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It wasn’t a hard days night and we did not need help. It was actually a splendid day to learn about the Beatles.

Our tour guide was full of lots of information about the Fab 4. We learned about when they were born. We actually saw the houses that John and Paul lived in as children. We learned that they wrote 280 songs altogether, 30 in the living room of John’s house with Paul.

We passed by the Cavern which was the club that they were banned from playing in, in 1957 because they were playing rock and roll. We also learned that they had eventually played there 292 times before they gained fame in 1961. Not only the Beatles played at this club but so did Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and many others.

The original band started by John when he was in high school in 1957. They called themselves the Quarry Men. He met Paul at a church social where his band was playing. When he learned that Paul could play the guitar he was invited to join the band. Paul was busy going to camp so he told them he would let them know in 2 weeks. After 2 weeks he joined the band. At this time John was 17 and Paul was 15.

Their friend Stewart Sutcliff came up with the name of Beetles, but John changed the spelling to Beatles. In August, 1960, they went to Hamburg, where they played almost day and night. At the time they were ragtag looking, but Stewart’s girlfriend changed their look to the mushroom haircuts and black leather clothing.

We stopped at Penny Lane for photos. Then our guide played the song. We learned the history of how and why some of the songs were written and got to hear the music. Penny Lane is about Paul’s childhood and Strawberry Fields is about John’s.

We went to Strawberry Fields. It was originally a home for orphans or children whose parents could not care for them. It was near to where John lived and he often went there to play with the children. It is now a museum in honor of John, supported by Paul. It had a nice interactive display telling about John’s life and the Beatles too.

Our final stop was The Beatle’s Story which was a museum. It had reconstructed different scenes from their history. There was a mock-up of the Cavern, there was a Yellow Submarine room, there was a Sargent Pepper room with the costumes they wore on the album cover and many other interesting things. At the end was an area dedicated to each of the men, with information on awards and what else they had accomplished in their lives.

It was a very interesting day and getting to hear their music with the context of how or when or why it was written added to our time.

The day was quite nice so we walked back to the ship after our tour was done.

Our tour today was in the afternoon so Bob was able to get his workout done in the morning. The day was cloudy, but fairly warm considering what it has been.

Belfast is the largest city in Northern Ireland and its capital. It was granted city status in 1888 by Queen Victoria. It’s largest industry in the 1860s was ship building. The main company was Harland and Wolff, which is still in business today. Two of the companies current cranes are called Samson and Goliath. Harland and Wolff built 1700 ships in their history, the most famous being the Titanic. 70 of these ships were for the White Star Line, which was owned by J. P. Morgan, an American industrialist. His objective was to build the largest and most luxurious ships.

We saw the SS Nomadic, the tender ship for the 2nd and 3rd class passengers on the Titanic. There is a whole section of the city dedicated to Titanic and how it affected the history of Belfast.

The area around the Titanic Museum is being redeveloped. Some of the huge buildings previously used for ship building are now being used for film and TV production. Bob was even able to “sneak” into one of the areas and saw some of the sets for the Game of Thrones show which was filmed in this area.

Our main attraction was the Titanic Museum. The building is shaped like a star, honoring the company which ordered the ship. The museum is interactive and very informative, following the planning and building of Titanic. All the parts needed for the ship to be built were shown, from the linen that was used on the ship, to the ropes, to how the rivets were put in and on to the launch. There were mock-ups of the cabins for the three classes of passengers on Titanic. There was a very touching section that had the SOS signals and mayday calls. There were interviews from passengers who were saved.

The final section was about how Titanic was finally found almost 100 years after it sank. It also explained why they did not salvage anything from the ship or debris field.

It is one of the best museums we have been to. The final parts were about what was done to ensure the passengers in the future were safer; enough lifeboats for everyone on board, life vests for everyone and better communication if a ship is in peril.

After the museum we had a panoramic tour of the city. We heard about The Troubles, which dealt with part of the people wanting to be part of England and another part wanting to be part of Ireland. The sides were split partially by religion, Catholic vs Protestant. There were many years of bombings and fighting. This happened between 1960 and 1995. The Good Friday Agreement brought peace in 1998.

Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, celebrated 100 years of being a country last year.

The Isle of Lewis was our next stop. We anchored off the harbor of Stornoway. The tender ride into town was a roller coaster ride. Just getting onto the tender was a feat, since the tender was bobbing up and down.

The past 2 days had consisted of long bus rides so we changed our tour here to a walking tour. As Bob said at the end, it was a 1 hour walk that took 2.5 hours. Needless to say he wandered off from the guide quite often.

The town itself is small. We started in the harbor area and heard the story of a ship, Iolianus (sp) that sank with over 100 men from the town on it as it was arriving in the port. There were several memorials in remembrance of this tragedy.

Bonny Prince Charlie came here on his way to France after the battle of Culloden. John Paul Jones bombed the harbor during the war for independence. The famous Harris Tweed originated here. Our guide told us how the tweed is woven in homes, called crofts, and then sent to a processor in town. It is then shipped around the world.

Our main target of the walk was Lew Castle. It was across the harbor on an outcropping of land. We had to cross a small bridge. The building itself was impressive looking. We walked the grounds and then had time in the museum. There were some beautifully carved chess pieces. The museum also had historical artifacts from the area. The castle is now a hotel. We were able to walk through some of the public rooms.

The tender ride back to the ship was again a roller coaster ride.

We were happy to have had a day of walking rather than riding a bus. It was nice weather wise, sunny and cool.

Lerwick is the capital city of the Shetland Islands. This area has a Norse heritage as well as a Viking one. The population of the island that Lerwick is on is about 8,000 while all the Shetland Islands have a population of about 22,000. The islands were settled about 6,000 years ago. There are very few trees as they were used in the earliest times for building and heating. The land is covered with peat, which is still dug up and dried and used for heating. There are over 100 islands composing the Shetlands with 69 being populated. Our guide told us that a few of these islands only have a few people living on them. They need to get between them by boat.

The name Lerwick means muddy bay. It too has a relatively mild climate. It is very, very windy here and an electric company is in the process of installing 103 huge wind turbines. The locals are not happy about this being in their “backyard”. It will however provide all the power needed in these islands as well as supply power back to the mainland of Scotland.

The oil industry was very big in the 1960s. They even built an 18 hole golf course so the people working in the oil industry could have some recreational time. It is the 2nd most northern golf course in the world. At this time of year it is light until 10 PM so the course gets lots of use by locals and tourists. The oil industry also provided funding for all of the islands and built recreational buildings and homes for the elderly. They also set up a fund to provide for the upkeep of these facilities.

There is obviously a TV series located in the Shetland Islands and our guide pointed out the various buildings along the way that were used in the show. It is a British show, but a few of our tour group were fans of the show.

There are over 2,500 lochs (lakes) in the Shetlands and many are used for salmon farms and mussel farms. This is a huge industry for them.

Along the way we crossed a very narrow point in the road. We were told that at this point, about 30 feet wide, we could throw a stone from the Atlantic Ocean and throw it into the North Sea. We had one stop to see the Drombs which were huge rocks in one of the bays. In this area we traveled on a single track road, one lane only. Our final stop was a a lighthouse with a fabulous view down the coast of huge seaside cliffs and wild crashing waves. This area is called Northmavine. We were able to see the famous Shetland ponies, which are small horses, but very strong.

We finished with a ride through the town, seeing the historic buildings.

After these 2 long days of riding buses, when we got back to the ship we changed to a walking tour for our next stop.

Today we were at Kirkwall the capital of the Orkney Islands. There are 70 islands in the Orkney archipelago but only 20 are inhabited. The islands are about 40 miles off the Scottish coast. Kirkwall and vicinity has a population of about 10,000 with the total population of all the islands around 22,500.

The main source of income is from farming and tourism. The cattle industry is most prevalent with about 15 different breeds of cattle being raised. The prime breed is Black Aberdeen. They are expecting 200 cruise ships this season and indicated that this was a large number and very welcome. They also have a large jewelry manufacturing industry. Many retirees are coming to the area because of the relaxed way of life and the relative lower cost of living.

The islands were settled by the Vikings in the 9th century. It became part of Scotland in 1468. The main church, St. Magnus Cathedral, was started in 1137 and took 300 years to complete. Our guide told us the very intricate story of Magnus who was a lord of the land and how he became a saint.

We drove along side many lochs which were being used for salmon farms. The huge rings that hold the salmon could contain 10,000 in each one. The landscape included lots of farm land with low stone walls.

The climate of this area is considered maritime, which means it is moderate. The Gulf Stream passes close to the islands so the winters are fairly mild and the summers cool. They are at the same latitude of southern Greenland, Saint Petersburg, Russia and Alaska. In the winter they get strong gales with winds topping 100 mph.

They have over 500 wind turbines and are able to send power to the mainland of Scotland. They have a large number of electric cars.

The area has a world heritage UNESCO site which is where we were headed. It is the Ring of Brodgar. It is the 3rd largest ring in the world. It originally had 60 tall stones, but now there are 26 remaining. It is about 120 feet across. It is about 4600 years old which makes it older than Stonehenge. There is a second stone circle called the Standing Stones of Stenness which has 12 stones. In the same area is a mound building similar to one we had seen on another trip. On the winter solstice, the sun shines in the doorway and lights the inner chamber. It was closed to our group because of the number we were. They will only allow groups of 5 to enter it.

Our last point of interest was Scappa Flow which was a huge military area during WW I and WW II. In WW I the Germans had brought their fleet to this large harbor to protect them. In June of 1919 all the ships were sunk. There are still 7 in the waters. All the others have been salvaged. In WW II the British fleet was here to blockade the Germans.

The day turned out to be cool and sunny. We are always thankful for the sun.

Our ship docked in Leith which is the current port for Edinburgh. It has been the major trading town for Edinburgh for over 600 years, being established by King James IV. It is considered a royal borough which means that the people here can trade abroad. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland with a population of half a million. It lies in the central belt of Scotland, dividing the highlands from the lowlands. The total population of Scotland is around 5.5 million. There are more sheep in Scotland than there are people, around 6 million.

They are almost 100% electric from wind power. They are very dedicated to being green, but it is harder with the current world wide oil crisis. They are working on tidal power since Scotland has over 9,000 miles of coastline.

Our tour took us out of town. We drove about 30 minutes to the town of Stirling and majestic Stirling Castle. It was started in the 1200s as a fort. It was battled for over many centuries by the various kings who were trying to be independent from England. Robert the Bruce is the most famous Scottish king. He defeated the English at the battle of Bannockburn. In the 1300s the line of Stuart kings took power and all the next kings were named James.

William Wallis, the original Braveheart, was a noble in 1296 and fought in this area. Our guide told us that most of the movie, Braveheart, had major historical and costume errors. But he agreed that the movie was a good one.

The royalty like to live at Stirling Castle. It was a good place to raise children because of the temperate weather. We were able to see the well preserved buildings. We toured the chapel, which was a huge room for the time. Later in history it was used as a banquet hall. We toured the main building with some of the rooms decorated as they would have been in the old times. There was an exhibit of military dress and medals as well as an exhibit of the tapestries that had been woven for use in the palace part of the castle that used colors and techniques that were authentic to the original times.

There were several beautiful gardens that we were able to walk through. The views from the castle were terrific because it was on top of a small mountain.

We then went to the Battle of Bannockburn center. We had a short movie which told about the people who fought there. We then went into another theater where our guide told us about the battle. He had small army figures which he moved around the battle field and gave a very exciting and interesting showing of how the battle was fought and how Robert the Bruce was able to beat the English with half the number of troops. After we were able to walk to the monument marking the site of the battle.

We returned to the ship and after a quick lunch caught the shuttle into the city of Edinburgh. We walked up to the castle. Then we walked down the Royal Mile for a bit. We stopped into St. Giles church, which has a crown for it’s turret. The church was lovely, but we had the added treat of listening to a choir and orchestra practicing. We sat for a while to enjoy the music.

A stroll down Princes Street along side the various parks in the city got us back to the shuttle to take us to the ship.

It was a busy day AND we had sun and blue skies all day. We even were able to take off our heavy jackets.

Another sunny, relatively warm day. Bob opted out of our booked tour. We drove through Edinburgh seeing the main sights. The architecture of the city is mainly Georgian. We learned that in the olden times, you paid taxes based on the number of glass windows. Many of the buildings we saw had bricked over windows to save the owners money. I was surprised that they remained like that and were not opened up for current use.

Edinburgh is the publishing hub of Scotland. One of the first English dictionaries was published here. It is currently a scientific center with a large university. A great many medical treatments were developed here. The first pension system was developed here to talk care of the clergy after they retired.

The main purpose for this tour was to go the the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. It was established 350 years ago by the medical school. They brought in plants from all over the world to try to learn how to use them for healing purposes. The gardens are spread over 70 acres and are divided into many different types. I was expecting a more traditional “English” garden with lots of flowers and a neat arrangement. This was not the case. There was a Japanese garden, with those traditional elements. A rock garden with rocks from all over Scotland. There were flowers, but not arranged in a way I was expecting. It did allow me to be outside and get in a nice long walk in a pretty atmosphere.

Bob enjoyed his lazy day – getting to exercise and relax. We met another couple in the afternoon for some bridge.

Friday, June 3, was another sea day. The weather was fair, with some sun. It was still pretty cold and windy. The seas were a little rocky and both Bob and I had to wear our sea bands.

This leg of our trip has some bridge players and we met at 10 and had a nice game with a couple from Australia.

Since it was the start of the Queen’s Jubilee weekend, the restaurant had an English Pub lunch with lots of flags and pennants from the UK. The entertainment team led everyone in a sing-a-long. It was a fun atmosphere.

The rest of the day was a lazy one. We read our books. Bob exercised but there was too much movement for me to get on the treadmill.

Awaiting our arrival in Edinburgh.

We finally started off with a clear morning. No rain, but cloudy. A big improvement on the prior days. We were off to Luneburg, a medieval town about 30 miles from Hamburg.

The land in this part of Germany is flat. Quite a change from the mountains and waterfalls of Norway. We drove through mostly farmland. The farms are very large in this area because they are passed on the the oldest son. Therefore they are not broken into smaller parts so all the sons could inherit. The autobahn (highway) going into Hamburg was about 7 lanes wide and crawling along. We were on a busy road but it was moving along nicely.

The town of Luneburg was founded in the 8th century. It came to prominence when salt was discovered close to the surface of the land. The town was never destroyed because in the time of Rome, they never came to this area. During WW II the town was never bombed because the British planned to use it as a headquarters once Germany was defeated.

Our tour started at the Town Hall built in 1230. It has been enlarged and expanded of the years. It has a Baroque facade. We learned about the way that salt was mined. It was a very complex industry. There were 34 families that ran the whole operation. They were quite wealthy. They called the salt “white gold”. Many of their homes are still standing today and are in use as homes or shops. The homes of the wealthy were quite ornate. We learned that over the years as the salt was mined various parts of the town sank because the water levels that washed the salt up to the surface changed.

We saw the town harbor where the salt was loaded on flat bottom boats to be brought to other place to then be shipped around the world. The harbor had a gate in olden times that was locked each night to protect the salt. We saw the warehouses where the salt was stored prior to being shipped and the crane that was used to lower the barrels of salt onto the boats. Inside the crane were 2 big wheels on which 4 men walked to raise and lower the crane bucket. They worked in 4 hour period and had to walk forward and backward to raise and lower the bucket.

There are 3 big churches in town. We went inside St. Nicolai. It was built in the 15th century and was a church dedicated to the sailors. There were boats hanging in the main area.

There were several squares around the town. The main one was near the town hall with many historic building surrounding it. On the day we were there, there was a group of 2nd grade children performing. They sang and played simple instruments. We even saw 2 couples going into the town registry to get married.

It was an interesting town and we learned a lot from our guide, Gertrude, who actually lives in Luneburg.

We sailed late afternoon, on our way to Scotland.

Today was a washout, literally. We woke up to a drizzle, but by the time we were leaving the ship for our tour it was pouring. Hamburg is in the northern part of Germany and is the second largest city in Germany with a population of approximately 1.7 million. It lies at the intersection of 3 rivers and has many canals as well. The city has 2,500 bridges with New York City being the only city with more bridges.

The city has a vast transportation system – buses, tramcars, underground trains and trains. There are 5 major train stations in the city. The traditional buildings are made of light colored sandstone with copper roofs. Most of the buildings from the 1800s to late 1900s are made of red brick. There was a large amount of building cranes with lots of building going on. These new buildings are modern big city looking.

The old warehouse area built from 1880 to 1920 is now part of a UNESCO area. There is a big area near this being developed as a modern new city. Hamburg is a cultural city with a new opera house, of very striking design, Elbphilharmonie, fondly called Elfie by the locals.

We drove through the city seeing the usual town hall, churches and other famous landmarks. We passed the red-light district where the Beatles got their start playing in bars in the area.

We then boarded a steam powered boat for a ride on Alster Lake. This is a huge lake system, 2 big lakes in the center of town. It was still raining so it was hard to see much. We passed through and by, beautiful parks and homes. This is obviously the upscale part of town. The American embassy is on one of the lakes. The city has been named a European Green Capital for all the beautiful trees and parks.

It finally stopped raining when we got back to the ship, so we were able to eat lunch on the deck, but still had to wear our warm jackets because it was chilly.

We overnighted in Hamburg.