Saturday, March 25, 2023: The “Atlantic Sail” is not the “Titanic” – hopefully!
Hi folks, it’s getting serious! On Tuesday we are starting for Hamburg.
At the beginning of March Ursula got Annie Way out of her winter quarters. She stood there with two – yuck! – mobile homes in a machine hall of a farm not far from Eferding. Leona Loewenfeld and me spent the last five months at Ursula’s. That was nice!
Ursula wrote a list of things she had to put into Annie Way. This list was – believe it or not – eleven pages long. Today I heard her talking to someone on the phone, and she said, that there were only four things left which she hasn’t got yet.
To be able to get on the container ship Annie Way has to look as if she were empty, which means that everything has to be tied down for the voyage and hidden in the storage spaces. This includes Leona Loewenfeld and me, we have to travel inside a cupboard. First Ursula considered if we should fly with her, but then she explained to us, that she has to take so many things with her that there will be no room left for us in her suitcase. A laptop, two tablets, the cameras, the recorder for her podcasts – all these things have to go with her on the plane. In addition the keyboard, the external disks, USB-sticks, the card reader, all documents which meanwhile sum up to two full folders plus whatever she needs for herself.
Of course we understood her decision, Leona Loewenfeld and me. The main thing is to arrive safely in Canada. We are starting on April 3 with the “Atlantic Sail” from Hamburg to Halifax.
Ursula doesn’t really like this. I heard her talk to a friend. “Annie Way will be exactly then when the Titanic sank exactly there where she sank.” Originally Ursula had been told that all ships have a delay of two weeks at the moment, so she booked Annie Way’s trip – and therefore ours – for the beginning of April. The Atlantic has got 8-m-high waves at that time – on average.
But we are not going by ourselves. We will be accompanied by a cristal guardian angel with purple wings and by Leopold. The tiny guardian angel will travel in a drawer, but Leopold will sit with Leona and me in the cupboard above Annie Way’s table. In complete darkness. With waves 8 m high, on average! On average!
Ursula got Leopold as a gift from a friend. His job is to watch us. As if we would need a watchdog – or in his case a watchlion! We could perfectly do without him, so far.
That was my first thought when I learnt that someone else is going to travel with us. But then I met Leopold … folks, he is a really nice guy. Tall and big – compared to me he is tall, compared to Leona he is big, really big, but you can’t help loving him. And he is not shy at all. He put his arm around Leona’s shoulder and put me on his lap, so that Ursula and her friend could take pictures of the three of us.
In future he will sit on my spot, tied to the safety belt with a purple ribbon so that he can’t fall down. Leona stays at her spot between the two headrests, only a little away from Leopold. And I will sit – or rather hang around – above them. Ursula found a piece of metal for my magnetic paws. My new place is even better than the old one, I’ll have the absolute overview. Because I am the boss and the lucky charm.
Folks, cross you fingers for us, so that everything will work out well, and that we get to Hamburg and afterwards survive the trip to Halifax! It’s usually Ursula who is scared, but this time it seems that even a sloth can develop certain fears.
The ship won’t sink, and we won’t sink! Hopefully. You’ll hear from me from Canada. Hopefully.
Yours, Sally