June 14, 2024

Hamburg

I got into Hamburg a little after 10 pm (they are 1 hour later than Spain, Ireland & UK) and took a cab to my good friend Tom Powl's . He greets me at the door wearing his Lederhosen! Not so shocking if you know Tom! I forgot to take a picture, but happen to have this one of him, donning this outfit on another visit. 

Today we caught up and took a nice long walk through his neighborhood of Eimsbuttel, one of the 7 boroughs that makes up Hamburg. He is in a great location within a block of the subway and railway lines and this new impressive 2 story bike storage is right outside the subway stop. There are tons of shops, restaurants and cafes and a lot of people out enjoying the nice weather. Most of the housing in this area is apartments & condo's that have little to no, outside space. There are tons of parks, a zoo and a whole area of private garden spaces, called Schrebergartens that have long wait list to buy or rent from the city. They create this huge green area for all with lots of bike and walking trails, right in the city. The gardens are all divided by hedges and have Indvidual little entry gates, and many have elaborate gardens and cottage building that they can hang out in and enjoy nature. There was also a lot of German proud flags flying today, as tonight was the first EU Football match between Germany & Scotland (they won!!) Tom and I toasting Germany!

By Patricia Patrick January 19, 2026
I threw together an impromptu Bachelorette party for Angie tonight! Angie and Gian are getting married for a third time in Hawaii next week.They will be alone this time and it turns out she never had a Shower or Bachelorette to celebrate her first 2 marriages on the Ship, last May! Our girl deserved a fun night to celebrate her! So we took over a section the outdoor seating at Les 3 Brassuers, and their great band had us all up dancing! It's amazing what you can do with a bunch of WhatsApp messages to fellow ladies, some tulle, sparkles and always handy flower lei's ! One of the ladies even went and bought her some lingerie! I love our supportive community!
By Patricia Patrick January 19, 2026
I got to go Sailing Again! We were supposed to head to the COOK ISLANDS after the lovely Rangiroa and the Tuamotu Archipelago, but due to stormy weather there, with all unprotected tender ports, they made the decision to head us southwest, back to the protected port in Papeeta (Tahiti). We got lucky and Holly ( pictured below) found us a sailboat available for charter.
By Patricia Patrick January 14, 2026
Since Janette Emerich is generous enough to share her drone photos with all of us on board the Ship, I have to share them with you all. This beauty is why I said we felt like we were in a screen saver the whole day in Rangiroa! I love the height perspective in the photos it really captures so much more. Blue Lagoon below: