May 24, 2012 Home

We are now finally home and trying to get our internal clocks reset.

The last day on the boat consisted of packing up the suitcases so they could be picked up by the stewards.  In the afternoon we played bridge with the Wymore's and then got ready for dinner.  It was a fun evening and was a good way to end the cruise.

Wednesday morning we had an early breakfast and then went down to a lounge to wait for our turn to leave the boat.  Met up with some friends and visited until it was our turn to leave.  Leaving the boat we were able to get on a bus right away and made it to the airport in good time. 

 At the airport picking up our luggage was quick and easy and our check in went very quickly.  We had used miles to upgrade to business class and this made the check in with SAS's quite easy.  There were no lines checking in and we had a special line through security.  So from the time we arrived at the airport until we were through security was less than half an hour. 

The business lounge was quite nice and had soft drink, beer and snack foods to eat at no charge.  The chairs and couches were comfortable and there was free Wi Fi.

Boarding the plane we settled into our seats and the cabin attendants came around with drinks.  The service on the flight was very good.  It reminded me of the service on TWA in the old days.  The flight to Chicago was 9 hours and the ride was smooth.  Going through O'Hare was just what you would expect.  We then crammed ourselves into the little airplane for our ride to Kansas City.  The new United service into and out of Kansas City leaves a lot to be desired.

Home at last and we are just about back to our normal routine. 

The trip was wonderful overall.  Some bad days at sea for awhile, but the ship was quite nice, the crew friendly, the food good and we made some wonderful new friends. 

Our favorite port, of course, was St. Petersburg.  We also enjoyed Berlin, Rotterdam and Falmouth, i.e. Cornwall.  I was glad to finally get to visit Normandy.  Normandy and Omaha Beach were places that I have heard of all my life and to see where the landings were made gave me new insight as to the sacrifice that these men gave.  

Our least favorite port of call was Helsinki.   If you ever get a chance to do this cruise, we would recommend it highly.

The pictures of the cruise should now be on each port's blog.

May 21, 2012 Stockholm

Today we awoke in Stockholm, to a beautiful day.  We were lazy and did not rush to get anywhere.  Breakfast in Sabatini’s again.  I will miss this perk of sailing.  After breakfast we walked off the ship and tried something new.  A hop on hop off boat.  As I said it was a beautiful day, the boat was not crowded and the temperature was pleasant.

The boat tour took a little over two hours and we saw some beautiful sailing ships, some of their museums, government buildings and apartments.  Stockholm is a very beautiful city.  The buildings are interesting and the city is located on several islands, so there is a lot of boat traffic carrying people from place to place instead of buses.

After finishing the boat tour, we headed back to the ship and stopped by the Explorers Lounge for some Pub food and a beer.  The weather was so nice that I went out on the deck and laid down on one of the lounges.  I fell asleep and woke up with a sun burned lips.  Not good. 

Tonight was another formal night and Judi and I decided we had had all the dressing up for dinner we wanted, so we passed.  We went back to the Explorers Lounge to listen to a couple sing that we really liked before.  From there we went to the Princess Theatre to watch the final show.  It was good and colorful.  Leaving the theater we stopped by the Horizon Café, better known as the cafeteria.  We picked up a little bit of food and headed back to the cabin.  I had hoped to sit on the deck, but it had turned cooler, so we stayed inside and watched Mission Impossible.

Still smooth sailing.  We now know a little more about the Baltic Sea.  It is basically an inland sea.  There are no tides.  St. Petersburg used to flood all the time, but they could not figure out why, when there are no tides to raise the water level in the city.  It was discovered that when a very low pressure moves across the Baltic, East to West and when it comes ashore at St. Petersburg, it causes the sea to rise and flood the city.  As I said the Baltic is smooth, but when Low Pressure areas pass over it, it can get pretty violent.  

We have a sea day tomorrow; our last day at Sabatini’s and time to pack our bags.  We have to have them out by the time we go eat and out of our cabins by 08:00 tomorrow morning.

It has been a wonderful cruise, even with the rough weather we encountered early in the trip.  Our favorite port of course was St. Petersburg.  Least favorite port was Helsinki.

As I said earlier, I cannot depend on the internet here to get my pictures uploaded, some are out of order, and others just don’t load.  Check back after the 24^th and maybe I will have some posted.  They will be with their port.

Pictures

May 20, 2012 Helsinki

Today we are in Helsinki and it is a beautiful day.  We met our tour g

roup and headed off the ship.  The guide we found out was a transplant from Madeira, Portugal.  He married a Finn and moved with her here.  More on him later.

The tour took us around the city and to the Sebelius Park.  Sebelius was a famous Finnish composer.  The memorial to him is in the shape of organ pipes.  When the wind blows it creates a sound that was not pleasing to his fans.  They then added a bust of him to the memorial, and this satisfied them.  The memorial was unusual but nice. From here we went to the 1952 Olympic Stadium.  We just took a seat inside the Stadium and enjoyed the sun.  Some took an elevator to the top of a tall tower that was located there, but the heights did not interest us.  We next stopped at Senate Square for a little over an hour.  Four of us went down to a coffee shop and bought some coffee and pastries and brought them back to the square and set on the steps and enjoyed them.  There was a street performer singing Opera and he was very good.

From the Senate Square we went to the Rock Church.  The church is carved out a large granite boulder and then the roof is made of coiled copper wire.  It consists of several thousand feet wound in a circle.  The copper thief’s in Kansas City would love this place.  From here we headed back to the ship.

We set out on the deck for awhile, although we had to use blankets to keep warm.  Supper tonight with our table mates and then we took in a show in the Princess Theater. 

No time change tonight, so maybe our body clocks will catch up with us.

Our guide told us about life in Finland.  He has lived here ten years.  He had to take three years of classes on the language, history and the laws and customs of the Country.  After passing proficiency test he was issued a card but not a citizenship.  He has to wait twenty years to get a passport.  The tax rate is 48% with a value added tax on everything you buy of 28%.  For this the government takes care of you from birth to death, including college.  However he said in Finland you toe the line or find somewhere else to live.

Finland has the same population as St. Petersburg, Russia.  It is more of a socialist state that Russia.  Just not our (Judi and I) cup of tea.

The general topic of conversation after leaving Helsinki was that this stop could be eliminated.

Stockholm tomorrow.  Suppose to be a smooth night and nice weather when we get there.

Sorry about the St. Petersburg pictures.  The internet is so slow and unreliable that I will probably have to wait until I get home to post the pictures.

Pictures 

May 19, 2012 St. Petersburg Day 2

Today we started an hour later, and found out we were still ½ hour early.  There was no line to get through immigration and the officers were much quicker.  The day is sunny and nice temperatures.  This is what we wanted for the whole trip.

Leaving the ship we headed down town to a souvenir shop.  Judi and I picked up some trinkets, but some of the group spent some good money here.  They offered samples of Vodka and Cranberry Vodka.  Cranberries are good for you so I had two.

From the souvenir shop we headed to Catherine the Great’s Palace.  This was the summer residence of Catherine and her daughter Elizabeth, who reigned as Empress of Russia after Catherine.  Catherine started the palace, but Elizabeth is the one that created the grandeur that we see today.  It was under her guidance that it could rightfully be called Tarskoye Selo “the Czar’s Village.  The rooms are magnificent and decorated with silk wall coverings, crystal chandeliers and the woodwork covered in gold leaf.  We moved from room to room with only the color or pattern of the silk wall coverings changing.  The most magnificent room was the amber room.  The walls of this room were covered with amber.  Not a few pieces, but the whole walls, plus the woodwork was again covered with gold leaf.  Very nice.

From the Palace we moved to the gardens, which were nice, but not anything close to what we saw at Perterhof’s palace.  We continued from the gardens into the Carriage Museum.  Here we saw Royal Carriages from different periods.  Each Czar had their own idea of the coach they wanted.  On long trips, like going from St. Petersburg to Moscow, which could take two week or more, they had a potty coach.  When traveling long distances, the caravan could be quite large, as they would bring their ladies in waiting, man servants, cooks, maids, other officials.

Leaving the Royal Carriage Museum we headed back to the city.  Another fine restaurant and meal awaited us.  Instead of Champagne we had a glass of wine.  Red or white, our choice.   The meal was quite good and the atmosphere in the restaurant was very nice.

We left the restaurant and headed to the Hermitage Museum.  We spent two hours there and saw lots of famous paintings, (Da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Raphael) and many others.  It is a wonderful art museum, but very large includes five buildings.  Returning to the ship we headed for our cabin.  Once there we picked up some cheese, crackers and a drink and headed for the deck.  We sat out there for quite awhile in the deck chairs with a blanket over our legs.

We were delayed leaving the dock, as we had to wait on some late buses.  They kept calling for two ladies, but I do not know if they got on board or if we left them.  Sailing out of the harbor we passed an abandoned Secret Russian Submarine Base, named Kronstadt.  We heard in the earlier days, the crew would distract the Harbor Pilot and a crew member would take pictures.  They said that MI5, the British Secret Service,  enjoyed receiving them. 

Tonight should be a good night as we turn our clocks back and hour.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS ON St. PETERSBURG

This was the best port that we visited.  The sights we saw were breath taking, the people we met were very friendly and the guide and tour that we took were one of the very best we have had.  Our guide was not a big lady, but she was a strong Russian no nonsense woman.  Her knowledge of both history and art were incredible.

The palaces and churches were very beautiful.  However as much as we enjoyed them, after seeing pictures of what they looked like after the Germans left, we wonder how much this cost the nation of Russia.  St. Petersburg was under siege, from the German Army during WWII, for about 900 days.  Around 650,000 people in the city died, many from starvation.  Peterhof’s Palace, Catherine’s Palace, the Hermitage and many churches were severely damaged during the fighting.  They are both now showcases and very beautiful, but the cost must be staggering.  Just redoing the Amber room at Catherine’s Palace would bankrupt some small nations.  These remarkable people have survived, despite unimaginable suffering.  There is no better testimony to the resilience of the human spirit.

Of all the ports we visited on this cruise, this is the one, if given the chance, we would visit again.

Pictures 

May 18, 2012 St. Petersburg

We were up early for our tour.  One of the first  off the ship, but we got in the slow line and the lady at immigration was only taking one person at time and taking 3-5 minutes per person to clear.  This caused us to get a late start.  The guide is very good and the day went pretty well except for the traffic we got caught in.  The driver tried everything he knew, including U-turns to get us from place to place.

We started off with a ride on the St. Petersburg subway.  The subways are located very deep in the ground, around 300 ft.  They go under rivers and of course buildings.  The interior of the stations are beautiful, with pictures, statue, marble and mosaics.  The stations are very clean and it gets you in a good mood for the ride.  The escalators up and down move very fast and yet you had to stand to the right side of them as some, as our guide called them “crazies”, ran down them.

From the subway we headed out to Peterhof’s Palace.  The ride took awhile and it started raining just as we got there.  The inside of the Palace is almost beyond description.  The rooms are breath taking in their beauty.  The gold and crystal in the rooms are amazing.  The Czars knew how to live.  After touring the Palace we went down into the gardens.  There are a lot of fountains and beautiful flowers, trees and statues.  The fountains are fed by a unique system.  There are no pumps involved.  Springs above the Palace feed lakes in the area and from them the water flows though ever decreasing sized pipes until it reaches the fountains.  Slews gates control the flow, but it is all done naturally.

After leaving Peterhof’s we went to a very nice restaurant.  Here we had a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers, borsch (Beet soup), stroganoff and a light flan type desert.  To start the meal we had Champaign.  The restaurant was very fancy and we felt we were living “high on the hog.”

Leaving the restaurant we had a long ride back into the city to visit the Cathedral; the Church on the Spilled Blood, true name The Church of the Resurrection.  This Russian Orthodox Church was built on the site of where Alexander ll was murdered.  The site of the murder is marked by a special chapel. The blood stain is still visible in the chapel.  A note about Russian Orthodox services; they can be up to two hours long and there are no pews, except along some walls, which are reserved for the old and invalid.  No more complaining about long services at home.

From the Church we were stuck in traffic for long periods of time.  We finally arrived at The Yusupov Family Palace.  This was the home of a very rich family who were close to the Czars.  It was in this house that Rasputin was murdered.  He was poisoned, shot five times and thrown in the river.  It was later discovered that he had drowned.  A hard man to kill.

We departed Ysupov’s Palace and again fought the traffic to St. Isaacs’ Cathedral.  This is a massive Cathedral, it covers 13,000 square feet.  It has a golden dome and when you look up at the dome, from inside, you can see a dove which is lit by small windows in the cupola that you cannot see.

Leaving here we again fought the traffic and returned to the ship.  Tired, but happy with a very enjoyable day.  The Russians make you stand in line to get into the country and get out.  Very cumbersome procedure.  They checked out van to make sure we were not smuggling someone onto the ship.

The first day in St. Petersburg was awesome.  We are back in our cabin tired, but anxious to see what is in store for us tomorrow.

Tomorrow we start a little later and have a shorter day as we leave for Finland around 5:00 PM.

HISTORY LESSON:  PETER THE GREAT

The history of St. Petersburg is also the history of Peter II, or Peter the Great an Emperor of the Romanov dynasty.  The Russians call their Emperors, Czars and the ladies are called Czarinas. He became the Czar, sole ruler of Russia, in 1694.  After his reign Russia was never the same country.

Peter traveled around Europe visiting, Austria, German, Holland and England.  The trip took two years and had a dual purpose: to find allies for a war against the Ottoman Empire, as well as to see and learn about Western tendencies and inventions.  He studied shipbuilding in Holland and worked four months as a carpenter in order to learn each step of planning and construction.

In those days Russia was a very closed, backward and isolated country.  The Russian capital was in Moscow, a long distance from the sea.  Russia needed a good port.

Peter found a location along the shores of the Gulf of Finland, and on the 27^th of May, 1703, he laid the foundation stone for the Peter and Paul Fortress.  The town was dedicated and named after Saint Peter, the Savior Saint of the city.

After this, things developed fast.  To get a good start on the city the best European architects were invited to move to Russia and challenged to design unique public and governmental building, residential palaces, churches and cathedrals, university, museums, wide streets and boulevards, city squares and parks, canals and bridges, a new naval base, Kronstadt, located on an island outside the city was also started.  Naturally Peter constructed a seaport.  This all took place in the 1700’s.

In 1712 the capital was moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg.  The Czar and the entire Russian nobility moved with it.

It is correct to say that Peter the Great modernized Russia.  He introduced the 1700 fashion from Europe, he introduced a law requiring men and clergy to cut their long flowing beards, he stopped arranged marriages, and introduced a Julian calendar.  He started many new industries, renewed education, and since he now had a port, he also established a Russian military navy.

In his personal life he married twice, divorcing his first wife Eudoxia on false adultery charges and forced her to become a nun.  Then he married Martha Skavronskaya, not a Russian but a Lithuanian woman with a questionable background.  This women he truly loved.  Martha later converted to Russian Orthodoxy and changed her name to Catherine.  She inherited the Russian throne after Peter’s death, and became the Czarina.  She built Catherine’s Palace as her summer residence.

Peter was a brilliant man and had interests in many different disciplines.  He was a thinker and planner, and hired men to carry out these ideas if he did not have the skills.

Pictures of the First Day 

May 17, 2012 Tallinn

We slept like babies last night.  Smooth seas and a full belly makes for a good night.  After breakfast we met up with friends and jumped on a hop on hop off bus for a tour of Tallinn.  Tallinn was under Russian rule until a few years ago and the city shows it.  The old city is interesting, but the old neighborhoods are in disrepair.  There is controversy about who owns what.  The people that think they own the houses do not want to put money into repairs until they are sure that they own the house.  The renters do not want to put money into a house that they do not own, so we have a catch 22.  Hopefully it will be settled shortly as there are a lot of historical homes in Tallinn.

The Castle and the churches look great.  The old shopping area still has cobble stone streets and the area is quite quaint.  We had lunch down there and then walked around for awhile before heading back to the ship.  We both picked up some trinkets to bring back with us.

The flag of Estonia is three stripes; blue on top, black in the middle and white on the bottom.

Pictures of Tallinn 

May 16, 2012 At Sea

Today was a sea day as we travel toward Tallinn, Estonia.  We were lazy and did not do too much.  A little nap and some reading.  I worked on my pictures and uploaded some more.

Last night we went up to Sabatini’s with friends for dinner.  We arrived at 6:30 and left a little before 10:00.  The food was good and the service excellent.  The Matera de provided us with a cake and some Lemoncello (A shot of lemon flavored vodka).  All in all it was a very good evening.

The seas are smooth and it looks like a good night for sleeping.  Tallinn tomorrow.

May 15, 2012 Berlin

It was an early start today as we had to be off the ship by 6:45 for our train ride into Berlin.  The trains in Europe are so nice.  They run on time, they are comfortable and the ride is smooth.  The weather really welcomed us.  The sun was shining and very little wind.  I did not even wear a jacket. 

The county side was very interesting.  We passed small villages, beautiful lakes and woods.  Even saw a deer lying in the sun on the edge of a woods.  Judi said that now she knows why so many Germans settled in Minnesota, because the land looks pretty much the same.

The train stopped to let us off at the Oust Berlin Bahnhoff.  That translates into the East Berlin Train Station.  We spent most of the morning touring around what was the GDR, or East Berlin.  The guide poured out a lot of information and my sponge was not big enough to grasp everything she said.  We visited the Berlin Wall, and checkpoint Charley.  This is where the diplomats crossed and prisoner exchanges took place.  It was in the American sector of Berlin.  There were four sectors, Russian, American, British and French.  Berlin was actually in Russian territory, but Berlin was divided into the four sectors.  Being surrounded by Communist territory is what caused the Berlin airlift, when Russia closed the access roads into Berlin.  The American Air Force came to the rescue and flew in thousands of tons of supplies to take care of the Berliners.  Russia wanted to drive the west out of Berlin.

We visited and walked through the Brandenburg Gate and drove pass many of the government building.  We learned that the Reichstag is a building and Bundstad is the government inside.  They have two houses just as we do.  The Prime Minister runs the country and the President is head of state and takes care of official functions.

We had lunch at a nice restaurant with more German food than we could possibly eat.  Potato soup, pork slices, sausages, a pork patty, sour kraut, two kinds of potatoes, vegetables, bread, wine or beer and apple strudel.  I tried, but could not eat it all.  It was however very good.

Leaving the restaurant we went for a boat ride on the Spree River.  It was very good and it kind of brought everything into perspective.  We had been driving around looking at the buildings from the front and then sometimes from the back.  We were in and out of East Berlin and West Berlin to the point that I never knew for sure which side of the wall we were on.  Speaking of the wall it is still standing in a couple of places.  The governments  commishioned artists from all over the world to paint scenes on the wall. Where the wall no longer exist the side walks show where it stood.  There is a row of cobble stones on one side a sidewalk, then the sidewalk and then another row of cobble stones.  This signifies the two walls and the killing zone in between.  East Berliners thought if they got over the wall they were safe; however there was a road with patrols, dog and other devices waiting for them as well as another wall.  Others thought if they got over the walls they could swim the river Spree, but the river was in the Russian sector.

We saw where JFK made is “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech and where Regan told Khrushchev to tear down the wall.

We returned by train to the Emerald, where it was now raining.  The train furnished us with snacks and drinks on both trips, so we did not eat when we got back.  Besides it was eight o’clock and we were tired.  The tour had lasted over 13 hours.

As we sailed out of Warnemunde, which is the port we used for our Berlin trip, a band was playing, fireworks were going off, pleasure boats, tour boats and lots of people lining the banks.  Quite a send off.

The sea was good to us last night and is suppose to be the same tonight.  That makes sailing a lot more fun.

 Pictures

May 14, 2012 Aarhus, Denmark

We arrived in Aarhus, Denmark right on schedule.  It is a very small Danish port.  The weather was not the best, and we had been in a couple of Danish ports, so decided that today was a good day to catch up on our reading and a couple of naps.

Tonight we had dinner at our regular table and then went to see an Argentinean Gaucho.  He was very good with the bolos and guite funny.  We then headed back to the cabin and hopefully a good night’s sleep.

Berlin tomorrow, it should be interesting.  Three hour train ride there and back.

May 13, 2012 Oslo

Today we woke up as we were entering the fiord that leads to Oslo.  The sky was clear and the sun was out and the temperature was mild.  After four tries we finally get to see the sun in Norway.

We took advantage of the nice weather and went on a hop on hop off tour of the city.  It was an interesting ride.   The Opera House is unusual as you will see from the pictures.  The Castle is large and nice.

We got off at the Viking Ship Museum and toured it.  This is what Judi and I really wanted to see in Oslo.  The oldest ship is called the Oseberg ship and was built around 820 AD.  Another Ship called the Gokstad was built about 900 AD.  Finally the Tune shit was also built around 900 AD.  The Oseberg was built as a ship for a powerful woman and her maidservant in 834 AD.  The Gokstad was a burial ship for a chieftain.  The ship is 23 meters long and 5 meters wide.  This is 83 feet long and 16 feet wide.  The tune ship was a fast, ocean gong vessel.

We reboarded the hop on hop off and rode it back to down town and got off at the City Hall.  There was a wedding letting out when we arrived and some of the guest were dressed in native formal dress.

We walked back to the ship and had lunch.  Norway did not let us down.  It turned cold windy and rained later in the afternoon.  We both had reached that proverbial wall this afternoon.  We both took naps and just decided we could not face eating a big meal with lots of people in the evening, so we just stayed in and read and watched TV.

The weather is suppose to become a little rough later in the night.  It is Aarhus, Denmark tomorrow.

THE MONARCHY:

Norway has a King and Queen.  It is a democratic monarchy.  The Queen became engaged to then Crown Prince Harald in March 1968. They had been dating for nine years, although this had been kept secret because of opposition to her non-royal status. The Crown Prince made it clear to his father, King Olav V, that he would remain unmarried for life unless he could marry her. This would in effect have put an end to the rule of his family and probably to the monarchy in Norway, as he was the sole heir to the throne. Faced with having to choose one of his relatives from the Danish Royal Family, the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein or even the Grand Dukes of Oldenburg as his new heir in place of his son, Olav V consulted the government for advice and the result was that the couple were wed on 29 August 1968, at Oslo Domkirke in Oslo. She thus acquired the style of Royal Highness and the title of Crown Princess of Norway.

THE VIKINGS:

The Vikings came from Sweden, Norway and Denmark.  Later they settled in Great Britain, Ireland, France and Russia.  The Vikings left Norway and moved to the south towards the British Isles and Ireland.  The Swedish Vikings mainly traveled east into Russia and down the Volga to the Black Sea and Constantinople.

Vikings from Norway and Denmark colonized the Shetland Islands, the Isle of Man and conquered three of England’s four kingdoms.  They made Ireland a trading base and controlled many ports along the coast.  They didn’t conquer the Celtic land but instead the Celts and the Vikings had a relationship that allowed the two cultures to mix and cooperate.

One theory about their movement was that the Kings owned most of the land and wanting freedom and land of their own they found a way to get it by raiding and settling the lands they conquered.

Oslo Pictures

May 12, 2012 Copenhagen

Last night was a night to remember.  The waves were coming above the 6^th deck of the ship and we had 65 knot winds.  We spent some time on the lower decks mid ship until it calmed down a little.

We arrived in Copenhagen all primed to enjoy the city.  Went up and had breakfast with friends and then back to the room to bundle up for a tour on a hop on hop off bus.  Big Red bus was going to take us all around the city.  We were not planning on getting off as it was cold and we had very strong winds.  We bought our tickets and climbed aboard.  Here we were told that we would be taken to the Little Mermaid and then change buses for the tour.  OK, we can do that.  Get there and our bus is going to continue on, so, very good.  We are listening to the commentary on our head sets and this is good.  We reach Tivoli Gardens and we stop.  The driver changes signs to become a different tour than what we had purchased.  No comment from him.  I ask him if our tour was continuing with the new posting.  He said “no you will have to get off and cross the street and catch the next bus”.  We got off, looked at the line waiting to board the next bus and there must have been 50 people in line.  Now these buses are pulling up full or almost full, as most people do not want to get off in this weather.  It was here that Judi and I and our friends decided that a taxi back to the boat was in order.  We did and had a very smooth, quick ride in a Mercedes taxi back.  

Lunch on board and up to the cabin to play some bridge and watch the rain come down.  We decided we were in the right place.

At dinner tonight, we met our new table mate from southern California.  It is still the land of “fruits and nuts”.  After dinner we took in part of the welcome aboard show and then stopped by the Explores lounge and listened to some nice music.  Poor guy flew in from Texas today but his luggage and electronics did not.  He played an old fashion guitar and sang.  Very nice voice and the music was old tunes that we knew.  The show was great.  

The boat is suppose to have a better ride tonight.  Let’s hope so, as we retrace our path to Oslo.

Pictures 

May 11, 2012 Oslo

It is foggy, cloudy and raining, so we must be in Oslo, Norway.  Up at a normal time, then coffee and tea.  About 8:30 it was up to the restaurant for breakfast.  I had them make me some blueberry pancakes.  Not on the menu, but got them anyway.

We walked into town and visited the city hall and did some shopping and then headed back to the boat.  I stopped at Akershus Fortress for a look see, and Judi headed on back.  The walls of the Fortress were started in the 1300 and other buildings and walls were added over the centuries.  The Fortress is still in use today both by the military and as a National Monument.  The National Flag was flying at half staff today in honor of an important resistance fighter who passed away yesterday.  There is a statue of President Roosevelt there.  The United States helped Norway, with supplies of food and other products to live on while helping them fight the Germans.

We sailed about 2:00PM and it took about 2 hours to transit the fiord that leads to the North Sea.  Nice smooth ride out of the fiord.  It ended just about where the fort guarding the fiord was and where the Norwegians sank a German cruiser.

“After that Katy bar the door”.  The swells were running up to 20 feet and the wind gusts were up to 65 knots.  We rocked and rolled for over 4 hours before we got some relief by being in the waters between Sweden and Denmark.

It is off to bed and let the boat rock us to sleep.  Copenhagen tomorrow.

May 9, 2012 Rotterdam

Today came very early.  I was not sure either one of us was going to get out of bed, but the alarm kept ringing, so we got up.  We lost an hour last night and it was an early call.  A quick light breakfast and we met up with our group.  

 It was about a two hour drive north of Rotterdam.  Much of the way to Zaanse Schams, the area we were headed for, is below sea level.  You remember the dikes and the little boy holding his finger in one to keep the water out.  The thought crossed my mind.  They have government departments to do that now.   Lots of pumps to move the water and they are very good at building dikes.  Some are over six hundred years old.  Maybe our Corps of Engineers could take some lessons. 

In Zaanse Schans we found working windmills, very scenic.  One of the windmills is still used to grind wood or rock in to fine powder to use in dyes for paints. We saw a demonstration of how they now make wooden shoes and how it use to be done by hand.  It takes about 5 minutes to make one shoe now.  Doing a shoe by hand takes about 2 hours.  They do this with wet wood.  After making a shoe for us, he blew into it and water came out everywhere.  They have to slow dry, so as not to crack.

We then visited a cheese making facility.  Boy is their Gouda good.  We bought some for use on the ship.  We cannot bring it back to the states because they did not use pasteurized milk.  So we will enjoy it for shacks until we return home.

Leaving Zaanse Schans, we traveled to Volendam.  This old village is built on a dike that forms the largest lake in Holland.  The village has been there for six centuries and the characteristic small houses are very unique and very well maintained.  We walked along the dike and through the area of houses and shops.  It was about lunch time and Judi and I had taken off on our own to view the area.  We found a nice restaurant and again had some very good fish and chips, along with a nice beer for me.

Leaving Volendam we headed for our last stop, Marken.  Marken is a small fishing village on the other side of the lake.  At one time it was connected to the main land, but a severe storm cut away the land and it became an island.  In the late 1990’s a dike was constructed to the village and it is now again a part of the mainland.  The houses here are built on stilts about ten feet high to protect the homes from the water.

The ride back to the boat took a little over two hours.  The traffic was awful, this had us  worried about getting back on time.  We made it OK and were on the boat in plenty of time to make the sail away.   

Judi and I passed on going to the dining room tonight and instead had some fruit and our good cheese.  It was warm and we set on the deck and watched the harbor and waved at the people as we departed.  Rotterdam has one of the largest ports in the world.  The ship had to back down the channel for two miles, until we could turn around and head out.  We left at 6:00 PM and departed the channel around 9:00 PM.

It was a good day, but tomorrow we have a sea day and we are going to take full advantage of doing nothing.

We are now in the North Sea and half way through our cruise.  We have traveled 4,945 miles since leaving Ft. Lauderdale and are 400 miles from Oslo, our next port of call.  We will arrive in Oslo tomorrow morning.

GEOGRAPHY LESSON:

I asked how come so many town and cities have dam in their name, such as Amsterdam.  Our guide explained that the Amsel River runs through Amsterdam and back in the 6^th century a dam was built across it and a small village of Amsel was built on it therefore the name Amsterdam.  The same process for naming other towns and villages was used.

Click below for pictures.

http://may92012rotterdam.shutterfly.com/Rotterdam tours

May 8, 2012 Dover

This is Tuesday, so we must be Dover.  Up early again today, but not feeling too bad as we got to keep the same time zone.  We met our tour group downstairs and headed out for our bus.  

The first stop was Canterbury and the Canterbury Cathedral.  The ride up there was quite beautiful.  Everything is green and the flowers are spectacular.  The country roads that we occasionally drove were narrow, tree lined and quite country.

The Cathedral is quite a site, both inside and outside.  We entered the Cathedral through the main entrance, which put us in the nave. From there we went down in to the Martyrdom area, which is to say the Crypt.  Back up the stairs and into Quire, then Trinity chapel.  A prayer service was held shortly after we arrived.  The Cathedral is Massive and sound is lost in the space, so it seems peaceful and quite, even though there are lots of people around.

HISTORY LESSON:

In 597 AD, Pope Gregory the Great sent a monk, Augustine to England as a missionary.  He established a monastery in Canterbury and became England’s first Archbishop.

In 1170 after a long lasting dispute, King Henry ll is said to have exclaimed ”Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?” four knights set off for Canterbury and murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket inside the Cathedral. When soon afterwards miracles were said to take place, the Cathedral became one of Europe’s most important pilgrimage centers.  The Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury and is very much still a working church.  For millions of Anglicans worldwide, the Cathedral is their Mother Church. 

After leaving the Cathedral, we walked around the town and window shopped.  Returning to the bus we headed for Leeds Castle.

The Castle is very beautiful and the grounds are very nice.  Probably, the most exciting thing about our visit were the Peacocks.  An albino and regular one, both showing off their beautiful feathers.  Of course we had to have a little rain to go with the experience.  The inside was more of a home decorated in 1930’s style.  This is because a rich lady, with the help of three husbands, bought the place in the late 20’s and held lavish parties here.  25 servants for 3 people.

After touring the Castle, we went up to a restaurant on the grounds and had lunch.  Can’t miss a meal on a cruise, even if you are not on the ship.  I asked for the macaroni and cheese.  The nice lady told me that it was the kid’s meal.  I told her “I was a kid at heart”.  It was the best macaroni and cheese I have ever had.  It was made with aged white cheddar cheese.  The chef came out and told me all the ingredients.  He was quite pleased that I liked it so much.

After leaving the Castle, we headed back to Dover, with a quick stop on top of the White Cliffs.  Now sing, there will be a blue bird over the white cliffs of Dover.  We saw some gun emplacements and a beautiful view of the harbor.  We then continued down to the harbor for a short boat ride.  

When we got back to the ship we were tired and not hungry, so we had some room service and called it a day.

If you check back, from time to time, at some of the prior post, you will start to find some pictures.  They take a long time to upload, so I fall behind on them but they will eventually get there.

Dover Pictures