Zugunruhe
This quote from THE FIERY CROSS has been on my mind in recent days:
“Zugunruhe,” [Jamie] said softly, tracing with a fingertip the damp mark he had left on my skin.I'm feeling that zugunruhe, that restlessness, myself, because I'm about to go on vacation, on a trip I've been looking forward to for more than a year. I'm going on a cruise on Alaska's Inside Passage!
“What’s that?”
“It’s what Sterne called it--the wakefulness of the wee birds, getting ready to leave on their long flight.”
“Does it mean something in particular?”
“Aye. ‘Ruhe’ is stillness, rest. And ‘zug’ is a journey of some sort. So ‘zugunruhe’ is a restlessness--the uneasiness before a long journey.”
(From THE FIERY CROSS by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 107, "Zugunruhe". Copyright © 2001 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)
I've never done anything remotely like this before, and this trip will take my travel adventures to a whole new level! If I enjoy cruising, it will open up possibilities for traveling to other places that would be difficult or impossible for me to visit on my own.
I signed up for a whale-watching excursion in Juneau that I'm really looking forward to. Also, the ship will spend a full day cruising through Glacier Bay National Park, and I'm sure the scenery there will be gorgeous! (The photo above, from the National Park Service website, shows Margerie Glacier, one of the places I hope to see on this cruise.)
Apparently it rains a lot in that part of Alaska in July, but I'm trying to maintain what you might call a Scottish attitude toward the weather, and not let it slow me down too much. Everybody says to bring rain gear, dress in layers, and be prepared for all types of weather. So I'm going to do that. I've spent the last couple of days packing and re-packing, adding last-minute items, making sure I have everything I'll need on the trip. So I'm definitely feeling that zugunruhe, that restlessness before a long journey. I really can't wait!
Wish me luck! I leave on Friday, and I won't be blogging during my trip, unless there is Major Breaking News related to OUTLANDER.
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