11-24 Nov Sailing the Pacific

 

This post is based primarily on Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our cruise in November-December 2023. When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).
Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.

The Viking Daily newsletter showed today's weather forecast as "Sunny 84° F" and "Sunrise: 6:12 AM."

MT Friday, November 24, ‎2023, 5:20 AM - Viking Star: Sunrise (mild telephoto 48 mm).

MT 5:33 AM - Viking Star: Later Sunrise.

MT woke Don at 6:45 am.

At 6:50, Room Service breakfast (which we had ordered for 7:00-7:15) arrived a bit early.

6:51 AM - Viking Star: Don's menu for ordering dinner in The Restaurant for November 24 (which we had to turn in by 9 am); from this side, Don ordered only the Fresh Fruit Plate (melon, pineapple & strawberries).

6:51 AM - Viking Star: other side of Don's menu for ordering dinner in The Restaurant for November 24, from this side, Don ordered Farmer's Pecorino Market Salad (tender greens, fennel, beets, zucchini & roasted hazelnuts) under Starters, Dover Sole à la Meunière (artichaut à la Barigoule [Provençale style braised artichokes]; lemon butter sauce) under Main Courses, and Roasted Vegetables & Corn Risotto (toasted barley & corn; basil, baby spinach & lemon zest) under Vegetarian Highlights. 

At 8:20, we went to Deck 2 track to walk, but it was all wet (perhaps due to washing off salt). Then we walked up to Decks 8 and 9 to walk until 9:20.

At 9:30, we stopped at World Café (Deck 7) for pineapple and strawberries from buffet.

Then MT started our laundry at Launderette on other side of Deck 5.

At 11:30, we went to the Pool Grill (Deck 7) for lunch on seared ahi tuna, red onion marmalade, and salad.

Then we took our last load of laundry out of the dryer.

A little before1:00, we went to the Explorers' Lounge (Deck 8) for the start of the "Bayeux Tapestry Tour."

12:54 PM - Viking Star: Explorers' Lounge - Model of the Oseberg Ship. 

12:55 PM - Viking Star: Explorers' Lounge - Model of the Oseberg Ship from another angle.

12:55 PM - Viking Star: Explorers' Lounge - small sign in case with model of 

"The Oseberg Ship"; text reads:

"The Oseberg ship, built 820, was discovered in a large burial mound near Tonsberg in Vestfold, Norway 10th of August 1903. The mound was excavated in summer 1904 under the leadership of  Professor Gabriel Gustafson, assisted by Haakon Shetelig. Ths ship  was rebuilt in Oslo, and in 1926 it was transported on rail lines to Bygdey in Oslo where it got its own museum, The Viking Ship Museum. This ship is widely celebrated and has been called one of the finest finds to survive the Viking Age.

"The Oseberg ship is a clinker built 'karv' ship built almost entirely of oak. It is 21.58 m long and 5.10 m  broad, with a mast of approximately 9-10 m. With a sail of c. 90 m², the ship could achieve a speed up to 10 knots. The ship has 15 pairs of oar holes, which means that 30 people could row the ship."(telephoto 109 mm). 

At 1:00, we went to the Explorers' Lounge (Deck 8 forward) for the start of the "Bayeux Tapestry Tour," on which Viking Resident Historian Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson provided insight into the blown-up images of various parts of the story told by the tapestry displayed on each level of the main staircases (once down the forward staircase, from Deck 9 forward down to Deck 1, and once down the aft staircase, from Deck 8 aft down to Deck 1) following their order on the tapestry and telling the story they depict, although they do not include all 58 scenes of the tapestry.

The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth, nearly 230 ft long and 20 inches tall, that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. The tapestry is thought to date back to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle. Now widely accepted to have been made in England, perhaps as a gift to William, it tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans. For centuries it has been preserved in Normandy and since 1983 has been displayed at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux in Bayeux, Normandy, France (which Don and MT had visited in 2012).

Entire Bayeaux Tapestry - panorama (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Tapisserie_de_Bayeux_31109.jpg).

 

The entire Bayeux Tapestry (Scroll left or right). Individual images of each scene are at Bayeux Tapestry tituli at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry .

The cloth consists of 58 scenes, many with Latin tituli (plural of titulus, Latin for "inscription" or "label," meaning a label or caption naming figures of subjects of art, which were commonly added in classical and medieval art). They are embroidered on linen with colored woolen yarns. It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux (ca. 1035-1097), William’s maternal half-brother, and made for him in England in the 1070s. The earliest known written reference to the tapestry is a 1476 inventory of Bayeux Cathedral, built by Odo and consecrated in 1077. In 1729, it was rediscovered by scholars when it was being displayed in Bayeux Cathedral. It can be seen as a rare example of secular Romanesque art.

Lacking a record of Mr. Simpson's informative and entertaining commentary, Don's photo captions and associated text boxes will rely on information from reliable Internet sources, including those of the Reading Museum in Reading, Berkshire, England (which has a replica of the tapestry) and Wikipedia (which numbered the 58 scenes according to their Latin tituli), supplemented by public domain photos from Wikimedia Commons.

Don's photos apparently only covered part of the tour (7 of the 9 scenes displayed here), and he had to take them from available angles due to the number of other passengers on the tour. So he went back the next day to repeat the tour on his own (still finding only 9 of the 58 scenes). Therefore, for those who may be interested, Don has added Appendix A to this Blog to include all 58 scenes identified by Wikipedia, each with public domain photo(s) from Wikimedia Commons along with the associated Latin titulus, its English translation, and additional commentary from a combination of Wikipedia and other Internet sources.

1:17 PM - Viking Star: Bayeux Tapestry Tour - Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson near start of tour, at part of Scene 9 UBI HAROLD WIDO PARABOLANT (Where Harold and Wido confer).

 

02819a Scene 9  UBI HAROLD WIDO PARABOLANT (Where Harold and Wido confer) (By Image on web site of Ulrich Harsh. - http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Bayeux/bay_tama.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17141783).

 
Scene 9 UBI HAROLD WIDO PARABOLANT (Where Harold and Wido confer). [Count Guy I of Ponthieu (also known in the Bayeux Tapestry as Wido) was born sometime in the mid- to late 1020s and died 13 October 1100. Harold’s forces, having sailed from Normandy, landed in his territory, Ponthieu, and Harold is captured by Count Guy. Messengers from Guy's overlord, Duke William of Normandy, demand Harold's release, and Guy takes Harold to meet William.]

 1:32 PM - Viking Star: Bayeux Tapestry Tour - Scene 30 HIC RESIDET HAROLD REX ANGLORUM (Here sits Harold King of the English) and Scene 31 STIGANT ARCHIEP[ISCOPU]S (Archbishop Stigand).

 

02813a Scenes 30 and 31 HIC RESIDET HAROLD REX ANGLORUM (Here sits Harold King of the English) and STIGANT ARCHIEP[ISCOPU]S (Archbishop Stigand). (By Image on web site of Ulrich Harsh. - http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Bayeux/bay_tama.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17142020).

 
Scene 30 HIC RESIDET HAROLD REX ANGLORUM (Here sits Harold King of the English). [After the scene of the death on January 5, 1066 of King Edward of England, who had designated Harold as his successor, Harold was crowned on January 6. Here, he sits on the throne with nobles to the left and Archbishop Stigand to the right. At the far right, he is cheered on by the masses.]

Scene 31 STIGANT ARCHIEP[ISCOPU]S (Archbishop Stigand). [Stigand (died 1072) was an Anglo-Saxon clergyman in pre-Norman Conquest England, who became Bishop of Elmham in 1043 and later Archbishop of Canterbury; from the latter, he was deposed in 1070, imprisoned, and his wealth confiscated by William the Conqueror.]

 

1:43 PM - Viking Star: Bayeux Tapestry Tour - Scene 35 HIC WILLELM[US] DUX JUSSIT NAVES [A]EDIFICARE EDIFICARE (Here Duke William ordered ships to be built), with Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson ; MT in foreground.

02814a Scene 35 HIC WILLELM[US] DUX JUSSIT NAVES [A]EDIFICARE EDIFICARE (Here Duke William ordered ships to be built) (By Image on web site of Ulrich Harsh. - http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Bayeux/bay_tama.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17142095).

 
Scene 35 HIC WILLELM[US] DUX JUSSIT NAVES [A]EDIFICARE (Here Duke William ordered ships to be built). [When news of Edward's death and Harold's coronation is carried across the channel to William, William is furious. The throne of England should be his, and he saw Harold as an usurper. William then decides to attack England and organizes a fleet of warships.]

1:57 PM - Viking Star: Bayeux Tapestry Tour - left end of Scene 48 HIC MILITES EXIERUNT DE HESTENGA ET VENERUNT AD PR[O]ELIUM CONTRA HAROLDUM REGE[M] (Here the knights have left Hastings and have come to the battle against King Harold) and Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson.

02816a Scene 48 HIC MILITES EXIERUNT DE HESTENGA ET VENERUNT AD PR[O]ELIUM CONTRA HAROLDUM REGE[M] (Here the knights have left Hastings and have come to the battle against King Harold). (By Image on web site of Ulrich Harsh - Public Domain, <a href=https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17142145).

 
Scene 48 HIC MILITES EXIERUNT DE HESTENGA ET VENERUNT AD PR[O]ELIUM CONTRA HAROLDUM REGE[M] (Here the knights have left Hastings and have come to the battle against King Harold).

1:58 PM - Viking Star: Bayeux Tapestry Tour - right end of Scene 51b HIC WILLELM[US] DUX ALLOQUITUR SUIS MILITIBUS UT PREPAREN[T] SE VIRILITER ET SAPIENTER AD PR[O]ELIUM CONTRA ANGLORUM EXERCITU[M] (Here Duke William speaks to his knights to prepare themselves manfully and wisely for the battle against the army of the English), with Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson.

 

02817a Scene 51a HIC WILLELM[US] DUX ALLOQUITUR SUIS MILITIBUS UT PREPAREN[T] SE VIRILITER ET SAPIENTER AD PR[O]ELIUM CONTRA ANGLORUM EXERCITU[M] (Here Duke William speaks to his knights to prepare themselves manfully and wisely for the battle against the army of the English). (By Image on web site of Ulrich Harsh. - http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Bayeux/bay_tama.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17151751).

 
Scene 51a HIC WILLELM[US] DUX ALLOQUITUR SUIS MILITIBUS UT PREPAREN[T] SE VIRILITER ET SAPIENTER AD PR[O]ELIUM CONTRA ANGLORUM EXERCITU[M] (Here Duke William speaks to [or harangues] his knights to prepare themselves manfully and wisely for the battle against the army of the English). [The Duke, at far left, on a red horse, urges Norman knights to charge as the battle begins.]

 

02817b Side Scene 51b. Right side of same scene, continuing the same titulus. The Normans charge, and the Battle of Hastings begins. (By Image on web site of Ulrich Harsh. - http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Bayeux/bay_tama.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17151749).

 
[On the far right of the same scene, Duke William, on a black horse, leads the charge at the start of the battle. As arrows and lances fly through the air, many men lie dead or wounded on the battlefield (on the lower border of the tapestry). The English soldiers, who are all on foot, protect themselves with a wall of shields.]

2:00 PM - Viking Star: Bayeux Tapestry Tour - Scene 56b HIC FRANCI PUGNANT ET CECIDERUNT QUI ERANT CUM HAROLDO (Here the French are fighting and have killed those who were with Harold), and Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson.

 

02819a Scene 56a E[USTA]TIUS (Eustace). (By Image on web site of Ulrich Harsh. - http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Bayeux/bay_tama.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17143621).

 
Scene 56a E[USTA]TIUS (Eustace). [Eustace II, (c. 1015–c. 1087), also known as Eustace aux Grenons ("Eustace with long moustaches"), was Count of Boulogne from 1049 to 1087. He fought on the Norman side at the Battle of Hastings, and afterwards received large grants of land forming an honor (feudal barony) in England.]
 

02819b Scene 56b HIC FRANCI PUGNANT ET CECIDERUNT QUI ERANT CUM HAROLDO (Here the French are fighting and have killed those who were with Harold). (By Image on web site of Ulrich Harsh. - http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Bayeux/bay_tama.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17142224).

 
Scene 56b HIC FRANCI PUGNANT ET CECIDERUNT QUI ERANT CUM HAROLDO (Here the French are fighting and have killed those who were with Harold). [Those who fell here included Leofwine and Gyrth, brothers of King Harold.]

 

2:01 PM - Viking Star: Bayeux Tapestry Tour - left side of Scene 56b HIC FRANCI PUGNANT ET CECIDERUNT QUI ERANT CUM HAROLDO (Here the French are fighting and have killed those who were with Harold).

2:01 PM - Viking Star: Bayeux Tapestry Tour - Scene 57 HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST (Here King Harold was slain),

and Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson.

 

02820a Scene 57 HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST (Here King Harold was slain) (By Image on web site of Ulrich Harsh. - http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Bayeux/bay_tama.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17142228 ).

Scene 57 HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST (Here King Harold was slain). [As the battle continues, the Normans seem to be getting the upper hand. Many more soldiers die, and one appears to be having his head cut off. On the right is the best-known scene in the Tapestry: the Normans killing King Harold. But how is Harold killed? He seems to be shown twice: first plucking an arrow from his eye, and then being hacked down by a Norman knight. The tapestry is difficult to interpret here, but the second figure is probably Harold.
The figure standing below the inscription is currently depicted gripping an arrow that has struck his eye. This, however, may have been a late 18th- or early 19th- century modification to the Tapestry. Some historians have questioned whether this man is intended to be Harold or if the panel shows two instances of Harold in sequence of his death the figure standing to the left of the central figure commonly thought to be Harold, and then lying to the right almost supine being mutilated beneath a horse's hooves. With Harold dead, the battle is over. The victorious Normans chase the remaining English from the battlefield.
The final scene from the tapestry has been lost. It may have shown William being crowned King of England. This would match the scene at the very beginning of the tapestry, which shows King Edward secure on the throne just two years earlier.]

2:10 PM - Viking Star: Bayeux Tapestry Tour - part of same Scene 57 HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST (Here King Harold was slain), with Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson.

At 4:15, we went to the Theater (Deck 2) for the lecture "Pacific Art Explored," again with Viking Resident Historian. Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson. He explained the inspiring, exhilarating, and disparate range and history of indigenous Pacific art.

MT 5:17 PM - Viking Star: Near sunset.

According to the Viking Daily newsletter, sunset was to be at 6:12 pm.

MT 5:17 PM - Viking Star: rainbow near sunset.

MT 5:17 PM - Viking Star: other end of rainbow near sunset.

MT 5:39 PM - Viking Star: Don in our stateroom, dressed for dinner (with Hawaiian shirt he had bought in Hawaii.

At 6:00, we went to the World Café (Deck 7) for the "Seafood Grill," a special dinner prepared by Executive Chef Joseph and his culinary team. (We had checked with our friend Princess at the desk of The Restaurant (Deck 2), and she said it was OK to do that instead of the dinner we had pre-ordered for The Restaurant.)

MT 6:48 PM - Viking Star: World Café - unique, colorful dessert options at Seafood Grill.

At 7:30, we went to Torshavn (Deck 2) for the lecture "Starlet Turned Spy: Double Life of Josephine Baker," again with Viking Resident Historian. Wing Commander (ret.) William Simpson. He told how the iconic Jazz Age entertainer, famous for risqué performances, became a French spy.

MT 8:17 PM - Viking Star:  MT browsing in jewelry shop on Deck 2.

Back in our stateroom, we pre-ordered dinner at The Restaurant for November 25.

9:31 PM - Viking Star: Don's menu for dinner at The Restaurant on November 25; from the front side, he ordered Fresh Fruit Plate (melon, pineapple & berries) for Dessert.

9:30 PM - Viking Star: Don's menu for dinner at The Restaurant on November 25; from the back side, he ordered Seared King Dorado with Seafood Fregola Sarda (bouillabaisse with Sardinian pasta; Sorrento lemon olive oil emulsion) for Main Course.

9:30 PM - Viking Star: back side of menu for dinner at The Restaurant on November 25; MT also ordered Seared King Dorado with Seafood Fregola Sarda (bouillabaisse with Sardinian pasta; Sorrento lemon olive oil emulsion) for Main Course, but also ordered Three Onion Soup (Lyonnaise style with provolone & Gruyère) and added "with little cheese."