St. Petersburg Day 1

Crown Princess Deck Log
Helsinki to St. Petersburg - 178.9 Nautical Miles
Average Speed - 20.6 Knots
Noon position: Alongside in St. Petersburg
Sky: Clear Skies
Temperature: 55 F

This day had a most peculiar beginning. It seems there was the dead body of a man directly across from our anchorage. We could see it easily from the buffet and from our balcony. The servers said that the police had been there and had pulled the body from the water - but it lay there all day - we last checked it at 5 p.m. - but it was gone by the time we went to bed. How bizarre is that?

We were greeted on shore by this Russian band which was playing Chattanooga Choo-Choo! It made everybody smile. Some passengers were conducting and others were dancing!
When we went ashore, we had to go through Russian customs. The customs officers were women, and they were very very serious and businesslike. They stamped our passports, so we have proof that we were there! In Russian, the name is sounded out "Sankt Peterburg" - so I wonder why we add the "s" after Peter and they don't. I kept forgetting to ask about that.

Our tour guide today is Maria, and she will also answer to Marsha. She was young, intelligent, spoke good English, and she was lively and fun. The tour of the Hermitage was the absolute highlight of the day and maybe the highlight of the whole cruise. This museum has room after room of great masters - all of the famous artists that you can think of - Rembrandt, van Gogh, Gauguin, and on and on. Whole rooms full of their works are there - not just one or two masterpieces. It is totally amazing. The Hermitage has a great web site where you can take a virtual tour of the whole place. My favorites were the Peacock Clock, the lapis lazuli vase, the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt, and At the Foot of the Mountains by Gauguin.

Our tour guide, Maria:

These beautiful vases were a knock-out, Maria referred to them as "wases".

All of the artworks depicting Biblical stories were referred to as legends.

Maria with a roomful of precious masterpieces. Unbelievable.

Jesus' entry into Jerusalem

Maria with a roomful of Picasso originals.

Guards outside the Hermitage getting ready to deploy.

Here are some street scenes from St. Petersburg. The city has a most distinctive sky line! We were lucky enough to be there on the weekend that they were celebrating the 305th birthday of the city. It was decorated and cleaned up just for us! St. Petersburg is full of palaces, museums, mansions, canals, public gardens (parks), gilded spires and domes. It's a very beautiful place.

At the end of the day, we watched the Troika Dancers from the Troika Night Club in St. Petersburg. They were so colorful and energetic - we all enjoyed the performance. It was a great way to end our first day in Russia. At bedtime we noticed ships lined up as far as the eye could see to enter the port. There were at least 14 ships spaced out at regular intervals toward the horizon. The Troika Dancers:

Can Anyone identify this Russian Song? It's been driving Dick crazy!


More High-Stepping Troika Dancers!
The Grand Finale:

Helsinki

Crown Princess Deck Log
Stockholm to Helsinki: 263.2 Nautical Miles
Average Speed 21.0 Knots
Noon position: Alongside in Helsinki
Sky: Clear Skies
Temperature: 52 F

This morning we ate breakfast in the dining room to see how it was. The food was just average, but the service was wonderful, as usual!

The Finnish language is something to see. I'm not sure how they get their first graders ready to read! It would be a real challenge!

Our tour guide's name was Toije (Toya). She told us about people washing their carpets in the canal and leaving them along the shore to dry. They come and get them the next day. Toya also said that the unofficial Finnish motto is "Hope for the best but plan for the worst."
The buildings along the street were decorated with charming flowers.


Couldn't resist taking a picutre of this strange boat in Helsinki Harbor.
The Lutheran Cathedral in Senate Square, Helsinki

The statue is Alexander II.

Bill and Jan in the Square



Olympic Stadium with statue of Paavo Nurmi, Finnish Olympian
Dick happened upon this graduation ceremony from the medical school. Here's a procession of new doctors!

Moose are everywhere - they are evidently responsible to 30 deaths annually in car accidents.
The tour bus stopped at this memorial to Sibelius, who composed "Finlandia".
Helsinki street scene:Santa's Mini Market- I told you that Scandinavians are fun-loving!
Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Rock Church) They charge the equivalent of one dollar to use the bathroom. Jan and I were reminiscing about having to pay to use the john at Harrod's, and a little English lady piped up saying, "You don't have to pay at Harrod's if you buy a cup of tea!"
World travelers enjoying the Atrium.
Dick had good luck caching in Helsinki!

May 23 by basswoodbend (1762 found)
We are on a Princess cruise of the Baltic. Todays shore excursion bus ride had a 50 min. break for sightseeing and shopping in the square. I followed the arrow but there were two policemen standing within 3 feet of the cache when I arrived. I spotted the container but could not retrieve it. By asking stupid tourist questions I managed to coax them away from the wall and out by the street. I quickly grabbed the stash and retreated to the steps of the cathederal to sign it. Unfortunately, when I returned to the location the officers were back. Luckily, at just that time, there was a sudden flourish, bells began tolling and a procession came out of the building to the west and proceded down the street past me. With that distraction the cache was easily replaced. Thanks for the chance to add Finland to our list of countries.
May 23 by basswoodbend (1762 found)
On a cruise of the Baltic, we are attempting to find a cache and launch one of our coins in each country we visit. The first we found today was too small for a coin, this one is just right. It was a good thing this was an easy find because the clue was no help to us. We attempted to retrieve and replace the container as quietly as we could but I stumbled replacing it and may have drawn the attention of the man sitting on the nearby porch. I hope not.
Anyway, thanks for the hunt and for providing us with a place to launch our latest coin which we have named "Finland"

Stockholm

Crown Princess Deck Log
Noon position: Alongside in Stockholm
Sky: Cloudy
Temperature: 59F

It was lovely to arrive in Stockholm. There was a band on hand to welcome us to the pier and to the country. It was a lively little band - eventually 12 members showed up - and they played for all of the passengers leaving the ship to go on the tours. It's a charming welcome to Sweden! There was a shuttle on the pier to get handicappers from the gangway to the customs house - a very thoughtful service.

Our tour today was on a sightseeing boat - the tour was called "Waterways of Stockholm". We saw a lot and learned a lot. Stock means log or stick or wood, holm means island. Stockholm is built on 14 separate islands, and the name means forest island, or woods island. Our narrator's name was Lars, and he talked like a typical Swede (not surprisingly), calling June Yune :) We learned that only 3% of Sweden is inhabited, and that 80% of Swedes have cottages on the water. Our boat went through a lock to Lake Malaren and back.

The stage show tonight in the Princess Theater was a magician, Tony Laffen, and his assistant Kasy. They were fantastic! It was a great show, and we wonder why they're stuck on a cruise ship when they should be famous!

One of the locals helped Dick find 290 Swedines in the Stockholm phone book for Tim.

The little houses on the shore are allotment houses that people rent for day use only. They can be used for outings, or for tending community gardens nearby.

A view of Stockholm from the waterway.

This little band welcomes us to Sweden.
Jan on her balcony - don't know the other person.

A Baltic Sea car ferry in the Stockholm Harbor.

Busses and taxis wait for the touring cruise ship passengers.

The aft end of our lovely big ship.
We're off to explore Stockholm from the water. Can you even find us?
Scandinavians are basically fun-loving I think - based on the Tivolis and these cranes which are made to look like giraffes! You have to love it!
This is the Vasa Museum with the masts of the ancient ship poking up through the roof so you can get an idea of the size of the ship.Beautiful Stockholm from the water.