Kristiansand and the last sea day

Our last stop was at Kristiansand which was named after the King and it’s sandy beach. It is a popular holiday spot for Norwegians as it is there southernmost town – however, it is on the same latitude as the Orkneys so summer expectations are a little different to Australia. Mind you the long days and moist conditions do give rise to some great flowers both cultivated and wild.

In order to emphasise the sandy aspects of the town there were a range of sand sculptures.

The town is quite small but has an historic block of largely wooden buildings

With slightly later additions being rendered and brightly coloured.

The local fish markets were adjacent to QV’s berth and had a real waterfront feel to it with not just markets but also a range of restaurants. QV in the background underscores how close to the town we got – no buses into the centre here.

And so to our last day at sea. Time also for our last black tie dinner. All really looked the part.

The two youngest of the party felt they should be in a shot of their own.

While the more senior elements (as opposed to mature) were also happy to be together……

One of our waiters tried to convince us that she was sad to see us go

But in reality sommelier Andrea (who gave us a privately arranged Chilean wine tasting evening), Dorota, Egor, and Anna Marie were delighted this was our last night.

A great trip due largely to the convivial company (all seemed to enjoy each others company) and some remarkable cities many of which would not be visited any other way, an excellent cruise ship (although I suspect many would view QM2 as superior in a range of little ways) and extraordinarily 14 days with sunshine – how lucky was that?

Now where can we cruise to next???