Yeah! I finally got the slide show working. If the captions don't show up, just hold your mouse over the picture and there is a little box at the bottom left of the picture that looks like a text balloon. Just click on this to turn on the captions.
If you want to see the pictures in larger format, just click on this link to go to the album: View Album or Play slideshow
To see the next page of posts, you need to click on "older posts" at the bottom of each page.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Cruise News
This is a complete version of the cruise news I sent out while on my Baltic Seas Cruise. I have added in pertinent pictures. Hope you all enjoy. Please keep in mind that the actual postings are in reverse chronological order, but the blog archive on the right is in chronological order. In order to enjoy the entire trip, please start with the oldest posting (England), which is at the end.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Copenhagen Denmark Day 3
The day started with an abrupt wake up call. I decided to take the morning off and rest my weary body while Michael was going to go find the official winter palace. We were figuring out how and when to meet up to go on a canal cruise when Michael decided to go downstairs to get a cup of coffee. I am still in bed and he comes in and says there is a canal tour leaving right from the hotel at 9 am – and it is the only trip of the day from the hotel. Well, that solved the problem of the where and when – but it was 8:30 am and I am still in bed. Didn’t take me long to figure it out – get dressed NOW and FAST – and avoid a mile walk to get another tour.
The canal boats have a very low freeboard and are narrow and long. They were designed to go under the very narrow and short canal bridges. Head clearance, when sitting in the boat, is about 6 inches. The tour lasted a little more than an hour and we saw many of the places we saw from the bus, but from the water. It was a most scenic trip and our guide was a college student on holiday who spoke three different languages on the tour. Her college education is totally paid for and she gets a monthly stipend from the government while she is a student. I told her about how we pay for our higher educational system and she was quite shocked. She said she doesn’t mind paying 50% in taxes as everything is taken care by the government.
I returned to the hotel while Michael (where he gets the energy I don’t know) continued on with a five mile self-guided walking tour. He visited Copenhagen’s famous “walking street,” which is non-stop shopping for pedestrians only. He went on to the Rosenborg Have, which is an armory where the new palace guard starts out from each day at 11:30 am. He walked through the gardens on the way to the Amaliebosrg Slotsplade, the actual winter palace, and watched the guard change. He has some great pictures. It was then on to the Resistance Museum (which was, unfortunately, closed as it was Monday). Michael finally pooped out and headed back to the hotel, with a stop at Denmark’s largest department store and a number of designer type shops, with a nice lunch stop at an outdoor café.
We ventured out once more for a meal at a Chinese restaurant, and then back to the hotel to do our final packing. It will be a short night for us as we have a 7:30 am flight from Copenhagen to London, and then home to Seattle.
The canal boats have a very low freeboard and are narrow and long. They were designed to go under the very narrow and short canal bridges. Head clearance, when sitting in the boat, is about 6 inches. The tour lasted a little more than an hour and we saw many of the places we saw from the bus, but from the water. It was a most scenic trip and our guide was a college student on holiday who spoke three different languages on the tour. Her college education is totally paid for and she gets a monthly stipend from the government while she is a student. I told her about how we pay for our higher educational system and she was quite shocked. She said she doesn’t mind paying 50% in taxes as everything is taken care by the government.
I returned to the hotel while Michael (where he gets the energy I don’t know) continued on with a five mile self-guided walking tour. He visited Copenhagen’s famous “walking street,” which is non-stop shopping for pedestrians only. He went on to the Rosenborg Have, which is an armory where the new palace guard starts out from each day at 11:30 am. He walked through the gardens on the way to the Amaliebosrg Slotsplade, the actual winter palace, and watched the guard change. He has some great pictures. It was then on to the Resistance Museum (which was, unfortunately, closed as it was Monday). Michael finally pooped out and headed back to the hotel, with a stop at Denmark’s largest department store and a number of designer type shops, with a nice lunch stop at an outdoor café.
We ventured out once more for a meal at a Chinese restaurant, and then back to the hotel to do our final packing. It will be a short night for us as we have a 7:30 am flight from Copenhagen to London, and then home to Seattle.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Copenhagen Denmark Day 1 & 2
We are landlubbers once again. Disembarked the ship this morning in Copenhagen, hailed a taxi, and checked into our hotel and unpacked – all by 10:30 am. We then hit the streets of Copenhagen. Our hotel is about a 1/2 mile walk from the hotel to the city hall and central plaza, where we purchased a 2-day pass for the hop-on-hop-off English double decker tour bus. We rode around the city on two different bus routes, just getting the feel of the city. We stayed on the bus most of the day as we were really tired. There was commentary in eight different languages (we used disposable headsets). We saw the famous little mermaid statue, and during our brief stop for photos, the heavens let loose and it poured. Two minutes later, it stopped and the sun came out. We passed by Tivoli Gardens, which we are planning on doing tomorrow. We had cool weather and brief, but intense cloudbursts all day long.
We stopped at an area called Nyhavn, a picturesque canal filled with moored sail boats and canal cruise boats. This harbor was established in 1673, and its most famous resident was Hans Christian Anderson. We walked along the sunny north side of the canal where there are outdoor cafes, restaurants, and bars. It is said to be the world’s “longest bar” (there are perhaps 100+ little establishments, one right next to the other) and the home of many tattoo parlors. It was wildly crowded and most people were sunning themselves and drinking beer, including us.
There are bicycles everywhere. The streets have special lanes just for bikes. There are bike corals everywhere. At the rail and bus stations, there are acres of bikes and they have double decker storage! They ride rain or shine; just put on a raincoat and away they go. Some bike owners put plastic bags over the seats to keep them dry.
The city of Copenhagen was founded in 1197. Much of the original buildings have been destroyed over the centuries due to various wars and fire, so much of it has been rebuilt, mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries. The new and modern buildings are right next to the old ones, making for a very stark contrast. Our hotel, the Marriott, is right on the main canal and looks over a panorama of old and new apartment buildings and a promenade along the canal.
We passed thru an area called Christiania, a free love, hippie, drug culture area where we were not allowed to take pictures. The “houses” used to be workers shacks, and have since been “creatively individualized” with colorful and bizarre facades.
The tax rate here is very high. Income tax is between 40% and 50%. VAT tax is 25% on everything, except alcohol and tobacco, which is 30%. Prices in the stores are also very high. We walked down a very crowded and narrow cobblestone pedestrian shopping street. Young ladies are wearing hightop sneakers and many have pink, purple, or orange hair. We ate really traditional Danish food for lunch and dinner: KFC and Hard Rock Café!!! I guess we needed an American fix after eating fine cuisine on the ship for two weeks. Stopped at a 7-11 to pick up some fresh bagels (they actually have a bakery display in the store!) for breakfast as the hotel restaurant is outrageously expensive and there is no convenient place for breakfast. Coffee costs $6.
Everyone we have come in contact with speaks English. Copenhagen is old but modern and is a very interesting city. We are looking forward to spending more time here.
Copenhagen – Day 2
Finally, good weather!! After eating our 7-11 bagels for breakfast (cost for 2 bagels, cream cheese and a 12 oz bottle of diet coke was $20), we headed back to the city hall plaza and boarded the double decker hop-on-hop-off bus to the Carlsberg Beer factory tour. The factory is no longer in use and is now a museum. Everything there was original equipment and buildings from the 1800s. Most impressive was the stable area with the stalls and cobble stone floors (and of course horses). At the end of the tour, there was a very modern tasting room. Most breweries give you a taste of their product; not here – they give you a whole bottle or glass! Mind you, it is 10:30 am and here we were having a beer. I even had one! Michael finished his beer and since there was no way I was going to drink my entire glass, he polished off mine. Just before he finished mine, I decided to go to the bus stop just in case it came early (and I needed a few extra minutes because, frankly, I was dragging fanny). The bus did come early and no Michael. I asked the driver to wait and he was gracious enough to do so. Michael finally comes charging up. I asked him why he was so far behind me and said he had gone up to the bartender and inquired about the beer I had. The bartender said he should try the dark blonde (I had the blonde) and so Michael had another glass. What a way to start the day.
We went back to the city hall plaza to pick up the red bus, which would take us to Nyhavn to pick up a canal boat tour. While on the bus, we met up with some folks from the cruise ship and they invited us to join them for lunch at a place they had heard about. We get to the restaurant and they are serving a buffet brunch. Since we had plans to have dinner out with other folks we had met on the ship, we decided not to eat that much. Got back on the red bus back to the plaza and had lunch at Burger King (which cost $25). We never got the canal cruise.
Then on to Tivoli Gardens. Michael was wearing shorts and he decided to go back to the hotel to change into pants as the restaurant we planned to have dinner at was somewhat upscale and once you entered Tivoli Gardens, you could not exit and then get back in without paying again. I found a bench by the restaurant to wait for him. At this point, I am functioning on fumes. I laid down on the bench for a blissful 45 minutes until Michael joined me. Tivoli Gardens was created in the 1840 to give the people something pleasant to do as a way to avoid an uprising. It consists of an amusement park, a midway, hotel, restaurants, concert hall, outdoor theatre, fabulous gardens, lakes and fountains, aquarium, royal guard marching group with horse drawn carriage – it was so quaint. It is an absolute gem in the middle of a major metropolitan area. We enjoyed a concert and pantomime theatre show. We never did eat at the restaurant that was recommended to us. It would have cost $300 per person for dinner and wine. Found an authentic Danish restaurant and had a delightful meal and good companionship at a reasonable price.
There are no Starbucks anywhere in Copenhagen; there are McDonald’s, Burger King, 7-11, and Dominos. Almost everyone smokes just about everywhere. People don’t have a cell phone glued to their ear. There is no jaywalking and people wait for the traffic lights to turn green before proceeding across the street even when there is no traffic coming. We saw babies everywhere -- lots of them -- and 90% of them were blonde. The little ones all had pacifiers and toddlers sat compliantly in carriages. No little ones running about.
We stopped at an area called Nyhavn, a picturesque canal filled with moored sail boats and canal cruise boats. This harbor was established in 1673, and its most famous resident was Hans Christian Anderson. We walked along the sunny north side of the canal where there are outdoor cafes, restaurants, and bars. It is said to be the world’s “longest bar” (there are perhaps 100+ little establishments, one right next to the other) and the home of many tattoo parlors. It was wildly crowded and most people were sunning themselves and drinking beer, including us.
There are bicycles everywhere. The streets have special lanes just for bikes. There are bike corals everywhere. At the rail and bus stations, there are acres of bikes and they have double decker storage! They ride rain or shine; just put on a raincoat and away they go. Some bike owners put plastic bags over the seats to keep them dry.
The city of Copenhagen was founded in 1197. Much of the original buildings have been destroyed over the centuries due to various wars and fire, so much of it has been rebuilt, mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries. The new and modern buildings are right next to the old ones, making for a very stark contrast. Our hotel, the Marriott, is right on the main canal and looks over a panorama of old and new apartment buildings and a promenade along the canal.
We passed thru an area called Christiania, a free love, hippie, drug culture area where we were not allowed to take pictures. The “houses” used to be workers shacks, and have since been “creatively individualized” with colorful and bizarre facades.
The tax rate here is very high. Income tax is between 40% and 50%. VAT tax is 25% on everything, except alcohol and tobacco, which is 30%. Prices in the stores are also very high. We walked down a very crowded and narrow cobblestone pedestrian shopping street. Young ladies are wearing hightop sneakers and many have pink, purple, or orange hair. We ate really traditional Danish food for lunch and dinner: KFC and Hard Rock Café!!! I guess we needed an American fix after eating fine cuisine on the ship for two weeks. Stopped at a 7-11 to pick up some fresh bagels (they actually have a bakery display in the store!) for breakfast as the hotel restaurant is outrageously expensive and there is no convenient place for breakfast. Coffee costs $6.
Everyone we have come in contact with speaks English. Copenhagen is old but modern and is a very interesting city. We are looking forward to spending more time here.
Copenhagen – Day 2
Finally, good weather!! After eating our 7-11 bagels for breakfast (cost for 2 bagels, cream cheese and a 12 oz bottle of diet coke was $20), we headed back to the city hall plaza and boarded the double decker hop-on-hop-off bus to the Carlsberg Beer factory tour. The factory is no longer in use and is now a museum. Everything there was original equipment and buildings from the 1800s. Most impressive was the stable area with the stalls and cobble stone floors (and of course horses). At the end of the tour, there was a very modern tasting room. Most breweries give you a taste of their product; not here – they give you a whole bottle or glass! Mind you, it is 10:30 am and here we were having a beer. I even had one! Michael finished his beer and since there was no way I was going to drink my entire glass, he polished off mine. Just before he finished mine, I decided to go to the bus stop just in case it came early (and I needed a few extra minutes because, frankly, I was dragging fanny). The bus did come early and no Michael. I asked the driver to wait and he was gracious enough to do so. Michael finally comes charging up. I asked him why he was so far behind me and said he had gone up to the bartender and inquired about the beer I had. The bartender said he should try the dark blonde (I had the blonde) and so Michael had another glass. What a way to start the day.
We went back to the city hall plaza to pick up the red bus, which would take us to Nyhavn to pick up a canal boat tour. While on the bus, we met up with some folks from the cruise ship and they invited us to join them for lunch at a place they had heard about. We get to the restaurant and they are serving a buffet brunch. Since we had plans to have dinner out with other folks we had met on the ship, we decided not to eat that much. Got back on the red bus back to the plaza and had lunch at Burger King (which cost $25). We never got the canal cruise.
Then on to Tivoli Gardens. Michael was wearing shorts and he decided to go back to the hotel to change into pants as the restaurant we planned to have dinner at was somewhat upscale and once you entered Tivoli Gardens, you could not exit and then get back in without paying again. I found a bench by the restaurant to wait for him. At this point, I am functioning on fumes. I laid down on the bench for a blissful 45 minutes until Michael joined me. Tivoli Gardens was created in the 1840 to give the people something pleasant to do as a way to avoid an uprising. It consists of an amusement park, a midway, hotel, restaurants, concert hall, outdoor theatre, fabulous gardens, lakes and fountains, aquarium, royal guard marching group with horse drawn carriage – it was so quaint. It is an absolute gem in the middle of a major metropolitan area. We enjoyed a concert and pantomime theatre show. We never did eat at the restaurant that was recommended to us. It would have cost $300 per person for dinner and wine. Found an authentic Danish restaurant and had a delightful meal and good companionship at a reasonable price.
There are no Starbucks anywhere in Copenhagen; there are McDonald’s, Burger King, 7-11, and Dominos. Almost everyone smokes just about everywhere. People don’t have a cell phone glued to their ear. There is no jaywalking and people wait for the traffic lights to turn green before proceeding across the street even when there is no traffic coming. We saw babies everywhere -- lots of them -- and 90% of them were blonde. The little ones all had pacifiers and toddlers sat compliantly in carriages. No little ones running about.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Stockholm Sweden
You know that the cruise is coming to an end when there is a traffic jam in the laundry room. I spent the last 2 hours washing and drying clothes; no one wants to pack dirty clothes for the trip home. Tonight is our last formal night and tomorrow we pack up. It’s hard to believe that the cruise is almost over. We have an additional 3 days in Copenhagen.
Yesterday, we had a sea day, which was what we needed to recharge our batteries (bodies). Had bridge lessons in the morning and a duplicate game in the afternoon. I had to play, and I must say it is humbling when I am paired up with a really good player. Gladly, they are happy to even play with me, who plays virtually no conventions. While we were traveling to Stockholm, our course took us through hundreds of islands, both small and big, and some had houses. It looked just like the San Juan and Gulf Islands! We could have been in the Pacific Northwest.
Yesterday, we docked in Stockholm at around 5 pm. We each had a canal excursion scheduled for the evening, but at the last minute we were scrubbed because they were overbooked and there wasn’t room for us. We can’t complain, though as we have had more excursions than we thought we would get.
Today, we each had a morning excursion to Stockholm. It was a brief tour by bus and only stopped for picture opportunities. The weather was cool, windy and overcast. The old town is a medieval city and there are hundreds of islands, rivers, bridges and canals. It is a very beautiful and clean city, mixing barocco architecture with more modern architecture. Since the ship was scheduled to depart at 3 pm, we were not able to stop and see most of the important sights. Didn’t get too much history of the town from the guide as her commentary was pretty lame. She was far and away the weakest guide we have had on this trip.
Miscellaneous thoughts: we never sat on the verandah as it was just too cold and windy. We look forward to taking another cruise on Regent as we have really enjoyed the room, the ship and the people. This has been a most enjoyable cruise; it you had asked me before this cruise if I would want to go to the Baltic countries, I would have said what for. It has been a special trip and I appreciate the people and culture of the countries we have visited. The highlight of the trip for us has been Berlin and St. Petersburg. Both Michael and I feel these are places we would like to someday visit again, and spend more time exploring.
Our next stop is Copenhagen.
Yesterday, we had a sea day, which was what we needed to recharge our batteries (bodies). Had bridge lessons in the morning and a duplicate game in the afternoon. I had to play, and I must say it is humbling when I am paired up with a really good player. Gladly, they are happy to even play with me, who plays virtually no conventions. While we were traveling to Stockholm, our course took us through hundreds of islands, both small and big, and some had houses. It looked just like the San Juan and Gulf Islands! We could have been in the Pacific Northwest.
Yesterday, we docked in Stockholm at around 5 pm. We each had a canal excursion scheduled for the evening, but at the last minute we were scrubbed because they were overbooked and there wasn’t room for us. We can’t complain, though as we have had more excursions than we thought we would get.
Today, we each had a morning excursion to Stockholm. It was a brief tour by bus and only stopped for picture opportunities. The weather was cool, windy and overcast. The old town is a medieval city and there are hundreds of islands, rivers, bridges and canals. It is a very beautiful and clean city, mixing barocco architecture with more modern architecture. Since the ship was scheduled to depart at 3 pm, we were not able to stop and see most of the important sights. Didn’t get too much history of the town from the guide as her commentary was pretty lame. She was far and away the weakest guide we have had on this trip.
Miscellaneous thoughts: we never sat on the verandah as it was just too cold and windy. We look forward to taking another cruise on Regent as we have really enjoyed the room, the ship and the people. This has been a most enjoyable cruise; it you had asked me before this cruise if I would want to go to the Baltic countries, I would have said what for. It has been a special trip and I appreciate the people and culture of the countries we have visited. The highlight of the trip for us has been Berlin and St. Petersburg. Both Michael and I feel these are places we would like to someday visit again, and spend more time exploring.
Our next stop is Copenhagen.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
St. Petersburg Day 2
From Russia with Love: Today was Day 2 in St. Petersburg. It is an amazing city. I am still awed by the size and beauty of the city. Saw more of the canals that dissect the city and learned that St. Petersburg is composed of 41 islands and the city itself it on the largest island. Again, we had good weather, which means no rain. They get about 30 cloudless days year, 120 snow days per year and the rest are rainy days. At 2 am, the 21 bridges in town all go up and stay up until 5:30 am. People line the walkways or take boats to see this sight. Young people especially do this because if you are stranded on the wrong side of the canal you have a great excuse for not getting home and missing curfew.
This morning both Michael and I had escort duty. We went to the Winter Palace and the Hermitage, one of the world’s most famous and esteemed art museums. The Winter Palace has over 1,001 rooms swathed in malachite, jasper, agate, marble and gilded mirrors. The parquet floors had intricate patterns using many varieties of woods and in some rooms, the patterns on the floor mimicked the goldleaf designs on the ceiling. There were intricate mosaic and stone tables and floors. I had the audacity to brush my hand up against the side of a magnificant malachite table and this old lady guard came up behind me and swatted me!
The Hermitage houses art work from Picasso (there are 32 pieces) to Rembrandt. Since we only had 3 ½ hours for the tour, the guides only took us to view and learn about the items of artwork that are considered the highlights. There are displays of 15th and 16th century French, Dutch, and Italian art as well as Impressionist works from Renoir, Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh. In total, we walked 2 ½ miles!
In the afternoon, I took the Jewish Experience Tour. We had a bus load of 42 people. We went to the second largest synagogue in all of Europe (the first is in Budapest). It has a Moorish design and has been fully restored. There was one couple who had seen the synagogue just before the fall of Communism and said it had been boarded up and in ruins; they were so delighted to see it had been restored. As our guide gave us the history of Jews in Russia, so many of the group could relate as most of them had relatives that came from here. Next to the Big Choral Synagogue was an old brick building called the Small Synagogue. We climbed up to the top floor and looked down onto the main floor; I was transported back a hundred years, and I could see Tevye (from Fiddler on the Roof) sitting there studying the Torah. This untouched shul is still in use today. There was a shared bond among the group and you could really see and feel it when our guide told a few jokes and everyone on board laughed. It was a wonderful experience that I am glad I didn’t miss.
Our Russian guides have been well educated and spoke excellent English. It was a bit crowded at the Hermitage as there were 9 ships in port in various harbors. They are in the process of building a new cruise terminal that will hold 12 ships at a time. The traffic is bad; add in all the tour busses and it becomes almost gridlock. Imagine narrow streets with cars parked on both sides and then imagine tour busses double parked disgorging or picking up passengers. How the busses didn’t rip off their side mirrors is a mystery to me. Tourism is a big deal here in St. Petersburg.
You are with the guides and on tour and feel good about things, and then you have to go through customs and you remember you are in Russia. The customs inspectors sit in enclosed booths and there is a little slot to slide your passport and papers through. You cannot see what they are doing. There is no eye contact, no “have a good day,” absolutely no communication. They slide it back to you. It is very eerie. If you smile at someone, like the guard ladies at the Hermitage, they look away.
Tomorrow is a sea day. We have lessons in the morning and bridge in the afternoon. We arrived in Stockholm tomorrow night at 6pm. We have a 2 hour time change tonight. My body doesn’t know what time it is on!
This morning both Michael and I had escort duty. We went to the Winter Palace and the Hermitage, one of the world’s most famous and esteemed art museums. The Winter Palace has over 1,001 rooms swathed in malachite, jasper, agate, marble and gilded mirrors. The parquet floors had intricate patterns using many varieties of woods and in some rooms, the patterns on the floor mimicked the goldleaf designs on the ceiling. There were intricate mosaic and stone tables and floors. I had the audacity to brush my hand up against the side of a magnificant malachite table and this old lady guard came up behind me and swatted me!
The Hermitage houses art work from Picasso (there are 32 pieces) to Rembrandt. Since we only had 3 ½ hours for the tour, the guides only took us to view and learn about the items of artwork that are considered the highlights. There are displays of 15th and 16th century French, Dutch, and Italian art as well as Impressionist works from Renoir, Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh. In total, we walked 2 ½ miles!
In the afternoon, I took the Jewish Experience Tour. We had a bus load of 42 people. We went to the second largest synagogue in all of Europe (the first is in Budapest). It has a Moorish design and has been fully restored. There was one couple who had seen the synagogue just before the fall of Communism and said it had been boarded up and in ruins; they were so delighted to see it had been restored. As our guide gave us the history of Jews in Russia, so many of the group could relate as most of them had relatives that came from here. Next to the Big Choral Synagogue was an old brick building called the Small Synagogue. We climbed up to the top floor and looked down onto the main floor; I was transported back a hundred years, and I could see Tevye (from Fiddler on the Roof) sitting there studying the Torah. This untouched shul is still in use today. There was a shared bond among the group and you could really see and feel it when our guide told a few jokes and everyone on board laughed. It was a wonderful experience that I am glad I didn’t miss.
Our Russian guides have been well educated and spoke excellent English. It was a bit crowded at the Hermitage as there were 9 ships in port in various harbors. They are in the process of building a new cruise terminal that will hold 12 ships at a time. The traffic is bad; add in all the tour busses and it becomes almost gridlock. Imagine narrow streets with cars parked on both sides and then imagine tour busses double parked disgorging or picking up passengers. How the busses didn’t rip off their side mirrors is a mystery to me. Tourism is a big deal here in St. Petersburg.
You are with the guides and on tour and feel good about things, and then you have to go through customs and you remember you are in Russia. The customs inspectors sit in enclosed booths and there is a little slot to slide your passport and papers through. You cannot see what they are doing. There is no eye contact, no “have a good day,” absolutely no communication. They slide it back to you. It is very eerie. If you smile at someone, like the guard ladies at the Hermitage, they look away.
Tomorrow is a sea day. We have lessons in the morning and bridge in the afternoon. We arrived in Stockholm tomorrow night at 6pm. We have a 2 hour time change tonight. My body doesn’t know what time it is on!
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