Finland

The day after our stop in Germany and tour of Berlin was spent at sea as we traveled toward Helsinki, Finland. The following morning we found ourselves docked there. We had selected a tour for the day that included a chance to see rural areas as well as Helsinki itself. Our first stop was in a charming medieval community called Porvoo, which offered picturesque shops along cobblestone streets. In addition to a photo of Porvoo, here is a shot of my beautiful wife on the walking bridge leading into Porvooo.



Next, we traveled to Savijärvi Farm. This farm originally specialized in dairy cows, but some years ago the Finnish government determined that there were too many dairy farms and encouraged diversification. So, the owner of Savijärvi Farm at that time (a couple family generations ago) sold his cows to someone in Russia in exchange for horses. Breeds of horses from Russia are evidently excellent, including Arabian and other lines. The farm trains horses and riders, offers breeding services, and raises its own horses. The farm is a total family operation. There were several houses on the property which were occupied by grandparents and their various children and families. Part of the family manages the horse breeding operations, others manage events and training, and others manage tourist services. Below is the original family home. After an introduction to the horses, we were treated to a wonderful meal in this home.


Below are a couple photos of horses shown to us. Although I failed to take a picture of them, they also showed us two Shetland ponies. The story was that the grandfather had always been opposed to having ponies, that is until his grandchildren arrived on the scene. He therefore surprised everyone one Christmas by arranging for the two ponies to be brought into the living room as a gift to the grandchildren. They have been at the farm ever since. All of the animals we saw were beautiful. I know Kathie would have loved to go for a ride.



I mentioned a meal in the main house. Below is a shot of the desert included with that meal. Those are locally grown berries, including currants and cranberries, which were dressed with a light, sweet sauce. The other courses had consisted of nettle soup and a stew made with fish. That's right, nettle soup, which we learned is not uncommon in the Baltic region. If you have, like me, experienced pulling nettles as weeds and getting your hands stung, you can't quite imagine eating the things. But the plant is evidently even healthier for you than spinach, and when properly prepared, it has a wonderful taste. Kathie and I both liked the soup.


After the tour of the rural areas, we were treated to a tour of Finland's capital city, Helsinki. One of the most unusual sites there was the Rock Church. As I understood it, the original plan had been to build a more traditional church at the site, but residents in the neighborhood objected to their views being obstructed. So, the architect decided to blast a recess into the rock and set the church down into it with a dome erected overtop as the church's roof. Although we didn't get to hear anything except recorded music inside, the church is supposed to have outstanding acoustics. Below is one picture from outside and another in the sanctuary.



Finally, here is a picture of the Lutheran Cathedral that dominates one side of Senate Square in Helsinki. This square is bordered on its other sides by government buildings and shops.

Kiel Canal and Berlin

After leaving Amsterdam at 5PM, we cruised in a northerly direction into the North Sea and then east along the coasts of The Netherlands and northwest Germany to the Elbe River. Of course, we were sleeping during most of this time, though the North Sea was fairly rough and the boat rocked us as we slept or tried to sleep. The next morning, we were anchored in an area where the river enters the North Sea near a German town called Brunsbüttel, which is at one end of the Kiel Canal. The canal cuts across Germany to the Baltic Sea and allows a ship to avoid having to travel all the way around Denmark (essentially a large peninsula that stands between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea). You can read more about the canal and even see webcams of activity on the canal by clicking here.

I previously posted a picture of a tug boat pulling the stern of the Prinsendam around so that we could directly enter the canal. Here is another shot of our ship in the lock that controls entry to the canal and one looking back at the lock as we began our trip through the canal.



The day passing through the canal was delightful. It was sunny and comfortable to be out on the deck in a lounge chair, and since it was a Sunday, many people were out along the canal (which seemed to have bike or walking paths on both sides) enjoying the day. They loved seeing the cruise ship pass by and waved and waved at us all along the way. We could see the German countryside, as well as small communities and some larger ones. It was quite late and dark when we finally exited the canal at its entrance to the Baltic Sea. During the night we passed along the northern shore of Germany, arriving the next morning at Warnemünde, Germany. While the ship was docked there during the day, we traveled by train to Berlin for a tour. The train trip was three hours each way, and we spent about seven hours in Berlin, so it was a long day but a very interesting one. Unfortunately, it was quite rainy during the morning. We toured by motor coach, and though we did get out occasionally, it was usually too wet too spend much time outside. I took lots of pictures through the windows of the bus, so some of what you will see below may be a little blurry.

Our impressions of Berlin were very mixed. We liked the city, but we were deeply struck by its sometimes severe feel. Obviously, it is a city and a citizenry that has suffered a great deal over the past 60 years. The buildup and oppression of the Nazis was soon followed by the near total (85%) destruction of the city by the Allies' bombing campaign. Then the city was ripped apart by its separation into east and west Berlin. The two sides of the city were markedly different and had different feels. Much of the city has been restored through replication of original structures, so you see "old" buildings that are actually relatively new. Here are just a few of the sites we took in.

You may recall the historic 1933 photograph or movie of Nazi-motivated burning of books by students and Nazi brown-shirts at a plaza called Bebelplatz. The "window" below is in the surface of the plaza where this burning took place and allows one to look down into an empty library that represents a memorial to this censorship event.


A visit to Berlin would not be complete without a stop at "Checkpoint Charlie", the most famous of several points where passage between east and west Berlin could occur. It was here that a famous confrontation between the US and USSR took place in October of 1961 with tanks facing off against each other. Today, the US guard station still stands, and photographs of a US soldier looks east, while on the other side a USSR soldier looks west.


Most of the Berlin wall is now gone, but its presence is recorded and memorialized throughout the city by a brick line that follows its original path across streets, walks, and plazas. Elsewhere, short sections of the wall have been kept as a reminder of that period of Berlin's history.



In 2005, a Holocaust Memorial was opened to the public. You can read much more about it here and also here. I took the following photograph through the bus window. It is ironic that the bunker Hitler used in his last days is merely 100 yards away from this site.


Other famous buildings and sites we visited included the Reichstag (still a principal government building), the Berlin Cathedral, and the Brandenburg Gate. (You can click on each of these to learn more.) We only drove past the Reichstag, but we toured the Cathedral and stopped to walk near the Brandenburg Gate. Photos of each are below--sorry about them being so dark, but as I said above, it was quite a rainy day.

Towel Critters

And now, back to the cruise...

Here is a picture of our cabin steward. You can see why he brought a smile to my face each day. (I recently sent a card to grandson Henry with a copy of this picture just for him.) His name was Made, and he was a most dedicated and considerate worker.


The cabin stewards had a great sense of timing. When we went to breakfast, they cleaned the cabins and made the beds. When we were at dinner, they turned down the beds, left a chocolate on our pillows, and provided us with a packet of information, including a small newspaper and an itinerary of events, both onboard and ashore, for the next day's stop. To a person, cooks, dining attendants, recreational staff, cabin stewards, and literally all other staff members were fun, polite, and eager to provide service. This is a real hallmark of the Holland-America Line, we think.

When we returned to our cabin for the night, usually following a musical or comedy show in the ship's theater, we found the turned-down bed and chocolates and the latest day's edition of a "towel critter." As the days went by, there was more and more conversation about these amusing little guys. Rather than return them each day, we kept several (only for the duration of the cruise), creating a little menagerie at one end of our couch. I may have missed one or two at the start of the trip, but I got pictures of most of them as you will see below. The majority of them are easy to identify. A few are not obvious to us. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to assign names to each one.

Fast Forward

Before posting more stories about our cruise (back to that soon!), I thought I'd skip ahead to the end of our trip to report on our visit with Mark, Anna, and Felix. After disembarking from the Ms Prinsendam in Amsterdam, we flew to Copenhagen, where Mark met us. We traveled by train to a station near his home in Sweden, where Anna and Felix met us. Anna fixed a wonderful meal for us that evening (and every other evening we were there!!). They were terrific hosts.


Our arrival time wasn't ideal for getting acquainted with great nephew Felix, but we took care of that the next morning. Felix will be one year old on October 7th. After a little time, he warmed up to us, and we became great friends. He is a wonderful little boy, and we thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with him.



On Sunday, we went for a tour of sites along the coast of southeast Sweden. We visited a medieval manor called Glimmimgehus, about which you can read more here. The Danish knight who built this place for himself was quite paranoid. Anna pointed out the numerous things he built into the structure to allow defenders to eliminate anyone who attempted to enter. Every measure taken was backed up by yet another measure.



Next we went to see Ales Stenar, about which you can read more here. There is evidently much controversy about what this place actually is, and since it is quite old, no one can know with certainty. However, it is natural to want to compare it to Stonehenge. It sits on a high hill overlooking the Baltic Sea. After viewing it, we walked down to a tiny village where there was a small seafood shop and enjoyed fish and other good things.


Anna had to work on Monday, so Mark and Felix took Kathie and me for a tour of Lund, a Swedish city which blends a university community, an active business district, and old-world charm. Among other things, we saw there a grand old cathedral, which contained the most amazing clock, which you will see below. Mark also showed us numerous rune stones.



At one point on this beautiful, sunny day, we stopped for some refreshment, and I took a number of pictures of Felix, who was such a good traveler.


At one point, with some help from his Dad, Felix put on a display of his vocal abilities for us. Here is a little movie I made of that. Be prepared to laugh, and listen for Kathie to say, "Can you do that in Swedish too?"



Again, it was a wonderful visit. Thanks, Mark, Anna, and Felix!

Ms Prinsendam

Kathie and I returned a couple of days ago from our trip to northern Europe, which included a 14-day cruise of the Baltic onboard the Holland-America Line's Ms Prinsendam and a visit to see nephew Mark Drake and his family in Sweden. Unfortunately, we both came back with colds and coughs, even though we tried to avoid that with constant hand washing and use of the ship's convenient hand disinfectant dispensers. Nevertheless, I thought I should begin to get something posted about our trip and thought I'd start with a little information about the ship itself.

Here is a shot of the Prinsendam docked in Estonia and another of her docked in Oslo.



The Prinsendam covered 2,718 nautical miles during the course of our cruise. We visited (in order) The Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Poland, Germany (again), Denmark, Norway, and back to The Netherlands. She is 38,000 gross tons, has a length of 673 feet and width of 106 feet, and can reach a maximum speed of 21 knots; during the cruise, speed ranged from 10.7 to 19.2 knots. She is powered by 3 diesel generators and four main engines. Propulsion is via two propeller shafts with total power of 8,020 horse power. The Prinsendam burns up to 100 tons of diesel fuel per day (26,420 gallons). She can produce up to 750 gallons of potable water/day; average consumption is 450 tons/day. The ship is staffed by a crew of 448 persons, including engineering and navigation, housekeeping, food and beverage service, and entertainment. There were 773 guests onboard. About 400 were from the USA, another 150 from Canada, another group from Australia and Great Britain, and the rest from various other countries. The Prinsendam is the smallest ship in the Holland-America fleet. Other ships are generally twice her size in terms of passenger capacity. You can read lots more about this ship by clicking here, including views of her deck plans and amenities. We were in cabin 436, in case you want to look for that on the deck plans.

An important step in advance of any cruise departure is the mandatory lifeboat drill. Here are a couple of shots of Kathie and me taking part in that exercise. And, yes, it is true--women and children first. Passengers are ordered to line up in a specific way, with women and children near the outside of the ship to enable them to board lifeboats first. Men must stand at the rear and wait their turn.



The vests are very high tech. They have lights on them that blink and attached whistles that you can blow. They also have a flap on the back that would float up to hold your head. Nevertheless, the North Sea and Baltic Sea are pretty chilly waters, so we didn't want to test them. On the other hand, the lifeboats are also very high tech. They are powered, have radios, and are completely enclosed to protect passengers in the event of heavy seas.

Another thing I enjoyed watching during the cruise was the work of tug boats and pilot boats. Tugs are used to help with the maneuvering, and pilot boats are used to lead a ship into port. Frequently, an actual pilot (a person) is transferred from a pilot boat to the ship to guide the captain and crew in special circumstances, such as when we traversed the Kiel Canal or when we entered selected ports via narrow passages.

Below is a shot of a tug pulling the stern of the ship. On the morning of the second day, we had been anchored to await our turn to enter the Kiel Canal. Once that clearance was given, the ship had to do a sharp 180 degree turn in order to head into the canal entrance. Evidently "turning the ship on a dime" was easier with the aid of the tug, though these big ships also have thrusters to aid in sideways movements. (Thrusters are essentially propellers in the sides of the ship that can be exposed via doors that are opened below the water line.)


Next are a couple of shots of a pilot boat that pulled along side us as we neared one of our ports (Travemunde, Germany). While the Prinsendam continues to steam along, the pilot boat moves alongside the ship. In the first shot, you can see a black platform that allows the pilot to step from the moving pilot boat into an opened door of the moving Prinsendam. We couldn't help but wonder about the risk of falling into the sea between the two vessels, but this must be a routine procedure. They probably used lines and vests, though we didn't get a very good view of that. (I took these pictures from our cabin window, which just happened to be very close to the door they would open on the side of our ship.) The second shot shows the pilot about to board the Prinsendam. In the final shot, the pilot boat is pulling away after discharging the pilot.




Finally, here is a shot from the Promenade deck looking forward toward the bow of the ship. This picture was taken the morning we entered the Swedish archipelago leading to Stockholm. This was a particularly pretty morning as we steamed for several hours through the many narrow passages leading to the city. It was something of a parade that morning, with two more cruise ships ahead of us and two others behind us. You can see at least one in the picture. Some of these are essentially ferries that run overnight services, including transportation of vehicles, between the Baltic states.


Watch this space for more stories about our trip over the next many days!!

High Chair

Just today, I finished the construction of my latest woodworking project. I have to varnish it yet, of course, but it is almost done. It is made from rock maple, so it is quite white at this point. The varnish will give it a nice golden color.


I probably won't get to the final sanding and varnishing until after our upcoming trip. I was originally going to make this for Henry, but then he grew up so fast and another high chair arrived at his home, so I put it off. Then I talked of building it for my anticipated second grandchild, but I got sidetracked with a crib and a changing table. Kathie and I thought some of using it here or at the lake for our little guests, but I guess Eleanor will be ready for it in a few months, so that is where it will be headed. Maybe I'll have to make another one. This was a challenging project, and so I'm not sure I'm ready to start another one very soon, but I have enjoyed building it.