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George has been to Europe, including Athens, about eight times, and Teresa has gone to the Aegean, Europe, and Central America with her sweetie; but neither had been to the Baltic. Princess Cruises (PC) had an attractive 14-day cruise hitting many of the high spots of this area that sounded very interesting.
August 17, 1998, we drove to El Paso, parked the car at the Hilton, and flew to Dallas, where we took an overnight plane non-stop to London. As usual, it's a long flight with very few hours of darkness, and hence little sleep. We arrived at Gatwick (London) at 7 am, and were met by PC representatives, who drove us to the Glouchester Hotel in the Kensington area; this is very nice hotel. After a nap, we took the Underground to Baker Street, and did Madame Troussaud's Wax Museum, which we enjoyed. After savoring a local pub's dinner of steak and kidney pie, and fish and chips, we retired for the day.
On August 19th, we went to the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, spending practically the whole day there. For a free museum, it was unusually uncrowded. After a nice dinner at the hotel, we again took the Underground to Picadilly Circus. At the Picadilly Theater we saw Shaw's "Major Barbara", starring Peter Bowles, whom George has enjoyed in the British TV series "To the Manor Born", and other shows.
On Thursday, August 20th, we went by PC bus to the white cliffs of Dover, boarded the Pacific Princess, and sailed at 5 pm. The boat carries about 640 passengers, small enough you get to recognize the other passengers and make friends. It travels about 20 miles per hour. The weather was windy, and the North Sea was a bit rough.
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We arrived in Amsterdam, August 21st. We took a bus to Marken, mostly driving below sea level (thanks to the dykes), and then enjoyed a boat ride across the Zuider Zee to Volendam to visit a small cheese factory. The former Zuider Zee is in the process of being drained. It was cold and rainy, but Tree, who is from Portland, Oregon, thought it just fine.
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Saturday, August 22nd, we were at sea all day. It was even more rough, and many passengers were seasick, but not we.
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On August 23rd we were in Copenhagen and took a walking tour from the Little Mermaid, past the Gefion Fountain, Nyhavn, and Amalienborg Palace. We stopped for a true Danish pastry, hot from the oven, dripping with rich sweet icing. We carried on, walking in the misty rain past Hojbro Plads to the City Hall Square. Though it rained off and on, we went to Tivoli Gardens on our own. They had a shooting gallery with make-believe cannons that were fairly realistic and fun. We took the thrilling Oden Express rollercoaster, and rode on their famous old Ferris wheel, like you're sitting in a hot air balloon. We felt almost like Steve Fawcett... We had lunch at Tivoli with beer, a good hot sandwich, and the largest dark chocolate coconut tort we could ever imagine! Teresa was very impressed with all the beautiful blooming flowers and the lovely fountains.
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Monday, August 24th, we were at sea the whole day. Tree joined a line dancing class that day, as well as other days, showing considerable aptitude, much to George's amusement. The sea was calmer.
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After arriving in Stockholm, Sweden, on August 25th, and we took a taxi to Fjallgatan for a panoramic view, then on past the numerous government buildings and the Gamla Stan (old town) to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a great ship of the line launched in 1628, which floundered that very day because of insufficient ballast for the high mast and superstructures. Both Tree and Gee learned something about sailing in ancient days. In the afternoon we visited the Royal Palace and Old Town. That evening aboard ship we saw the movie "Primary Colors", which is quite a take-off on President Clinton.
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The next stop was one of the highlights of the cuise adventure: Helsinki, Finland!
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* Statue of Czar Nicholas on horseback in front of St. Issac's Cathedral (notice statue balanced on just two horse legs) * |
On Thursday, August 29th, we were in St. Petersburg, Russia. We took a city tour and saw St. Isaac's Cathedral, the nearby statue of Nicholas the First on horseback, and Smolny Cathedral where we heard a fabulous choral performance. We stopped and saw the berthed Cruiser Aurora, whose shot signaled the Russian Revolution, and drove past the Yusupov Palace, where the Monk Rasputin was murdered. Also driven past was Peter and Paul Fortress, Peter's Summer Palace, and we stopped and saw the famous Church of the Savior of the Spilt Blood with it's colorful onion-tops. The ruble took a severe nose-dive those days, and only the street vendors could accept American currency.
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* Church of The Savior of the Spilt Blood in Russia * |
At the elegant Astoria hotel we had a meal including champagne, caviar and vodka, with Russian singers. We then rather quickly did the Hermitage Museum (of the Winter Palace), and were much impressed by the fabulous art and artifacts. We bought some amber and malachite jewelry, and George bought a big fur hat for Teresa because she looked so fetching wearing it! That evening we went to a folklorico show with a balalaika orchestra, singers, and enthusiastic dancers. Some of the songs and dances performed were the Cossack dance "Polzunets" and "Kalinka", with gypsy and quadrille dances.
The Russian people had a somber attitude. The city appeared very poor and the roads needed much maintenance. The Russian ruble was falling faster than the American stock market at the time, and there was much doubt about where the Russian economy and political structure was going.
The next day, Friday, we went back to the Hermitage, to see much of it on our own at a more leisurely pace. Teresa was especially thrilled with the opulence of the building itself, perhaps surpassing Versailles.
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A thrilling site for Teresa was to see a poor gypsy woman, (Drawing is by Dr. George Markle) |
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On Saturday, September 1st, we were in Tallinn, Estonia, where we took a walking tour again in the rain. We started walking at Toompea Hill, then on to Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and the Dome Church. Also enjoyed was Town Hall Square, and a Dominican monastery with a medieval musical choral presentation. Tallinn, like Riga, Gdansk, and Lubeck (where the Merklins came from) were part of the Hanseatic League, and thus rich and cosmopolitan.
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On Sunday we were in Riga, Latvia, where we saw old churches and public buildings dating back to the Middle Ages. Tree bought some more amber, and we bravely tried the national pride: balsamic liquor, which tasted like hemlock! The liquor was so disgusting that after pouring it out onto the grass, the grass died right before our eyes...
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Teresa with her new Russian fur hat, and her sweetie-pie-guy, George |
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On Monday we landed in Gdynia, Poland, where we bussed to Gdansk (formerly called Danzig by Germans), and we saw similar old buildings. Most of the city had been in ruins as the result of Russian reconquest. It was the first city attacked at the beginning of World War II. Ironically, it was here that the Solidarity movement occurred. We saw Lech Walesa's new home; our tour guide said he is no longer highly regarded in Poland. We saw St. Mary's Church--the world's largest brick church, and visited Oliwa Cathedral with its impressive 7,876-pipe organ.
Our bus then continued our tour to Malbork, which is the largest castle made of brick in Europe. It was built about 1300 AD by the Teutonic Knights as their main headquarters. These knights conquered much of Poland and parts of the Baltic countries, and even went into Russia, bringing Christianity to some, and destruction to others. An interesting way to trap unsuspecting prisoners was to send them to the castle's "bathroom", which was about a 10 x 10 metal grate to do their "business." Suddenly the grate would drop, plopping the surprised guest to a stinky bottom tunnel to the prison!
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Tuesday, September 1st, was all at sea, and the ship enjoyed a nine hour cruise through the Kiel Canal, passing beautiful country, parks, and villages; people would run out of their lovely homes to wave to the ship. Scullers raced us for a ways and beat us. The canal was opened in 1895 by Kaiser Wilhelm II. It claims to be the world's busiest canal, with about 125 ships using it per day. It's 60 miles long, 335 feet wide, and 36 feet deep. AKA 97 km long, 102 meters wide, and 11 meters deep.
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Our last day we crossed the North Sea again, which was uneventful. We rested up a bit.
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The Pacific Princess is a very nice ship, and we got to make friends with many people. Our delightful Italian table mates were Tony and Toni Marino. We also met Janice from Seattle, a fellow kayaker, and became acquainted with Kate, a dancer on board, who was a constant delight. Generally, it was a more mature group because it was a longer cruise. The crew handled things well, and the food was good, only there was much too much of it. In spite of all the culinary cuisines and desserts, we only gained about one pound each.
Our final day, Thursday, September 3rd, we disembarked in Dover in the rain, and were taken to Gatwick, arriving late because of traffic jams. We made our long flight to Dallas, and on to El Paso. It was a very long day, so we spent the night at the Hilton, then drove home at our leisure on Friday, September 4th, eager to see our little girl doggie, Winkie Poo. Teresa's Mom, and Winkie, were very glad to see us, and we them.
It was a successful, and somewhat educational trip, but we're glad to be home.
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Aegean / 1995 / Mayan / 1997 / Europe / 1998 / Baltic / 1999
