With time to spare before boarding our ship, the Viking Vadar, we walked into town to look around. You must be very vigilant when crossing roads, bike lanes and even the pavements. Bikes were everywhere, even having their own escalators !

We found a beautiful second hand camera shop, full of Leica gear, that was CLOSED…….talk about frustration 😁 However a little coffee shop inside the Central Station was open, some chairs and a hot chocolate providing some respite for Hazel, who is still a bit sore from the flights.

Talking to the Viking rep back at our hotel confirmed Vidar’s location, quite a way away, so we Uber’d over just before lunch. Things seem to be a lot more casual than ocean cruising, we just wandered aboard up the gang plank. “Leave your bags there”….check in took 2 minutes….“have a bit of lunch whilst we ready your room”…….all very easy.

Lunch in the restaurant was good, and we soon started meeting Aussies, with a couple from Mandurah joining our table.

Sure enough our cabin was soon ready, and swallowed all our gear with loads of storage areas.

There is a very convenient coffee station and library at the end of our corridor, and with seating areas scattered around the ship it looks very comfortable and is in pristine condition.

The sun deck above us has a walking track, herb area and plenty of seating for all. It should be a great place to panoramic shots !

We are all settled in and are shortly due in the lounge to meet our fellow travellers and share a drink before the safety briefing.

So a great start to what hopes to be a memorable trip !