Helsinki Time

The next day, we arrived in the land of Sami Salo (Sorry for the Canucks references), Finland.

Our arrival in Helsinki was an early one. We have learned from the first day, not to go into town too early as the shops and sights would not be opened just yet.

So after another good workout and a great breakfast onboard, we took the shuttle into downtown Helsinki.

We were dropped off at a random corner by the shuttle and off we went, exploring yet another city. Thank goodness for my iPhone and the GPS on it. The map app has been my best friend, exploring cities and sights, and finding my way around places.

Our first stop brought us to the Temppeliaukio Church, also known as the Rock Church. Completed in the 1930s, the church itself was built into a rock, with a ceiling that allows in tons of nature light.

When outside the church, it looks like a circular plateau of rocks which you can climb up and stand above the entrance. This was definitely something that stood out among all the churches we have visited so far on our trip!

After the church, we wandered through the streets and was attempting to head towards the two other popular churches in Helsinki when we stumbled upon the Finnish Parliament Building. Frankly, the building was hard to miss. The architect designed the building by combining both neoclassicism and modernism. I really quite enjoy the simplicity of the design. Just to give you a perspective of the size of the building, I ran up half way up the stairs to give you an idea. See little me? Strange that it was so dead there, perhaps the Parliament is not in session during the summer?

Now I have been warned by many who have made their way to Europe that I will be seeing more churches than anything else on my trip. They were correct; but I find myself still amazed at each and every church that I come across, and I am just as curious as I was with the first, which in my case would have been Notre Dame?

The Helsinki Cathedral was not at all what I was expecting. When you walk up the main street to the waterfront, you turn towards the city, and two blocks in, this gigantic church with its white facade and green domes rise up before your eyes. The steep steps lifts the church over the city, it looked very isolated.

The exterior was this church was quite the sight, but we were quite disappointed with what we saw after the serious hike up those stairs! the interior seemed either unfinished or just plain. Although having said that, I did manage to capture this neat shot of a chandelier.

We then spent our lunch shopping through street stalls by the water. Lots of neat things were being displayed for the sea of tourists. One of the more interesting stalls I took a picture of. I swear, this would have been the perfect playmate for Buddy, but I guess lugging this thing around for the next few months would not be such a great idea!

Among the stalls were also food vendors. Now I am not much of a foodie, but I did want to make sure on this trip I try everything that was different, or any dish that was popular in the country, city or region that I find myself in. Today, it was seafood.

The enormous plate was filled with fried herring, salmon filet, calamari, salad, and grilled veggies. It was delicious! The salmon was very juicy and the herrings were very satisfying!

The rest of the afternoon was spent just walking around town, and doing some souvenir shopping. I have always wondered when in Gastown in Vancouver, who would buy all these random things with a Canadian flag on them?! As it turns out, its ME!

Where Are the Sedins?!

We arrived in the port of Stockholm early morning. I got up early enough to get a workout in and also, a good breakfast (three fried eggs hard over with milk, sausages, and toast). This was the homeland of Henrik and Daniel! 

The port was about a 20 minute walk outside of old town Stockholm, and being on a mission to get more fit and lose some weight, we decided to walk. When we got into town, we started hitting all the sites. We knew that we did not have the luxury of taking our times to see the sites like we have had for the last couple of months, I had all the things to see marked and ready to check off!

We started with the Swedish Royal Palace. The palace was nothing too spectacular, as it looked just like a concrete block sitting on a hill. The gate to the palace though was quite nice. What was also nice is how close you can get up to the walls of this palace. Try touching the outside wall of Buckingham Palace... you need to pay to get into the gate first. There were guards around the palace, and was definitely nice to see a woman in uniform on duty. 

We were lucky enough to also catch the unique changing of the guards here in Stockholm, and it was definitely a memorable one. Please pay your attention to the manner in which the guards came forward.. quite comical. 

We then toured around the old town, having found some wireless outside a 7-11, we set up camp and caught up on some emails and Whatsapps messages (Ya, the cruise had internet but at a cost of $0.65 per minute). 

Directly across from the palace was the Swedish Parliament. And within the old town, the Nobel Prize Museum. The Nobel Prize Reception is held annually in the City Hall of Stockholm. 

To be honest, we did not stay in town for very long. With the time we had, we walked around and of course, did some souvenir shopping. At one point, we came across a Swedish woman working in the tourist area handing out brochures and such, and Matt asked "where can we find the Sedins?" To our surprise, she answered "well, they live in Canada now". I think they are a big deal here, no?

What would a trip to Sweden without some good Swedish Meatballs?! Mmmm street vendor meatballs with very creamy mashed potatoes.

Cruising the Baltic Sea

This leg of the journey brought us onto a Royal Caribbean cruise through the Baltic Sea. This was definitely a relieve from two months of travelling on land by either car (which was a horrible idea) and by train. 

The cruise is to set sail for Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, and Tallinn. 

I have to say, I am most excited for St. Petersburg. Having been oddly obsessed with European Monarchs, especially the House of Windsor and the Romanovs, this was a city that I have been looking forward to visiting ever since the trip was booked some months ago. 

This was not the first time for me on a cruise, but it was for Matt. 

After an efficient check in at the port in Copenhagen, we boarded the cruise. I suppose if I was to compare what the experience is like on a cruise, its pretty much an all inclusive on water, and without the free alcohol. 

The inside of this specific vessel was nice. There, of course, was a buffet which we fully took advantage of even before we set sail. Having checked in early, we were able to have lunch onboard to save some moolah! 

The first night, we had dinner in the dining room. I love the food at the formal dining room. The menu changes night to night, and the quality is superb. 

The ship also had a few great features, one of which was having both an indoor and outdoor pool. This I thought was perfect for the route we were taking, as I imagined it could get a bit chilly up north. 

The first full day onboard was a sailing day. We were met with excellent weather and was able to bronze myself up a bit more since we have not had a chance to lay around and soak up any sun since Brussels.

What's great about the cruise also is the abundance of entertainment. From staging live performances in a theatre, to Casino Royale, I could definitely get used to the cruising life!

There was also arranged sports activities onboard as well. Matt and I came in second in the paddle ball competition. It was basically a smaller version of tennis, but a bigger version of table tennis. What was depressing about our silver medal performance is that, firstly, we were up 9-4 (playing to 15), but choked and lost the finals 18-16. Secondly, our medal were bronze.. not even silver in colour! You think they did this in London?! Come on Royal Caribbean! 

A few random pictures here from the cruise itself. 

First have you ever wondered why sometimes companies write certain words, or sentences on random places. Well if you're not sure what I'm talking about, here is an example. 

Yes, because I was planning on tugging this thing out of port myself... 

Second, do not try to smuggle alcohol onto a cruise, they will catch you and make you claim your luggage in a "room". I was seriously starting to worry that they had lost my bags until a lady informed that I had to claim my luggage on another deck. When I arrived, they discretely had this sticker on my bag....

NO I WAS NOT TRYING TO SMUGGLE! SIMPLY LEFT MY HEINEKEN SOUVENIR IN MY BAG!

Walking All Over Copenhagen

The trip brought me to Copenhagen because we had booked a cruise through the Baltic Sea that boards in Copenhagen. While here, we decided to spend three full days just exploring the city. 

Since we've warned about how expensive this region is, we decided to find a local host to stay with. On the wonderful Airbnb website, we found an room in a new apartment that is very close to the city centre. We also thought this might be a good way to meet a local and have her give us some tips as to where to go and what to do that was not very typical of your everyday tourist. 

I must admit, we are getting a lot better with finding our way around town, figuring out transit systems. We were able to locate the apartment with ease, thanks to caching on my iphone. Now, I said we found the apartment building quite easily, but we did however have trouble with finding the actual unit itself. So believe it or not, the unit's front door is located at the end of a long shared balcony on the third floor, guess you only get an indoor front door when you pay a bit more. 

Our host, Anna, was a newly grad from college having studied Architecture here in Copenhagen. She was a bit awkward to be honest, and having interrupted her making dinner, we felt like we needed to get in and leave right away so she can carry on in her kitchen. 

The apartment was nice, very new, and what worked out nicely for us was that Anna left town after the first night, and won't be returning until we have boarded our cruise. So score on the $50 a night in Copenhagen for a whole two bedroom apartment!! 

Now, before I start to talk about the visit into town, there is one thing that was sort of gross here in Copenhagen. Supposedly the water contains a lot of minerals so I guess after awhile, the water that runs in the shower leaves this yellowish gunk on the wall. Needless to say, my showers were short and quick here in Copenhagen! Note, wear your flip flops to shower here!

Anyway, the city centre was very easily accessible by the Metro system here. The metro seemed new, and the stations were clean and very modern. 

Our first night brought us out to the Nyhavn area. A man made canal dug initially to bring the merchants closer into the town centre now houses restaurants, bars, and local musicians along its banks.  These restaurants and bars took over the old colourful warehouses that stored merchant goods. The atmosphere was fantastic! With music playing, the sun shinning, people chatting and laughing, we decided to join in the vibe and grab dinner. 

The next day, we went exploring through the Indre By (Old Town) area. Pedestrian lanes filled with shops and cafes. At the centre, there was a large square with the Stork Fountain. Looking across the square you see the majestic Christiansborg Palace. 

The palace is built on an island in the middle of Copenhagen, taking up the entire island without a single square metre wasted. Today, it is where the Danish Parliament meets, along with the Office of the Prime Minister. 

Across a bridge from the castle's entrance was the Copenhagen National Museum. Lesson learned, seeing an exhibition backwards, especially when it is about the history of a country, was very difficult to follow! 

All the artifacts in the museums were quite interesting, but a couple stood out to me. One was the drinking horns that I suppose the Danish people drank from. Can you imagine a Jager Bomb in this?!

 

Also, the oldest crucifix in Denmark. This peace caught my eye because of how Jesus looked. This imagine of him seems a bit cartoonish, no? 

After the museum, we decided to visit the famous Rosenborg Castle. This castle built in the centre of town is surrounded by a huge park! What was once a private property, the grounds of this park is opened to the general public and was filled with locals sitting around, hanging out, and enjoying the sun. The castle was somewhat small in size in comparison to the Christiansborg, but it was beautiful nonetheless. 

The castle, like in fairy tales, is surrounded by water, and there was one bridge that brings you to the castle. This place is now turned into a museum where the Danish Crown Jewels are on display. 

After this (I know, we walked a lot, trust me!) we walked along the water and found the famous Mermaid. 

The next day, we walked to lunch at a local restaurant and tried Smorbrod, Open Sandwich. The plate came with three smaller versions of them with three different toppings; beef, salmon, and pork. They were delicious!

Afterwards, we walked a bit more to visit Amalienborg Palace which is the winter residence of the Danish Royal Family. I felt so much like a stalker when running and filming the changing of the guards up close! 

The palace sits around a square, with a statue in the centre. Traffic drives through this square often, with four streets feeding into the centre. Down one street, you see the Marble Church, which has the biggest dome in Scandinavia. Down another lane, you see across the water, the Copenhagen Opera House. 

The trip to Copenhagen was short, but we definitely visited all the major sites in city centre. 

Stay Tuned...

Off on the cruise through the Baltic Sea with limited Internet. Will update once I get into Prague next week!!!

Berlin Sights

Berlin has treated me well. The hotel I’m staying at has an indoor pool, which provided some nice quiet down time from the city. Every morning started with a workout and a swim.

Today we ventured off first to see the Brandenburg Tor (Brandenburg Gate). The gate is quite grand, and like all other tourist sites, filled with tourists and random locals dressed up as Darth Vadar, Stromtroopers, and Batman hoping to make a few Euro here and there.

The gate was once a part of a series of gates that entered Berlin. Built in the 1730s, the gate today stands as one of the most iconic monuments in Berlin and Germany. The gate has received many famous leaders throughout history. During the Cold War, this gate was situated in East Germany. The gate is also featured heavily in international media when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. 

The gate itself is very closely located to the Reichstag, the Parliament of Germany. The building, once located in East Germany, is spectacular! The glass dome in the centre stands out from the dark bricks. In front of the Parliament is a huge field, which once again, filled with tourists and oddly enough, a high school cheerleading team practicing their routine. U-G-L… oops.. I mean… YOU GO GIRLS!

Completed in 1894, it housed the German Empire Parliament and then the Germany Nazi Government till 1933, when a large fire heavily damaged the building. Post war, the building sat as German Democratic Republic (GDR) found another home to house its government, and West Germany relocated its capital to Bonn. The building was fully restored in 1990, when Germany unified. Today it houses the Germany Parliament. 

The glass dome at the top gives you a 360 degree view of Berlin skyline, unfortunately we did not go in... 

The most drama came from having lunch today by the Reichstag. It was a cafeteria like café, with outside and inside seating. The weather was fantastic so we sat outside to have our meal. Now, I am all for having birds chirping around, hopping by my feet trying to catch the crumbs of my meal, however, I am NOT ok when I see Mickey Mouse parading around the patio of a restaurant/café!! Today my peripheral vision did not fail me. As I caught sight of the creature, I immediately raised my feet to the chair beside me and let out, what I can remember, a very masculine AHH! After moving to another table, a bee kept interrupting my meal with sporadic landings on my food! This was the last straw!

I stood up, got away from the table, and asked Matt to kindly (I think) finish his meal so we can leave! Call me high maintenance, but I do NOT enjoy dinning with mice and bees unless I’m at a Tea Party at Disneyland!

We made out way east, back into the Museum Island area, where we walked past the Natural Museum of Berlin, and as well, the Berlin Cathedral.

Our afternoon was then spent walking back to the Museum Island, where we stopped at the DDR Museum. However, since the lunch ended abruptly for me, I ended up buying a wurst and bun from a street vendor that wore the whole cart on his body!!

The museum showcases the lifestyle of East Germany under Communist rule. The layout of the place was tight, but everything was very interactive and gave me a great sense of what life was like.

I got to sit in a Trabi, the only brand of car that people could buy in East Germany. I got to feel the clothes that they wore which were all made of synthetic material because cotton was scarce.  What was also really neat was being inside a re-make of a typical apartment suite at that time. Having said that whole experience was pretty depressing. I did not realize just how bad the people in East Germany had it. The stories about them attempting to escape, people could not contact relatives who lived in the West. This makes me appreciate even more so than ever, the free, democratic country that I call home, Canada!

Figuring Out Berlin

 Our arrival in Berlin was met with a beautiful central train station; the Hafnbahnhof.

Despite having done my research on the direction of our hotel,. I found myself lost in the train station that had maybe 6 levels. What made things more confusing was the difference between the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn. The two types of "subway" or "underground" run all over Berlin, intersecting at various stations, but located either overhead, on street level, or underground. Walking up and down, down and up, it was nearly impossible for us to find our way. Since our hotel was close to the station, the cab driver would not take us! So we had to figure things out.

Shortly after, our arrival at the Eurostars Hotel in Friedrichstrasse, we were met with a pleasant surprise in our room. There was a knock on the door, and literally, minutes after check in, two gentlemen brought up some candy and a bottled water to welcome us, nice touch!

For dinner, we wander the streets of Berlin, and decided on some German cuisine. Mmmmm wursts... delicious!! Reminds me of pan fried hot dogs dipped in ketchup as a kid!

Our first day was spent wandering around the "Museum Island", and it is exactly that. An island full of museums and tourists.

The museum we visited had a couple of temporary exhibitions one on the famous and popular Friedrich  Der Grosse (Friedrich the Great). This once King of Prussia can be seen everywhere in Berlin! He was a frugal monarch that loved the arts. His reign was so popular that even today, ad campaigns still uses his picture to attract the Germans.

The museum then took us through the history of Germany. From the very start, through the rises and falls of empires and monarchs, through the first and second World War, and the East and West era. The museum was very fascinating. What I did enjoy the most was the stories behind the monarchs, the rivalry between the Bourbon and the Hapsburg family.

As well, learning about WWI and WWII from the German stand point was very interesting as well. Especially the rise and fall of the Nazis. Obviously they are not glorified here in Germany either, but what I think we forget when learning about this dark time is the innocent Germans that suffered, not just during the war, but also the periods following it.

This desk, belonging to Hitler, was massive. I suppose he had
a lot on his plate during the time he was in power.

At a point during the visit I became a bit scared as this creepy guy kept taking pictures of Hitler's propaganda posters. I mean every single one of them. What made me feel uneasy about it all was his sneaky demeanour, the way he looked around after every picture.. weird!!

Memorial statue to remember the Jewish people
that were murdered during the war.

The city of Berlin is unlike all the cities I have visited so far on this trip! The city is quite new in comparison. I suppose most of the old buildings were destroyed during the war. What is apparent though are the blocks and blocks of concrete apartment buildings that erected in the city during the Communist occupation. These buildings don't really have much character, and looked ... well.. blah! Apparently it costs 44 Marks to live in one of these during the communist rule. Very inexpensive.

We are planning on visiting the DDR Museum here in Berlin, to learn a bit more about life in East Germany.

Amazing Race Moment

So this time, on the right date and the right time, we checked out of our hotel in Amsterdam, but only to arrive at the WRONG train station with 25 minutes before the departure time of the train! The lady at a booth informed me that the station was quite far away, and when asked if I could catch a cab to get there on time, she chuckled, but you know it was a chuckle implying "You're crazy", then said "No".
She then went on about how I should catch the 10:56 train to get to the actual train station, but what she forgot is our train leaves at 10:58!

I have to say, I kept it classy. I simply thanked her, and went on Amazing Race mode and jumped in a cab telling the cab driver "Hurry, we have a train to catch!". I am not sure what came over me but we had 25 minute to get to the South Station, which the cab driver said will take about 20 minutes to get to.

Of course, we hit all the red lights on the way.

This was the first time I sat in an Audi cab but I did NOT get to enjoy it! The whole time I was looking at my watch, and looking out the window trying to identify something that I have no idea what it looks like!

Once we arrived, with 5 minutes to spare, Matt paid the driver as I jumped out the cab, I grabbed all our bags, one on my pack, two in my arms and I started to run! Adrenaline was kicking in, but within a few metres, I realized, I could not carry all the bags, as I slowed, Matt grabs his own bag, and we ran. As fast as we could, we arrived on the platform, with a few minutes to spare.

By far, the most intense morning so far!

Note to self, and to everyone else travelling through, check the train stations! Sometimes the central station is not always the one to take you out of town even if you arrive there to begin with!

A Little Bit More of Amsterdam

The morning went by fast, we woke up and got ready to head out of Amsterdam to catch the train to Berlin. We had spent the whole night packing again, and took it easy with a great Indian meal by the hotel. The morning was a bit of a rush. By the time we got to the front desk, we were ready for our seven hour train ride. I went up to the front desk and informed the gentleman there that we were ready to check out. He smiled and asked for the room number. Then he looked right back at me with a curious look, then said "You know you have another night here right?". So it turns out, we had lost track of the days!! Well, back up the stairs and into the Iron Horse Hotel room again.

So because we have an extra day, we decided the best way to end the visit to the City of Diamond was to get out of the city itself and do a bike tour of the country side!

The tour was with a company called Yellow Bikes, and yes, the bikes are in fact yellow in colour.

Amsterdam has a great network of bike lanes which makes biking so popular here. The tour starts in the city, a short ride to the ferry (free crossing) towards to north. Once we got off the ferry, we biked by a canal that was said to be one of the oldest canals in Amsterdam. Dates back to when trade first started. It was a scenic ride, with a few locals fishing (though not sure what kind of fish you'd get out of a canal... something like the one in the Simpson's Movie I'd imagine?).

Museum sitting across the water from Central Amsterdam
Station where we caught the ferry ride to start the bike tour. 

Our first stop was at a windmill. Now I suppose a trip to Amsterdam would not be complete if you didn't see a windmill in person! Apparently this windmill was quite old. I learned that windmills in Amsterdam are actually to assist in pumping water. Helping guide water the "right" way, so people can "reclaim" the land from water. This was something new to me. Reclaiming land from water means just that. The people of Netherlands in the past did not want to move south. Knowing just how valuable this trade port is in Europe, people started to build more and more canals, pumping water out of its natural flow to assist in having more land mass to build on.

Windmills are also used in the past to signal life and death of people in the village. If the arm of the mill is positioned a bit past the 12 o'clock position, it meant that someone has passed away. If however, the arm is positioned just before the 12 o'clock position, it signifies birth in the village.

Today, the windmills have been replaced to a much smaller, less grand electric water pump. Of the many that used to stand in Amsterdam, there are only a handful left. The one you see above was saved by the people in the area, putting together some money to preserve the iconic sight.

Yup! That's right, the more efficient but not
too pretty electric water pump... LAME!!!!!!

Our next stop brought us to a town just outside of Amsterdam. Once a competitor of Amsterdam, fighting to become the most powerful port in Europe, it is now today, a very poor, small village. It is said that the famous Dutch artist Rembrandt had a mistress that lived here. The picture below shows a short tower. This was suppose to be a full sized watch tower, but the village ran out of money, so could not finish the tower. Obviously the village did not win the fight against Amsterdam to become the centre of trade. Because of this very reason, the village became very poor. Ships just got too big to enter the canals in the region, so they stayed out by the large port in Amsterdam.

Our bike tour took us next to a small fishing town. We had a great lunch there on the pier, and then it was time to get back to the city.

The bike tour was amazing. The views and sights you get to see, the smells, the only thing I would warn is while you ride, close your mouth unless you want to swallow the amount of insects in the air!