Pcasso's Page: SEA DAYS, SUNSETS AND SPECIAL MEALS

We had a wonderful day yesterday. It was a sea day and we just "lazed" around and enjoyed the ship and all of it's amenities. As we were strolling around the deck,

we heard music playing and heard people shouting and we looked down and saw a wonderful event that was happening. Some of the crew had a tug of war

and that was great fun to watch and cheer the teams on. We were up on the 5th deck, so we literally had a bird's eye view.

There were crew members in costume performing dances from their native country.

Some of them were having their own version of team cross country skiing without the snow,

and just fun and games in general. We couldn't figure out what these boards were for until the races began but we soon found out.

This team got so excited when they were ahead that they forgot that they were supposed to go back to the starting point, so they lost the race :-(

The participants were some of the staff members vs. the crew and the crew won. It was some sort of a special celebration or holiday but we weren't sure exactly what it was. The crew members brought in someone they thought would be a "ringer" but he wasn't nearly as helpful as they thought he might be. He was a really big guy, but his strategy wasn't as good as it should have been. All brawn and no brain???

There was also a lot of side-betting going on so that really made the competition interesting for the "players" and their supporters.

That evening we had a very special treat. We started out in the Ocean Bar where we enjoyed our evening cocktail,

listened to the music, watched the couples who were dancing

and enjoyed the most beautiful sunset as the sun disappeared into the horizon.

When the rays of sunlight filter through the clouds I always think of this visual as God's Glory and He is showing it to anyone who has eyes to see such beauty.
When we left there, we went to attend the Master Chef's dinner. It was a wonderful evening and so much better than the "Parade of the Baked Alaska" that so many cruise lines have as their specialty night.
We were given very special and unusual menus to get the evening underway

and then were all presented with chef's hats.

Once we had our hats on, the show began. The dining stewards and some crew members sang to us,

danced, juggled vegetables table side

presented each of the many courses with a flair,

and then served an extraordinary meal that was especially prepared for us by Master Chef Rudi Sodamin. It was quite a show and such a surprise.
After the "show", we started our meal with Mushroom mousse with asparagus en bouche,

followed by a delicious mixed baby green salad served in a fresh tomato with a honey mustard dressing.

Once we had finished our salad and soup, the entrees were presented. I selected Tagliatelle with white truffles, morels and roasted chicken,

Frank had Sauteed Shrimp Provencales Diablo, scented with Mediterranean herbs, tomato concassee, florets of broccoli and sticky rice.

The Pièce de Résistance was the dessert ... a white chocolate chef's hat with the chef's signature on it, filled with chocolate mousse, garnished with raspberry puree, whipped cream and milk chocolate swirls.

Sea days always fun and this one was extra special thanks to our Master Chef and his delightful culinary surprises!

Of course we had our towel animal waiting for us when we returned to our stateroom. Thank goodness tonight wasn't our swan song, but it would have been a great note on which to end a wonderful evening.

We didn't do much this morning but this afternoon we took a bus ride into Warnemunde, Germany, which is a small seaside village which is very lovely.

We went to the main square and walked around for a while.

This is one of the oldest buildings here.

We both love to people watch and Sunday afternoon is a great time to do this.

Due to the fact that on Sunday the shops were all closed, our friend Helen was starting to show symptoms of withdrawal. The only shopping that was available today was window shopping. She loves to shop and it's great fun to watch her as she searches for treasures.

It seems that there are always wonderful and very well behaved dogs in these little villages.

There was even one that looks just like McKenzie who lives in New Mexico with our dear friends, Beverly and Larry,

and skateboarding seems to be an international favorite of the young people everywhere.

Frank picked out a new friend for me. I think he was more interested in the pastries on her billboard than he was in either one of us ;-)

After spending about an hour in the town center, we strolled along the waterfront as we made our way to our next stop, a local brewery.

It was called the Brauhaus am Lohberg. It was housed in this fascinating old building that was built in the 13th century.

The interior of this building was charming and had most of the original furnishings.

We sampled 2 different kinds of beer along with warm, homemade pretzels that had been made right there on the premises.

When we returned to our ship, we discovered that there was a barbecue on the Lido deck by the pool that evening, so we met the Lassley's there to get the evening started. We didn't even have to dress for dinner ... yeah!!!

They were serving more German beer of course,

and German food which I must admit is NOT my favorite .. it's much too greasy to my taste. It's not so bad the first time around, but it tends to keep repeating itself! You can get your grease fix for the year in one evening.

They also had what I call an "Om pah Band" which consisted of local talent and they were quite good. We sang all the old German bar songs along with them as they played.

It was great fun. Some of the passengers went to Berlin for the day which was a 10 hour trip, so we waited on the deck to welcome them "home". After we gave them all a warm welcome.

We decided to skip the talent show and call if a night as it was getting to be very late. It has been a great day ... not overbooked ... just right! We go to Denmark tomorrow for a city tour of Arbus, so that should be an easy day as well.
Our little evening friend was waiting for us with a drink in his mouth ... not German beer, but Jack Daniel instead.