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Hi Shifty Followers,
One of our previous posts got lost in an email to Bruce on Whidbey so here is recap of that one and our current activities. We had a brief but fun stay in Sczechin, Poland on Wednesday. We stayed at a small inn in the central park of this large busy city. Just meters from traffic, trams and noise we were settled amidst trees, fountains. lots of local birds and quiet. The restaurant provided a sumptuous meal and spacious rooms. We were the only guests in the 13 available rooms. The next day provided a nice surprise. Our driver Jean suggested a side trip to Berlin and quickly arranged a tour. After a brief wait at the border we were off on a 3 hour tour of the Berlin Wall, and the reunited city. Berlin is a very large, very vibrant place. We saw how quickly the former Eastern Bloc sections have been modernized. Overall the city is still undergoing a huge building boom and our guide whipped us through the city with concise and incisive commentary about German history, the wars, the devisions of the country and city, their current recovery and entry into the EU. It was an interesting follow up to the events in Gdansk that we had just reviewed. We ended the day in Lubeck, where we have been enjoying the town and the tall ships at Travemunde. Today we sang at the Tall Ship Festival, gathering crowds and enjoying the festivities. We saw another large Shanty Chorus ' Passat' about 40 men strong. These groups are much more formal than ours, with much more unison singing and the instruments providing the harmony and counterpoint. Our group is MUCH MORE FUN. We sang walking in the streets and on board several of the ships. It was another warm, breezy day with flags flying over all the rigging and masts, just beautiful. We topped off the day with a great feast at a very old restaurant situated in a 16th century building. The Schiffer Gesellschaft is the house of the seaman's guild dating from 1535 and houses one of the oldest pubs in Europe. The rooms were spectacular in dark wooden beams, booths, dozens of large ship models hung from the ceiling, many paintings, sculptures, and artifacts, all rich with history and culture. We were seated in a room with several other groups and enjoyed a great meal with some (restrained) singing to entertain ourselves and the other guests nearby. It was topped off by several fine toasts and accolades to our fine driver Jean, who has taken such good care of us. We knighted him Sir Shifty of the Nights ( Sir Squeeze has the authority). So you can see we are continuing to have a fine time. Tomorrow we go to Copenhagen and will take leave of Sir Shifty. He returns to Belgium where his wife is due to have surgery. We all send our prayers for her health and recovery.
Long Bob and the Gang
Bruce Bardwell - 04:19 PM - link - 3 comments. |
