A visit from the Polarstern

Just when the dust had settled and we were starting to get into our winter routine, we received a visit from the German research vessel the Polarstern. It was so exciting to see another ship in the harbour, especially as we knew we were getting visitor. We weren't sure how many were coming ashore, but it would have been somewhere around 50. They came in by helicopter and also via the ship's two lifeboats.

I was down at the wharf helping the boats tie up, and the first thing one of the girls did was to steal my bike! She brought it back a bit later, saying that she couldn't help herself after being on the ship for so long. It was very funny. After taking photos of the seals, they all wanted to see the station. Some of them wandered around alone, whilst we took other groups on tours. My first tour was a little boring, but the second one was much more fun. It was only through the inside of the SMQ, but somehow we managed to finish in the brewery. As we were heading down the hatch, Yogi figured out what was going on and joined us. We shut the hatch and opened the first sample bottle. This was at about 1300, and our bar wasn't going to open till 1700. Matt was wandering past and heard us, so he joined in as well. Next thing, the side door opened and Cookie and the ships captain walked in. We thought we were going to be in trouble. Matt even went and hid behind the sewerage tank. Cookie looked at us and said "well, where are our glasses?". We all breathed a collective sigh of relief and opened another bottle. It was then decided to open the bar earlier than expected.

The lucky recipients of the brewery tourA motley collection of Aussies and Germans enjoying the home brew

Amongst all of the Germans was one Aussie bloke, Josh. He was very happy to be amongst a group of Australians again. He told us he was missing Milo, so I gave him a container of it, and someone else gave him some Vegemite (and a few other jars of it were handed out as gifts to others). To show his gratitude, he drunk as much beer as he possibly could, with plenty of encouragement. Our last sight of Josh was of him in the lifeboat trying to put his life jacket on upside down!

In the course of the afternoon, we were also invited to go out to the Polarstern for a visit. We all headed out at various times for a look. The German chopper pilots are crazy! On our way back we buzzed one of the lifeboats - we wouldn't have been any more than 10 meters above them - it was hilarious.

Australian Ambassadors in front of the German helicopter- Glen, me and Yogi

Davis from the air

The Polarstern from the air

Our guides for the tour of the ship were Katharina (one of the scientist) and her father Helmut (one of the ships electricians), who were on the same voyage by chance. Katharina got the chance to come ashore, but Helmut didn't, so we took him out a bottle of beer as a gift. The Polarstern is older than the AA, but it is in immaculate condition. The one weird thing about it though is that smoking is allowed. When we went up to the bridge for a look, the captain was chomping down on a cigar. When we went into the bar/mess area, some of the crew were having afternoon tea smoking away. Quite bizarre.

Helmut, Katharina, Glen and Yogi in the bar of the Polarstern

There were gifts being given out all over the place. Yogi managed to get himself some pumpernickel bread, and we also got a can of coke. It may not sound like much, but after only having post mix, seeing a can of coke was exciting. I am still to drink mine - I want to see how long I can last. The only one not in a giving mood was Matt, who sold his vest with the Davis logo for $40 US. Had I known that, I would have sold all of my stuff!

Anyway, a great day was had by all, and it was a shame to see our new friends leave. I hope they had as much fun as we did, and I'm pretty sure they did. I doubt there was a completely sober person in the place!