Saturday June 9 - Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn, Estonia

Sorry for the delayed response.  There hasn't been any internet service for the past couple of days. 

We sailed into Tallinn this morningl, June 9, at 9:00 a.m.  There are 3 cruise ships in Tallinn today. The P and O Arcadia,  Celebrity Constellation and our ship, the Ocean Princess. It was nice to see the Constellation again. We were on it for our first Baltic cruise 6 years ago. It carries 1950 passengers and the Arcadia must have at least 2000 brave souls on it. There are also a number of very large ferries from different Baltic ports in town. Theses ferries come here daily for what people consider cheap shopping. As you can see from the pictures there are a lot of tourists in town. All enjoying the sights and eager to spend money. What a cosmopolitan city. If you listen carefully to the people around you, you hear countless languages being spoken.

Enjoy some photos from our day.

It was good that Flat Stanley was too tired to join us for dinner. Dinner and desert were great but we did have a little excitement when one of the assistant waiters tripped carrying a tray of dinners for a table of eight. The plates landed where Flat Stanley would have sat and who knows what condition he'd be in right now. His dinner attire would certainly be ruined and I don't know if we could have washed, pressed and ironed him ; instead it was Pat that took the brunt of the disaster and the ship offered to clean her shoes and clothes. I'm guessing it would have been a good story to share with Stan's classmates back in Woodstock though!

Off to St. Petersburg for 2 days - June 10 and 11!

The Princess Patter

While we are waiting for the update from Tallinn, Estonia I thought it might be fun to take a look at what there is to do onbaord a cruise ship, for those of you who haven't cruised before.  When planning for days at sea, many people are concerned that there won't be enough to do but that is simply not the case!  Organized activities may include dancing, cooking classes, athletic activities and classes in the fitness centre, bingo, movies, demonstrations (cooking, craft, decorative), shopping and port excursion discussions, tours of the ship, art shows and receptions. 

Many more activities are available for passengers to join in at their leisure, such as golf, rock climbing, swimming, shopping, card games, spa services, arcades and the casino. 

Princess cruises provide passengers with a newsletter each night, The Princess Patter,  which lists all of the activities and useful information for the following day including ports of call, weather, dining options, activities onboard, sales in the shops and various receptions and special events.  Here are a couple of sample pages from two different Princess Patter newsletters. 

Check back soon for further updates from the Baltic!

Lisa

Riga, Lativia June 8

Beautiful Riga!

After cruising the Bay of Riga and down the Daugava River we arrived at our destination for today. What one notices right away is how clean and beautiful Riga is. We docked in front of the Old Town which still has the look of a Hanseatic City: narrow winding roads lined with historic architecture. Many of the buildings were designed Art Nouveau style.  It has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We spent approximately 3 hours just walking around and shopping.  We were warned on board that Riga is very expensive and they were right!

Check out the decorative roof tops

Winding streets

Beautiful open area's in the centre of town

Another open area.  Notice the architecture!

Tonight  was a formal night in the dining room which means that you had to dress up.  Although we really didn't feel like it, we knew that Flat Stanley would be joining us for dinner and we knew that HE would dress up in his tuxedo.

What did Flat Stanley have for dinner? He enjoyed Grilled Calamari with Shaved Fennel for his appetizer followed by a Frosted Three Mellon Daiquiri Soup and then Coq au Vin in Burgundy Wine with Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Pat and Dianna had the same. For dessert it was Coffee Creme Brûlée with a cane sugar crust. Can it get any better than that?

Stan in his tux enjoying some Frosted Three Mellon Soup!

It has been a very long day and we are off to bed to get ready for our adventure tomorrow in Tallinn, Estonia.  It is really hit and miss with the internet connections on this trip, so it can take a while to post our updates for the day.  Check back tomorrow night and we hope to have pictures from our day in Tallinn.  Thanks for all of your comments - we love reading them!



Klaipeda, Lithuania - June 7

Well, today was the day we have all been waiting for...a visit to the past.  Exciting, emotional and exhausting. 

We were all up at 5 AM, watched the city appear as we ate breakfast and were almost the first off the ship.  We had to dress in layers because the forecast was high 12 low 10.  We walked through the old town with its bumpy cobbled pavement (Sig said it was like walking on Dyer's Bay beach!).  We stopped at a cafe to find that our various currencies couldn't be used - only Lithuanian Litas.  Pat had noted that the word for "Thank You" is "acio" so she kept thanking locals for their assistance with an "a-see-o".  There were some strange looks and Elaine was sure that she was probably swearing at people.  Finally we met a young waitress in the cafe who understood enough to explain that the words is pronounced "ah-choo".  So Pat kind of sneezed at everyone from then on and actually got a "you are welcome" from one man! 

We proceeded up a major street and finally arrived at Vilties Street.  At the start is a park with a statue which we photographed and will research later.  It is a beautiful street with thick trees down both sides, mostly oaks.  We let the "boys" go ahead when we neared #7 and then we all gathered at the front.  There was a man at the door who was to visit the law firm which now occupies the right side of the house.  He wanted to be helpful but we could find no common language.  He went to the lawyer who let us in but we really only had access to the hallways.  We are posting just a few pics....more when we get home.  You will see that the house is somewhat run-down as are most that we saw but streets, roads and the infrastructure are gradually being spruced up and we saw many lovely gardens, cafes etc.  On we went to exchange our dollars for Litas and then headed for the museum of history.  The curator was not there today but Al found a woman, perhaps his assistant who became very excited about our story.  Meanwhile Sig found a display that included the Charter of Union of the Province and Lithuania (my terminology may be flawed) with Father's name at the bottom as a signatory.  This was a very exciting moment for sure !  The assistant did speak German so she and the boys were able to converse quite well.  Al showed her the pics of the medals and she was most interested in these.  She has taken our email addresses so that the curator can contact us if he wishes.  It is interesting and of course logical to note that although this was the German sector of Lithuania it is now largely Russian and Lithuanian which is spoken here. 

We became disoriented looking for the market to do some shopping and we could not make ourselves understood when suddenly a young woman said "can I help you?". What a relief that was!  She escorted us to the souvenir area and stayed with us until she was sure we required no further help.  Aciu to Ida who it turns out learned English at a Canadian college in Lithuania. 

Back on board we were able to eat lunch on the open aft deck which was warmed by the sun.  Our fellow travelers are fascinated by our story and the fact that today Sig visited the home he was born in on his 71 st birthday.  It was a very short visit home and we will always carry fond memories of this day.  Latvia tomorrow!

The "welcoming committee" as we left the ship

Al and Sig in front of the family home in Klaipeda

Al and Sig overlooking the harbour

Approaching the Klaipeda  Harbour Sandy beaches on the Curonian Spit

Flat Stanley and friends...

While Stan has been having a good time on the Baltic cruise, he thought you might like to see some of the other people he has enjoyed meeting up with over the past few years.  Politicians, astronauts, athletes, and a world famous mouse!

Posting comments on the blog...

If you are trying to post a comment on this blog and are finding it somewhat difficult (or frustrating, complicated, confusing), please send me the comments by email, with the title of the post you are replying to,  and I will be happy to post your comments for you. My gmail address is lisas664@gmail.com.  

Enjoy the blog! 
Lisa

Happy Birthday Sig - June 7

Happy Birthday Sig!  For the first time since he was a child, Sig will return to the city of his birth - Klaipeda, Lithuania and spend his birthday in grand (tourist) style!