Swiss friends visit

Photo: Scenery at the Wandelaar Anchorage awaiting berthing the evening before arrival.

Many of my friends live in Switzerland. Living in a landlocked country the whole shipping business is rather mysterious to them and it is therefore also hard for them to imagine me working at sea. As hard as that might be, it is normally even harder for them to come on board an take a look. With any sea at least a day’s travel away!

Even for friends and family living in the Netherlands, where we regularly call ports, it is difficult to find the opportunity for a ship’s visit. But last weekend luck was on my side. Initially the ship was planned to go to Antwerp beginning of the week but eventually berthing was delayed a few days. It then coincided with a small vacation my Swiss friends had planned to the Netherlands. So I arranged a rental car for the five ladies and they drove to Antwerp right away.

It was great to have them around and show them the ship. It was interesting to them as it seemed to me, for me it felt like to separate and different lives collided, lives which normally have no interference with each other. Lives with different languages, different surroundings and different friends suddenly all mixed up. Normally I am the one switching between these lives, between the open seas and the alps but not this time. Somehow that was challenging for the mind.

But most of all it was great to see them again and to catch up with them. As usual, when your having a good time, time flies. They had to leave to be back home in time for dinner. They left me with a lot of Swiss delicacies, Ovomaltine chocolate, Rivella (red, the only real one) and Engadiner Nusstorte, mmmh.

Hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you ladies for your visit!

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