Setting Sail for the Baltics

And so has our journey, at least this year. I would do it over again in a heartbeat, but I must admit that it is very nice to finally be home. Especially since the journey from the ship to the doorstep of home was a little over 24 hours, thanks again to our friends at United Airlines and the TSA for making that journey that much more difficult. Hopefully we'll be posting the highlight reel of the close to 1,000 pictures we took during the course of the trip. That's the danger with digital cameras with 4GB memory cards: there's this constant need to snap pictures at every turn without realizing the sheer volume of photos with which you'll finally end up. I'd especially love to post a set of pictures that went wrong - those poses that were great ideas at the time, but didn't turn out exactly as planned (although I don't think Christine would appreciate it all that much...) So for those of you reading the blog, thanks for keeping up with the entries, and un...

Joe’s Log – Supplemental – Day 10… All that remains is the journey back to our point of disembarkation: Dover, England. I am getting some much needed rest in the remaining 2 ½ days here at sea. Today’s journey consisted of a breakfast of melon and smoked salmon benedict, mid-morning nap at 10:30am, lunch of chili dog and chips, afternoon nap at 2pm, snack of 1 ½ scones with cream and strawberry jam… I think you’re getting the picture. The ship is particularly full today, with everyone making the most of their remaining time onboard. In fact the ship feels almost too full. Every nook and cranny of this ship is packed to capacity, and there seems to be no respite from the crowds. I thought I had found a quiet place in a deck chair on the promenade, when out of nowhere, two Italians decided to stand right next to me, when basically the rest of the promenade is vacant, to light up their cigarettes. I decide to leave without issuing a protest…sigh. That’s what the other portion of the...

Sweden . . . a country known for ABBA, the Volvo, Ikea and . . . the most attractive population I have ever come across! Yes, I felt like a stubby little troll standing next to the women of Sweden – tall, thin, blond and all perfectly proportional, not to mention fashionable because it is also the home of H&M. Now the men aren’t bad to look at either . . . many of them over 6’2 with sandy blond hair and brilliant blue eyes . . . okay, okay I’ll stop . . . I don’t mean to go goo-goo ga-ga over these people but it’s hard not to notice . . . they even have the best looking royal family in Europe . . . the princesses of England shouldn’t stand anywhere near Princess Victoria of Sweden. It seems that the average person here is what we’d consider highly attractive back home. It also seems that one out of every two people is good looking, so it must be quite hard to be average. But enough about the gorgeous people . . . let me share a little bit about Stockholm. It was an absolutely...

Christine in Palace Square, where the gypsies will "read your fortune and pick your pockets" Joe looking hesitant as he dons a "saran wrap" style poncho to wander in the rainsoaked Peterhof Gardens It’s been three days since we last updated the blog, and there is quite a lot to catch up on. First of all the bad news: I (Joe) caught a cold. That makes me two for two – I also caught a cold in Argentina last year. This virus first started out in the children of the ship and then it’s starting to make its way through the adult populace, and I am part of that populace. Thankfully with 10 hour nights of sleep and plenty of food to keep me recharged, I’m feeling relatively decent. Now Christine is paranoid that she is going to catch it as well. We shall see if her infection control measures prevent that from happening. Well, three days, two cities, and a lifetime of experiences. First there were two glorious days in St. Petersburg, Russia (or was it Leningrad, or P...

Tallinn, the capitol city of Estonia, is quite a tiny little town situated on the northern coast of the country on the Gulf of Finland . . . Joe and I had read it was a small hamlet, easily traversed . . . except for its sometimes steep cobblestone streets. We looked forward to enjoying a leisurely day meandering through the charming Hanseatic town, we had already visited Lubek in Germany which apparently was the governing city of the region. Now, we’ve had really great luck with the weather on this trip . . . sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60’s and low 70’s, just the way we like it . . . but it isn’t a vacation for us until it really rains on us . . . happens EVERY summer vacation. We awoke in Tallinn to a gloomy and drizzly morning. The wind gusts were unpredictable, sweeping north to south then east to west . . . my poor, cheap little umbrella didn’t have a chance at all . . . embarrassingly enough, it flipped inside out. The town was a 10 minute walk from the port, ...

Christine in Copenhagen as the Parade Passes By Joe at the Palace in Schwerin So here it is again, another day at sea. I can honestly say that, thus far, my entire day has consisted of eating, sitting, and napping. Yup, that’s it, the mere essentials on a vacation. Oh, and there was some walking on deck to get a little sun, but after that, the napping continued. Why such the dull day? Well, partly because the ship is so packed with people on a sea day, with various large people jockeying to parts of the ship where any type of food or consumable substance is served. Of note there was a line 20 people deep for soft serve ice cream, and 10 people nearly rioted when scones were served with clotted cream but without the requisite strawberry jam. That is why after breakfast I prefer to nap. Not to say that yesterday was not a busy day. It was a port day in Germany, Rostock to be specific. I had my reservations about Germany at first, hearing tales of surly people and food consisting ...

The Summer Olympic Games only happen every four years and with them come memorable moments of great victory or bitter loss . . . that being said, I’m not as disappointed to be missing them as I thought I would be. The ship is not broadcasting the games . . . there are periodic updates on CNN or ESPN, but no live coverage . . . go team USA! Vacation, however, is a once in a lifetime experience and today’s journey through Copenhagen will definitely be something to remember. Joe and I decided to forgo any ship sponsored shore excursions or guided tours through the city . . . we did not want to take our photos through the windows of a tour bus . . . instead we wanted to meander the streets of Copenhagen on our own, stopping at various locations for as long as we wanted. We began our day on a very crowded local bus, standing room only and squeezed in like sardines, we made our way to the center of town. We were deposited in front of Tivoli Gardens, the original amusement park that inspi...

Welcome to day 1 of the vacation (actually Day 1.5 if you’d like to get technical, but travel days really shouldn’t count). Christine and I are out on the high seas today, making our way out from Dover, England out to Copenhagen, Denmark. So far the sailing has been relatively smooth. Let’s hope it continues that way so that Christine’s supposed seasickness doesn’t kick in. First, let me say how uneventful the flight over was. And I guess there is a reason why I don’t like flying domestic airlines internationally – United possibly has the most uncomfortable seats in international economy that I have ever experienced. After contorting my body for nearly 2 ½ hours, I finally was able to get a little bit of rest. I cannot say the same for Christine, and she had the advantage of taking an Atavan (unlike Harry’s preferred Zanax). One would think that United would design seats that would be at least somewhat comfortable so that their passengers wouldn’t be awake the whole 10+ hour flig...

As the day nears for our departure . . . that would be tomorrow . . . I find that I've gotten so much better at preparing and packing for trips. I've learned to only pack the essentials, despite my addiction to shoes, and therefore, to bring only a couple of bags. That would be easier if the weight limit for United Airlines weren't so darn limited! They only allow 50 lbs per bag for checked luggage . . . the suitcase I am bringing probably weighs a good 10 lbs already . . . I have succeeded at keeping to the weight restrictions . . . 49.5 lbs . . . but it wasn't easy. I'd rather bring one large bag rather than several bags, especially after having to haul all those pieces last year from town to town in Argentina. C'est la vie . . . if I am wearing some very familiar outfits time and time again in the photos I have for this trip . . . you now know the reason. --Christine