Hey Everyone!
Wow! Can you believe it's already June? Where has the time gone?!? NORMANDY pulled into Stavenger, Norway early yesterday morning. Coming into the harbor was beautiful, as Norway's coast was covered in luscious green grass and trees everywhere! Absolutely breathtaking! The pier in Stavenger is right in the middle of the downtown area, so it should be quite easy to explore and see all the sights!
We spent five days at sea between Poland and Norway, which was the longest we've gone in almost a month. It was difficult getting used to being at sea again, but nice to have a few days to get into a routine and prepare for the Admiral who will embark us. During the five days at sea, we received the advancement results (when Enlisted Sailors find out if they have advanced to the next highest rate...like Officers' ranks) as well as the board results from our latest Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist-ESWS- board (like getting my board for my SWO pin, right before deployment). I am happy to announce that three of my Sailors advanced and one earned her ESWS pin! My goal this deployment is for each of my Sailors to advance one paygrade and to earn their ESWS pin, if they don't already have it! We're making great progress, and I told my division that if they meet my goal for them, I will treat the entire division to dinner before I transfer!
While in Norway, the girls and I took it easy, for the most part. We had duty the day we pulled in, and with a reception in honor of several Flag Officers (Admirals and Generals from various foreign countries), it was a long duty day. Saturday morning, we woke up for Duty Section Turnover and then went right back to sleep! We slept right through lunch, and decided to go explore a bit. We bought some postcards and other souvenirs, but unfortunately, most of the shops were closed by the time we got out there. We came back to the ship in the early evening and had a few drinks with the MWR folks who were hosting "beer on the pier". This is when the ship MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) buys several cases of beer and sells them for $1 each to crew members....much less expensive than the $15 drinks out in town! Anyway, after a couple of drinks, I went out for dinner (late, European style) with my division, then came back to the ship and CRASHED I was so tired!
Sunday morning (today) we slept in again, intending to be up in time for a guided tour of the fiordes of Norway (various waterways throughout the islands surrounding the mainland). But, as with the day before, we were too tired (I think all the port visits have finally caught up with us and we needed a break) and we were not ready in time to leave with the group. So we decided that we'd leave a bit later and take the ferry by ourselves and hike up the Pulpit Rock, which is a huge cliff overlooking the fiordes. It is the most popular sight in Stavenger, and we were really looking forward to the trip. Unfortunately, the schedule on Sundays is much more restrictive than the rest of the week, and we missed all the ferries. We contemplated renting a car and driving ourselves (we took the Norwegian midshipmen we have riding NORMANDY as an exchange program with us and they knew how to get there) but there were no rental cars either! (When you get postcards from me saying that I made the hike....it's because I wrote the cards while we waited for the ferry...only the ferry never came!) Soooo....we decided to make the best of the day and wander around town a bit. We stopped at a cute outdoor cafe for sandwiches and then went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Although my roommates ended up falling asleep in the theater, I really enjoyed the movie! After the movie, we stopped at another outdoor restaurant for a light dinner, then came back to the ship to get to bed early. We leave Norway in the morning, and will have several days at sea before the next port visit....just enough time to save up some more money from this expensive town!!!
Hope all is well on the homefront and everyone is enjoying June! Can't wait to hear from you all!
Skaal! (Cheers!)
Kate
