Last Tallinn

 

 

 

A major disappointment

Unfortunately, our Captain made an announcement that due to particularly nasty weather and sea conditions, we will be unable to dock in St Petersburg Monday, instead we will delay it until Wednesday.  This means we stay in Tallinn an extra day, and our visit to Helsinki is moved up a day, but the bad news is..... the 3-day comprehensive stay in St. Petersburg is now reduced to one day.  This extended St. Petersburg visit was one of the major reasons we chose this trip, so it's a huge disappointment.  We were to take a high speed train to Moscow on the middle day, so that's out, too.  Now we're scrambling to figure out how to see the maximum with the minimum time.  Rats.

More Tallinn, Estonia

 

 

 

Tallinn, Estonia - the classic old-new experience.

Our guide made no attempt to disguise her hatred & contempt for the Soviet years.  But with the fall of the Soviet Union & the institution of more free markets, Estonia has bounced back dramatically.  The second picture is their musical festival venue (a sort of Estonian Hollywood Bowl), with a statue of an Estonian composer whose name I tried to memorize...but I'm thinking I failed.  Oddly, in both of these two pictures, our ship can be seen in the distance, just left of center.

 

 

We boarded our wonderful ship, the same one we sailed to Antarctica in 2016. It took four hours to sail through the Stockholm archipelago, from the city to open water of the Baltic. Hundreds of little islands dot the route, with charming houses & small docks.

 

 

We went to a fascinating restaurant in Stockholm - they only cook by grilling over wood, or smoking meats, there is not a stove or conventional oven in the kitchen. It was a wild menu, but fascinating and tasty!

 

 

Carriages & armor, in the dimly lit "dungeon" area of the Royal Palace

 

 

The Swedish Parliament building

 

The Swedish Royal Palace, home to King Carl XVI Gustav

Uniformed soldiers keep 24-hour watch over the Royal Flowerpot.

 

 

 

Thought maybe I could spend some quality time at the Miss Behave, but I was overruled.

 

Day 1 was great - the Vasa Museum

The Vasa was, in 1628, the largest and most advanced warship ever designed and built.  Unfortunately, on its maiden voyage, it foundered and sank 20 minutes after launch.  A little embarrassing, the King being in the attending audience and all.  A sort of Swedish Titanic.  Anyway, it was raised after 333 years underwater.  The museum is utterly amazing.

 

  

Stockholm is situated over many dozens of islands, and is quite picturesque.

 
 
 

Made it! Now nap time....

 

Here we go !

 

Next up, details to follow.

 

Stay tuned for news....!

Arizona in March. We all know what *that* means!