Das Boot

We have been on board the Finnmarken now for several days.

Our cabin is wonderful and it has a large balcony.  The bed is very comfortable and we have been sleeping ALOT.

The boat has actually been fairly crowded.  There are the "cabin people" like us who are on for the long ride and then, because it is also a ferry boat, there are the "day trippers" who come on board for a few stops.

The day people do take advantage of the chairs in the "panorama lounge" on the 8th floor.  That is too bad, since it can be hard to find a good seat up there and you find that you have to take your panorama standing up.  When the boat is rocking and you are tired (which we always are), standing for a panorama can take a lot out of you and eventually we have to head back to our cabin.

Our cabin does have a large private balcony.  Seriously, it is about 20 feet wide by four feet deep.  On our first full day, we had deck chairs and a side table delivered so we could enjoy it.  I think we're a bit of a rarity on board the ship as most other passengers, if they come out on the deck at all, only come out for a quick smoke.  We are one of two rooms which have requested outdoor furniture for our cabins in February North of the Arctic Circle.

Meal times have been a fairly constant event on board.  That's pretty much what one does on a ship.

Most of the people on the ship are determined not to miss a meal.  They will line up, forks in hand, for pretty much anything.

The crew (including the waitstaff) have been for the most part quite friendly.  There are a few dour-faced young men with a lots of tattoos who seem to not quite know how they got there and are not too pleased that we're there.  In addition, there are a couple of no-nonsense "Helgas" (I'm guessing at the name) who just sort of glare in your general direction (I assume thinking wistfully of the good-old days, before capital punishment was outlawed on cruises).

The country-origin make-up has been a lot of serious Norwegians, a lot of really serious Germans who make the Norwegians look spontaneous and giggly, a number of very friendly folk from the United Kingdom and then a few others (meaning, some, but not a lot, from the States, a few from Asia and a few undeclared).  The Germans are particularly serious when it comes to food.  You do not get in their way when they are attacking, going in for a "Buffetkrieg".  You cannot tell when they bump into you if they don't see you or they don't care.  We are leaning towards the latter.  The real problem is that the old ladies are the worst and we feel guilty elbowing them back.

Breakfast and lunch are both buffet-style, with fish, a great selection of cheeses, a lot of different kinds of fish, cold cut meats, some more fish, a great potato salad which fortunately keeps returning, more fish, some other salads which are best to ignore while one focuses on the potato salad, fish, bread and crackers, and, did I mention the fish?

  

Then there is the dessert table at lunch, which is generally comprised of whipped cream in various states of disarray, flavored with some type of cloud-dingleberry.    The desserts here are fascinating in the way a car wreck attracts your attention.  You cannot believe what happened to that dish.  The Germans and the Norwegians, however, line up and bump one another with gusto trying to get to the dessert table.  I say, let them have it.  Except to the extent that cheese constitutes a dessert, I have avoided the desserts.

Today, so far, we got up, breakfasted, had a nap, went to lunch and are thinking about having a nap.

All is well on the Finnmarken!!