Tuesday, May 17, 2016

The Adventure Ends

Well, this is it.  Just a few thoughts to share about the overall experience.

It was an amazing trip.  It wasn't just about the sights and the history.  It was also about the relationships developed on board.  We met the most amazing people.  Travellers included Australians, New Zealanders, Americans, Canadians, British.  The Viking Crew consisted mainly of Polynesians and Europeans.  How can so many crew members always be pleasant, happy, smiley?  Occasionally there was an issue.  Each was dealt with professionally, immediately, no argument.  The Viking crew bends over backwards to make sure we are happy.  No one seems to mind going the extra mile.  Anything you want, they make it happen. 

We are especially grateful to have had the opportunity to visit Istanbul, Troy and Ephesus Turkey.  Cruise lines no longer go to Turkey and it may be a while before they return.  This is so unfortunate for the country, it's people, and the tourist industry.

As crazy as the traffic was everywhere in Europe, we did not see a single accident.  Just a quick drive to Cora's this morning...we saw one at the corner of Mayor Magrath Drive and Scenic Drive.  Go figure!

Bob found 156 geocaches in 20 countries including one each in The Vatican and Gibraltar,   25 in France, 25 in Norway, 20 in Italy, 15 in Turkey, 12 in Greece, 10 in Denmark.  

50 days is definitely long enough for a trip of this nature.  We are very happy to be home.  Now we plan the next adventure....Paris?...London?...Downunder?...


Monday, May 16, 2016

Frankfurt Airport

I would be remiss if I did not share the nightmare which is Frankfurt Airport.

Upon landing, the plane taxied for a while until we reached the Lufthansa section.  Here, we hopped on a bus which took us somewhere in Terminal 1.  From there we had to find Gate C6.  This was a challenge.  We followed the signs leading to Gate C.  We reached a door which puzzled us.  It looked like it was having us leave the secure area.  We asked to be sure this was right.  The woman replied "Yes, that is the time portal".  Little did we know how accurate her description was.  We followed more signs, went down a weird elevator, up and down escalators until we found a monorail.  It felt like no-mans land.  One side that said "Gate C" was out of order.  Luckily a German and other travelers arrived.  The German had obviously been here before and was very confident we were doing it right.  It was a quick monorail ride to wherever we went.  We walked some more through shops to get to the security lines.  Waiting is the name of the game.  When we finally got through that process, we hiked some more to get to the immigration line.  By the time we arrived at the gate, pre boarding was done and general boarding was starting.  We had only 1 1/2 hour between flights and we had all this rigmarole to go through.  We did manage to make a quick comfort stop in the middle of all this.  However, there was absolutely no time for a bite to eat.  We were famished.  It was 1:30 and the only thing there was to eat at 5:30 on the ship was a Danish or a croissant.  Lufthansa served the worst sandwich.  One bite of that was enough. It was right up there with the really bad hot pockets Air Canada served as a snack.  

For some reason, going from Air Canada to Lufthansa at the beginning of the trip was not quite as nightmarish in that we did not go through the time portal.  Avoid Frankfurt airport!







Sunday, May 15, 2016

Stockholm, Sweden

Saturday, May 14

Day #49!   We were up early this morning.  The best part of the day to enjoy the best sail-in to Stockholm.  We sailed past hundreds of islands, some of which were inhabited.  It was very scenic and very Scandinavian.  We watched for 3 hours while packing and eating breakfast. 

We decided we just could not handle  another city tour. Muscles aching everywhere, sore butt, sore back.  It makes it difficult to get on and off buses at all the different spots.  Besides, do we really need to visit another church?  At 10 am we hopped on the shuttle bus.  You guessed it.  Geocaching led the way.  It is a very cold and windy day.  We walked over some bridges and found ourselves in Old Town.  By now y'all know what that means....
yep....cobbled streets!  Bob was happy he found some caches.  We were headed to the shopping streets when our eyes came upon a café with interesting food.  We went in to take a look.  Bob asked if they had coffee and hot chocolate.  The answer was yes.  Then we spotted a pretty good looking apple strudel to go with that.  It came with vanilla cream.  It was melt in your mouth good!  The hot chocolate was served in a huge bowl with a couple of small meringues and a huge piece of whipped cream.  They sure know how to make hot chocolate in Scandinavia!

Bob succeeded in his mission of finding at least one cache in each country, including the Vatican, Monte Carlo and Russia.  He is very happy.

Tomorrow we are homeward bound.


Fiskars, Finland

Friday, May 13

After a scenic drive in the Finnish countryside, we had the most delightful day at the Fiskars Arts Village.  We were only about 20 people.  We were the only bus, the only tour.  It was a most relaxing pace.  Fiskars was known for its ironworks for centuries.  Now it has become an artist haven with a population of 600.   We watched artisans at work in the glass studio and the blacksmith shop.  At the café we were greeted with a cup of coffee (water for me) and a wonderful hot cinnamon bun.  We did browse the shops.  There was a variety of handmade arts and crafts.  Of course, one shop specialised in Fiskars tools and scissors. These are no longer made in Fiskars, but in a town about 10 kilometres away.

Of course we had to find the one and only geocache in town.  It was an opportunity to walk in the forest and enjoy the area.  The town itself has canals and pedestrian bridges.  It was a wonderful place to spend the morning.  Bonus...there was not a cobblestone to be found!


When we returned to the ship we had a quick lunch before hopping on the shuttle to Helsinki.  We only had an hour, so we quickly walked around the area, found geocaches, then hopped back on the bus.  

Saturday, May 14, 2016

St. Petersburg Russia - Day 1

Wednesday May 11

Today we visited the Hermitage Winter Palace and Gold Room.  The Hermitage showcases Catherine the Great's massive art collection.  Very awe inspiring.  Talk about a whirlwind tour!  We covered the Winter Palace, the old Hermitage, the new Hermitage and the small Hermitage within an hour.  We then rushed through several more rooms, hallways and stairways before finally reaching the Gold Room where we had an appointment for 10:10 am. The Gold Room houses the world-famous collection of  intricate Scythian ornaments from the 7th to the 4th centuries BC. These were excavated from ancient burial sites in the Cossack and Black Sea regions and are part of the oldest gold collection of its size ever uncovered.  There were also Greek pieces made from delicate gold threads.  Gorgeous!  Others were gifts from the Shah of Iran.

What is wonderful, is that we were able to get into the museum and through the exhibits when it was quiet.  When we came out of the gold room, the museum was packed with school children.  It would have been a nightmare to have gone through the exhibits any later than we did.

Tonight we attended an excellent performance of Russian folk music and dance performed by the National Cultural Society at the House of Officers.  The costumes were intricate, the voices were powerful and the dances lively and acrobatic.


Tallinn, Estonia

Tuesday May 10

It was such a calm peaceful day on the Baltic yesterday.  The sea was like glass with the ship making large, soft, undulating waves.  It was like that all day!

Last night we were entertained by 26 year old Mary-Jess from UK.  She is the voice behind the theme of Downton Abbey.  Her style of music is classical crossover.  She has a beautiful operatic voice.  

Today we are in medieval Tallinn.  We decided to have another day on our own.  Geocaching took us to interesting spots in old town, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Vendors were setting up shop at the street market to sell their woollen and linen crafts.  We strolled along MORE cobbled lanes past many historical buildings and churches.  At the top of the hill, we found a number of vantage points from which to view the city below and the sea.  As you leave old town, you have an excellent perspective of the wall and its Tourette's.  It is very impressive.

Outside the wall, we visited a number of parks.  One has a memorial called The Broken Line commemorating the loss of 852 lives in the 1994 ferry tragedy.  We do remember that disaster very well.

We really enjoy these days on our own.

Friday, May 13, 2016

St. Petersburg, Russia - Day 2

Thursday May 12

After our bus tour today, we concluded that the onion domed Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood is the prettiest thing in St Petersburg.  It really is not a pretty city.  The church is a memorial to the assassinated emperor Alexander II.  Our guide let us walk around on our own for a few minutes.  This was a surprise because we thought we would need to be glued to her.  In Russia you must have a visa if you are on your own.  As long as you are with a tour, you are ok.  We spent a good deal of time at the Peter and Paul Fortress.  Inside, we saw numerous coffins of Alexander the Great's family and the gold covered statues and altar.  Our last stop was at St. Isaac’s Square for 30 minutes.  Having this time on our own was great because Bob managed to find some caches.  We didn't think we would find any.  He's quite happy.  

Mary-Jess treated us to another wonderful performance tonight.  She is so delightful.  




Monday, May 09, 2016

Gdynia (Gdansk), Poland

Sunday May 8

Gdynia has to be the ugliest port!  We are parked right in front of green cranes and piles of coal.  Yuk!  However..... We were greeted by a high school band and majorettes bearing red and white pom-poms.  How fun was that!  Red and white are the colours of the polish flag.  

It's a beautiful sunny and warm day here!  At least 22C.

We again chose to go off on our own rather than take the Gdansk walking tour.  It really was a nice R & R day.  We took the shuttle to Gdynia's main square.  We walked along a beautiful park with a wide promenade with shops and pubs on both sides, tall ships, pleasure boats and more.  We walked all the way to the huge beach.  Lots of people everywhere.  Geocaching took us to a nicely treed area with a lovely view of the beach activity below and a residential area.

When we returned to the park, we stopped at one of the pubs for a beer.  Would you believe....it cost only $2.10 Canadian for a 500 ml bottle!  What a contrast to what we have been paying in other ports!  

Tomorrow is our last full "at sea" day.  There are only 4 ports left.  On one hand, feeling sad for leaving the ship and the amazing crew members.  On the other hand, feeling happy for them because they are soon moving on to new positions and the new Viking ships. 

Sunday, May 08, 2016

Rostock, Germany

Saturday May 7.

We are docked at Warnemunde Germany.  This is a very busy port with many cruise ships, ferries, sailboats, pleasure boats and freighters.   Rostock is another Baltic coast city which built its wealth on the medieval Hanseatic League.

Rather than take a 12 hour tour to Berlin, we decided to stay in the area to visit Rostock and Warnemunde.  Our tour bus took us to a microbrewery in Rostock.  The brew master explained how the hops are roasted and showed us samples.  Afterwards, we had a tasting of one light and one dark beer.  Bob liked the dark beer, I didn't care for either.  To go with the beer, we were given warm freshly baked pretzels.   On our walking tour, we visited St. Mary's church with its enormous astronomical clock, historic City Hall, University of Rostock, the Abbey of the Holy Cross, the gothic Kröpeliner tower which marks the old city walls, squares and fountains.  Being Saturday, the market was a very busy spot.

We then took a boat ride down the Warnow river back to the ship.  Most of what we saw along the river was shipping related, nothing scenic.  The most interesting structure was a platform which will be placed with wind turbines in the ocean to collect energy.

Later in the afternoon we went for a walk around Wandermunde.  Little did we know what a gem this little harbour town is.  No wonder our crew likes coming here.  It was particularly fun because it was a Saturday and a holiday weekend.

Grego, our pianist gave a concert tonight.  He included his interpretation of the magic flute as well as some of his own compositions.  Very talented.  Normally Grego plays his music in the atrium or the Explorers lounge.  It was wonderful to see him on stage.

Friday, May 06, 2016

Copenhagen, Denmark

Friday May 6

We are docked across from the Langelinie outlet mall.  Convenient!  

Our first stop on our city tour was the serene Little Mermaid.  There were so many tour buses there, it was ridiculous!   Next we stopped at Castle Island for a history lesson regarding Denmark's royal family.  Our stop was perfectly timed with the changing of the guard.  Bob missed it because he was geocaching.  We had some time on our own before returning to the bus for our panoramic tour.  From the bus we saw the 1843 Tivoli Gardens, the world’s second oldest amusement park;  the new Mearsk opera house; the Carlsberg Museum, home to the city’s sculpture and art collection;   Christiansborg Palace, home to the Danish Parliament and the Supreme Court;  Børsen, the former stock exchange;  Amalienborg Palace, the royal winter residence;  the statue of Hans Christian Andersen;  Rosenborg Castle, home to the Danish Crown Jewels.  Lastly, we were dropped off at the pedestrian shopping street for just over an hour.  It was crazy busy, yet there was scarcely anyone in the stores.  We let geocaching lead us to some quiet streets.

After lunch we walked more cobbled streets.  After 6 weeks of cobbled streets, my feet have had enough!  We returned to the Little Mermaid, walked through more parks, and Kastellet.  Of course, we found more caches.  

More Song and Dance with the Viking Singers and Dancers tonight.






Aalborg, Denmark

Thursday May 5

We traveled about 2 hours down the river to get to Aalborg.  Another nice cool sunny day.  It is Ascension day, a national holiday in Denmark.  Shops are closed.  Pubs and restaurants are open.  We are docked right in town again, so we decided to go off on our own.  We strolled along the harbor front past the Utzon Center, designed by the architect behind the Sydney Opera House.  Nearby are the university and the new House of Music, home to the Åalborg Symphony Orchestra.  

In the older, quaint part of town, we walked cobbled streets (what else?) amongst 17th-century houses.  In New Square  we saw the Renaissance style Jens Bang’s House which was built for a wealthy merchant in 1624.  Impressive architecture indeed.   Geocaching brought us to Budolfi church which was built in the late 17th century.  

Had we been with the tour, we would have visited 16th century Aalborg Castle, its courtyard and dungeons.  Today, the castle is the seat of the king’s governors.

We stopped for a beer at a pub just across from the ship and visited with other 50 dayers.
We had fun reading the interesting ads on the buses.  We also visited with 4 of the Viking singers.  It was a good afternoon.

Mike Sterling is still on board.  He performed the Phantom over 1,000 times in his career.   We are very privileged to have him here.


Thursday, May 05, 2016

Stavanger, Norway

Wednesday May 4

Our ship is docked right in the heart of town.  It is so nice when this happens.  

We had a lovely sunny morning walking around Stavanger.  We had less than 5 hours here so we decided not to take the tour.  Besides it was much too nice a day to spend inside an oil museum.  We found some parks, the canning museum, shops.  Of particular interest was Old Stavanger.  We strolled cobblestone streets amongst 250 UNESCO protected wooden buildings dating from the 18th to the early 20th centuries.  They are considered the best kept wooden houses in Northern Europe.  It was interesting walking through there.  One house was  a glass artist atelier.  We had a great conversation with the 2 artists.  

While walking around town we found a number of picketers.  Being curious, Bob asked why they were striking.  They said it was for the right to negotiate.  So, they gave him one of their vests which he wore for a short while.  He had me take picture of him with one of the girls.  They had a good laugh.  

We left Stavanger ar 2 pm.  We sat in the pool area and watched the scenery go by while listening to live music.  Imagine this scenic setting.  Homes situated on green rolling hills with snow capped mountains in the background.  Lovely!

Tonight we were entertained by the excellent Viking Singers and Dancers.










Wednesday, May 04, 2016

Flam, Norway

Tuesday, May 3

We anchored in Flam (floam) this morning.  Yes, it was a beautifully calm, slightly rainy day.  The bus took us through the Naerøydalen Valley, surrounded by snowcapped mountains, plummeting waterfalls and tranquil Opheimsvatnet Lake.  We stopped in Myrkdalen at the new Myrkdalen Hotel where we were served Tea, coffee and a waffle with wonderful freshly made strawberry jam and whipped cream.  

Our next stop was the  limestone White Cave with its deep, illuminated caverns.  It was fascinating, walking quietly and listening to the various sounds.  We were served hot tea, coffee and spice cake.  We also lit votives, placed them in the water and made a wish.  We returned to the ship via the Stalheimskleiva, one of the steepest roads in Northern Europe. With 13 hairpin turns, this magnificent route passes two of the country’s most spectacular waterfalls:  Stalheim at 413 feet high and Sivle Waterfall at 465 feet.  Beautiful!  This lovely journey would have been stunning had the sun been shining.  Unfortunately, it was merely awesome!

Tonight we had our last party for the 50 dayers.  All the supervisors were there.  The new captain was missing because he was taking us out of port.  All types of wine were served. The hors d'oeuvres were exceptional and included caviar and white chocolate covered strawberries dressed up in buttons and bow ties.  So cute!  After the party we went outside to enjoy the ride through Aurlandsfjord and into Sognefjord the largest fjord in Norway.  

Monday, May 02, 2016

Bergen, Norway - Part 3

Monday May 2

Another wet, cold blustery day.  It was a very unpleasant day for a tour.  

The bus took us south of Bergen to Edvard Grieg's house, Troldhaugen, his home for 22 years.  Grieg is Norway's famed composer.   Here we enjoyed a 30 minute exclusive recital of his music in a beautiful setting.  We had free time we could have used to visit the gardens, but the weather was not cooperating.  

We visited the Fantoft Stave Church.  It was built entirely of wood in 1150 in the tradition of Norwegian stave churches.  It was moved to its present site in 1883 to save it from demolition and preserve it as part of the nation’s heritage. After a 1992 fire, artisans restored it to its former beauty.  Unfortunately we could not go inside to see the construction and the elaborate carvings because it is the off season.  This is also a pretty setting, but not so enjoyable on such a day as this.

Of course, ol' diehard geocaching Bob had to go out in the storm after lunch to place a new travelling bug in a geocache.  He was on his own for that walk!  

Sunday, May 01, 2016

Bergen, Norway - Part 2

Sunday May 1

We started out around 8:30 this morning.  It was cold, blustery and wet!  We came right back home!  We waited about an hour until the sun came out.  It was still pretty cold, but it sure helps when the sun is shining.

We started by going to the top of MT Floyen by funicular.  We had a great view of the entire city.  You can see homes in all the nooks and crannies within Bergen's 7 mountains.  There is quite a trail system up there.  Some lead right back down to town.  On a nice day, that would have been a beautiful walk.  There are trolls and lots of play areas for kids, even a climbing wall.  We were up there a couple of hours before returning to town.  We visited a number of shops.  I decided to buy a pair of mittens.  My hands were soooo happy!

Bob considers himself an honorary Viking.  Last summer we visited L'Anse-Aux-Meadows Newfoundland where there is evidence of Viking settlements.  On this trip we visited Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.  Upstairs there is evidence, in runic writing dating from the 9th century, that the Vikings were there.  Now we are in Norway, their home territory.   Lastly, we are aboard the Viking Star ship since Istanbul and have taken her to Bergen, her home port, in Vikingland.

Tonight's Viking destination performance was by violinist Tor Apold.  The music was very nice and complex.  However, it was also all the same tempo.  It would have been nice to have something a bit more lively.

Bergen, Norway - Part 1

Saturday April 30

Yesterday our entertainment was Mike Sterling.  His repertoire includes opera, rock and roll, and crooner songs.  He has an amazing voice.  Also, it was farewell to the captain night.  We have a new captain for the last leg.  Hopefully the new one is as personable and fun as captain Rune Lockling is.  We sailed the turbulent North Sea.  There are dozens of oil platforms in this sea!

Today marks the beginning of the fourth leg of our journey.  We started with the Bergen Walkling Tour.  We walked through the fortress and along the historic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bryggen, the scenic wharf that developed with the growing power of the Hanseatic League during the Middle Ages.  We went into the Bryggen museum where we saw fascinating exhibits and the foundations of the original buildings.  There was a display of Viking rune writing which reminded us of the writing we saw in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and the ruins we saw in l'Anse-aux-Meadows, NL.  

We decided our guide was too slow, so we went off on our own.  We walked through the labyrinth of cobbled streets. Old Town’s beautifully preserved houses now house a variety of shops, restaurants, outdoor cafés and pubs. It is a most interesting area.  We were pretty excited to find the fish market.  We have never seen such a variety of fish and seafood.  You can choose something and they will make a meal for you.  You can eat it right there in the outdoor cafe.  So different!  So great!