October 4, 2006

Aidan actually didn't do the port talk on October 2. The plot actually thickened considerably as more people got involved. I'll get to that story later.The night of the second and all day on the third was absolutely rainy. It was okay while we were on the ship. We just relaxed and enjoyed the ability to do nothing. I slept a lot and really got to the point where I came to appreciate the ability to do absolutely nothing. It really made me look at life a little differently. We will see how the desire for relaxation will continue to be a priority for me when I get home.We visited the Prince Bishop’s Residence at Wurzburg in the afternoon and had to don raincoats and bring out the umbrellas. We had a bit of a city overview in the bus, but it was somewhat difficult with the rain. The Prince Bishop’s Residence was nice. They have done great restoration work of the baroque areas, but have not restored the Empire areas. Wurzburg was bombed during the war so some areas of the palace had to be rebuilt from scratch. It was fascinating to see how the mirrored room was reconstructed. It took 10 years to replicate the room using the original techniques. After visiting the chapel, we headed back to the ship because the weather was still bad.Aidan made his preparations for the evenings activities, and I rested. The port talk was indeed crazy. Akos came into the lounge and begin talking about the busy day to come. He was then called down to the reception area for an important call by the hotel manager. The hotel manager, Roman, came across a loudspeaker with Akos and we heard them throw Akos overboard. Roman then announced that Aidan was the new cruise director. Aidan then came in with Akos’ jacket, identification card, and the microphone and gave the port talk for the evening. He communicated a more relaxing day since Akos’ notes were written in his native Hungarian, and he therefore had to make up the schedule. It got crazier when Akos came back into the lounge, soaking wet with a life preserver around his head. He called for Aidan to be taken away by security but instead Akos was led away by two crew members. It was absolute insanity! Aidan, Akos and Roman are nuts. Everyone loved it! Aidan then announced that the restaurant was open for dinner.At dinner, there was a pirate theme and Stefan came out dressed with his pirate captain outfit to carve the turkey. After dinner, we were treated to the crew talent show. The most memorable number was the kitchen staff's interpretation of ‘Swan Lake’. Good Lord, they were crazy. They wore shorts, their aprons, undershirts, and had boobs that were made from blown up kitchen gloves. I was crying from laughing so much. We danced a lot last night, as we hung out with Roman and the other crew members. I had a crazy merengue with one of the ‘Swans’ and had Roman cracking up when I danced with him. Aidan hung out with Roman a little longer, as it turned in for the night.Today is another easy morning before we arrived in Miltenberg this afternoon. We haven't gotten today's soduku puzzle yet, so we've rested and now Aidan is giving me a massage. All the walking has my back, hamstrings, and calves really tight!