Hi everyone, I'm sorry that there has been no new posts since we got on the ship. Partly because we found out it is realllly expensive to go online on this ship and then there were places where we didn't have internet access. So, I will quickly catch you up on the wonderful time that we are having!! First stop was Talinn, Estonia. What a charming, beautiful place!! It was like stepping onto the Storybook ride in Disneyland!! The old town is original from the 1400's and we spent the day wandering through all the streets and into all the cathedrals and churches. The newer part of the city is trying to quickly catch up to the rest of the world and the 21st century since being liberated from the Soviets in 1989. New building everywhere and they are very techy!
The next day we arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia for a two day stay. We signed up for several tours and they were the best of the bunch. The first day we went to the Hermitage museum (which was at one time the winter palace of Catherine the Great) They let us in before they opened so our ship tours had the place to ourselves for about 2 hours before they opened to the public. We saw amazing architecture and decor and our guide showed us their most prized paintings, sculptures and murals, etc. I saw 2 original Michaelangelo's and they had a wonderful Monet collection!! The palace itself was so over the top that my Dad leaned over to me and whispered that he could see why the people revolted. As beautiful and breathtaking as it was, the greed was more than evident and it saddened me to think of all of the people working for practically nothing and starving while the Czars and Czarinas lived in all the wealth that we saw.
Next we took a tour of the city of St. Petersburg in our bus, with photo stops etc. The next day, we went to Catherine's palace in Pushkin and then on to Peterhof, the palace of Peter the Great that he had built after he founded the city. Both places were incredible and didn't disappoint. We were treated to authentic russian 4 course lunches on both days, with dancing and music and entertainment. the Russian people are very hospitable and kind and are very proud of their heritage.
The next day was a stop in Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki was not my favorite city, but it is very pretty and the people are kind. We took a tour of an old village about an hour outside of town called Porvoo. I expected old wooden fort like structures but we saw old wooden siding buildings that have been rebuilt many times since the founding of the city in the 1600's because of fires. A bit of disappointment, but it was charming all the same.
Stockholm is by far my favorite city so far. We had a wonderful tour guide who took us to the Gamla Stan (old town), into the city center, to the City hall where the Nobel prizes are awarded and also to the museum that houses the restored ship Vasa that sunk 18 minutes after it started it's maiden voyage in 1628. It was brought up in 1958 and was completely intact. It was amazing to see it and all the intricate work that it had as per the king's request. (which is also why it sank, the king wasn't happy with it and kept making them build it higher and higher!)
We saw the changing of the guard at the royal palace and thoroughly enjoyed our day there!
Today we spent the day in Copenhagen. We walked for three hours with a great guide who showed us the sites and explained the history of the city and then we boarded a canal boat for a tour of the city's canals. When we got back to the ship, we had a quick lunch and then headed out again on foot for the modern center of the city. We took the city bus back to the dock and spent the rest of the day reading and doing needlework on the fantail with a beautiful view of the city.
The Jewel of the Sea is a huge ship, the bed in comfortable, the food is plentiful and we have been enjoying our days at sea. The weather has been amazing and we have arrived after the rain for a nice day in each port. Mom and Dad are having fun too, we take in the great shows in the evening and have been making some fun friends along the way. And for my girls, Grandma's first purchase of the trip was a "cute little bag" that has lots of uses. She is leaving her money in every port and if we can't find her, we head for the gift shop!! It's great spending time with them. Ron has had a cold, but it feeling better, I'm trying to get a good nights sleep each night (not always successful) and we are still looking forward to our stop in Oslo and the sea day to follow as we make our way back to Harwich, England.
I will try to post one more time before we leave the ship. We miss you all and think of you often!
We ended with a boat ride on the Seine...dinner in our neighborhood... (creme brouleé is really good here)...and a walk back to see the tower.
