Wednesday 25 May 2011

Happy Birthday Dear Captain!

Again a lovely morning with bright sunshine. The wind was blowing from the west about 7-8 m per sek.. The swell was quite heavy.
At 9.30 am two lectures were given. One by Friederike with the topic “One year aboard MV FRAM” and the other one by Klaus with the topic “Huge cod and enormous monkfish – Fish n` cips”.
At noon we could see the old lighthouse and a part of the white beaches of Borkum. We sailed along the south side of Borkum towards the Borkum Reede. The swell was much lower when we entered the strait between the Dutch Island Schiermonnikoog and Borkum . The Polar Cirkle Boats were lowered down, filled up with our guests and sailed quite a long distance to the old Marine Military Harbor. Everyone reached the island with dry feeds. Busses brought the guests around the island. Others were driven to the town center .
Borkum is the westernmost and, at 36 sq km, the largest of the seven East-Frisian Islands in the southern North Sea. Due to the Gulf Stream, there is a temperate maritime climate, which means that it is not very hot in summer and not very cold in winter. The island is partially car-free. The only town on the island is also called Borkum. Borkum is serviced by ferries from Emden and Eemshaven.

A double track narrow gauge railway still exists in Borkum. Many of our passengers got a special steam train ride between the town and back to the harbor. Everyone was happy for the stay on Borkum. It had been a wonderful trip to this unique island.

On our way out with the FRAM, our tour guide Benno gave interesting comments about the coastal
landscape over PA system.
At 9 pm we had the Farewell-Cocktail in the Observation Lounge were our Captain Arild HÃ¥rvik said goodbye to all passengers. After that, the famous MS FRAM Crew Show took place on deck 7.

A wonderful cruise with lots of interesting locations to discover ends tomorrow. Good night folks .