Who doesn’t know the well-known Bläck Fööss song, which is usually sung during carnival: Our family tree. The first verse ends with …su fing alles aan and then the chorus says … do sin mer all he hinjekumme… Let’s leave the Kölsch and Kölle behind, but let’s stick to the lyrics.
So how did cruising start? We became aware of it through a travel offer in my wife’s trade magazine. A well-known travel agency in Bonn was offering a group trip to Indian Summer in the New England states, including an Atlantic cruise and at a moderate price. We thought that would be something for us and booked: cruise, bus tour, return flight.
What we still needed was the right equipment, festive clothes and suitcases that would fit everything. We had the chic gentlemen on the ocean liners in mind. Compared to today’s cruise ships, they would look like small feeder ships. Even the fast steamer Deutschland was only 200 meters long, but reached 45 km/h, just like our ship, the Jewel of the Seas of the Royal Carribian shipping company with its 300 meters. And that was 100 years ago.
Back to the clothes. My wife had an evening dress tailored, I bought a tuxedo and a dinner jacket off the peg. As it turned out later, that was a bit over the top, but it earned my wife Eleonore compliments and I got mixed up with the staff, cue head waiter.
Now to the cruise: the ship had come from a Baltic voyage and docked in Harwich, a small town on the North Sea coast of Kent. It sailed via Le Havre, Plymouth and Cork into the Atlantic, then five days across the pond. It reached the New World via Portland in Main and finally moored in Boston. From there we headed into the Indian summer.
I usually report on our cruise in the form of diary entries that I wrote to our daughters. I will briefly touch on the highlights of the round trip in Indian Summer.
To Harwich, England
Dear daughters,
We set off at 4.30 a.m., the cab driver was on time. There was a traffic jam at check-in in Cologne-Bonn, a group of Eastern Europeans held us up, the formalities took time. Before the departure to Frankfurt we picked up our tour guide Mr. H.. Nice man, was still a bit tired. In Frankfurt we made our way through a thousand corridors to our departure flight to London. The most beautiful thing was the sunrise on the tarmac.
On to London with a view of the Eifelmare, Brussels, the coastline around Ostend, all nice to see from above, so good weather. We waited over London-Heathrow, in loops, which was actually a good thing, you could see the Tower of London and the Thames. When we finally landed, we waited for the second part of the group. It arrived after 2 hours. Finally, everyone was on the bus and it was off to Harwich, another 2 hours, once around London.
The ship could be seen from afar, the only skyscraper in the small town on the North Sea, so to speak. We got a nice outside cabin on board, large, double bed. Then the rescue exercise, model station V17, great. Dinner was served at 6 p.m. and everyone flocked to the main restaurant. The atmosphere at the table was subdued, some people hadn’t got their suitcases yet.
Afterwards there was a welcome show. There were a lot of Americans there. The following joke was also intended for them. The people from Harwich were amazed: “Look at the rich people on the ship, they’re standing there in their life jackets and still have to practise swimming.” The Americans laughed so hard. Well, the Jewel of the Seas is huge.
Your dad,
Harwich, 09/01/2004
Le Havre, France
Dear children,
Arriving in Le Havre in the morning, it looks like the weather will be fine. So a shore excursion is the order of the day. We’ve all been to Le Havre before, having taken the ferry to Ireland.
So we take the shuttle bus into town, Mom wants to go to Rouen. It’s an hour’s journey by train. We walked to the station and missed the train, the next one arrived in an hour.
By 12 noon we were in Rouen, it’s a beautiful city (all 15th century and older), old half-timbered houses and a very large cathedral, comparable to the High Cathedral in Cologne. But first we had lunch. Alsatian restaurant, menu entirely in the outdoor restaurant, was good, with beer from Belgium, Gremberger.
Then we visited the cathedral, huge Gothic architecture. Richard the Lionheart is buried here, albeit without his heart, along with all the other dukes of Normandy. On the way back to the station, we wandered through the old market. Mom bought 1 kg of Renekloden, so we had fresh fruit for three days.
Back to the ship. In the evening there was a movie, 4 weddings and a death. It’s always good to watch. Afterwards we met a few people from the tour group while looking for a quiet spot. Chatted about the day. Another beer after the Gremberger, terrible stuff, then we went to bed, it was already midnight.
Your dad,
Le Havre, 09/02/2004
Plymouth, England
Dear daughters,
From France back to England, to Plymouth in the county of Devon. The big ship had to anchor in front of the city, so first into the tender boat and then by double-decker bus into town.
We’ve all been to Plymouth before, can you remember? That’s the town with Sir Francis Drake, the Pilgrim Fathers and the Blitz (an air raid by the German Luftwaffe).
Mom wants to go to the museum, housed in old merchants‘ houses from the 16th century, i.e. the local history museum with a beautiful Elizabethan garden. Now for the highlight: Plymouth Gin, distillery tour with guided tour and tasting. Followed by happy hour (one is free). We then ate fish & chips in the harbor district, a large portion for both of us, greasy but good.
We went back to the ship via the Citadel and The Hoe (a hill with a beautiful view of the harbor), bus shuttle, tender boat, it took a while.
Captain hosted a reception, mom in long, me in dinner jacket. We shook hands with Capt. James MacDonald and photos were taken. It was all very relaxed. Then to dinner,
this time we knew each other better. I talked a lot about the distillery over a gin and tonic. So the day ended with more. Tomorrow we’ll be in Ireland.
Your dad,
Plymouth, 09/03/2004
Cork, Ireland
Dear Solveig, dear Louise,
We arrived in Cork, Ireland today, well not quite, because you still have to drive 20 km into the city. Cork is nothing special, do you remember Dublin? It’s pretty noisy, but the payphone call to Germany worked, didn’t it?
We strolled through the city. Mom had to go to a Catholic church, there aren’t any Protestant ones anyway. With all the trimmings: holy water, crossing ourselves, genuflecting in front of the altar and a candle for your maternal grandmother.
Afterwards we went to a tea room. We had fresh scones there, very tasty. But then we took the shuttle bus back to the ship in good time, got on the deckchairs and had a nap.
At 4 p.m. there was a little concert by the students of the music academy: The Irish Fiddlers – 8 people with piano accompaniment. It was very nice, mom overslept.
After dinner we went to the theater with a few people from the table. There was The Best of Broadway, a dance show. Afterwards we had a few gin and tonics and got to know each other better – teachers, lawyers, geographers, everyone was nice anyway. Mom stayed until the midnight buffet.
Now it’s off across the pond.
Your dad
Cork, 09/04/2004
Five days in the Atlantic, westbound
Sunday, 09/05/2004 – at sea...
There was a lot going on during the night, the ship had turned around to attend to an emergency. We had seen the coastguard boat from the cabin. At 6 a.m. a crew member had broken his neck, a fatality. The captain informed us later.
In the morning, we both went for a walk, listened to the Sunday concert and had lunch in the restaurant. In the afternoon I went to the gym and did a full program. Mrs. Eleonore went to the cinema later. Dinner at 6 pm. The mood was relaxed, even our neurotic thawed out a bit. Italian evening was the order of the day, pasta with scampi plus tiramisu. All the waiters had to sing “O sole mio”, they were good at it.
Monday, 09/06/2004 – at sea…
It was getting late. We didn’t get up until 9 a.m., had breakfast and then walked three laps of the upper deck. Now we are halfway from land to land, 1,600 nm from Ireland and the same distance again to Portland, Maine. The sea is rough, up to 9 Beaufort, it’s whistling at every turn. That’s the North Atlantic.
Nice lunch with other Germans from Hamburg. Picture auction in the afternoon, no pictures that we like, just commercial art, American ugly. Took an afternoon nap, the wife visited the jewelry exhibition, where there were matching earrings, three stones each of topaz, opal and diamond. Quite expensive, 750 dollars after all. Let’s see what happens.
Before dinner we had a delicious martini cocktail, super expensive, Mrs. Eleonore was already half gone. The atmosphere at dinner was ok, a nice lady and her niece joined us. Off to the evening performance: “Tango Argentina”, beautiful to watch, more authenticity would have looked more professional.
Afterwards, Mr. T. wanted to play from the table, so off to the casino. I played Moonraker, the one with coin pushing, lost 10 dollars, roulette would have been better. Later we chatted with the people sitting next to us, they have a large condominium in Lindenthal. Then the conversation turned to our Protestant congregation and I was able to come up with some interesting details. Then it was midnight, set the clock back an hour.
Tuesday, 09/07/2004 – at sea…
Today we had a pretty lazy day. The wife was out stetching early in the morning, without breakfast, unbelievable. Then breakfast and then 3 laps on the upper deck (1.5 km). Then the wife ran off to some event. I think she went to see the diamonds. Then showered and dressed semi-formally. The wife was totally chic to look at.
Nice evening at the table. Our neurotic talked about his childhood, growing up in the Herrenhuther boarding school near Stuttgart, no wonder he turned out the way he did. With his wife to the bar, rum cocktail, very tasty. We met the others from the group at the violin concert. It was a lovely concert. Then we looked for the ear clips, thank goodness the store was already closed. We had a nightcap at the bar and talked about our carnival activities.
Wednesday, 09/08/2004 – at sea…
There was a lot going on today. We had Mr. and Mrs. T. play shuffleboard with an American couple. Men against women. The women won 8 to 7, all with a big hello.
At lunchtime, we chewed out the chef, a German, because the potato wedges were too spicy. In the past, a chef like that would have been thrown overboard. Well, okay, we sat at the table with Americans, always left half the food on the plate, bad custom. Then we had lunch, then the gym.
In the evening, things really got going with a kind of captain’s dinner. Mrs. Eleeonore was dressed to the nines, I had the right color for a bow. We had lobster plus two desserts for the wife. Luckily, Doris (a master dressmaker) had sewn it to size. Then off to the theater: The three Celtic tenors. It was lovely to listen to.
Later, the on-board band played in the Safari Bar for dancing. Before that, a group photo, all in fine clothes. Let’s see how the pictures turned out. The wife also had to dance, she didn’t feel like it at first, but after a few cocktails it went better. The highlight of the evening was the midnight buffet, with large illuminated sculptures on ice.
Tomorrow we’re going near the coast. With a bit of luck we will be able to watch whales.
Thursday, 09/09/2004 – at sea…
After breakfast we played shuffleboard again on the aft deck. Mr. and Mrs. T. joined us and off we went. Women against men, we men won hands down (41:6). But it was fun for everyone.
Then the captain announced that the Wale were in sight, we were able to watch them all morning, actually you can only see the fountain of breath.
Lunch: We sat together with people from Baden-Württemberg. They live in the countryside, somewhere near Heilbronn, and were happy to get out for a change. They wanted to go to Freeport to buy Jean from Kevin Klein. Took a nap in the afternoon, the wife too. Hard to get up again. Then another round of mini golf.
In the evening we had something tasty to eat, the wife had duck, I had Japanese (with tempura). After dinner we went to the photo store to find and admire our group photos, one was particularly successful. A nightcap in the Scooner Bar, another great evening. Tomorrow land is in sight, the coast of Portland in the U.S. state of Maine.
Portland, Maine
Dear children,
Land was in sight this morning. At 6:30 a.m. the Coast Guard docked under our cabin. Then they came on board. After breakfast, an excursion was on the program. It was to be Portland and the surrounding area. What a disaster, the tour guide spoke such bad German that the tour guide had to step in. Well, she could and he translated.
The journey took us through small towns and then to Kennebunkport, famous for being the summer residence of former President Bush. In Kennebunkport, the bus stopped for an hour. We had to share lobster rolls, we had run out. Still tasted good.
On to the President’s summer residence, beautiful estate, lovely location, then back to the ship. Dropped mom off in Portland, put me down for a nap. Then discussed how the next day would go. Filling out customs declarations, labeling luggage tags, distributing tips, packing suitcases for the New England tour. A hectic pace spreads.
Tomorrow we’re off to Boston. The Freedom Trail is supposed to be very beautiful.
Your dad,
Portland, 09/10/2004
Boston, Massachusetts
Dear daughters,
Today we finally disembarked, always following the colors on the suitcases. Then we had Boston, Massachusetts under our feet. About the same size as Berlin, but much more manageable.
A city tour lasting several hours was on the agenda: J.F.K. Library, impressive with a view of the Sky Line, live lobster, picked up from a store by the guide (and brought back again), giant cattle, warship from 1797, the “Constitution” still sails, national heritage, downtown with strange church, Satehouse, M.I.T. and Havard University, Old and New Yard. Freshman enrollment, if you (the parents) have $40,000 a year and other qualifications. Quincy Market, everyone out, into the food court. Two beers for 10 dollars.
Then to the Hilton Hotel, but nothing special. Siesta at last, mom too, she was exhausted and didn’t feel like it afterwards. But the Back Bay district is popular, we had to go there, boulevard-like, young people, all dressed to the nines. But not for mom, see above – listless. Compromise: we went to the Prudential Arcades, a huge shopping center in Boston’s second tallest building, 52 floors. Signed up for a lobster dinner on recommendation. The restaurant is called Legal Sea Food, waited three quarters of an hour and then the beep went off. On the 52nd floor of all places. I was in need of an explanation because of security.
Now for the lobster dinner, Mom had a clue how to get to grips with the animal, I didn’t. A nice young waitress did it for me, she had a routine. She also got a good tip, 20 dollars. The evening was very nice, now off to the hotel.
By the way, September 11 is a day of remembrance in the U.S. because of Ground Zero. That’s why there was a minute’s silence in the morning. You could tell that the Americans were really preoccupied.
Tomorrow we’re off to the countryside for Indian summer.
Your dad,
Boston, 09/11/2004
This is the first part of the cruise, go on to Indian Summer.
The highs and lows of cruising, sometimes described in literary terms 