![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
karohemdActually, I'm not dreaming of it, I'm having it. For me as German and also for the ship as it's from Norway, today (Christmas Eve) has been Christmas proper and it's been the best I've ever had. Rarely you get to have bright sunshine, blue skies, snow AND icebergs floating on the almost still waters of the Antarctic Peninsula.
We first went through the Lemaire Channel with its breathtaking scenery and back again and then to Cuverville Island with its colony of gentoo penguins. Nothing new as such but this time we were in glorious sunshine with a backdrop of glaciers and many icebergs floating in the water. I watched pengsters beating each other up, stealing little stones and jumping and walking clumsily and yet more gracefully than us humans among the huge pebbles. The boat driver took a long detour among the icebergs back to the ship, it was breathtaking.
To end the end, the ship went to Paradise Bay which is appropriately named, especially in this weather.
Christmas Dinner started with Gloek (that evil Scandinavian version of mulled wine with raisins and almond splinters) served by the bridge crew, followed by the Christmas tale read in three languages (Norwegian by the Captain, English by the *gorgeous* ship's doctor and German by Elke, our "trip coordinator"). The buffet was even more lush than before with halves of lobster, gravadlax with mustard/dill sauce and various other things. As usual for Christmas I had far too much to eat but it was wonderful. We (Horst, Juergen and myself) shared two bottles of wine which in addition to the powerful Gloek will make sure I'll sleep well tonight. Now (23:25 local time), the sun is setting slowly and turning the snow-capped peaks of the mountains around us pink. Utterly, utterly gorgeous.
Deception Island (the caldera of a volcano) tomorrow, followed by a long trip to the East coast of the Antarctic peninsula where we'll get to see the proper Antarctic icebergs, which break off the shelf ice of the mainland. My parents are going to be jealous because they didn't go there. ;o)
We first went through the Lemaire Channel with its breathtaking scenery and back again and then to Cuverville Island with its colony of gentoo penguins. Nothing new as such but this time we were in glorious sunshine with a backdrop of glaciers and many icebergs floating in the water. I watched pengsters beating each other up, stealing little stones and jumping and walking clumsily and yet more gracefully than us humans among the huge pebbles. The boat driver took a long detour among the icebergs back to the ship, it was breathtaking.
To end the end, the ship went to Paradise Bay which is appropriately named, especially in this weather.
Christmas Dinner started with Gloek (that evil Scandinavian version of mulled wine with raisins and almond splinters) served by the bridge crew, followed by the Christmas tale read in three languages (Norwegian by the Captain, English by the *gorgeous* ship's doctor and German by Elke, our "trip coordinator"). The buffet was even more lush than before with halves of lobster, gravadlax with mustard/dill sauce and various other things. As usual for Christmas I had far too much to eat but it was wonderful. We (Horst, Juergen and myself) shared two bottles of wine which in addition to the powerful Gloek will make sure I'll sleep well tonight. Now (23:25 local time), the sun is setting slowly and turning the snow-capped peaks of the mountains around us pink. Utterly, utterly gorgeous.
Deception Island (the caldera of a volcano) tomorrow, followed by a long trip to the East coast of the Antarctic peninsula where we'll get to see the proper Antarctic icebergs, which break off the shelf ice of the mainland. My parents are going to be jealous because they didn't go there. ;o)
