A RAINY DAY IN KIRKWALL:

 A RAINY DAY IN KIRKWALL: 


 

The sun was up early as well as me. 

We have arrived in the Orkney’s at the port of Kirkwall. 

 

Always like seeing the harbor pilots arrive. 

Kirkwall is steeped in Norse history as it was a location where the Vikings landed and settled. 





After breakfast we headed out to explore on our own. There was a cruise shuttle bus that took us the 2.5 miles into the city center. 
It was a nice long bendy bus. (as I call them)

The day started misty and we made our way to the St Magnus Cathedral and its cemetery. The cathedral is constructed of many different types of limestone.  The most noted is the yellow limestone. 



The Cemetery was of interest to me as there one finds the grave of Dr. John Rae an arctic explorer. He is known for this discovery of the passage which opened the North West Passage for future explorers notably Roald Amundsen.  He was further involved in the search for the Franklin Expedition.

There is a memorial for him in the cathedral that many think is his crypt. 



Then we explored the Kirkwall museum which spans the history of the island from the Pects to the Vikings, to modern day. 



RAIN AND MORE RAIN..... WE RETURNED TO SHIP WET, WE DID
 

Next we found a local grocery. We visit grocery stores to learn a bit about daily life. 

Lynn was in dire need of chocolate. As we left the store the rain was falling at a steady rate. 

We boarded the cruise shuttle bus and returned to the ship.

 

LUNCH WAS Called Steam Buns, while good they were more like steam tacos

 

 

At 1830 the ship was serving hot dogs and beer. The hotdogs were reindeer and were quite good.

 We were engaged in a conversation with a couple from New Zealand and got some tips for our February trip. Sadly we missed the whale presentation. The presentations are recorded and can be watched later in the stateroom.



Then a quick dinner and the next days briefing. 



 The Fish Burger is great, it is topped with a coleslaw and a mango relish.

We will be calling it an early evening as sunrise will be at 0352.