Blissful sleep!  I took my Dramamine – so no problems all night with the roll and movement.  Lots of noise – creaking and banging – but no foghorn – which made us quite pleased.  We took it easy, lolling in bed and then slowly getting our act together to go upstairs for coffee around 7:30 – where they have everything tied down with ropes. As we are sipping our brew, the Captain comes on the PA!  Wow – he’s really good about keeping us all up to date on the weather conditions and explaining that we will continue to have swells and movements throughout the day.  He has had to sail very far south to get out of the worst of the weather, and soon we will be turning north, which will give us more pitch than roll.  Joy!  But the plan is still to be in the sound around 5pm and then White Night at 5:30 (which we still think is absolutely ridiculous to have in 48 degree weather! But what do we care? We will be nice and comfy and warm in Prime C.)

After some food and coffee, Ed hazards the gym and I hang in the cabin, watching and taking pictures of the rolling ocean and then we rendezvous and head down to the Cabaret for our first guest lecturer, Les Evans, a former Concorde pilot, with the “Magic of Concorde.”  It’s his birthday, so we all sang!  Fascinating lecture about the technical aspects, the supersonic powers and just about everything – many things I didn’t have any idea about, but that of course, Mr. Pilot Ed knew. Like Mach 1 is the speed of sound, the Concorde flew at Mach 2, which is 1350 mph.  It only took 3 hours between NYC and London.  The Cabin was not all that comfortable because it needed to be narrow for aerodynamics, weight conscious so no entertainment/media, no headphones, it could get hot inside due to the friction and at the back it was noisy.  Thus, they had to build in glamour to sell the benefits, they flew in formation with red arrow air force formations, flew along with QE 2. There was also a dedicated lounge at the airport where you could eat and drink for however long you wanted before boarding. 

But the most amazing thing is that during flight, because of the heat, the fuselage expands 10 inches!  10 inches.  That’s just crazy.  They had to create a whole new design for the passenger cabin, actually putting it on a platform with rollers, so that the seats wouldn’t break apart with expansion.  And in the cockpit?  The engineer could put his hand between two of the instrument panels during flight, but when they landed, the panels were back tight together.  They used to stick their hats in there as an honor type thing.  Amazing.  All in all, it was really great lecture with 4 more to come from him.

Next up was Dr. Jannie with more Greenland information about legends and customs.  Interesting, but a lot of repeat info from the first lecture where she talked about Prince Christian Sound.  The sound is called a “sound” because of the glacial rivers that flow through.  Prince Christian Sound is 60 miles long, cutting between the mainland of Greenland and an archipelago of islands.  In some places it can be 1500 feet across, with numerous glaciers and calving icebergs. It was named after the Prince who became the 8^th King of Denmark.  Some of the wildlife we may see are Minke and Fin whales, seals and fulmar gulls.

Around 1pm, we start to see land – gorgeous snowcapped peaks out there in the distance along with awesome icebergs.  Wedges, tabulars, pinnacled.  They all start showing up throughout the afternoon as we get closer and closer to the entrance of the Sound. 

Glaciers begin to appear a little before 4 along with more icebergs and so much more great scenery, including melting glacier waterfalls, we can’t tear ourselves away from the freezing open decks! 

It is so peaceful and beautiful and quiet – almost mystical and reverent.  But remember White Night? Well, it is all set up, and people are starting to appear in their puffy coats, grabbing tables.  To be fair, down on the pool deck, it isn’t quite as cold as up here on 10 where the wind is whipping, but still.  We hang out long enough to watch the set up, take more stunning photos, then head down to the warmth and comfort of our cabin to get ready for Prime C.  But still, in this gorgeous pristine environment, it seems almost sacrilege to have a huge, loud party on the deck, blasting Tonight’s Gonna Be A Good Night and line dancing and conga lines.  Maybe we are jaded?  Or just over White Night?  Could be…..

As we prepare, we pass this little town called Aappilattoq, completely isolated out in the fjord.  A little speedboat has been going in and out of the fjord and we realize that is the only link to this little teeny outpost here at the base of the craggy cliffs.  It is just crazy.  200 people, a church, a school.   Amazing the life out here.

More incredible scenery continues to slowly slide past us before we make our way to Prime C.

Up in the restaurant, Jeanie greets us and apologizes as she puts us at a little 2 top against the wall. There are no window tables available.  That’s fine for us, we can still see outside, what do we care.  After getting our drinks, though, Jeanie comes back and tells us she is “transferring” us to the window table that was just vacated.  How nice was that?  So we spent a lovely, long dinner watching the incredible scenery, passing the little town again, getting great pictures from up high, and having our pictures taken with the iceberg that is floating by.  Totally fun dinner.

Back in the cabin, more scenery from the balcony including more great glacier waterfalls. Great way to finish out the night.