Sunday 5th April
The Palm Sunday Eucharist was at St Mary’s at 10.45. We arrived with a few minutes to spare. The church was quite full. The vicar said that this was always a well attended service. It was quite a long service as it included a narrative version of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, his scourging and Peter’s denial.
After a light snack at The Stable coffee shop we decided to go for a walk to the castle and then on in a circle past fields of sheep and lambs. The whole walk was about 2 ½ miles.
In the evening we had another good meal at the Crown and Anchor and then wandered down towards St Cuthbert’s Island. The water had receded so we clambered over the rocks on to the island. We took some lovely photos of the stark cross with the sunset behind.
Monday 6th April
Jamie cooked us another good English breakfast and we made contact with the other family who were staying at Bamburgh View. They were Norwegian from Trondheim. They had flown from Norway to Gatwick and then travelled north by train. A rather circuitous journey we thought but who are we to talk.
We said our goodbyes to Jamie and Carole, our hosts, and promised to recommend Bamburgh View to our friends. We had bought a few mementoes but didn’t want to carry them with us so we called at the Post Office and mailed them to Rachel. We then left Lindisfarne and travelled to North Shields Ferry Port at Newcastle.
Arriving at the ferry port at 1.00 p.m. we dropped the car off at security and headed into the terminal. Surprisingly we weren’t the first there. We couldn’t book in until 2.30 so we had our bread and cheese lunch and cracked open a bottle of Pol Remy ( cheap sparkling whit wine ). Alan sorted out all the straps on his rucksack so that when he had to carry it it would be reasonably comfortable.
We boarded the Princess of Norway at 3.30GMT and went straight to our cabin to off load the luggage. The ship travels on European time so we changed our watches. We had lost our first hour.
The evening meal was Buffet style and very substantial, and afterwards we decided that an early night wouldn’t go amiss. We were in bed by 9.30 (8.30 GMT)
Breakfast was again Buffet style. Full English or continental or both. I was naughty and made a couple of rolls up as sandwiches for our lunch.
The ship docked on time and our taxi was waiting for us. We weren’t sure which railway station in Amsterdam was the one we needed Central or Zuid. The ticket wasn’t too clear. As our driver didn’t know either he took us to the central one. It was the wrong one.
A very kind assistant gave us the information to take a train to Hilversum and then catch up with our correct train to Berlin. It worked perfectly.
We met Shaun, a Canadian, who was back packing around Europe. He was also going to Berlin and then taking the overnight train to Krakow. He wanted to visit Auschwitz. We told him our plans and said that we would look out for him.
The Palm Sunday Eucharist was at St Mary’s at 10.45. We arrived with a few minutes to spare. The church was quite full. The vicar said that this was always a well attended service. It was quite a long service as it included a narrative version of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, his scourging and Peter’s denial.
After a light snack at The Stable coffee shop we decided to go for a walk to the castle and then on in a circle past fields of sheep and lambs. The whole walk was about 2 ½ miles.
In the evening we had another good meal at the Crown and Anchor and then wandered down towards St Cuthbert’s Island. The water had receded so we clambered over the rocks on to the island. We took some lovely photos of the stark cross with the sunset behind.
Monday 6th April
Jamie cooked us another good English breakfast and we made contact with the other family who were staying at Bamburgh View. They were Norwegian from Trondheim. They had flown from Norway to Gatwick and then travelled north by train. A rather circuitous journey we thought but who are we to talk.
We said our goodbyes to Jamie and Carole, our hosts, and promised to recommend Bamburgh View to our friends. We had bought a few mementoes but didn’t want to carry them with us so we called at the Post Office and mailed them to Rachel. We then left Lindisfarne and travelled to North Shields Ferry Port at Newcastle.
Arriving at the ferry port at 1.00 p.m. we dropped the car off at security and headed into the terminal. Surprisingly we weren’t the first there. We couldn’t book in until 2.30 so we had our bread and cheese lunch and cracked open a bottle of Pol Remy ( cheap sparkling whit wine ). Alan sorted out all the straps on his rucksack so that when he had to carry it it would be reasonably comfortable.
We boarded the Princess of Norway at 3.30GMT and went straight to our cabin to off load the luggage. The ship travels on European time so we changed our watches. We had lost our first hour.
The evening meal was Buffet style and very substantial, and afterwards we decided that an early night wouldn’t go amiss. We were in bed by 9.30 (8.30 GMT)
Breakfast was again Buffet style. Full English or continental or both. I was naughty and made a couple of rolls up as sandwiches for our lunch.
The ship docked on time and our taxi was waiting for us. We weren’t sure which railway station in Amsterdam was the one we needed Central or Zuid. The ticket wasn’t too clear. As our driver didn’t know either he took us to the central one. It was the wrong one.
A very kind assistant gave us the information to take a train to Hilversum and then catch up with our correct train to Berlin. It worked perfectly.
We met Shaun, a Canadian, who was back packing around Europe. He was also going to Berlin and then taking the overnight train to Krakow. He wanted to visit Auschwitz. We told him our plans and said that we would look out for him.
