Rendezvous in Copenhagen
On Tuesday, May 20 we flew from Budapest to Copenhagen where we met up with the Riley's and the Parker's and the beautiful Crown Princess. After setting sail in the evening we spent Wednesday Day 1 settling in, relaxing and cruising the open seas
Day 2 Stockholm
Our ship passed hundreds of islands with small cottages and villages as we sailed into Stockholm. What fun it was to go ashore and spend the day with Jared and Kelli and Scarlett. We toured the Vassa Museum (see Kelli's blog for a great picture and description)and walked the old town where we had lunch.
Day 3 Helsinki
We cruised through the night while Jared, Kelli and Scarlett flew into Helsinki were we met the next day. Not a lot to see but we took an unplanned tour of the city with them and Rhonda and Ron and the "locals" on the city trolley en route to the Rock Church. We had lunch in a fish/produce market converted from an old train station. We got our dose of kisses and hugs from Scarlett!
Day 4-5 St. Petersburg
After bidding farewell to Kelli and Jared in Helsinki we set sail for Russia! The two days there were spent with Ron and Rhonda on a "grand tour" offered by Princess. Besides the Hermitage, we visited Peter and Paul's Cathedral, took a boat tour of the canals, went in the country to the summer palace of Catherine the Great and toured the Church of the Spilled Blood. All of it....Fascinating!
Church of the Spilled Blood
Our very knowledgable and efficient Russian guide for both days of our tours.
Touring the grounds at the Summer Palace outside of the city. Gorgeous!
Leaving the St. Petersburg dock...a very industrial area.
Day 7 Poland
It was sad to bid Kelli's family farewell in Tallinn but we returned to the ship and headed for Poland. We took a city tour of Gdansk with Parkers and Rileys. We finally "ditched" our tour group and had lunch together and did some shopping. What a charming city! The old town was rebuilt as it had once been before it was destroyed during WW2.
From Gdansk we sailed for Oslo which required a relaxing day at sea. In Norway we took a city tour with the Rileys and visited a viking ship museum, an Olympic ski jump and a park filled with sculptures depicting the circle of life.
View from the Ski Jump
Contemplating our Old Age
Contemplating....
Day 10 Copenhagen
Alas...all good things come to an end. Day 10 found us back where we began. We spent the day in Copenhagen with the Rileys taking a tour of the city. Our favorite part was a boat tour of the canals. Beautiful! Later we took a bus tour and the last stop on the drive around the city found us in at another church. At this point we were OVER churches but we went in and in the front of the chapel stood the original Christus. Our guide pointed out that there is a "replica" in SLC.
And one last picture....After the cruise
2 comments:
I'm ready when you are for New Zealand!!! love you guys...rhonda
Looks and sounds like you had a fantastic trip! Those buildings are amazing! Thanks for posting your trip. It was really fun to look at.
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