Few Photos QM2 Hamburg-South HamptonLeaving Hamburg

Leaving Hamburg

From my second floor bed

Closet at sea

Part of our deck

no filter 

Thomas on the sunniest seat on deck 

Sea update #2; photos to follow

After a few good hours of sun and small, almost black, dolphin watching today, we have fog now. We are very busy- F is still writing his paper and arguing with me about the rules of the semi-colon. We are all devoted to these astronomy lectures with this adorable astronomer; tonight we are hoping to meet him under the stars on the top deck at 10 pm. Today he talked about eclipses, and Saturday he will speak about asteroids. Little does he know what his audience holds. One false move and we will have to show him a thing or two about asteroids.
kidding.

In food and beverage news, F and I have the caviar almost every night (with extra toast) while Thomas tries his very best to avoid the offer of large prawns cooked at the table. He is afraid of large prawns. Crepes Suzette is made by this guy from Macedonia. The head of the dining room (and the Turk’s replacement) is from Columbia, but our favorite is our waiter from India- the kindest happiest person ever. We love him. He hands us our food and says our part for us: “Excellent!”  or “thank you!” too funny. After such a long summer, we are really almost sick of all food and drink. But there is some pressure to perform and order something decent. I can’t swear to it, but I think the sommelier rolls his eyes as he walks away.

The great thing about taking the Queen Mary is that unlike an airplane, - it’s the same ship every time. We know where the warmest place on the port side is; we know where to go when waves are big; we know what time of day to go to the Commodore Club; we know how many times around is a mile. It’s like coming home. Oh speaking of that, we had a first yesterday: Thomas and I walked around the deck for three hours. (!) That makes 11 miles. We took a breakfast break, and then walked the last hour. I went through plenty a podcast I tell you….

We are focused on the small things: the temperature of the hot tub on the Queens deck and our favorite pumpernickel bread to name a few. At breakfast we were watching the joggers, and one woman was so fast, we decided to time her. 2:45 for one lap. This is of course my definition of happiness- the absurdity of this being as important as anything else we did that day.
Still asking about scary storm stories. One trip to England in January was bad. Said people fell out of their chairs at dinner. December 8th there is a crossing New York to Southhampton…just putting it out there people. Who is in?

More soon…I have to go to a lecture with F on another murder mystery (get the feeling England only has a few in its entire history). Frederick goes to everything. Once he wandered past an open door and heard snippets of what he assumed would be a relaxing lecture on Nazis or perhaps the second world war. Alas it turned out to be about the sound of music. They were talking about the Von Trapp family. Poor thing.

So I guess it isn’t all perfect out here.

Just got back from a Q&A with the astronomer. He was semi-heckled by a conspiracy theorist who said America didn’t land on the moon.
It was awkward.

He is very passionate about light pollution and the idea of amateurs in general (which he says comes from the french word for LOVE of).  Astronomy is one of those things that gives me great peace AND great anxiety. Did you know for example of the risks of the sun (and exploding nuclear bomb as he calls it) giving us a free, full body x ray when we fly? Did you know the Andromeda galaxy is hurtling toward us? We will end, the earth will end, our sun will end.
He seems excited by it.

I am so in love with this wild, terrifying ocean. Luckily, I am traveling like a coward in a mighty cruise ship, far above the waves. We have had some pretty big rocking and it is only summer. Imagine when she is in a really bad mood.

Are we having fun with the Southern District of New York going after that orangutan president of ours?

Ok must go put on my slinky dress and feather mask to flirt with my gay friends. They clap when i come in in a good dress.

Quick update from somewhere in the Atlantic!

Ahoy all. We left Southhampton on a rather pretty evening on our way to the mighty Atlantic. The exit from was the most spectacular we have ever seen. We were parked in a narrow channel that was packed with sail boats and cruise ships and jet skis, all trying to get a close up look of our ship. Trouble is, we were backward- we couldn’t see how a boat this massive could turn around in such a narrow space; would it back out???
So instead of drinking champagne at the back of the ship where the band was, we went to a special place in the bow where the super nerds hang out. Here is where you hear all the technical talk about bow thrusters and electric pods. It was rather mesmerizing: we saw, far below two ordinary chaps throw the huge lines into the water, to set us free. Then we basically scooched left as if we had feet. Scooched left, and then slowly every so slowly turned around. This planet sized ship has a very small turning radius. Who knew? Anyway it was all very bad ass- the captain, the ship, the little humans who figured this all out.
We cheered.

So off to sea! I am reading a wonderful book about the Atlantic- and the author is as awed and enamored by this ocean as I am. He points out how unlike the pacific which has some turquoise   areas, a few palm trees lining it here and there: the Atlantic is stubbornly gray; a terrifying expanse of moody, magnificent water. He explains how it all started, and how it will all end. The continents will come back together and humans will end, and there won’t be any more soft serve ice cream machines.

Our room is apparently the third best on the ship. It is two floors and has a kitchen and three showers (!) It was the last one available….we don’t usually do this.
But it has gotten us a really good table at dinner and a few curious looks. (“Funny they don’t look like gangsters…..” ) Oh speaking of gangsters, there was a beautiful Russian family at an even better table, that I had my heart set on befriending- she was so lovely and worried. I think she only had champagne for lunch after a long worried discussion with the Russian waitress. Oh the waitress is too funny- she makes comments like my father used to make if the order is too wimpy. I ordered two appetizers for lunch instead of an entree and no wine as usual. She hadn’t even met me and she said I was boring. HA!
Where was I? oh the Russians got off in England so I have no friends. sad.

And friend the Turk is alas on vacation, so we don’t get the extras we used to.

Yesterday we had the planetarium show, a talk on an unsolved murder in 1930, a pedicure, a blow out, a table tennis tournament, and F started and finished a first draft of the caltech application which just came out.

Today was really good. There is a man from the Royal Astronomical Society (the Wehlen luck!) and he is giving four  talks. Today was the first- on how to look at the night sky with the naked eye. He is beyond fabulous- teaches at Oxford, and is singularly obsessed with light pollution. I am with him on this…so many people cannot see the stars at all, literally cannot see a single star due to this problem. It seems if people would just keep from having lights shine UP, things would be a lot better for astronomers and romantics everywhere.
more on that later.

Later in the week we get to meet him at a bar on board for Q&A. We are excited believe me. OH! and the last talk will be on asteroids! Can’t wait to talk shop with him.

Met the really young, handsome, Italian, absolutely earnest, third in command at the cocktail reception. Thomas wanted to ask why, when we left English waters, we went around this tiny island, rather than in between it and the shore, which was the shorter trip. He said that they never do that- it’s too risky and the fuel savings  are not worth it. He looked terrified of us, especially Mr. Captain in training, Thomas K. Wehlen.

We have had two food related scandals- F’s soft serve ice cream fell somewhere in the zone between the machine and our room, so he had to run with the fast melting goo in his hand, all the way to the room. Then Thomas, who has a rare weakness for the stir fry pork in the buffet eating area (not in our precious dining room), encountered a wily foe who stepped in front of him when he briefly hesitated after having served himself the stir fried noodles. She apparently saw there was very little left of the pork and not wanting to take any chances, simply swept in and took almost all for herself.
He is quite rattled about it and won’t let it go. We had to have a long walk around the deck, complete with full reenactment (“Ok you act out the part of the woman, and I'll be the pork..”)

There is much much more, but this has taken too long. Photos maybe tomorrow.

Lech Love

Greetings from the Post hotel- the main competition to the Almhof. Perhaps due to Michael's occasional patronage, they are being extra nice to us, and we were upgraded to the Kaiser suite.  It is insane- larger than several of my old apartments, with a dining room table, and a wood burning fireplace. Also it is just steps from the new outdoor pool-my new favorite place on earth. Our schedule includes long late afternoon lounges in bathrobes under the watchful gaze of the Omeshorn. Then we wander to tea - a silent army in bathrobes, then back to the chaise longues.

Every day we march up and down through bad moods and tired legs, past 16th century huts and baby cows; past church steeples and the town drunk. We walk and walk and walk. It is not always pretty- I experience a lot of self loathing and doubt along the way; but when I get back and my lunch order is in, I am as happy as I ever am. Really- it is a peace very close in intensity to the moment I met Frederick.
I just wish people knew this. Your path to peace is just one very long walk and a good lunch away. It is that simple.

We leave the day after tomorrow for Hamburg to catch the ship. yay. We are all a little amazed that this Exeter thing is in its last quarter. What a joy it has been- just a lovely exchange- I handed over my kid, and he came back better: a little braver, and smarter. I want to tell him that he needs to suck in every single thing about the place before he goes- he needs to do another radio show with his cousin- he needs to get to know the janitors, he needs to try the yoga class and the non fiction poetry with the cute teacher. He needs to check in with the trees and  the little redhead he has not yet met. He needs to eat at the salad bar more, and sing at karaoke night. He needs to go out for fencing.
But alas he will not. He will spend time with his cousins and the Wentworth crew and will take a lot of physics classes. He will mostly stay in his lane, my little left brainer.
But that is still pretty good.

Postscipt: we are on the boat now! just boarded a few hours ago; madly in love as always. Will send Hamburg/QM2 first day update soon. xx

Turtles, Euler Constant and the LMU

Ok where to begin? We had a week bobbing off of southern Turkey with the Wehlies and some huge turtles. All is well. We couldn't get the sleek, sexy boat we usually charter, but instead got this rather nice family wagon with Turkish crew. It included a mad chef who sent up Turkish wonders every day, all day. We are now back in Munich so F can see the famed Ludwig Maximilian University. For some reason I am delighted to be off the water and back in good old Munich. It's been too long.
The passport control at the airport took three seconds with a ridiculously handsome border person asking if I lived here. I found myself saying "Leider nicht."

F liked what he saw- a collection of stunning 18th century buildings in the center of one of his favorite cities on earth; a school that was founded in 1472 and is well known for physics and astronomy. There is no sports team, no greek system, no zany scavenger hunt, and it appears no school color.  Surely they need a color?  I know Amy wants a t-shirt- and she will have one, but the shop is closed for the summer, so online it must be.

The good news is they will guarantee a place for Frederick based on nothing more than decent grades and a nice lump of physics classes under his belt. This is where Exeter comes in handy: it offers a large array of advanced classes- so he's ok. Furthermore, it only takes three years to get an undergraduate degree and it is completely tuition free. Eva is so excited at the prospect of her grandson studying physics in the Vaterland that she just might offer to take him castle shopping. Something discreet with a turret or two.

The only fly in the ointment is they expel the bottom 50% of the class automatically after the first year. Brutal. I am starting to wonder about how the US will keep up with these types..? It seems like most of my friends' kids are studying at major Universities, but none of them have any idea what they want to learn. They just want to go to- fill in the blank- BerkeleyPrincetonHarvardStanford but aren't really sure what comes next. This is why the undergraduate part of the US system is really just the first step. It's the graduate degree where the rubber hits the road in America.

Now don't panic. I didn't say it was this was his first choice. But he is not going to be applying to too many schools if he has this option. What can I say? He is a bit lazy.

Meanwhile the meteor project is heating up...Both of them are now totally ignoring me as they drift into their own heads; either that or arguing in German using the word Matrices. There is some sort of rule for multiplying them, and apparently the spread sheet is not spitting out a reasonable number. I asked how they knew this and they said that the only way a number that big would make sense is if, rather than the meteor smashing into the earth, the meteor and the earth had a head-on collision. Thomas is officially only a sounding board on the spread sheet mechanics, but I know he has been fiddling with it when F is not looking. Too funny.

Lech tomorrow- Schneider dinner party the first night with a wine maker (obviously) and I am sure the usual assortment of communists and bee keepers. What to wear....what to wear.

XXX

I will update this later with photos. check back in.