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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.

No worse for the wear…Amsterdam keeps giving and giving…Boarding the cruise today…

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Me in front of soldier statues. It was a very windy day! ” Rembrandtplein (Rembrandt Square) is a major square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was cast in one piece, and it is Amsterdam’s oldest surviving statue in a public space.”

With many photos from Amsterdam yet to be posted, we may save them to share at a future time, perhaps on the cruise on a sea day. Today, we board the ship.  

Tom, arm-in-arm with the statues.

Checkout time is noon at the Eden Hotel (charming, canal view) when we’ll arrange a taxi to take us to the passenger cruise terminal, a short distance from here. We’ll be ready to go.

Diplomatic building with many flags.

Now, at 10:30 am, Tom is streaming a Minnesota Vikings pre-season game with one quarter remaining. Since we never unpacked, only opening the bags to get clean clothes and toiletries, it will take 10 minutes to close the bags and be on our way.

There are 1000 bridges over the canals in Amsterdam.

Last night we had a great meal at Rain Americana Grill, walking distance from the hotel, adding to our daily distance up to 3.5 km, 2.2 miles. It was a lot of walking for me. But I’m thrilled I was able to do it, however difficult it may have been, and suffer no ill effects today.

Many of the vast estate homes have been converted to offices, apartments, and condos.

Tom needed some American food, so we selected this spot. He had a burger and chips while I had a gluten-free, starch-free burrito that was delicious with lettuce leaves as wraps. I have been craving Mexican food for some time. What a treat!

Menu of marijuana and other such products are available for sale to any adults who desire to partake. We happened to walk down an alley to run into people smoking pot outside at the cafe. From this site: “Cannabis has been available for recreational use in coffee shops since 1976. Cannabis products are only sold openly in certain local “coffeeshops” and possession of up to 5 grams for personal use is decriminalized. However, the police may still confiscate it, which often happens in car checks near the border.[citation needed] Other types of sales and transportation are not permitted, although the general approach toward cannabis was lenient even before official decriminalization.”

This morning we decided to wait until we board the ship to eat since they have such great options in our fare. Until I meet with the maitre’d to review my printed food list, we’ll wing it in the buffet. There will be plenty of salad bar items that will work for me.  

The small park where this statue of Rembrandt is located is a popular gathering place.

During the day, I’ll drop off the food list and make a particular order for tonight’s dinner until they coordinate my restrictions with the chef. Most likely, it will be grilled salmon, veggies, and Caesar salad (minus the croutons) on this first night. Fine with me.

Today’s photos continue from yesterday’s sightseeing along and in the canals of Amsterdam. Unfortunately, as the boat moved along, I couldn’t recall the names of the structures in many of the photos.  

The Sea Palace Chinese Restaurant is located on one of the canals.

Also, I try to “live in the moment” and pay attention to the scenery before me rather than worry about identifying the buildings the next day when I prepare a post.  

And live in the moment we did. The unique scenery continually enthralled us. Everywhere one turns, there’s something magical to behold. We both agreed we’d like to return to the Netherlands at some point and see more of this unusual country with design elements unique to the country.  

There are approximately 2500 houseboats with permits to dock on the canals.  Utilities are made available for those houseboats. Illegal boats can’t access city services.

We’d yet to see tulips (wrong time of year), windmills (not in the city), and stores selling wooden shoes, all very touristy but fun to see. Yes, sometimes we behave just like tourists delighting in the all too familiar tourist traps and sightseeing expectations.

Various types of mallards paddle in the many canals.

So, off we go, folks. Our next post will be from the ship on a sea day. We’ll share all the photos and excitement we’ll experience along the way.

Have a lovely day filled with wonder.

Photo from one year ago today, August 11, 2018:

What a lovely scene on the Crocodile River, as seen from Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here.

Amsterdam doesn’t disappoint…We accomplished more than expected…Challenging but rewarding…Food photos…

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We were impressed by the stunning historic architecture on both sides of the canals in Amsterdam.

There’s no doubt I’m struggling to walk. I hope this pain will dissipate as I continue to wean off the awful medications, but a part of me is terrified it won’t go away. It takes everything I have to walk a block, let alone navigate stairs and ramps.  

We wished we could post the identity of all of these great highlights, but it wasn’t possible as the boat moved along.

My heart doesn’t struggle, or so it seems. It’s just the legs that could be entirely from the statins I stopped a few weeks ago.  Here’s the data on this situation from JAMA, and here’s the link to the report:

“Results  The mean (SD) duration of statin therapy before symptom onset was 6.3 (9.8) months. Resolution of muscle pain occurred a mean (SD) of 2.3 (3.0) months after discontinuation of statin therapy. Six patients (13%) were hospitalized for the management of rhabdomyolysis; 2 had reversible renal dysfunction, and 1 with preexisting renal insufficiency subsequently began lifelong dialysis. Hospitalized patients developed myopathy more quickly after initiating statin therapy (1.3 vs. 7.1 months; P = .048) and were more likely to be taking concomitant medications known to increase the risk of statin-associated myopathy (P = .03). Thirty-seven patients received another statin after an episode of statin-associated myopathy; 21 (57%) reported recurrent muscle pain, whereas 16 (43%) tolerated other statins without recurrent symptoms.
Conclusions  Patients with statin-associated myopathy experienced complete resolution of muscle pain on cessation of statin therapy. Although no deaths occurred, 13% of the patients required hospitalization for rhabdomyolysis. Recurrent muscle pain was common on statin rechallenge.”

The covered canal boat.

The above-highlighted comment about full resolution in 2.3 months makes me very hopeful. As we begin this big journey in our world travels, I do everything to stay engaged in our activities and avoid complaining to Tom.

The tour couldn’t have been more enjoyable.

He’s so helpful, guiding me across the uneven pavement, through crosswalks, up hills, and steps. Today was a real test of both of our resolve and determination as we walked almost 3.2 km, 2 miles, on the streets of Amsterdam, reveling in every moment, which was a good distraction for me.

What did we see and do? Firstly, all of my sandals and shoes to wear on the cruise had recently fallen apart. , My two pairs of long-wearing black and beige Clark sandals crumbled with pieces falling off in the suitcase. I’d been wearing them for almost seven years! Plus, the one pair of high wedge sandals I had were a thing of the past, and I left them behind in Ireland.

There’s a large hook hanging from the roofs that remain in place. Since most of the buildings in Amsterdam are so narrow, which results from a tax base determined by the width of a building, it’s impossible to get furnishings up the narrow staircases. Subsequently, these large hooks on the exterior of buildings are used to hoist the items to the appropriate floor.

Knowing we had to find a shoe store within walking distance was a daunting task, but I learned that trying to walk would be better than taking a taxi, forcing us to be out and about seeing a bit of this beautiful city.

Each building has its unique design.

After a very long walk, we stopped for breakfast along the way, we found a few shoe stores, and I was able to purchase two pairs of comfortable flat shoes, one a dressy flat black sandal and another, a very comfy pair of Sketchers slip-on shoes. I was thrilled.  

Surprisingly, the shoes weren’t more expensive than they’d have been in the US. Everyone talks about how expensive it is here. Yes, the hotel was twice as much as we usually spend, but we had accumulated points to use, which softened the blow.

Many elaborate former homes from the 17th and 18th centuries have been converted to governmental and diplomatic structures. Not this building’s construction year of 1843.

Dining out is comparable to the US from what we’ve seen so far. Last night we dined in the upscale hotel restaurant, Brasserie Flo, which turned out to be rated #720 out of 3736 restaurants in Amsterdam. I loved the food…Tom did not. He’s not the gourmet kind of guy. Here are a few photos of our meals.

Tom’s veal and mashed potato dinner.

This morning we had breakfast in a pub we encountered on our walk. They didn’t make eggs with butter or healthy oils, so I ordered a chicken Caesar salad. Tom had a ham and cheese omelet, which he said was “just OK.”  

My rack of lamb on a bed of assorted mushrooms was delicious.
Please understand, I am traveling the world with a picky eater, but then again, he has to live with all of my peculiar dining options. We figure it out as we go. It’s not perfect, but we’ve learned to live with these limitations, and now…others.
This seafood platter for two looked appealing, but Tom’s not a big fan of most seafood. It didn’t pay us to spend Euro $125, US $141 for this meal alone.

After we had breakfast and walked the distance to the shoe stores, on the way back, as we walked along with one of the 100 canals in Amsterdam, we spotted a canal boat tour starting in 15 minutes. This was ideal for us.  

As we walked down the narrow street, exploring and looking for a shoe store.

We’d hoped to tour the canals today anyway, and this avoided us going back to the hotel for more walking, only to find our way back to another tour boat.  It had been raining off and on all morning. It was sunny when we left the hotel.

The clock tower building.

This particular boat was fully enclosed with big glass windows we could open when the rain stopped. We were grateful that a few minutes into our tour, the sun came out once again, and we were able to take many photos, more than we can ever share here today.  

Ornamental pillars at one of the 1000 bridges in Amsterdam.

More photos will follow in tomorrow’s post, which we hope to finish before heading to the ship at noon. This is all happening so fast! This time tomorrow afternoon, we’ll be situated in our cabin and hopefully unpacked, ready for the cruise fun to begin.

Have a fantastic Saturday night, wherever you may be!

Photo from one year ago today, August 10, 2018:
Tom’s excellent new haircut. She cut his hair this time as opposed to using the electric clippers. Cost with a tip? ZAR 130, US $9.35 (includes tip). Wow! I love the beard! For more photos, please click here.

We’re in Amsterdam…A world apart…Wow!…

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We’re hoping to go on a canal cruise sometime tomorrow.

This morning, returning the rental car was somewhat of a hassle. We’d chosen a company, Easirent, based on reasonable pricing for a new car which we did enjoy during the three months in Ireland.  

However, there were two drawbacks: it wasn’t conveniently close to the airport, located in an obscure office park, and two, they required a considerable sum to be charged to our credit card for damage possibilities.  

In, our case for three months in Ireland, they took Euro 2677.80, US $3000. I guess they like having free use of our money, especially since we won’t get it back until 20 days from today. We’ll be checking with the online credit card app frequently to ensure it was returned.

It was well worth paying a little more for this view.  Also, we used two free nights we’d accumulated from Hotels.com here on our site.
After considerable effort, we finally were able to get the SIM card working on my phone, making it possible to find the place. Once we checked the car in, a damage review was done (none). We were on our way to the Dublin Airport in a large shuttle bus provided by the car rental company.
Nonetheless, we arrived at the airport three hours before our flight (Tom, the worried early bird). Still, we found a comfy spot in a restaurant to park ourselves for the wait, which is when I began writing this portion of today’s post to be completed once we arrive at our hotel.  
______________________________________________

Oh my, oh my, oh my! We’ve arrived in Amsterdam, and we’re in heaven! What a beautiful city with so much wonder and excitement at every turn. Our hotel, Eden, is located on the bustling Amstel canal, and we have a canal frontage view. 

The photos posted here today are those I took moments ago through the glass of our hotel room window. I could spend hours looking out at the canal. But the reality remains, we will only be here 36 hours until we board the cruise, leaving little time for much sightseeing.

If you look closely, you can see a person in the left window of this permanent houseboat on the Amstel Canal, as seen from our room. Check out the owner’s means of transportation.

We’re trying to decide what we’d like to do that will be most fulfilling while we’re here…a canal cruise…a ride on the Hop-On, Hop-Off  Bus, or grab a taxi to drive us around the city.

As much as we enjoyed the cruise on the Seine in Paris, perhaps after a day of wandering about the stunning city, a dinner cruise may be in order. Tonight and tomorrow, we’ll pack everything in that we can since, on Sunday, we’ll be up bright and early to pack and get checked in for the Baltic cruise by noon.

Today was a day including lots of walking, although we’d arranged a wheelchair for me. There was no way I could manage the long walks on the tarmac and in the terminal.

The hour-long flight ended up taking our entire day. We arrived at Dublin Airport at 10:30 am and arrived at our hotel in Amsterdam at 1750 hours, 5:30 pm, thinking about freshening up to head for happy hour and a nice meal. 

Since I’m too pooped to walk to another restaurant, we’ve decided to dine in the hotel’s highly rated French Bistro. This upscale restaurant is pricey, as is most venues in Amsterdam, but the menu looks enticing with many options for each of us.

Last night’s dinner at the Crown Plaza in Dublin was good, along with the ambiance. We’re hoping for as good, if not better, experience tonight as we had last night.

Dear Readers, hang onto your chairs…a lot of excitement is on the horizon.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 9, 2018:

Little Wart Face, whose name we later changed to “Little,” often napped in our garden. He was so at home with us. I’ll always miss him. For more photos, please click here.

On the road again…Dublin, then Amsterdam, here we come!…

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Goodbye, Ireland.  Thanks for welcoming us and for being so beautiful!

We’d decided to prepare the post after we arrived in Dublin for the night. This was an excellent way to keep the morning free to finish last-minute packing, organizing, and putting things back in their place in the house.

When we move into a new property, we often move some of the furniture to suit our needs. We make every effort to move everything back to its original location before leaving, which we did this morning.

Eileen, our thoughtful owner, stopped by to say goodbye. It was a pleasure working with her for the past three months. Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to have been hosted by excellent property owners and managers, and, of course, we’ve made every effort to be good guests.

Currently, we’re in Dublin. On our way, we stopped in Oughterard for Tom’s teeth cleaning appointment.  Previously, we’d made an appointment for me to do the same but decided to wait a little longer before having any dental work.

The total 3½ hour drive was seamless using “Maps” using the SIM card on my phone, which got us here without a hitch.  Once we arrived in Dublin, there were many turns and roundabouts, but somehow we never made an error. I often wonder why “she’ll” suddenly say, “Make a U-turn” when we’re on the freeway, and there’s no need for a U-turn. Go figure.

We’d decided to stay overnight in a lower-cost hotel close to the Holiday Inn Express Dublin Airport. The rates were reasonable compared to many other nearby options, and after seeing our room, we were satisfied with the amenities and cleanliness, including free Wi-Fi and breakfast.

This hotel doesn’t serve meals other than the included breakfast. Next door is a Crown Plaza with a decent restaurant, according to reviews online. The main dining room is being renovated. We’ll dine in the bar.  Tom walked next door and brought back a menu to ensure there would be suitable options for me. There were a few.  

I’ll have plenty of food options once we board the ship on Sunday. Their chefs always accommodate my dietary needs with enthusiast and precise care, often making beautiful meals the other guests at our shared table drool over.  

It will be nice to have someone else doing the cooking for a while. After 15 months of Tom or I cooking and the three months in Ireland, I’m looking forward to the usual good food and service.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll use the hotel’s shuttle to get to the airport. At the moment, Tom is dropping off the rental car, hoping to get a ride back to the hotel. Tonight, we’ll walk to the restaurant next door, and although my walking is still sketchy, it’s a relatively short distance.

How am I feeling? Tapering off the heart medications is taking its toll on me. It could be several more weeks until I begin to feel the benefit of being off the dangerous drugs with many side effects, including being on the drugs and getting off of them.  

But at least for now, I can keep my head up and eyes open during the day. I’ve gone several days without a nap and have slept through the past three nights, a significant improvement.

Like many of us seniors, a good night’s sleep is an elusive thing. Six good hours without awakening seems to do wonders. Tom sleeps even less, getting up at the crack of dawn and going to bed late. I don’t know how he does it.

Well, folks, that’s it for our last post from Ireland. Tomorrow, late afternoon, we’ll write a short post from Amsterdam.  Our hotel room is situated overlooking the canal. Photos should be good.

Happy day to all!

Photo from one year ago today, August 8, 2018:

Dad and his offspring posing for a photo we’d taken on a drive in Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here.

Final expenses for 89 nights in Ireland…Highlights of our stay in Connemara…One day until departure……Last favorite photos…

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It was fantastic to have friends Lisa and Barry and friend Chuck visit us in Connemara for a few days!  We met Lisa and Barry on a cruise in November 2017.

Fascinating Fact of the Day About Ireland 
“There are around 82,600 speakers of Irish who use the language at home daily. Contrast this with Polish, where 119,526 speak the language at home, making it the second most spoken language on the island!”

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do everything we’d planned while in Connemara, Ireland. Perhaps someday we’ll return and stay in another area with a better opportunity to explore and see the sites.

What an adorable sheep with his budding horns.

But overall, we felt our time here was enjoyable and worthwhile as we came to understand the culture, the terrain, and the unique personality of this particular location.  

The views across the bay were stunning, even on cloudy days.

Also, we experienced visits to a few museums, a history center, a castle, a famous fish shop, a world-renowned food truck, an exciting visit to the quaint town of Oughterard, a renowned craft shop, and a tour of the popular Roundstone area.

We spent endless hours driving through the countryside reveling in the stunning views, including seeing a vast number of adorable barnyard animals, including sheep, goats, donkeys, cattle, horses.  

Various ruins of homes, barns, and castles pepper the landscape.

Each evening we took time to relax while gazing out the big picture window to scan the sea for boats, people, birds, and wildlife. A few days ago, we spotted two otters close to the shore.  

We visited a museum in Clifden, the Station House Museum.

On many evenings we giggled over the cattle in our side yard. For those growing up in this area, none of this would be exciting. But for us, we loved every moment.

We dined in only a few restaurants but thoroughly enjoyed cooking our meals at “home” with the vast array of foodstuffs we hadn’t had access to in a long time. Even a trip to the supermarket was a delightful experience.

The museum has a wide array of well-preserved antiques indigenous to the area.

This stay provided the best access we ever had to delicious fish and seafood, most of which we purchased at our front door from dear friend and fish guy, John. Tom had a chance to have the finest fish and chips he’d ever had by a short drive to John and wife Theresa’s takeaway seafood shop in Carna, Flaherty’s Seafood.

A Connemara pony, unique to the area.

We ate authentic scallops sauteed with butter, olive oil, and garlic for a taste-tempting treat like non-other.  I sauteed the finest calamari rings I’ve ever had in the same manner as the scallops.

We met beautiful people everywhere we went, including Eileen, our property owner, Ann, our house cleaner, and the fine people at every shop, restaurant, and stop along the way.

We couldn’t help but love this pretty cow’s horns.
We lived in a comfortable house which may be found here that provided every amenity we required and then some.  When I asked about a blender for my daily protein smoothies, it was waiting for us when we arrived. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

Yes, I’ve struggled with the steep spiral staircase to the bedroom level, which ultimately proved to be a good exercise for me. Although I still push myself to get upstairs, once there, my heart rate recovers quickly.

Cute little rabbit stopping by on a sunny morning.

Tomorrow morning, at 10:00 am, we’re leaving the house to drive to Dublin, where we’ll spend the night. Once we arrive and get settled into our hotel, I’ll prepare a short post, the last from Ireland.  

The following post will be prepared in Amsterdam, where we’ll stay for two nights awaiting the 12-night Baltic cruise. From there, we’re off to England to fulfill a dream of living in the English countryside, in this case in four different locations over two months. 
At the bar in the restaurant Tigh Mheach.  (I dare you to pronounce this!)

From there, we’re off to the US for a two-plus-month stay in several locations in three states; Minnesota, Nevada, and Arizona.

Watch for a post tomorrow, a few hours later than usual, allowing us ample time to drive to Dublin.

Below is the total expenses for the three months we spent in Connemara with one night in Dublin:

Final Expenses – 89 nights*
Ireland 5/11/19 to 8/8/19 
                                       US Dollar             Euro   
Rent + Hotel                   $ 7500.36           6700.70
Air, Train, Ferry                  3853.17           3442.56
Taxi, Car Rental, Fuel         2967.03            2650.37
Entertainment                     275.00              245.68
Dining Out                          378.35              338.01
Groceries                          3434.90            3068.68
Misc., Tips, Cleaning           1046.81             935.20


TOTAL                             $19955.62         17381.00
Monthly Average                  6651.87           5967.95
Daily Average                        224.22             200.27

*In this case, the expenses were higher than initially budgeted due to the cost of the business class airfare for me for the long flight from South Africa to Ireland.  In the majority of cases, we both fly coach.

Enjoy the day and evening!
Photo from one year ago today, August 7, 2018:
Four hornbills loving our birdfeeder.  For more photos, please click here.