Cruising the western edges of Europe with Viking Ocean Cruises

By Brian Johnston
July 23 2016 - 12:15am
Viking Sea sailing the Mediterranean. Photo: Supplied
Viking Sea sailing the Mediterranean. Photo: Supplied

I've just spent 48 hours tramping through Barcelona: hard to resist a dawn-to-dusk round of sightseeing in this quirky and utterly beautiful city. My ship Viking Star has lingered in port for two nights, as if reluctant to depart. Now I'm happy with a day at sea to let my sore feet unknot. I sit in Viking Sea's gorgeous Wintergarden in the sun, forking up scones with clotted cream and dithering over the two-page tea menu. I attend an interesting lecture that takes me through the glories of Spanish art. Goya and El Greco are fierce and gloomy, but modern Spain seems a happy place, and so is this ship. Cutlery and conversation clack over dinner. The coast is a blue smudge on the horizon, pink-haloed as the sun sets. Container-ship lights wink like diamonds on velvet-blue water.

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