Sunday, May 29, 2011

L'Alsace pittoresque


Nothing compares to the french pastries and coffee 

I will write more about Colmar as it is one of the most picturesque places you could ever hope to visit.  Today is beautiful with sunshine, and there seems to be music on every street.  Everyone on the street is carrying flowers because it is Mothers Day.. In all the countries we have visited,  fresh flowers are very important as well as coffee shops. Coffee is almost an addiction. The restaurants are full today as everyone is taking their Mothers and Grandmothers out but it is also Sunday.
We are leaving the hotel and have a train later today but in the meantime will enjoy a museum and early dinner before leaving this beautiful place. So, we are looking forward to the train travel and French countryside.  The French trains are absolutely wonderful and we get senior discounts.

Trains

There was lots to see

The Seabourn chocolate on my pillow did not fool me when I climbed
up to the upper berth, I knew we were not still on the Seabourn
 We left Copenhagen, Denmark at 6:20 p.m. and enjoyed beautiful scenery.  We had the opportunity to see a lot since it doesn't get dark until after 10:p.m.  Our small compartment was comfortable and the 12 hours went by fast.  We were served breakfast early and got off for our change to Strasbourg.  There was a very nice young German business man getting off at the same time who handled our luggage and showed us which platform we needed. The second train was in route to Paris after the Strasbourg stop. There appeared to be a couple of honeymooners on board.  We spotted a Best Western Hotel across the street from the train station when we departed the train in Colmar.  This seemed like an easy way to go as we leave here by train for St. Raphael.  The historic center is a 500 meters walk and proved to be a good location.  We left our luggage in the lobby until check in time and took off walking, enjoying some sun and warm weather. 

Changing trains at the border in Karlsruhe to Strasbourg

Copenhagen train station is not for the faint of heart

Written Sunday afternoon as we take a break in Colmar sightseeing.
By the way, getting up into the upper berth is not something you would want to photograph

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Malmo, Sweden


 
These are real pansies in the main square

We have seen more lighthouses on this trip than in our lifetime
  

The Turning Torso Condo building, tallest building in the Baltic
We enjoyed a wonderful art exhibit in the main center of the pedestrian street
 
Train Station , look at the bicycles

The architecture is beautiful
All cities have a Castle.  This one is beautiful with a great museum
We had a scenic bus ride over the 10 mile bridge and got off in the historic center.  Malmo's is the third largest city in Sweden whose focus is on being a Fair Trade City but it is environmentally friendly and easy for tourists. The bicycle culture extends here with 400 km of bike paths.  Malmo is a Mecca for families,  like Copenhagen, there are so many young adults and lots of baby buggies and families riding bicycles together. They boast more than twenty playgrounds.   The children's clothing shops stand out with their famous label, Lollopard. Malmo claims to be the Swedish city with the most restaurants per inhabitant.  There is everything from a first class restaurant in a 16th century building to a modern Swedish brasserie and bar. Some restaurants have a special dog menu for our four footed friends.  It was a tough choice for lunch as the range went from colorful outdoor cafes, bistros, deep cellars to elegant.  We spent the day walking and paused once for a short Spring rain.  We didn't have time to visit the famous ice cream factory or chocolate factory. When our feet couldn't take it anymore, we waited for our bus and recharged our batteries with a glass of wine in a cosy outdoor cafe.  We have a one hour bus ride back and an all night train to catch to Colmar via Strasberg.
Written from Colmar, Sunday morning.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Wonderful Copenhagen

We had a long day of sightseeing and were fortunate that it was a warm day with sunshine. We walked miles yesterday and again today.  We decided to see the the most important sights with 'Hop on and Hop off" bus.  I know the Little Mermaid is famous but I really don't get it - that it is a main attraction (H.C. Andersen or not).  The Rosenborg Castle, National Gallery and Botanical Garden were beautiful. No wonder the Danes pay so much tax, maybe to keep these places up.  The best Goose Down Comforters come from Copenhagen, a shop called Ofelia (which is a Spanish name).  Copenhagen seems easy and livable, a city designed for people with green parks, streets made for pedal power ( I love watching it).  This bicycle culture is fascinating because they never seem to sacrifice style in the name of comfort.  The area is buzzing when people come together after work in cute warm toned cafes.  There is a vibe. There you see the cycle chic with individualized helmets and bicycles with incredible baskets, flowers, baby seats.  Today I saw a Father and little son riding together on two separate bikes holding hands. The biker Moms and Dads are incredible with their outfits - like a little buggy up front. The flowers sellers run out and set up as the 'after work crowd ' pick up flowers on their way home.  Does anyone go straight home - because every street and niche is full of happy people.  The Danes are great looking people.  Lots and lots of black attire ( it is in ) and  I saw the same thing in London, black and more black.  Tomorrow is another busy day, starting early.  We changed our plan and will go to Malmo, Sweden on a bus tomorrow and make our own tour.  We plan to leave our luggage in the locked closet in the train station and take a bus  to Malmo and return in time to take a night train to Strasberg, France with only one connection the next morning.  If we take time to see Strasberg depends on luggage storage or if we decide to spend one night.  We will  not go to Bensheim after all as Dean and Christel have a packed schedule and we just can't change trains three times (difficult with luggage). So, I will not check in again for a few days but I will eventually tell you about St. Petersberg and Helsinki.  The last two days certainly required some 'animo'.  I will close with the comment:  I think Copenhagen is truly wonderful!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Cold in Copenhagen

Home of Leggo
We were shocked back into the real world when we got off the ship on Wedensday, the 25th.  Now, we have to do everything for ourselves, starting with luggage.  Not only that, but it is on the cold side here.  We went directly to our hotel which certainly doesn't match Seabourn accomodations.  We could not check in early so stored our luggage and walked all day.  We escaped the cold wind and had a drink in one of the luxury hotels to be surprised by prices.
Copenhagen is a beautiful city and there are thousands of bicycles as it is the mode of transportation.  Beautiful women with high heels riding along with their briefcase, a new mop, and always on the cell phone.  We walked the mile long pedestrian street, Stroget, filled with shops, boutiques and cafes.  Opposite Stroget is the world famous Tivoli Gardens, founded in 1843, which is a wealth of flowers, art and music.  Copenhagen is one of the most historic cities in the Baltic and we plan to take a tour.  It is a great people watching place with lots of young and stylish people. Around 6:p.m. we went to a nearby department store to buy an adaptor and got caught up in a sea of bicycles, everyone leaving work.  There were lots of people on the streets enjoying a glass of wine or cup of coffee  We had an early dinner on the Stroget.  After a long night of sleep we are off to walk the Stroget to the train station to arrange a train trip for the day to Sweden.  Also, we hope to work out our schedule to leave here on a sleeper train.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Arriving Copenhagen

I have not been able to post as the ship has experienced problems with the internet service.  Sometimes it is a matter of another ship blocking the signal when we are docked or a heavy cloud cover.  It was running very slow and then not at all so I will catch up soon.  We have been to St. Petersburg, Helsinki and shortly we arrive in Copenhagen where we will get off.  It has been an incredible experience with everything first class.  We have met wonderful, interesting people.  We have sunsets at 10: p.m. that blend into sunrise at 4:30 a.m. creating "white nights", a silver twilight all night.  We will be in Copenhagen about three days with one of those days in Sweden (across the 10 mile bridge). We are considering changing from train travel through Germany and just fly to Nice as it seems less expensive and Phil doesn't need to handle luggage with train changes.  So, we now get ready to leave the ship in about an hour or 8:a.m.. 

Monday, May 23, 2011

The Medival City,Tallin, Estonia

To Visit Tallin is to go back in time, a truly medieval city.  Our three hour walking tour took us through the fairytale streets, and finished with a concert in a historic house.  Our guide was quite the General shouting orders and keeping everyone in line.We started at the upper part of the city at Toompea Castle built 1219, (nearly three quarters of the walls still stand) offering a fascinating view of medieval rooftops,cobblestone streets, graceful spires and turreted towers.  A gun tower from 1475 has stones and cannonballs embedded in the walls. Tallin's turbulent history includes fighting the Vikings in 9th to 11th century to serving many masters including Danish, Swedish, German and Russian.  Tallin has had independence for only twenty years.  The 1232 Cathedral is amazing with tombs, carved baroqued style pupit.  The Russified Castle Square is always full of people.  The gate erected to segregate the 'High" feudel Lords from the "low" townspeople still stands.  Everynight at 9:p.m. the gate shut to separate the two factions.   The churches were impressive with Church of St. Alexander, St. Mary's Cathedral, House of Estonia Knighthoods, Church of the Holy Spirit.  Pharmacy Lane and Catherine's passage were lined with handicrafts, outdoors cafes, and boutiques.   It is a truly amazing little city that       I am happy to have the opportunity to see.  We enjoyed good weather but the shopping and restaurants didn't appeal to us.  There were lots of sweaters and knitted garments available.  Back to the ship and a very scenic departure.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Smooth Sailing


Even housekeeping is talented

At the end of a hard day.
I enjoyed the galley tour and a cooking demonstration with the Executive chef who is French. His technique for parmesan risotto was lots of work but the most delicious.  Also, the Pots de Creme was wonderful. 
We had a rough day at sea the first day only. There is truly an international feeling on board with 34 nationalities working here.  The majority are talented young people and they have all kinds of arrangements such as a 4 to 7 month contract.  This young waiter/bartender reminds us of Charlie Pankey.  We attended the welcome cocktail and met new people.  There are passengers from all over the world.  Americans on board are probably the minority.  There is more to do than we have time to enjoy.  Phil met a fellow Rotarian from Tasmania at the service club meeting.  The restaurants are excellent and we continue to meet interesting people at dinner.  Everyday offers something new.  This is a totally different experience than our other trip four years ago that we traveled by train and stayed in B & B s.  We actually lost weight the first two weeks but that is not the case this time. 
Welcome Cocktail Party with the Capitan