Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Juneau

We didn't board the Volendam again at Tracy Arm.  Instead, she had continued on north toward Juneau.  The catamaran we were on turned and headed north, too, to allow us to reboard at Juneau.  But when we got there, we couldn't go back through the same hole in the hull that we had used earlier to leave the ship.  There was a lifeboat drill going on.

We went around to the gangway, which was the normal boarding place, showing our ID's and having our bags scanned as we went back on board.  After a quick lunch on the Lido Deck, we headed out into the 'traditional' weather of Juneau -- rain.

Juneau is a small town, especially considering that it's the state capitol of the largest state in the union, and is only accessible by sea and air.  There are no roads in (or out) of Juneau.  Armed with our Walking Guide to Juneau (a map with locations noted on it), we pretty well scoured the town in the next few hours.  

 Come on, I'll show you around.  We started by taking the Roberts Mountain tram ride up to a small station that included a gift shop, an information film, and a very tiny natural history center (one injured bald eagle and another gift shop).
The Volendam is the ship on the right.  The other ship is also from the Holland America line.  Our entire trip included stops at facilities owned by Holland America (or HAL), including various diamond centers and nearly all of our hotel accommodations.  HAL is clearly a large contributor to the local economies in areas frequented by its guests.

Two views of the portion of Juneau that lies across the Lynn Canal

Looking down the Lynn Canal from the top of the tram line
Various view of St. Nicholas church, a lovely old Russian Orthodox church built in 1893

The Governor's Mansion
Steps up to the streets above.  The hills are steep in Juneau.
Did I mention that it rains a lot in Juneau?
The Alaska State Capitol building
Bell outside the Capitol Building
Totem pole near the State Capitol building
The State Assembly building
Assembly for rent?
View south down the Lynn Canal
And back to the ship, which was the largest building in town.
Next stop:  Skagway.





No comments: