July 12, 2006
Bingo for those without brains...
Joel's turn to post.... Okay! Something is not right in the world of Bingo. If you have gone over to the Panama Canal pages over on the right, you will know that Lori and I like to play Bingo while on the ship.
In the past, the Bingo machines would require you to enter the numbers called. It was really not difficult. If the B9 ball was called, you would type the number '9' then 'enter' (no letter needed). The machine would keep track of all your cards and tell you if/when you got Bingo.
I guess that was too difficult for the denizens of the Bingo sessions. So, now the machines are wireless and need no interaction at all -- save for the jumping up and yelling Bingo. It was a bit silly to just sit there and wait for the machine to tell you to do the "Bingo Boogie."
I really don't know what was more disappointing... the automated Bingo machine
, or the fact that Lori is the person who won the last game (to the tune of $105). Call me bored or bitter; either would apply.
In the past, the Bingo machines would require you to enter the numbers called. It was really not difficult. If the B9 ball was called, you would type the number '9' then 'enter' (no letter needed). The machine would keep track of all your cards and tell you if/when you got Bingo.
I guess that was too difficult for the denizens of the Bingo sessions. So, now the machines are wireless and need no interaction at all -- save for the jumping up and yelling Bingo. It was a bit silly to just sit there and wait for the machine to tell you to do the "Bingo Boogie."
I really don't know what was more disappointing... the automated Bingo machine
, or the fact that Lori is the person who won the last game (to the tune of $105). Call me bored or bitter; either would apply.
July 11, 2006
Kiel Canal - Germany - A day at Sea
Left - The weather - it's raining (just like home)! At least today is a day at sea.
This morning, our ship traveled through the Kiel Canal in Germany. This canal links the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. The canal starts near the mouth of the River Elbe at Brunsbuttel and reaches the Baltic at Kiel-Holtenau near the port of Kiel. It is a 61 mile journey. It's sort of like the Ballard Locks on steroids or the little brother of the Panama Canal.
Left - Our ship approaching the locks. This is the longest ship that has traversed the canal.
Right - Many locals came out to see our ship go through the locks. A small German brass band was there to greet us. Joel kept yelling "do Freebird!"
Below Right - The ship in the locks. Once we were in, the water level was lowered three feet.
Below Left - There was a very small gap in-between the ship & the side of the canal at times.
Below & Right - The ship needed to pass under a couple of bridges in the canal. Since the ship was too tall, the crew had to flip the stack and drop the mast.
From London to Dover
Yesterday morning (after a good night's sleep), we left London & traveled about 120 miles by train to Dover.
Right - The white cliffs of Dover
Below - A castle above Dover's white cliffs.
Left - After arriving in Dover, we boarded the Norwegian Dream. Since all of the cabin doors on the ship look the same, we decorated ours (and are the envy of our corridor).
July 9, 2006
A Tired Day in London
While we spent our 1st night actually on the airplane, our 1st night in a hotel was spent in the Royal Garden Hotel in London. It was right next to Kensington Palace & Gardens (our room actually had a view of the palace).
We were both very tired from the long flight, so not too much was done today.
Left - The view from our hotel room. Kensington Palace is in the upper left-hand corner of the picture.
Above - We strolled through the Kensington Palace Gardens saw the Prince Albert Memorial and actually went inside of the palace.
We were both very tired from the long flight, so not too much was done today.
Left - The view from our hotel room. Kensington Palace is in the upper left-hand corner of the picture.
Above - We strolled through the Kensington Palace Gardens saw the Prince Albert Memorial and actually went inside of the palace.
Both of us brought cameras, so there will likely be picture wars throughtout the trip.
Left - We then decided to take a tour bus around town. This allowed us to get an overview of the city & get on & off the bus as we pleased all day long.
Yes, these are actually all over London.
Left - We then decided to take a tour bus around town. This allowed us to get an overview of the city & get on & off the bus as we pleased all day long.
Yes, these are actually all over London.
We're Off!!!!
Ready or not, we're off to Europe!
The cats thought that the luggage was loads of fun to play on.
Picking up our bags at the airport in London after two very long flights. There is an 8 hour time difference between home and London, so our eating and sleeping schedules are a bit messed up.
The cats thought that the luggage was loads of fun to play on.
Picking up our bags at the airport in London after two very long flights. There is an 8 hour time difference between home and London, so our eating and sleeping schedules are a bit messed up.
July 1, 2006
Learning Russian Phrases - Yikes!
In preparation for the trip to St. Petersburg, we are attempting to learn a few Russian key words/phrases.
Russian is written using the Cyrillic alphabet. While some number of letters are written and pronounced as in English (A, K, M, O, and T), other letters are written using the Roman alphabet but are pronounced differently, i.e. Y/y is pronounced 'oo' as in food and X/x is pronounced 'ch' as in the word 'lock.'
Below is a link to a list of some English to Russian common phrases.
English-Russian Phrases
Russian is written using the Cyrillic alphabet. While some number of letters are written and pronounced as in English (A, K, M, O, and T), other letters are written using the Roman alphabet but are pronounced differently, i.e. Y/y is pronounced 'oo' as in food and X/x is pronounced 'ch' as in the word 'lock.'
Below is a link to a list of some English to Russian common phrases.
English-Russian Phrases
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