Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Back in USA
We are safely back in the USA - sitting at Newark airport waiting for our flight home. We really want to go back to Stockholm - we were really impressed with that city. But now it's time to get back to reality. It's been an amazing trip and journey and we had a great time.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Stockholm
Today we spent going around the city. We visited the Vassa museum which is of a wooden battleship that sank 10 minutes after being launched. Because of the location and type of water it was well preserved and they were able to raise it a few years ago in tact. I couldn't really take a good picture of it, but found one on the web. Picture of the Vassahttp://www.stanford.edu/~roumpos/album04/011.htm
We visited the condo of Anders (the friend of Jon's who has been kind enough to take us around the city). It's a very nice flat. We then went to visit the city hall, along with the main shopping areas. In general we have been so impressed with the city and how clean it is.
Ray and I are probably going to take this evening alone to have dinner here at the Rival and just relax. I definitely want to come back to Stockholm for a longer visit. It seems the city and surrounding area have much to offer and 1 1/2 days just isn't enough to really be able to take in all that we would like to.
The pictures are of city hall and the view of the lake outside of city hall.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Funny Signs
OK, this was hysterical. In a park near where we started the boat tour is an outdoor exhibit of signs that are quite funny. Apparently it started with a contest to send in pictures of absurd signs - signs that really don't seem to make any sense.
Stockholm- LOVE IT
Oh my gosh - Stockholm is amazing. First off, I mentioned that we're staying at hotel owned by a former member of (Benny - the one with the beard) and has a movie theatre. Ray was hoping to catch the European premiere here - well, he had the right idea, but unfortunately it was the wrong week. Turns out the European premiere was right here - Meryl Streep, Pierce Bronsen and the ENITRE ABBA group was here on site for the event. Pretty cool. We did an amazing boat tour today - saw lots of new development side by side with beautiful old buildings. The city is wonderfully clean, everyone is friendly, and almost everyone is fluent in English.
Although Jim wasn't crazy about the outdoor bathroom - actually just a urinal behind a half-door. If you look in the top pic, you can see just the top of his head ;-)
Stockholm
We had a very relaxing evening our last night on the boat. We went to see comic Shan Carr, who had been taking pictures all week and had some very funny pictures and stories - including her flight to Moscow (on an airplane that was a converted fright aircraft). We got to change the clocks another hour again last night, so we slept in - had a relaxing morning and got to our hotel in Stockholm. I think I mentioned this, but the hotel is owned by Benny from the group ABBA. It's brand new, ultra modern, and very cool. Jon (one of the guys we are travelling with) had a friend here who is going to take us on a city tour. Weather is in the 60s and really nice.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Helsinki
First off, the “special guest star” (there always is one on the Atlantis Cruises) for the final big show was Chita Rivera. She started in the original Broadway versions of West Side Story (playing the role of Anita who sang “I like to be in America”) and in Chicago as Velma who sang “All That Jazz.”
It was a very good show. We also went to see one of our favorite cabaret singers, Matt Yee, do a second show – which was called “Slow Dance” – very different from the musical sing-a-long earlier in the week, but also very fun. He acknowledged all the couples by the number of years they were together and then had them do a slow dance which was very fun.
We did the Design and Architecture tour in Helsinki today. There are a series of islands around Helsinki and we went to a site where three architects built homes on a common compound. Herman Gesellius, Aramas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen. Saarinen then moved to the US and he and his son Eero were famous architects in the US. Eero designed the Saint Louis Arch, Dulles airport in Washington DC, the Irwin Miller home in Columbus, IN and a very famous church in Columbus, IN as well (the name escapes me right now). Eero also designed the Richard King Mellon Hall of Science at Duquesne University which housed the chemistry, biology, physics, & pharmacy departments where Ray spent a significant amount of time in the 70’s. We also went a Design museum which was very fascinating. Jim’s favorite exhibit was of a man dressed like God (white robes, white beard), in a Laundromat standing in front of a row of front loading washing machines. Each machine has the name of one of the oceans or seas on it and he’s talking about creation and how to preserve life in the oceans and seas. They have significant concerns about the Baltic Sea because apparently Saint Petersburg, Russia does not treat their sewage before it is put out to sea. And it smelled like it – the afternoon before we left, the air outside the ship smelled like raw sewerage. Engineers from Finland are trying to help the City of Saint Petersburg with that problem. The display was kind of a science experiment with a biblical twist, with the Baltic Sea being presented as a dryer (rather than a washer) showing the problems they are having with sustaining life in the sea. Jim thought it was really cool.
We did a bus tour around Helsinki and saw the Sibelius Monument which was dedicated to Jean Sibelius (who wrote the orchestral work “Finlandia”). Tonight is our last night on board the ship. We’ll get off the ship around 11am tomorrow and make our way to the Hotel in Stockholm, owned by Benny Usvaleus or something like that. He was the guy with the beard in the musical group ABBA. Ray is hoping for a special showing of the movie Mamma Mia hosted by Benny. We’ll have Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday there and will be staying in the same hotel with most of our friends that we’ve been travelling with – so we’ll probably do some sightseeing together.
It was a very good show. We also went to see one of our favorite cabaret singers, Matt Yee, do a second show – which was called “Slow Dance” – very different from the musical sing-a-long earlier in the week, but also very fun. He acknowledged all the couples by the number of years they were together and then had them do a slow dance which was very fun.
We did the Design and Architecture tour in Helsinki today. There are a series of islands around Helsinki and we went to a site where three architects built homes on a common compound. Herman Gesellius, Aramas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen. Saarinen then moved to the US and he and his son Eero were famous architects in the US. Eero designed the Saint Louis Arch, Dulles airport in Washington DC, the Irwin Miller home in Columbus, IN and a very famous church in Columbus, IN as well (the name escapes me right now). Eero also designed the Richard King Mellon Hall of Science at Duquesne University which housed the chemistry, biology, physics, & pharmacy departments where Ray spent a significant amount of time in the 70’s. We also went a Design museum which was very fascinating. Jim’s favorite exhibit was of a man dressed like God (white robes, white beard), in a Laundromat standing in front of a row of front loading washing machines. Each machine has the name of one of the oceans or seas on it and he’s talking about creation and how to preserve life in the oceans and seas. They have significant concerns about the Baltic Sea because apparently Saint Petersburg, Russia does not treat their sewage before it is put out to sea. And it smelled like it – the afternoon before we left, the air outside the ship smelled like raw sewerage. Engineers from Finland are trying to help the City of Saint Petersburg with that problem. The display was kind of a science experiment with a biblical twist, with the Baltic Sea being presented as a dryer (rather than a washer) showing the problems they are having with sustaining life in the sea. Jim thought it was really cool.
We did a bus tour around Helsinki and saw the Sibelius Monument which was dedicated to Jean Sibelius (who wrote the orchestral work “Finlandia”). Tonight is our last night on board the ship. We’ll get off the ship around 11am tomorrow and make our way to the Hotel in Stockholm, owned by Benny Usvaleus or something like that. He was the guy with the beard in the musical group ABBA. Ray is hoping for a special showing of the movie Mamma Mia hosted by Benny. We’ll have Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday there and will be staying in the same hotel with most of our friends that we’ve been travelling with – so we’ll probably do some sightseeing together.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
St. Petersburg, Russia
Greetings from Saint Petersburg Russia. First off, we were warned over and over again about Russian immigration and how difficult it was going to be to get through customs if you didn’t do a tour through the cruise line. Not true – completely not true. Going through Russian immigration was a breeze. To be fair, we were booked with a tour company, but it was fast and easy and we’re both quite proud of having a Russian border entry stamp in our passports.
The tour was an all day tour which was exhausting. Traffic is a nightmare. Russians drive on the right hand side of the road…most of the time….unless they don’t feel like it. There was one point where we were coming back to the ship and we had people in cars going the opposite direction on both sides of the bus.
We saw Pushkin, the summer palace of the Tsars, which was looted and damaged significantly by the Nazis. They’re still in the process of restoring it and re-creating the furniture and artwork, but most of it is a replica of the original which was lost. Then we went to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, where the Romanoff tsars are buried, and then went to see the Hermitage, which is the Russian equivalent of the Louve. It was once a winter home for the Catherine the Great but is now a major art museum – it was started with works of art that Catherine collected. It’s supposed to take 2 weeks to see. The tour guide did it in two hours. It was like aerobics on art. (Steph – I (Jim) thought of you the whole time – there’s a business concept here – it just needs the right beat behind it). What struck me most was the way the character of the rooms changed with the art. I don’t know if the palace was built that way, or was just decorated that way after it was turned into a museum. The artwork here is all the original – whatever had been in the palace was moved to the basement and hidden before the Nazis were due to arrive, but the Nazis never actually made it into the city of St. Petersburg so everything was saved.
We did have lunch in a Russian restaurant and Jim had caviar on hard boiled eggs – which he loves. His grandmother was Russian (native) and apparently as a small child discovered that he liked caviar. So she used to send it to him – by the case! He would eat it as an afternoon snack – to the shagrin of his mother who couldn’t believe how fast he could shovel the stuff down. Of course he had no idea of the cost at the time (not that he would have cared!!). He did find out over here that the caviar he prefers is from Salmon (not Sturgeon), which is MUCH less expensive, based on the restaurant prices. That’s not much comfort to Ray!
The tour guide was OK – he spoke very clear English. Jim had brought a copy of his grandmother’s baptismal certificate with me. She was born in Elizabethgrad, and was baptized in Petrograd (St. Petersburg). He said that the church was no longer there, but did know the site where it had been and was able to show it to us from a distance.
We’re were both exhausted by the end of the day. We napped for a bit, but we both decided to keep going. We had dinner with our friend Ti from Lafayette and ended the evening chatting with a guy from Los Angeles who runs an adolescent treatment center and gets lots of SAMHSA grants requiring an evaluator – so I ended up doing a little marketing for my business. We got up this morning at 7am to get ready for the trip and Jim commented that it felt like we were going to work. Between the time change the previous night and the grueling day yesterday, we were both exhausted. Ray’s really good about remembering that we’re on vacation and said “we don’t HAVE to go” and so we ended up skipping the tour today and went back to sleep – we didn’t wake up until almost 11am. The only downside here is that because we have to dock in the commercial shipping area, there’s no way to just get off and stroll about the city leisurely, although the Russian government wouldn’t allow it anyway – we have to have specific tours in Russia – no roaming about the streets looking for a Starbucks. So we’ll have a relaxing day aboard the ship – then we sail about 6pm for Helsinki.
The tour was an all day tour which was exhausting. Traffic is a nightmare. Russians drive on the right hand side of the road…most of the time….unless they don’t feel like it. There was one point where we were coming back to the ship and we had people in cars going the opposite direction on both sides of the bus.
We saw Pushkin, the summer palace of the Tsars, which was looted and damaged significantly by the Nazis. They’re still in the process of restoring it and re-creating the furniture and artwork, but most of it is a replica of the original which was lost. Then we went to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, where the Romanoff tsars are buried, and then went to see the Hermitage, which is the Russian equivalent of the Louve. It was once a winter home for the Catherine the Great but is now a major art museum – it was started with works of art that Catherine collected. It’s supposed to take 2 weeks to see. The tour guide did it in two hours. It was like aerobics on art. (Steph – I (Jim) thought of you the whole time – there’s a business concept here – it just needs the right beat behind it). What struck me most was the way the character of the rooms changed with the art. I don’t know if the palace was built that way, or was just decorated that way after it was turned into a museum. The artwork here is all the original – whatever had been in the palace was moved to the basement and hidden before the Nazis were due to arrive, but the Nazis never actually made it into the city of St. Petersburg so everything was saved.
We did have lunch in a Russian restaurant and Jim had caviar on hard boiled eggs – which he loves. His grandmother was Russian (native) and apparently as a small child discovered that he liked caviar. So she used to send it to him – by the case! He would eat it as an afternoon snack – to the shagrin of his mother who couldn’t believe how fast he could shovel the stuff down. Of course he had no idea of the cost at the time (not that he would have cared!!). He did find out over here that the caviar he prefers is from Salmon (not Sturgeon), which is MUCH less expensive, based on the restaurant prices. That’s not much comfort to Ray!
The tour guide was OK – he spoke very clear English. Jim had brought a copy of his grandmother’s baptismal certificate with me. She was born in Elizabethgrad, and was baptized in Petrograd (St. Petersburg). He said that the church was no longer there, but did know the site where it had been and was able to show it to us from a distance.
We’re were both exhausted by the end of the day. We napped for a bit, but we both decided to keep going. We had dinner with our friend Ti from Lafayette and ended the evening chatting with a guy from Los Angeles who runs an adolescent treatment center and gets lots of SAMHSA grants requiring an evaluator – so I ended up doing a little marketing for my business. We got up this morning at 7am to get ready for the trip and Jim commented that it felt like we were going to work. Between the time change the previous night and the grueling day yesterday, we were both exhausted. Ray’s really good about remembering that we’re on vacation and said “we don’t HAVE to go” and so we ended up skipping the tour today and went back to sleep – we didn’t wake up until almost 11am. The only downside here is that because we have to dock in the commercial shipping area, there’s no way to just get off and stroll about the city leisurely, although the Russian government wouldn’t allow it anyway – we have to have specific tours in Russia – no roaming about the streets looking for a Starbucks. So we’ll have a relaxing day aboard the ship – then we sail about 6pm for Helsinki.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Tallinn
Tallinn was much different than either of us were expecting. Since it had been part of the Soviet Union, I was expecting a Spartan place. Actually, since it became independent in the early 1990s it has developed quite a bit. It’s also a very charming and quaint city. We did a Café tour – going to several little coffee houses and cafés. We had sardines and a traditional Estonia beverage that tasted kind of like a cross between root beer and sassafras. We had pastries at another place and coffee at another. We went to the town square where a band was playing selections from West Side Story. Specifically, they started playing “I Feel Pretty” just as our whole group walked into the square. Hundreds of gay men, musicals, and a large open space. I’ll spare you the details – let’s just say they may have FELT pretty, but they weren’t!
Despite the long soviet influence, Estonians still speak their own language and are clearly more influenced by their connection with Scandinavia than Russia. The new buildings are more of a Danish modern style. Our guide was a wonderful woman in her 20s who was very fluent in English with very little accent despite having never studied in an English speaking country. She still remembered when they were part of the soviet union and commented about some of the strange things she experienced. For example, apparently bananas were considered “Western” and so were not allowed – she had never had one until she was twelve years old.
We turned the clocks ahead an hour last night, and do the same thing again tonight. I’ve given up on trying to adjust to the time changes! We were also commenting that we’ve been staying up WAY later than we usually do at home. Then I realized that basically we’re going to bed at 8pm Indiana time…not that much different than normal life. Sigh. But we are having a great time. I’ll try and upload several pictures from Tallinn, but they are saying that our internet connection may be somewhat intermittent while we are on this leg of the trip due to satellite issues, so we’ll see what happens.
Despite the long soviet influence, Estonians still speak their own language and are clearly more influenced by their connection with Scandinavia than Russia. The new buildings are more of a Danish modern style. Our guide was a wonderful woman in her 20s who was very fluent in English with very little accent despite having never studied in an English speaking country. She still remembered when they were part of the soviet union and commented about some of the strange things she experienced. For example, apparently bananas were considered “Western” and so were not allowed – she had never had one until she was twelve years old.
We turned the clocks ahead an hour last night, and do the same thing again tonight. I’ve given up on trying to adjust to the time changes! We were also commenting that we’ve been staying up WAY later than we usually do at home. Then I realized that basically we’re going to bed at 8pm Indiana time…not that much different than normal life. Sigh. But we are having a great time. I’ll try and upload several pictures from Tallinn, but they are saying that our internet connection may be somewhat intermittent while we are on this leg of the trip due to satellite issues, so we’ll see what happens.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Day at Sea
Today is our day at Sea - just a day to relax. We went to the Comedy showcase last night, which was a riot. Then we went to the piano bar to see Matt Yee - a performer from Honolulu that we really enjoyed last year. He does a sing-a-long/ comdey routine that made us laugh and laugh. We went to bed after that, and slept late. Ray had his accupunture today and I went to the hot tub/ thalisootherapy pool (fancy name for what amounts to a waterfall you can sit under to get a back massage). We're going to try to make it to the gym today, then dinner with our friends this evening. Tomorrow we'll be in Tallinn.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Baltic Birthday
Copenhagen to Warmude
The last night in Copenhagen we went to a traditional Danish restaurant. The food was outstanding, but there was a LOT of it. I had Frikkadeller – a traditional meatball dish. They were Costco size meatballs! Ray had a beef and sausage stew. They also served creamed cabbage, 2 kinds of potatoes. Our friend Ti Jones from Lafayette, Indiana made it in that morning, so he joined us for dinner. We spent the remainder of the evening in the hotel garden sipping wine and enjoying the wonderful weather, and chatting a little with other guys who were going on the cruise that had checked in.
Saturday we got up in time basically to have coffee and a short walk and then we went to the boat. By this time there were a lot of guys in our hotel who were going on the cruise, so we shared a cab with some guys from Toronto. Typical for Atlantis, check in was super easy and we were on board within half an hour from arriving to the pier.
Last night we went to see the opening show – “Pam Ann” – a comedienne who dresses in an airline stewardess outfit from the 1960s with a bit of a British accent. She starts her show with a film clip that looks like the old Pan Am airline commercials. It really does start out with the original ones, but then slowing “Pam” starts appearing, and things start going wrong on the film. Then she comes out and starts really making fun of the airline industry and the various practices. At one point, she asks if anyone works in the airline industry, and several guys raise their hands – she asks them which airlines and someone says American and a couple of other airlines, and then one says “Southwest Airlines” – she kind of snorts and laughs like they are a real joke of an airline and retorts “Oh yes, Southwest one of those discount airlines, not a real airline….. Do they fly over water yet?” – I’m sure the delivery (with British sneer) was a big part of the humor, but we both laughed through the entire show.
Today was Warnemude, Germany. Actually, the port was Warnemude, the closest city was Rostock – which is where we had our tour. It has one of the three oldest Universities in Europe and was part of East Germany before the wall was torn down. Many of the “newer” buildings were built during the socialist era – they really are everything you see in the movies. Row after row of what looks like 1950 university dorms (well, Purdue dorms at least) – no architectural style. It’s an interesting contrast to some of the very old buildings dating back to the 1600s which have significant character– and at times they are right next to each other. According to the guide, since the re-unification, they are slowing updating some of the soviet era buildings to blend more with the architecture.
We toured a brewery and then went to lunch in Warnemude – which is the port itself. It’s like many seaside towns – quaint shops and restaurants. However, unlike Key West, many of the stores were not open because it was Sunday.
Today is Ray’s birthday. I surprised him by having the cruise line decorate the room for his birthday when we were on our tour and also had some chocolate dipped strawberries delivered. His mom also sent a card via my office, so he got surprised with that as well. We’re both definitely relaxing – sleeping late and enjoying time together.
The last night in Copenhagen we went to a traditional Danish restaurant. The food was outstanding, but there was a LOT of it. I had Frikkadeller – a traditional meatball dish. They were Costco size meatballs! Ray had a beef and sausage stew. They also served creamed cabbage, 2 kinds of potatoes. Our friend Ti Jones from Lafayette, Indiana made it in that morning, so he joined us for dinner. We spent the remainder of the evening in the hotel garden sipping wine and enjoying the wonderful weather, and chatting a little with other guys who were going on the cruise that had checked in.
Saturday we got up in time basically to have coffee and a short walk and then we went to the boat. By this time there were a lot of guys in our hotel who were going on the cruise, so we shared a cab with some guys from Toronto. Typical for Atlantis, check in was super easy and we were on board within half an hour from arriving to the pier.
Last night we went to see the opening show – “Pam Ann” – a comedienne who dresses in an airline stewardess outfit from the 1960s with a bit of a British accent. She starts her show with a film clip that looks like the old Pan Am airline commercials. It really does start out with the original ones, but then slowing “Pam” starts appearing, and things start going wrong on the film. Then she comes out and starts really making fun of the airline industry and the various practices. At one point, she asks if anyone works in the airline industry, and several guys raise their hands – she asks them which airlines and someone says American and a couple of other airlines, and then one says “Southwest Airlines” – she kind of snorts and laughs like they are a real joke of an airline and retorts “Oh yes, Southwest one of those discount airlines, not a real airline….. Do they fly over water yet?” – I’m sure the delivery (with British sneer) was a big part of the humor, but we both laughed through the entire show.
Today was Warnemude, Germany. Actually, the port was Warnemude, the closest city was Rostock – which is where we had our tour. It has one of the three oldest Universities in Europe and was part of East Germany before the wall was torn down. Many of the “newer” buildings were built during the socialist era – they really are everything you see in the movies. Row after row of what looks like 1950 university dorms (well, Purdue dorms at least) – no architectural style. It’s an interesting contrast to some of the very old buildings dating back to the 1600s which have significant character– and at times they are right next to each other. According to the guide, since the re-unification, they are slowing updating some of the soviet era buildings to blend more with the architecture.
We toured a brewery and then went to lunch in Warnemude – which is the port itself. It’s like many seaside towns – quaint shops and restaurants. However, unlike Key West, many of the stores were not open because it was Sunday.
Today is Ray’s birthday. I surprised him by having the cruise line decorate the room for his birthday when we were on our tour and also had some chocolate dipped strawberries delivered. His mom also sent a card via my office, so he got surprised with that as well. We’re both definitely relaxing – sleeping late and enjoying time together.
Saturday we got up in time basically to have coffee and a short walk and then we went to the boat. By this time there were a lot of guys in our hotel who were going on the cruise, so we shared a cab with some guys from Toronto. Typical for Atlantis, check in was super easy and we were on board within half an hour from arriving to the pier.
Last night we went to see the opening show – “Pam Ann” – a comedienne who dresses in an airline stewardess outfit from the 1960s with a bit of a British accent. She starts her show with a film clip that looks like the old Pan Am airline commercials. It really does start out with the original ones, but then slowing “Pam” starts appearing, and things start going wrong on the film. Then she comes out and starts really making fun of the airline industry and the various practices. At one point, she asks if anyone works in the airline industry, and several guys raise their hands – she asks them which airlines and someone says American and a couple of other airlines, and then one says “Southwest Airlines” – she kind of snorts and laughs like they are a real joke of an airline and retorts “Oh yes, Southwest one of those discount airlines, not a real airline….. Do they fly over water yet?” – I’m sure the delivery (with British sneer) was a big part of the humor, but we both laughed through the entire show.
Today was Warnemude, Germany. Actually, the port was Warnemude, the closest city was Rostock – which is where we had our tour. It has one of the three oldest Universities in Europe and was part of East Germany before the wall was torn down. Many of the “newer” buildings were built during the socialist era – they really are everything you see in the movies. Row after row of what looks like 1950 university dorms (well, Purdue dorms at least) – no architectural style. It’s an interesting contrast to some of the very old buildings dating back to the 1600s which have significant character– and at times they are right next to each other. According to the guide, since the re-unification, they are slowing updating some of the soviet era buildings to blend more with the architecture.
We toured a brewery and then went to lunch in Warnemude – which is the port itself. It’s like many seaside towns – quaint shops and restaurants. However, unlike Key West, many of the stores were not open because it was Sunday.
Today is Ray’s birthday. I surprised him by having the cruise line decorate the room for his birthday when we were on our tour and also had some chocolate dipped strawberries delivered. His mom also sent a card via my office, so he got surprised with that as well. We’re both definitely relaxing – sleeping late and enjoying time together.
The last night in Copenhagen we went to a traditional Danish restaurant. The food was outstanding, but there was a LOT of it. I had Frikkadeller – a traditional meatball dish. They were Costco size meatballs! Ray had a beef and sausage stew. They also served creamed cabbage, 2 kinds of potatoes. Our friend Ti Jones from Lafayette, Indiana made it in that morning, so he joined us for dinner. We spent the remainder of the evening in the hotel garden sipping wine and enjoying the wonderful weather, and chatting a little with other guys who were going on the cruise that had checked in.
Saturday we got up in time basically to have coffee and a short walk and then we went to the boat. By this time there were a lot of guys in our hotel who were going on the cruise, so we shared a cab with some guys from Toronto. Typical for Atlantis, check in was super easy and we were on board within half an hour from arriving to the pier.
Last night we went to see the opening show – “Pam Ann” – a comedienne who dresses in an airline stewardess outfit from the 1960s with a bit of a British accent. She starts her show with a film clip that looks like the old Pan Am airline commercials. It really does start out with the original ones, but then slowing “Pam” starts appearing, and things start going wrong on the film. Then she comes out and starts really making fun of the airline industry and the various practices. At one point, she asks if anyone works in the airline industry, and several guys raise their hands – she asks them which airlines and someone says American and a couple of other airlines, and then one says “Southwest Airlines” – she kind of snorts and laughs like they are a real joke of an airline and retorts “Oh yes, Southwest one of those discount airlines, not a real airline….. Do they fly over water yet?” – I’m sure the delivery (with British sneer) was a big part of the humor, but we both laughed through the entire show.
Today was Warnemude, Germany. Actually, the port was Warnemude, the closest city was Rostock – which is where we had our tour. It has one of the three oldest Universities in Europe and was part of East Germany before the wall was torn down. Many of the “newer” buildings were built during the socialist era – they really are everything you see in the movies. Row after row of what looks like 1950 university dorms (well, Purdue dorms at least) – no architectural style. It’s an interesting contrast to some of the very old buildings dating back to the 1600s which have significant character– and at times they are right next to each other. According to the guide, since the re-unification, they are slowing updating some of the soviet era buildings to blend more with the architecture.
We toured a brewery and then went to lunch in Warnemude – which is the port itself. It’s like many seaside towns – quaint shops and restaurants. However, unlike Key West, many of the stores were not open because it was Sunday.
Today is Ray’s birthday. I surprised him by having the cruise line decorate the room for his birthday when we were on our tour and also had some chocolate dipped strawberries delivered. His mom also sent a card via my office, so he got surprised with that as well. We’re both definitely relaxing – sleeping late and enjoying time together.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Glyptotek & BarBar Bar
Charles, Jon (Center) and Ray at the Glyptotek, along with a picture of BarBar Bar - oh - and Clydsdale Horses that were on the street of our hotel...we're not sure why.
Copenhagen 4
This morning we went to the Dansk Design Center – a museum of all things contemporary. The had some very curious items, including an entire room of good ideas – basically things people thought should be invented which were labeled and packaged, but weren’t real. For example, a bottle of “Fat Dissolve” and big boxes of “Clean Air” and my favorite “Product Lifetime Extension.” Our friend Sherry Basile would love this place.
We went from there to another museum – the Glpytotek. It’s kind of a traditional art museum, but known for it’s café – as well as for it’s Egyptian collection. There was quite a collection of these, and the café is situated on an interior garden area – which was quite picturesque. It’s a place my niece, Stephanie, would appreciate much more than either Ray or myself. From there we walked the entire length of the shopping district.
We stopped on way back to the hotel for a afternoon Latte at what has become our defacto place to stop for those. It’s called BarBar Bar. I was just so fascinated with the name – and they already recognize us when we go in there.
We went from there to another museum – the Glpytotek. It’s kind of a traditional art museum, but known for it’s café – as well as for it’s Egyptian collection. There was quite a collection of these, and the café is situated on an interior garden area – which was quite picturesque. It’s a place my niece, Stephanie, would appreciate much more than either Ray or myself. From there we walked the entire length of the shopping district.
We stopped on way back to the hotel for a afternoon Latte at what has become our defacto place to stop for those. It’s called BarBar Bar. I was just so fascinated with the name – and they already recognize us when we go in there.
Copenhagen 3
Last night we went for dinner with our friends Jon and Charles and their friends Rudi and Herrman. We went to a steakhouse right next to Tivoli Garden. The dinner was fine – the best part was the wine. It was called Rockbear from our favorite wine region in Australia – McLaren Vale. From dinner we went into Tivoli Gardens – which is more of a city park than a garden. It’s actually more like a small amusement park – including things like Whap-a-mole (which Ray loves to play but I couldn’t talk him into it last night), several rides, and an aquarium which was actually very nice. They do have some garden areas and fountains – but they also have the 7 dwarfs made into gnome like lawn ornaments for you to buy or win. They are supposed to have great fireworks, but because it's light so late here (until well after 11pm) we decided not to stick around for them.
After the park Ray and I came back to the hotel and just sat in the garden and talked – out bodies are still adjusting to the time change and even thought it was midnight, we weren’t really tired. Today we’re headed over to the Dansk Design Center which is a museum of Danish art and architecture I believe. We’re really right on the main thoroughfare and so far have not had to use public transportation or a cab to get around the city – though we may need to today to get around to some of the places.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Copenhagen 2 - Harbor Tour
The second picture is of the statue of the Little Mermaid - which was inspired by the Hans Christien Andersen story; the first is of the Opera House, which has elements of the Sydney Opera House in terms of architecture. Danish architecture is, in general, very contemporary and very much our taste, so we're both enjoying that.
Copenhagen 2
We had dinner last night here at the hotel - which was highly recommended on TripAdvisor and well worth it. It was a buffet with Turkey and Beef and a delicious lamb stew. It was a very quaint setting with the kitchen open to the eating area.
We slept until 10am (12 hours sleep really helped) and just as we were headed out the door, Jon (of Jon and Charles who invited us to join them on the trip), called. They were headed out on a tour bus and harbor boat tour. We tried to catch up with them (after having a morning coffee on the square - that's the picture) - and twice we waved at each other as they were on the tour bus and we were walking nearby. It kind of reminded me of National Lampoon's family vacation. We did finally catch up to them for the boat/ harbor tour. We're having dinner with them this evening. The plan is to go to Tivoli Gardens.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Copenhagen - 1
Well, we made it safely to Copenhagen - the overseas flight was late taking off by about an hour and a half, which made getting through the airport in the Netherlands quite challenging since we didn't have much time. We met several other couples on the flight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen who are on the cruise. Ray says Jim didn't handle the last leg very well since his red wine buzz had worn off and he didn't have time to get another glass until we got on the plane.
We took a short nap when we got here - then headed out for the day. We did one of the legs of the hop on hop off tour, before it shut down for the evening. I have a couple of pictures from that which I'll post later. We walked past Tivoli Gardens which is something we'll go in later. Ray again- but apparently it inspired Walt Disney to build Disneyland and in fact both he and Michael Jackson tried to buy it but it's a city park and the city wouldn't sell it.
Copenhagen is amazingly clean and they are really big on using bicycles for transportation. And bicyclists actually follow traffic rules - what a concept! The tour book said that Denmark is the happiest country on the earth based on psychological data - everyone smiles here.
We took a short nap when we got here - then headed out for the day. We did one of the legs of the hop on hop off tour, before it shut down for the evening. I have a couple of pictures from that which I'll post later. We walked past Tivoli Gardens which is something we'll go in later. Ray again- but apparently it inspired Walt Disney to build Disneyland and in fact both he and Michael Jackson tried to buy it but it's a city park and the city wouldn't sell it.
Copenhagen is amazingly clean and they are really big on using bicycles for transportation. And bicyclists actually follow traffic rules - what a concept! The tour book said that Denmark is the happiest country on the earth based on psychological data - everyone smiles here.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Newark
Well, we made it safely to Newark. The airport here, like so many is under construction. We ended up taking a bus from one terminal to the other. But we're both starting to relax. We're right across from a large IKEA store - which is based in Sweeden. We're kind of hoping to to visit the original store there. Continental said they can't book our seats on KLM for the flight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen, so we were going to have to deal with that once we land there, but it turns out the seats were assigned automatically and printed on our Continental tickets, so one less hassle to deal with.
I'm reading the New York Times bestseller - "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" - it's very crude, but very funny.
I'm reading the New York Times bestseller - "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" - it's very crude, but very funny.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Schedule
| Date | Port | Arrive | Depart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Jul | Copenhagen, Denmark | 4:30 PM | |
| 13 Jul | Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany | 7 AM | 10 PM |
| 14 Jul | At sea | ||
| 15 Jul | Tallinn,Estonia | 10 AM | 5 PM |
| 16 Jul | St. Petersburg, Russia | 7 AM | overnight |
| 17 Jul | St. Petersburg, Russia | 6 PM | |
| 18 Jul | Helsinki, Finland | 7 AM | 5 PM |
| 19 Jul | Stockholm, Sweden | 8 AM |
Before we set sail, the capital of Denmark will definitely make you smile. Despite being a great European capital, Copenhagen has managed to maintain the charm and character of its small fishing village roots. As the epicenter for simple, clean Scandinavian design, Copenhagen is a great place to shop for furniture and home decor. Take a stroll down the bustling Stroget; visit Kronberg Castle, the setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet; or explore Tivoli, the inspiration for Walt Disney's theme parks.
Located at the mouth of the Warnow River, Warnemunde is a charming fishing town whose wide white-sand beaches, restaurants and pubs are popular with locals and visitors. It's a great jumping-off point for Berlin, where you can try to trace the remains of the Berlin Wall and explore the newly-hip cafes and restaurants on the former Communist side. Known for its underground music and dance scene, Berlin is also home to the historic Brandenburg Gate and the controversial new Holocaust Memorial.
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is one of the oldest cities on the Baltic Sea. Much of it has remained unchanged since its founding 600 years ago, enabling visitors to enjoy architectural marvels, like the soaring towers of Toompea Castle and the exquisite Russian Orthodox Cathedral. A romantic walk awaits as you explore the medieval cobblestone alleyways, cracking walls and old buildings from the Middle Ages. Today, Tallinn is also filled with parks, museums, sports centers, hotels and cafés.
St. Petersburg was reportedly built to resemble western cities such as London, Paris and Vienna. Although, once you see it, you'll agree there's nothing quite like this regal city. St. Petersburg embodies the soul of Imperial Russia, with elegant facades, glorious cathedrals and grand residences built by Peter the Great. Under Catherine the Great, the city gained new splendor with elaborate palaces, lovely parks and magnificent squares designed by French and Italian architects.
Occupying a peninsula and several islands, Helsinki is the sparkling capital of Finland, an elegant city of spectacular architecture, beautiful gardens, and harborside parks. The Finns have long been admired for graceful design. Helsinki's architecture spans many styles and centuries, from medieval to neoclassical, as well as the superb ultra-modern creations by Aalto, Saarinen, and other Finnish masters.
Fifty bridges connect this Swedish capital's fourteen islands to its mainland. Undoubtedly, this was to ensure that Swedes could enjoy every inch of this magnificent city's parks, museums, and palaces - the most famous being the 600-room Royal Palace. Make your way through the Gamla Stan, or Old Town, packed with historic buildings, shops and caf?s. Then try Aquavit, a potato based liquor, served ice-cold and drunk as a shot. Locals love it, but be warned: it's a lot stronger than you think!
Our Itinerary
Hi Everyone:
We thought it might be fun to just blog our cruise and upload pictures so we can keep everyone informed along the way. Today we're just finishing up packing and taking care of last minute stuff. Here is a map of where we are going. The next post has our schedule, plus some information off of the cruise site about each port.
We leave Tuesday arriving Wednesday in Copenhagen. We have Wednesday to Saturday in Copenhagen. When we arrive in Stockholm, we have Saturday and Sunday in Stockholm, flying home that Monday. In Stockholm, we're staying at a hotel owned by one of the former ABBA singers.
Jim & Ray
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