Christmas Post 12-25-06
Christmas on the Oden
Time line
12-24-06** Special Coffeebreak 3pm on the mess deck Christmas tree decoration under the watchful eye of Mattias to place the ornaments skillfully in an random order (entropy is the science word)
Everybody participated
Traditional spiced hot "Glogg" (Gluehwein) was served and Swedish Christmas cookies
12-24-06** back to work for an hour…. Women onboard interpreted this as women sauna time. We met in sauna # 2 relaxing and trying to figure out what to wear for the special Christmas dinner.
12-24-06** Special Christmas dinner starting at 5 pm sharp! Attendance required- not a minute earlier or later All dressed up we entered the mess deck to find it transformed into a beautiful fest hall. Tables were set for Christmas and the multi course dinner. Maria, our Swedish cook, had prepared traditional Swedish food. We started with fish followed by cold meat, the main course and dessert.
*12-24-06**
5pm to….. Christmas party with occasional science breaks for people that had to collect data
**Present time, hugs, songs, dancing and a little schnapps…
Thank you Swedish Crew. It was marvelous!
*Night 12-24-06 to **12-25-06*
On the bridge one could observe nature in all its beauty. Antarctica presented itself in the most striking way, crystal-clear air with the sun moving low along the horizon, icebergs passing by, shadows creating surreal scenery of water, ice and occasional life. We humans are clearly just visitors here.
There is a good chance that nobody else has ever sailed this way before. We were standing speechless on the bridge for hours, deeply humbled by this eerie experience of our wonderful planet.
12-24-06 onboard of the Swedish icebreaker Oden -A Christmas night as a powerful reminder that we have set sail on a science mission to protect our planet.*
