QM2 through Denmark
8/29-9/8
I already said that we really enjoyed our crossing on the QM2, but now I will try to explain why.
Being aboard the QM2 is like traveling Europe, you meet new people, try new foods, go out and dance, relax, enjoy the weather, go to shows and plays and lectures and just hang out. It sounds pretty great, but it gets better. There is always food available, and tons of it. You pay for everything with one card, so you don't have to figure out all the different currencies. Your bed is always made always in the same place and always comfortable. But most importantly, everyone speaks English. This may seem like a small thing, but in the last two days I have learned that I most certainly don't speak Danish.
So if the QM2 was heaven, I guess Denmark is only paradise.
I could list all the different things we did on the cruise ship, but it would be really long. The days sort of blurred together, because we were doing so much, so here was our basic daily schedule:
Wake up
Eat breakfast at the buffet
Satchel goes to bridge class
Morning activity (Table tennis tournament, shuffleboard etc.)
Lunch at the buffet
Darts tournament (Every day at 3:00 pm)
Lecture or movie in the theater
Early dinner at the buffet
Team Quiz (most of the questions were about the UK or UK culture, so we found a diverse team)
Nap, read, etc.
Formal dinner at our assigned table
Late night Quiz (same team as earlier)
Dance party at club G32
So it was truly a great time, and we were shocked when sent back into the real world.
Note: Every day, because of the magic of time zones, the ship lost an hour. At noon, the captain would come on the loudspeaker and announce that "it is just noon, now make it 1". The days proceeded rather quickly with only 23 hours
As for our short stop in Southampton to drop our massive amounts of stuff off, we sleep most of the time, because we were too busy to sleep on the ship. Ian was extremely kind and hospitable, and packed the four of us into his small apartment. We are grateful for the comfort of his floor and for his tour of the university and helping get us settled in Europe.
Also, thanks to the taxi drivers who gawked as we packed their small cars full of luggage and the quick and efficient people at Sentry Self Storage.
From Southampton we took the bus to London Stansted Airport, staying overnight to be there on time for our 7:30 am flight to Billund, Denmark. By the magic of the English speaking information desks, we made it to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where we are currently being hosted and shown around by Chris's sister, Melissa. She has only been here for a few weeks, but is doing an incredible job of showing us the town and making us feel welcome. We are very grateful for her and her kitchen-mate's hospitality. We have toured DTU and Copenhagen, and will be heading to Hamburg tomorrow.
Here come the pictures
Our Deck
Our Hall
Looking Aft from Deck 10
The Wonderful Kings Court Buffet
Our Formal Dining Room Upper Level
Our Formal Dining Room Lower Level
(Our table was on the upper level, hidden by the pole in the right foreground of this image)
The Queen Mary 2
The Casino Onboard-I promise we did not play
Theater for Concerts and Performances
Theater
Part of our Quiz Team
We Played Darts- A Lot
My Bed Folded Up
Dawwwwwww....
Our Group of Friends in the Club, Aka Everyone Onboard Younger than 30
Made it to Southampton!!
London Stansted Airport-Especially Interesting at 4 in the Morning
View From the Bus
Chris and Melissa
Round Tower-Beginning of the Tour of Copenhagen
At the Top of the Round Tower
View from the Top
Walking Back Down, A Ramp the Entire Day
I Really Wanted to Sit on the Anchor
Harbor
Copenhagen Sand Castle Fest
The Danish Royal Yacht
Trees
Crown Jewels are in the Cottage Behind Us
Still doing well, off to Hamburg tomorrow to see Kyle, Nick and Rob and maybe some others.
Love you all,
Satchel