Helsinki, Finland…Another fine city in the Baltic…How’s it going?…

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Exquisite house on the waterfront in Helsinki.

Due to the slow internet issues aboard the ship, the details of many photos were impossible to load.  

Today is Day 11 of this Royal Caribbean Baltic cruise. Tomorrow, we pack, leaving our bags outside the door to our cabin by 10:00 pm, and they will be whisked away to the luggage area in the port of Amsterdam.

Harbor in Helsinki.

On Friday, the day of disembarkation, we’ll collect our bags early in the morning and head to the airport by taxi, where we’ll wait for a few hours for our short flight to Exeter, England. Once we pick up the rental car in Exeter, we’ll be on our way to the first of four of the holiday homes we’ve rented in England.

Another historic building in Helsinki.

It’s a wonderful feeling, one we’ll always relish, that once one leg of our journey has ended, another begins, offering us a feeling of freedom, expectation, and sheer joy for this life we lead.  We can only pray it will continue for years to come.

Contemporary statue in Helsinki.

This has been a good cruise, but not outstanding.  The ship, although updated, is clean and well-appointed but isn’t as unique as some other cruise ships we’ve experienced in the past seven years.  

Market Square – an outdoor market and food fair.

However, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people and seeing several countries we’d never visited in the past.  Would we return to any of these countries for an extended stay should the opportunity arise?  Probably not.  

Uspenski Cathedral.

Although interesting to see via this medium, nothing about the new-to-us countries made us hunger to live there for two or three months.  The tours were excellent, and we loved taking in the personality of each of the cities.

Uspenski Cathedral.

Each morning we had free, we spent time in the L’Attitudes Cafe on deck five preparing the day’s post.  As you are all well aware, we missed posting for a few days due to the poor WiFi signal and our busy schedule.

Helsinki Cathedral.

From here on, we see no reason why we won’t be able to upload posts unless we run into more severe WiFi issues. We still have hundreds of unseen photos in the file for each country, but over the next few months, on quiet days in England, we can always add them from time to time.

Train station entrance.

We’re looking forward to arriving in Cornwall in the smallish town of Falmouth in only about 48 hours.  With ocean views from the cottage, once again, we’ll find the experience highly fulfilling. Also, it is a short walk to the town, which we hope to explore on foot as much as possible.

“Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran church in the Töölö neighborhood of Helsinki. The church was designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Built directly into solid rock, it is also known as the Church of the Rock and Rock Church.”

How am I feeling? I’ve concluded and accepted that it will take months to get the awful drugs out of my system. Hopefully, in time, I’ll feel less pain in my legs when walking, less breathlessness, and fewer bouts of erratic pulse and blood pressure, which only occurs once or twice a day.  

Historical building.

These are common side effects when weaning off all three of the meds. At this point, I still have 30% of the initial dose of 2.5 mg of bisoprolol left from which to wean myself.  

WiFi is too slow to find names of sculptures in Helsinki.

The amiodarone can stay in one’s system for six months to a year. At this point, it’s hard to tell which of the drugs is causing the most discomfort as I wean off of them. The mid-day sleepiness, pain in my legs, and general feelings of weakness and malaise continue to plague me.    

Government building.

Hopefully, one day soon, I’ll awaken one morning and be free of this struggle. Thank you to our readers and my dear husband Tom for being so supportive as I get through this period.

Shopping mall.

And, a special thanks to all of you who continue to write to us, offering comfort, motivation, and a wealth of encouragement.    

SkyWheel Helsinki Ferris wheel near the harbor – 40-m. Observation wheel offering panoramic 360-degree views over the city skyline.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with more as we collect the information needed to share the total costs of this cruise with all of you. Please check back.

The architectural style of buildings is commonly found in Helsinki.

Have a peaceful and fulfilling day and night.

 
Photo from one year ago today, August 21, 2018:
Tom is right at home while on safari. We’ve learned so much over these years. It’s all the more exciting. For more Chobe photos, please click here.
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Part 2…St. Petersburg, Russia…A city to remember…Peterhof Fountain Park and Gardens…

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Due to a poor WiFi signal, I am unable to add captions to today’s photos.  All photos included here today were taken at Peterhof Fountain Park and Gardens in St. Petersburg. Please see this link for historical data.

Once we arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday, we’d anticipated that there would be a lot of walking.  Little did we know how much there would be, far more than any walking I’d done in a long time.


We knew we ran the risk of having to cancel all or part of the prepaid two-day tour. As it turned out, as mentioned in a prior post, I made it through Day 1 but knew another such day would be impossible. We bowed out of Day 2 and lost the amount we’d paid for the second half of the tour. There was nothing we could do.


We spoke to several passengers who stated that Day 1 was more significant in the sites visited, but more walking was on Day 2. We did the right thing. We thoroughly enjoyed the sites we did manage to see during the entire day’s tour. 

Today we’re sharing photos from Peterhof Fountain Park and Garden, our second stop for the day, here again requiring lots of walking. We managed to stay up with the group except for one short segment with many stairs to climb.  We waited until they returned a short time later and continued with the group.


It was odd, but in St. Petersburg, there were few benches and places to rest. Most likely, with the massive crowds at these venues, they wanted to keep the public on the move rather than languishing on benches.

An important aspect of visiting Russia is that no one is allowed to enter the country without a planned tour and the documentation to prove it.  


The tour company’s provided itinerary and proof of payment allow ship passengers to enter the country. However, we still had to go through immigration both entering and to depart the ship, each time showing the tour documents along with our passports.

Otherwise, visitors must obtain an expensive visa with certain limitations. If we had not booked the tours, we would have needed a prepaid visa for Russia to board the ship (although the cruise line wasn’t very diligent in verifying this).

Our experiences in Russia were interesting and enjoyable. I doubt we’ll return since most likely we wouldn’t care to stay for an extended period. But, we’re grateful we had the opportunity to experience it on this Baltic Cruise on Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas.

Today is a sea day and tonight is another formal night. Fortunately, I’d purchased three somewhat simple dresses that are floor-length, which arrived in the shipment from the US while we were in South Africa.  

I’d purchased the dresses long before the surgery, but much to my delight, they have round necklines and completely cover all of the scars on my legs and chest.  Tom has black pants and a white dress shirt. That’s the extent of our formal night attire.


For some odd reason, I thought this cruise would be ending in Amsterdam on Thursday when it will be Friday. We still have one more port of call, but in the interim, I will be trying to catch up on posts for other countries we’ve visited thus far with many accumulated photos. On this particular cruise, we’ve visited every port of call in countries all new to us.

This afternoon, besides socializing as always, we plan to see yet another movie in the theatre. We love going to the movies since we never do so in other countries, often due to a language barrier. Neither of us cares to watch movies with subtitles.


Have a fantastic Tuesday filled with wonder.

Photo from one year ago today, August 20, 2018:

A bazaar in Zambia.  We looked but didn’t buy. For more photos, please click here.

Part 1…St. Petersburg, Russia…A city to remember…The Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral…

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“The Peter and Paul Cathedral (Russian: Петропавловский собор) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 on Hare Island along the Neva River. Both the cathedral and the fortress were originally built under Peter the Great and designed by Domenico Trezzini. The cathedral’s bell tower is the world’s tallest Orthodox bell tower. Since the belfry is not standalone but an integral part of the main building, the cathedral is sometimes considered the highest Orthodox Church in the world. There is another Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul Church in St. Petersburg, located in Petergof.”
This Baltic cruise provided us with an opportunity to visit and subsequently add six new countries to our world travel itinerary. We hadn’t added many new lands in the past few years, and this is particularly exciting.
Sailors were walking down the street with a mission in mind.

It’s not as if we’re on a mission to experience most of the world’s safe-to-visit countries. That was never the purpose or goal of our world travels. Instead, it’s simply fun to add more countries to our travel map on the right side of our home page.

On the streets of St. Petersburg, this Russian woman had an impressive arrangement of fresh fruit cups available for sale.

These Baltic countries have been exciting and unique compared to many other countries we’ve toured in almost seven years. Never in our travels had we been to Russia or other of the Baltic countries.

The luxury in the cathedral is indescribable.

Today, as we travel through Scandinavian countries, we find a very different feel from European countries, except for the varying designs of many churches and historical buildings.

There were so many tourists inside the Peter and Paul Cathedral. It was challenging to take photos without including them.

Let’s face it…buildings 200 or more years old seem to take on decor, design, and ambiance of specific typical characteristics, architecturally interesting, significant, at times flashy, and often made of gold and valuable stones, marble, wood, and jewels.

“The current building, the first stone church in St. Petersburg, was designed by Trezzini and built between 1712 and 1733. Its gold-painted spire reaches a height of 123 meters (404 ft) and features an angel holding a cross at its top. This angel is one of the most important symbols of St. Petersburg. The cathedral’s architecture also features a unique iconostasis (the screen which separates the church’s nave from the sanctuary). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the iconostasis is normally a flat wall or screen with three doors through it. The central Holy Doors are used only for very solemn entrances and the two side doors by which the clergy and others enter and leave the sanctuary. However, at St. Peter and Paul, the iconostasis rises to form a tower over the sanctuary. The cathedral has a typical Flemish carillon, a gift of the Flemish city of Mechelen, Flanders.”

After seeing 100’s of historic buildings, we’re always searching for an unusual or unique series of features that can take our breath away. This happened in St. Petersburg a few days ago.

Pure gold was used in creating the exquisite ambiance of this famous cathedral.

As mentioned in our last post, found here, I wasn’t able to participate in Day 2 of our St. Petersburg tour due to my difficulty walking. After the previous day’s 12,000 steps ending at 13,500 when wandering about the ship that evening, my legs hurt enough to prevent us from another long day on foot.

“The cathedral is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, the patron saints of the fortress (Saint Peter being the patron saint of the city). The current cathedral is the second one on the site. The first, built soon after Peter found the city, was consecrated by Archbishop Iov of Novgorod the Great in April 1704.  The cathedral was the cathedral church (i.e., the seat of the bishop; the term cathedral—sobor (собор) in Russian—can mean the seat of a bishop, but it can also mean simply a large or important church) of the city until 1859 (when St Isaacs became the city’s cathedral.) The current cathedral church of St. Petersburg is the Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospect. The cathedral was closed in 1919 and turned into a museum in 1924. It is still officially a museum; religious services, however, resumed in 2000.”

Yesterday morning we were docked in Helsinki, Finland, and after attempting to post with no luck, we took off for town, utilizing a  private taxi which is the most accessible means for me.  

As we moved through the immense structure, we discovered one fantastic scene after another.

Photos aren’t as good as they’d be when on foot on the Hop-On, Hop-Off buses since they have to be taken through the glass windows, although it’s better than not going at all.

The remains of many leaders and their family members were interred within the church walls.

Years ago, we wouldn’t get off at some ports-of-call on some cruises, especially in the Caribbean, when we’d already been to many cruise lines owned islands intended for passengers to spend, spend, spend…on drinks, beach chairs, umbrellas, and trinkets.  

“The cathedral houses the remains of almost all the Russian emperors and empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas II and his family, who were finally laid to rest in July 1998. Among the emperors and empresses buried here was Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia for 34 years.  Of the post-Petrine rulers, only Peter II and Ivan VI are not buried here. Peter II is buried in the Cathedral of Michael the Archangel in the Moscow Kremlin; Ivan VI was executed and buried in the fortress of Shlisselburg or Kholmogory (alleged discovery at Kholmogory in 2010 currently under forensic investigation). On September 28, 2006, 78 years after her death, Maria Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, was reinterred in the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul. Wife of Tsar Alexander III and mother of Nicholas II (the last Russian tsar), Maria Feodorovna died on 13 October 1928 in exile in her native Denmark and was buried in Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark. In 2005, the governments of Denmark and Russia agreed that the empress’s remains should be returned to Saint Petersburg in accordance with her wish to be interred next to her husband.”

Such ports hold little appeal for us when we are always seeking authenticity, history, and charm. An artificial island or strip of beach certainly doesn’t fit that criterion. However, many passengers find such places as the highlight of their cruises, especially those who don’t live near an ocean and sandy beaches. We get that.

The exterior is slightly less impressive than the interior of the cathedral.

Of course, a natural strip of sandy, volcanic or rocky beach always inspires us, prompting us to take many photos of varying angles of nature’s bounty. We never tire of the view.

As expected, the evenings have been entertaining and filled with lively chatter among other passengers we’ve met and between ourselves. There’s never a dull moment, nor do we spend much time in the cabin.

The chapel’s roof, ornate and gold-covered.

We managed to squeeze in a few movies in the ship’s small theatre, the Cinema, the past two days. The first was the most recent documentary about Apollo 11’s trip to the moon with live footage that left us on the edge of our chairs. It’s well worth watching and provides a perspective we could hardly imagine from memory 50 years ago.

After returning from touring Helsinki in the taxi yesterday, we relaxed and watched another movie, “Instant Family, “very sweet and entertaining. Tom dozed during the first 20 minutes but was awake for the balance.

As soon as we upload this post, we’ll be taking the shuttle bus from the ship to Stockholm, Sweden. From there, if possible we’ll take a taxi to tour the city.

Tomorrow, a sea day, we’ll have time for Part 2…St. Petersburg. Look for us then! We still have many more Baltic cities to share!

Enjoy the new week!
Photo from one year ago today, August 19, 2018:
This artistic piece, made by Agness at the Wayi Wayi Art Centre in Zambia, was made with hundreds of scratch-off tickets.  Please click here for more photos.

Back to posting one day earlier than expected…Why?…Tallinn, Estonia…

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View over Tallinn, Estonia, from a scenic overlook.

Yesterday was a day we’ll never forget, not only for the exquisite sites we visited in St. Petersburg, Russia but for the challenging experience of my attempt to navigate over 12,000 steps in one day with my lingering painful legs situation.

The town well.

No doubt, a month ago, I couldn’t have conceived I’d make it through such a day as this but somehow, with Tom’s unrelenting help and emotional support, overall we’d stayed up with the group of 15 passengers in our group, only avoiding a few less critical additional walking sidelines during the entire day, beginning at 8:30 am and ending at 6:00 pm.

It wasn’t easy. It was painful. But I knew I wasn’t hurting anything by forging ahead. Ultimately, maybe my legs would become stronger after this cruise with all its walking while attempting to recover after over six months of pure hell.

The remains of a historic castle tower.

I’ve “sugar-coated” it long enough to be tough, resilient, and strong. Yes, attitude is a big part of recovery, and I credit myself for remaining upbeat and hopeful.  But, at times, I have felt hopeless and fearful that I’d never recover.

There is stunning artwork on the many churches within Old Town.

In the next several days, we’ll be posting, time allowing, the fantastic photos we were able to take while on yesterday’s St. Petersburg tour. However, last night we decided we would not be going on Day 2 of the prepaid tour since I knew I wouldn’t be able to spend another day like yesterday.

We are disappointed to lose the non-refundable fees we paid for Day 2, but this decision had to be made. And now, as we sit comfortably in the Park Cafe on deck 5, we’ve totally at peace with our decision.  

We didn’t enter the churches due to the many steps and long queues.

Yes, today we’ll miss a few choice locations popular with tourists to the magnificent city, but yesterday provided us with considerable information regarding St. Petersburg’s rich history and culture.

The winding streets of the walled city of Tallinn, Estonia.

To follow a sequential course for our posts as ports of call as they occurred, today we’re sharing photos of Tallinn, Estonia, which we visited two days ago. We hadn’t booked a tour for this city and decided to “wing it.”

Instead, we were planning to use the shuttle bus to get us into town, and from there, we’d figure out how we’d get around, fearful that being on foot may be too much for me when the more extensive tour lay ahead following day in St. Petersburg.

Here we are on the motorized bike.

No more than a few seconds after we exited the shuttle bus, we were approached by a clean-cut looking young man in his 20’s who had a motorized bicycle with a cart attached, perfect for the two of us.  

It was pricey for one hour at Euro 153, US $170, which we’d already negotiated down from Euro 189, US $210, but after about 70 minutes, we couldn’t have been more thrilled after seeing most of the highlights of Old Town.

Historic churches and buildings lined the streets.

About Tallinn, Estonia from this site: “Tallinn (/ˈtɑːlɪn, ˈtælɪn/; Estonian: [ˈtɑlʲˑinˑ]; names in other languages) is the capital, primate and the most populous city of Estonia. Located in the northern part of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has 434,562. A part of Harju maakond (county), Tallinn is Estonia’s major financial, industrial, cultural, educational, and research center. Tallinn is located 80 kilometers (50 mi) south of Helsinki, Finland, 320 kilometers (200 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia, and 380 kilometers (240 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden. It has close historical ties with these three cities. From the 13th century until the first half of the 20th century, Tallinn was known by its historical German name Reval.”

Many churches with architecturally interesting steeples filled the rooftops.

The cobblestone and brick roads were bumpy but didn’t cause a problem for either of us. And this young man knew his way around quickly maneuvering between crowds and other vehicles to take advantage of every moment.

When our bike tour ended, he dropped us back at the shuttle bus, and minutes later, the bus arrived at the pier as we tackled the long back to the ship with a smile on our faces for a day well spent.

We crossed a red-painted wooden bridge.

As for the remainder of the cruise, we continue to meet more and more passengers with great stories to tell. At night, we tend to stay out late enjoying the music and entertainment in various venues throughout the ship. It’s been such fun to be out and about after all this time.
Tomorrow, we have another port of call and hope to post when we return later in the day.

Thanks to all of our readers who continue to “look for us” online and send endless good wishes and encouragement. We so appreciate every one of you!

Photo from one year ago today, August 17, 2018:
While back in Zambia for another “visa run, “Tom was busy reading the extensive menu at Café Zambezi, trying to decide what to order. It was nice to be back. For more details, please click here.

Today is Day 5 of our Baltic cruise…Few more Copenhagen photos…Today, we’ll tour Tallinn, Estonia…

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“The Gefion Fountain is a large fountain on the harbor front in Copenhagen, Denmark. It features a large-scale group of animal figures being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon. It is located in Nordre Toldbod area next to Kastellet and immediately south of Langelinie.”

The WiFi signal is so poor that it takes three times longer to prepare and upload photos. We’re doing the best we can in the time we’ve allotted to present our daily activities.

Typical residential building in Copenhagen.

I must admit I am not as diligent as usual when there’s such a flurry of activity around us with many distractions. No sooner I get started, and other passengers join us at our little corner near electrical outlets in the Park Café. To avoid being rude, I closed my laptop to participate in the lively chatter.

 
We’re having a perfect time, better than I’d expected when I felt so awful only a few weeks ago. I never imagined I’d be able to be up and about from early morning, often up until midnight, without a daytime nap or rest.
The uncomplicated style of buildings in Copenhagen seemed to be universal.

Yesterday was more fun than I can describe. At breakfast in the main dining room by 8:00 am, we met more new people as the conversation flowed at our table for 10.

For midday on a Wednesday, there were few crowds.

By 10:30 am, we headed to this exact spot at the coffee shop. At the same time, I enthusiastically worked on the post, hoping to upload a decent story with photos of Copenhagen taken during the rainy four-hour bus ride. 

I hadn’t finished having yet to caption the photos and move them into their appropriate spots in the post, but we dropped off the equipment back at the cabin to make the 1:00 pm movie in the intimate theatre, the Cinema. “Aquaman” was the movie of the day.
Bicycle parking lots are everywhere.

Tom, not necessarily a fan of fantasy-type movies, stayed awake during the entire movie while I sat on the edge of my seat in the sheer wonder of watching such a good movie. I loved every moment!  Tom surprised me and also enjoyed it but not as much as me. (We’re out of touch with movies made in the US after being away for so long).

With energy conservation the order of the day, there were minimal vehicles on the road.
After the movie ended at 3:10, we headed back to the cabin, where I finished the post and the photo captions.  We showered and dressed to be ready for “happy hour(s)” in the Diamond Club lounge on the 13th floor. It starts at 5:00 pm and ends at 8:30 pm.
 
The long, happy hour period requires me to drink my two glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon very slowly, trying to save a little in the second glass to take to the dining room to savor during dinner. 
An ice cream shop.

When he saw how little was left in my glass, Tom ordered me a third glass of wine but was concerned about overdoing it. I never drank it. In the dining room, we sat with a delightful couple, Fred and Larry from the US, and once again, the conversation was fantastic. We plan to meet up with them in Phoenix for dinner while staying in Apache Junction in January.

Statues are commonly seen in Copenhagen.

It always amazes us how easy it is to make friends on cruises. There is no environment we’ve ever experienced where it was so easy. We all have a commonality of a love of travel, and that’s always an easy place to start the conversation. We seldom encounter passengers who aren’t enjoying themselves.

After dinner, we looked for seats overlooking the Centrum area, one level below where we could watch the upcoming “disco” music and 70s show. We lucked out and found two comfy chairs directly at the railing, where we stayed watching a memorable heart-pounding show.
Taking photos through the rain-covered windows was challenging.

The dance floor was packed with enthusiastic passengers dancing the night away. Some time ago, we would have been included in that excited flurry of arms and legs flailing to the music. Instead, we watched with equal enthusiasm. Maybe someday I’ll be able to dance with Tom, but time will tell.

The stage presented a variety of staff dancers who “worked” the crowd into a frenzy. After about an hour, a show started we’d seen on many cruises; the songs from the Village People, In The Navy, and of course, Y-M-C-A. 

A gilded spire atop the train station.

The crew was wearing similar costumes to the Village People, and the place rocked beyond belief. The energy was indeed electric, not only enjoying the familiar songs but also remembering our youth when those were first introduced. We had such fun as we danced in our chairs, grateful and happy to be together, sharing yet another memorable day and evening.

A fountain near the canal.

Finally, by 12:30 am, we dozed off with smiles on our faces over a day well-spent. Today, we’re off on a shuttle bus soon to head to Tallinn, Estonia, a quaint walled town with supposedly lots of charm and appeal.

We’ll be back tomorrow with photos from our tour of this most unusual place to visit (for us anyway). See you then!

Photo from one year ago today, August 15, 2018:
They were looking in one direction, waiting to decide their next move. What could they possibly be waiting for? For more photos, please click here.

Its good to be posting again!…No post yesterday because…

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There are many colorful buildings in Copenhagen. 

Yesterday, we were disappointed we were unable to post. It wasn’t that we didn’t try. In the morning at the pier, we took the Copenhagen, Denmark “Hop-On, Hop-Off bus thinking this would allow me to decide if I could walk and if not, we’d stay on the bus and yet see the highlights of the city of Copenhagen.

Many large buildings such as this are converted former estates.

Our expectations were high. We climbed the precarious steps to the second level for better views, only to be unable to see anything due to the pouring rain that continued for the over four-hour tour on three different routes.

There weren’t as many cars as one might expect.  Copenhagen is energy conscientious, and many of its people ride bikes.

We’d never utilized a “Hop-On, Hop-Off” bus in any country, preferring to take a taxi to be able to get out and take photos at our leisure. The heavy rain, the dirty windows on the bus, and the inability to open a window made photo-taking a near impossibility. I doubt we’ll ever make this choice in the future.

A street scene from the bus.

The only good part? I could sit when walking is still a struggle (but improving daily) as I wean myself off of this last awful drug, Bisoprolol. I’ve only reduced the dose by 50% thus far. 

No longer than the first bus took off, it began raining.  Taking photos was tough, especially when the windows didn’t open.

It may take a month or more to wean off of it entirely with the dangerous effects during the weaning process such as high and irregular blood pressure, afib (irregular pulse), and dangerously high pulse. I’ve had a few instances of these, but they resolved quickly, with everything returning to normal.

‘Historic building.

Of course, whatever I do and wherever we go, I am aware that these symptoms can occur, but I try not to think about it, only exacerbating the situation. As each day passes, I can walk a little better, leaving us both hopeful.

Residents bundled up in raingear, continuing to get around on bikes.

In any case, the only time we had to get off the bus was to change buses to travel another route. There were three routes in total. Fortunately, the bus company had a staff member at each transfer point, making the process relatively easy except for standing in the pouring rain while waiting to board the next bus.

The architecture throughout the city was less ornate than in many cities we’ve visited in the past.

When we couldn’t see out the foggy windows and past the rain, I dozed from time to time, tired from not getting enough sleep due to late nights of having fun. And fun, it is!  

We were surprised to see so few cars on the roads. There was traffic in certain areas but much than one would expect: “As of July 2018, the city has a population of 777,218 (616,098 in Copenhagen Municipality, 103,914 in Frederiksberg Municipality, 43,005 in Tårnby Municipality, and 14,201 in Dragør Municipality).”

We continue to meet more and more fabulous people at every turn. Thus, when we returned from the pointless bus tour, after returning to the ship and parking ourselves near an electric outlet in the Park Cafe, we met a couple from Australia, Vicki and John. We had such a good time. I couldn’t break away to do the post.

Beer is trendy in Copenhagen, and there are many bars and pubs.

The time passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to freshen up for the evening and head to the Diamond Club to meet up with new friends JoAnn and Fran, with whom we’ve been enjoying happy hour in the Diamond Lounge each evening before heading to dinner.

The four of us joined a table for ten and had a pleasant dinner, minus a few glitches regarding my food. I won’t get into that. It happens all the time. Lack of communication among the kitchen staff is ultimately responsible for the errors. 

We were intrigued by the large cement balls bordering this government building.

They have my detailed food list, and all they have to do is follow it. Hopefully, this will be resolved after last night. After all, my diet is pretty easy; a piece of grilled fish or seafood, steamed vegetables (no carrots, no starchy veggies), and a side salad (no croutons). It can’t be that complicated.

There are numerous war hero statues located throughout the city.

With a one-hour time change, we didn’t get to sleep until 12:30 or 1:00 am, awakening at 6:00 am, not quite enough sleep, but we can always take a 20-minute nap later in the day.

The VOOM wireless provides a poor signal at most times. Yesterday, when I attempted to notice that there would not be a post, it took an hour to get online for the short blurb. The previous day, we couldn’t upload photos.  

“The Little Mermaid is a bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen, depicting a mermaid becoming human. The sculpture is displayed on a rock by the waterside at the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is 1.25 meters tall and weighs 175 kilograms.” Tom exited the bus to take a photo when it stopped for photos.

If you don’t see a post over the next nine days, please check back later in the day or the following day.  Combined with the fact that we have many ports of call to visit, the poor WiFi signal, and many social interactions, we could easily miss another day while on the cruise. From there, we’ll be in England, and all should be fine with included WiFi at each of the four properties.

“The Maritime Monument, located at Langelinie, close to Langelinie Marina, is a maritime memorial in Copenhagen, Denmark, commemorating civilian Danish sailors who lost their lives during the First World War.”

Should we miss an opportunity to post photos of the various countries, we can always include them once we’re in the UK. We’ll be touring Tallinn, Estonia, by taxi, hoping for clear skies and many photo ops tomorrow.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Be well. Be happy.
Photo from one year ago today, August 14, 2018:
Mom and baby love in Marloth Park. For more, please click here.

We’ve set sail!…Fabulous first day!…

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*Based on a poor WiFi signal while out to sea, we can’t download any photos today.  Please check back tomorrow.
 
Cruise check-in can be a nightmare, taking hours to walk aboard the ship finally. But, yesterday’s check-in at the Port of Amsterdam was almost as quick as it could have been.
 
The only time-consuming process was checking in our bags since Tom had to fill in the information on the paper luggage tags. Moments later, our bags were whisked away, leaving us carrying only the laptop backpack and the small blue cloth shopping bag in which I had the camera and a few other items.
 
From there, getting “sea passes” and completing the check-in process, we were on the ship in no time at all. We had sailed on this same ship, Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas, in 2014 from Harwich, England, to Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
We stayed in Boston for a few nights to see my cousin Phyllis and our since-passed-away Uncle Bernie and visit my father’s gravesite. See here for the link from that day. 
 
We’re so glad we had a chance to see Uncle Bernie one last time before he passed at 98 years of age. He was my father’s brother, and we’d stayed in touch over the years.
 
Once we boarded the ship at 12:30 pm, and since the cabins weren’t available for a few hours, nor would our luggage be delivered to our cabin until several hours later, we decided to have lunch since we hadn’t had breakfast in the flurry of activity.
 
We sat with a lovely couple from Australia, Vickie, and Pino having a great talk while we all ate our lunch. The table sharing and subsequent endless chatter had begun, one of our big motivators in enjoying cruises as much as we do.
 
Of course, we love the lazy life aboard a ship and the opportunity to visit more and more countries on our journey. This cruise will result in us visiting six countries we’ve never visited in the past. Few cruise itineraries provide us with such an opportunity.
 
That is undoubtedly a major benefit of cruising. Although we don’t get the full flavor of the country in one or two-day stops, we’re often able to see some of the highlights and decide if we’d like to return for a more extended stay in the future.
 
A few hours later, when the announcement was made that our cabins were ready, we said goodbye to the lovely couple, hoping to see them again, which on this somewhat smaller ship carrying 2501 passengers, small compared to some of the jumbo cruise ships offered today such as Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas with a capacity of 5518 passengers and over a 1000 crew members.
 
Those big ships are not for us. The sheer size creates long queues and waiting times for boarding, leaving the ship for ports of call, availability of dining times, and maneuvering about the ship.  
 
We’re not interested in water parks and high adventure activities, common selling points of the massive ships.  Also, we prefer a more intimate, primarily adult environment, quieter and more relaxing while still allowing us to interact with many passengers and make new friends.
 
When we think of all the people we’ve met on cruises, with whom we’re still in touch, we don’t regret a moment of the effort we’d consciously made to meet new people at every mealtime and in each lounge area.
 
It’s not surprising that most “cruisers” are frequent travelers to many parts of the world, inciting fantastic conversations among all of us. After chatting with Vickie and Pino, we unpacked a little since our bags had arrived and got ready for the evening’s activities.
 
Our next stop was to the Diamond Lounge for happy hour, where once again, we shared a comfy table with JoAnn and Fran from Pennsylvania and stayed until happy hour ended, engaged in lively conversation.
 
I’d promised myself I’d only have two small glasses of dry red wine a night.  As an enthusiast of red wine, I knew I had to limit myself due to my health situation, which I’ve managed since my first glass of wine, three months after the surgery.
 
Since I made that commitment to myself, I’ve learned to sip as slowly as possible while also drinking a big glass of sparkling water on the side.  This works for me and worked well last night, our first night in the Diamond Lounge, where drinks are complimentary for Diamond Club members, such as us.
 
At dinner, we were seated at a table for 10 with all the chairs occupied. What a great time we had. I sat next to a lovely couple, Vera and Michael, and couldn’t have enjoyed their companionship more. Tom, based on the seating arrangement, had a better chance to chat with the others.
 
We didn’t get up from the dinner table until 2200 hours, 10:00 pm, and headed out to a seating area overlooking the Centrum area while a decent band played “oldies.” We didn’t get to our cabin until almost midnight, exhausted from a memorable day.
 
Now, at almost noon, we’re seated in the cafe close to an electric outlet to plug in my laptop. My battery only holds a charge for one hour. We’ll be buying new laptops when we arrive in the US in less than three months.
 
With little sleep last night, soon we’ll head to the cabin for a short nap and then make our way to the movie theatre to watch “Captain Marvel.” We aren’t necessarily comic book character fans, but we’ll give it a try.
 
We’ll be back tomorrow with more, including an update on how the walking is going so far.
 
Carpe diem!
Photo from one year ago today, August 12, 2018:
Once again, we spotted ostriches on Vostruis Road (volstruis means ostrich in Afrikaans) next to this exact vehicle where we’d seen them almost five years ago. Click this link here to see the post from December 7, 2013. Funny, eh? For more photos, please click here.