Warnemünde, Germany

            Wednesday, 22 May 2013 – We joined Jorg, Gabi, Christine, and Lois for breakfast in the dining room.  We were expecting to order from the menu, but we were pleased to find a buffet.  Additional menu items were available from the waiter.


Railway Station

            Others had planned to join our “excursion” group, for a total of nine of us, but during lunch, all except Jorg and Gabi bowed out of the excursion because of the heavy rain.  So, the four of us had a romantic walk in the rain along the shore of Warnmünde to the lighthouse and back.  The walkway was lined with numerous shops, bars, and restaurants, but we didn’t stop at any of them.

            After dinner, we said our goodbyes to Jorg and Gabi, Chris and Susan, and several other friends that we made during our cruise.  Then we danced a little longer than usual at the Grand Bar Rhapsody, until Sally insisted that we quit.

Gdansk, Poland

With Gabi and Jorg - Gdansk

            Tuesday, 21 May 2013 – Today, we had a five-hour tour of Gdansk.  The ship docked at Gdynia, and we took a one-hour bus ride to Gdansk.  Although we had visited Gdansk previously in 1999, it was still interesting to see it again.  We followed our tour guide through the streets of Gdansk and stopped to visit the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary.  This is the largest brick church in Europe and one of the largest in Europe.  Forty percent of the church was destroyed during WW II, but it has been completely restored.


Neptune Monument

            We noticed a few changes in Poland from our 1999 visit.  First of all, we noticed that many of the people were talking on cell phones (just as in the U.S.), as they walk along the streets.  In 1999, most of the young men had almost completely shaven heads, the young women were all dressed in very stylish skirts and dresses, and almost no one was overweight.  This time, the population looked more like typical Americans.

            Right before the ship left Gdynia, the crew announced that our stop at Bornholm/Ronne (on a Danish island) had been cancelled due to bad weather and strong winds, and that we would be stopping at Warnemunde, Germany, instead.  We are scheduled to arrive in port about noon.  That being said, we will not need to get up early again tomorrow morning!

            We joined Jorg and Gabi for dinner, and discussed our plans for Warnemunde.  Costa excursions are available for Berlin (9.5 hours) and Lubeck (8 hours).  Since both excursions would return us to the ship after 9:00 PM, we decided to follow Jorg and Gabi around tomorrow instead.  They’re not sure what they will be doing, but we’re game for just about anything (except bungee jumping).  After dinner, we danced for a little while in the Grand Bar Rhapsody.

Klaipeda, Lithuania

Horizontal Sundial at Parnidis Dune





Witches Snare (Fulfills Innermost Wishes)

            Monday, 20 May 2013 – Today, we had a seven-hour tour of the Curonian Spit Peninsula.  We began with a ferry ride and a one-hour bus ride to the small resort town of Neringa, situated in the forests of the Curonian Spit National Park, a unique narrow peninsula with sand dunes and pine forests, separating the Baltic Sea from the Cauronian Lagoon.  We first visited the 52-meter-high Great [sand] Dune, where we also saw a giant sundial.  Next, we stopped at the Thoman Mann Memorial Museum which depicted the life of Klaipeda’s most famous author.  Then we proceeded to Nira, where we saw old fishermen’s cottages, traditional fishing boats, and weathervanes that depict the old times of Neringa life.  About 1:30 PM, we enjoyed a traditional Lithuanian lunch in a restaurant with beer.  (Some of the best beer in Europe comes from Lithuania.)  After lunch, we climbed 42 meters up the “Hill of Witches,” which contains many large wood carvings of characters and events from Lithuanian fairy tales.  Many are of witches, devils, and fairy tale monsters with grotesque expressions.  Our guide, Ingrida, explained the fairy tales or legends being depicted.


Witches Hill

            For the last few minutes of our excursion, Ingrida showed us the main sights of Klaipeda, which has only 200,000 inhabitants but is an important seaport.  Lithuania was under the USSR for many years, just becoming a free country in 1990.

Since tonight was a formal night, we dressed for dinner, enjoyed champagne, and danced in the Grand Bar Rhapsody in style!

Riga, Latvia

House of the Blackheads (Riga)

            Sunday, 19 May 2013 – Today we had only an afternoon excursion at 1:40 PM.   Although we shared our bus again with a French-speaking group, there were more English-speakers than yesterday.  As we rode around Riga, our English-speaking tour guide, Ieva (pronounced Eva) described the sights.   We made photo stops at the Riga Brethren Cemetery, the Monument of Freedom, and the Opera House.  We were given free/shopping time in the City Hall Square, where we saw the House of Blackheads (yes, there is one in Riga also), the Statue of Roland, and the Museum of Occupation. 

Riga suffered throughout its history.  Ieva told how, first, the Germans invaded during n W.W. II and forced men to serve in their army; then the Russians came and forced men to serve on their side.  As a result, sometimes a brother was fighting against his brother.  Then they lived under Communism for many years.  Some of their apartment buildings that were built by the Soviets have tiny kitchens because the people were supposed to eat in the communal canteens.  The joke was told: Do you know what their tallest building is called?  Answer: The KGB building, because from there, you can see all the way to Siberia.  Latvia has been free for only about 20 years.

Even though lilacs were blooming and it was obviously early spring, today it was about 85 degrees.  This was not good news for Sally; she had expected cool weather for this entire trip and didn’t bring any of her broad-brimmed hats to shield her face from the sun.

            We joined Jorg and Gabi or dinner, and afterwards, danced for a little while in the Grand Bar Rhapsody.

Tallinn, Estonia

            Saturday, 18 May 2013 – We woke up to our alarm at 6:30 AM, and for the first time on this cruise, Sally slept for the entire night.  We had also set our clock back an hour last night, which helped.  From the ship, we could see nothing but heavy fog.  After breakfast, we made our way to our excursion meeting point, where we were surprised to find that only six passengers had signed up for the English-speaking tour.



Viru Gate

            The six of us sat at the rear of the bus with our guide, Dea.  The rest of the bus was full of French-speaking passengers.  After the 10-minute ride, Dea led us through the streets of Old Town, telling us the history.  We walked down both the “Long Leg” and “Short Leg” streets, the two streets that start from the same point and connect Toompea with the downtown.  The Long Leg is much wider and could be travelled by carriages and coaches; the Short Leg is rather steep and was meant only for pedestrians.  We stopped for brief visits at the Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin (which was built about 1229, and is called the “Dome Church” by the locals) and the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (which looks old but was built in the late 1800’s).  Although we were inside for a portion of the Orthodox service, we were not allowed to take photos of the interior.  We also saw the exterior of the house of the Brotherhood of Black Heads, which is nearly the sole surviving renaissance building in Tallinn.  The name of the organization refers to their patron saint, the African St. Mauritius, who was executed for his adoption of the Christian faith. 

House of Blackheads

During our “free” time, we visited a restroom that was located in what resembled a dungeon and purchased foot cream at the Town Hall Pharmacy (ca. 1422).

            The fog turned into a light drizzle during our tour, for which Dea apologized; however, we were glad that at least it was better than yesterday’s downpour in St. Petersburg.

            By noon, we were onboard the ship again and went to the dining room for lunch for the first - and last - time.  We spent 1.5 hours there, mostly waiting between courses, compared to about 0.5 hours it would have taken us at the buffet.  Also, because we sat at a table with all German-speakers, the time went slowly.  After lunch, Sally rested while Jesse watched BBC and nodded.

            When we noticed that the daily program listed a dance lesson in Tango at 5:00, we stopped to see what was being taught.  Since the basic step looked unfamiliar, we assumed it was the Argentine Tango, which is not what we have learned.  So, we left and attended Mass, which was being held elsewhere on the ship. 

After Mass and dinner, we danced for a while in the Grand Bar Rhapsody.  For the first time, we could feel some ship movement while we were dancing.  The sea has been remarkably smooth on this voyage.  When we returned to our cabin, we noticed that the fog had finally lifted and we could see other ships for the first time all day.

St Petersburg, Russia

            Thursday, 16 May 2013 – We woke up to our alarm at 6:00 AM and had a quick breakfast in preparation for our excursion meeting time of 7:45.  Despite forgetting our tickets at first, we met the deadline – though our group didn’t leave the ship until about 8:15.  Then we stood in a very long, slow-moving line for the Russians to check and stamp our passports.  Finally, about 9:00 AM we boarded our tour bus.

            Happily, this tour consisted of only English-speakers (so that we were hearing English from Julia, our tour guide, all of the time).  Where intersections in St. Petersburg should have traffic lights, often there are none, and our bus just edged its way along, bullying its way across traffic to make turns.  Several times, we thought we would see collisions.  Also, at one point, Jesse watched a woman walking at an average pace on the sidewalk near the bus, and her speed was about the same as ours!  But when he could, the bus driver barreled ahead full speed (it seemed), jamming on the brakes when he came to stop lights.  It was a rough ride!

St Isaac's Square

            Besides some short photo stops, we spent two hours in the Hermitage Museum, formally, Catherine the Great’s Winter Palace.  Lavishly decorated with gold leaf, it contains a huge collection of paintings created by the most famous artists in the world.  (It was like a college “Art Appreciation” class.)  After stopping for nearly 2 hours for an excellent lunch (where we had a choice of wine, beer, or vodka, along with bottled water), we visited St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral, where Peter the Great and other members of the royal family were buried.  In the Hermitage and the cathedral, our very knowledgeable guide passed on much Russian history to us through our earphones.  Before we left the church, a small group of monks entertained us in a small side room by singing a Russian Orthodox hymn.

            Julia told us that St. Petersburg averages only about 31 sunny days each year, and this was definitely one of them.  It was the warmest day so far for us (in the low 70’s), and at one spot we saw sun bathers soaking up the sunshine.
 

            Most of this English-speaking group were from countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Puerto Rico, etc., who speak English as a second or third language.   (Very few were Americans).  Indeed, English has become the international language, and occasionally we saw English words (mixed with Russian) on signs, or even a small billboard advertising Coca Cola.  We saw a BP gas station, and one McDonald’s.  All of us marveled at the fact that we were in a country that had been our enemy for so many years.  When Julia talked, she spoke of “the Communists” in past tense – but for us older people, it was not very far in the past (and we know there are still some Communists and KGB there).
 

            Our second-day excursion in St. Petersburg on Friday was only a half-day one, scheduled to leave at 1:00 PM.  We squeezed in both a big breakfast and a very light lunch (including gelato) before leaving.
 

By the time our excursion departed, it was sprinkling rain.  (This was NOT one of the 31 sunny days of the year.)  During the long bus ride to Peter the Great’s Grand Palace, our tour guide, Tamara, pointed out the sights.  When we arrived at the palace about 3:00 PM, it was raining pretty hard, but we both had hooded jackets.

Peter the Great's Palace

People with long coats or backpacks had to check them, and we all had to cover our shoes with cloth overshoes before entering the palace.  No photos were allowed inside.  Also, a stern looking Russian woman was stationed in every room and chastised anyone that came close to touching the walls, doorways, or furnishings.  The palace and furnishings were magnificent.  Many of the wall carvings were covered with gold leaf and most of the furnishings were original.  The palace tour took about 1.5 hours.  Next, we walked out into the rain and around the fountains and gardens.  Although we departed the palace about 5:00 PM, with the rain and heavy traffic, our return trip took over two hours.
 

Since we were on a Costa excursion, no one was concerned that we were delaying the ship’s 6:00 PM departure, and the dining staff had been notified that busses were late so that dinner went on as usual.  We noticed that least one excursion returned even later than ours.  (However, if people are off on their own and return late, they risk being left!) 
 

            When we finally made it to our dinner table, Jorg and Gabi were eating their dessert; however, they were nice enough to stay and talk with us through most of our meal.  After dinner, we danced to a few songs in the Grand Bar Rhapsody, as we watched the ship finally depart St. Petersburg around 8:30 PM.
 

We are scheduled for an 8:30 AM excursion tomorrow; however, we also get to set our clocks back one hour, so at least we’ll get an extra hour of sleep.

Helsinki, Finland

            Wednesday, 15 May 2013 – Since we weren’t scheduled to meet for our excursion until 12:15 PM, we didn’t need to set an alarm clock.  Sally still woke up around 4:45 but Jesse slept until 10:00 AM.   We ate a late breakfast, where we ran into Susan and Chris (of Scotland) and talked for several minutes.  Afterward, we sat around the cabin until almost noon; then we proceeded to our excursion meeting point.  We were scheduled for the From Helsinki to Porvoo through the Finnish Countryside tour.  When we arrived, we were very surprised to learn that our excursion had left 45 minutes earlier!  Yes, there was a notice in the Costa Cruise publication, Today, that we needed to set our clocks one hour forward.  The cruise staff was very accommodating and booked us on a similar excursion, Tour of Helsinki, which was scheduled to leave at 1:15 PM.  They gave us credit for the previous excursion and only charged us an additional 2 Euros each (the cost difference), for the later excursion.  Thanks Costa!



Helsinki Senate Square

Sibelius Monument

            Our tour bus drove around the harbor and city, as the tour guide, Anna, described the significant sights in English and in Italian (with a heavy accent in both), for appropriate passengers on board.  We stopped at the Senate Square, where we toured the Cathedral, and later at the Temppeliaukio Church, a modern masterpiece built into a hill of rock and known by locals as the “Rock Church.”  We also made a brief photo stop at the Sibelius Monument, constructed of hundreds of steel tubes that “sing with Sibelius’ works” to honor their greatest composer.  We returned to the ship at 5:15 PM.

            Jorg (pronounced York – we’ve been misspelling his name) and Gabi joined us again for dinner, where we had more interesting conversation.  Afterward, we went to Grand Bar Rhapsody for dancing and were later joined by Jorg and Gabi.  We danced only a few dances and returned to our cabin for the night.  We will dock at St Petersburg, Russia, starting at 7:00 AM tomorrow for two days.  Today we were told that we need to move our clocks forward again tonight, but at least we know this time, so hopefully won’t be late for tomorrow’s excursion!  We will post again after our two days in St Petersburg.