DENMARK, DVD'S AND THE TOLLUND MAN

Today was the only disappointing day we have had on this trip in my opinion. It wasn't bad, but the lake district was to be a highlight and for me, it was not. We didn't leave the ship until 1:30 and we were greeted on shore by local people in the dress of the country.



We boarded the bus for Arhus, Denmark to make a visit to the Lake District.


Arhus is the second largest town in Denmark. The old town has been preserved and it looks like it did many centuries ago.



We had a less than informative guide this time (which is unusual as most of our guides have been very knowledgeable) but the trip itself was very organized. There really wasn't too much to see and she gave us much more time at our stops than we really needed. The scenery and the small villages we drove through to reach our destination were quaint charming.

It was interesting to see the local people going about their daily routines.

We even encountered a group of young boys on their way home from school. Like typical boys, when they saw us looking at them they started to show off ... just like the young people do here in the states.

There was heather in bloom everywhere along the hillsides

and thatched roofs were prevalent here as well.

We visited the Museum in Silkeborg, Denmark. They had several displays of life and how these people lived centuries ago.

It was here that we saw the Tollund Man. He is the naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC, during the time period characterized in Scandinavia as the Pre-Roman Iron Age.

On May 8, 1950, Viggo and Emil Højgaard from the small village of Tollund were cutting peat for their stove in the Bjældskor Dale peat bog, 7.5 miles west of Silkeborg, Denmark. As they worked, they noticed in the peat layer a face so fresh that they could only assume that they had discovered a recent murder victim, and notified the police at Silkeborg.The police were baffled by the body, and in an attempt to identify the time of death, they brought in archaeology professor P. V. Glob. He determined that the body was over two thousand years old, most likely murdered, and thrown into the bog as a sacrifice to fertility goddesses.
The Tollund Man lay 164 feet away from firm ground and 7 feet underground, his body arranged in a fetal position, and buried under about 7 feet of peat. He wore a pointed skin cap fastened securely under his chin by a hide thong. There was a smooth hide belt around his waist.

Other than these, the body was naked. Additionally, the corpse had a garotte made of hide drawn tight around the neck, and trailing down his back. His hair was cropped so short as to be almost entirely hidden by his cap. He was almost clean-shaven, but there was short stubble on his chin and upper lip, suggesting that he had not shaved on the day of his death.

Underneath the body was a thin layer of moss. Scientists know that this moss was formed in Danish peat bogs in the early Iron Age, therefore, the body was suspected to have been placed in the bog approximately 2,000 years ago during the early Iron Age. Subsequent Cradiocarbon dating of Tollund Man's hair indicated that he died in approximately 400 BC.The acid in the peat, along with the lack of oxygen underneath the surface, had preserved the soft tissues of his body. Examinations and X-rays showed that the man's head was undamaged, and his heart, lungs and liver were well preserved. He was not an old man, though he must have been over 20 years old because his wisdom teeth had grown in. The Silkeborg Museum estimates his age as 40 and height at 5.3 feet, of comparatively short stature even for the time period. It is likely that the body had shrunk in the bog.
He was probably hanged using the rope around his neck. The noose left clear marks on the skin under his chin and at the side of his neck but there was no mark at the back of the neck where the knot was found. Due to skeletal decomposition, it is impossible to tell if the neck had been broken. This was absolutely fascinating. He was displayed in a glass case and you could really get a good look at him, but it was difficult to photograph him. I'd never heard of him before, but then, there are a lot of things that I've never heard of!
After we had seen the Tollund Man, we were escorted into a room where we were served Grog. It was dreadful (the grog, not the room!) The room was very light and airy and well appointed with antiques and palm trees. They use it for special events and concerts.

There were many other artifacts in the museum

and and also many handmade items that were on display.

The costumes were authentic and well preserved from days gone by.

There was a snake that greeted you as you entered the foyer and it wound it's way through each room in this small museum.

The next room contained a tree which I assume represented the tree in scripture in the Garden of Eden, and if you look in the right hand corner, you will see another part of the snake's body.

Each room in the museum had a portion of its body in it. It was very interesting and something about it reminded me of the painting that I did for the PCPC that won a blue ribbon.

I didn't really like my painting but selected this subject as it was part of the theme in the category I had entered, and I didn't really like this snake either!

After looking at all the antiquated things, it was refreshing to step outside and see this lovely rose with a bit of the morning dew still on it due to the humidity in the air.

Our guide gave us an hour to look around and since the museum was so small, it only took us about 15 minutes, so we walked down to the dock and watched the boats come in.

The homes around the dock were quite lovely and all sorts of boats were docked there.

There was even a ferry which was transportation for locals as well as visitors to cross the lake.

From there we went to the Lake District and had tea and cake and looked at the many lakes that were in that area.

It was a beautiful setting but the whole tour took 5 hours and we could have done it in 2. After our little sightseeing hike, we went to this Inn for refreshments.

I was a little disappointed in the fact that we could not eat outside

but the weather was not condusive to dining "al fresco", but the tea cake and coffee were delicious anyway.

We served ourselves and enjoyed the nice, warm surroundings.

Since I'm not much of a coffee drinker, I had a cup of tea instead and it was very good....some local brand, no doubt. Lipton's wasn't available there ;-)

The nicest thing to see at the end of a tour is your floating home waiting for you at the dock. Today was no exception.

After we returned to the ship, I went to the library and got the DVD, "Flawless", with Demi Moore and Michael Caine.

We had been told that it was a very good film but we both fell asleep right after it started! However, when we woke up, we started it again and nearly missed dinner since it was so good and we wanted to finish it. That's the beauty of a DVD. If you miss something, you can always go back to that part!
After dinner we went to the show in the Queen's Lounge which was another musical production and were in bed by 11:30.
We'll be in Norway tomorrow and will get up very early as we start going through the fjords at 6:00 a.m.
I'll write more tomorrow. Hope that you are having a great weekend!
XOXO, Pcasso

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.

He wished us " Gute Nacht", gave us our candy and we all called it a night.
XOXO, Pcasso