Day 10

-

September 9, 2019

ORKNEY ISLANDS (KIRKWALL) - At latitude 59 degrees Kirkwall is situated north of mainland Scotland and with a climate similar to Victoria's (latitude 48 degrees), winters here are mild and normally snowless thanks to the Gulf Stream, although winter winds tend to be fierce and relentless. Total population of the Orkneys is 22,000 and Kirkwall's, the capital, is around 9,000. Also like Victoria, the Orkneys are the best place to live in the British Isles, at least according to our tour guide whose family, by the way, has lived here for 900 years.

The main heritage of this area, which goes back 5,000 years, is Norse and almost all place names on these islands are of Norse derivation. The Ring of Bognar originally comprised of sixty 12 foot monoliths is dated at 4,000 years old, slightly younger than Stonehenge.

Related image

The above photo was sourced from the internet as we saw it in the pouring rain and could not get near the site due to a 10 metre ditch and a fence prohibiting entrance. Tourists not really welcome, it seems.

Highland Park Whisky (no e) is produced here. Its single malt whiskey is aged 12 years and currently holds an inventory of 34,000 casks with a retail value of $1.5 billion pounds.

Tonight the ship's entertainment was a performance about puns. It was a play on words. 

Time to write this blog.   

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 10, 2019 at 9:04 AM

    I hope that you had a chance to try haggis and deep-fried Mars bars before you left Scotland! I am enjoying your blog.

    Martin B

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ian McSeptember 10, 2019 at 2:26 PM

    The Orkneys have such an amazing history- but the wind'l dry ye oout.!!

    Ian Mc

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 1

-
Image
August 31, 2019 We boarded Viking Sun and settled into Penthouse Veranda Suite 6072 (388 sq ft) The various suites on the ship can be viewed here: https://www.vikingcruises.com/con tent/ocean-star-tour/start.html A tour of the ship: https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-sun.html#noscroll All of the cruise stops, including available excursions can be viewed here: https://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/world-grand/2020-world-cruise/index.html#itineraryday/2 There is always a free tour provided by Viking - optional tours are made by reservation and at a cost to the traveler.  Today  Karen and I wanted to tour Blenheim Palace  but it is several hours from the ship and time was limited so we enjoyed the following video as our vicarious visit.   https://youtu.be/SKv-3cU6sHk That's OK - tomorrow we visit a real palace! With limited time we took a hop-on-hop-off bus tour of London, visited the National Gallery (w...
Read more

Day 182

-
FEBRUARY 28, 2020 DARWIN, AUSTRALIA We all recognize that life is an adventure - there will be surprises. Coronavirus is an unexpected development and this voyage has already made adjustments. Further adjustments are possible, even likely, during the two months remaining on Viking's World Cruise.  At a time when authorities must be " seen to be doing something " about the chances of a pandemic, fear can provoke overreaction and more surprises. Karen and I have taken a cautionary attitude about how matters could evolve. We believe this is prudent. Consequently, we have decided to defer the remainder of this voyage to a later date.    With that in mind, a fitting tune is Sophie Zelmani's  " Going Home ". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrIG3K40-8A
Read more

Day 11

-
Image
September 10, 2019 EDINBURGH - They say Scotland gets a lot of rain. Tell me about it! Arrived here in the fog and that became a steady drizzle. But at least it wasn't cold, around 16 degrees.  The rush hour (good planning) bus tour of The Queen City was mostly about crawling from stoplight to stoplight. Incredibly dense traffic made worse by many downtown streets being closed to accommodate the filming of Fast and Furious Nine - we saw the support trucks, an army of them, dozens. The main attraction, of course, is the Castle on the hill. Very impressive from below, but almost inaccessible due to the overwhelming crowds and the discouraging wait times - where did all these people come from? I'm told that tourism gridlock is becoming the new normal in cities like Paris and Rome. Meanwhile, on the Viking Sun there is so much space, even in the restaurants, one never feels pressed.  After returning to the ship from downtown, wouldn't you know it, the sun came out. ...
Read more