Finally a day at sea to pause, reflect, and refresh ourselves after a whirlwind few days of our Scandinavian Cruise. Even though we lost another hour of sleep last night (change of time zone), we both got a good night’s sleep and feel better this morning. No excursions and no ports means that we can catch our breath and relax, sampling some of the events that are offered on board. Here are some random thoughts and reflections about our cruise so far:

1. Princess has slipped quite a bit from the cruise line that we enjoyed in the past, especially because of the hassles we had with our flights.

2. Our 12-hour excursion to Berlin was totally exhausting! We need today to recover.

3. Berlin is an incredible city: with what these people have endured over the past 100 years, it is remarkable that the city has so much to offer the world of tourism. We were especially impressed with the regal and stately architecture and the fascinating history.

4. It is great that Berlin has preserved some of the old Berlin Wall. It should be visible for future generations to ponder. However, we have different views of how it should be preserved. Lee does not like the murals which have been painted on the East Side Gallery; I like them. She prefers the small sections that have been left the way they were — dull and lifeless.

5. I was a bit disappointed in the approach to Oslo. I expected fjords like we saw in Alaska, with high mountains on either side, but it was nowhere near so dramatic.

6. Aarhus was a cute little stop, but it was not as nice as some of the southern European towns.

7. The unbelievable amount of construction going on in Berlin detracted from the overall effect.