Viking Sky had a very special event planned for us today, but first I had a lecture to attend. Steve Burrows spoke on “The European Architecture of Mozambique,” but once again, he only devoted the last ten minutes of his talk to architecture. His idea to give us an overview of the demographics, geography, history, and culture of Mozambique was a good one, however, since there will be no other talks on the country we will be visiting tomorrow.
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| The Architecture of Mozambique |
He started with two fun facts. Mozambique is the only country in the world with five vowels in its name, and its flag is the only one containing an AK-47. A not-so-fun fact is that Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world and is at the forefront of climate change, often suffering from extreme weather.
Mozambique became a territory of the Portuguese Empire in 1505, and although the country achieved its independence in 1975, it still suffers the effects of a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992. As in most African countries, colonialism had a devastating impact on the country with economic disparity and social inequalities that continue to affect the nation today. This slide clearly spells out the harm that resulted from colonialism.
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| Colonial Harms |
Steve let us know that Mozambique has the best collection of colonial architecture of any place we will visit in Africa, apart from Cape Town. He illustrated the history of architecture here, starting with a church constructed in 1498, and I hope we will be able to see some of the buildings he showed us.
Next up was a lecture by Dr. Babcock on the “History of South Africa,” the country we will visit after Mozambique. Its history is too long and complicated for me to try and write about here, but the timelines below will provide a summary of key events.
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| History of South Africa |
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| Timeline of Early History |
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| Timeline of 20th Century History |
The special event that I hinted at earlier was A Global Brunch Extravaganza. This was the description in the Viking Daily:
Step into a world of flavors at our spectacular Pool Deck Brunch, where our Executive Chef Alistair and his dedicated team have crafted an exquisite feast celebrating cuisines from around the globe! Savor an array of international delights, from Indonesian street food, fresh sushi to handmade pasta favorites, and more. And for those with a sweet tooth, prepare to be amazed by our indulgent dessert buffet, featuring an irresistible selection of pastries and a flowing chocolate fountain – the perfect way to end this extraordinary alfresco dining experience.
Yes, it was an extravaganza and a feast for the eyes, as well as the stomach. The sushi chefs outdid themselves this time with their displays. The watermelons with African animals carved into the rinds were works of art. The dessert buffet was also impressive.
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| International Delights and the Talented Chefs Who Created Them |
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| An Amazing Dessert Buffet |
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| Watermelon Art |
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| More Watermelon Art |
Tim and I joined Jacquee and Larry at The Chef’s Table for the Sweet and Salty menu. This was a new one for us, and we really enjoyed it. This was the description of the menu:
A five-course menu to maximize your dining pleasure that highlights these two “best friends” in every dish through witty pairings.
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| Sweet and Salty Menu, with Descriptions of the Five Courses Pictured Below |
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| Amuse Bouche, First Course, Granita, Main Course, and Dessert |
Drooling!! ha ha
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