Our last port of call for this adventure will be Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm is a city built from 14 islands connected by over 50 bridges. We'll spend the day in Old Town before going to Sigtuna which is in the countryside outside Stockholm, and then have lunch while we are there. Both Rick Steves and Samantha Brown have episodes of Stockholm which are full of information about the area.
When we leave from Stockholm, we'll have two and a half days at sea as we make our way from the Baltic back across the North Sea returning to Dover. The sea days will be especially welcome after four port-intense days in St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and Stockholm. Plus we'll likely need those two days for laundry and repacking before returning to London.
One of the things we enjoy the most about cruising is the whole unpack once but get to visit several ports. We always view cruising as a sampler of ports, giving us a chance to see them and decide if there's a particular area we'd like to go back and visit again, only the next time by land. We are looking forward to doing the same with this cruise and sharing our adventures with our readers along the way.
On a personal note, several have asked if we'll be posting pictures. Unfortunately we won't be able to post pictures while we're abroad, but once we return, we'll be posting pictures and more detailed information here. And thank you all so much for your "bon voyage"s and well wishes for this adventure. It's hard to believe it's been two years in the planning and it's time to embark.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Meeting the family - in Helsinki
When we first learned that Disney Cruise Line was going to the Baltic Sea, we knew we wanted to go. But when we heard that they were going to have a stop in Helsinki, Finland, that clinched the deal for us. Why? Because I am 1/4 Finnish and to have the opportunity to visit Helsinki, if even for just a day, was something I couldn't pass up.
As it turns out, I have extended relatives who live in Helsinki, one of whom I've had occasional email correspondence with for several years. Our great-grandparents were siblings which means we are third cousins. While we normally see the ports of call through excursions planned by the cruise line, we are making an exception in Helsinki as my cousin is going to meet us at the port and spend half the day showing us his city. I have to say that this is my most-anticipated activity of our adventure! To get to see Helsinki with a local person AND meet someone I'm related to is awesome.
After our time with my cousin, we are going to join a short excursion through the cruise line that will mostly be a motorcoach (I love how they use the term motorcoach instead of bus) driving us to see a bit more of the area.
Helsinki's toursim website: http://www.visithelsinki.fi/In_English/Visitor.iw3
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
St. Petersburg - not Florida, but Russia!
St. Petersburg, Russia. Wow! The opportunity to visit Russia is something we never dreamed possible, but our cruise itinerary has us spending two days in St. Petersburg. Our first day starts in the afternoon with a "shopping experience." We'll have a few hours to explore and shop on our own in the "very heart of St. Petersburg's historical center" which I think means "where the tourists go and pay more for things than they should." We are on the lookout for a set of nesting dolls actually made in Russia, not China, and of course the DS's want to add to their thimble and spoon collections.
The first evening we'll take a tour along St. Petersburg's canals. When we first scheduled this excursion, I remarked that it would be nice to see St. Petersburg in the evening, but after checking the sun schedule, there will still be plenty of daylight so we should probably bring our sunglasses.
Our second day includes a full-day excursion titled City Highlights and Hermitage. We'll stop at St. Isaac's Square and drive along the Neva River, and visit the Church of the Resurrection on the Spilled Blood. We'll go to Nevsky Prospect (street) and see the Bronze Horseman. I read about all of these sites in Fodor's St. Petersburg Travel Guide (http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/russia/st-petersburg/). Our tour includes lunch and then the afternoon at the Hermitage (http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/).
Warnemunde, Germany
The third port on our Northern European Capitals cruise is a seaside village in northern Germany that is the "jumping off point for Berlin." Berlin is a 2 1/2 hour journey by train or bus from the port of Warnemunde. We have opted to not venture into Berlin but to stay and enjoy the area.
DS14 has had a love for trains that spans his whole life, so choosing the Molli Steam Train excursion was an easy choice for our day. We will begin with a stop at (1) the 14th century Cistercian monastery of Bad Doberan where, after touring the site, we'll board (2) the Molli Steam Train where we'll ride along the German seaside to Heiligendamm which was the site of the 207 G-8 Summit and then continue to Kuhlungsborn before returning to Warnemunde. It has the promises of being a completely leisurely day.
(1) http://www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/culture_and_events/churches_cathedrals_ministers_bad_doberan.htm
Monday, June 28, 2010
Currency Conversion, or How much does that cost?
While we're traveling, we'll have plenty of opportunity to practice currency conversion skills as we'll be using six different currencies. The U.S. Dollar, the Great Britain Pound, the Norwegian Kroner, the Danish Krone, the Euro, the Ruble, and the Swedish Krona. To make conversion easier, and at a glance, GoCurrency (www.gocurrency.com) has a feature that lets you create a pocket-sized converter. We found that copying the conversion chart to a word document and then printing it out on an index card was an easy way to have an idea of how much that cheeseburger from McDonald's is really going to cost.
As of June 28th, these are the conversions for each currency.
England
| GBP | USD |
| GBP | USD |
| GBP | USD |
| 1 = | 1.51012 |
| 10 = | 15.1012 |
| 55 = | 83.0565 |
| 2 = | 3.02024 |
| 15 = | 22.6518 |
| 60 = | 90.6071 |
| 3 = | 4.53035 |
| 20 = | 30.2024 |
| 65 = | 98.1577 |
| 4 = | 6.04047 |
| 25 = | 37.7529 |
| 70 = | 105.708 |
| 5 = | 7.55059 |
| 30 = | 45.3035 |
| 75 = | 113.259 |
| 6 = | 9.06071 |
| 35 = | 52.8541 |
| 80 = | 120.809 |
| 7 = | 10.5708 |
| 40 = | 60.4047 |
| 85 = | 128.36 |
| 8 = | 12.0809 |
| 45 = | 67.9553 |
| 90 = | 135.911 |
| 9 = | 13.5911 |
| 50 = | 75.5059 |
| 95 = | 143.461 |
Oslo
| NOK | USD |
| NOK | USD |
| NOK | USD |
| 1 = | 0.155802 |
| 10 = | 1.55802 |
| 55 = | 8.56911 |
| 2 = | 0.311604 |
| 15 = | 2.33703 |
| 60 = | 9.34812 |
| 3 = | 0.467406 |
| 20 = | 3.11604 |
| 65 = | 10.1271 |
| 4 = | 0.623208 |
| 25 = | 3.89505 |
| 70 = | 10.9061 |
| 5 = | 0.77901 |
| 30 = | 4.67406 |
| 75 = | 11.6852 |
| 6 = | 0.934812 |
| 35 = | 5.45307 |
| 80 = | 12.4642 |
| 7 = | 1.09061 |
| 40 = | 6.23208 |
| 85 = | 13.2432 |
| 8 = | 1.24642 |
| 45 = | 7.01109 |
| 90 = | 14.0222 |
| 9 = | 1.40222 |
| 50 = | 7.7901 |
| 95 = | 14.8012 |
Copenhagen
| DKK | USD |
| DKK | USD |
| DKK | USD |
| 1 = | 0.165503 |
| 10 = | 1.65503 |
| 55 = | 9.10264 |
| 2 = | 0.331005 |
| 15 = | 2.48254 |
| 60 = | 9.93016 |
| 3 = | 0.496508 |
| 20 = | 3.31005 |
| 65 = | 10.7577 |
| 4 = | 0.662011 |
| 25 = | 4.13757 |
| 70 = | 11.5852 |
| 5 = | 0.827513 |
| 30 = | 4.96508 |
| 75 = | 12.4127 |
| 6 = | 0.993016 |
| 35 = | 5.79259 |
| 80 = | 13.2402 |
| 7 = | 1.15852 |
| 40 = | 6.62011 |
| 85 = | 14.0677 |
| 8 = | 1.32402 |
| 45 = | 7.44762 |
| 90 = | 14.8952 |
| 9 = | 1.48952 |
| 50 = | 8.27513 |
| 95 = | 15.7227 |
Germany and Helsinki
| EUR | USD |
| EUR | USD |
| EUR | USD |
| 1 = | 1.23244 |
| 10 = | 12.3244 |
| 55 = | 67.7841 |
| 2 = | 2.46488 |
| 15 = | 18.4866 |
| 60 = | 73.9463 |
| 3 = | 3.69731 |
| 20 = | 24.6488 |
| 65 = | 80.1085 |
| 4 = | 4.92975 |
| 25 = | 30.8109 |
| 70 = | 86.2706 |
| 5 = | 6.16219 |
| 30 = | 36.9731 |
| 75 = | 92.4328 |
| 6 = | 7.39463 |
| 35 = | 43.1353 |
| 80 = | 98.595 |
| 7 = | 8.62706 |
| 40 = | 49.2975 |
| 85 = | 104.757 |
| 8 = | 9.8595 |
| 45 = | 55.4597 |
| 90 = | 110.919 |
| 9 = | 11.0919 |
| 50 = | 61.6219 |
| 95 = | 117.082 |
St. Petersburg
| RUB | USD |
| RUB | USD |
| RUB | USD |
| 1 = | 0.0323008 |
| 10 = | 0.323008 |
| 55 = | 1.77654 |
| 2 = | 0.0646016 |
| 15 = | 0.484512 |
| 60 = | 1.93805 |
| 3 = | 0.0969024 |
| 20 = | 0.646016 |
| 65 = | 2.09955 |
| 4 = | 0.129203 |
| 25 = | 0.80752 |
| 70 = | 2.26105 |
| 5 = | 0.161504 |
| 30 = | 0.969024 |
| 75 = | 2.42256 |
| 6 = | 0.193805 |
| 35 = | 1.13053 |
| 80 = | 2.58406 |
| 7 = | 0.226105 |
| 40 = | 1.29203 |
| 85 = | 2.74557 |
| 8 = | 0.258406 |
| 45 = | 1.45354 |
| 90 = | 2.90707 |
| 9 = | 0.290707 |
| 50 = | 1.61504 |
| 95 = | 3.06857 |
Stockholm
| SEK | USD |
| SEK | USD |
| SEK | USD |
| 1 = | 0.129301 |
| 10 = | 1.29301 |
| 55 = | 7.11155 |
| 2 = | 0.258602 |
| 15 = | 1.93951 |
| 60 = | 7.75805 |
| 3 = | 0.387903 |
| 20 = | 2.58602 |
| 65 = | 8.40456 |
| 4 = | 0.517203 |
| 25 = | 3.23252 |
| 70 = | 9.05106 |
| 5 = | 0.646504 |
| 30 = | 3.87903 |
| 75 = | 9.69757 |
| 6 = | 0.775805 |
| 35 = | 4.52553 |
| 80 = | 10.3441 |
| 7 = | 0.905106 |
| 40 = | 5.17203 |
| 85 = | 10.9906 |
| 8 = | 1.03441 |
| 45 = | 5.81854 |
| 90 = | 11.6371 |
| 9 = | 1.16371 |
| 50 = | 6.46504 |
| 95 = | 12.2836 |
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