Welcome to Helsinki

Every time the ship docks we have to tie it down.  These guys work so hard, but it cracks me up thinking of our huge ship tied down by ropes!  Ha ha!  This all takes a while...
The guests get a big kick out of watching all of this!  Look at them all hanging over their balconies watching this whole process!

Read below....  hee hee!

Living on this ship is so interesting. I hope and pray that I never over these six months forget how amazing it is that my front porch, where I can go relax and read or listen to music, is the bow of the 6-star Seven Seas Voyager.  I was sitting out there today so content after a beautiful day.  Ok- let me go back:

Two nights ago we had Beatles night on the ship and we got perform Beatles hits for an energetic crowd ready for dancing.  I sang “In My Life” and “Hey Jude,” which closed the show.  It was so much fun and it was good to get to meet some of the guests afterward as we sat, slack jawed, gaping at a beautiful sunset.  Later that night we had an exciting (and scary) event.  One of the stewardesses on the ship’s appendix burst so they actually had a helicopter come and pick her up from the ship.  I was so bummed I missed it because it sounded like it was right out of a movie!  Anyway- we certainly hope she’s okay.  (Be praying for Miriam.)

Yesterday we also learned all the games on the ship!  One of our duties as entertainers is to run little sports activities around the ship including shuffleboard, ping pong, bocce and putt-putt.  It’s sort of silly, but if you have the right mindset it can be really fun.  We had a blast reviewing rules and getting to play the games ourselves.  Unfortunately any wild dreams of extreme Frisbee or chipping golf balls across the stairwell for points were quickly shot down.  Ha ha!  Anyway- I’ll let you know when I run games… it should be fun.

Today was one of the best days I’ve had on the trip.  I was able to get off the ship early this morning and head into the adorable town of Helsinki, Finland.  I walked into a harbor and was BEYOND THRILLED to find free, FAST Wi-Fi.  (What did you old people do before internet?...QUICK internet?!)  Anyhow- I headed on to walk around the city, finding a great Food Hall filled with pastries, fresh meats, and one of my favorite European fast foods… the Doner Kebab.

One of my favorite things is finishing a day having done something I was not expecting to do.  To have accomplished something I never could have dreamed of is fun.  Today that happened.  Today I ate a meat in a kebab I have never had.  Today… I ate…reindeer.  I know- what would Santa think?  I couldn’t help it!  How often am I going to have the opportunity to eat reindeer?  And ya know what?  I liked it.  So there.

Afterwards I headed to a couple of famous Cathedrals in Helsinki before finishing up by lounging in a park with locals.  Mainly the day consisted of a great walk in a great new location.  I finished off the evening by doing a show and scheduling a discounted MASSAGE for the morning in the spa on board!  I’m pumped!  I hope you all are soaking in your summers and enjoying sunshine, grass, lemonade, and maybe some ribs, mac and cheese, or fried chicken.  Oh!  Also- Happy Father’s Day to Berry.  He had messages from Uganda and Russia for his big day!  Ha ha!  Love you all!

Tripp

ps- Moments that have taken my breath away the past couple days:

*Walking on wet cobblestone after an afternoon rain shower and seeing a double rainbow over the adorable bobbing sails floating in the harbors in Copenhagen.

*Being on the Baltic Sea has provided us with incredibly long days.  Every night we can run outside at 3:00 in the morning to watch sunrise and see sunset as late as 11:30 in the evening.  It’s amazing.  The sun is relentless up here and the water makes it that much more beautiful.