Akureyri, Iceland - 31 minutes of night

I mentioned in my last post that the sun stayed up almost the entire night. Tonight the sun will set at 12:58 a.m. (tomorrow morning, actually) and will rise again shortly after at 1:29 a.m. Because the sun dips only slightly below the horizon during this time of year, it never gets truly dark. So that means we will experience just 31 minutes of twilight before the sun is back up. It feels really weird going to bed at 11 p.m. with the sun still shining brightly! 

Here was the view from our ship when we woke this morning.

  

 

We're in the Land of the Midnight Sun during what is called the summer solstice. The phenomenon occurs due to Iceland's location, just below the Arctic Circle. In contrast, the winter months are just the opposite, with December and January only experiencing 4-5 hours of daylight each day. Given that I have a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder, I would have to move away during the winter months!

Here’s more info on the Midnight Sun. https://guidetoiceland.is/nature-info/midnight-sun-in-iceland

Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland in one of the longest fjords in the country. Surrounded by mountains, it is only 37 miles south of the Arctic Circle. However, it has mild summer temperatures up to 77 degrees F and winter temperatures averaging around 32 F. It is surprisingly green with lush vegetation. It was settled in the 9th century but did not receive a municipal charter until 1786. It was the site of Allied units during WWII. 

We’re in port all day so there was no big rush to get off the ship this morning. We decided to do a self-guided (with a map, of course) walking tour after breakfast. The town is very hilly and the walk was actually quite a climb. Of course I took lots of photos both ways. 

 

The church, Akureyrarkirkja (a mouthful!) is a regional symbol. Nicknamed the "ice cathedral" it dominates the cityscape from its hilltop. 

Hof Cultural and Conference Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We climbed the hill to the botanical garden and meandered around the gardens. After an hour or so, we walked back down to the town center and had lunch before heading back to the ship. Ronnie took a short nap and then went to run while I went to the Bistro and enjoyed an iced mocha latte while playing with my photos. As usual, I took way too many!  

        

                

lining up for a Volcano Dog

Mama, the water is cold!

goodbye, Akureyri

....and we're off to the next port

We missed the country!

We were so looking forward to our time in the Faroe Islands today. Our excursion was to visit Torshavn (Thor’s Harbor), the capital of the Faroe Islands. Unfortunately the 40 mph winds had other plans, making it unsafe for our ship to make port there. It was doubly disappointing after realizing last evening that we forgot (and therefore missed) an excursion we had booked in Glasgow. That excursion consisted of high tea at the Ardgowan Estate followed by a bagpipe workshop and performance. Double bummer!

 

Anyway, a few interesting facts about the Faroe Islands. They are a cluster of 18 small islands that lie between Scotland and Iceland. The total population of all the islands is only 54,000. They are now what we might call “a country within a country”. They were originally part of the Kingdom of Norway, later the Kingdom of Norway-Denmark and then with the Treaty of Kiel (1814), they became a country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Following WWII, they gained independent self-governance within the Kingdom of Denmark - thus, a country inside a country. 

However, the people of the Faroe Islands are not Danish. They have their own language, government, prime minister, telephone country code, currency and football team!

 

Torshavn, where we were scheduled to stop, is the largest of the 18 islands. The photo of Torshavn’s port on today’s Currents shows tall houses painted in many different colors lining the harbor and it would have been such fun to photograph. Thankfully, we did get to visit a different Faroe Island (Runavik) in 2023. It was very interesting but we both remember the extreme wind, rain and cold!

We are now so far in the North Atlantic that sunset and sunrise aren't many hours apart. The last few nights, it was still “daylight” when we went to bed. Here is a photo I took a few days ago at around 10:45 or so at night – the sun is finally setting. 

 

sunset - around 10:45 p.m.

 

Last night it was still light outside when I went to bed around 11 p.m. I woke during the night at 3:45 a.m. I could see light trying to peep around the edges of the curtains so I got up and (trying not to wake Ronnie) poked my phone through a slit in the curtain and took this picture. As we continue going north, the days will continue getting longer until we reach the summer solstice, the longest day and shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. 

 

3:45 a.m. (middle of the night!)

 

I just googled to see when the summer solstice is in the Faroe Islands - here's what I found out. It's today! Total daylight will be 19 hours and 45 minutes. The sun rose at 3:33 a.m. and will set at 11:18 p.m. It went on to say "Because the Faroe Islands are located so far north (around 62°N), it will not get completely dark at night during this time. Instead, the islands experience extended civil twilight—often called "white nights"—where the sun sits just below the horizon, keeping the night sky quite bright." 

Unfortunately, I was unable to go back to sleep so I worked on my computer until around 5:30 - 6 a.m. I knew our room service breakfast would arrive promptly at 7:30 but I managed to doze. After breakfast, we both went back to sleep and I slept a couple more hours! On days when the weather prevents making port, the ship's activities schedule has to be quickly revised. Ronnie was awake, but reading and trying to stay quiet so I could sleep. By the time I woke and he checked the schedule, he had already missed a lecture by guest speaker Skip Moen, Team Trivia and Mensa! (oops!)

Yes, it's Father's Day and also Sunday. Our church group met yesterday, anticipating being off the ship today. So today has turned into a lazy day of reading, napping, eating/snacking and perhaps a movie. We have dinner plans tonight with a couple from Iowa that we made friends with early on in the cruise (retired medical people). We're trying to have dinner with some of our favorite couples in the closing days of our trip together.

Glasgow (Greenock), UK

It's raining, it's pouring! And why are we in Greenock when our itinerary says Glasgow? I figured the fastest way to find out is....you guessed it....ask Google! So here's why. Oceania Cruises (and other major cruise lines) dock in Greenock instead of Glasgow primarily because the River Clyde becomes too shallow, narrow and winding for large, modern cruise ships as it reaches central Glasgow. Therefore, Greenock Ocean Terminal acts as Glasgow's deep water port on the coast. Glasgow is 27 miles from Greenock.

 

Greenock Ocean Terminal

So because we hadn't booked an excursion for today and had planned to explore around town on our own, our day was somewhat of a bust! It has rained ALL. DAY. LONG. Hoping the rain had slowed this afternoon (it hadn't), I decided to venture out anyway. There was a TESCO (chain grocery) within easy walking distance of the port so I went there. I'm always amused at the difference in such basic things as the foods we eat in the US vs the food people in other countries eat.

When we spent some extended time in the English countryside back in 2012, I also enjoyed learning how the locals say things vs the way we say things. Just simple things such as road signs that are phrased differently than we're used to in the US. The grocery store is another good example. We push grocery carts; in the UK, they push trolleys. Same thing but different name. We say diapers; they say nappies. We say sausage; they say bangers. We say bacon; they say rashers. We say cake; they say sponge or pudding. We say cookies; they say biscuits. We say saltines; they say cream crackers. We say mashed potatoes; they say mash. We say trash can; they say bin. I could go on...

So when I was in the store today, one of the first things I noticed was a sign above the prepared or ready-to-go meals. It said "That's dinner sorted." We see and hear the word "sorted" used on British television or books by British authors. It means that something is fixed, resolved, arranged or taken care of. As I walked around, I had the thought that the differences might be "post worthy", so I started snapping pictures to illustrate my point. 

 

"That's dinner sorted."

liver, bacon & mashed potatoes

"Bangers and mash" is also a very traditional dish. "Bangers" are what we would call sausage. Bangers and mash consists of sausage in onion gravy with mashed potatoes.

 

Yorkshire puddings (popover)

ground beef

     

are you sure you want to know?

Black pudding is "a traditional blood sausage made from pork blood, animal fat and cereal grains like oatmeal or pearl barley. Seasoned with herbs and spices like pepper and onion, it is typically sliced into rounds and fried or grilled, resulting in a rich, earthy flavor." I tried (a tiny bite of) it - once. Never again.

Haggis is Scotland’s national dish. It is "a savory pudding made from minced sheep's offal (heart, liver and lungs) combined with oatmeal, onions, suet and spices. Traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach, it is today most commonly packaged in synthetic casings and has a rich, peppery and hearty flavor." (No.)

Unusual (to us) potato chip flavors are another thing that we don't see at our local grocery. These are different in almost every country and cater to the tastes of the local shoppers, of course. Lay's brand alone has 21 international flavors! https://www.tastingtable.com/2163560/international-lays-potato-chips-ranked/

 

   

rashers (bacon)

biscuits (cookies)

    

eggs on shelf (not refrigerated)

 

clotted cream - soo delicious!

best selling cereal in UK

crumpets (not the same as an English muffin)

powdered milk, tea, coffee & cookies

pet food, trash bags

can never go wrong with Scottish shortbread!

My Daddy (and his father before him) owned and operated a small town grocery store all of his adult life. We rarely traveled but when we did, he always enjoyed seeing what items other grocery stores carried. He would have gotten such a kick out of walking through a grocery store in a foreign country. I guess I take after him. :)

Lastly, I can't come to Scotland without sharing a few Scottish plaids. 

 

tartan kilts for men

lambswool tartan scarves

Just as we were about to leave for dinner, the sun finally came out, and we were able to see how beautiful Glasgow is from a distance! We decided to eat on the back deck and enjoy the gorgeous view. 

 

view from the back deck during dinner

I've mentioned before that the culinary team makes the cuisine of whatever region we're in. Sure enough, there was black pudding, bangers and mash, beans, mushy peas, Lancashire Hotpot Lamb, Scotch eggs, fish 'n chips, cottage pie, Yorkshire pudding, beef pasties, lamb and much, much more. 

Is it any wonder people gain weight on a cruise? Among the desserts were Cranachan Mince Pie, Bread & Butter Pudding, Sticky Date Pudding, Banoffe Pie Shortbread, Traditional English Trifle, Apple Crumble and more. And of course the ever present selection of ice cream flavors, sorbet, sugarless cookies and fresh fruit.