Don't you love the name? The King of Scandinavia is operated by a 120 year old Danish shipping line called DFDS. It's quite large, 11 decks and carries foot passengers, and cars and trucks. I just got up after a good night sleep, am sipping an americano and looking out over my trusty mac out onto a very grey dawn. We arrive Newcastle in two hours. The north sea is quite calm, so the ride's been smooth-- I was hoping for a little more action! The ship interior is well done with cafes, lounges, entertainment, shops(of course) and a dining room where they serve a scandinavian style buffet, of which I partook last night. They had put me at a table by myself (assigned with a seating chart and everything--just like on the QM2), but when I first got up to dive into the seafood selection (herring divers) i heard an American accent behind me. I said to her "Oh I thought I was the only American on board." In a perfectly flat American accent she said "No, no I'm Dutch, but my husband is American, won't you join us at our table?" Of course I said yes, and we shared a fun dinner.
By the way, I'm on my second americano now, this time with a real Danish danish (note to Sue--it's DELICIOUS!) and I've spent 12 Euro= $17 (yikes). The same thing in Germany or France would be 6-8 Euro. I had heard Scandinavia is expensive, good thing this is my only taste (tasty that is is) on this trip. I think the best way to visit this (Denmark, Norway, Sweden) part of the world would be on a cruise ship, unless of course money is no object. Dinner last night including a half liter of the ship's wine was Euro 39, (that was hard to type, I'm not going to do the math).
Meanwhile, back to the dinner table: the husband is the son of a US Navy admiral and had grown up all over the world, he met his Dutch wife in Atlanta, only because he went outside to have a cigarette, and there she was! I always think it's interesting how people meet. He's since quit the cigarettes, she's not-there's several smoking corners about the ship. Anyway, we yakked and yakked, and turned it into a two hour dinner--great fun.
We're pulling into the port of Newcastle now (my, it looks cold and grey--is that rain out there?, no,no, I'm sure it's mist). From there I'll catch a train on up to just beyond Dundee, to Carnoustie--the heart of Scotland's famous golf country. I'll spend the night there in the guest room of a lovely couple I met on the QM2 crossing the Atlantic last January. They own a seafood restaurant called The Blue Marlin where I'm really looking forward to having dinner. Cheers for now!
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