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I wish americans would ride bikes as much as the Germans.



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Laundry night

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Texas River Ranch

Believe it or not we are at a texas ranch 15 miles from papenburg.



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Weather continues....cold and wet

Ship appears close than it is

Dropped off David and Melanie then the car has to be moved to the other side of the yard.  It is an easy 1 mile walk.  The ship is so big it always seems to be closer than it appears, especially in the cold rain. 


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I did the unthinkable

Working late



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From the yard entrance gate 1

1st time I have been through this gate since float out.  It was amazing driving the little Skoda Favia underneath the bow.  

Finally got off the ship

Crew have been joining the ship in large numbers totally changing the dynamic of the ship. We have been buried with work. 1st night this week we have eaten dinner outside of the yard cafeteria.
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Pic of Papenburg canal

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Linssen Yachts Center

Today I am at the Alte Werft hotel helping human resources and crew office check-in 100+ crew. The hotel was the old shipyard. It is cool to see the old equipment left in place.
Outside the hotel is the canal and across it is a yacht sales center. These yachts look like they are built for the North Sea!



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Weather in late October early November

This pretty much sums up the weather since we have been here.  Bob and team calls it the Papenburg gray which they think should be in a standard color pallet.  

The Dr3am is out

This is a panorama shot I did of the yard from the D1sney viewing tent. Click on the picture for a larger view.

Night shot from http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/0,1518,726320,00.html

A single tug aligns itself with the stern of the Dr3am. This tug pulls while a smaller one inside helps align the Dr3am as she comes out.

Half way out

Here is the small tug positioned to the port of the Dr3am.  I left at 9PM the night before the float out and this vessel was not there. I took some pictures right next to this tug that night and it was not there. Rumor has it that the main crane lifted the small tug into the building and dropped her next to the Dr3am.   There was less than six feet between the ship and the wall of the wet dock.  I cannot explain how the yard moves such large items; they make it look like they are moving cotton candy.  -- photo from http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/0,1518,726320,00.html

Meyer Werft employee watching the small tug align the Dr3am as she is pulled out.

Great shot from inside looking out - http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/0,1518,726320,00.html

photo from http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/0,1518,726320,00.html

The stern characters from the D1sney Dr3am photo by http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/0,1518,726320,00.html

Firework show photo by http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/0,1518,726320,00.html

This is a movie link

The yard wasted no time after the hoopla to push the Dr3am across the harbor where they had the masts, funnel tops and other large pieces waiting on cranes to install now that she is outside. 

Waiting for float out of Dr3am

To beat the crowds in cars we rode bikes in the rain to watch the float out.  Please excuse brevity and typos as this message was composed on my mobile device.

Early morning anticipation

A few of us rode our bikes over to see the festivities. Hundreds of campers are lining the parking lots.The float out will be in the evening so we can only guess there will be fireworks.



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Blog that has public information about the Dr3am launch

Here is a public blog that lists the upcoming schedule for the Dr3am.

Chuck Schmidt writes for the Staten Island Live website


This is from a D1sney press release:

After 20 months of construction, the D1sney Dr3am cruise ship floated out of the enclosed building dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard today, completing a major construction milestone. The ship was greeted by thousands of visitors lining the shore to see the newest Disney Cruise Line ship, which features the first water coaster at sea and other cruise industry firsts designed to build upon Disney’s commitment to delivering unparalleled family cruises.
The “Float Out” is a special maritime event that celebrates the ship’s final stages of construction, where exteriors become complete and final touches are assigned to interiors. In true D1sney-style, the celebration was punctuated with a fireworks display and the appearance of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. The D1sney Dr3am is scheduled to sail its maiden voyage on January 26, 2011, from Port Canaveral, Fla.
“Today marks a monumental milestone and begins the first of the finishing touches for the D1sney Dr3am as we prepare to welcome guests aboard our newest ship,” said Karl Holz, president of D1sney Cruise Line. “Our guests are counting down to the maiden voyage, and in just 88 days, they will get to experience all that the D1sney Dr3am has to offer.”

AquaDuck

I cannot show it to you but I can link to the official Disney webpage. This thing is so cool.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/pools/aquaduck/

Day 3 and I have only been up to deck 10 looked around from up top and went right back to the computer office.  It is real busy out here, we are working on getting systems up as fast as we can.  Crew are expected to board in the coming days.  The float out is Saturday so everyone is putting on the finishing touches.

Not what you want to see; I know

This is an Aida ship not the Dream. This one is in hall 1. Aida ships have this trademark lips on the bow




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Cold wet morning

The wind is blowing hard, luckily the rain just stopped. The loaner car has to be parked in the employee lot which is about a quarter mile walk to office.

My new coat and motley tube are working great.
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This is Gumbo in Germany

Tonight we went to the Greek restaurant along the canal. I think it is called Olympia's.  On the door I see a sign that says Special Gumbo all you can eat.  When we order the waiter excitedly tells the special of the day being Gambos. I thought that sounds good. What they were saying and what was on the sign was Gambas which means Prawns in Spanish.  At least it was all you can eat.

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Car or bike?

Of course bike! I left Brian at the office tonight; he gave me an escort this morning to the yard. As I was heading back to the hotel via my rented two wheels I came across these two locals who were going my way.  Local law says bikes must be ridden with lights and the lights must be dynamo powered, meaning no batteries. 
Bikes also have the total right-of-way so you just keep moving through intersections. I stopped once at an intersection and traffic stopped in all directions until I moved through. Odd, odd feeling.

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