Our Tallinn stop ended about 1:30, so we even had that afternoon on board. I headed up to the Sport Deck to do some laps, and to take a conditioning class.
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| Not a bad view, looking at Tallinn's newer section from the Sport Deck. |
As I did some stretching to prep for the class, the instructor, a personal trainer named Kay, came in. As seems to be my habit, I immediately started chatting fitness/workouts with him. I told him how I've gained some weight in the last two years, after having lost a lot, because my mom got sick and then passed away.
"But I don't regret one minute I spent with her in the last year of her life," I said, rather fiercely. "Even if I did some emotional eating."
"And you shouldn't," was his reply. "That was important."
I knew we would get on famously. Plus, he's from England, so aside from talking fitness, we spent a good portion of the half-hour class (there was only one other guy taking it with me), chatting about England.
Because as much as I love talking about fitness...I love talking about England even more.
He saw me eyeing the footprint analysis demonstration and asked if I was interested. Never turning down an opportunity to chat with a very handsome Englishman, and because yes, I had been thinking about going to one of the free clinics, I said yes. It involved him taking prints of both of my feet, where I stepped on paper over a large ink pad.
We talked about where I have pain--lower back, hips--and how that can be affected by how I use my feet. This made sense, because everything is connected.
The prints showed us where I put most of the pressure on my feet. I tend to over-pronate (I knew this from many times getting fitted for running shoes at Fleet Feet), which leads to me stressing certain parts of the foot rather than applying pressure evenly. Kay demonstrated this by having me stand, barefoot, with my hands cupped in front of my waist. He applied some pressure with his fist, and I had to struggle to stay upright, going up on my toes and leaning dangerously forward.
Then he had me put my hands behind my back. He applied pressure with two fingers, and almost had me on my rear end on the floor. Laughing at my imbalance, I said, "Well, that was unexpected!"
So he had me try these Good Feet inserts. Just standing on them, without even putting them in my shoes, my balance improved hugely. So...for those keeping record, Insane Purchase #3, a pair of Good Feet inserts for my shoes, but seriously, I've been wearing them since and I have had far less back and hip pain than I'd been having before.
Worth every penny.
That evening, I had plans with my Russia tour friends. We had commandeered the same group of tables in the Piazza so we could watch a rock concert put on by several members of various ship bands. It was a rollicking, fun evening.
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| One of the singers came over and sang with Shirleen. |
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| This woman was amazing--really great voice, breath support that I would kill for, and she did it all while dancing and hopping around. Here, she's singing AC/DC. |
The first was for an English Tea I had signed up for on the first day on board. We sampled three different teas--a black tea to go with the sandwiches, a green tea for the desserts, and a white tea for the scones. All were lovely, and the service was, of course, delightful. Dad wasn't interested, so I did this alone, but honestly, I've never complained about having tea alone.
And that evening, I had another appointment with Kay the trainer (a freebie!), this time to talk body mass and workout planning. What should have taken maybe half an hour ran two hours as we talked fitness, nutrition, England, teaching, personal training (he really loves what he does), and how even though I, too, love my job, there was still a lovely feeling of knowing I had some time off to relax this summer.
I spent a little bit of time that evening in the Piazza with my friends. There was a dance contest going on, and a newlywed pair we knew from the Russia tour were in it, but assigned to different partners. The husband ended up winning--the last round was "interpretive dance" and the song was "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic. He and his partner did the infamous "door" scene, complete with him scooting on the floor away from her, hands outstretched. It was hilarious and fun. I looked over at his wife and said, "Oh, when people ask how your honeymoon was..." Between giggles, she replied, "Oh, my God!!"
But I was tired, and had a very early start the next morning, because Berlin, Germany is not a coastal city.
I got ready for bed and then noticed that the view outside our stateroom was stunning.
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| Pardon my jammies. |
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| There's a little strip of land on the horizon--it was an island that belongs to Sweden. |
I stood on the balcony for a few minutes, enjoying the sound of the water and a gentle breeze.
Cruise life is good.
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