Aberdeen- the Silver City

Whoever is responsible for the weather- please step forward!! You are going to stay permanently on board Fram! It was our last port of call today- and again it was great weather! No matter where we were on this trip the weatherforecase often said rain. And then we reached the places- and it was beautiful (except a really tiny rain shower on Iona- but that does not count)! Honestly, we can not complain!

Even in Aberdeen we had fascinating weather today. Our Captain had to go into the harbor backwards for quite a while but that meant that we had a berth nearly in the town center. Only a short walk up the road and you were at Union Street, THE shopping street in Aberdeen. All buildings seem to be built out of granit, hence the name "The Silver City". It is quite an impressive place, that is for sure. It seems to be bustling with life, around 10% of the inhabitants are students and you can really feel it. The university is from 1495 and is the third oldest in Scotland and the fifth oldest in the UK. Many just enjoyed the day in town, others went on excursion to a distillery, or to see the highlights of Aberdeen and Crathes Castle or experience the area of River Dee. Crathes Castle is absolutely impressive - it not only has a beautiful garden, but it is one of the nicest tower houses in Scotland.

And as we leave Scotland, here a few Scottish sayings for you...
"A Scot, half human, half God."
"Don`t marry for money, you can borrow it chepaer." (I like this one!)
"There is always life in a living man." (Fancy that!)

The pictures today are from the excursion "Royal Deeside".

Norwegian Flag and Harris Tweed

Today we celebrated the Norwegian National Day on board the MV Fram. It is an important
happening in the homeland of our ship. A big parade by the crew and guests marched along the hallways and through the entire ship with music, flags and singing the Norwegian hymn. Later on the dinning hall was opened with a big Norwegian buffet and from 10 pm Friederike presented the vegetable and icecarving-show of our philippino crew.
But we are faraway from Norway. In the morning we visited Lewis, the largest island of the
Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Lewis contains the only town Stornoway, and three
quaters of the population of the Western Isles. Here in Stornoway we docked and started
our excursions to the importent gaelic points of the island.
The Callanish Stones are situated near the village of Challanish. Construction of the site took place between 2900 and 2600 BC, though there were possibly earlier buildings before 3000 BC. The 13 primary stones
from a circle about 13 m in diameter, with a long approach avenue of stones to the north, and shorter
stone rows to the east, south, and west. The overall layout of the monument recalls a distorted Celtic cross.
Another importend attraction are the Black House a traditional type of house which used to be common
in the Highlands of Scotland and the Hebrides. The buildings were generally built with double wall dry-stone
walls packed with earth and wooden rafters covered with a thatch of turf with cereal straw or reed.
The floor was generally flagstones or packed earth and there was a central hearth for the fire.
There was no chimney for the smoke to escape though. Instead the smoke made its way through
the roof. The black house was used to accommodate livestock as well as people.
People lived in one end and the animals lived  in the other part with a separation between them.

A lot sheep of different breedes crossed the narrow streets- time to talk about Harris Tweed. It is a type of tweed that is only from the Outer Hebrides.Harris Tweed is a fabric made of pure virgin wool that has been dyed and spun and was woven by hand by residents of the islands of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra in their homes. Tweed has been produced since ancient times in Scotland. During the time of the industrial revolution it became uneconomical to weave by hand  and Looms replaced the Loom. Only on the remote Outer Hebrides, at that time already known for the quality of their tweeds, manual production methods have been retained. But there was no time to buy the fantastic tweed products with the different colores.
So we look for shopping time tomorrow, the last port on our voyage.

Iona (Gaelic: Chaluim Chille) and Staffa (Gaelic:Stafa)

At 12 o`clock we reached our anchor position in front of the the small island Iona on of the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scottland. In former time the island was the centre of Celtic Christianity and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. In 563 Saint Columba was exiled from his native Ireland and founded a monastery on Iona with 12 companions. From there they set about the conversation of pagan Scotland and much of Northern England to Christianity.

Our tender boats brought the passengers safely on shore. From the pier it was an easy walk to the Abbey, passing the ruins of the Nunnery from the 12th-13th century. The Iona Abbey, now an ecumenical church, is particular historical and religios interest to pilgrims and visitors alike. The graveyard at the Abbey is the final resting place of Scottish, Norwegian and Irish kings. The island is such a beautiful peaceful place. Marvelous!
After we left Iona at 4 pm the captain headed to the tiny island of Staffa near by. The name Staffa comes from Old Norse. It means pillar island. The sea was calm just a Again the guests were brought onshore by the tender boats. And they loved it! Staffa`s most famous feature is Finga`s Cave, a large sea cove located near the southern tip of the island. Puffin (we didn`t see any), Common shags and some Skuas normally breed on the island. On small pads we walked along the cliffs to the north tip of the island. What a wonderful walk and such a great day!   

Dublin, St.Patrick and the History of Guinness

The old industrial areas, for exemple warehouses and factory buildings have been renovated

and new buildings now exist to house the financial sector.

Dublin is a young, vibrant city wich has became musically famous through groups such as

The Dubliners, Riverdance an the rockband U 2.

The city is architectually famous for its Gregorian squares and buildings. In addition

Christ Church Cathedral is almost on thousend years old and St.Patrick church more than

800 years old.

Trinity College Dublin is considered the third most prestigious University in the British Isles

after Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

The famous "Book of Kells" is housed at Trinity College and is a famous tourist attraction.

The history of Guinness,Irelands black gold, started which the purchase of James's Gate Brewery,

one of Dublins hundred breweries by Arthur Guinness in 1759.From a startcapital of £ 100

the company has grown into one of the largest breweries in the world producing 4.000000 pints

of Guinness a day at the James's Gate Brewery.

It is a experience to get the story daily life in the Guinness Storehouse and to taste a fresh

pint of the "Black Gold" in the Gravity Bar, the highest point of the Brewery.Here you can enjoy

after the visit your complimentary pint of Guinness while relaxing and drinking in the unique 360o

view of Dublin City and beyond.

Celebrating 250 years of  brewing tradition. So, Arthur's formula was deceptively simple.

He took four basic ingredients-hops,water,barley and yeast, an through a series of mysterious

processes,he released their latent magic,turning them into black gold.

Guinness ist strong-GUINNESS IS GOOD FOR YOU!

Cobh - on the footsteps of the HMS Titanic

In the morning we reached the harbour of Cobh, former Queenstown, Ireland. This was the last port of the HMS Titanic when she stopped here on her maiden voyage to bord and disembark passengers. She was owned by the White Star Line. The office building from this company is still to be seen in town. Also the pier from where the over 100 passengers where brought by tender boat to the ship is still to be seen. As harbour facilities at Cobh were inadequate for a ship of her size, the Titanic had to anchor offshore.  At the waterfront of Cobh still the same houses, same buildings remains as 98 years before. Only the cars were not present at that time. Lots of people were gathered in the harbour street to wave good bye to the 2,240 people on bord the unsinkable liner. The stop was limited to only 1 hour and 18 minutes before they heaved the anchor and left the last stop over in Cobh and sank on the 15th of april 1912 on her way to New York.

Lands End and Cornish Cream Tea

It's like a dream. On the starboard side we can see the coast of Cornwall in beautiful sunlight. Ahead of us the the city of Penzance. The captain anchored the ship on 10 meters water. With the tender boats we sail our guests safely from the ship to shore. Busses are waiting for the excursions.
We are in the romantic world of Rosamunde Pilcher. The populaer
author was born here. Her stories take place in this beautiful area.
Many of her novels have been filmed by the German TV. The series are so successful that the
author got the German award "Golden Camera" in 1998. And now there is even a new variety
of roses, called "Rosemarie Pilcher".
We strongly feel the fascination of this unique landscape and are overwhelmed of the sharp
contrast of the green meadows, yellow rapefields, spectacular granite cliffs.
Subtropical vegetation with palm trees and the Common Gorse in magnificent gardens and hedges. At this time of the year it is there are not many tourists in the streets. But in summertime it used to be very busy. There is a direct connection with the railway from London to Penzance.
Time for a break with Cornish Cream Tea and delicious cones. A traditional speciality of Cornwall.
From the old town we have a nice overview to the pitourescque St.Ives Bay.

One of the highlights is a tender trip to St.Michael's Mount which is a small island with a castle on the top.

A lot of history is known about this island which is now owend by the National Trust and
opened for all visitores.
All passengers got dry and happy back to the ship in the late afternoon. What a wonderful day in the southwest tip of England.

Portsmouth

Today we have been in Portsmouth. We had sunny weather and that means that we had the best conditions for our planned excursions. Our experiences have been so wonderful, that we would like to share these with you. And here you can see, that picuteres can say somtimes more than words!

Exbury Gardens & New Forest   

Historical Winchester & Cathedral

Stonehenge & Salisbury