The Ends of the Earth
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2 September
Great start to a great trip. Starting with getting my name on my Scandanavian Air ticket changed to match my passport, after a day of worry and fighting with Expedia over the issue. Whew! Jill dropped us at our gate... the airport security, and the Airport itself, were not at all busy... and we were the first two on the plane. Stockholm, via Munich. Jan is sleeping... I think I'll join her...
Uneventful flights, with a tight but doable connection in Munich. But we were glad we scheduled a day in Stockholm to rest and get our bearings before heading FAR north to Svalbard. So we checked into our hotel near the airport and spent a leisurely evening unwinding.
We spent the day relaxing, took a walk in the woods near the hotel, and just made sure we had all of our ducks in a row to continue our northward journey.
Up at 3:15 to get our early 7:45 flight. Stockholm - Oslo - Tromso - Longyearbyen
It wasn't all that long in flight, but a rather grueling day going through airports, security, customs, etc. But wow, by late afternoon, here we were in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway... definitely a road less traveled!
Longyearbyen is the main city on the biggest island of the Svalbard archipegalo, a part of Norway. As I keep saying, "It's out there, Jan!" Longyearbyen is the northernmost, year-round, civilian-occupied city in the world... or something like that. Having been to the southernmost city, Ushuaia, Argentina, on our Antarctica trip, it seemed the thing to do on this northern journey.
The terms get used interchangeably, but... Svalbard is the archipelago. Spitzbergen is the largest island of the archipelago. Longyearbyen is the city on Spitzbergen.
It's out there, Jan!
Our lodging the first night was a roofless shack outside of town. We had to backpack until nearly 2:00 AM just to tote all of our stuff in there for the night. They require you to carry a rifle if you venture outside the city, so of course we had to acquire the appropriate arms and learn how to use therm. But I doubt a polar bear would bother with a fortification like this...
Actually, that wasn't true...
A friendly, hardy, handlebar-mustachioed gent took us to Mary Ann's Polarrigg in town, and took most everybody else to the Radisson...
I guess the bellhops are all over at the Radisson.
A pause in the day's occupation...
Life on the edge.
Well, I was asleep by 7:30, and Jan by 9:00 when she realized it wasn't going to get dark. So we awoke today about 4:00 AM. Fortunately that's when breakfast starts here at Mary Ann's Polar Riggen. Jan is out scouting now while I catch up on the blog and the Internet. Wifi is available only in the TV room and restaurant, and you're glad to have it at all in this outpost.
The BBC is filming a documentary series called "Svalbard: Life on the Edge," including as one of the main "characters" of the series our very own Mary Ann. Mary Ann is the one on the right, below...
Herewith a video about the making of Svalbard: "Life on the Edge"
We got to talk to Mary Ann for a bit a couple of times... she's hard to nail down. She's just a sprite of a thing, tiny but with a bubbly personality. And don't let her size and physical stature fool you... living in Svalbard ain't for sissies! She left to do something down on the mainland before we left, but we enjoyed meeting her...
The bar in the dining room is hewn out of one solid piece of timber and sports some glass circles on the top surface of the bar, each displaying a "bone" under the glass. Mary Ann told us that the bones were the "penises" of various, shall we say wildlife, around Svalbard.
Jan said, "What???"
Imagine the bar conversations! It's out there, Jan.
You must remove your shoes in most homes here, and some public places. There's snow on the ground 9 or 10 months a year, so it saves wear and tear inside, and lets you get your feet warm. The floor, and the glass ceiling, here in Mary Ann's restaurant are heated. Sure was nice in our stocking feet for the breakfast buffet. An intemperate clime like this, and we were snug and warm here with our heated floor, and glass on 3 sides and the ceiling, for the views. Uh-huh, tough living.
We walked about town, and climbed up the hill behind Mary-Ann's for a great view of the town and of course photos. We thought Mary Ann should put the hot tub in this derelict boat she has on the property. But we did enjoy the hot tub on an outside deck, and Jan got a massage. The gal that gave Jan a massage is from Spain and speaks only Spanish, and also works in the kitchen. Before we knew she was the masseuse, Jan had struck up a conversation with her using her limited Spanish. So they had a nice chat during the massage, able to converse in Spanish, since neither spoke the local language. Whatever works. We're ever amazed at how people get by even when they don't share a language. We can make our needs and sentiments known... somehow, some way... that's where language came from in the first place, I guess.
This is the boat of the Governor of Svalbard... replete with luxury accommodations and a helicopter pad. The current Governor is Kjerstin Askholt. It's actually an efficacious way to govern this far flung and remote archipelago. Much of the work of the Governor involves helping those in need, including occasionally running off an attacking Polar Bear using the helicopter.
We realized, later in the trip, that we had had 'Syrian' encounters on three different legs of this rambling journey. The Seed Vault here in Svalbard where Syria had just made the first withdrawal. In Stockholm we would visit the Photography Museum and see Mustafa Jano's poignant photos of children amid the rubble and ruins of once proud Syrian cities. And on the Baltic Cruise, we would hear a presentation by a family, now living in Sweden, that had escaped the horrors of the war in Syria. This is happening now, on our planet, in our world.
To quote our incredible president, "C'mon, man!"
8 September
Seeing a polar bear on this trip was a primary goal, though it was starting to sound like this wasn't likely. Even though you're required to carry a rifle if you walk outside the city perimeter, they say only about 2% of the tourists do see a bear.
We had booked a 10 hour day trip on a boat to see a glacier and an abandoned Russian coal mining settlement, and likely some reindeer and, not so likely, a polar bear. Svalbard, though mostly a part of Norway, is self governed, and subject to treaties allowing other nations exploration and research rights, much like Antarctica. Pyrimiden, the Russian settlement, now considered a ghost town with only 6 year round residents is still actually 'part' of Russia.
The safety lecture... this orange get-up would save you from the frigid waters... they said...
We'll just stay on board, thank you.
It's out there, Jan!
It's been a while since they showed movies here... reely...
Nice hotel, and only a short walk to town... note the raised wooden sidewalks, it snows 10 months a year here. And the grasses planted here are actually indigenous to parts of Russia that have a clime similar to that of Pyrimiden's, so they don't want people walking on it. Curiously, the local reindeer don't eat it, like they would any other grass... it's thought because it isn't indigenous.
Dare I say 'out there' again?!!
Michael and Lenin... we didn't see eye to eye...
It's not surprising that chess was played by the Russians in this outpost...
This was in the cafeteria building... a large tile mosaic...
The rooms in the dormitory buildings all have a little box sticking out of the window... nature's refrigerator, which works well in this frigid clime. This building, now derelict like basically all buildings here, has been claimed by Fulmars, Seagull-like sea birds. They nest in the windows. It had long been a curiosity as to why they used only this one building out of the many available. Turns out, this building is perfectly aligned East to West, and so gets the maximum possible sun exposure year-round. As Charles Darwin said, "In the long history of humankind (animal kind, too), those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed."
On the way back to Longyearbyen, we did see several reindeer along the shore. Apparently reindeer live to only about twelve years on average, eventually dying of starvation... grazing on what little vegetation exists in this rocky clime wears their teeth down so that, unable to chew, they perish from malnutrition. Everybody asks what the Arctic foxes eat since there are none of their usual small mammalian prey here... they feast on these dead reindeer, and whatever insects and berries and birds and eggs they can get. We never did see an Arctic Fox, except in the museums, and a stuffed one in Mary Ann's dining room.
Yep.. score! They sighted a polar bear making it's way around an outcropping. It was difficult to see at first, being maybe 150 meters away. We were all using our cameras' zooms to find the magnificent beast... "Where? Can you see it? Which rock? How high up?" were our frantic utterances. Finally we all seemed to have sighted it, and the bear, as if bored with the whole business, obliged us by laying down for a nap. Photos were taken.
On some rocks below a beautiful glacier...
Walking around an outcropping...
Then laying down for a nap while we snapped photos...
So cuddly, and on our granddaughter Cheyenne's birthday!
This cool sailboat was moored right below the bear...
This cool sailboat was moored right below the bear...
On the way back, we feasted on whale and seal and reindeer, and toasted our luck at seeing the bear with Russia's national drink, Vodka... on 4,000 year old glacier ice.
Skal!!!
And of course Jan and I mostly had the outside to ourselves on the final leg back...
We did a leisurely stroll into town, and capped off the day with a soak in Mary Ann's outdoor hot tub... aaahhhhhh! There were few other guests here during our stay. We do like shoulder seasons. Sitting in a tub of hot water almost to the North Pole... yeah, aaahhhhhhh!
Polar Museum, and the Thai Restaurant yet again. We didn't really want to eat seal or whale or reindeer, so most days we ate breakfast buffet at Mary Ann's, and Thai for dinner in a very nice little Thai restaurant in town... we didn't see that coming!
The local museum details the history of this arctic outpost... it was predominantly coal mining that brought about settlement. Build it and they will come... Svalbard became a base for North Pole expeditions, including various dirigibles attempting to fly over the pole. The occupations of man!
Really... dirigibles... over the North Pole... and I thought WE were roughing it...
Did I mention, 'Out there?'
After an arduous day of airports and flying, we arrived in Bergen, Norway, where we will embark on the Norway coastal cruise on the 14th. Our lodging here is an AirBnB find, a five story walk-up with a commanding view of this beautiful and busy port town. Jessica was our host, interesting to get to know, and very helpful... she even helped carry our bags up the 5 flights when we got there, exhausted, at 10:00 PM. The flat is a large, 3 bedroom apartment on the top floor. She rents out 2 of the rooms and has one for herself and her little girl. Her 3 year old girl speaks 4 languages!
A Snyrting, by any other name...
The views from Jessica's flat...
12 September
We felt right at home, and hardly saw anyone else in the flat whenever we were there. We were allowed full use of the flat, including a nice modern kitchen, and even help-yourself breakfast staples. There was even, appropriately, a finished jigsaw puzzle of a Polar Bear on the dining room table.
We goofed and went up the Bergen funicular on the day one of the huge cruise ships had disgorged it's thousands of tourists... of course also going up the funicular... and in large groups. Yikes! But it's a lovely view of this beautiful and bustling port city once you escape the crowds.
What a view!
We had a nice stroll about Bergen today, visiting the fish market where our BnB hostess, Jessica, works in the summer months, and scoping out the hotel we had reserved the night we arrive back from the cruise. Another brilliant day, so we had lunch in an outdoor cafe overlooking the central park. The city was fairly abuzz with folks enjoying the rare good weather... you're welcome, Bergen! Herewith the iconic shot of Bergen, quintessential Norway, a rather good one we thought...
On the way back through Bergen after the Norway cruise, Jan would buy some wool booties in this shop, the one just barely in the picture on the right, above...where she would run into the Swiss gal we met on the cruise and thought looked like our friend Laurie. Interestingly, we kept running into 'Swiss Laurie' while in Norway...
Bergen's reconstruction efforts include keeping everything as true to it's time as possible, including using large bearing timbers where they can. This town has a great feel... vital, abuzz, positive.
Jan caught me looking at baby clothes for our new great granddaughter...
Jan likes getting in water. Walking on water. Whatever. Water.
Our Hurtigruten cruise of the Norway.coast begins.
On our ship, the Nordnorge (Northern Norway) which, when originally commissioned, sailed the Drake Passage to Antarctica... which we did in 2011 on the Corinthian, the ship we will take around the Baltic later on this trip. The ends of the earth!
And away we go...
The sunset over the port of Bergen on the eve of the cruise, an auspicious start considering we're told it always rains in Bergen.
It's all out there, Jan...
We got the captain squared away and we were off...
Lowering the Norwegian Flag at the end of our first day on the coast of Norway.
15 September
We got the captain squared away and we were off...
Lowering the Norwegian Flag at the end of our first day on the coast of Norway.
Michael's birthday. We did the Taste of Norway excursion, tendering in to Urke for a bus ride up into a mountainous valley for numerous photo ops in some beautiful, rugged country. We stopped at a very old and beautiful hotel from the time of Kaiser Wilhelm... and were fed a light lunch of goat head soup! Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Karin Blikson of 'Out of Africa' fame, stayed here back in the day. And on our upcoming trip to Africa, we will visit the house in Kenya that Blikson lived in and wrote about.
Imagine trying to eat goat head soup in a suit of armor!
Most of the announcements on the ship are given in Norwegian, English, and German. There were of course lots of Norwegians on board, a smattering of Americans, and quite a few Germans.
Did I mention the goat head soup?!!
Tendering in from the Nordnorge...
We docked in Alesund toward evening and had an hour to walk about town. The town burned to the ground in 1904, and was rebuilt in art nouveau style. And I found some super glue to repair my glasses with...score!
There are 34 ports-of-call, each way, on this cruise. These ships are cruise ships, passenger ships, ferries, cargo ships, mail ships, pretty much everything rolled into one. Some of the port stops are only 10 or 15 minutes, enough to take on or disgorge passengers, or drop off some mail. Other port stops are are as much as 3 or 4 hours, where you actually have time to do something. And some of the excursions will take you off the ship at one stop, and then you re-board at another stop further up the line. And the scenery is breathtaking pretty much the whole way, 900 miles up and 900 back.
Sunflowers for our granddaughter Ashley, and husband Kenny, and their new baby girl, Adele...
Small as cruise ships go, but rather imposing in some of these small ports along the coast...
We met Big Ben and Anne Marie from Australia after lunch and swapped travel stories with them. And we walked around Trondheim a bit, it being one of the longer dockings, where we found another Fretex store to search for sweater bargains.
900 miles of coastline like this...
Comes a pause in the day's occupation that is known as the children's hour...
18 September
Tromso, Norway. We took a leisurely stroll about town as this was one of the longer dockings on the trip. Jan was excited about looking in the Fretex, the Norwegian arm of the Salvation Army, for a good deal on Norwegian sweaters. But alas, best laid plans and all that, like most shops and businesses in Norway, they were closed on Sundays. Those places that were open closed early.
An old wooden church...
Boys playing ball...
Harriet Backer - Chez Moi
Boys playing ball...
Harriet Backer - Chez Moi
There are Trolls everywhere in these Scandinavian countries... mischievous sprites, more than beasts, really. Many have turned to stone when they venture out during daylight. However no trolls were harmed in the creation of this blog.
We were walking to the dining room on board and a German woman sitting along the way asked me, "Wo ist dein Hut?" Adventure Papa. Amundsen should have had it so good plying these waters!
Jan, ever the cartophile...
But she's from Barcelona. I mean New England. But this is Honnigsvag.
It was great sport trying to find the equivalent of Alka Seltzer in these towns. We're so spoiled, used to most people being able to speak at least a little English. As you can imagine, hand gestures go a long way in asking for something for an unsettled stomach. Some things are just universal!
This statue pretty much says what these coastal communities are all about...
A rainbow was a fitting end to another fine day...
This is Dixie, and Elaine sitting down, the woman we dined with for the second half of the cruise...
Kirkenes. I wasn't feeling great, so Jan did a turn about town... she could see Russia (she claims with a wink) as Kirkenes is only 10 km from the Russian border. Kirkenes is the turn around point, so the journey was half over, all too quickly of course.
An incredible day!
Well, Clinton thought it was funny... Clinton had told us on the way back to the Nordnorge, that a polar bear had been in the area up ahead for a while now, and maybe we would get to see it....
Another superlative for us... the second 'northernmost town in the world' we've been to on this trip!
Yet another 'northernmost' town... or city, or something...
Apparently they managed to keep Hammerfest named a 'town' as opposed to a 'city' so that it could also claim a 'northernmost' designation... or something like that. So on this trip, we've been to Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway, claiming (rightfully, I think), to be the northernmost city... the North Cape, the northernmost point on the European Continent... and Hammerfest, claiming to be the northernmost town. At any rate... ok, everybody now... It's out there, Jan!
Certainly a good place for the Royal And Ancient Polar Bear Society.
Elvis had wanted to be a member of the Polar Bear Society, but they turned him down since he had not actually been on site here. We did a polar dip in Antarctica, and some hot tubs in the Arctic. We're good.
There's a cool monument to mark this northern point. The chill wind blew on this rare, brilliant, sunny day, the last day of summer in the northern hemisphere... it was special having it to ourselves for a short while after everybody else went inside for breakfast. We weren't cold at all.
The earth and it's moon...
Children of the Earth
On June 15, 1988, a group of seven children from Tanzania, Brazil, Japan, Thailand, Italy, Soviet Union, and USA were gathered here at the North Cape. In one week they created the monument 'Barn av Jorden' / 'Children of the Earth,' a symbol of cooperation, friendship, hope, and joy.
C'mon, man!
And then we headed back to meet the ship.
There were beautiful, striated, volcanic rocks for miles.
For Jon... because he knew how to play...
The indigenous people here, the Sammi's, raise and herd reindeer for food and warm pelts. Apparently the reindeer don't get it about roads, and are hit and killed at an alarming rate since they will just stand or lay in the dark roadways. So one ingenious tribesman came up with the idea of painting their antlers with neon paint. It has worked famously!
It might sober you up seeing this on the road after having one too many...
As if getting up at 4:30 AM wasn't enough, we had unwittingly scheduled another excursion for midnight this same day. A concert... piano, flute and a soprano... in an acoustically perfect Arctic Church... a nice mix of contemporary Norwegian music, Norwegian folk music, and some classical pieces. It was truly beautiful!
Nice day!
Autumnal Equinox
The conditions weren't right on the way up, but were perfect on the way back down the coast, to venture into Trollfjord, an incredible and somewhat small fjord between the Vesteralen and Lofoton Islands. In a word, magnificent! We hung out on deck for more than two hours, having it almost to ourselves most of that time while most of the others ate... a woman came by and, noting how everyone was eating while we sailed through this incredible scenery, said "Like they're going to starve!" But as we always think, this sheep-like behavior leaves the good stuff for those of us who appreciate it.
If you've ever had a finer view, you need not pay the troll...
Laundry and taking it easy... a walk about Bronnoysund wherein we learned about the Norwegian version of Alka Seltzer, and Adele scored another doting great grand parental present. Samarin goes Fizz Fizz without the Plop Plop.
We have been dining with Elaine, from California, at the evening dinners since Liz and Dixie disembarked in Kirkenes. She has been delightful to visit with, of course another Hillary fan as is everyone we've met, Americans and Europeans alike... the whole world dreads a Trump win!
24 September
Marble Mine excursion... cancelled! We had been wishing we hadn't reserved this excursion, it being the last day of the voyage, but they wouldn't refund our money so we thought we'd get all ready to disembark the next day and go ahead and do the excursion.
This cruise has been everything we had hoped and then some... so it shouldn't have surprised us that they had to cancel the thing themselves due to a scheduling conflict, of course with a full refund. So we will spend a leisurely day appreciating the incredible views and being pampered on board. And of course it is another brilliant sun-shiny day... even the crew has been carrying on about the fine weather we've had, and taking pictures right along with us tourist types.
We disembarked in Bergen after a fabulous voyage, and were bused to our hotel. We had a morning flight the next day to Stockholm. Jan went down to the main market area and got some wool booties, since she had not found a sweater she liked. Swiss Laurie, Heidi, the woman we met on the Hurtigruten who looks a lot like our friend, Laurie, was staying at the same hotel... and then she and Jan saw each other again that evening in the wool shop where Jan got her booties. There's poetry there in continually running into this woman, as it was Laurie who first told us about this incredible cruise.
We flew to Stockholm, and took a taxi to our AirBnB lodging, a whole small flat, all to ourselves, on the second floor, with this view out the front. Olle, the host, is actually in the US now, traveling on business... he's a young man, working in technology.
Olle's mum, Maud, met us at the door and got us situated. This was a good find! Maud is a kindred art enthusiast, and had brochures and maps for us along with tips about getting around Stockholm.
Michael declared a day off for himself today... time to catch up on the blog, and just to unwind.
Jan went out to consignment shops, and to get the lay of land as she likes to do, and she got some groceries.. We did a short evening stroll around the neighborhood, and ate delicious sandwiches in a little coffee/sandwich shop near our flat. Even here where folks are used to the cold, we were the only ones eating outside (of course they provide blankets)... watching the buzz of the city.
28 Septemer
We took a ferry to Djuogatten, one of the suburbs, or regions, of Stockholm. We didn't like the hop-on/hop-off ferries... we had hoped they would be like the Batobus in Paris, but alas. This ferry just ran back and forth between Djiuogatten and a place near a subway stop we could easily reach. But the area was interesting, and rich with history and attractions... and it was a beautiful day.
We've noticed a real preponderance of babies and strollers. I put it down to the people being used to the colder weather, so they just bundle themselves and their babies up and get out when they can. Jan thought that still didn't account for how many we were seeing, Sure enough, later in the trip, we were told that Sweden (and the other Scandanavian countries) are actually trying to increase their populations and so are offering perks to families for having more children.
We forwent the ABBA Museum but certainly would have attended an Opera in this fine venue...
We had hoped we wouldn't miss Fall, our favourite season. We needn't have worried... as it turned out, we saw Fall in 10 countries this year since the colors were still peaking when we got home.
We had lunch at a nice little outside cafe near the ABBA museum... Jan knew the owner...
We tarried, watching these swans by the ferry stop, opting to wait until the next ferry 30 minutes later. Well, best laid plans... the ferry pulled up but wasn't letting us board, and they finally announced that the engine was broken and there would be no more ferries today. But these islands are all interconnected by bridges and transit systems, so we were able to find our way back after a ride on a tram, and then the subway.
Jan talked me into touring the Royal Palace, and it was truly incredible. Really, people live like this? Apparently so, as part of the Palace is the home to the current King and Queen of Sweden. Then we found a quiet place, Jerusalem Kebab, to have lunch off of the beaten path, which was crowded with tourists from one of the big cruise ships. The meal was hearty and filling, and amazingly inexpensive, tucked away just a few feet from the busiest tourist street... we had a little courtyard area all to ourselves.
And we walked around Gamla Stan, the old town... there are lots of cool, old buildings and museums everywhere you look in Stockholm. It's a bustling, modern city, but the history and well kept old buildings are everywhere as well,
Our shower head had dropped and broken this morning, so I had called Maud and explained that it just seemed to need a new, screw-on head. When we got home, it was fixed! Good service in an AirBnB... thanks Maud! And to cap off a long but relaxing day, we had a violinist in our subway car on the short ride back to our digs.
Michael stroking his goatee in the mirror in the Don Juan room...
This is just ceiling detail!
That's what happens.
Brilliant sun-shiny day to start after a night of strong wind. We tubed and walked over to the Photography Museum. The exhibitions were by Anton Corbijn, titled '1 2 3 4,' gritty black and white photos of musicians and bands... Helene Schmitz, titled 'Transitions,' nature suggesting time and eternal transition... Mustafa Jano, titled 'Every Person Has Lost Something,' a disturbing look at the ravages of war, with a focus on the children who were born into this war in Syria and have never known any other life.
Mustafa Jano combines photography and digital art to make his poignant images. The photos are either his own, or were found on the Internet in the public domain. Jano escaped Syria, leaving a family behind, hoping to risk the danger of fleeing by rickety boat himself in the interest of later being able to bring his family out safely.
We had a nice lunch at the museum, with a fantastic view overlooking one of the main harbors of this city built on 14 islands. Then we made it back to our AirBnB apartment, overlooking yet another of Stockholm's waterways, and had dinner in, and relaxed and read our books.
1 October
We went out for breakfast for a change, but nothing was open on a Saturday until 9:00, even the restaurants and cafes. On weekdays, of course the streets and subways and cafes are teeming with people at an early hour. Eggs for breakfast, when you can find them, are hard boiled. We finally scared up an omelette and salad at 9:00, then took a little walk around our area. In a city built on 14 islands, you are hard pressed to not find yourself by the water... something we very much like.
Then we went back to our apartment and I packed while Jan walked over to check out the hotel we will be transferring to tomorrow to begin our Baltic cruise from. Fortuitously, she ran into our guide for the trip, Mikhail ( good name!), and was able to meet him and get the low down.
After strong winds yesterday and last night, we awoke this morning to yet another brilliant day... the lighting around water is so special and vibrant... and it was so still, the mirror-like water outside our apartment reflecting the boats and buildings in the long morning light. We have sensed that the evening bustle that we've noticed is folks enjoying not just the good weather, but also anticipating the impending darkness and cold of the winter mouths. Brilliant!
We've thought my mangled attempts at sounding Swedish sounded like the Swedish Chef on Saturday Night Live. Jan thought it very amusing to pose me with a Swedish Chef hat...
And the view from our top story room was rather fine!
3 October
Stockholm, Sweden. And away we go... cruise #2 on this trip... on the Corinthian, the same 98 passenger ship we took to Antarctica four years ago...
The Nobel Museum...
Something like a gazillion gold tiles in the gold room...
Apparently rubbing this boy's head will give you good fortune...
We had lunch at the restaurant where several scenes of the original Swedish movie, 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was filmed and then we had some free time before boarding the ship, so Jan and I opted to visit the Nobel Museum. We tried to pay, but they told us it was free for a couple of hours right now because Nobel prizes were being announced. Cool! We found ourselves right in the entry of the museum where people were seated and the winner of the Nobel Physics prize was being announced.
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2016 was divided, one half awarded to David J Thouless, the other half jointly to F. Dundan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz "for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter."
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2016 was divided, one half awarded to David J Thouless, the other half jointly to F. Dundan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz "for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter."
This fellow won that very prize a few years ago...
The Nobel Museum...
And earlier we went to the City Building, where they hold the annual Nobel Awards dinner... and were Bob Dylan will not be receiving his Nobel for Literature this year.
Something like a gazillion gold tiles in the gold room...
At last... our familiar old Corinthian that we went to Antarctica on in 2011. It turned out that there were a few others on this sailing that had also take the Corinthian to Antarctica back in the day. Jan's ready to get out there again...
We ended up with only 79 people on the cruise, and only 18 in our group, not many more than the usual maximum of 16 people on the OAT trips (Grand Circle is the sister company of OAT). Misha, a native Russian, is our knowledgeable and enthusiastic group guide.
After the usual emergency drill, Jan and I went out on Deck 6 at the front of the boat, where the hot tub we will definitely take advantage of is, and enjoyed the scenery as we made our way through the Swedish Archipelago and out to open sea on our way to our first destination, Helsinki, Finland. It was a bit chilly but sunny... and as is so often the case, we had it all to ourselves while the others huddled inside... ah, the joys of traveling during the shoulder seasons! This is the last sailing of this trip this year.
During a daily briefing, we were told to expect considerable rocking of the ship tonight, and we were not disappointed... it's only rock and roll and we like it... nice way to fall asleep!
At dinner, we sat with Tommy and Vivian, James and Denise, and Eedie. Tommy and Vivian have the most OAT/Grand Circle trips of those on this trip, 17 in all (this is Jan's and my 6th), and, like Jan and I, had also taken the Corinthian to Antarctica... and this is the fourth trip they have taken with James and Denise. And Eedie liked touching my hair!
Correction... a gal named Maggie, from Arvada as it turns out, has 35 trips! But who's counting?
4 October
Helsinki, Finland. I skipped breakfast this morning to relax and enjoy some 'down' time.. we visit 7 countries in 12 days, a rather frenetic pace... YeeHaw! Jan went up for some breakfast and brought me something to eat back to the cabin... best room service a fellow can get! Now Jan is up doing the meet and greet... I'm not about to meet people via ear buds in my ears using these Whisper gadgets they are using. A bit impersonal for me and I hate using these things even for the excursions... I'll get my dry facts from Wikipedia and Google... I'd rather experience the here and now without electronics in my ears. And the danger of crossing unfamiliar streets with a guide harping in your ear. But don't get me started.
We walked and bused around Helsinki today seeing the sights, starting with the Sibelius Monument, dedicated to the Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. Sibelius is also the favorite of conductor, Rodrigo's crazy ex-wife in the TV hit, "Mozart in the Jungle."
We walked and bused around Helsinki today seeing the sights, starting with the Sibelius Monument, dedicated to the Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. Sibelius is also the favorite of conductor, Rodrigo's crazy ex-wife in the TV hit, "Mozart in the Jungle."
And a church carved out of a rock...
With a very cool organ that was being tuned while we were there...
Helsinki is the world's preeminent builder of ice breaker ships,
and has always been a major shipbuilding nation.
5 October
St Petersburg, Russia. We had a little driving tour of the popular areas, and then headed for the Hermitage. I wasn't looking forward to being guided around the Hermitage... as opposed to wandering around on our own. But I must say, it was for the best. Like the Louvre or any of the world's huge museums, the Hermitage is overwhelming. Our guide was a local gal named Olga and was pretty good, at least what I could hear without those infernal ear buds. Also like the Louvre, you could spend many days, or many weeks, exploring this vast wealth of art and art history, and we had only a few hours.
But first, a passport check in this lovely facility...
Nations are rather enamored of their mounted warriors. I bet we saw at least 100 different mounted heroes on this trip. Something about they're great because they conquered somebody... or something.
Michaelangelo accepted the bet that he couldn't create a life-size human form out of a cube of marble. So of course he created a masterpiece!
And, after no little consideration, Jan got an Amber Pendant. We were subsequently told, there is no 'Russian Amber,' no 'Swedish Amber.' It is all considered 'Baltic Amber.' Jan was looking for a piece encasing a dinosaur. I mean, who isn't?
Then in the evening, we went to a Russian Folk Show presentation. A bit touristy, but enjoyable.
Steven, one of the four guides, told Jan and I today that he wished we were in his group... so that was flattering. I had been worried about keeping up, but was often one of those helping the less mobile. We were pleased that the guides were so understanding and accommodating for those that occasionally struggled.
And a nice punctuation on the day was a chap playing violin as we disembarked for the various excursions (Russia was the only country we had to do the passport check every time we left and returned to the ship)... turns out that one of the few songs this fellow knows is "The Street Where You Live," which was a big fave of my mom, Janet. We tipped him in your honor, Mom!
But first, a passport check in this lovely facility...
So many of the buildings are stark, yet there are some incredibly beautiful buildings as well.
Similar buildings lining the many canals, but there are signs explaining it all clearly...
And of course, a man on a horse.
And women too... Catherine the Great...
Or you might get a pacifist horse that doesn't want to go to war...
A most amazing clock...
Check out the video of this clock in action...
Michaelangelo accepted the bet that he couldn't create a life-size human form out of a cube of marble. So of course he created a masterpiece!
There's Royalty everywhere in this part of the world...
And a nice punctuation on the day was a chap playing violin as we disembarked for the various excursions (Russia was the only country we had to do the passport check every time we left and returned to the ship)... turns out that one of the few songs this fellow knows is "The Street Where You Live," which was a big fave of my mom, Janet. We tipped him in your honor, Mom!
6 October
St Petersburg, Russia.
St Petersburg, Russia.
Peterhof Palace. Impressive!
Straight out to the sea...
And the grounds...
Trick fountains occupy a special place among the 18th century Peterhof fountains. Nowhere else in the world can you find so many trick fountains as in the Peterhof parks, although at one time they were almost a compulsory feature of the formal garden. As well as the seat in Monplaisir, the trick fountains known as the Little Oak, the Fir Tree and the Umbrealla are still working.
Walking round the park at the height of summer visitors suddenly see some beautiful tulips under a shady "oak tree." They bend down to take a closer look, and jets of water suddenly shoot up at them from the flowers. They step back hurriedly under the oak tree, only to be greeted by further jets from the leaves and branches, which are made of hollow pipes. The visitors flee to two welcoming benches nearby, but jets of water shoot up from them too, inscribin an arc, that gives them yet another soaking.
And we were whisked away to another, more modernized palace for lunch...
I was getting done with trudging through churches and buildings, incredible as most of them are, But seeing a palace in the morning, and eating lunch at another palace, apparently wasn't enough... scheduled for the afternoon, we had St Isaac's Cathedral.
Wow! Even though I was told to remove my hat, just wow! As is often the case, photos don't do it justice. Normally an interior like in this church would be too busy for my liking... but this place is exquisite. The materials, the design, the colors, the proportions, everything. It's a true work of art. Art meets architecture. Wow!
Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor (Russian: Исаа́киевский Собо́р) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral (sobor) in the city. It is the largest orthodox basilica and the fourth largest (by the volume under the cupola) cathedral in the world.[1] It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great, who had been born on the feast day of that saint.
The church on St Isaac's Square was ordered by Tsar Alexander I, to replace an earlier structure by Vincenzo Brenna, and was the fifth consecutive church standing at this place.[2] A specially appointed commission examined several designs, including that of the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand (1786–1858), who had studied in the atelier of Napoleon's designer, Charles Percier.
The cathedral took 40 years to construct, under Montferrand's direction, from 1818 to 1858.[2] To secure the construction, the cathedral's foundation was strengthened by driving 25,000 piles into the fenland of Saint Petersburg. Innovative methods were created to erect the giant columns of the portico. The construction costs of the cathedral totalled an incredible sum of 1 000 000 gold rubles.
St Isaac's Cathedral is the most impressive building I've seen...
A dove at the apex of the cupola...
William Handyside and other engineers used a number of technological innovations in the construction of the building.[10] The portico columns were raised with the use of large wooden frameworks before the walls were erected. The building rests on 10,000 tree trunks[2] that were sunk by a large number of workers into the marshy banks upon which the cathedral is situated.
The dome was gilded by a technique similar to spraypainting; the solution used included toxic mercury, the vapors of which caused the deaths of sixty workers.[11][12]). The dozen gilded statues of angels, each six metres tall, facing each other across the interior of the rotunda, were constructed using galvanoplastic technology,[2] making them only millimeters thick and very lightweight. St. Isaac's Cathedral represents the first use of this technique in architecture.
The meticulous and painstakingly detailed work on constructing the St. Isaac's Cathedral took 40 years to complete, and left an expression in the Finnish language, rakentaa kuin Iisakin kirkkoa ("to build like St. Isaac's Church"), for lengthy and never-ending megaprojects.
This statue of the architect was made out of 14 different Italian Marbles...
Auguste de Montferrand (January 23, 1786 – July 10, 1858) was a French Neoclassical architect who worked primarily in Russia. His two best known works are the Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg.
And while the others shopped during some free time, Jan and I went to the State Art Museum, holding the second largest collection of Russian art next to Moscow.
First Step by Fyodor Kamensky, 1872
The young sculptor...
And the pièce de résistance...
Even the statue thinks so!
7 October
Tallinn, Estonia. I took this morning off; Jan went for the guided tour. Lunch at 12:45, then free time in town. We took a turn about town and got some tchotchkes. It is a quaint little town, today with hordes of tourists.. Jan has been looking for a nice hand-knit sweater but has not found any she likes so far.
Yep, of course, a Medieval Torture Instruments Museum!
The sweater wall in Tallinn, Estonia...
And around the corner from the sweater wall...
Down a dark street...
Yep, of course, a Medieval Torture Instruments Museum!
But instead, we spent our time in Tallinn Estonia enjoying hot chocolate and people watching...
After dinner, there was a vodka tasting on board the ship as we sailed toward Latvia. We were shown how to drink a shot of vodka from our shoulder and from our elbow, and other wondrous tricks... and left with the toast, "May the wind at your back always be your own."
We were informed at the daily briefing that we wouldn't be able to visit Gotland, Sweden's biggest island. We would have had to cross the Baltic with a considerable side wind, and then might not have been allowed to leave the island until the weather had improved. Instead, we would visit Lithuania, the only country on the Baltic (other than Germany) that we were not scheduled to visit on this trip. So, with Norway and all of the Baltic States, this would be a nine country trip.
8 October
Riga Latvia. Jan went with the group on rainy walking tour of the town in the morning while I caught up on my beauty sleep. This was one of the 2 or 3 times it rained on this 6 week trip, and it didn't rain much on those occasions. In the afternoon, we did a hot tub on board, same tub we took one in on the other side of the world in Antarctica four years ago... ahhhhhhh!
We skipped the House of Horrors excursion about the KGB atrocities during the second world war... we're sticking with our choice of the hot tub in lieu of that. Then after dinner, we watched a Latvian Folk Music/Dance presentation...
We did 2 hot tubs on the trip, the only ones who used the tub at all. W pretty much had the 6th deck to ourselves... it has glass shields to protect from the wind, nice patio furniture, and of course the hot tub. The outside temperature was probably in the upper 30's and 40's when we used the tub. We had it to ourselves!
And it was an elephant on the bed with our nightly chocolates when we got back to the room...
9 October
Riga, Latvia. Rundale Palace tour, featuring an excursion through the countryside on our way to the Palace. Apparently the Queen du jour built the Palace for her lover to keep him away from her husband. Lunch locally, not great, at a small crowded old style restaurant. Back to the ship, then Jan and I did another hot tub as we set sail for Klaipeda, Lithuania, the water sloshing in the tub as we got underway... YeeHaw...
These porcelain stoves, used throughout Europe for hundreds of years, were both decorative and functional, the tiles being fabricated in a factory, or sometimes painted directly in place. And the radiant heat they give off is wonderful. Our friends, Carl and Elisabeth in France, have a small version of one of these and they swear by it.
Fall beauty... and look at those leaves!
The Palace itself is, as most, ostentatious opulence upon opulence.
I always marvel at how all of this incredible stuff was built without power tools!
10 October
Klaipeda, Lithuania. We tood a short walk around town in the morning with the group and had lunch on board the ship. They wanted us to like Lithuania since it was a change from the original itinerary. Some folks were disappointed about not getting to go to the Swedish island of Gotland, including one fellow that planned to contact some long lost relative. So they had a band playing as we disembarked for the excursions.
Then in the afternoon, our bus was ferried across the water to the Curonian Spit (much like our Cape Cod) for a ride about. The landward part of this little peninsula is Russian, and the outer part is Lithuanian... like Palin, the guide noted, we could see Russia. There were lots of cormorants, same as on Cape Cod. And while having some hot chocolate, we met some Germans headed to Russia to trace family roots.
Unlike the Cape, there are actually Moose in the woods on this spit, though we didn't see any.
I don't think we've ever been anywhere where they don't have McDonalds!
Hmmmm... I didn't check out any inscription or anything here, just took a pic because it's a chess set. On my chess website, I've always had the quote by Siegbert Tarrasch, the famous chess player, "Chess, like music, like love, has the power to make people happy." And now I just checked out Wikipedia and it turns out Tarrasch was born in this part of the world. Note the stylized piano sculpture there with the chess set. Chess, like music, like love...
Unlike the Cape, there are actually Moose in the woods on this spit, though we didn't see any.
And then it was off to Poland...
11 October
Gdansk, Poland. Nice town. Nice blend of old and new.
Gdansk, Poland. Nice town. Nice blend of old and new.
Amber for sale everywhere!
Jan and I forwent yet another presentation about Amber and so had time for a more leisurely walk about, including some apple pie and coffee in an outdoor cafe.
A young woman named Agatha, and her 3 year old son, hosted us for lunch here in their modern Gdansk apartment building...
Agatha and her husband have a car rental business.
That's Bea and Kathleen, who we would also have dinner with, on the far side of the table below. After learning of our liberal bent, Bea invited us to join them for dinner that evening.
And this was precipitated by an 'almost Trump vs Hillary' yelling match between a conservative Texas couple and the rest of our group who were liberal. Which came up because Agatha, our hostess, said that America was killing it's children purposely with vaccinations, and that the holistic doctors who had discovered it had been lined up and shot, and that Hillary probably had something to do with it!!! I told her she was misinformed and asked her where she got that information. 'From Facebook and the Internet,' she said. Wow! I think, because she grew up during Soviet times, that she still has that feeling that that is just how governments do. So this was enlightening... and scary!
And this is Julian, Agatha's little boy... he thought we were all there to entertain him.
Then on to the Solidarity Museum...
The Solidarity Museum, a purposely stark building.
Lech Welesa signing the momentous Gdansk Agreement...
This is the 'Solidarity' wall, where visitors can write something on a red or white card and add it to the wall. There are thousands and thousands of cards. This museum was a moving experience.
Jan wrote simply, VOTE.
And after dinner back at the ship, the crew regaled us with their silly version of Cinderella...
12 October
Ronne, Denmark. We had a morning bus and walking tour of Ronne. Then lunch back at the ship, then Jan went outside and I did some packing. Later in the afternoon, there was a presentation by a Syrian Refugee family. The woman told of their harrowing and frightening escape from Syria with their two children. What a horror these people have known. They have started a new life here, but they would like to go back if the fighting ever stopped.
Irene and Neil motioned us over to eat dinner with them in the evening. It seems we have become desired dinner companions. They are an interesting pair, he a publisher, and she an 'earth mother' type... fun to talk to. And the staff had made about a hundred towel animals while we were eating and we came across them as we made our way back to our cabins.
Mirrors so you can see what your neighbors are up to...
13 October
Copenhagen, Denmark. We did a walking and bus tour of Copenhagen this morning, starting with the famous Little Mermaid sculpture in the harbor. It's smaller than I imagined. Apparently we were lucky to be there in the shoulder season since during the busy times, they say you can't even get close enough for a photograph. Like many of the cities on this itinerary, Copenhagen is a nice blend of the old and the modern.
As in Amsterdam, the bicycle is the primary mode of transportation in the city...
We had lunch on our own. We ate at on the main tourist drag, at El Presidente, as did others in our group but as usual we were the only ones eating outside. Then we checked into our hotel, The Royal Admiral, a cool old building with unique rooms... our room looked out over a canal to the Copenhagen Opera House, a rather ugly building we thought.
It looked better at night...
Jan and I took a walk near the hotel, and wandered down the canal to take photos of the replica of 'The David' by Michaelangelo we had seen earlier on the tour.
Soren Kierkegaard
There was no hot water in the hotel, or anywhere in the area, we were informed. All part of the adventure of travel, they told us. They thought it would be on by 9:00, and it did come on at some point during the night... which was good, as we wanted showers to get ready for the many hours of travel we had ahead.
As in Amsterdam, the bicycle is the primary mode of transportation in the city...
It looked better at night...
Soren Kierkegaard
14 October
Violetta, one of the tour guides, asked us to watch out for Maggie, as we boarded the bus for the airport. Which was good as it turned out, they had her going to the wrong terminal for her flight. But she was put in a wheelchair and wheeled over to the correct terminal, which it turned out was the same terminal we were going to... and Maggie was actually on the same flight as us. We had wondered the whole trip who the other Colorado traveler was that lived in Arvada. Yep, it was Maggie!Jan and I both have colds. :( Our flight left a little late as they didn't have all of the documentation for some software upgrade on the plane, but it wasn't long, and we did make our connection in Frankfurt.
And miles to go before we sleep. But what a fine trip!
And we'd be home in time for Halloween...
Next summer, Africa again... Kenya, Tanzania... and Rwanda to see mountain gorillas.
From this current Arctic trip... to the Equator next summer...
Our traditional "feet up" photos... ahhhhhh!
Four years ago in Antarctica...
And four years later on this trip... same ship, same hot tub, other end of the earth...
Fair winds...
