Not Lost, Wandering

Shore Days: Palma, Mallorca

May 9, 2023 / john.a.krog

In many ways Palma was as it was 35 years ago when I visited last. The huge, old buildings were still standing and the main boulevards continued to flow with the energy of the city. However, the shear number of people, both locals and tourists was overwhelming. Simply put, over the past three decades tourism has taken over the town and made it a place I do not want to visit again.

I did however, get to do what I had originally planned which was to pick up my previously reserved rental e-bike near the center of Palma at Call&Ride Mallorca and take it first up to Bellve Castle for incredible views of greater Palma and then down to ride much of the famous Palma promenade. The promenade travels the length of the coast for about 10 kilometers passing in front of Palma proper and along the massively built-up for tourism coastline and beautiful beaches. The promenade is nicely designed with clearly marked bike and separate pedestrian lanes. The bike lanes, for the most part, have lane markings with direction of travel indicators painted on the pathway making easy to navigate.

Like Palma itself, the bike and pedestrian paths were crowded. Especially closer to Palma. There were constant tourist bicycle “pace lines” that I either had to battle to get past or watch closely as they passed right beside me going the other direction – often not really paying attention or staying in their lane.

Shore Days: Lisbon & Cadiz

May 5, 2023 / john.a.krog

After eight days of nothing but “sea days” we finally reach terra firma much to the relief of the landlubbers on board like me. Just the idea of being able to walk without feeling and looking like a sailor who has had a wee bit too much grog was appealing. Plus, for me, there’s the draw of being able to leave the ship’s stationary and get on an actual, bonafide two-wheeled contraption and see the world pass by not on a computer screen, but in real life. Lots more fun!

Lisbon Free Bike Tours: “Lisbon Center to Belem and Back”

After checking to see if my prefered method of self-designed adventuring would suffice for a day in a large port city like Lisbon I decided to opt for a guided bike tour in lieu of a possible self-guided bicycling disaster. I found a number of options online but the one that intrigued me the most was “Free Bike Tours Lisbon” and its offer of a four-hour, 20 kilometer, guided bicycle tour mostly along the Lisbon waterfront to the famous Belem Tower and back. For FREE! Well, sort of. But not really. And they were straight up with how it works. You see, the bikes are free but the guides are “volunteers” and they would very much like a tip after the tour. So I figured, what the hell, and gave it a go.

Fortunately, the free bike tours shop was not too far away from the Lisbon cruise ship terminal and not difficult to find with the help from the MAP.ME app. A visit to an ATM along the way and I was “armed” with Euros for the tip I was expected to make in a few hours. Then on to where this little, shoe-box bicycle operation was headquartered to meet cheerful Miguel, the owner and chief “volunteer” guide. After outfitting the small crowd with fairly new and well-maintained bicycles we broke into two groups and headed out onto the busy streets and bike paths of Lisbon. My guide, Pedro, was a middle-aged fellow who was simply full of historical information about Lisbon. We wound in and out of the city working our way generally toward our eventual goal – the Belem Tower. We biked across large statue-centered squares and through Lisbon’s famous “Pink Street”, Rua Nova do Carvalho, once a center of prostitution but now an upscale nightlife scene with plenty of bars. Along the way we stopped for refreshements at Gandalata, a popular local snack and beverage business (we were clearly the only non-tourists there). Later, not far away we stopped and joined the masses of mid-week tourists for one of Lisbon’s famous and historical monastary sweets (Pastes de Belem), a pastry from Antiga Confeitaria de Belem on Rua de Belem 84-92.

After working our way through huge throngs of tourists we made it to Belem Tower. The line to get in was simply too long for us to wait for so we enjoyed the moment and headed back by a somewhat different route to the bike shop.

What most amazed me was the incredible number of tourists during early tourist season on a mid-week day. And this mass of tourist-humanity was at every possible Lisbon “attraction”. At one of the cathedrals where we stopped to listen to Pedro give us his history lesson, there were two lines, each with hundreds of people in them all standing under the hot and humid Lisbon sun. And this was to be able to actually pay to go into a church!

Our last stop was at the Padrao dos Descobrimentos, a huge white marble waterside monument to many of the figures from Lisbon’s past who helped shape what this major city has become.

After over four hours of bicycling fun it was time to tip our guide (it appeared that most in our group gave Pedro 20 Euros as did I). Hot, thirsty and ready for a shower I staggered back to the Valiant Lady for a couple of very important hydration beverages. As I took my shower I painfully discovered I made the same mistake that I made in Bimini. I failed to put sunscreen on and was mildly sunburned. One would think I would know better by now!

Cadiz: Another Bike Ride + More Walking than I Bargained for

None of the tour guided offerings I found online for Cadiz looked appealing to me. They all were more expensive than the Lisbon “free” tour and their descriptions simply sounded boring to me as they focused on riding past cathedrals, museums and the like. So I decided to create my own tour – assuming I could find a bike shop with rental bicycles.

I discovered online a small bike shop in the center of old town Cadiz that had very good reviews so I did a bit of pre-departure MAPS.ME app mapping and, once the ship finally docked in Cadiz, headed to find Las Bicis Naranjas and see if I could secure a rental bike. With the erratic help from my pre-established map.me app location I headed into the bewildering maze that is old Cadiz. There is no rhyme or reason for the street layout nor why one narrow, cobblestone lane should be labeled a one way street and not another. An only a few intersection had any type of indication of their name and each little street seemed to have a different name according to my iPhone’s map app. After trial and error I spotted a small crowd of people standing next to a few bicycles that stuck out a bit into the “street”. The shop was tiny! It made the little Lisbon bike shop look huge. But it was jammed full of bikes of all types including their “rental fleet”. For a mere 10 Euros I was handed a step-through cruiser and sent off on my way.

At first it was totally fun and actually easy to find the excellent bike paths that go around the island / isthmus that is Cadiz. I was able to easily find the long and narrow path out to the isolated Castillo de San Sebastian, ride past the famous Roman Theater (Teatro Romana), past the beautiful and inviting La Caleta Beach and near the Santa Catalina Castle.

After circling back to where I started my circle-the-isthmus ride it was nearing my required 2;00 pm bicycle return time (they close at 2 pm and then reopen at 5 pm). I began the process of re-finding the little bike shop among the many narrow, and by now, very busy streets fillied with local and tourist pedestrians, delivery trucks, and rapidly moving motorbikes but only a few bicycles. It was started becoming stressful and my maps.me GPS app was struggling mightily with not being able to find satellites with the narrow streets lined with multi-story buildings. Eventually, just before 2pm, I found the bike shop and returned the bike.

Now it was time to find my way by foot to a couple of other places I wanted to visit. I eventually refound the ancient Roman theater but it was closed to the public. I then went looking for the famous Torre Tavira (an old watch tower) and its equally famous “camera obscura”. Supposedly the views from the top of the tower of the city are spectacular but by now there was a huge tourist crowd waiting to get in so I decided to pass on this attraction and head back to the ship.

While trying to use the maps.me app I discovered that my iPhone was nearly out of battery. And, to make matters worse, the app locked up and the phone locked me out – something it’s never done before. So now I was in the middle of the Cadiz street maze, couldn’t see in any direction very far due to the crazy maze-like layout of the streets and my smartphone map app was no longer smart.

After a number of tries in different directions I decided to put the sun at my back and keep walking knowing that no matter what I’d eventually reach the sea and could then find the ship. As luck and a bit of skill happened I actually walked almost directly – remember, in Cadiz one simply cannot walk directly anywhere – towards the Valiant Lady. I was almost overwhelmed at the number of people who where out and about in the afternoon compared to the morning when I was looking for the bike shop. Having to literally constantly dodge locals who knew where they were going and expected me to move out of their way and hordes of tourists who were mostly gawking at the sights added to the challenge of my trek through the streets of Cadiz. It was so good to be back on board my home of the last two weeks!

Sea Days Part 2 (Food)

May 3, 2023 / john.a.krog

Eight Days at Sea with Nothing but the Atlantic Ocean – Part 2

Food of all types is available on board the Valiant Lady. There are six reservations- required, high-end, specialty restaurants plus another dozen or so drop in eateries available to Sailors.

The Specialty Themed Restaurants

My first theme restaurant experience was dinner at The Wake, a steak and sea food specialty eatery located at the aft of the Valiant Lady where diners have views of the ocean fading off into the distance with the ship’s wake painting a lighter blue line towards the horizon.

I enjoyed a perfectly prepared and presented salmon filet. To me, the most amazing selection ordered by one of my table mates was a “tomahawk” – essentially a ribeye beef steak specifically cut with at least five inches of rib bone left intact. The one ordered by this hungery fellow had a rib bone attached of at least 18”! Of course, then there needed to be a full show of the waiter carving the ribeye for consumption and presenting the massive amount of meat and fat to its eventual consumer. I’d never seen a tomahawk before. (I found out later that this particular menu item required an additional $75 charged to the Sailor’s cabin “wallet” above and beyond the all-inclusive food available. Pay to die early? Not I.)

(ADD THE NEXT RESTAURANT EXPERIENCES HERE)

The Various “Drop-In” Eateries

Where do I start with this amazing collection of places to solve one’s hunger issues? The very first place I got my early taste of cruising was at the ICE CREAM STATION

There’s much more to tell and I will but I want to post this before moving on to “Shore Days”.

Sea Days Part 1

May 1, 2023 / john.a.krog

Eight Days at Sea with Nothing but the Atlantic Ocean – Part 1

Life aboard the Valiant Lady after we left Bimini has been much busier than I anticipated. How would one pass eight days of time when there’s nothing but beautiful blue Atlantic Ocean in all directions as far as one can see?

The Valiant Lady Moves

Step outside and the first thing I noticed was the steady, straight-line forward movement of this large sea-going vessel on windy but mostly calm seas. Then I noticed a not so steady but somewhat rythmic mild side to side and fore and aft movement. I discovered that this rythmic rocking made it just a little bit challenging to walk without a bit of the drunk sailor look. Early in our first day out from Bimini a few passengers were looking for sea sickness pills. I never got fully sea sick but it took me a couple of days to not feel a bit queasy when moving about the ship. Fortunately my mild symptoms faded and it was often humorous to me when I would be walking along and find myself “wandering” in a not so straight line.

English Not Spoken Here

Right away I realized that the vast majority of the crew, while exceptionally pleasant and almost overly helpful, did not speak English as their first language. And, for me anyway, often their accents – sometimes heavy – made it challenging to communicate with them. I found it especially difficult and sometomes frustrating to try to exchange information with the restaurant wait staff. Add the seemingly constant background noise from the ship’s operation and the constant and endless music – either recorded or live and broadcast over the ship’s speaker system and I often had to ask the waitperson to repeat themselves. I was not the only passenger who noticed this but how can one complain when the staff is so pleasant and attentive?

The Weather & The Storm

The first few days sailing from Bimini were absolutely beautiful. Blue skies, warm temperatures, and a pleasant warm breeze. This brought the sun-lovers out in droves. Everywhere there was somewhere outside to sit, lay, lounge, or even walk there were people taking advantage of the tropical conditions. Inside the ship’s general public areas it sometimes seemed no one was on board. Then I’d go outside for a walk and discover there were crowds of Valiant Lady Sailors.

Then, about five days out the storm hit. The captain and his crew knew it was coming and sent out a warning text message on the Virgin Voyage app. Unfortunately for me, the seas got so rough that the one show I really wanted to see – Dual Reality, “a circus on a whole new theatrical level” – was canceled so as to not put the circus performers at risk with a ship moving about unpredicatively.

The peak of the storm happened at night. I was asleep in my interior cabin when I was awakened by the sounds of very nearby lightening and thunder. Some of the Sailors with exterior cabins were “entertained” by quite a show by seamother nature. Some shared photos and videos of cushions flying out to sea and of deck chairs in a tangled mess. Some mentioned that a few cabins in the front of the ship – the most expensive “Rock Star” cabins – even experienced a bit of flooding. The following morning the cruise Facebook group page was full of photos, videos, and descriptions of the number of sea spouts that developed near the ship. Some people were delighted with nature’s demonstration, some were simply scared. Unfortunately I never saw one but did see lots of Facebook videos of the spouts.

Now, nearing Lisbon, the seas have calmed and the deck chairs, lounges and outdoor eateries are again full of Sailors.

Sailors of All Types and Stripes

It was very obvious even before I boarded the Valiant Lady that this was going to be a very everyone-is-welcome cruise. The Facebook cruise group quickly was populated with a number of sub-groups including a fairly large LGBTQ+ group. And they are clearly on board. What’s interesting to me is how everyone seems to be fine with the incredible variety of people who occupy the ship.

Nonetheless, us homo sapiens do tend to gather in our respective “tribes”. The foodies can be found happily eating and drinking in the excellent specialty restaurants, the exercise junkies gather in the various exercise facilities, and those who are what I would call “very large” – 250 lbs and often more – seem to have chosen a certain number of hot tubs near the pools with which to slip into to the exlusion of thinner folk like myself. What I find so interesting is those “large folk” – men and women – seem to be very comfortable wearing the same type of bathing attire that the less large folk wear. No body shaming on this ship!

Bimini and The Atlantic

May 1, 2023 / john.a.krog

Bimini and the Bimini Beach Club

A beautiful Sunday morning greeted us at the dock at Bimini, Bahamas, our very first “Port of Call”. Unlike many cruise companies, Virgin Voyages does not own its own Bahamas resort. Instead, it rents the already existing Hilton developed Bimini Beach Club for exclusive use when one of its cruise ships calls on Bimini. Virgin Voyages provides a constant shuttle service from the ship to the club and back so it’s easy to visit the club and enjoy as much time a you might want at the beach before heading back to the ship.

After a bite of breakfast and with bathing suit and beach towel in hand it’s off on the shuttle to the Beach Club. The setting and facility is simply amazing. A beautiful white sand beach stretches out in front of hundreds of umbrella shaded lounge chairs while two fresh water swimming pools sit nearby with music provided by a DJ and a collection of female and male “mermaids” complete with fish tails play among the guests. Not far away are a number of cabanas that mix all sorts of tropical cocktails for thirsty sun lovers. So a swim in the warm Caribbean water is up first with a margarita in hand. Then to the swimming pool to party in fresh water with dozens of pool-mates and our floaties while attempting to keep time to the music.

I attempted but failed to limit my time in the sun and ended up with a mild case of sun burn. Oh well, the price one pays to hang out at the beach, eh? So, back to the ship to clean up, shower and dress for the somewhat delayed Sail Away Party.

Sail Away Party – Bimini Style

Because we were unable to have the typical Miami departure Sail Away Party we had one while leaving Bimini. What a production Virgin Voyages puts on! Just before 6 pm recorded music started at the pool, the champagne glasses got passed out to all, and an MC took the mike and started introducing the dancers while the crowd either looked on while consuming their free champagne or participated by dancing in the pool. Shortly thereafter the MC introduced the band that had entered the stage and, with another glass of champagne in hand, the party picked up another notch. Now it was time for a few of the guests to dance in the pool fully dressed and the champagne, of course, continued to flow.

By now the margarita I enjoyed while swimming in the Carabean and the multiple glasses of champagne had done their damage (along with a bit too much beach club sun) so it was time for me to call it a day. For those “stronger” than I the party continued deep into the night if one was so inclined.

Now to cross the Atlantic

That evening, while I found my cabin early after pizza and beer (yes, more alchohol), the Valiant Lady headed out on the Atlantic Ocean towards the European Continent for those eight “sea days” I was so unnecessarily worried about.

We’ll eventually arrive at Lisbon, then Cadiz, and then Palma for a day stop at each port before the cruise eventually ends at Barcelona. As you probably have figured by now, I’ve made tentative plans at each of these stops.

Miami Sail Away

April 25, 2023 / john.a.krog

The Valiant Lady debarks from Virgin Voyages (VV) Miami Terminal V and, as cruise ships typically do, sails during the night to dock the following day at the next port of call.

Cuban Spoken Here

But first I needed to get from my airport hotel to the ship. This short ride turned out to be unexpectedly different than I anticipated. I “hailed” an Uber and when the driver arrived he smiled, said “hi” with a heavy accent, and then displayed his cell phone screen to me and said something in Spanish. It took me a bit to understand what was happening but I figured out he, like my airport-to-hotel shuttle driver, had arrived from Cuba and did not speak but a smattering of English but instead used his mobile phone translation app to communicate with those of us only capable of communicating using English. No matter, we had a blast and laughed all the way to the port “chatting” through our devices. Welcome to Florida, John!

JLo is on the scene

Virgin Voyages wanted to use the opportunity the ship was docked in Miami to film marketing videos with their celebrity spokesperson, Ms. Jennifer Lopez. So they pushed all boarding times out two hours from the originally stated times. No one ever actually saw JLo – only her racks of clothes – or Richard Branson either, but apparently they successfully accomplished what needed to be done so we could finally start boarding the Valiant Lady (VL) – a mere two hours past the originally assigned boarding times but for some simply too long to wait.

Bayside Marketplace Visit

As my boarding time was pushed from 2 pm to 4 pm and my hotel check-out time was noon, I had some hours to kill. I was able to drop off my large check-in luggage at the terminal (later to be found in front of my cabin) and then catch a shuttle back into Miami from Portmiami to Bayside Marketplace. It was a Saturday so the locals and tourists were both out in force. Bayside is a huge shopping, eating and entertainment facility and a perfect place for me to adjust to Miami warmth and humidity, and get my Eastern time zone legs under me. Besides the bay being busy with a variety of tourist boat offerings, two very large things stood out: the huge Hard Rock Cafe building and the impressive Skyviews Miami Observation Wheel.

Look closely and you can see the Valiant Lady in the distance to the right of the Observation Wheel and to the left of the Wheel an edge of the Hard Rock Cafe guitar sign can be made out.

Time to board the Valiant Lady

Soon it was time to take the shuttle back to the ship and join the mass of cruise tourist humanity. Even though all Valiant Lady Sailors had been sent constant and multiple reminders to NOT show up early for their new scheduled boarding times the anxious VL cruisers were determined to not follow instructions. After spending too much time standing in line while in the Army I refused to stand in this line. It was obvious many had already stood for hours with their carry-on luggage. Instead, I wandered about taking photos and then found a place to sit and wait it out. The photo below only shows one of many lines of many hundreds of people waiting and waiting and waiting.

After suffering through a seemingly endless wait my 4 pm group – the last group to board – began the process of finally being allowed to be on the ship. We stopped at a number of stations (passport control, wristband issue, security screening, etc.) before actually getting on board the Valiant Lady. I wandered about the ship just trying to get an early and very basic “lay of the land”. I was pleased to discover that I could look back from the Valiant Lady and see the Observation Wheel and the very large lettering on the next door Hard Rock Cafe at the Bayside Marketplace where I had been just hours earlier.

Departing Miami

Most cruises have some sort of celebration to start off the cruise while watching the departure port skyline slowly disapper. Virgin Voyages is no different. But, because of the late boarding process our “Sail Away Party” would have to wait until we departed Bimini. Plus it was dark and raining steadily when we finally pulled away and headed out to sea so any party would have been pretty damp.

Nonetheless, I ventured out into the warm rain and evening darkness to capture a bit of video of our steaming out of Miami harbor.

So This is Cruising. Really?

April 21, 2023 / john.a.krog

As this would be my first cruise ever, my initial concern was how in the world was I going to pass the time during a 16-day, 15-night transatlantic crossing. This would be a cruise that, for over a week – eight days in a row to be precise, would experience “sea days” with nothing but views of the Atlantic Ocean to gaze upon. It’s over 4,000 miles between Miami and Lisbon, Portugal, our first European port of call! I started thinking about what books to pack and how I should probably start downloading hours of podcasts as there’s probably no Internet connectivity out in the middle of nowhere. I figured there would be plenty of food so I shouldn’t starve and maybe a few first-run movies to watch so I wouldn’t be totally bored.

Boy, was that thinking ever a massive cruise rookie mistake!

As I started to explore what the actual Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady “Miami to Med” cruise entailed, I discovered that it offered almost non-stop entertainment and activities. It didn’t take long to figure out that if I chose to participate in even a few of the offerings there would be very little time – or necessity – to read or listen to podcasts.

I found out there is no “main dining room” on the Valiant Lady where all meals are served but rather six reservations-required, uniquely themed restaurants plus another dozen or so drop-in eateries available for my food requirements. And, lucky me – each of the 20 or so places to eat has its own connected or nearby bar so finding an adult beverage aboard should be no problem. In addition to the established food locations almost every night there is a dinner show available at one of the venues that are later converted into nightclubs complete with live music or Vegas-style acts.

The six reservation-required restaurants include The Wake (Elegant Steak and Seafood), Pink Agave (Upscale Mexican), Gunbae (Korean BBQ), Razzle Dazzle (Vegetarian / Vegan ), Extra Virgin (Upscale Italian), and The Test Kitchen (Cooking Lab). And yes, I have reservations at each and every restaurant – some more than once. For more information about all of the Valiant Lady’s eateries click her.

When I’m not busy eating, drinking, or being entertained there are a number of workout facilities available, a barber shop for the guys, a hair salon for the ladies, plus a full-service spa. There’s also a casino and even a tattoo parlor.

And there is Wi-Fi on board. While I understand the connection is slow and not suitable for streaming or downloading large files I’m hoping it will be strong enough for me to exchange emails and text messages and work on this blog.

Not surprisingly, Virgin Voyages leans heavily on social media and especially on its app. Pretty much everything is done through the app including all restaurant reservations, activity bookings, and even cabin service.

This cruise has its very own Facebook Group with a collection of sub-groups that’s populated with hundreds of members who are super engaged in social media chatter.

There’s more but you get the idea. I’m leaving the books and podcasts behind and plan to eat and drink my way across the Atlantic. I sure hope I don’t put on too much additional personal tonnage with this “cruise plan”‘

Europe 2023 by Cruise Ship It Is

April 21, 2023 / john.a.krog

Lots of Planning and Lots of Details

After weeks of research, checking out possibilities and options, a trip to Europe began to look like an idea whose time might have arrived. However, what looked like a fairly simple task started evolving into a major planning effort. That’s OK though, as I typically enjoy planning and the power of the Internet makes it something like fun, just different.

As I dug into the potential of this trip the better I liked it. But, to pull it off was going to take more time and money than the Europe 2022 trip. That trip was mostly about lots of flying here and there and with only Scotland (The Open) and Denmark (Tour de France and Frank) as countries to schedule the trip around.

Planning this new and relatively long 2023 outing was not going to be a linear project. There were lots of ideas that ended up as dead ends but often a new possibility would appear and off I’d go checking it out. For example, I originally thought it would be an excellent idea to travel to Miami a few days before my cruise departed, rent a car and explore the Florida Keys. But, the more I research the logistics and time necessary to really see the Keys including Everglade National Park and Key Largo, the more I realized it was simply too much to try to do ahead of taking a long transatlantic cruise. Similarly, the idea of revisiting all three of the Balearic Islands I had explored 30-plus years ago would not work. Getting to and around Mallorca, Ibiza, and Formentera was too much of a reach with the time I would have. So, for as much as I would have liked to see the two smaller islands, Mallorca would have to suffice.

And the details! Lots of ’em. Big ones, little ones, and in-between ones. These details were everything from having my snail mail held to arranging for my ongoing bills to be paid on time and that there would be sufficient funds in the bank to cover all the charges. And I needed to obtain an International Drivers Permit if I wanted to rent a car in Mallorca. And I needed to make sure my U.S. passport was current and that I had all the tickets and passes and other travel documents with me both in digital form and paper. And what to pack? And equally important – what to not pack! As you can see – lots and lots of details.

Getting to Miami and on the Valiant Lady

Then I had to plan for and figure out how to get from here to there. That meant arranging for a shuttle ride from Bend to the Redmond Airport to catch my way too early 5:00 AM flight to Seattle. Then, after making my flight transfer in Seattle onto the Miami flight, getting to my hotel for the night, and then getting to the Virgin Voyages Pier in time for the next day’s afternoon scheduled boarding time before debarkation. And, of course, there are lots of pre-boarding procedures just to get on the darn ship. Miss the ship and the trip is – well, no longer.

Being on the Valiant Lady for a couple of weeks was beginning to look like a place I could relax and recharge before land in the shape of Europe arrived.

Fast forward 16 days of cruising and I now must debark the safety of the Valiant Lady at Barcelona. A new set of schedules begin.

Now I’m in Europe

I need to get from Barcelona to Palma to be able to spend some quality time on the island of Mallorca. This is both simple and complex. Simple if you just want to debark the cruise ship in Barcelona, take a taxi to the airport, wait around for hours, and then hop on a short, 50-minute flight over to Palma. However, if I wanted to see at least a little bit of Barcelona it was going to be complex as there is not much time from when one must debark from the cruise ship and when a flight could get me to Palma in time to secure my rental car and drive across the island to my Port de Pollensa Airbnb before it was dark. I really didn’t want to be driving in the dark in a foreign land trying to find an address among the narrow streets of a never-before-visited town.

I wanted my four days in Mallorca to be different than the first time all those years ago. This meant less passive tourism and more active exploration. And that meant bicycling a world-class cycling “paradise”. I planned three days of road cycling to just sample what Mallorca has to offer. And to bicycle, I needed to book a rental E-bike in Port de Pollensa well in advance.

It was becoming very clear during each passing trip-planning day that details were going to be the key to my trip’s success.

Mallorca to Denmark via Oslo

I then began to look into how I could get to Denmark from Mallorca. At first, flying into Copenhagen seemed like the easiest. And it was. But after video chats with Frank, the possibility of going to Oslo and then to Copenhagen first surfaced. Even though I had lived in Germany for about three years back in my Army days I never made it to Norway, the country my father’s relatives immigrated to America from. I’m half-Norwegian and half-German so a stop in Oslo seemed like the right thing to do. So I booked a direct flight from Palma to Oslo that would take me across central Europe over Spain, France, Germany, and Denmark to Norway.

Since I wasn’t going to be able to properly see all of Norway, a couple of days in Oslo was going to have to do. And, of course, a bit of bicycling was in my plans, as Oslo, like many other European cities, is very bicycle friendly.

Now I needed to get from Oslo to Copenhagen. At first, of course, I thought of flying. But somehow I stumbled on a YouTube video that explained how taking the overnight ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen was a great bargain. After a bit of research, I was sold on the ferry idea and booked a passage on what was to become my second-ever “cruise” even if it was only for one night.

Frank liked the ferry idea. He explained that where the ferry docked would be a much closer and easier place to pick me up than it would be at the huge and more distant Copenhagen airport.

So now I’ve got myself to Denmark and I’ve even got my very own personal Danish guide to show me around. I’d say that was some pretty good planning. I booked a Copenhagen Airbnb for us so we could explore the city by foot, bike, canal boat, and public transit. To visit attractions a bit away from the city we’d utilize Frank’s car. And yes, even though Frank put up a bit of resistance there’s at least one Copenhagen bicycle outing as I booked us with Bike Copenhagen with Mike. I’m hoping I can talk Frank into taking advantage of Copenhagen’s bicycle friendliness by exploring by bike Copenhagen attractions missed by Mike’s tour.

After our nearly five-day stay in Copenhagen, it’s off to Aalborg in northern Denmark where Frank lives with his wife Bente. Frank lives among some of the best-known ancient Viking stomping grounds. I’ll spend another five days or so in northern Denmark with Frank again as my guide. As this part of Denmark is pretty much off the beaten tourist path we’ll not have to battle the tourists like in Copenhagen and will get to take some E-bike rides. Frank said he and Bente have their own E-bikes and I’ll be able to use Bente’s as it’s larger than Frank’s.

Stay tuned. There’s more to come if only I can get the underpaid, overworked, and soon-to-be-off to Somewhere blog author to just sit down and type!

Ever Evolving Travel Plans

April 18, 2023 / john.a.krog

Hawaii

Years ago I secured an Alaska Air mileage credit card with the goal of accumulating enough miles to be able to visit Hawaii and see the Oregon Duck men’s basketball team play in the famous Maui Jim Maui Invitational Tournament that’s held each year during Thanksgiving week.

I had been to Maui once decades past. At the beginning of that ill-fated, two-week vacation, I rented a 4-wheel drive vehicle and started on a loop drive around Maui that included the famous Road to Hana. After a few hours negotiating the rough Hana “highway” I started to feel poorly. Unfortunately, I was past the small village of Hana and about halfway around the island so returning the way I had come was simply not an option. By the time I finally reached the condo I was fully miserable. My Hawaiian holiday was effectively terminated by a severe case of the flu. I ended up confined to my bed for nearly a week followed by three days outdoors but I was only able to lay on the beach in an attempt to regain my strength. All too soon I was on an airplane headed back to the mainland. I promised myself I’d someday visit Maui again. And promise to not be sick while there.

Sadly the Ducks haven’t been invited back for the last few years so I’ve kept postponing my return trip to Maui.

And, of course, my Alaska Air miles remained unused.

Europe 2022

A trip to Europe in 2022 started out as an idea to visit Denmark and my longtime friend, Frank Petersen. I’ve known Frank for 40 years or so. We met in Portland in 1983 as novice mountain climbers who were enrolled in the Mazama Basic Climbing School. We bonded over learning about climbing mountains and the occasional rock face. A Dane, Frank was successfully working in the States under a Green Card but, after a few years of the two of us experiencing a number of mountain and rock climbing adventures, circumstances pulled him back to Denmark.

The years passed and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the advent of convenient-to-use, cost-free video calling which made staying in touch with Frank amazingly easy. What started out as once-in-awhile video chats turned into almost weekly calls. A common thread during our calls was the idea of me visiting Denmark and spending some time with Frank.

So, in 2021, as it appeared that the pandemic might eventually abate, I began to casually check out the possibility of flying to Europe during 2022. I discovered that the 2022 Tour de France actually started in Copenhagen and had its first three stages in Denmark before heading to France. And the United Kingdom was celebrating the 150th occasion of The Open at St. Andrews, “The Royal and Ancient” Old Course (Americans refer to this major golf tournament as “the British Open” which really irritates the Brits).

I’d been a TV armchair fan of the Tour de France starting in 1986 when American riders began to do well. I really became a fan during the famous “Blue Train” years of the American U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. Now, to actually be able to see some of the Tour in person was an exciting idea. Plus I’d get to visit Frank in Denmark.

Years ago when I was a young US Army Photo Officer stationed in Germany, I had the incredible opportunity to actually play the Old Course at St. Andrews, where the game was first played 600 years ago. This was back when I actually knew how to play golf so it was great fun playing such a renowned and historic links course. I was even invited to High Tea after my round by a party of wonderful Scottish ladies who were curious about this young American. Getting a tee time today requires lots of pre-planning and way more money than what I paid in 1970.

All fired up, I started researching the trip, booked an Airbnb in Copenhagen, won and paid for limited and not inexpensive lottery tickets to attend The Open, and generally planned out a fantastic Denmark and Scotland 2022 trip.

Unfortunately, the pandemic continued to cause chaos around the world and other challenges closer to home appeared and I found it necessary to cancel my plans including letting my lottery tickets to The Open go unused.

RVing the West

I’ve long wanted to downsize as much as possible and take off on an RV tour of the eleven Western States and revisit a few of the Canadian Provinces while at it. I’m talking about living in a motorhome full-time. For as long as I could manage it. No “home base” for me. Nope, I yearned for the unhampered, free-as-a-bird, going-it-alone, call of the wild adventure. The road beckoned to me.

But this was another of my pre-COVID-19 plans that kept getting postponed by the pandemic and those continuing challenges at home helping my 100-year-old mother navigate life in a retirement community.

Near the end of 2022, my Alaska Air miles continued to be unused and Frank continued to remind me to remember to visit him in Denmark.

Europe 2023?

It’s now late 2022 and Hope Springs Eternal. Regular video chats continue with Frank and the pandemic actually appears to be receding. I again start to contemplate a trip to Europe. I began by seeing how I might use my Alaska Air miles but soon discover that I don’t have enough miles to get to Europe. And back. But I do find that I can fly Alaska Air to Miami at nearly no cost using most of my miles.

While looking for flights to Europe from Miami I stumbled across the possibility of getting to Europe via a transatlantic cruise ship. This is where the cruise industry repositions some of their ships from Caribbean duty to the Mediterranean for cruise season there. While I’ve flown many times to Europe on those long and boring Atlantic or over-the-pole flights, I’ve never, ever been on a cruise so I began to explore the idea.

Now, taking a cruise is way, way down on my “bucket list” and even then I really have no interest in a Disney cruise that’s full of kids, nor a Carnival “party boat” full of hard-drinking 30-somethings. But the cruise I stumbled upon was an adult-only, all-inclusive (except for those all-important adult beverages), 16-day voyage across the Atlantic from Miami to Barcelona, Spain on Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady. And, amazingly enough, by taking advantage of the early booking discount, I could end up paying about what it would cost me to fly to Europe from Miami. Plus, I’ll get to eat for free for 16 days!

So, in early November 2022, I put down a small, refundable deposit for the April 22 to May 7, 2023 “Miami to Med” Virgin Voyages cruise and started researching to see how I might be able to use a ship landing in Barcelona as a way to get to Denmark.

If I can’t make it work, I’ll cancel and tell Frank to meet me in Hawaii instead.

It’s Past Time to Go Somewhere

March 8, 2023 / john.a.krog

The pandemic touched me like it did most others. I got my jabs, maintained a safe distance, wore a mask when around people, avoided crowds and so on. Fortunately, I was able to minimize close contact with others while continue doing many of the things that keep my life worthwhile. I was able to enjoy time with close friends, spend time in the great outdoors, ride my E-bike, hike, and attempt to play but fail miserably at golf, all the while safe from the threat of COVID-19.

But during the pandemic I really missed something I’ve always really enjoyed: seeking adventures that almost always involve travel. So, as much as I enjoy living in Bend, Oregon, the place of my birth and a town locals like to refer to as “where other people go to vacation”, I’ve missed the world-broadening experience travel can provide. So, now that most of the world has opened back up, it’s time for me to head Somewhere.

And no, going to the grocery store doesn’t qualify as “going somewhere”.