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Scanning Scandinavia-June 2023

Well, DaK finally took a Viking Ocean Cruise after 3 Viking River Cruises. Viking once again exceeded our expectations. The Viking Jupiter’s cleanliness and service was outstanding! The only disadvantage we found with the Ocean Cruise (vs the river cruise) was that a couple of the ports were inconvenient to get off and on the ship at our leisure.

Our 12-day cruise itinerary included stops in Stockholm Sweden (overnight), Mariehamn (Finland territory), Gotland (Visby) Sweden, Gdansk Poland, Kariskrona Sweden, Bornholm (Ronne) Denmark, Warnemunde (excursions to Rostock or Berlin) Germany, Aarhus Denmark, and Copenhagen Denmark (overnight). After the cruise we decided to spend an additional 6 days in Copenhagen, on our own, taking advantage of the Viking Air “stop over” option. We really got to know the Copenhagen region (Zealand) of Denmark in the 8 days we were there. 

Arriving at the Viking Jupiter
A view of our room from our balcony
Stockholm harbor view from our balcony
We had breakfast delivered us most mornings
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Peony In Love

  • Author: Lisa See
  • Genre: Historical fiction, love stories
  • Pages: 304
  • Setting: China, Ming Dynasty
  • Subject headings: Chinese women, Operas, Happiness in women, expectations of young women, arranged marriages

If you were to ask me what is my favorite book of all time that I have enjoyed, I would say Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.  Why?  Because I loved the historical aspects of the story, and the characters came alive on the page.  I have gifted the book to so many of my friends.  Anyway, Lisa See has given us another beautiful story in Peony in Love.  

Peony, a dutiful 15-year-old daughter of a wealthy Chen family is quickly approaching the age of marriage.  Her family has arranged for her to be married in a few short months.  On a summer evening just months before her impending marriage, Peony wanders into the family garden and accidently comes upon a man. Peony has never been alone with a man, and while it is a beach of etiquette and could possibly disgrace her family it anyone were to find out, she stays and talks. They end up discussing many topics such as love, free will and the opera The Peony Pavilion. They agree to meet the next evening at the same place. 

After several meetings, Peony realizes that she has fallen in love with the stranger and now cannot fathom the idea of marrying anyone else.  She quickly descends into a dark place and becomes very depressed.  She becomes Lovesick.  The novel’s plot mirrors that of The Peony Pavilion Opera, where young lovesick maidens starve themselves as a revolt against expected norms. 

This book is available at your public library.

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Our Missing Hearts

  • Author: Celeste Ng
  • Genre:  Dystopian Fiction
  • Pages: 352
  • Setting: New York
  • Tone/Mood: Moving, thought provoking
  • Subject headings: Mothers and sons, family relationships, Chinese Americans, hate crimes

Bird Gardner (12) lives with his father, a former college professor who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to keep his head low and be very quiet when out in public, standing out is only asking for trouble. The prevailing thought in America is to preserve American culture, thereby arresting those who do not look like or act like the typical American, particularly people of Asian dissent.  The government has also started to clear out books from schools and libraries that glorify unpatriotic themes.  It’s been years since Bird saw his mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who wrote a series of poems that were eventually withdrawn from public and university libraries due to its content which focused on the injustices of society.  She is now in hiding trying to stay alive.  As Bird gets older and remembers his mother, he begins to miss her terribly and begins a quest to find her.  

Our Missing Hearts is a story that is relevant and too close to the realities of today. I was struck by the themes of racism, police brutality and Anti-Asian hate crimes that are easily found in the news today.

A must read for book clubs!

Available in your public library!

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Jekell Island – Splendid Isolation

Another glorious few weeks spent on Jekyll Island, GA this year. “Splendid Isolation” a book by Pamela Mueller, accurately describes our time on Jekyll. We got to know the island even better this year as we explored many of the nooks and crannies in addition to taking two narrated tours from the islands Mosaic Museum.

The weather started out as predicted in January, mostly highs in the 60’s with a day or two in the 70’s. But February was warmer than expected with some days pushing 80 starting mid-month. That warmer weather brought out the gnats, which were a bit of a nuisance on some days. But one can’t complain considering the winter weather back in Michigan.

Once again, we stayed at the Residence Inn, by Marriott. This time in a 1st floor ocean view suite. The tradeoff was convenience (mostly for our bikes and laundry) vs. a birds eye view of the ocean.

Trail near our hotel
Horton's Pond
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St. Augustine, FL

Continuing south from Charleston, we spent 4 days in St. Augustine. Our stay at the Courtyard by Marriott in St. Augustine Beach was nice and was a short one block walk to the ocean. Aside from biking and walking the historic district, our three highlights in St. Augustine included the Nights of Lights, Old Coast Ales Brewery, and Fort Matanzas. Many online reviews rate the St. Augustine Nights of Lights among the best holiday light shows in the country. We’d have to agree.

On our bike ride from the Courtyard Hotel to historic St. Augustine (along A1A), we happened upon Old Coast Ales Brewery. We would put it in our top tier breweries! The El Galeon BBA Stout (14% A.B.V.), the Port of Call Porter, and the No A’Postrophe (Red) we’re our favorites. The street tacos at Osprey Tacos were excellent and reasonably priced to compliment the fantastic beers. They conveniently shared and outdoor patio with the brewery.

On our last full day in St. Augustine, we rode our bikes, from the Courtyard to Fort Matanzas (20 miles round trip). Fort Matanzas was completed in 1742 to warn St. Augustine of approaching enemies and was part of the early Spanish empire. The tour was conducted by the National Park Service and included a short ferry ride to the fort and a narrative tour of the fort by the park rangers. It was all free of charge.  

Bridge connecting St. Aug Beach to St. Augustine
College in Historic District
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We have been Road Tripping all Winter! Our first stop was in Charleston, S.C.

As you know, long, dark winters in Michigan can be agonizing so we try to get away soon after the holidays and travel to a warmer part of the country. This year we wanted to experience Jekyll Island again, so in January we took off and headed south. Our first stop was an overnighter to rest.  We picked a winner because in Williamsburg are the Cumberland Falls and they were beautiful! After a one-night stay in Williamsburg, KY (where we had time to quickly see Cumberland Falls) we continued our journey south to Charleston, SC. 

 

 

Cumberland Falls, KY
Cumberland Falls Path
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