Author: Carl

May 7, 2023 The MS Zuiderdam is a Vista-class cruise ship owned and operated by Holland America Line (HAL). It is the lead ship of the Vista-class vessels, so named for the extensive use...

May 4, 2023 Azores, Portuguese in full Arquipélago dos Açores, archipelago and região autónoma (autonomous region) of Portugal. The chain lies in the North Atlantic Ocean roughly 1,000 miles west of mainland Portugal. It...

May 1, 2023 For information about the country of Ireland, please see my post on Dublin. This post will focus primarily on the towns of Cobh and Kinsale. Cobh, in Irish An Cóbh, is...

Apr.30, 2023 Ireland, Irish Éire, is a country of western Europe occupying five-sixths of the westernmost major island of the British Isles. Here is the flag of Ireland: The magnificent scenery of Ireland’s Atlantic...

Apr. 29, 2023 For information about the country of Scotland, please see my post on The Isle of Skye. This post will focus on the city of Oban. The tour was very short, though...

Apr. 28, 2023 Sing me a song of a lass that is gone, Say, could that lass be I? Merry of soul she sailed on a day Over the sea to Skye. Billow and...

Apr. 25, 2023 Well, as the poet Robert Burns put it “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley.” Rather than visiting Scandinavia, I was laid low with a bout of...

Apr. 18, 2023 Netherlands is a country located in northwestern Europe. It is also known as Holland. “Netherlands” means low-lying country; the name Holland (from Houtland, or “Wooded Land”) was originally given to one...

Apr. 17, 2023 Belgium is a country of northwestern Europe. It is one of the smallest and most densely populated European countries, and it has been, since its independence in 1830, a representative democracy...

Apr. 16, 2023 For information about England, please see my post on Weymouth. This post will focus on the cities of Rye, Tenterden and Northiam in Kent. We were meant to pull in at...