END OF JOURNEY - FRANCE AND ENGLAND

May 13, 2023

May 6 through May 8, 2023

Overcast and in the 60s

Well all good things must come to an end. Rich caught a cold and we decided not to do the 10 hour tour of Normandy from LaHavre France. We really wanted to see the WWII Memorial and the beaches where the Allies landed and turned the tide of the war, but we’re sure our fellow guests wouldn’t have liked a 2 hour - each way - bus ride with Rich hacking away.

Our next stop was Dover England on Sunday and we took a tour of Canterbury, the town that has so many stories to tell. Romans built the town around 200 AD and later abandoned it. In the late 6th century, the King of the region where Canterbury is located converted to Christianity and supported the building of the first cathedral in Canterbury. It became one of the most important centers of Christian religion outside of Rome. In 1174 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the cathedral. For his followers Canterbury became the most important destination for pilgrims in search of a miracle. About 350 years later, in an effort to wrest power from the Vatican, King Henry VIII oversaw the transition of the religion practiced in England from Catholicism to Protestantism. Today, Canterbury is the headquarters for the Church of England.

As we visited on Sunday, worship services were being conducted in the cathedral and we couldn’t go inside, but we thoroughly enjoyed walking around the town that is so rich in medieval Christian history.

We drove by the Dover Castle on the return trip to our ship but, unfortunately, did not have time for a tour. This would be a most interesting site to visit. Overlooking the Dover Strait only 21 miles form continental Europe the castle has played a strategic role over the centuries. Its construction was begun in the 1180s by King Henry II and its been used in military campaigns ever since. In World War I it served as the headquarters for the Royal Navy Dover Patrol charged with defending the Strait. In World War II the castle was the headquarters for Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of some 338,000 British and Allied troops from Dunkirk. In various campaigns tunnels and rooms were carved out of the chalk below.

Our ship later moved from Dover up the Thames and docked at Greenwich, the final port of our journey.

On Tuesday, May 9th, we officially ended our grand world cruise and flew back from London to Austin on a direct flight on British Airways. The bus ride from Greenwich to Heathrow airport was interesting--sites we had not seen before.

It’s impossible to summarize this trip, so we won’t try. It was really a once in a lifetime experience. We traveled some 38,000 miles around the world and got to learn ancient histories and see many different cultures all the while being pampered by the Viking staff and facilities. We cannot say enough positive things about Viking Cruise Lines.

We are glad to be home but still waiting for our meals to be served and our room cleaned.