The Medical Centre onboard this ship is by far the largest I have worked in whilst being at sea so the work seems a bit easier as we have more places to put people.
Our first voyage included a stop in Zeebrugge on the Belguim coast and then onto Hamburg where we spent a day delighting in this lovely river city. So much has been done to the harbour since my last call there many years ago that I hardly knew where I was. The old sandbank has been converted into a fabulous HARBOUR CITY area and the old warehouses have been converted into modern apartments and businesses. There is even a new Opera house being built with fabulous windows that appear as little blobs on the glass but can even turn out to be balconies - very interesting.
Sail away from Hamburg harbour can take quite a while as the trip down the river Elbe is a long one. I was delighted to pass HOTEL LOUIS JACOB where they fired 3 'canon' and then played Rule Britannia very loudly as they waved white sheets out the windows - bizzare but delightful!! :-) Everyone onboard waved back furiously as well.
Then we were off to the fjords. First stop was ALESUND which was intersting as I haven't been there before and then to Bergen, 2nd largest city in Norway and it used to be the capital. Lovely place but it was a public holiday so nothing was open. A walk down to the old harbour revealed a market which was lovely to wander around seeking out the trolls.....