Summer Tour 2008 - The Baltics

Summer Vacation 2008 - The Baltics

Hi All,

Its been quite a time since I posted. Not much to say over the past few months. Joan and Andrew were back in the states, Chris had events in The Hague and I have been busy with work and all. But that’s all changed.

We just returned from a 10 day tour of the Baltic’s. We took a cruise on the Crown Princess, leaving from Copenhagen. Out itinerary took us to Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn (Estonia), Gdansk and Oslo before returning back to Copenhagen. We missed Gdansk for lots of reasons that will be described in later posts.

All in all it was a fantastic trip full of exciting sights, new and interesting cultures, food and drink. Lots of pictures will follow this post with descriptions of what we saw and did.

Our Ride - The Crown Princess

Our boat is above. It was huge, holding over 3000 passengers and 1500 staff. It had 6 pools, numerous hot tubs, a theater, bars, about 11 different restaurants, a gym that was as good as any on land and more. You could literally live aboard for months and never have to get off.

This is a view of the outdoor theater. The jumbotron is huge and while hard to see in this picture it gives a great view on screen. They have Movies under the Stars every night complete with blankets. We are sitting 2 levels above the deck in a balcony area.

Check out the bar, pool and two hot tubs on the deck.


Chris and Andrew enjoying a movie from the balcony.

Stockholm Sweden

Our first official port of call was Stockholm. We approached Stockholm through the Swedish Archipelago. There are 24,000 small islands that lie just outside of the mainland. Some are 50' by 50' others have several homes on them....others are large islands.

Sailing through the Archipelago

Some homes along the islands on our approach to Stockholm.

In the Galma Stan (Old Town) we found a unique statue. I tried to mimic it! What do you think?

Andrew with more of the locals in Galma Stan.

Stockholm is a city that lies on 14 separate islands connected by waterways and bridges. This is the most exclusive street in the city. Bjorn Borg and Tiger Woods have apartments along the Strip.

Stockholm City Hall.

Islands on our way back out of Stockholm.

Helsinki Finland

Next Stop was Helsinki. Helsinki is much smaller than Stockholm and we really liked it. We took a bus to the city center and walked around in the morning. The city was just getting up and we had a coffee at a cute little cafe along a tree lined boulevard. We walked into a town market and just strolled around. We did the town in about 2 hours on foot. Here are some shots we took.






A park leading down to the Helsinki main harbor.

The Daily Market. It had some of the best veggies we have seen in many many markets.

This is Alexandar 2, an early Ruler in Finland.

A classic Helsinki Church

Senate Square and the Cathedral of St. Nicholas


A boat along the Helsinki waterfront.

Helsinki Jopo Bike Trip

We took a Jopo Bike tour thru Helsinki in the afternoon. Jopo bikes are one speed traditional bikes you see all over town. They actually were really nice to ride. The main attraction aloong the trip was a stop at Sibulius Park, named for Jean Sibelius a famous composer....so we are told. We've never heard of him....have you?

Sullys on the bikes.

The ultra modern monument to commerate this guy.

His head.

Sully's at the park.

Joe Cool...Teckel Power

Teckel Power....Nuff Said

Keukenhof 2008

Holland is known for its flowers. Every spring the Keukenhof is open to a world wide set of visitors. It is a hundres acre display of the best flowers (manly Tulips and Narcisis but there are a few others floating around).

Joan and I went on the day before her Birthday and it was awsome. The colors were amazing and the diversity of flowers simply beautiful.

A few pictures below.

The Keukenhof was amazing.

Happy Birthday Joan

Happy Birthday Joan

Today is Joans Birthday. We have had a wonderful weekend (so far).

The picture is from the Keukenhof. We went to see it yesterday



Happy Birthday my dear. I love you.

Temples

Egyptian Temples

We stopped at 5 Temples while in Egypt. The Temples were built by the Pharos while they were living. These were massive complexes. The sheer scale of the Temples was awesome and at times overwhelming. The sizes of the rocks were enormous....and how they were hoisted in the air hundreds of feet is still a mystery.

Here are some pictures.

EGYPT 2008

Our Spring Break Trip To Eqypt

We landed in Cairo on Good Friday. We stayed in Giza near the pyramids and spent 2 days exploring the city then headed south to Aswan where we boarded the "Nile Style" for a cruise. We made a number of stops on our way to Luxor. After 4 days on the boat we flew back to Cairo for our last 2 days.

Egypt is a complicated tiring yet unbelievably satisfying trip. It appeared to be a very safe place but you don't go anywhere without an Egyptian guide. People are selling junk trinkets everywhere and looking for tips for helping you....but never begging. You are advised not to drink the water or eat salads or things washed in water, but the food is unbelievable. And so is the local beer.

The guides won't let you do anything, check in to hotels, buy from hawkers, handle any check in at the airport. The Egyptians are a very helpful people, but it can get over done at times.

Our accommodations in Hotels and or on the Boat were billed as 5 star all around. We joked later that it was 5 Star in a 12 Star world. You learn quickly to accept and go with the flow.....because the sights and sites are just so fantastic.....it's well worth it.

Cairo and Giza

The Sphinx and Pyramids.

The Three Pyramids in Giza. There are over 300 Pyramids in Egypt. These are the most famous.

Chris at the Pyramids

The Sphinx.

Andrew at the Sphinx

The Family at the Pyramids

The Citadel

The Citadel is a massive complex built to fortify ancient Egypt. Here are a few pictures.

The entrance walk up to the Citadel.

Upclose tot he Citadel fortress.

There is a giant Mosque inside the Citadel.

Another view of the Mosque.

A burial sarcophagus in the Citadel Mosque.

Khan el-Khalili Market in Cairo

This is a majopr tourist market in the middle of Cairo. We saw other markets driving around that looked like all locals. This market catered to us. Shop keepers would yell at us "I don't know what you need but I know that I have it." "Here, this is free for you, free, come on in." (It would be a 100 Egyptian Pound item....about $12 US.) "How can I steal your money?" "Welcome to Alaska." All they wanted to do is get your attention and your eye to try to hook you.

We were good.....we didn't buy anything here.

Spring Pictures

Not Going To Say Too Much.

Spring Is Arriving Here In Holland.