Coolest band on the planet. Ria, the singer, is a riot. You should see her when she hams it up for the camera. She is saving up for corrective eye surgery. Safe travels guys. We will miss you.

6/27/12 day 63: Helsinki, Finnland

I'm starting to think I've cursed all bike tours... In the middle of an otherwise uneventful bike tour, dark grey clouds slid under a pristine blue sky and opened up above us. Big rain drops began pelting us. Smarter folks brought rain jackets, wind breakers, scarves, hats...Not me. Not this guy. A polo and trousers (yeah, I said "trousers") was all I had on. And while not as thorough a soaking as in Tallinn, this was still a severe pain the ass and it called for quick action with the safe stowing of the cell phone in a guest's backpack. And then, as quickly as it came, it was gone. The sun was beginning to dry said trousers as the tour ended and we all high fived back at the ship. I took a quick stroll through the farmers market that looks so awesome last time and took note on about 10 things I want to pick up the next visit.

Call it hard headed or stubborn but I did sign up for a bike tour in Norway next cruise. And there it will most certainly rain... Awesome.

6/26/12 day 62: St. Petersburg, Russia

Took a day off from sightseeing today because I had IPM. Couldnt have left the ship if I tried. Actually, before I knew I had IPM or even knew what it was, I went to leave the ship and got denied by crew staff at the gangway. I thought the woman at disembark said "you owe the port money." later I realized she was saying "you have in port manning." either way, I wasn't getting off the ship and no I didn't owe the port money.

IPM days are cool too tho. You get to catch up on sleep, watch movies, chill. I can dig it. I still worked tonight, but I love me some chill afternoon time. Tomorrow I'm escorting a bike tour around Helsinki. Hoping for sun, but you never know. With my luck, it'll be a downpour. Awesome.

6/25/12 day 61: St. Petersburg, Russia

Sunshine and John Coltrane are two things I don't associate with this city, however, at 7:15 AM when I came off the boat to escort a tour of Peterhof, Peter the Great's summer palace or grand palace, that was what I was greeted with: a few stubborn stringy clouds pinned to the horizon of a big blue sky and John Coltrane "my favorite things" purring out of the speakers outside the modern customs building on the pier. Today was destined to be a good day.

We passed architecture of all sorts, including gaudy Soviet stuff. Most humbling was driving through the front line between Nazi and Russian forces during the notorious 900 day siege of the city during WWII, then named Leningrad. A single soviet tank marked the area which was mostly grassy fields and young trees. This area was left a waste land.

As luck would have it, we were the first group to enter the palace after an hour coach ride out of town. The rooms were stunning. Lots of original pieces, newly gilded statutes, unfortunately no pics were allowed in the palace. Trust me though, it was impressive. It made the palaces of the noblemen in town look like college dorm rooms. The history of the palace is pretty amazing too... During WWII, the Russians took as many pieces out of the palace as possible as the Nazi's approached. Eventually, the nazis took the palace and used it as barracks and munitions storage. Luckily, they didn't destroy it but scattered land mines throughout the area and set part of the building on fire as they were driven from the area.

The garden was great too. Beautiful sunny weather made beautiful gold gilded statues sparkle, numerous fountains, huge 100 year old trees, etc. Peter's sense of humor is obvious in numerous "trick" fountains scattered around the grounds. Set off by weighted stones on ground, one wrong step and you got soaked. Which I'm sure back then resulted in spontaneous wet t-shirt parties, 18th century style. At 11am they turn on the gravity pressurized the main water fountains, and blast the national anthem over loud speakers. It's all really truly impressive. Hydrofoil ride back to St. Petersburg took 30 minutes. Can't wait to get home and read more about this town, and the Russian czars. Today has definitely piqued my interest in our brothers and sisters to the east.

6/24/12 day 60: St. Petersburg, Russia

Overcast today in Russia's second largest city. We docked in a new port a couple minutes outside of town. The last two times we were here, we docked basically downtown, just across the Neva River from the Winter Palace. Yeah, no big deal, I'm basically an expert on St Petersburg now. This city has had three different names in the last 100 years. Do you know the other two names? 10 points to the winner.

Escorted the "Jewish St. Petersburg" tour today. We hit a lot of the big tourist sights seen on other tours (saint isaac's cathedral, winter palace, old stick exchange, Neva River front, Flying Dutchman, etc) as well as some sights specific to Jewish history in the city. The synagogue was the big finish. Spent an hour getting a history lesson on Jewish culture in Russia and then the rabbi came in and sang a couple traditional songs. It was very interesting. Still amazed how many Yiddish words resemble German.

After my first set in the club, I went upstairs to the third less fancy restaurant for dinner. I had no appetite at 530 when the mess was open. So usually when that happens and I have a longer break between my 630 and 9 pm sets I roll up to the restaurants and join some guests for a proper meal, a glass of vino di casa, and some conversation. I ran into an Australian couple I had dinner with a couple nights ago. Lovely folks. I don't have the heart to tell them my name isn't Barry. Tonight was Spanish themed, so I took the seafood paella as a main dish. The appetizer took the gold medal tho: roasted tomato, and grilled eggplant baked with goat cheese. I would have eaten 75 of those things and then taken its picture and made it my FB pic. So delicious. This is my life.

Ps. Dig the panorama pic from my new application! Pretty cool, no?

6/23/12 day 59: Tallinn, Estonia

Raining sheets today! No bike tour for me this time Estonia! Burn me once, shame on you. Shame me twice, I'll burn you. Burn me three times, Please, stop burning me.... Or something like that. Left the ship with my friend Chris who disappeared into the rain in search of a supermarket. I thought he was nuts and I chose to stay at the little cafe/souvenir shop at the end of the pier that offered coffee and free wifi. One thorough soaking in Estonia is enough for me.

I added a couple tunes to the repertoire this afternoon: Promises" by Clapton, "Hallelujah" by Cohen, and "American Pie" by McLean. Then I ran my fastest mile yet (8:57) at the gym. Thats 8 hours and 57 minutes, by the way.

Quiet in the club tonight. I think everyone is eager to get a full day in St. Petersburg tomorrow. Sadly we have to advance our clocks an hour as well. Time to call a night and get ready for a 7 AM wake up.

6/22/12 day 58: Stockholm, Sweden

Another beautiful day in Sweden's capital. Apparently, both times we've landed here have been exceptionally nice days. It's been the rainiest June since they began recording rain fall 50 years ago. Met up with some old friends of my family for a picnic in the sun and had a great afternoon. First we visited the City Hall. Really beautiful building not yet 100 years old (a baby really) and then lunch. It was great to forget about the ship for a minute and have some really fresh food!

We set sail around 5 today and at "sail away," which is a welcome event on the main deck outside, I was invited to introduce myself as part of the entertainment team. Usually, just the big party band, singers and dancers are invited (basically everyone else but me and the lounge piano player.) Feels nice to finally have a home!

New cruise, new guests, and new minds to melt with my searing acoustic guitar licks, silky smooth vocal stylings, and Magnum PI caliber stash.

6/21/12 day 57: Helsinki, Finland

First time in Helsinki today. Made the requisite stops at churches (one very groovy late 1960s era "rock church" that is carved into this huge stone, very groovy baby, YEAH!), the main square (more churches), and an ice bar wonderland with, get this, an ice bar, ice hotel, dog sledding track., and a sledding hill.

The reality is, this faculty is in warehouse outside the city. The ice bar is little more than a bar made of ice with a lady with a bottle of vodka pouring shots into ice shot glasses. There were a couple igloos with colored lighting and beds set up which represented the "hotel" but no one ever stayed there. The dog track was a 300 meter track around the "hotel." And I think the kids on the sledding hill were having all the fun. It was a bit of a let down. And to top it off, the ship was leaving at 2, so we didn't even have time to check out the town on our own. It looks like a nice place tho, so I am glad we will make another stop there soon.

Had lunch with some of my favorite guests before performing in the presidential suite (sick views) for a private event. After that, I rolled down to the club and played my last couple of sets of this cruise. Definitely going to miss some of the guests from this past cruise. Some really nice folks from New Zealand that supported just about every show I played, requested originals (penthouse in Denver and Barrelman were the favorites), and sang along to just about every song I played. Tomorrow they disembark and we get a whole new load of guests and then turn around and head back to Tallinn Estonia. I'm already having flashbacks of biking in the rain.

6/20/12 day 56: St. Petersburg

Escorted a tour to the world famous Hermitage museum today. Sat in the sun on the pier with my tour paddle at 830 watching the dandy lion fluff float through the air, pointing guests to the coach bus.

The collection which started with Catherine the Great (someone fact check that) in a small room in the massive forest green winter palace is now a staggering collection of works from around the world housed in multiple buildings, including the winter palace which takes up at least an entire block. There are millions of pieces. Days and days worth of art. We almost literally jogged through some of the most famous collections: Da Vinci, Rembrandt, van Gogh, French impressionists, Spanish, and the list goes on. We were able to get in before the crowds and walk right up to priceless works. Even the Rembrandt piece that a lunatic dumped acid on a couple years ago (don't worry kids, now its behind glass and is well protected).

The palace itself is amazing. Carerra marble from Italy, huge jasper vases, doors inlaid with flattened turtle shells, the works. These people knew decadence. However, it took them a while to figure out that chimneys shouldn't be IN the wall. A couple massive fires later and they figured it out. Largely spared during WWII this palace is an amazing treasure. It's somehow not surprising tho that the Bolsheviks saw this excess and revolted. Oh well Russia, lesson learned! A touch of modesty next time maybe.

6/19/12 day 55: St. Petersburg, Russia

IPM today, so I could only admire this historical city from the deck as I did my rounds. It was a weird day weather wise: party cloudy, rain, partly sunny, misty. St. Petersburg in the mist is pretty impressive. It's like all the weight of its history is hanging in the air, suspended by water. People have been walking around in this city in similar weather for hundreds of years. Very cool to imagine that.

I learned a couple new songs, "a day in the life" and "back in the ussr" by the Beatles which should go over well (considering our current location) and re-watched "I am Legend." That movie has its moments. I still love the shots of a deserted NYC. That in and of itself is spooky.

Also went on a tour of the bridge which was pretty impressive. Haven't seen that many nobs since going to frat parties at UMASS. Oh snap!!

Otherwise, not much to report. We've advanced our clocks by two hours this week, so it feels earlier than it is. I'm gonna call it a night and get ready for a long day tmrw. I am escorting a morning tour to Hermitage Museum
which by all accounts is a stunner. I'm gonna get my art on. Ugh! Yeah! Feel it!

6/18/12 day 54: St. Petersburg, Russia

8am on the pier in St. Petersburg. If you close your eyes, you could be in Seattle, New York or Kiel... Seagulls, sloshing water, cars driving by, people laughing...it all sounds the same anywhere you are.

Escorted a general sightseeing tour today. Our guide was very knowledgable. At some point it all becomes a blur though: peter the first's this or that, or cousin whoseewho's summer manor, or uncle Vladamir's park. It is amazing though. It seems every building has some historical or cultural significance. It's like a life sized, open air museum.

FYI: The Neva River is the color of creme soda however it doesn't taste like creme soda. Don't drink the water.

We drove past Stroganoff Palace,yes that Stroganoff. Apparently Mr Stroganoff couldn't chew well, so his chef cut his beef into small, chewable bites... Add mushrooms and cream? Brilliant AND delicious.

End of tour.

Somehow this day did a complete turn around. What started as a grey, windy, cold Russian morning has turned into a lovely cloudless evening. Wish I could go off the ship and enjoy it!

6/17/12 day 53: Talinn, Estonia

Woke up two hours before my alarm clock today for some reason and couldn't go back to bed. One of those times where you can't turn your brain off long enough to fall back asleep so you get up almost just to preoccupy your own mind. So frustrating. It was 0530 am.

55 degrees and raining in Estonia's capital today. Maybe not the best bike riding weather, correction, definitely NOT the best bike riding weather, but I signed up to escort a bike tour of the town. 12 guests signed up for the tour, but only 6 hearty guests actually braved the rain and showed up: a Swiss couple, and an American couple from New Jersey with their teenage son. I will admit, part of me wanted to throw in the towel but the other part was not about to appear soft in front of the guests and especially not in front of our Estonian tour guide. We threw cheap clear plastic ponchos over our heads and took off. I was literally soaked in less than ten minutes. We all were. There was a small section of my upper body that wasn't wet and that's where my iPhone lived. We made some quick stops along the way, she'd give a quick animated history lesson and a quick anecdote and then we'd peddle on. She was fairly knowledgable. She is the first tour guide in the former USSR that ive encountered that was born after 1991. She has no personal history with living in the soviet union. She is the first generation removed from that part of history which amazes me.

After about three tour stops, now oblivious to the rain, we rolled into a cafe for a hot cup of coffee and warm cinnamon bun. It was amazing. Like that first sip of hot chocolate after skiing an entire day. By now of course it had stopped raining, the tour ended, and I walked back to the ship. I took the kind of shower where you stand directly under the shower head for 10 minutes trying to simultaneously cover all parts of your body with hot water. If I had a tub, I would have done that instead. I can't remember the last time I biked in the pouring rain... Now I can say my last time was in Estonia.

6/16/12 day 52: At Sea

The highlight of a rather chill day today was definitely my last set in the club. The first set at 630 was fairly subdued. Folks usually stroll in for a pre-dinner drink and an appetizer. I play the mellow stuff, people are chilled out. In between sets I had dinner upstairs in a real restaurant, not the mess (delicious again Peter) and then rolled back down to the club at 9 for my last couple sets. There are a couple groups of folks (some fellow massholers too) that hve been on since the last cruise that come down and listen to the hits, and even ask for originals by name. There were some new faces too, but still it's pretty mellow. At about 1045 the place filled up completely, maybe like 150 people. It went from like 30 people to 150 in 15 minutes. The show upstairs in the Grand Salon got out and everyone came directly down to the club ready to party. I had the whole place singing and dancing. It was raucous. People clapping on 1 and 3, standing up for the choruses, singing at the top of their lungs... It was hilarious and exhausting. As I packed up my gear, some folks even gave me a standing O. Too funny.

6/15/12 day 51: Copenhagen, Denmark

70 degrees and mostly sunny in Denmark's capital today. I thought it would be a good day to finally take out one of the crew mountain bikes out for a spin. My buddy Chris and I cruised passed the little mermaid as China's president rolled up? Yup, you read that right. Well, maybe not the president but some high ranking Chinese official showed up at the same time. The information we got from the drunk Dane is suspect, but we heard corroborating evidence later that confirms a chinese visitor. Check your favorite news source for details. We then cruised past the Citadel, the national gallery, and headed north around the Norreport Train station. We cruised past probably 8 Döner places. This area has a very ethnic vibe to it and you see more Turkish, Somali, and Indian stores. It was lunch time by then, so I stopped for a quick kebab (not my favorite) and we headed back south to enjoy the sun along the waters edge. It was a good day to be in a bike posse.

The first night of a new cruise is hit or miss, and I am happy to report tonight was a hit. Good, appreciative, and attentive crowd. Had them singing the whole time. Should be a good cruise. We are at least off to a good start.

6/14/12 day 50: Gothenburg, Sweden

0945 entertainment staff meeting
1015 crew life boat drill
1115 lunch
1200 take the shuttle into Gothenburg

I hate to say it, but I am experiencing what the experts call "new city fatigue" as well as "Internet deficiency syndrome." It sounds lame, I know, but today I felt like I was just walking aimlessly around looking for a cafe to park it and enjoy high speed Internet and a proper cup of Joseph. In my defense, and dont take this the wrong way Swedish friends, but downtown Gothenburg seemed like one big outdoor shopping mall. Listen, I dig it just like the next cat, but I need more I think. Its not you, its me. Plus, the weather was kind of "sit inside and drink coffee weather." In any case, I had a great afternoon chilling with friends, but at the same time, I feel like I didn't maximize my time and enjoy Gothenburg as much as I could/should have. So, spent a couple of hours in town, looked around a bit, picked up a few bits at a clothing store, had a coffee, surfed the highway, and made it back to the ship by around three. That being said, I bet it's pretty amazing city in the Summer. I do regret that we don't come back to this town on my contract. Oh well, we do hit Stockholm again and I'll make it up to you Sweden (and myself).

Tonight was the last night of the cruise for most passengers. Every cruise there are "through" passengers that string two, three, sometimes four cruises together. In fact, there is one famous/infamous guest that travels like 320 days a year on this ship. Unreal, right?! Anyway, tonight I had a good crowd in the club as folks were eager to spend one more evening before what im sure for some people will be a long day of travel. Between sets I had the distinct pleasure of trying another "guest" restaurant out on the ship. Oh man. Delicious. I splurged and got a nice big steak with fries and salad. It was fairly glutinous, but a nice reward for all my hard work in the club, in the gym, and in general. It was a treat and I definitely felt extremely fortunate as I enjoyed this amazing meal and gazed out over the water, watching our wake fade out into the horizon. In these quiet moments one starts to ponder the human experience, ones life path, and funny twists of fate. You wonder how many thousands (no millions?) of people have gazed out over the same water and felt the same sense of gratitude. You wonder if you have enough ketchup on your plate for the number of fries you have. You wonder, if you order now, will you have enough time to crush a piece of chocolate
cake and really put this meal over the top? In the end, you shake your head in disbelief that you are even debating these things, sigh, and then have a sip of red wine. Life, my friends, is a funny little monkey sometimes.

6/13/12 day 49: Oslo, Norway

The first time I was in Oslo was in Sept of 2009. It was on my very first European Tour. I had my guitar on back, my huge pedal board in one hand and my suitcase in the other hand. It was snowing and yet I had sweat through all the layers of clothing I had. We played a joint called Palace Grill and the first song I played was "What I'm Looking For." The guitar was badly out of tune, and I think that night we stayed on a boat in the harbor across from the Opera House. That's really all I remember from that night. Weird to walk around this city again. Only three years have gone by but I feel like a different person.

My buddy Jason and I hit the streets after lunch. Our other companions celebrated Philipino Independence too hard last night and decided to stay in bed. We started off across the harbor towards Aker Brygge, with pier side restaurants and cafes. It was about 60 degrees and mostly cloudy but the patios were busy with people. There was a TGIFridays there and it was jumping. Jason and I both needed some time with a coffee and reliable Internet so we hit Wayne's Coffee that looked suspiciously like a Starbucks. No matter, it had Internet, that was the important thing. We then walked up towards the palace, as sun began to break through the clouds, and maybe we were experiencing palace fatigue, but we were both underwhelmed by this one. We walked east down past the University and headed into the pedestrian shopping area. I looked for red pants, which I am starting to think I will just pick up when I get back to the states. Red pants, people, everyone is wearing them and I will not be left behind in this fashion trend. We headed south to the Opera House and then back along the water to the ship.
Lots of construction along the water as with many Scandinavian port cities. ln a time of economic difficulty I wonder if they are realizing that there is money to be made with these cruise ships. I want to start opening Internet cafes in ports and cater to the crew of the ships. Good coffee, fast Internet, snacks and beer, postcards AND stamps, etc. Now I need an angel investor! Who is in?

Hosted my first table tonight. Everyone in the entertainment department "hosts" a table in the main dining room tonight was my first time. Basically, guests are invited to join you for dinner. They get to chat with the entertainers and I get an amazing dinner and a chance to connect w some of the guests. It was actually a lot of fun. My table was very cool, we were 8 total, and we chatted about travel, European economy, American healthcare. They were very curious about ship life and what it is like working on a ship. The dinner apparatus, meaning the attentive waiters, the luxurious and spacious dining area, the elegant table spread, the amazing food and the presentation were very formal but not stuffy. The meal was delicious: I had slow roasted beet and goat cheese gateau with sherry vinaigrette, and then potato leek soup with lobster croutons, and then oven roasted tenderloin with a prosciutto and gruyere filling and Gorgonzola spatzle.... Um yeah. It was bomb. I would have taken pics, but I thought I'd play it cool instead. I did have to miss dessert though as I had to play another set in the club. I had a good crowd though and will be as to see some of the guests leave the cruise in a couple days.

All in all, a pretty killer day.

6/12/12 day 48: At Sea

Had a super productive day. Learned two new songs (Lionel Richie "Stuck on You" and Gordon Lightfoot "If You Could Read My Mind) and then polished off a new original tune that is yet to be named. Even had time to hit the gym before dinner. I haven't worked out this much since '93. Now, why don't I weigh 180 pounds like I did then?

Had a good night performing too.
The crowd was fired up. Had the crowd singing Hey Jude.

On a side note, the crew celebrated Philipine Independence Day tonight, which is a big deal considering 80+% of the crew is Philipino. It was raucous. There was even a crew band. On the setlist was Adele, Nirvana, and Green Day and some stuff that sounded
like Rage Against The Machine but Philipino. I kind of felt like it was '92 and OPM was playing a frat party. I was waiting to hear "Suck My Kiss" and "Satan's Bed" into "Day Tripper." Some things never change. Will "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ever go out of style? Probably not. Ps. It smelled like teen spirit in the bar tonight.

6/11/12 day 47: Geiranger, Norway

Took the first tender to shore at 830 am this morning. This location is stunning, even more dramatic than Olden. Waterfalls, sheer rock walls, small villages clinging to the rocks, and heavy heavy fog that formed a white ceiling.

We started up the steep and winding road, pausing briefly to snap some shots of the valley below. Shorty after the photo stop, we entered the fog. And everything went white. There was still a ton of snow above the timber line. And actually, they only just opened the road for traffic. It's closed in the winter. Some of the snow drifts were as high as the bus and even higher. Imagine 11 consecutive hair pin turns through 15 meter high snow drifts on either side. We got to the look out which was completely surrounded with fog. It's unfortunate to lose the view. You really get a sense you are in the clouds though and it's almost more scary not being able to see below. You know it's a long way down.

After a coffee break at a little lodge, we continued our tour. Driving back down into the valley past slate roofed houses and some that looked like
Hobbit homes w grass, flowers and ferns on the roof, we drove past numerous waterfalls, pastures of grazing sheep, and more hairpin turns. We passed the town and pier where we arrived and continued up the other side on Eagle Road to another vantage point with stunning views. This time we saw around the bend a little to the seven sisters waterfall and an amazing view back at the village. The tour wrapped up shortly thereafter and had a little time to window shop Norwegian sweaters ($250?!) and pick up some postcards, and enjoy a coffee and cookie on the patio of a little cafe. Its not cheap here people and they don't mind taking Euros because they don't give coin change. I paid like $20 for postcards and stamps. So, if you get a postcard from me, frame it... It cost a fortune.

Apparently Geiranger is known for this special goat cheese. I looked for it in the grocery store, but no dice. You know me and cheese, best buds.

Another thing I am noticing, especially when docked with other ships is that all the shops and cafes that offer Internet are jammed. That's because the crew is always looking for good, reliable, and cheap Internet, especially in Norway where Internet service is unpredictable. In fact the only reason I stopped for coffee was because they offered Internet. I walk in and the place is jammed with the crew of the three other cruise ships in the harbor. Everyone is Skyping like mad on laptops. I couldn't even log on, let alone open skype. I'll be sending this blog via smoke signal. Just look to the horizon.

On the way out of Geiranger, we had spectacular views of three famous waterfalls: the bridal veil, the seven sisters, and the suitor. See pics.

6/10/12 day 46: Ålesund, Norway

Cold as overcast today and with no plan of attack, Chris and I left the ship shortly after lunch. It was a ghost town. All the shops were closed and everyone seemed to be at home staying warm. Towering over the town is a rocky ridge, at the top of which is a small cafe. We decided to make our way up. It was a good steep ascent, the kind where you are warmed up by the time you finish. At points precarious, this trail has definitely been there for a while. Old knee-high railings and crumbling cement steps. In a litigious society, this path would be closed down for repair but not in Norway. We made it to the top and discovered a small little cafe with souvenirs and sandwiches. The photos hanging in the entrance showed this little spot through the ages. Apparently all the hip Norwegians have been hanging here since the 50s. A little further past the cafe are a couple old cement bunkers, so clearly this spot was used in WWII. I know that the nazi army invaded Norway and set up shop along some key spots, so maybe these were their not-so-sweet remains.

After snapping a couple pics of the town, we decided to walk towards
what looked to be the "old" part of town. We passed a small harbor and rounded the corner and met up with Liam, the Scottish sound engineer on the boat. We walked for about a mile before giving up and conceding defeat: it seemed like the entire city was out of town. Desperate for wifi and a good sit, we discovered what could have possibly been the only open pub in town, Dirty Nelly's. We stopped in for a pint and blazing hot Internet speeds. We are all so used to terribly slow Internet, we couldn't believe our fortune. After updating all apps, OS, and even browsing (yes, browsing) the facebook news feed I felt like I had just plugged into the matrix. I headed back to the ship for a quick snooze before dinner and then a full night of performing.

Tonight there was an all crew, late dinner in one of the guest restaurants on the ship. The theme was Tuscany and the chefs prepared a couple different pastas and some focaccia pizzas as well as some of the desserts that the guests get for the entire crew. Considering I have a 745 wake up tomorrow to escort a tour, I quietly bowed out after a plate of tasty grub. This old cat can't hang like the youngens can.

6/9/12 day 45: Olden, Norway

Woke up today to discover we still hadnt gotten the internet and phone situation taken care of on board. I wondered if it was because we were deep in Norway and satellite reception was bad. I am assuming that is the case. I went outside to the crew deck (affectionately referred to as the "monkey deck") to see snow capped mountains surrounding the ship. It's stunning. The sun even made an appearance before slipping behind a slow moving wall of thick grey clouds. There was a pick up game of basketball up here on deck until the spa manager came up and called it off. She'd waited as long as she could she said but now guests were coming in for appointments. The crew deck is right above the spa and I can only imagine the racket caused by the game. I've learned that on the ship, it's way better to ask forgiveness than ask permission.

I have IPM today which is a real bummer. I want to run up those mountains. From the ship you can see waterfalls of melting snow rushing down sheer rock faces, disappearing into small creeks that run past farm houses, and eventually emptying back into the water of the fjord. I bet that water is tasty. I bet that water is clean and delicious. I see a snow bowl in the distance. I wish I had some skis. From my vantage point on deck 11, the town looks tiny. I think this town is more intended as a jumping off point to do some hiking and glacier appreciating. Looking down the valley I imagine huge glaciers carving out this deep valley leaving in their wake a verdant valley with some of the most beautiful and vibrant greens I've ever seen. The cobalt blue water looks like a reflection of the sky. It's just stunning.

Recommended listening: "Carved by Glaciers" by Tempe, AZ band Lymbyc System.