It’s been so long since I’ve written- and yet it has all gone so fast for me. I’ve been on my new ship for over a month now and in some ways it seems like I’ve been here for awhile, but it still feels brand new in other ways. I’ve actually only been here for 2.5 cruises, but that is equivalent to over 4 cruises on my last ship.
Since I last wrote, I flew from San Juan to New York where my feet got to be on Continental US soil for an hour or so before I took off for Munich and then Helsinki, Finland. By the time I landed in Finland I was excited, nervous, and jet lagged. I was also relieved- my luggage and I had made all of our connections. However, my bags must have sat on the tarmac in the pouring rain in Munich for awhile because both they and their contents were soaked, but wet belongings are better than no belongings. I grabbed my bags and headed for the airport door- there were 2 doors here. Above the first one it said “Nothing to Declare.” I don’t remember what the second one said, but I decided that I didn’t know of anything I had to declare (in other words, I have no idea what this sign means so I’m just going to act like this is where I’m supposed to be). I went through the door and was suddenly outside. That was it? That can’t be it. I think I skipped a step. Don’t I have to talk to some one? Show my work papers? Surely there is more to this than walking through the exit. I saw a Customs official leaving the building and asked her if I did something wrong. She said I only needed to go to the other door if I had lots of drugs, alcohol, or cash on me. I assured her I had none of the first two and not enough of the third- she replied with a “Welcome to Finland.” And that was it…my European journey began. And then stopped.
I was at the airport and there was supposed to be a transport to the ship for me. That’s one of the benefits of having all of my travel done by the company. They take me from the ship to the airport, I do all the airport stuff, then they take me from the new airport to the new ship. However, no one was here this time. I asked some people standing around, but they weren’t waiting for me. I found an internet pay phone and called the ship’s agent and soon someone was there for me and I was in a cab on the way to the ship.
Finland is beautiful! I had never been to Europe before and didn’t really know what to expect. Most of my time would be spent in the Baltic- not typical places to be featured in books, television, or movies so I had no preconceived ideas. One thing that surprised me about my time over there was how familiar it all seems. It’s not really that much different from the States. Sure there are some differences- example: all of their historic sites are a few centuries older than ours- but overall, a lot of it was the same.
I didn’t have time see much that day in Finland- just what I could see out the window of the cab. But the next day I was in St. Petersburg, Russia. It so happened that there was a crew tour that day and even though I had just signed on, they still let me go! This tour took me to St Isaac’s Cathedral and Church on the Spilled Blood. Both of these were Russian Orthodox churches and were unlike any other church I have ever been in, and believe me I’ve been in a lot! These churches were extremely ornate- lots of wood carvings and gold in St Isaac’s and lots of mosaics in Spilled Blood. The mosaics are so well done they look like paintings and the most fascinating thing was that they are “Natural Mosaics” meaning the pieces in the picture are the color they are found in nature. They didn’t paint or artificially produce any pieces to make the picture they wanted- but they found it in nature. This church has an odd name and I assumed that it was in reference to the cross, but it is actually built on the exact spot where a popular Russian Czar was murdered and “spilled his blood.” Another fascinating fact about these churches is there are no seats- Russian Orthodox churchgoers stand for hours for their services.
The ship overnights in St. Petersburg meaning we just sit in port for 2 days and people can come and go as they please. I filmed an event outside that night and was very surprised to walk out at 10:00 pm and have it still be light out. I technically missed the “White Night” season, when it is light nearly all day and night, but since I was just a week or two late it was still light late into the night.
The next day I headed out with a friend of mine from an old ship to explore the city some more. We saw a Russian McDonald’s and The Hermitage- a winter palace of the Czars that is now an art museum.
Russia was never a spot on my list of places I wanted to visit, but I’m glad I got to go. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, but I think it was something like snow, gray, and bareness. Lots of drab, gray buildings. Depressing apartment complexes and angry people. It wasn’t completely different from that, but the beauty of the churches impressed me. However, a lot of the people just seem sad. Not necessarily angry like I had expected, but depressed at least. However if I was that cold all the time, I may be depressed as well. I will say that a lot of store owners and tour guides were helpful and friendly when needed.
The next day I woke up in Tallin, Estonia but I could have sworn it was “The Land of Far Far Away” from the Shrek movies. There were castles, cobblestone streets, and a quaint medieval atmosphere. I found a map outlining a walking tour of the old town and took off to see every location listed. My legs were killing me by the end of the day, but I saw so much. Tallin is also the current Co-Culture Capital of the European Union so there were lots of theaters and art around.
The following day was my first time in Sweden- a place I had actually wanted to visit. For this trip I was in Gothenburg. I was told this was the most boring port of the cruise, but I had a great time! The ship docks on the Volvo campus. The Volvo Museum is basically at the end of the gangway and is surrounded by various Volvo offices and manufacturing facilities. However, next to that is a small lighthouse with a maze of walking trails along the coast and through fields- it was gorgeous!
After walking around for hours I caught a bus into town and fell even more in love with Swedish design. Anyone who has ever been to an IKEA knows what I’m talking about. Swedish design is creative, beautiful, and just makes sense- like a MacBook for your life. Walking down the streets in Sweden is like walking through a world of IKEA- I loved it. I have done some reading recently about the importance of image for a business- it’s not good enough to have a good product, but people have to love it for you to be successful. It’s part design, part function, part packaging, part presentation. From what I’ve seen, the Swedes have this down more than most.
I few days later I was in Harwich, England- my first time to the UK. I have since been informed that there are much better places in the UK I should consider seeing. I was, however, quite excited to eat Fish ‘n Chips in England- you had to pay for every condiment except Malt Vinegar…perfect for me! Now it was time for my first full, and my ship’s last, Baltic Cruise.
The first port of call was Copenhagen, Denmark. I’m actually disappointed in myself here- I did not see nearly all that I wanted to… lesson learned. I did get to see the changing of the Royal Guards at the palace, so that was exciting. They are the guards you can walk up to and stare at and they won’t acknowledge you…not that I tried it. I also visited Tivoli Gardens an old amusement park. This is the park that Walt Disney visited and was inspired to create Disney World. It reminded me of Coneaut Lake- an old time amusement park.
My second trip to Sweden took me to Stockholm. I got up very early (for me) to watch the sail in. The ship sails through an archipelago. Many of the islands are adorned with mansions and matching boat houses- it was beautiful. Stockholm didn’t have all of the design elements of Gothenburg, but I did see some ingenuity in the Ice Bar. Yep, a bar made completely out ice. I donned my complimentary floor length parka and glove set and stepped into a world of frozen water- the walls were ice, the seats were ice, the tables were ice, the artwork was ice, the glasses were ice. It was a unique place and a great experience. However, the better story happened while we were looking for the Ice Bar…
I knew the bar was in a hotel, but I didn’t know which one. I saw the name of one in the center of town and thought, “Sure, that sounds like the right one.” It wasn’t. But the nice valet boys knew where it was and gave me a map. So my friends and I went out the door and back the way we came. Immediately after crossing the first street I had to step behind my friends to let someone pass and I looked up to make eye contact with him. I did a double take and thought, “That’s Brad Paisley.” I started to say some thing- struggling to think of what to say- should I just say “Hi Brad.” “Brad?” “Are you Brad Paisley?” “You are a phenomenal guitar player.” “Your wife was great on ‘According to Jim.’ Where’s she?” But in the spit second as I was thinking of all of this I also thought, “Of course it’s not Brad Paisley! You’re in Sweden!” Plus, this guy was in running shorts, a tshirt, and a baseball cap since he was just out for a jog. Surely Brad Paisley would have an entourage, or a guitar, or something. So instead I kept the eye contact, gave a little nod, and maybe said “Hi.” We walked a couple steps and I told my friend I thought it was Brad Paisley, but he had no idea who that was. That night I just thought I would Google the current tour schedule, and sure enough- Brad Paisley played Stockholm a couple nights before! Why didn’t I say anything?!?!?!??!
After I stopped beating myself up I was in Helsinki, Finland again. It looked completely different to me this time. Perhaps it was the lack of jet lag. I had lots of time in this port and decided to walk into town instead of taking the bus. The walk began along the water and I liked it so much and I decided to take the long route to town. Over an hour later I got to the center of the city. Another beautiful place. Very historic, but also some great modern design.
The next two days were spent in Russia again and I was blessed with the opportunity to escort a group of guests on a tour. Our first stop was Peterhof a summer palace of the czars. The first room was called the Gold Room and it was so shiny I’m surprised I didn’t go blind. There was gold everywhere- and I don’t mean the walls were painted a warm yellow, I mean there was actual gold (the precious metal, not the color) EVERYWHERE! There was lots of gold throughout Peterhof, but this first room was a ballroom and used for parties so it had the most gold to make a big impact on important guests. All of the rooms inside were impressive- fine china, priceless artwork, mirrors, thrones, gold, etc. It was amazing.
What I liked even more though, were the palace grounds. There are hundreds of fountains at Peterhof because the first czar to live there (Peter) liked fountains. More than just regular fountains though, Peter liked trick fountains. Peter was a prankster. One fountain is called “The Oak Tree.” True to its name, it looks like an oak tree and even has fake flowers “planted” around the bottom of it. However when you get close to it, a valve is turned and water sprays all over you. As you reach the nearby bench to grab a seat to recover from your shock of being suddenly soaked, water sprays up your back as soon as you sit down! Along the path near the oak tree are what looks like an irrigation system. Turns out it’s an irritation system- twice a day water springs forth and covers the nearby pedestrians. Closer to the residence of Czar Peter is a single bench behind a small stone walkway rimmed with trickling water. When tour guides step onto the stones the trickle gets a bit bigger, when tourists step on it the trickle turns into a shower.
After our day at Peterhof, the summer palace, we were on our way to the Hermitage, the winter palace. On the way we stopped for a traditional Russian lunch- complete with champagne and vodka, well only champagne for me- 11:30 am seems a tad early for vodka- but I guess not for the Russians. I did however, have caviar for the first time- not bad, but not something I’m dying to try again either.
The Hermitage is now an art museum featuring originals from Degas, Picasso, Da Vinci, Monet, Rembrandt, and many, many others. I saw so much art in such a short amount of time it was overwhelming. The palace is still very much intact, just much of the furniture has been removed and artwork added. So there was still lots of gold and a very impressive throne room. There was also an Egyptian exhibit feature hieroglyphics and mummies. Our tour didn’t include that part, but when our guide gave us a bathroom break I ran down the hall and took a peek.
The next two stops were back to Tallin, Estonia and Gothenburg, Sweden. More of the same here. Then it was back to Harwich to begin our Transatlantic Crossing- about which I have many, many more stories.
At this point I surmise you need a break from reading and I need a break from writing, but I will post tales of the crossing very soon. I’ve had an amazing 5 weeks, but it’s good to be back in the US as I’m doing New England and Canada cruises at the moment. This is actually my favorite itinerary- it feels more like home, lots to do outside, and no exchange rate.
More to come….
