Somehow, I was late coming to the realization that a total solar eclipse was going to cross the continent in August. I happened to see an article about it early in July and saw a map showing the path of totality stretching from Oregon across to South Carolina. I happened to mention it to my wife and daughter, pointing out that the total eclipse would pass over Charleston, SC.  My daughter suggested that we should go to Charleston to see it, and my wife agreed that it sounded fun. So we began some last minute planning. Unfortunately, by the time my wife was able to confirm that she didn't have to work, there was absolutely no rooms available in Charleston for the weekend before the eclipse. After some discussion, we decided to go part way down on Sunday, get up early and drive to see the eclipse on Monday morning and then stay in Charleston for a few days afterwards to see the city.

I booked a hotel in southern North Carolina for Sunday night, and one in North Charleston for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. I ordered a set of solar filtered glasses to protect our eyes, and solar filters to protect our cameras, hoping everything would arrive in time. As the date of the eclipse drew closer, I began looking for a place to watch the eclipse. There were a number of viewing parties planned in and around Charleston, and I couldn't decide which of them we would go to. But then I saw a note that suggested the Santee State Park, on the shores of Lake Marion, near I-95, closer to the center of the state. Somehow, it seemed like watching the eclipse from a state park would be more comfortable than from a parking lot (where most of the Charleston viewing parties were scheduled). So that became my plan.

As the days counted down to the eclipse, I began to have second thoughts about whether it was really worth the effort and expense, not to mention hassle of dealing with the crowds, to travel this far just to see an eclipse that would only last about two minutes, at least for the totality. But the money was spent, and the schedules adjusted, so off we went. The drive into North Carolina on Sunday wasn't too bad, although there were a couple of pockets of really slow traffic, probably resulting from the increased traffic volume. Even so, we reached our hotel room by early evening, and I figured we only had to drive about two hours in the morning to get to our destination. And so it was. Traffic on Monday morning was surprisingly light, at least until we reached the exit for the Santee State Park. The traffic trying to get to the park was backed up past the interstate, so we changed our plan. The previous exit, on the other side of the lake, provided access to the Santee National Wildlife Refuge, and there hadn't been any visible traffic back-up there. We grabbed some carryout chicken for lunch and headed back to the refuge.

When we reached the entrance to the wildlife refuge, there was a short back-up as the entering cars waited to get directions and information at the gate, but once past that point, there were no delays getting back to the big field that had been mowed for parking. We followed the stream of cars to the field, parked, and got out to wait for the eclipse. There was a festive atmosphere, with people relaxed and happy. It seemed that everyone was glad to have something to talk about other than politics for a change. People set up canopies and chairs, played cards and volleyball. Eventually, it was time for the eclipse to begin, and we all grabbed our solar filtered glasses and watched as the moon slowly began to inch its way in front of the sun.

It surprised me how little change in the brightness there was until very late in the eclipse. I really didn't notice much change in the brightness until we were beyond 80% occluded, but eventually, it did dim a bit, and the light became redder. I also noticed a (very welcome) drop in the temperature as we neared totality.  And then, in an instant, it was dark as the moon totally covered the sun. We took off our glasses and were stunned by the view. The sun had become a black disk, with a flare of light around it. I snapped a bunch of photos, but also took some time to just enjoy the spectacular view.



Then, after just a bit more than two minutes, the light suddenly came back as the moon began to inch out of the way. We had to put our glasses back on again, to watch the gradual progression of the moon as the eclipse drew to an end. I took pictures through the entire sequence, and later put together a composite photo showing the sequence:



And when it was all over, and we sat in the car, inching our way out of the wildlife refuge towards the highway, I was glad we had made the effort to be there. It is hard to convey in words just how incredible an experience it was, and I completely understand how a culture without our scientific understanding of the event would attribute any number of superstitious meanings to an eclipse. Even fully prepared for the event, knowing what to expect, I was completely awed by the spectacle. After all of my second guessing, I was thoroughly glad we had come to see it. We're already thinking about where we might see the next one, in April 2024.

 The very nature of my job means that opportunities for work related travel are extremely limited. I am currently in Seattle on a rare work excursion to visit some of the companies that file applications in the technology I work on (image analysis). These trips are intended to be educational, a chance for us to meet with inventors and attorneys on their turf and learn a bit more about what they do. I'm being paid, but off the production clock, so it should be a relaxing week, sort of a free, paid vacation of sorts. This is only my third such trip during the 27 years I've worked for the Office, and the first that didn't go to Silicon Valley in California.

Yesterday was our travel day, and we flew out on Alaska Airlines on a non-stop flight from Reagan National Airport, which got us here before lunch time. We took advantage of the free afternoon to do some sightseeing, visiting the Space Needle and the Pike Place Market. The weather was incredibly clear, and we got some absolutely breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier throughout the day. Today we start our visits, which will continue through Thursday and we will fly home on Friday.

 When our ship returned to Copenhagen, the disembarkation process was exceptionally fast and efficient, and we soon were on a (very crowded) transit bus, headed back into the city. At the Nørreport station, we switched from the bus to the Metro for the final leg of our trip to the airport. After a painless check-in, we settled in to await our flight to Iceland.

When we arrived in Iceland, we quickly collected our bags and found the shuttle we'd booked for the ride to our hotel. The international airport in Iceland is in Keflavík, about a 45 minute drive from Reykjavík, but our hotel was the shuttle's first stop when we reached the city, which was convenient.  Hotels in Iceland are expensive, and we had chosen ours because it had a relatively low price with decent reviews.  It turned out to be a really great location, sitting just across the street from the iconic Hallgrimskirkja, often referred to by the locals as the "big church". This landmark made it impossible for us to remain lost in the city for very long.



As we settled into our room, we contacted our tour guide from Copenhagen, who was now visiting her mother here in Iceland. She sent us some restaurant recommendations and we headed out to explore and get some dinner. We quickly discovered that restaurants in Iceland are very expensive. Appetizers are generally about US$15-20 and main courses generally will cost at least US$35. Since it was Saturday night, many places were full, and we weren't really in the mood to wait for a table, so when one of the places Inga Maria recommended had open tables, we didn't think twice. The food may have been expensive, but it was delicious and filling. 

When we returned from our tour the next day, we again contacted Inga Maria, who met us at the hotel and we all went to dinner together.  It was great to see her again, this time in her native country, and we had a fun evening out, with more great food and wonderful conversation. Our final evening was given over to more sightseeing in the city after we returned from the tour we had booked for the day.  We wandered further into the city, window shopping and generally enjoying the sights. The next morning, our shuttle picked us up right on time and took us back to the airport for our flight back home.

 The final port on our cruise itinerary was Warnemünde, just north of Rostock, Germany. While we could have chosen to tour Rostock or spend the day on the beach, the only excursion we really even considered was the tour to Berlin. We knew that it would be a long day on a bus, and that we wouldn't spend even close to enough time in Berlin to satisfy us, but this was the first opportunity we've had to experience the city, so we decided to get a little taste, even if it means we'll need to come back to explore more thoroughly.

Our drive to Berlin was all on the autobahn through farmland. We did see villages out away from the highway, and the landscape was dotted with dozens of wind turbines for most of the trip. This tour focused on the history of Germany since the Second World War, and our tour guide pointed out how we were driving through what had been East Germany for forty years, the Soviet sector of occupied Germany, and noted that during the Cold War, it would have been difficult for us to have visited this part of Germany.

When we reached Berlin, we stopped briefly at Alexanderplatz to pick up another guide who would show us around the city. Our tour began on the bus, as we drove through the historic city center, down the Unter den Linden past the Cathedral and the Humbolt University and on to the government center with the Reichstag and Chancellery, before we headed into the Tiergarten. Finally, we stopped at the Brandenburg Gate and got off the bus to see more of the city on foot.  From the Brandenburg Gate, we walked through the Berlin Holocaust Memorial and stopped briefly at the site of Hitler's bunker, before visiting a remnant of the Berlin Wall. We made a stop at Checkpoint Charlie, which is a reproduction of the original US Army checkpoint at this location, created to satisfy the tourists, which means it is exactly as tacky as you would expect.







We finally made our way to the Berlin Concert House, where we reboarded our bus for the long drive back to Warnemünde and the ship.  As we had expected, this was the merest appetizer of a taste of Berlin, leaving us hungry for more. Berlin struck us as a vibrant city, busily rebuilding itself.  They are recreating many of the historic buildings that didn't survive World War II, and while only traces of the Berlin Wall itself remain, the winding path of the wall through the city is clearly marked with a double row of bricks laid into the pavement and sidewalks. We saw an incredible number of museums and performing arts venues, none of which we had time to visit. Berlin is definitely a place that we will need to visit again.

The final port in Norway was Kristiansand, on the southern coast. This was also our shortest port call, as we didn't arrive at the pier until about 1:00pm, so we were able to enjoy a leisurely morning onboard the ship before our excursion. After our originally booked excursion was cancelled, our choices were a high-speed boat tour in the harbor or the vintage Setesdal railway. Since we were concerned about being too cold out on the water in a high speed boat, we opted for the steam train (probably a good choice, since it also turned out to be a rainy day).

Our bus took us north of the city to one end of the 6km stretch of track used by this historic railway, where we had about a 15 minute wait before our train arrived. When the train finally arrived, it was full of passengers from our ship who apparently had caught it from the other end. While those passengers got off the train and we got ourselves settled, the steam locomotive was moved to the other end of the train for the return trip.






Once the locomotive was repositioned, we pulled away from the station, back the way the train had come from. It continued to rain, but we had several of the windows opened so we could have a better view of the countryside. The tracks hugged the side of the valley, with rocks just feet away on one side, and a small river running beside us on the other.

When we reached the station at the other end of the tracks, we reboarded our bus for our return to the ship. Once we reached the pier, we had about an hour before we were scheduled to depart, so my wife and I went for a short walk to see some of the city. Because of the continuing rain and the short amount of time, we really didn't get to see much, but it was nice to stretch our legs a little before going back aboard the ship for the night.

 After our day at sea, our first destination was the Geiranger fjord, one of the longest fjords in Norway. We entered the fjord sometime during the night, and by the time we woke, we were tied to the pier in the tiny village of Hellesylt (2013 population - 253). This was as far north as I had ever been (62° North latitude), and it was a chilly morning compared to this time of year at home. The ship was only staying here for about an hour to disembark passengers who had booked tours from here and would be leaving at 9:00 am to sail the rest of the way to the only slightly larger village of Geiranger at the end of the fjord.



After a short stop to take photos from the bridge in front of the waterfall, our bus started up into the mountains on a one lane road, passing farms on both sides as the mountains loomed above us.  Tiny streams of water fell from the mountaintops all along the way, and everything was lushly green. When the pavement ended, our bus stopped and we continued on foot, beginning a 10km (6 mile) hike over the mountain pass to the village of Flo, on the shores of the glacial lake Oppstrynsvatnet. The climb up to the pass was gradual and did not require any strenuous effort, so we would enjoy to gorgeous scenery around us.  We followed the shores of three smaller lakes and the streams that connected them, gawking at all of the waterfalls, both small and large, that dropped from the mountain peaks around us. The air was crisp and clean, and the sun even came out for portions of the walk, warming us as we made our way. Eventually, on the shores of the third lake, we came to a collection of summer homes, accessible from the valley below by a steep gravel track that certainly required four wheel drive to ascend. The descent down this track was probably the hardest part of our hike, as it was much steeper than our climb, and the loose gravel kept slipping beneath our feet.



When we reached Flo, our bus was waiting for us, having driven back to Hellesylt and taken a longer route around the mountains to get there. After boarding the bus, we drove around the end of Oppstrynsvatnet to the opposite shore, where we were scheduled to stop for lunch at the Heille Hotel. The dining room had a lovely view of the lake for us to enjoy while we ate a lunch of homemade mushroom soup, fresh salmon with potatoes and vegetables, and a dessert of ice cream and berries, all washed down with a non-alcoholic Norwegian beer. After lunch, we had just a few minutes to get some photos of the lake and mountains before continuing our journey.



We quickly left the valley behind, climbing high into the mountains, passing through two long tunnels. As we exited the second tunnel, it was like we had driven back into winter.  The mountains were entirely snow covered, and the lakes we drove alongside were still frozen over. There was one tall, wide slope with ski tracks on it, even though there was no lift or formal ski area.  Looking closely, we could just make out half a dozen skiers working their way down the slope after having climbed up earlier in the morning. 

Our final stop before arriving in Geiranger was the scenic viewpoint at the top of Dalsnibba, the tall mountain peak at the end of the valley that holds the Geiranger fjord. Access to this mountain top is via a private toll road built and maintained by the residents of Geiranger. This steep switchback road was lined with tall snowbanks, often taller than our bus. From the top of the mountain, we were treated to panoramic vistas of the surrounding mountains and the fjord, far below, with our ship (and others) anchored, waiting for our return.



From here, we began our descent, squeezing our way past the ascending traffic on the narrow road. Eventually we arrived in Geiranger, where we browsed the gift shops briefly before catching the tender boat back to our ship, arriving back aboard shortly before our scheduled dinner time.  As we ate dinner, we watched the mountains slide past on either side of the ship as we sailed back down the fjord towards the Norwegian Sea.  After dinner, we spent a little time out on deck, enjoying the scenery, at least until it got too chilly.  Eventually, we went back inside to enjoy the evening's show, and as we prepared for bed that night, we got to watch as we exited the fjord and turned south for Bergen, our destination for the next day.

 On the first full day of our cruise, which was our only day at sea as we sailed north along the Norwegian coast, we witnessed our third major emergency operation of the trip.  Shortly before midday, we returned to our stateroom to pick up some things and noticed the sound of a helicopter flying nearby. Almost as soon as that sound registered, there was an announcement on the public address system requesting the stretcher team to report to the ship's hospital. I stepped out onto our balcony and discovered that the Norwegian rescue helicopter was directly above our cabin!

I quickly grabbed my camera, and began to take photos as we watched a member of the helicopter crew prepare to repel down to the ship. Once he was on deck, they lowered a basket down, and the helicopter moved out next the ship while they prepared the patient for the transfer.  Over the next 15-20 minutes the helicopter appeared to remain perfectly stationary relative to the ship. But since the ship was still moving, this meant that the helicopter was actually station-keeping, moving at exactly the same speed as the ship. That pilot did a truly impressive job of flying the helicopter.



Eventually, the helicopter moved back over the ship and the patient and crew member were hoisted aboard.  When the aircraft moved alongside again, the crew was sliding the side door closed and the helicopter accelerated ahead of the ship before crossing in front of us towards the Norwegian shore. It was a very professional and skilled operation. I have no idea what the condition of the patient might have been, but we weren't scheduled to arrive at a port with a hospital until the third day of the cruise, so I can imagine a number of situations that might have been beyond the ability of the ship's hospital to manage until then.

Afterwards, we talked to others on the ship and discovered that all the outdoor decks of the ship had been closed during the operation, to prevent people from being blown overboard by the rotor wash. That meant that only those with balconies on our side of the ship had a decent chance of witnessing the operation, although everyone on the ship knew it was happening. It was the first time I've been on a cruise when someone needed to be evacuated, and I found the operation fascinating to watch. However, I feel bad for the person whose vacation was so dramatically interrupted, and I hope that they are recovering well.

 I'm home from our trip to Europe, and additional posts are forthcoming about what we saw and did.  But first, I want to update my visited countries map, since this trip added four new countries (Denmark, Norway, Germany, Iceland) to it.

We left Washington yesterday afternoon, and after a brief two hour layover in Iceland in the middle of the night, arrived at the airport in Copenhagen, Denmark at about 6:00 am this morning.  Since we had cleared EU passport control in Iceland, we immediately made our way to baggage claim, where our suitcases arrived just moments after we did. After purchasing train tickets, we headed down to the train platform, below the terminal, where a train was seemingly waiting for us. Twelve minutes later the train pulled into the Copenhagen Central Station, where we began our two block walk to our hotel.  It was all quite painless and efficient.

After leaving our luggage at the hotel (where we couldn't check in until afternoon), we set out to explore the city.  As it wasn't even 8:00 yet, the city still had a sleepy feel to it, but gradually the streets began to fill with traffic and more bicycles than I've ever seen in one place before. Most of the streets have dedicated bicycle lanes, and the intersections have three distinct sets of signals: one for motor vehicles, one for bicyclists, and one for pedestrians.  We wandered over a significant portion of the old part of the city, including the colorful Nyhavn canal area before it was time to meet our scheduled tour for the day.






At 10:30 we meet our tour guide and the other 9 people on our food tour outside the entrance to the newish food market.  Over the next four hours, our guide talked to us about the history of Copenhagen and its recent food renaissance. We made several stops to sample different local foods, from local cheeses and candies, to craft beers, to the local interpretations of the hot dog. It was all delicious, and by the end of the tour we were full, and appreciating all the walking we were doing.

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel to check in, and it looks like that may be it for today.  I've been up for almost 30 hours now, and I'm trying to stay awake until evening here, just to reset my body clock, but my wife is sound asleep, and my feet need a break before tomorrow's  tour. 

 Every few years, we splurge and book a stay at an all-inclusive beach resort. I would be tempted to do it more often, but it gets expensive, because you have to pay for the accommodations, plus the all-inclusive fee (which is a set amount per person, per day) to cover food, drinks, and activities. So a week at one of these resorts can easily exceed $1500 for a couple. And that is the reason that we have always chosen to do these stays in the Dominican Republic, which is probably the country with the least expensive all-inclusive resorts*. And so we found ourselves doing our third all-inclusive vacation in our third Dominican city. On our previous visits, we had staying in La Romana (south coast) and Punta Cana (east end of the island). This time we stayed in Puerto Plata, on the north shore.



The resort we were staying at was actually just one of a whole complex of resorts, all owned by the same company, and we had access to facilities scattered across several adjacent resorts, including a number of different restaurants and pools, as well as several different bars. Our room was in one of the oldest buildings on the property, and it had its quirks, but it was roomy and the bed was comfortable, so it was adequate for our purposes, as we really didn't spend much time in our room.

The resort "beaches" were set back from the water, separated from the "real" beach by a sea wall. This allowed the resorts to control access to the property, but it also meant that you felt a bit removed from the ocean while you relaxed on a lounge chair or in a cabana. However, having a wait staff that could bring cold drinks and food to you as you lay in the sun (or, as we tried to do, the shade) certainly made up for the slightly limited access to the surf. If I could figure out how to support myself, I would be perfectly content to just stay on one of these beaches, enjoying bottomless drinks and reading good books!



The food was endless, but for the most part was only slightly above average in quality.  Which was probably just as well, because if it had all been excellent, I would have found it impossible to not eat too much.  As it was, I found myself snacking through the day, certainly consuming more calories than I was burning as I reclined on the beach. The other oddity of the resort was that the rooms did not have free internet access, but there was free WiFi on the beaches, which meant that many people lay on the beach with their phones or tablets, checking e-mail and Facebook, or just surfing the internet. Weird.



And because this was a tropical island, everything was lush and green and generally just gorgeous.  There were several resident cats on the resort, who were completely prepared to beg for whatever food you might be willing to share with them.  There were also birds that felt that it was totally acceptable to fly into the buffet restaurants and help themselves to scraps that fell to the floor or to food from the plates left on the tables when people walked away. And for those staying a few buildings over from us, there was a group of peafowl that provided a reliable, if annoyingly early, wake-up service.



We did leave the property twice during our week, on excursions to experience a little of what the Dominican Republic had to offer away from the beach.  On Monday, we visited the waterfalls of Damajagua, where, after a *very* sweaty 40 minute hike in the jungle, we jumped, slid, and swam down a series of 12 waterfalls. Then on Thursday, we dis an all day tour to Santiago and Jarabacoa. Each of those excursions probably deserve an entry of their own. 

* If you find an offer for an all-inclusive resort that includes a really low price, understand that the resort is probably taking a loss on the deal in order to get you on the property so they can try to sell you a timeshare or vacation club membership. These sales pitches are *very* high pressure and generally will cost you about half of one day of your trip, even if you consistently refuse to buy anything. This isn't to say that you shouldn't take advantage of these promotions, but understand what they are and be prepared for the sales pitch. These companies definitely try to take advantage of people who don't understand what they are being sold. If you are staying for a week, losing half a day may be worth the discounted price, but that is a decision that each traveller needs to make for him or herself.