Life as we knew it abruptly detoured after COVID. Aside from obvious tragedies of death and restrictions, "COVID" was the almighty answer to inconveniences and complaints: Inflation? Bad service? Homeless? No job? Worker shortage? Out of business? Relationship crisis? Bad hair? "COVID!" Now 2½ years since the pandemic declared in March 2020, with cautious people vaccinated, and invincible ones alive by God's Grace, mind-over-matter, at some point the show must go on!
So I joined friends on a 16-day cruise. For half the pre-COVID price, luxury was barebone, but attentive service was kept, and crispy white tablecloth at dining made any meal special. I enjoyed seeing the choppy Nordic seas, the break of dawns and sunrises, and the phantom Northern Lights.
Denmark, Norway, Iceland seaports
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| Grundarfjordur Iceland, on way to Gufu Fall. Thanks to Anita Lee for capturing the moment. |
Instead they were quaint little towns with modest utilitarian houses and buildings. The town center, usually walkable from the cruise port, would have the quintessentials: a church, a pharmacy, a liquor store, a not so super market, a museum, and a few "must see" relics. Beyond these specks of civilization would be Earth's expansive wonders of waterfalls, craters, volcanic presences, and in September, green vegetation everywhere for herds of plump white lambs to graze on. Roads were few but strategically located with few or no traffic lights and speed signs. Drivers simply behave mindfully. I was pleasantly shocked that cars always slowed or stopped even unnecessarily to accommodate my crossings. There's a consistent middle-class feel in these towns devoid of richer or poorer neighborhoods. Locals seem to pursue well being over superfluous. Rarely did I see "sale" signs to entice impulse shopping; prices were not cheap, but things looked good quality. Even in Reykjavik, the metropolis in Iceland, there were no neon districts with flashing marquees. Their iconic landmark, shaped like a rocketship ready to take off into heaven, was the Church of Hallgrímur.
As I stepped back into the cruise ship, a thought dawned on me: Nordic towns are the last sanctuary for White culture. God Bless these lands and their people.
London
The two colossal winged human-headed lions that had guarded Nimrud's royal palace, and the gigantic standing lion that guarded the Temple of Ishtar were in the British Museum! What else did the British have? The Westminster Abbey max'd out on burial and memorial spaces, but amazingly they managed to bury Stephen Hawking there. Maybe due to the crowding, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband rested at Windsor Castle instead. Their own stuff was a lot, imagine their hauls of the best and the most from every part of the world. I was wrong to think that the Victoria and Albert Museum was a smaller venue, but just the jewelry collection alone, from 1500 BC to the present, took two floors covering all the walls and middle area display cases. Whereas the Roman and most other empires now require us to imagine their grandness from piles of remaining rubbles, London showcases the British empire's undeniable magnificence. In fairness, I must admit that through their conquers and colonization, the British had done some good along the way. Thanks to them for housing and preserving the incredible amount of artifacts that may otherwise be gone in their original countries.
Queen Elizabeth II passed away just days before my visit to London. I saw her funeral procession on TV. How the Brits love their royalties is understandable, I think because of this woman. I'm not sure if there had ever been a classier person. She was the epitome of British etiquette and the trusted face of the country. She did it for 70 of her 97 years, perfectly. That's the duty she took on. No b*tching and headlines.
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