Dover,England

Day 53-Dover, England

We spent the day exploring Dover. Dover is the shortest crossing point between Britain and the European Continent. Dover is Southeast of London, in Kent. Dover is famous for its white cliffs and Dover Castle. You all have probably heard of the White Cliffs. Well you have if you're old. There is a song written about them. We got off the ship and it was windy with a few showers and the temperature was about 60 degrees. Welcome to England. We were missing the Mediterranean right away. We spent most of our day at Dover Castle. It is a fantastic castle from medieval time that was built by Henry II from 1179 to 1256 AD and over the next 800 years its building and defenses were adapted to meet the changing demands of weapons and warfare. Randy and I agree it is one of the most fascinating Castles that we have ever seen. Under the Castle there has been tunnels built from medieval times to the Secret wartime tunnels that were used during World War II. The Normandy Invasion and the Dunkirk Rescue Mission were planned in these tunnels. This is also an underground hospital. These tunnels could hold thousands of troops. We had guided tours though the wartime tunnels and hospital to show you what it was like during World War II. The great Tower has been painstakingly recreated by craftsmen from across England to show how the castle was furnished in King Henry's time and there were holograms of characters in the different rooms to show what it was like in medieval times. It was time to go back to the ship, would have liked a couple of more hours at the castle. Next port was to be Amsterdam but due to high winds we were unable to get into the locks (50 knots+) Guess we will just have to come back in the future. So now the Next Port is Bergen, Norway