Newcastle/Ferry Crossing - From Agony to Ecstasy

Thursday, June 21, 2012
Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
We got up on Thursday morning ready to leave. I think all of us had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it was beautiful and we had had a marvelous time. On the other hand, I was ready to rejoin Bill, Pam was sick and ready to get some rest, and Janet and Michael were ready to go home to their daughter and dogs. 

We parted ways at Alnmouth Station. They were headed north back to Edinburgh to catch a plane to Shannon, Ireland, and from there to NYC. I was headed south to Newcastle on Tyne to catch a ferry to Amsterdam. My train came first, so I boarded and waved good-bye through the window. 

The train ride from Alnmouth to Newcastle took about thirty minutes and was totally uneventful. I arrived at the Newcastle Station at 8:30 and had until 14:45 to wait for the bus to the DFDS Ferry terminal, but I knew that before I got there and had a plan. I was looking forward to a good day exploring a new place. Unfortunately, once in Newcastle, everything that could go wrong did go wrong (rats to Murphy and his Law), and I ended up spending one of the most miserable mornings I've ever had. And I am sorry to say that this portion of the blog will be visually dull because I took no pictures until I got on the ferry. As you read, I'm sure you'll understand why.

The initial part of my plan involved depositing my luggage in the checked luggage area so that I would not have to drag it around with me. After that, I was going get money out of an ATM, catch a hop-on/hop-off bus, tour around Newcastle, take pictures, and maybe hop-off to visit some places. Then, I would walk out into the city and find a cafe and eat lunch. By that time, there would be only an hour or so to wait for the ferry terminal bus. It was a good plan. Too bad none of it worked out. Well, one thing did. I did check my luggage. 

The first thing that went wrong was that it was raining. That let out the bus tour, which I had counted on to take at least two hours. It also did away with the idea of walking around the city. So no cafe' to spend time in, either. It was going to be a long wait in the train station. Even that wouldn't have been so bad since I like to read and had my Kindle. Except...it was bitterly cold, and the train station was an open air station. There was a roof but both ends were open so it was the exact temperature inside as it was outside. I could see my breath. My hands were freezing. My ears were freezing. My whole body was freezing. And I had six hours to wait for the bus. I did have warmer clothes in my luggage, but to get to them, I would have had to check my luggage out and then pay to put it back in, and I was running short of cash, and there was no working ATM. 

I sat and shivered for about thirty minutes, and when I couldn't stand it any longer, I went to look outside to see if there was anywhere else I could go. I noticed a cathedral across the street and decided to go there. I figured that maybe I could just find a pew in the back and read. So, out into the rain I ventured with my useless rain jacket and small umbrella. All that came of this idea was that I got wet. The cathedral was under construction, and the entrances were all blocked off. I walked around the entire cathedral and could not find a way in. So I trudged back through the rain to the dismally cold train station. By now, it was all of 9:15, and I was wet, bedraggled, and freezing with five and a half hours still to go. 

When my teeth started chattering, I decided even though I needed to conserve my cash, I was going to buy an extra large cup of coffee to warm my hands and insides. It worked for the time I was able to nurse it along, but of course, as soon as I finished it, I was just as cold and miserable as before. Thinking that maybe if I kept moving, I took a walk around the station, and that's when I noticed that there were a couple of pubs that would open at 11:00. I was so happy to know that there would be somewhere to go that I almost started to cry. I was just hoping I would not have died by then. I had visions of someone finally realizing that the person who had been sitting motionless in the metal chair for hours was really a frozen corpse.

Time crawled by. Every time I looked at the clock expecting to see that at least fifteen minutes had passed, I was surprised to see that it had been only three. I felt as if I had entered some cruel parallel universe of time torture. 

Finally
, after an eternity of shivering, it was 11:00, and the pubs were open. Warmth and food. Heaven. I picked one and took myself in and ordered the cheapest thing on the menu - chips - to have the right to sit in the warmth. I lingered over those chips for an hour and a half, but I could not make them last any longer. The place was starting to fill with people wanting lunch so I knew that I either needed to order something else or vacate my table. I was not willing to go back to the cold so I started looking at the menu for something else. Just then, I saw the man next to me get some hot, steaming chili. It looked sooo good, just perfect for the weather outside. I checked the price, and had enough money to pay for it, but that would leave me with nothing for the rest of the day and night. I didn't care. I'd worry about that later. I ordered it. The kitchen promptly misplaced my order. Any other time, this might have annoyed me, but remember, I was trying to have a reason to stay in this place for another two hours so I was just fine with it. The manager wasn't, however, and gave it to me for free. Things were looking up.

At 14:15, I left the pub, went to get my luggage, and started making my way to the bus stop. It was still raining but not pouring, and I figured that even though I was going to get wet, at least I was leaving the miserable Newcastle Station. It might be no better at the ferry terminal, but at least it would be different. Imagine my delight when I got on the bus, and it was warm! Things only continued to improve. The DFDS terminal was closed in and warm and dry, too, so the next two hours would be a pleasure to wait. I checked in, received my room assignment and key, and waited for the ship to board. 

The first thing I noticed when I got onboard was that this was no ordinary ferry. It was actually a cruise ship with car toting capabilities. It was six decks high with bars, restaurants, live entertainment, and a movie theater with not one or two, but six different movies. I had been dreading the fifteen hour ferry ride, but now it didn't seem as if it would be so bad after all.

Just to let me know that Murphy hadn't given up on me, though, when I got to my room, the key did not work. So, off to find someone to help me I went. It turned out that the person who had checked me in made a mistake and assigned me to a room that was already taken by someone else. To make up for it, I got assigned to first class!!! Here are pictures of my room. Oh, and they were so apologetic about me having to wait to get into my first class room that I also got complimentary fruit, cheese, and coffee. I didn't even have to spend any money on dinner. And breakfast was included. 



















 










 
I guess it's going to seem really boring that with all that stuff to do on the ferry that I stayed in my room the entire time, but that's what I did. I was so tired from the first part of the day that all I wanted was to hang out in pampered luxury for the rest of the trip. I ate the fruit and cheese, drank the coffee (I had asked for decaf), and snuggled into the bed to read. After a while, I decided to see if there was anything good on TV. Imagine by shock when I found a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers. A real American baseball game! I am a huge baseball fan, and no baseball has been the most difficult thing about living in Croatia, so even though those aren't teams I would normally care about,I was ecstatic. I fell asleep during the game dreaming of a hot shower in the morning. 

I awoke in the middle of the night to rough waters. The boat was large enough so that it wasn't tossing and turning all over the place, but it was rocking from side to side. Fortunately for me, I do not suffer from motion sickness but even so, I didn't really sleep all that well for the rest of the night. I actually enjoy the light rocking of a sailboat when I'm sleeping, but this was not light. I mean, I wasn't actually being slung from side to side in the bed, but there was definite movement. The boat kept making odd noises, too. I kept thinking about the Titanic. At least I was up above the water rather than below. Why? Because I was in first class! (I know I'm probably sounding kind of obnoxious about the first class thing, but I'd never been in first class before and most likely won't ever be again so it was a big deal to me.)

The shower in the morning was interesting. It was hot and wonderful, but hazardous. Just try to visualize taking a shower in an earthquake and you'll know what it was like. I guess I could have foregone it, but how often do you get to take a shower on a boat? I wanted the experience so I toughed it out. I suppose it wasn't the brightest thing I've ever done since I could have slipped and busted my head, but I didn't so it was all good. 

And the best thing? The storm delayed our arrival in Amsterdam for almost two hours so I got to enjoy first class all that much longer. 

 

 

 

 

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