Suomi

Today the shipped dropped anchor in Helsinki, Finland. I hadn’t heard much about Helsinki and was interested to see what the city had to offer. When you don’t really have much of a plan its really easy to learn, by getting on one of the tourists buses. They allow you to get on and off at various points and keep you entertained with info about the city and the stops on the tour. The first stop on the tour happened to be the highlight of the day. The Rock Church was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was a huge functioning church carved out of the rock right in the middle of the city. It doesn’t really look like much on the exterior but is very beautiful on the interior. We took the bus around the city and just listened to the commentary and learned about the various sights. We stopped at the market square for some shopping and walked around the harbor area. I wanted to try one of the local favorites, reindeer, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. Also, if you take a trip out of town a couple of hours, you can visit the place that Santa Clause is from. I always thought it was the north pole, but apparently its north Finland. After spending a day in Sweden, its hard for the locals to live up to those standards, but they were all very nice and helpful.

It wasn’t a very long stop today so we just enjoyed the afternoon in town, sitting at a café and listening to local music. We brought up the fact that we don’t like how countries and cities are translated into English. So we pledged to try and only use the local names, so from now on Finland will be referred to as Suomi. It is going to be a very hectic weekend with two very long days in Russia so it wasn’t all bad to have a short and casual day. It doesn’t get dark in the Baltic Sea area until about 10:30pm or so and in the winter there is no sun for about 2 months. A third Suomi is also in the artic circle and in the winter it must be a totally different place to visit.

I come from Sweden

The next port of call on the cruise was the city of Stockholm in Sweden. It was the first of a few Scandinavian countries that we would be visiting and we were all really excited. We started our day at the Vasa Museum, which is dedicated to a very famous Swedish ship that sunk on its maiden voyage. It had lain on the bottom of the ocean for 333 years before it was found and pulled up to the surface. The ship is in great condition due to the type of water in the cities harbor and would not have survived like it did in many other places. The ship was incredible and the museum had some great exhibits on life as a sailor in the 1600’s. After leaving the museum we did some walking around and ended up at a traditional Swedish village park, Skansen. The area had a village showing 18th and 19th century life in Sweden. The little city had operating bakeries, glass blowing and people dressed in native outfits. It was so easy to immerse yourself in the culture and feel like you had just stepped back 200 years. There was also a small zoo around with traditional Scandinavian animals. Wolverines, Bears, huge elk and Reindeers were the highlights. The goats were also entertaining as they were constantly making calls one after another.

We walked around Galma Stam, the old town, for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The area was made up of cobblestone streets lined with markets and shops. The local people are all very attractive and that always makes the people watching more entertaining. We also explored the local shops and looked at the very funky Tamrac Trolls. Some things that other countries are known for are just funny and weird. We only had a couple of hours left until the ship sailed so we went into the main part of the city to check out the Icebar. It’s a bar that is entirely made out of ice and they serve drinks in glasses made of ice. The temperature is below freezing so they give everyone these warm jackets and they made everyone look like a blue marshmallow. You cant stay in there too long and it doesn’t help when most of us were wearing shorts but it’s a fun experience.

Overall it was a really good day. Stockholm is a beautiful city and I would go back there in a heartbeat. Swedish people live up to their reputations for being beautiful and the city is equally nice to look at. The traditional European architecture and multi-colored buildings make Stockholm and great city to visit.

Danke!

So after a 9 hour train ride, in true German style, the train pulled into Berlin Hostbanhof at exactly the posted time, almost to the second. We had 6 hours until we met the rest of the family in the city and there was only one place in the station that was open. To be honest, sleeping on a McDonalds booth is quite comfy. We made sure to buy something about every hour so we didn’t get kicked out. The time went by quick and before long we were in the car with the rest of the crew and over at the East Side Gallery. This section of the wall has been painted by various artist from all over the world and is a beautiful representation of culture. Most of Berlin’s building are very new, as so many were destroyed by the WWII bombings, and our next stop at Postdamer Platz was a good example of the new architecture. Despite the age of the buildings, a lot of Berlins sights have rebuilt in the original 18th or 19th century styles and its surprising when you learn some were finished as recent as 1999. The Brandenburg Gate, Berliner Dome, and the Reischtag parliament house were some of the great buildings we saw while walking around the city. We also took a ride on a crazy 6 person bike while the driver dodged around tourists.

The museum stop of the day was at the Pergamon Museum. The museum had a lot of original sculpture from the city of Babylon including some pieces that are over 100 feet wide and 40 feet high. Its incredible to walk on something that was built over 2000 years ago and was part of one of the most famous cities in history. The last stop of the day was Checkpoint Charlie, and we all learned a lot about the history of the city and the divide of East and West Germany after the war. After all the typical tourist photos we made the drive back to the ship. It was a long day to say the least, but it was well worth it to be back on the ship.
The ship is at sea today and the next stop is Stockholm, Sweden. The sun was out so we spent most of the day taking in the rays and relaxing by the pool. We have been really lucky that the seas have been so calm and its easy to forget that you are even on a ship.

Now that I’m Drunk, I want a Kebab

The next day was a series of events different from one another but all very indicative of the nuances of Amsterdam. Started off with a 4 hour bike tour on “Mike’s Bike Tours” in which about 13 of us were led by a young tour guide on California Beach Cruisers through the city and out to the countryside. No helmets, no waivers, we didn’t even pay before we left, just hopped on and made sure to pay attention when the guide would look around behind him and shout, “Watch out for that car!” Bikes take precedence over pedestrians, but you have to make bloody sure the tram isn’t coming through the street when the single file line of bikers are trying to get across! The tour guide told us some interesting stories about the city. Amsterdam experienced many firsts in its day; first to have a stock market, first to make a republic, first to legalize prostitution, etc. Learning about the history made me really understand why Amsterdam is the way it is, and why the Dutch are such laid back, honest, and care free people. The countryside part of the tour included a stop at a windmill which appears in many of Rembrandts paintings, and then on to what the tour guide called a “mad farmer’s” cheese and clog farm. (Imagine Goldmember from Austin Powers) This crazy Dutch farmer gave us a personalized tour and even crafted a clog right in front of us with woodchips flying everywhere – health and safety completely out the window.

The afternoon put us back in time for a tour of the “Heinken Browerjen.” This brewery tour is quite new in existence and was extremely modern in its design. It was incredible to see how the Heineken family have strived to produce a superior quality of beer and was interesting to taste the key ingredients barley, hops (a green plant - probably why Heinken tastes like weed to me!), and “A” quality yeast used to make this beer. The tour ended up taking us over 2 and ½ hours and did include quite a bit of free beer drinking in a futuristic neon lit bar with rowdy European beer drinkers. After this was a mad rush back to Central station to hop on our 9 hour train to Berlin arriving at 4:30am! I couldn’t wait to see the family the next morning and later get back on the ship…

XXX

There is no better way to experience a city than to spend 5 quality hours there, especially when one of the biggest attractions is at night. The cruise ship was only docked in Amsterdam from 9 to 2 so we decided to be a little unorthodox and not get back on the ship until the next port in Berlin. That means we had to organize our own transportation from Amsterdam to Berlin, and also find accommodations for the night as the ship had a day at sea in between the two cities. The family got off first thing in the morning and headed straight over to the Anne Frank House. After being so opposed to visiting “just an attic” as he called it for 2 months Dad thoroughly enjoyed it. After the Anne Frank museum we walked through the city and explored the floating flower market and some of the main shopping streets. Everyone was quite surprised at the beauty of the city and you really do have to experience it first hand.

We headed back to the ship for a quick lunch then packed two tiny backpacks with enough to get us by for 2 nights and three full days off the ship. As we walked back through town and watched luxury on water became a distant image in the background, we found our way on the public trams to Hotel Orfeo; our hostel accommodation for the night. The room was up 3 floors on these thin old century Amsterdam type stairs and our room looked like something similar to Anne Frank’s attic. However, the area Shawn found the hostel in was called Leidsepline, just a 25 minute walk from Dam Square (the main part of town). The small charming streets were filled with café’s and restaurants, not to mention the town’s “coffee shops.” Canals rule the town and almost every few streets you walk appears another small beautiful piece of this canal wrapping itself around the city. The street performers do an interesting Dutch version of a rap break dance, but their energy and excitement for their work touches any young American who has seen the real thing. We had an adult beverage in one of the 300 tables littered across the square and watched an old ripped man perform tight rope in a small green thong. Minus that guy, this part of our day defines what Europe is all about; people sitting and relaxing outside enjoying each other and everything around them. It’s so peaceful and so beautiful to be a part of it.

That night we went to a comedy show called “Boom Chicago” which is actually an American comedy show which highlights and mocks the main differences between Dutch and American culture, mostly making fun of the Yanks. We emerged from that close to 10pm and the sun wasn’t fully set yet but we still made our way over to the Red Light District. The area isn’t too much different from what you would imagine, the only thing you wouldn’t picture are the neon (mostly red) reflected along the water and the cops patrolling the street on horses. Girls have individual windows they sit in and can open the door to anyone at their choosing. There are about 3 to 5 windows per house and I thought most of the girls were quite sexy and normal looking – not super trampy like you would think. In some of the windows the bed they use is right there behind them, and in some you walk back into the room or up a flight of stairs for services. The girls in the windows are in there smoking, talking on their phones, texting, yelling at each other across the canal, and even eating! It’s just another day at work for them. The experience was one of a kind, of course, and great to see what this red light district was really all about.

Big Winner

Day 3 was an easy day as our only task was just to make it to the ship on time. We took a midday train with out of London and headed for port, in Harwich. It was geat to finally arrive at the ship and we took care of the lengthy check in process. The cruise likes to have some fun by taking a welcome aboard photo, which is always good for the ladies who have dragged luggage through a city, on a train and then to the ship, and did not have ample warning to fix their hair before the shoot. The cruise ship is amazing of course, and it looks like it will be a nice 2 weeks on board.

The main dining hall is really elegant and the food is fantastic. The crew are also really helpful and really make sure they go the extra mile for you. Viju, from India, is our cabin steward and always seems to be standing near our room waiting for us. I think he must have been trained by watching Mr Deeds over and over and we keep waiting for him to bust out with the “very very sneaky” line. The mandatory life boat drill was a good laugh as every passenger walked around the boat in their bright orange life vests. I was really skeptical of the whole thing and wondered if we would really have time to meet at a designated point on the ship, and then do some fancy line-up before getting on the lifeboat. I asked how long it would take the ship to sink if we hit something bit no one seemed to want to answer that question. We hit up the casino the first night and Keri had a great roll at craps and came out a big winner. No one seemed to treat the game like the Vegas style craps, and the energy level was just above funeral procession. We had cake and champagne with Mom and Dad to celebrate their anniversary and cant wait for Amsterdam tomorrow.

London 2.0

Day 2 in London was just just as exciting as the first. Keri and I upgraded our accomodations when we meet the newly arrived Mom and Dad at the hotel in Regents Park. We all ate a good english breakfast at a nice little café in Swiss Cottage and then headed out on the tube to St Johns Wood. We made the short walk to Abbey Road and dodged the traffic to get a decent shot on the crosswalk. There was a big crowd and it is funny to watch all the people try to replicate the famouse album cover. The next stop on the list was Westminster. We toured the exterior of Parliament House and Westminster Abbey. We walked inside on St Margarets church, right next to the abbey which is reserved for weddings and funerals of Lords and Ladies. Mom and dad had gone to a weddding there years ago for Lord Portman and his wife when he was driving for Dads Toyota Atlantic team.

We then walked across Westminster bridge and got some good shots of Big Ben and the River Thames. We toured around the rest of the Southwark area, going by the London Eye and finally taking the underground to the Tower of London. We ate lunch at a great English pub, and had our fill of Fish and Chips. Keri had a nice fall down the stairs due to the rain and got a good rubdown from a local drunk Englishman.

The millenium foot bridge was next on the list with a quick stop on the otherside at the Globe Theater. Romeo and Juliet was playing, which would have been an experience to see there, but it was sold out. We all walked across the Tower Bridge and finally made our may back to Kensisngton and Harrod’s. We all enjoyed a fantastic ice cream sudae and milksake in the Pastierre and then headed back to the hotel. Being in London, we needed to have some Indian food and so we headed back out to Leicester Square and ate at a place that I had eaten at on my last trip here. After a great meal it was time to enjoy the London nightlife. The area was packed with people again, and we made our way up to a nightclub. We mixed with the locals by enjoying some techno music and it was quite an experience.

Tomorrow we head off to the ship and set sail for Amsterdam.