cruise

I have been planning for a cruise for over a month and a half. Initially David and I wanted to tour Europe during the Christmas break, go to Albania, Italy, Switzerland, but as I started researching and preparing for the trip it just seemed more and more difficult. The cost was way over what we could afford and traveling with 2 kids seeing things they don't care about and isn't fun. Can you imagine a 16 month old in the Sistine Chapel? As the dream of traveling Europe while we were this close died, I was inspired. I still wanted to see Europe and be with my family. I wanted something relaxing for David after finals and his first semester at medical school. I was inspired to look into cruises near by. I found one that would fit our budget and we could really enjoy Christmas. It was called the Christmas market cruise. We left Monday Dec, 14 and it was a 5 day cruise. I have been telling Eliza that we are going to go on a big boat for over a month. She told all of her friends and everyone at church so it was exciting to finally see our boat. It wasn't a huge ship but big for us, 800 passangers and 300 crew. We were the only young ones on the boat, there was nothing on the boat for the children and it was very cold, so no swimming, no tennis, golf or hot tub, but it was AWESOME!!!! We ate ,ate, napped, danced and played cards and just were together. It was so great to be there as a family and play together. The children were great and everyone thought they were darling.

We visited Bremerhaven, Germany and Amsterdam. We were planned to visit Belgium but due to inclimate weather we couldn't port. It snowed out to sea and the captain said it was his first time seeing snow out to sea. This was the big freeze that came over Europe and effected a lot of transportation, but we had a great day at sea.

In Bremerhaven we visited the zoo which was really cold but the animals were all up and ready for their breakfasts, so it was great to see the animals so active and close up.

Also we went to the climahouse, which is like a discovery museum for climates and different cultures. It was huge and had some great exhibits, plus it was inside. It is the building that looks like a huge raft.

It was very cold in Germany. We finally found the Christmas market and it was great. We ate brauts German style. they were great.

Amsterdam was awesome. We went on a little canal cruise, and it was great because it took us down all of the beautiful canals and showed us the main sites of the city and it was heated so that was a plus. We walked down the market street that led us to the main city square and it was beautifully lighted. Our camera was dead at that point so we didn't get any pics, but it was awesome. We found the flower market. As we walked down the market it started to snow. It was so awesome and added to the ambiance of the Christmas feeling. We headed back to the boat a little early and enjoyed a warm very tasty dinner. It was so relaxing not to worry about food.

We were supposed to port in Belgium but the weather was bad. The captain tried to get us to port at several other places but nothing worked out. We stayed out to sea and played on the boat.

It was such a great vacation to be with my family and see a little part of Europe.