Well thankfully we are both feeling better today, but unfortunately Heather is not too good. A day at sea,  and of rest, should hopefully fix things for her. I’ve been fortunate to have my birthday in various places around the world, but never at Sea, specifically the North Sea.

So far the North Sea has been kind, bright and blustery, and warm ie above 10 degrees ! I’ve had birthday wishes from the Captain, our Cabin Steward Eko, Leon and Heather, Peter and Roz and Hazel has spoilt me with a Scandanavian watch. We are booked into a speciality restaurant tonight, along with a couple from Sydney we’ve got to know. It will be a good finale to what has been a most enjoyable cruise. Tomorrow we make our way back to T42 at Pyford Marina, before heading to Cornwall for a few days. 

I guess it had to happen, crowded tour buses and air con in the ship……Hazel and I have come down. Heather and Leon have been off colour as well, and most of the ship seems to be spluttering away. It didn’t matter yesterday, being a day at Sea. Today we are at Arhus in Denmark. We staggered off the ship to find a chemist but we are back onboard now in bed with hot drinks. Another day at sea tomorrow so hopefully we can get over the worst before resuming our travels as we fly back to the UK 

An easier start this morning, with a balmy 3 degrees. After spending a short time on the hop on, hop off bus we could see our driver was following a different route and didn’t like stopping. Going thru the city centre the traffic snarled up and the snow started to fall heavily. We had eventually worked out which stop the Sweedish Historic museum was on,  but our driver ducked down a side street to find another cruise ship with 4000 Italians trying to get on our bus without tickets. Chaos ! We decided to stay on the bus till we got back to our ship. The 1 hour trip had taken 3, time to retire to the bar……

Our last organised tour saw a more relaxed start, with the clocks put back and an extra hour in bed. First stop a walk through the old town which soon turned into finding a sheltered spot for the guide to talk to us. The wind seemed to be coming straight off the artic, confirmed with a few snow flurries ! Then onto the Vasa museum. This had made a big impression when last visited as schoolchild, even covered in plastic undergoing preservation. It’s a tremendous asset to Stockholm now, the sheer size is hard to convey with pictures. The carving and construction all done in 3 years is amazing. Lunch of Swedish meatballs, better than at IKEA, was followed by a drive to the old town of Sigtuna. By now it was only a few degrees, all the the gutters were filled with snow.After a quick look round we stopped at Aunty Browns for a cinnamon roll. Abba in the bus back was muffled by snoring from some guests until the driver sung a few folk songs to wake us up. All in all a good day with purchases limited to a book on the Vasa. We have another day in Stockholm tomorrow, so will do our own thing on the hop on hop off bus. Mamma Mia what are we going to do – Dance with a queen or send an SOS ? 

Another cool morning, instead of the highly organised Russian tours we had decided to do our own thing here. The hop on / hop off bus took us around the city and its sights. The early morning walk down the Main Street saw most shops closed, whew, then onto the Sibelius monument. As stunning as ever. We then set off for the botanic gardens, and ended up at the Rock Church, which is in the opposite direction. My tour group gave me the sack and docked my pay… Partly carved out of rock the balcony was shaped like the bow of a ship and had a coiled copper ? roof. Lots of light thru the sidelights gave it a tranquil feel until the tourist buses arrived. I think taking selfies in a church should be banned…but the authorities are obviously very tolerant.  Another loop round in he bus saw us catch up with news and emails via the free wifi. To Sweeden tomorrow for 2 days.

Continuing our adventures….

After St Catherine’s Palace we managed a quick dinner before setting out on the St Petersberg Fitness Track aka a private evening tour of the Hermitage. Our guide set a relentless pace to see as much as possible in 3 hours. If you spent 2 minutes in front of every exhibit here it would take over 9 years to view them all ! We saw some amazing buildings, paintings and sculptures but after 2 hours the eyes started glazing over the 20th Rembrandt……however Alexander always managed to highlight something to keep us going. On exiting we found the Russian Army had set up May Day practice with tanks, planes, helicopters and marching cadets. Crowds had gathered and there was a festival atmosphere, despite the temperature being 2 degrees.

Another early morning start saw  Russian immigration followed by a bus ride to Peterhof. It was too early for the gardens, only a few Crocus showing, but the Palace interior and fountains outside were magnificent. Our guide Julie warmed to us as followed and kept on time. An endless stream of knowledge was transferred ! Russia is such an amazing country, slightly frightening but an amazing experience. A hydrofoil ride back to the city was followed by lunch. The Church of the spilled blood was next, whilst collecting tickets Julie nominated me to hold the spray of plastic orchid flowers keeping our group together. Everybody wanted to a photo and said I’d make a good guide. The church interior was over whelming, being entirely covered in mosaics. A shopping stop followed by a traffic jam saw us embarking 10 minutes before departure. Spasibo Julie and Spasibo Russia 

3 names for the one city….I last visited Leningrad as a young student whilst it was under communist control, so saw lots of changes going to Pushkin, St Catherine’s Palace this morning. Boris, our guide, declared the city the most beautiful city in the world. Unfortunately our route took us thru lots of “brutal” communist architecture, it showed how cities, such as Copenhagen, can do so much more interesting modern architecture whilst still using concrete. St Catherine’s Palace was razed to the ground during the Second World War, whilst the then Lenningrad endured a terrible siege. Going past battlefields where 70,000 unidentified soldiers were mass buried emphasised the terrible price Russia payed for its “freedom”. 

St Catherine’s has been restored, or I think more correctly, reconstructed. Fortunately a lot of the interior objects had been saved, thus giving a sense of originality. Pictures show better than words the shear opulence the Russian Royalty lived in prior to the revolution. After the obligatory tourist shop stop we have returned to the ship, readying ourselves for tonight’s private tour of the Hermitage. We should be able to avoid some of the people that swarmed around the site this morning ! 

Well here we are in sunny, old town Tallinn, all 6 degrees with a wind chill factor of something like -6 ! We decided on the hop on / hop off bus tour, offering 3 different routes. The first took us around the old town so we could get our bearings. We then walked up to the highest point of old town, via the largest known number of amber jewellery shops. After the obligatory euros were exchanged for said goods we meandered onto the town ramparts for a spectacular view. The narrow twisting cobbled streets took a toll on Hazels hip, so we headed back down for lunch via 23 Lei Street. This is the old family home for my mate Harry, and as we had talked a lot about Estonia whilst replacing brake fluid I thought I’d pay homage. A great part of town, sadly the little cafe down the alleyway was closed Harry, and not a Jaguar to be seen anywhere. The Tabuli comes in at lunchtime….we needed something hot to warm us up ! After lunch we made it 20 metres down the street before afternoon tea kicked in ! Fresh coffee and local cakes cannot be ignored….The second tour took us out to the botanic gardens, alas by the time we returned it was too late to go on the third one to the Seaplane museum, something to do on the next visit I think. All in all a great day and amazing city, but it must be freezing during winter…..

An early morning start saw a 3 hour drive to Berlin, our shore excursion for today. The coach was only half full, so together with a couple from Sydney (who had also originally booked on Voyager) we formed an Australian sector.  A microphone fault with the coach didn’t bode well to start. However this was fixed by Jonas during a comfort stop, and then things really looked up when Sonya, our other guide, joined us just on the city outskirts. With a German father and British mother she bought the city alive with her personal stories and historical facts. She was easily the best guide of any shore excursion we have done. Icons such as Checkpoint Charlie, The Brandenberg Gate, Berlin Wall and the Reichstag were toured, as well as smaller memorials. A traditional Berliner lunch of cauliflower soup, sausage, beer and bread was followed by a short canal trip. The restaurant was located under a railway, and was decorated in a 1920’s style. An hour of shopping saw a few souvenirs make their way into our bags, and I’m typing the blog whilst sitting in traffic on our way back to MV Copenhagen. It’s 5.30 and the the ship leaves at 10pm, so we should make it. We have a day at sea tomorrow to get over these early morning starts, then a day in Talinn followed by Russia ! For now Prost ! 

Well today we are in Copenhagen, home to Princess Mary, who was of course born in Tasmania. Our shore excursion was very informative, with a great guide. Looking at past and present Royal castles, Tivoli gardens and a cruise on the canals. 

First, compulsory stop THE little mermaid, surrounded by tourists, apparently the Chinese have adopted her after being displayed in China for a time. Second stop the present royal palace. Comprised of 4 similar wings it had a very personal feel and Princess Mary is frequently seen driving out taking the children to kindergarten. This is her accomodation……

Rosenborg Palace seemed tiny compared to other European ones, but housed the impressive Royal jewels and some solid silver lions.

Tivoli gardens were in full Spring bloom, with displays of tulips and crown fritillaries. An open Danish sandwich with shrimp bought back memories of Miss Maud in Western Australia. Sadly no princess cake on the menu, not that we need it. The canal cruise saw some more I mpressive modern architecture, and ended next to MV Rotterdam. Tonight we are dining Italian style, watching a show and listening to some Beatles music (anything but Elvis please….I’m outnumbered 3 to 1). We will have a long day tomorrow visiting Berlin, but I’ll update the blog asap.