The Ides and Gruxy Baltic Blog 2007

[Ides of March]

Greetings fellow CC'ers:

 

Some of you may recall our thread of the 2006 World Cruise "Circle of the Sun" on the beloved Good Ship Prinsendam. (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=273494&highlight=Ides) attempting to continue the efforts of the Great Grumpy sharing the wonders of the world as we experienced them with others.

 

Well we are off again on the Kiel Canal Cruise leaving Amsterdam on July 10th, same ship, same cabin but only 14 nights and you are again invited to swim along.

 

We leave Ottawa on the 6th flying to Paris for a few days of crunching snails and sipping wine on les bateaux mouche, then training to Amsterdam on the 9th emulating our first train trip in 76 when we backpacked 11 countries on a Eurail pass. We will meet up with our Aussie friends Bruce and Vikky (Prez an VP of the Coffee Club aka Future Friends of Bill W), Leon and Ella from The City and Ross and his daughter from TO, all but the daughter being WC 2006 alumni for a nite of gaiety in Red Light City before boarding on the 10th.

 

Grux will have a picture blog elsewhere and I will pass on the URL when she sees fit to inform me (everyone else in the family already knows)

 

So now that I have a URL to circulate I will sign off until established in Cabin 438 under the Internet Cafe on the Good Ship Lollipop and so

 

Until that time....

 

Ides

[Old As Dirt Mom]

This one's a relative "quickie" for you:) .Standing by with anticipation! If I voyaged along with you vicariously for 3 1/2 months last year, I can easily follow for 14 days:D Thanks, and Bon Voyage!

[Maryandi]

Hi Ides, wishing you both a great voyage and looking forward to the blow-by-blow account.

 

Enjoyed your RTW accounts so much , we kept up the tradition of happy hour at deck 8 aft !! We were on the 56 day Grand Med. & Africa on the Prinsendam this spring. The group grew to a respectable number, thanks for the idea.

However, in all that time the hot tub only worked for about a week !!

 

MaryAnn

[RuthC]

Perfect timing! Since you will be handing off the baton to me on the 24th you can fill me in on all the details before I board. Yippee! :)

I'm looking forward to everything you have to report---the ship, the staff/crew, the ports---don't leave out a thing.

[Ides of March]

My DW has informed me she is going to use her old travel website at;

 

http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Gruxy/

 

To Middle-Aged Mom: I have always enjoyed a good "quickie" altho Grux has been less enthusiastic. Funny how this trip is solely her idea. Pity she has come around so late in life.

 

Gotta go pack as we leave later today.

 

Ides

[Ine]

Welcome to Amsterdam,. but be prepared to cool, rainy and windy weather...Only Sunday will be nice, but the rains come back after that!

[ldog]

Oh, I can't wait to live vicariously through your reports! I hope you have time to post. When we were on our Baltic cruise we were so tired every day that we just fell into bed at night. There is so much to see and so little time.

 

bon voyage!

[R'n'M]

Hi guys...........

 

We're with you all the way ..... won't be the same without us, and we sure wish we were with you. Bon voyage!!!!!

[Ides of March]

Greetings All:

And so begins the travelogue on our 2007 voyage around the Baltic on the Good Ship Prinsendam.

Getting There:

The flight from Ottawa to Paris via Montréal was smooth but nonetheless uncomfortable for the writer due to the crowded conditions in cattle class on the Air Canada Airbus A330. The pocket on the seat in front of me had a wire bar with semicircular projections that corresponded exactly with my kneecaps and when I complained to the snotty cabin steward, he explained that he only worked on the planes and did not design them. I would have bet that the seats on this plane were designed by a sadistic cabin crew bent on revenge. I managed to rip the bar from its moorings which gave some relief only to enjoy a constant back massage from the knees of the tall passenger behind me for the duration.

Paris

After a refreshing four-hour nap at our hotel near the Gare Du Nord we metro’d to the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed a picnic in a small park near its base. A sandwich, bottle of wine and three small containers of calamari, sun-dried tomatoes and olives set us back over €30. Not the Paris we recall from our backpacking days. A Seine Cruise on the original Bateaux Mouches followed after a leisurely stroll along the banks of that famed waterway. Most enjoyable. The bridges are beautiful as is the Eiffel Tower which is illuminated in a soft golden glow until hundreds of strobe lights scattered among its beams erupt in frenetic flashing. Looks like a big Christmas tree on meth. A bit tacky but luckily only periodic

On the second day we started with Les Marche Aux Puces or flea markets near the Clignancourt metro station. When we emerged we were confronted with acres of tented stalls selling cheap junk. An elderly lady who saw Grux consulting a map gave us directions to the expensive junk a few blocks away. Turns out she is a doctor’s widow and has a shop in the more upscale Serpette market which she invited us to visit.

There are about 13 high-end markets where I’m sure God would shop if he had the money. Gilded furniture, statuary, old fountains ,birdbaths, and mirror’s you would need a crane to install proliferated. It would be a handy place to know about if you were redecorating Versailles. Our friend told us it was common for locals to bring along their chauffeur to load their purchases into the Bentley. As our chauffeur was still driving the Metro we didn’t buy anything although we were tempted by a ceramic handled cane and all for only €460.

On to the Louvre in the afternoon to see the pyramid of DaVinci Code fame, the Mona Lisa and sundry other antiquities. The paintings were most enjoyable and we were taken with one by Jean something David showing Napoleon crowning Josephine .The painting was massive but demonstrated intricate detail and we sat and enjoyed it for about 15 minutes which given the writer’s attention span is very impressive. The highlight of our visit.

Amsterdam

The next day we trained to Amsterdam transferring in Brussels and it was fun to ride the rails once again even if we were in second class. On the Eurail pass in 76, during our student days we traversed Europe in the first class splendour. Look at where these years of hard work have brought us.

We had a joyful reunion at the Prinz Hendrik Hotel with our friends Bruce and Vicky from Brisbane, Leon and Ella from NYC and Ross and his daughter Patty from the Toronto area, all but Patty being Prinsendam WV veterans. We took a daytime stroll through the nearby red light district in late afternoon and enjoyed the window shopping. I was quite surprised and how beautiful was the merchandise so early in the day as I remembered being told on our last visit in 76 that the truly beautiful women only started work in the very late evening but I must say it would be hard to improve on what we saw. As I expected I received a far more welcoming reception when I would walk alone as opposed with the Grux and the others. I never did have the opportunity to do any price comparisons.

After a late afternoon meal at an Irish pub on the banks of a canal we returned to the hotel for a brief rest before embarking on an evening canal cruise. It was delightful but I was asleep in the boat by its end. Back to the hotel for 11 hours of shuteye.

After a wonderful Dutch breakfast and a walk into the heart of town with stops to buy booze we taxied to the passenger terminal in a deafening thunder storm and began the two-hour process of gaining admission to the ship. Computer problems they said.

Being back on the Prinsendam was like putting on a comfortable pair of old slippers. Everything seems so familiar and inviting. We were somewhat disappointed to learn that Captain Gunderson is on shore leave and the Captain Christopher Turner will be driving. There are very few familiar faces in evidence other than one guitar player, the bar manager and Barbera the port lecturer. Same great service although the Pdam seems a little more shopworn missing tiles in the bath, clogged shower heads and similar minor inconveniences.

The sail away party at the Lido Pool was a tame affair due primarily to the cash bar so Madam President of the Coffee Club (Vicky) called an emergency meeting on the aft of deck 8. The newcomers were baptized in a manner of speaking although Patty would not accept that part of the initiation ritual was a nude dip in the hot tub. We enjoyed the sailout through the long and winding entrance to Amsterdam harbour and when the ship locked up to the North Sea we levitated with it.

Our group all enjoyed dinner together at a table hastily assembled by the dining room manager even on our first night which demonstrates the level of service and we were all to bed immediately thereafter.

Kiel Canal.

This 60 mile canal is the busiest man-made waterway in the world and I would believe it. You enter through a mechanized lock of modest lift and transit through varying areas of heavy industry, beautiful pastoral settings and pleasant villages. It was rainy and cold and the Grux was experiencing the first sniffles she has had since we were in Antarctica a year and a half ago on the ship so we stayed in our cabin for the most part while she guzzled OJ and watch the scenery roll by. The Kiel Canal is pleasant but I wouldn’t consider it a destination in itself like the Suez.

That great trivia team The BridesMades were reconstituted and lived up to their name placing second.

Berlin- Ich Bin Ein Berliner- JFK

And I always thought he was from Massachusetts.

Assembling the Queens Lounge after a lousy night’s sleep with the Grux hacking and the writer experiencing the Elliot Lake Boogie complete with sulfuric overtones that my family so enjoys, we embarked by train (first class) for the three-hour ride to the great city of Berlin. The day was cold rainy and miserable which was unfortunate as that so greatly impacts on one’s impression of a city being enjoyed for the first time.

We arrived at a train station on the east side of East Berlin and with our wonderful guide Janna proceeded past nondescript cheaply constructed apartments erected for the proletariat many without sewer or water. They’re now being refurbished a great cost

and all of East Berlin now resembles one big construction site. Architects from all over the world are having a field day as the eastern sector is re-created and it’s quite striking is the beautiful modern structures rising beside high-rise dumps. Much of what is now deemed too ugly or too painful to endure is being torn down and rebuilt which leads to incredible engineering problems. The water table is so high that buildings are constructed in concrete tubs and float in place. As a building is removed the tubs must be simultaneously filled with sand to compensate for the lost weight or the tubs would float up and drain the groundwater from the surroundings causing the wooden pilings that the older palaces and cathedrals are built upon to dry out and collapse. A very expensive proposition but luckily the German economy is robust.

We had a one hour ride on the river Spree at least a portion of which formed the “Death Zone” of the infamous Berlin Wall enjoying caffe und torte en route. After more touring past palaces, churches and innumerable government buildings with Third Reich pedigrees we stopped for what the Germans consider a light lunch and I’m still enjoying the red cabbage.

We then zigzagged along the route of the Berlin Wall portions of which have been preserved and arrived at Checkpoint Charlie which I must admit to being a disappointment as it’s nothing more than a series of photographs that appear on a large wooden wall as one would see around a construction site and which keeps the prying eyes of the tourists away from an overgrown grass field where the actual Checkpoint Charlie once stood. There were souvenir shops and phony soldiers dressed in American and Russian uniforms who you can have your picture taken with for a euro or have your passwords stamped by them for somewhat more. My passport is too serious a document to take such a risk.

We then went to the Brandenburg Gate but had to walk around it as they were celebrating Fashion Week in a tent affixed to it. It has not being used as a gate since 1961 due to its location on the immediate edge of the Death Zone. It is surrounded by many modern buildings all of which have been constructed in the last decade and the whole East Berlin sector must have been terribly bleak prior to 1989.

We then walked to the Reichstad which is the current home of the German parliament and which boasts a magnificent dome on his roof. We entered and went up to the roof where one can walk up a ramp that spirals within the dome to its apex before descending via a different ramp. There is a central pillar of angled mirrors that reflect light through the dome and down into the Legislature. The entire effect is quite impressive and well worth a visit.

After driving by the Holocaust Memorial which constitutes an entire city block of marble boxes of varying sizes and which I’m told by others who visited is quite spectacular when one walks through them on undulating paths, we proceeded to a preserved section of the Wall which serves as the official memorial. Here we received a more detailed description of how the city of Berlin was partitioned with East Germany completely surrounding the western sector of the city necessitating the American and British airlift of the necessities of life including coal and food so that of the West Berliners could survive immediately after the partition. A great history lesson that has now piqued my interest.

We then drove through the more affluent sector that wqas the west. Modern, garish, commercial and entirely forgettable.

Onto the train for the 2 ½ hour ride back to the harbour at Warnemunder during which we feasted on a tour supplied box lunch of cold meat balls and apple juice. When we departed at the train station there was a walk of about a kilometer to the ship but to at least my surprise there were about 30 or more crewmembers lined up with wheelchairs to assist the elderly and infirm after a grueling day. Great touch and foresight. We saw nothing remotely close to this considerate act on our entire WC.

All in all a most memorable, exhausting (14 ½ hour) and somewhat unpleasant day due to the weather. HAL charged $389 US per person which we perceived as being a high but overall within the bounds of reasonableness given the hassle factor. Friends who traveled on their own and used the Hop-on Hop-off Bus did much the same for half the cost.

Today a sea day as we steam to Helsinki Finland. Grux got lectured, and bought amber, I lost the Texas Hold’Em tourney on the River and we relaxed. Coffee Club now.

It now gets very hectic so posts may be sporadic (as if this one constitutes regular) and so…

Until that Time…

Ides

[MumsTheWord*]

:) OH GOODY, GOODY, GOODY!

I can't wait!!!!! Your travel journals are always SO EXCELLENT!:)

Happy Sails Ides and Gruxy!

[arzz]

Thanks Ides -- I love armchair cruising, especially when it is on my favorite Prinsendam. Do have a great cruise and keep posting!

[RuthC]

Nice start to what will be a nice report. Thanks! :)

I'd forgotten what the check-in area in Amsterdam is like, but you've refreshed my memory sufficiently; I hope all goes well there when I board soon.

Would you please mention who is playing in the lounges, and what you think of them (if you get a chance to sample the goods, of course). I'd appreciate it.

In the meantime enjoy your trip to the Baltic. I loved that area when I was there. I'd love to go back!

[Williebill]

I'm looking forward to your trip on the beloved Prinsendam.

[Ides of March]

Finland and Russia

As I write this report we have just completed our second day of touring St. Petersburg with the Denrus Tour organization. It was absolutely fantastic and you can’t believe how glad I am that it is over. Just pooped. I see from reviewing Grux’s blog which she is far more diligent in preparing than am I, that the basic details have been communicated so I will just give my impressions.

Helsinki Finland

We arrived early on a Saturday morning and unfortunately Helsinki was closed. Grux had wanted to fly up to Lapland to see Rudolph the Alcoholic Reindeer but that tour was not been offered on this cruise because of Saturday transportation schedules. Helsinki was essentially deserted on this Saturday, the locals probably having left town so any vivacity it may have was not in evidence.

HAL seems to be sparing every expense for our touring pleasure on this cruise as we docked in a commercial port area and had to pay either five dollars or five euro per person each way to get into town. If they are too cheap to pay docking fees for the downtown port as they have in times past as repeaters tell me, you think they would picked up the tab for transportation. Most pax were po’d.

We first walked to an artisan market where they were selling fur hats, pelts, T-shirts and the like for what seemed like incredibly high prices. The only thing that caught my interest where the knives with reindeer bone handles but which started at about €100 so I passed.

On to see some forgettable churches and then a long walk to the Rock Church which has rough rock walls and is more a grotto than a building. Not bad.

The town is OK with wide boulevards and connected six story pastel buildings but being devoid of life seemed dreary

Finally to a flea market where I found nothing of interest especially at the commanded prices with attempts to negotiate drawing blank stares.

The day was overcast and cold which didn’t help but I saw nothing to catch my interest. I was disappointed.

St Petersburg Russia

Now this is one of the great cities of the world.

From reading Grumpy’s blog of a year ago, a copy of which we are using as a tour guide, I learned of Denrus and having passed the blog to the Grux who booked our entire entourage with them I’m now a hero. We tried to get Grumpy’s Olga but when Denrus told us all their guides were called Olga we went with fate. They lied as we got Anna who was superb having been an Intourist guide eventually becoming the Smithsonian’s exclusive choice when they sent scholars over.

On day 1 we got a drive around with history lesson, a boat trip to see the same stuff from below, and a few palace tours. The Peter and Paul cathedral or fortress or whatever it was was outstanding seeing the tombs of the Tsars and their families. Very touching.

The highlight of the day (if not the cruise) to me was our two hour visit to the Hermitage Museum housed in The Great Cathy’s Winter Palace, Hermitage, Hermitage Gallery and maybe another addition she added to her pad. I’m not a museum type but the beauty of the buildings and the grandeur of the art collection from Rembrandt, to Picasso via Monet Renoir, Cezanne and a few dozen more old masters was mind boggling. Anna kept us moving but always to the best paintings each gallery had to offer outmaneuvering other tour groups with the expertise of a real pro. She communicated a tremendous insight of the artists and particular paintings she was showing us. Exhausting but I was sorry when we left. I thought the Louvre was something but this place put it in the shade.

We went to another palace before completing our 10 ½ hour day and after a quick visit to the Lido for some restorative beef, crashed and burned early.

On day 2 we started at 8;15 allowing us to be the first group to arrive at the Summer Palace of Peter the Great outside of town. This has got to be the most beautiful building I have ever seen. From the magnificent gold and white entrance stairway, each large chamber seemed more breathtaking than the last. The colours varied room to room and each was special in its own way. Words can’t suffice and I doubt the photos will either so I’m glad I saw it in person. We then walked the gardens past spectacular fountains and statuary down to the Gulf of Finland where Pete had a modest little seaside pavilion where he would escape to waste a lot of time. Versailles may have better manicured gardens but I certainly found the overall package offered here superior.

On to lunch at a nice restaurant where we downed a few iced vodkas straight and where we had stroganoff for a second day, this time chicken as opposed to the beef of a day earlier which had the texture of shredded leather car seats.

Finally to the Yusupov palace for another tour. These digs were owned by a rich Moslem family who converted to orthodoxy. Its famous as being the locale where Rasputin bought it. He was a Siberian peasant who got religion and became a faith healer to the Czarina and her hemophiliac son. Disgruntled nobles poisoned him and when that didn’t work shot him three times before dumping the body in the river. They found out later that he had actually drowned. Didn’t matter much as the revolution occurred a few months later so the nobles got theirs quickly.

St Petes is a study in contrasts. Shabby in most areas with spauling stucco exteriors on the tenements that house the common folk, there are also areas of utter splendour and beauty. Lots of smoking Ladas but also a lot of Mercedes and Bimmers. The young Russian women are extremely comely, much to my surprise, but beauty must be fleeting here due perhaps to a difficult life experience because you don’t see many attractive middle aged or older women. Men and women are pretty dour and there isn’t much gaiety in evidence.

All in all Russia was a very memorable experience and I certainly have a different perspective of it after but two days in St Petersburg.

On to Estonia tomorrow (groan) but first the Coffee Club for sailaway where we will try to spot the 40 small palaces Putin had the Tycoons finance to hold world summits and the Summer Palace itself. Anna says chilled vodka sharpens the eyesight. I’ll let you know.

Until that time…

Ides

ps Sorry for delay in posting.... computer glitch

[luvcruisn']

Thank you for your description of your time in St. Petersburg. It brought back memories of the time I spent there on my Baltic cruise in 2001. I am sorry that your day in Helsinki was so disappointing. I guess we were lucky when we were there, as it was a lovely summer day, there were lots of people sitting in the park having coffee, and at that time, the prices in the flea market were reasonable.

[ldog]

thank you for posting. I know how tired you are after losing an hour two days in a row.

 

Just think, you'll start gaining them back now. You'll have an extra hour of sleep tonight before you get to Estonia so you'll be able to enjoy!

[Ides of March]

Estonia and Sweden

Tallin Estonia

Tallin was a most pleasant surprise. A medieval walled city with a large rounded cobblestones throughout. Real ankle breakers.

We walked through pleasant parks to a town gate and were at St Olaf’s church when it opened. Grux climbed the 350 steps up the steeple and was very proud of herself.

Then happy strolling up the mountain for intermittent shopping in small shops and more church visits. The prices here were about the same as Russia, high but not exorbitant.

I bought an old cane at an antique shop more because of its history than its appearance. I sure wish it could talk.

Stopped with Leon and Ella for a great lunch just off the main square. Grux was enjoying the sardines when Leon informed her that they were in fact jellied lamprey eels. She lost her appetite for almost 30 seconds.

Celebrity had the Constellation in port populated in large part by gay cruisers. Tour group after tour group of attractive men would stop in front of us and vogue for each other much to Grux’s enjoyment. We calculated that the 4 cruise ships in town offloaded 10,000 pax so it got pretty crowded.

Very pleasant and mildly memorable.

Stockholm Sweden

When I awoke at 4am we were sailing very close to beautiful islands in the Stockholm archipelago. I thought I was back home at the lake. Same cap rock, and vegetation as Quebec. The homes or cottages were of a different style, more substantial .

Stockholm is a stately city with lovely rivers or canals, palaces and wide boulevards. Unlike Helsinki, people abounded in the cool sunshine and the place was alive. The cities are similar so time and weather have to be right.

Got on the Hop On and went right to Vasa museum where they have restored this magnificent ship that sank on its maiden voyage some 350 years ago after a 20 minute sail. King Gustav wanted to impress the Polish nation with the boat so it is replete with wood carvings of himself and roman soldiers trampling poles. He should have cut back on the artwork and concentrated on naval architecture.

The gun ports on the lowest of 3 gun decks are about 2 feet above the waterline and instead of having them battened for the first sea trials they were open to allow a salute to be fired in honour of the King. Slight breeze, slight heel, quick plunge to the bottom.

Lots of tourists so they are thinking of a series of museums featuring great Swedish gaff’s. Today of course they boast Alinghi so they have redeemed themselves.

Rode the HOHO bus around the circuit listening to the commentary but seeing no reason to get off. Then a stroll through some shopping streets with Leon and Ella to purchase Aquavit that the call schnapps here, a quick sandwich and back to the boat by ferry.

Pleasant but forgettable as being a little bland for my taste.

Kalmar, a tender port is cancelled due to winds so we over-nighted in Stockholm although few left the ship. Most including me relish the extra sea day.

On to Walessaburg.

Until that time…..

Ides

[TedC]

Most enjoyable reading - it's a real pleasure to follow your journey.

 

(I think you confused the excitng Swedes with the equally exciting Swiss in the Alinghi reference, however.)

[RuthC]

The ship, Ides. The ship. Is there nothing you can say about the Prinsendam and the goings on aboard? I'm hungry for information here.

Please?

[Ides of March]

Last Day- At Sea (North)

As I write this we are on our last sea day steaming leisurely back to Amsterdam on calm seas. I have been lax in posting but having read Grux’s blogs there hasn’t been a lot to add.

Gdansk Poland

On arriving at the famous seaport and viewing the monuments dedicated to the Solidarity union and Mr. Walessa, we joined Leon and Ella and the rest of our group for a pleasant drive through the Polish countryside to the Stutthof concentration camp. The camp itself was a sobering experience but well worthwhile.

We passed through a holiday village crammed with local revelers but couldn’t identify what the attraction was for that particular town as it was no ocean, lake or any such attraction nearby.

Back into Gdansk for a quick walk down a canal, through a fortress gate, to an obligatory cathedral and some browsing in sidewalk shops. Lots of Amber and other tourist related merchandise. The town was pretty and the narrow adjoining homes featured intricate cornices in a step pattern giving an overall very attractive effect. Back on the bus without having found Goldwasser, a local vodka liqueur that our mediocre guide had raved about and then failed to deliver.

Pleasant and memorable only for the camp.

Kobenhaven Denmark

Our day started with a visit to the Little Mermaid which was located close to the ship. A favorite of pigeons and tourists alike and, as it turned out to be, highlight of our day. We bought a hop on hop off pass for $30 US per person and which was good for two days. This was the same in Oslo and seems to be a way of taking advantage of cruise ship passengers.

There were three routes and we went around all of them looking at the generic Scandinavian big-city architecture. We didn’t feel compelled to hop off at all and tried to look interested as we were informed of the location of the veterinary College and like attractions.

We finally walked down a crowded shopping promenade alive with people, through a very pleasant park and caught the bus back to the boat. A very forgettable day and most in the group expressed disappointment.

Oslo Norge

Expectations were not running high and as is usual in such situations we were very pleasantly surprised.

The Veendam was already in port when we arrived and as we came down the ramp we met Cynchia, an ACD on our World Voyage who is just a lovely lady in all ways. She is from São Paulo Brazil and taught Portuguese to the Grux and others prior to our arrival in Rio. Great to see her and there were hugs all around.

Onto the single bus for a ride around town. Unlike Copenhagen or Stockholm we found many reasons to hop off in this city the first and best being the Vigeland Park featuring 212 statues in bronze and granite created by this genius. They depict all stages in a human life from a belligerent baby to very old women who a doctor in the crowd identified as displaying facial paralysis consistent with a major stroke. I had seen pictures of this park taken by my Aunt on a visit earlier this summer but I wasn’t expecting the impact these works of art have on one. Comparable to Gaudi in Barcelona.

On to the Viking Museum where we unwittingly walked in with a HAL tour group and didn’t have to pay. Beautiful lines on these big canoes and utterly amazing that they could have traveled as far as they did on the open seas.

I hopped off near the Kon Tiki museum where Hyderdahl’s rafts are in dry-dock and did visit the nearby Fram(?) museum to peek thru the door and see Armundson’s polar ship. Slightly more substantial than the Viking boats but not much.

We visited City Hall for a pit stop, a wonderful fortress for the resistance Museum and had a nice walk on the dock back to the ship. The Maasdam which was also in port pulled out and exchanged salutes with the Prinsendam.

All in all a very enjoyable day and a great way to end our touring on this cruise.

Scuttlebutt on the Prinsendam

Ruth C has asked for more details on the goings-on aboard. Truth be told we have been so tired at the end of each day that we try to attend the Coffee Club for sail away, struggle through dinner, and hit the hay so most of what I know of shipboard activity is through rumour, primarily conveyed by Ross.

Queen Lee as she is known aboard, is presently in the midst of a six-month continuous cruise on the Pdam and being a good friend of Ross has been a font of information. Apparently this will set some form of record.

The ship itself is very tired to put it charitably and does not even approach the Bristol condition it was in at the beginning of our world voyage 1 ½ years ago. For example the cover of the smoke detector in our room is held on by two strips of black electrical tape, one of the doors in our writing desk doesn’t open, tiles are cracked in our bathroom, and the screen on deck seven that gives your current location, speed, ETA etc. has been inoperable since the beginning of the cruise as well as channel 40.

Lee advises that the boat is going in for a major refit in which all of the bathrooms will be replaced probably too pretty the old girl up prior to its been sold. We figure this is probably our last cruise on her at least under the HAL banner but I know these rumors have been circulating for years.

We had hoped and expected that this cruise would be an extension of our WV experience but sadly it hasn’t even come close. To begin with on the WV we have at most 620 pax of which 500 were on for the long haul. This cruise has 780 pax and the boat is rated for 740 so it’s very crowded with very long lineups in the Lido at breakfast and lunch.

The food has been mediocre to good as opposed to very good to outstanding as we expected. Some meals have been downright inedible such as the corned beef with raw cabbage. Ross has sometimes sent back two meals before finding something palatable. The general consensus in our group is that the food is very disappointing but we don’t know if this is because of a general reduction in standards as HAL is Carnavalized or if the WV is given the highest priority. I suspect it is a bit of both.

We were also somewhat disappointed that Captain Gunderson is on shore leave and that Captain Christopher “Scruffy” Turner is our boat driver. We have nothing against Scruffy other than that he isn’t Gunderson. He seems to be a very able seaman and personally checks the mooring lines after each docking which I never saw the Good Captain do. He is very personable but I get the impression he is rather shy and prefers scripted appearances rather than being out and about and accessible like Gunderson.

Impressions

I found this cruise to be very hard work given the crowded itinerary and sometimes wondered if it was worth it. St. Petersburg is a must see city like Istanbul, Rio, or Venice so on balance for that port alone I would have to vote in the affirmative. The Scandinavian ports all seem very much the same and it was hard to generate enthusiasm for them on my part. Being with our friends again was terrific.

Berlin was intellectually stimulating to see how a common people were compelled to lead quite dissimilar existences, and Tallinn was the most pleasant surprise.

Now I’m off to team trivia which the Bridesmaids have yet to win facing much stiffer competition than on the WV and then to the hold-em tournament after lunch. Grux is up on deck walking for cancer with the ladies and we will of course have our farewell coffee club meeting tonight.

That’s it folks. Sorry I couldn’t be more enthusiastic but again I’m sure my perspective will change once I’m rested and back in the mundane activities of everyday life although I am looking forward to my La-Z-Boy if not the three briefs I have to prepare by mid-August.

I’ll probably have a few concluding comments once I’m home and so….

Until that time

Ides

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Finland and Russia

 

Helsinki Finland

 

We arrived early on a Saturday morning and unfortunately Helsinki was closed. Grux had wanted to fly up to Lapland to see Rudolph the Alcoholic Reindeer but that tour was not been offered on this cruise because of Saturday transportation schedules. Helsinki was essentially deserted on this Saturday, the locals probably having left town so any vivacity it may have was not in evidence.......

 

 

The town is OK with wide boulevards and connected six story pastel buildings but being devoid of life seemed dreary..............

 

 

 

Ides

 

ps Sorry for delay in posting.... computer glitch

 

 

I've been following along with you, Ides, but have not had the opportunity to respond before this. Just a day or so after I read your impression of Helsinki, I happened to read the following, in the August 2007 edition of Gourmet Magazine, interestingly enough:

 

".... [Finland is] a country of only about 5.2 million people, where forests still cover 69 percent of the land......[Every summer] a sizable portion of the population retreats to almost 500,00 summer cottages. Forty percent of the population fishes, and more than half engage in berry picking or mushroom foraging.........."

 

 

So you were correct in concluding that most of the locals had left town, because indeed they had. They were all away communing with nature........:)

 

OK, well I'm glad I got that riveting tidbit off my chest;) . Now I can call it a day, and sleep with a sound conscience knowing I've provided you with an explanation, whether you wanted it or not;)

 

Karin