May 5, 2024 Greenwich, England Last day of 138 days!!!

 We started with a sail up the Thames River. We went up to the Explorer's Lounge to get a front row seat.

Above is our first look at London.

On the right is a closer look at some iconic buildings in the London skyline.

Below is the Thames River flood control. It is able to lower gates to hold back King tides from causing flooding in the city. They say it has only been used a couple of times since installed and completed in 1984. It had red and green lights on it directing traffic through them.

This is the Cutty Sark. When built, in 1869, it was the fastest ship, and could make the run to India and back with a fresh load of tea 11 days quicker that any other ship. It was able to achieve this speed due to the wood hull covered with metal which prevented mussels and barnacles from clinging to the ship and slowing it down. It was also able to hold more cargo due to a steel reinforced hull which didn't require the internal supports.

This is former Royal land with Churches and Palaces that were started and never finished, or currently no longer used for them. Now there is a music college, museum, and public spaces.

We are tendered not docked, so this is how we are transported back and forth from the ship to the dock. It will be a little harder tomorrow when we have our carry on bags with us.

At the top of the hill is the observatory. It is also where the Greenwich Mean Time is located. Above if you look one side is a clock, and the other side is a wind vane and showing the direction of the wind. The building on the right was changed to house the injured or disabled sailors. The wind vane goes down through the building so the sailors didn't have to go outside to know which way the wind was blowing. Another added comfort was from a nearby brewery were the sailors enjoyed their favorite brew right from their home as it was piped to them. 

I hope you can blow this picture up as the sculpture honors the life of Captain Nelson who helped win the battle of Trafalgar, and his statue is in Trafalgar Square in London.

These pictures do not tell the whole story of our day. It started out in sunshine and warm. The clouds came in, but no rain again today. Thanks England for a great visit.

May 4, 2024 Dover, England, 1 day left of 138

 We all have heard of the white cliffs of Dover. I saw these on my first trip to England in the late 70's, and it left an impression. It was a delight to get to see them again.

Dover is the nearest city to France across the English Channel. Its strategic location, and as the port was under constant threat because of its location, the massive Dover Castle provided protection. Note the arches and windows on the cliff face. During WWII this was an important troop garrison, and first line of defense of England.

Today our excursion is Historic Canterbury. The area we are going to walk around has Roman walls and gates.

I love the way they are preserving history. They find a way to keep their treasures, and use the buildings. Cars and buses are able to navigate their way through very narrow streets and gates.

This gate was built for a Royal wedding between a Catholic King of England, and a Catholic Spanish Queen. It was to build relations between the two countries, and strengthen the Catholic church in England. Unfortunately the marriage was not a long one the King died young, and his brother married Catherine of Aragon, his brother's wife. After a few years, another woman caught Henry the VIII eye, and he requested the Pope's blessing on a divorce, which was not given. Henry the VIII banished the Catholic Church, and started the Anglican Church of England with him as the head of the church. He divorced Catherine of Aragon and married his second wife. The Catholic church behind this gate is now an Anglican Church.

 

Below you can see it is being restored and cleaned, so not easy to see the full effect. That is the story everywhere we have been, scaffolding and constant work to keep up these historic buildings. This building has been under restoration for 8 years, and they are nearly finished.

This is the King and Queen of England from the past in a garden.

If you notice we are in England with blue sky and sunshine. This has been an epic day. We were told that yesterday it poured rain, so we just hit it right.

As we were walking back toward the bus we passed the crooked house. The story is that the house was built straight, but at some point someone thought it would be a good idea to remove some support beams. The house shifted, and has since been supported, but was left crooked. Don't be afraid, just step in and look around.

We had our last show by the staff, so our last time to see our Sky Vocalists on the stage.

May 3, 2024 Honfleur, France 2 days left

If it is Friday we are in Honfleur, France. This is as close as this cruise will come to Paris, so there are three buses taking a 10 hour trip to Paris for guests to enjoy a 3 hour visit. We are heading back to Normandy and the D-Day landing, we saw Utah beach yesterday, and today we will see Omaha beach, Port Winston, Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches. 

Today our tour started at the other end of the beaches that were used for D-Day. Sword beach was taken by the British, Juno by the Canadians, and Gold by the British. Winston Churchill had come up with the idea of making temporary harbors that could be set up to bring in supplies for the war during WWI, he resurrected the idea, when it was determined that the Germans had the current harbors well defended so the idea was raised again. The British set up a harbor at Gold beach within days of the landing. The Americans also set one up at Utah beach, but a weather event wiped it out before it could be useful. Ships were scuttled, and then these forms were towed into place and filled with water for a break water and areas to dock the supply ships. They also made platoon bridges to bring all the supplies to the beaches. It was very effective, and was used by the allies until early 1945 to land 2.5 million soldiers, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of supplies. Above is what is still in place 80 years later.

Above is the flag they are flying at Omaha Beach to celebrate the 80th D-Day Anniversary.

To the right you will see part of the anti tank sea wall that the Germans erected in their 4 years of occupation. They left access points, but that just improved their ability to defend a potential threat coming in from the beach.

This is a statue erected by the US armed services on one of the anniversaries.

On the right is one of the devices that were put in the Ocean that would not be seen at high tide, but if hit by a landing craft it would tip it over or damage it so it would sink, others had mines on the top. The Allies knew about these and planned to arrive at low tide so they could see the obstacles and avoid them. They also planned to have engineers in the first wave to destroy the obstacles before the tides rose and covered them and made it dangerous to continue to land the landing crafts. The Germans had made good plans to try to prevent anyone from trying to bring Armies in via the beaches.

American's who died on the beaches and surrounding areas were buried here not far from the beach. It was decided that this was not the best place, so everything was moved up on a hill, and there were numerous cemeteries around the area.

Mike is standing next to a part of the pontoon bridge from the dock to the beach. This is how supplies, jeeps, small equipment, and anything else needed was transferred from the  Mulberry harbour. Note I use the British spelling of harbor.

Our last stop was at the Normandy American Cemetery. This is a beautiful peaceful 172 acre spot that was thoughtfully planned.

This is a 20 foot statue at the beginning of the tour. This area is maintained by the US, and very well presented.

Below is the ceiling above another monument in the area.

There are 20,000 crosses or star of David to mark the graves which all face West to the USA. The crosses are all identical, with the exception of 6 which one is seen in the picture to the left. The ones with the identical information written in gold are for the medal of honor recipients. The cemetery only holds a portion of the fallen solders. 60,000 where sent home to the US for burial. 

If a fallen solders family comes to the cemetery, they arrive at guest services and are escorted to the grave site and a small service is performed.

The French have a volunteer group Les Fleurs de la Memoire that adopts graves of American servicemen who died during the invasion. They encourage the French families to lay flowers on the graves when American families can't do it. They are encouraged to visit and decorates their grave yearly. They are identified by a yellow band on their upper arm when visiting the grave.

It was an emotional day.

As we arrived back to the port after a more than 9 hour day of emotions. We are met by the Viking staff awaiting our return. Our bus driver and guide were the first to see this sight, and our bus driver started honking his horn. As the other drivers returned they did the same. 

There was music playing, hands clapping, dancing, smiles, and a special welcome back with hot chocolate. Viking staff making every day special.

When we arrived home, and had a sleep, I awoke to find I had missed a video call from my son. There were pictures, so Mike and I were quite excited when Eric called again and we were able to meet our newest Grandchild Drew Hall Adams. He and Mom are doing great. Stats are as follows, he made his entrance into the world at 6:12 pm on May 3,  2024, 7 lbs 13.8 oz and 20 inches long. It looks like he has dark hair. Surprise Drew did not want to wait until we arrived home to make his appearance. We are happy to welcome him to the family, and can't wait to be able to hold him. Good job Katie!

May 2, 2024 Cherbourg, France, 3 days left of 138

 As we are drawing to the end of our adventure, we are experiencing some of our most emotional excursions. Today we are going to Utah Beach, one of the beaches the Americans landed on June 6, 1944 the day known as D-Day. This June 6th will be a celebration of the 80th Anniversary. You can see the preparations all around the area, new museums, signs welcoming the returning liberators, our guide spoke reverently about the men who came to their aid. We felt very welcomed by the locals, and other visitors to the area. 

This is the church in St. Mere-Eglise. Paratrooper John Steele and 2 other paratroopers got hung up in the church with their parachutes. One of the men died on impact, one was able to get down and made his way back to safety, and John hung there for several hours until he was rescued by the Germans and became a prisoner. He was able to escape later and make his way back to safety. They hang this parachute and likeness of him on their church to remember. Below you will also see that the churches stained glass windows have the history of the parachute jump and D-Day immobilized, to remember.

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Note below the American soldier using the bike to make his way to the fight. They have cleverly placed reminders around the town.

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Above is a statue of "The Lone Sailor in Normandy" this was to honor the U.S. Navy and Allied Sailors who played an integral role in the success of the Battle of Normandy, enabling Allied forces to enter and move across Europe to rid the world of Axis tranny.

Mike walked into one of the bunkers, and this was displayed. Rommel had been in charge of protecting the French coast line. The Germans had 4 years to prepare for the invasion they were sure would come. Rommel's plan included 15,000 bunkers to be built, which 7,000 were completed before D-Day. They built anti tank sea walls, trenches, and flooded the areas leading away from the beach.                          

This is 0 Kilometers, or the starting point of the road followed by General Patton's Army in 1944. It is the symbol of the way to victory followed by Allied troops. This sits in front of their city hall.

Not a great picture, but we were told that the Germans prepared for an invasion. They cut down trees, removed homes, and this is two fortified bunkers with a clear field of fire. The armies had to run at and destroy these to move inland. It appeared to be a daunting feat.

If you look at the beach as the tide is going out, you will see the distance our troops had to cross to get to the safety of the sea wall, but this was only a short stop as they still needed to climb the wall and continue to move inland. For every battle fought and won, there were always more to follow.

This is another bunker built by the Germans. This is one of many that was 2 miles inland. After the war, land that had been taken over by the Germans was returned to the original landowners. Many left the fortifications that had been built by the Germans, some found uses for them, others just left them and used the land around them. It was great to be able to see the full extent the Germans had completed in their 4 years of occupation.

It was an informative and special tour today. We were quietly contemplating and thankful for our freedom as we returned to our ship. We frequently during this trip talk about how fortunate we are in our lives. We thank all who have served to protect this freedom. It does come with sacrifice and the ultimate sacrifice was evident today.

After some nourishment, we were ready to do a quick walk about in the town of Cherbourg.

They have an umbrella factory. We could see their staff making umbrellas one at a time the old fashion way. I loved the entrance which has all these umbrellas going up the atrium area. Mike was trying to catch me one. 

This is Sainte-Trinite Basilica, the place of Napoleon, and one of the oldest monuments in Cherbourg.

Right outside the above Basilica is the statue of Napoleon. We were told he was pointing toward England, but the pamphlet we picked up says he was pointing toward the military port of Cherbourg, for which he pursued the construction work initiated by Louis 16th. Can I say it again. There is history all around us.