Today, I woke up to more snow. It’s much snowier down near Stuttgart, which is where Bill and I will be headed on Wednesday. But up here, I think we got maybe a little under two inches or so. It’s bitter cold outside and still pretty cloudy. I won’t be surprised if there’s more snow or a few flurries before the sun sets.
I don’t have much travel stuff to write about today, although if I were feeling more ambitious and hopeful, I might write about some other travel related topics. For example, I could write about some of my favorite YouTube creators, who inspire me to look into fancy trips in Europe. A couple of the people I watch regularly are somewhat annoying, but they do go to some interesting places.
Lately, thanks to videos I’ve watched, I’ve been thinking I’d like to visit Finland and do a proper visit up there. I don’t really love freezing cold weather, but I do like coziness and snow… if I can be inside by a fireplace with some wine, that is. š¤£ I’d also settle for a hot tub.
It’s also hard to think about traveling when our government is so screwed up, and people are protesting, fighting, and literally dying in my homeland. It’s not lost on me that Americans aren’t all that popular right now, mainly due to the “dictator” in the White House. Listen, y’all… my disdain for him is about his shittiness as a human being, rather than conservative politics as a whole. He’s not a conservative. He’s a fascist. And he’s making things worse for EVERYONE, except maybe his billionaire “buddies”… who aren’t even his buddies.
People like that don’t really have friends, do they? They just worship money. Money is no substitute for real human connections, love, and freedom. Personally, I think the vast majority of super rich people are hollow inside. They don’t have normal relationships. They don’t live happy lives. They can’t trust people to love them, because people simply want to use them and take what they have. And so, I think they’re very lonely folks, who crave what money can’t buy for them. If you think about it, it’s pretty sad.
Bill is coming home early today, because he’s going to start his very first course at the Jung Institute. The online class he’s taking today will run for five hours. He plans to take a couple more while we’re on our visit to Waiblingen, which starts on Wednesday.
Anyway, I wish I had an interesting trip to write about today, but I don’t. However, I will soon be adding content to this blog, because during our trip to Waiblingen, we have reserved tables at two very nice restaurants, which we booked on OpenTable.de.
I’m sure there will be other places we’ll try, since we’re staying down there until Sunday. Yeah, it seems weird to stay in Waiblingen for four nights, when we could just go see the dentist in a day… but I think it will be fun to go there and hang out in our old stomping grounds. I don’t know if I’ll ever have another chance to live near Stuttgart, but it will always occupy a spot in my heart.
So… please stay tuned for my Waiblingen series, such as it will be. After that, who knows where the road will lead. I can pretty much guarantee that we will be in Switzerland again this year at some point, if we don’t have to leave the continent because of Donald Trump.
Until my next post, bis spater…
Here are a few photos I took of our cozy German house this past week… Bill made homemade scones (by Nigella Lawson) and hot tea for breakfast yesterday, along with a soft boiled egg, a little sausage, and fresh orange juice. The dogs approved!
Also, I sent off a ballot request, so I can vote in the Texas primaries. I don’t know how much good it will do, but it’s something, at least.
Hi ho, folks. I usually do a “ten things I learned” post after our trips. Since this was a comparatively massive trip that was divided into a few segments, I’ve decided to compose slightly more than double the usual list. I’ve found that the “things I learned” posts tend to get read more than the “blow by blow” posts. So, in the interest of engaging people, here’s my latest list of things I learned while traveling. Some of these things I mention will seem silly or irrelevant. Nevertheless, they are still things I learned on our trip. I hope some of you enjoy it!
Here goes…
22. In Northern Europe, you are encouraged or even obliged to forgo housekeeping for charitable purposes.
We stayed in four hotels. In three of them, there were signs encouraging or even requiring guests to skip having their rooms cleaned. In Oslo, it was a choice, which we did opt for, since we only stayed two nights. In Bergen, it was automatically skipped unless we requested it by 10 PM the night before. And in Copenhagen, it was encouraged. All three hotels claimed that they donated money saved by not cleaning rooms to environmental or women’s causes. I was actually surprised by how environmentally aware the hotels were. In Copenhagen, they even had a daily 6 AM jog sponsored by the hotel where people could jog together and pick up trash.
21. When you check into a hotel in Northern Europe, don’t be shocked if you’re asked to pay when you get your key, if you haven’t already prepaid.
We had to pay upfront for both Norway hotels and our hotel in Denmark. It didn’t really matter, in the grand scheme of things, but it was kind of surprising at the time.
20. At the moment, it’s hard to plan a land based trip up north. But that’s changing.
I had originally wanted this to be a land based trip because I like to stay at least a night or two in places I visit, especially when they are in countries I’ve never visited in the past. We ended up cruising on this trip, because it was simply more practical. I have a feeling that even though we were on a luxury cruise, it might have also been somewhat cheaper. The Rail Baltica project is making a land based trip to Baltic countries more feasible. I hope we’re still living here when it’s completed, or will be able to visit.
19. Sometimes, Norwegians are indistinguishable from Americans.
Or maybe we were just in places where Norwegians don’t have thick accents. I was often shocked by how much Norwegians reminded me of my countrymen! The one difference was that they tended to be taller, blonder, and a lot more beautiful. Especially the women.
18. Helsinki, Finland has an Armenian restaurant!
I noticed it on the bus ride from the port to the city center. No, we didn’t have a chance to visit it, but I did look it up. Apparently, it’s currently temporarily closed, as they are moving from their old location to a new one. I took a look at the menu and it appeared to be a great place to dine Armenian style. Maybe, if we go back to Helsinki, we can give it a try. As some of you know, Armenia is important to me, because I lived there for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
17. Most Finnish people have saunas, second homes, and boats… some women even give birth in saunas!
The ladies who did our harbor cruise tour told us that many Finnish people have their very own private saunas at home. They are considered very clean, so some women even have babies in their home saunas. That doesn’t seem appealing to me, but what do I know? The ladies also said that many people have their own boats and second homes, and that it doesn’t require a lot of money to have either. That’s just part of their culture. I clearly need to explore Finland more!
16. Estonia had a comparatively easy time during the pandemic, because people there naturally “social distance”.
Our tour guide, the hilarious Raul (Robin Williams come to visit in another life form), told us that most Estonians don’t have big families (same as in Finland). And when COVID-19 was especially terrible, it wasn’t so hard for the Estonians, because people up there are kind of solitary. He said the government would like to see more babies being made and is trying to encourage it, but Estonians aren’t so into the idea.
15. There’s an old AIDA cruise ship stuck at Tallinn’s harbor…
As we were entering and leaving Tallinn, Estonia, I couldn’t help but notice the loudly painted AIDAvita, docked at the pier. It looked a little rusty, but I paid it no mind until I got back on our ship and did some Googling. The AIDAvita was sold and is now known as Avitak. But it still looks like an AIDA ship, even though it flies the Liberian flag and has been stuck in Tallinn since November 2021.
14. Everybody up north celebrates Midsommar… It’s a big deal!
I didn’t know about this holiday, which is celebrated in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and other northerly countries. This year, it took place on Saturday, June 24th, and I noticed lots of women wearing flower crowns on their heads. Raul, our guide in Estonia, said that starting on Midsommar Eve (this year, the 23rd of June– the shortest night of the year) people party all night and spend the next day recovering. When we visited Tallinn, it was Sunday, June 25th, and Raul said we probably wouldn’t see too many locals, since people still needed to recuperate from the festivities. Summer doesn’t officially begin until June 21st… but, of course, they’re going by the Summer Solstice. Midsommar represents the time between planting crops and harvesting them.
13. People in Estonia and Latvia are GLAD to be running their own countries now.
I’m not totally surprised about this one, of course. It makes perfect sense that people would take pride in their cultures and want to run their countries the way they see fit. Still, as an American who grew up in the 1980s, it was very interesting to hear about the Soviet times from the locals and how, on the whole, they were very happy not to be part of the Soviet Union anymore. When I lived in Armenia, I think the sentiment was probably similar, although I was there in the mid 90s, when times were more difficult. I did hear some people say they missed the Soviet Union, but probably only because they were tearing pages from books to wipe their asses when they went to the toilet. I’m sure they no longer long for those days.
12. Riga, Latvia has many beautiful art deco buildings!
I hadn’t known much about Latvia before this trip, other than what Bill told me about visiting there. I didn’t know there were so many beautiful buildings in Riga that managed to survive the Soviet era. I do remember some nice buildings in Armenia, too, no doubt built before the Soviet Union existed and imported a lot of industrial tackiness and weird architecture. Still, it was a pleasant surprise to see that there are still many gorgeous old buildings there.
11. Visby, Sweden is a beautiful place, but I think I’d hate to own a home in the old town!
As we walked through Visby’s historic old town within its medieval walls, I couldn’t help but think I’d probably dislike living there. The local government is very strict about how locals can decorate or improve their properties, and as I saw and experienced firsthand, there are MANY tour groups coming through there. But I’m still really glad we visited. And luckily, we probably could never afford to live there, anyway. š
10. Liepaja and Karosta, Latvia, are still big military areas. But Liepaja has potential!
I had heard of Karosta before our visit there, to see the big naval military prison. I had not heard of Liepaja, which is one of Latvia’s biggest cities. I was surprised by how nice the town is. There are many trees there; music is a focus of the city; and the beach is surprisingly inviting. I hope we can visit again sometime.
9. I learned the tragic story of the Rose of Turaida…
And you can learn it too, by clicking here and reading up about it.
8. Religious people in northern Europe are typically Lutherans…
In 2023, I don’t expect *that* many people in Europe to be especially religious. Those who do practice religion tend to be Lutherans, although there are also Catholics. We visited several Russian Orthodox churches, too. There are still some Russians living in the Baltic areas.
Gutmana Cave
7. Latvians love their “biggest” cave, which isn’t very big at all, and is more like a grotto.
Our guide explained that Latvians love the largest cave in Latvia, which is not a big cave at all. Gutmana Cave is not very deep and lacks the typical exciting formations one tends to see in caves. What it does have is very pure water, which locals claim bestow eternal youth and good health. Also, on the sandstone walls, there are many carvings and inscriptions dating back hundreds of years.
Sorry about the window glare. Norway sure is beautiful!
6. Norway has many, many electric vehicles…
I was very surprised by the sheer volume of electric vehicles in Norway. The cabs we rode in were all electric. We actually rode in our very first Tesla there. The train from Oslo to Bergen is electric. The gas stations have places for people to recharge their vehicles. Gas is expensive, and Norway has many rules regarding emissions and pollution. I read that as of 2026, a lot of cruise ships won’t be able to explore the fjords anymore.
5. If you visit Sigulda in Latvia, you might want to buy a walking stick… or jewelry.
I was surprised by the excellent handcrafts in Sigulda, especially given how reasonably priced they were. One of the items people typically buy there are ornate and colorfully painted walking sticks. We bought a small one for Bill’s granddaughter. I got myself some beautiful silver earrings. That reminds me… I need to look up the boutique online and see if I can order more. š
4. There is no more fishing in Bornholm, Denmark…
Bornholm is an island south of the Swedish coast. It belongs to Denmark. You’d think there would be many fish there, but the area has been overfished by humans, and lots of seals call the island home. So now, although there once were fish factories in Bornholm, they are now closed. The locals get their fish from other places. This trip really made me more aware of the environment and how our choices affect everything.
3. Only one restaurant on Bornholm still smokes fish the old fashioned way.
We visited Hasle Smokehouse, a “museum restaurant” in Bornholm, where the proprietor still smokes fish over an outdoor open fire. His establishment is the only one that still operates that way. It’s allowed because the place is also considered a museum, but he told us that the government sends him warning letters every year about public health/foodborne illness dangers. I can attest that the smoked herring is delicious, health risks notwithstanding!
2. Copenhagen, Denmark is fabulous…
I already had an idea that it was fabulous, as this was our third time in the city. But, we clearly need to go there and spend a few days. A couple of nights at the end of a long trip, a night on the way to Rostock, and a few hours as part of a cruise is not sufficient to really appreciate how cool that city is. We need to do a long weekend there. We also need more time in Stockholm and Helsinki… Hell, all of the places we went to were great! I wouldn’t change any aspect of our trip.
And finally, 1. It wasn’t a bad idea in 2023 to go to Northern Europe instead of Italy, France, England, or any of the biggest European hot spots.
Granted, it seemed like everyone was on vacation when we were, but I don’t think as many people came to Northern Europe as some of the most touristy European cities. I’ve been reading a lot about how many people have descended upon Europe this summer. It didn’t seem so bad where we were, with the exception of Bergen. But even Bergen wasn’t that bad… A bonus was that the weather, by and large, wasn’t that hot. However, we did encounter hot weather and a couple of chilly days. I read that the weather last week wasn’t so great, either. So, you take a risk… Still, we were very lucky on our trip, and got to see most everything we planned to see. I still want to see more of the fjords. Hopefully, we’ll get the chance.
Anyway… I could probably add even more to this list. You learn a lot when you go on two week trips to half a dozen countries! But I’ve got some other stuff to do. Noyzi needs a walk; I need to practice guitar; and I have at least one more blog post to write. So I’ll wrap up this post now… I’m glad our big trip worked out the way it did, hectic as it was. We had a good time.
On the morning of July 2, it was time to start the process of ending our big trip of 2023. Again, I can’t say that I was sad about it. I love going on vacations. I enjoy traveling– seeing new things, buying new stuff, meeting people, eating different foods, and drinking different beverages… especially the adult varieties. But it all has to end eventually.
I missed Noyzi. I craved having access to my washing machine. I worried about the pile up of mail. I even had fond memories of my bed, which really needs a new mattress. And, even though not that many people want to read my blog posts about our travels, I was really itching to write and upload all of the photos I took over the two weeks we were gone. I prefer to write on my desktop computer, which is at home. So, home was where we needed to go.
Bill checked out of the hotel, while I went to the handy self check-in kiosk in the hotel lobby. I printed our luggage tags and boarding passes, and we made our way to the luggage drop off point, which was actually a pretty stout walk within the airport from the hotel. It was especially rigorous, since we had heavy bags. I was thanking God that I booked business class on the plane, because it got us into the short security line, and we were able to get through and into the SAS Lounge (which also serves Lufthansa passengers) in no time.
Glad Bill likes cheese!
The Copenhagen Airport has a pretty decent lounge, although I didn’t make full use of it. I just sat in a nice chair and drank sparkling water while we waited until it was time to make our way to our gate. Once we got there, we found it backed up with a lot of passengers and not enough seating. Typical! š
I was a little worried that maybe our plane would be like the one we flew out of Bergen on… two by two seating in a very narrow aircraft. But it was a nice spacious plane, with three seats per row. Since we were in business class, we had an empty middle seat, and we even got served “breakfast”… which was mostly stuff I don’t eat. But they did have warm croissants and orange juice, which was fine for me. I also appreciated the chocolate they gave us afterwards!
The flight was perfectly lovely, and we landed on time in Frankfurt. It took forever to get our bags, and I think we might have even been the only ones who checked baggage. We were the only ones we noticed from our flight waiting for bags, which took over a half hour to get to us. While we were waiting, we encountered more Americans. One was a woman who looked a little annoyed when I sat down in a chair near her luggage. She changed her tune when she started wondering aloud about transportation and Bill helpfully piped up with local insider info. She asked us where we were from, and we answered America… but now we live here in Germany, and boy has it changed us in profound ways.
I don’t know what the woman and her husband were here for. The way she was dressed and the amount of luggage she had suggested that maybe she was going to go on a Rhein cruise or something. But those usually start in Basel, Switzerland or Amsterdam, Netherlands. They do pass through the Rheingau, though, and I often watch them and think… maybe I’d book one of those if I didn’t live so close to so many of the stops!
We found the Volvo and drove home, quickly unpacked, and I started doing laundry. I turned on the robot mower to deal with the very high grass. I checked out our rain barrel, which was full of nasty critters I’ve been killing all week. And I’ve been writing on this blog for a solid eight days. I’ve still got some more to write about, but the actual blog series on our big Nordic trip is over now. I hope some of you enjoyed it.
For those who are curious… This trip ran us approximately $22,000. We don’t usually come close to spending that much on a vacation, and we spent more than we had to. This was not an economy trip, by any means. We were also gone for two weeks, traveling in style in a very expensive area of the world. So…
*Cruise was about $12,000 or so… Concierge E on Regent Seven Seas Splendor, which is a luxury class, all inclusive cruise ship.
*Business class plane tickets from Frankfurt to Oslo, Bergen to Stockholm, and Copenhagen to Frankfurt, probably about $2,000 or so.
*A compartment on the train to Bergen from Oslo, about $500
*Hotels for eight nights, about $2,000 or so. Those, we paid at the hotel, rather than ahead of time.
*Trip insurance for a year about $1,000 (covers all trips all year)
*Food, booze, shopping, transportation, tickets to activities etc. about $4,500
I also havenāt factored in how much Noyziās boarding was. We had to prepay that in cash before we left.
If we’d wanted to, we could have pared down costs considerably. This summer, we really just wanted to enjoy ourselves. We definitely aren’t alone. Europe is teeming with people this year, and prices are pretty high. I’m happy to report that most of these costs were paid off before our trip started. We just need to work on paying off the stuff I didn’t pre-pay or pre-book.
It was a special pleasure to visit Finland and Latvia, two places I had never been to before, and learn about other places I’d never heard of, like Visby and Bornholm. It really was a good time, albeit very different from our usual road trips south!
So, that about does it for this series. I have to close now, as workmen have just shown up to replace the windows in my house. Hope to see some comments at some point!
Years ago, Bill and I were big fans of the British comedy show, Little Britain. That show featured various character skits by comedians David Walliams and Matt Lucas. One skit they did consistently involved characters named Lou and Andy. Lou asked Andy where he wanted to go on holiday, and Andy insisted that he wanted to go to Helsinki…
Lou suggests Florida, but Andy reiterates he wants Helsinki… but then changes his mind.
I didn’t change my mind about Helsinki. I was genuinely curious about it. On our first day aboard the ship, we were to take a short bus trip into Finland’s capital and enjoy a harbor cruise. This was one of the “free excursions” offered by Regent. But first, we needed to fuel up with breakfast. So we went down to the Compass Rose restaurant and enjoyed some very hearty fare, delivered to us by warm and attentive wait staff.
Sparkling water… we had to request it a lot!Avocado toast for Bill.Poached eggs, hash browns, and sausage for me.
We were arriving in Helsinki during the late morning hours, so we had time for a leisurely breakfast and, as it turned out, a quick lunch. I’m glad we had lunch before we got off the ship, as our excursion took place during the time when we might ordinarily have a midday repast. There’s a reason I mention this, and I’ll get to it in a couple of posts. š Suffice to say, we went to La Veranda again and grazed the humongous buffet so we’d be well-fortified for our trip to the city of Helsinki.
Looks like a ham and cheese baguette for Bill…Quiche Lorraine and roasted chicken with vegetables and roasted potatoes for me.Dessert!
Cruise director Jude made an announcement that Finland’s authorities had cleared the ship and people could get off the vessel. There were complimentary shuttle buses into town, or those who had excursions could go to the Constellation Theater and trade their tickets for group numbers, which they would then give to the locally hired tour guides.
One thing I immediately liked about the Regent experience is that they do have the complimentary shuttle buses. Regent bills itself as the most “all inclusive” cruise line available. Actually, I think Hebridean Island Cruises is (or was) more all inclusive than Regent is, but it’s a lot less famous and goes to far fewer places than Regent does. For a well-known cruise line that goes worldwide, I do think Regent probably does offer the most bang for the buck. But I caveat that by saying this as someone who hasn’t experienced a lot of different cruise lines.
On both Royal Caribbean and SeaDream, if we weren’t signed up for excursions, we had to find our own ways into the cities. Sometimes, that wasn’t a problem, but other times, not signing up for excursions meant being stuck at an ugly port, walking into town, figuring out and taking public transportation, or hiring a cab. Regent does have buses for those who want to do their own thing. I also want to mention, in fairness to Royal Caribbean and SeaDream, their policies may have changed since we were last aboard their ships. I honestly don’t know.
I ended up enjoying the harbor cruise excursion, as Gail and Ger were also on the boat with us. One group got off about midway, because they had paid for an extra segment of the tour. We were just fine with the boat, which had three guides offering commentary about life in Finland. When they mentioned that Finland had just joined NATO this year, everybody cheered!
The harbor cruise boat was comfortable, with seating available on top and inside the cabin. There was a bar serving snacks and beverages, including local beers. They also had clean toilets, which was a huge plus. In fact, the guides encouraged everyone to use the toilets on the tourboat, since public restrooms in the market area in Helsinki are scarce.
I thought the tour guides on the harbor cruise were basically good. There was one who did a bit of rambling. It was as if she wanted to keep talking to prevent people from talking among themselves. I know that once people get to talking, it can be hard to get them to be quiet again. But the rambling was noticeable.
Nevertheless, we did learn a lot about how cold it gets in Finland in the winter, as the guides showed us the ice breakers that keep the shipping lanes open. The guides also said that the ice gets hard enough that people can walk or even drive on it, although global warming is changing that reality. Personally, I think I’d be afraid to walk on the ice!
The guides also spoke at length about sauna culture in Finland. Apparently, many people have their own saunas at home. Sometimes you find homes with private saunas in Germany, too, but in Finland, itās evidently very common. Lots of people own boats and second homes, too, even if they arenāt very wealthy. Or, at least thatās what we were told.
Below are some photos…
Waiting in the theater to be invited to our bus.A Carnival ship was also in port. Check out the water slide!First glimpse of Finnish flags.A boat much like the one on which we took our cruise. Gay pride was everywhere.A glimpse of the zoo, which is on an island.Icebreakers!Pigeons are apparently especially aggressive in Helsinki.Another bridge with locks of love.Swedish embassy.
After the boat tour, we walked around the marketplace, where vendors were selling everything… There were a lot of really nice souvenirs. I bought a silk scarf for myself, and a couple of wooden toys for Bill’s youngest grandson. I wish we’d had more euros on us, although a lot of places also took credit cards.
There was also a ferris wheel and live music playing. I would have liked to have spent more time in Helsinki. We’ll have to go back, if only because I also noticed an Armenian restaurant near the port!
Here are some more pictures of Helsinki, some of which were taken with my digital camera, as opposed to my iPhone.
Ferris wheel in Helsinki.I was sitting in the Observation Lounge and noticed the skies and water…A very lucky shot.
Some of the above photos have a glare on them. I am still learning how to edit photos, so I need to find a way to get rid of the glare on the above shot. It’s a keeper.
There seemed to be a lack of open deck space, which made taking photos of scenery challenging. I could take pictures from my balcony, from the top decks, or on deck 5. But if I happened to be sitting in the observation lounge and noticed a particularly beautiful sunset or leaping dolphins, there was no way to easily get outside to get a good shot. And getting to a place where taking a good photo was possible would take a lot of time. That’s one thing about Regent Splendor I don’t like. I wish they had an outdoor area near the Observation Lounge. Even the pool area was kind of enclosed on the sides, though it didn’t have a retractable roof.
Oh well… another first world problem…
When we went back to our suite, our laundry was waiting for us, boxed up and gift wrapped. And again, because we were concierge guests, there was no extra charge!
Each item of clothing had a little tag in it with our suite number. It was all expertly cleaned, pressed, and folded. Very, very nice!
For dinner on the 24th, we decided to try Sette Mari, which I had read gets very crowded as people discover it. We went early, to make sure we’d get a seat. A poised young woman with black hair and a braid over the top of her head took care of us. She was very polished and professional, as she brought us Italian dishes. Sette Mari does offer table service, but there’s also a buffet for salads and desserts. I noticed it got a bit rowdy in there, but the food was good. We enjoyed it. I wish we’d had another chance to dine there. Maybe on another cruise.
Here are some photos from our visit to Sette Mari.
Antipasti!Obligatory selfie.Delicious asparagus risotto for me.A spicy pasta dish for Bill.I had a seafood stew with toasted bread.Bill had pork medallions.And dessert from the buffet…. an apricot tart and Italian donut, plus biscotti.Tiramisu for Bill.
After dinner, we spent a little more time in the Observation Lounge. I had a Brandy Alexander. Bill had ginger ale, because he wasn’t feeling well. We decided to go to bed early. At about 9:30 PM, a steward brought us the beer I requested. He seemed surprised to catch me in my nightie.
Nightcap.This was enough for the week. Notice the “mid cruise” comments. It was the first night!
So… that about does it for Helsinki. Stay tuned for Tallinn, Estonia!
We are into our Baltic cruise now, and Internet access isn’t always a given. It is included with our room, but we’re limited to four devices. I may end up buying a package for the computer, because I have a lot to write about, and plenty of photos to share.
As I mentioned yesterday on the main blog, Regent Seven Seas is a very pleasant way to travel. I wish we had more time in port to see some of the fantastic cities we’re visiting, but seeing these places once or twice helps us decide on future trips. We already knew we liked Tallinn when we were here in 2009. Now we know we like it even more.
Yesterday’s visit to Helsinki was also a success. We managed to find a few gifts for Bill’s grandchildren, as well as a few things for us.
Unfortunately, Bill has picked up my cold. He’s not as sick as I was… or have been, as I’m not 100 percent back to normal yet. Now, I have an annoying cough and a stuffy nose. But I have more energy and feel better. I can see I wasn’t the only unfortunate to pick up a cold on this trip.
Tomorrow, we head to Riga, Latvia, a place Bill have been to twice. It will be my first time there. I’m looking forward to seeing a new place and adding a new mug and magnet to my collection. We set sail in about an hour.
The featured photo was taken on a day cruise we took in Oslo, Norway, back in 2009.
It’s not so often that I travel blog during the work week. We have the pandemic to thank for that, as it made taking normal trips a lot more difficult for the past couple of years. In 2023, things are pretty much back in full swing. I expect Europe will be, once again, teeming with people this summer. In fact, I expect there will be more people than ever.
A week ago, we did a champagne bucket draw, and Finland won. That meant planning a trip that included a stop in Finland. I marvel at the changes our plans have undergone within about ten days. We went from planning a Helsinki based trip that would include land based stops in the Baltic countries, to pulling the trigger on a luxury cruise, with a week in Norway beforehand.
When you see the words “luxury cruise” in my blog post, of course it goes without saying that this trip is going to be pricey. We are going to sail on Regent Seven Seasā newest completed ship, Splendor, in June. An even newer ship, Grandeur, will be sailing this year, but I don’t think she’s had her maiden voyage yet. So, as of this writing, Splendor, which was built in 2020, is Regent’s newest. This will also be the newest ship we’ve ever sailed on, as we usually opt for either SeaDream or Hebridean Island Cruises, both of which offer luxury on much smaller and older vessels.
One of many Regent Splendor cruise ship tour videos on YouTube.
I chose this particular cruise on Regent mostly because of the itinerary, which includes a stop in Helsinki, as well as most of the Baltic locations we wanted to visit, along with a couple of other stops. It’s not our first Baltic cruise, though.
Our very first cruise was on Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas, back in 2009, and that was also a Baltic cruise. It was only four nights, and included stops in Tallin, Estonia and Copenhagen, Denmark, with embarkation in Oslo, Norway, and debarkation in Stockholm, Sweden. On that trip, we spent a couple of nights in Oslo, which we both really enjoyed. The cruise was loaded with Norwegians, and we found that we really enjoyed their joie de vivre. š Later, we encountered a friendly bunch of them on our second SeaDream cruise and vowed we’d visit Norway again. So that’s why we’re doing a week in Norway, too… and staying longer, so we can see more of Norway than just the city of Oslo. Below are a few photos from our cruise from Norway to Sweden in 2009… As you can see, I need to take more photos of beautiful Norway, at the very least! That was before I had an iPhone.
When I saw Regent’s June 23 Stockholm to Copenhagen cruise, I knew it was a no brainer to book it, because I was finding it very difficult to plan a land based trip including Finland and the Baltics… And yes, before anyone comes at me, I know there’s a large body of water we’d have to cross to get to the Baltics. I was planning a few days in Finland, then a ferry ride to Tallin, where I naively thought we could arrange train travel or maybe rent a car or something… At this writing, a train route is being constructed to make that vision come to fruition in the future. As of now, though, it’s just not convenient. š I also realized Bill wouldn’t want to be driving so much, and I wouldn’t want to be flying so much.
The cruise solution was simply more practical, and it was available during the time we wanted to travel. And– we had the money to pay for it, thanks to a big tax refund. Even better was the fact that the sailing I found was on sale… which was a damned good thing. In fact, I should have waited another week, because the price went down again, and it was quite a significant drop! Some people would probably tell me to cancel and rebook, but I’ve already had lots of words with my bank. Oh well… you win some, you lose some.
Anyway… last night, we were trying to decide how long we wanted to stay in the places we’re visiting before the cruise, and how we wanted to travel to them. It didn’t take us long to decide to visit Bergen, which is a very beautiful city on Norway’s west coast that offers enchanting scenery, fresh seafood, and lots to do. However, from Oslo, it takes seven hours to drive there or take the train. We could also fly; that takes just an hour. But if we fly, we’ll miss the incredibly beautiful scenery on the way, and have to deal with everything that flying entails nowadays.
I thought maybe we’d drive and stop somewhere on the way, maybe do some exploration. Unfortunately, renting a car in Norway, especially for a one way trip with drop off in another city, is VERY expensive. Gas and food are also very expensive in Norway, plus there are tolls on the road we’d be using.
The route from Oslo to Bergen is also rather devoid of places to stay. There are a lot of apartments to rent, and a few hotels that are either in the middle of nowhere or have dodgy reviews. I wouldn’t mind renting an apartment, but I’d hate to do that for just an overnight. Most of the ones I found were pretty bare bones, too. I did manage to find several hotels that allowed me to book now and pay later, and can be canceled up to the day of arrival. Clarion Hotels for the win! They even have a hotel out in the middle of nowhere that I considered booking, but then I thought again.
Finally, I think we decided we’d just take the train… which means we now have to decide if we want to leave at 8:23AM or 12:05PM. The later trip is notably less expensive, but slower. I suspect we’ll go for the morning time, so we can get to Bergen in the afternoon. If we wanted to spend another night in Oslo, we could get a really (relatively) cheap train fare… but then we’d be paying for another night in Oslo, which is legitimately a nice city, but one we’ve already seen. It’s not a super pretty town, either, although I do remember enjoying the day cruise we took on the Oslo Fjord in 2009.
So, once I found a hotel that offers parking, in case we drive after all, I went to book plane tickets. A flight from Bergen to Stockholm takes one hour and twenty minutes. I found seats on SAS– Scandinavian Airlines (although when I hear SAS, it reminds me of a cursed statistics program I had to use in grad school). I tried to book with my PenFed card, but for some reason, PenFed refuses to send texts with codes to overseas phone numbers, nor will they send the confirmation codes to emails. So that means I can’t authorize charges through their stupid two factor authentication program.
I went to USAA, which did successfully send me a text. But, even though I entered all of my information, gave them a fingerprint, and tried to authorize the charge, they still declined it and blocked my card. At 10PM, I was calling USAA– for the second time in a week– to ask them to unblock my card and authorize payment, so we can get from Bergen to Stockholm. The lady I spoke to last night was very nice and professional, unlike the other person I talked to a few days ago, who was quite rude to me.
We finally got the plane tickets sorted, and now we just have to confirm where we’ll be sleeping for our night in Stockholm. I had wanted to stay longer in Stockholm, since we never really got to see the city when we were there in 2009, but that would have meant arranging for another night there. Our night in Stockholm is already included in our cruise fare, so adding another would mean going to another hotel or paying more to Regent. I think we’d prefer another night in Bergen, anyway.
All that’s left to do now is buy train tickets, or arrange for a car to get us from Oslo to Bergen. I’ve even mostly paid off the credit card companies. I paid off the deposit and Lufthansa tickets last week, which I booked through PenFed. Then, this morning, I accidentally paid USAA for the rest of the cruise fare. I had only meant to send them $1000 today, but ended up requesting to pay the whole bill. Luckily, there was enough money to pay for it. Thanks again to Bill’s decision to pay taxes all year and get a refund, we had the cash available. Edited to add: I just got us our train tickets… good thing, too, because the seats were already sold out, and I had to get us a compartment for six people instead. That was another $500. At least it’s changeable and refundable.
Living in Germany sure has been good for us…
But dammit… the fares went down 2,000 euros this week!!!!
Oh well. We’re sure to have a great time. I look forward to blogging about it, and experiencing new places on a different cruise line. I’ll be surprised if I’ll want to give up small ship cruising for Regent permanently, but we’ll see. I suspect that if I ever spot a hot deal like the one they’re offering right now for our cruise, I’ll want to jump on it. Especially if we have the money!
If you’re curious about what we’re in for on our journey from Oslo to Bergen, have a look at a couple of videos… I think it will be unforgettable.
Let’s hope for sunny weather!
Looks good!
And yes, I know we don’t have to spend this much money to have a good time… but I have definitely done my fair share of cheap traveling. It’s nice to have an upgraded experience, and I’m grateful we have the opportunity. We never thought the day would come.
Again, cross-posted on the main blogā¦ The featured photo was taken on the car ferry from Denmark to Germany, back in 2019.
Yesterday, I wrote about my apprehension about booking a cruise. I termed it a ātrue first world problem.ā Ayeā as my Scottish ancestors would sayā that it is. Twenty-four hours ago, as I was pondering whether or not I wanted to spend big bucks on a luxury cruise in the Baltic region, I started looking for alternatives.
A friend of mine had suggested touring the Norwegian fjords on Hurtigruten, which is, of course, a perfectly good suggestion. However, if I had decided to go for the fjords, that would have completely negated using the champagne bucket to choose where to go. The Norwegian fjords are a place Iād love to see the right way, and a cruise is probably the right way to go. But it wasnāt one of the choices for this particular trip. Moreover, I never asked for alternative suggestions.
I still decided to look into the Norwegian fjords experience and found that besides Hurtigruten, thereās another line that does cruises along the fjords. Maybe at some point weāll pull the trigger on that. I did look into short cruises in Norway for the days weāll be there, but they arenāt very convenient to our plans.
After a short while, I stopped researching travel possibilities, and turned my attention to my guitar, which badly needed new strings. I donāt play it so often that I routinely change the strings. But, it had gotten to the point at which I had forgotten when I had last changed them. The old ones were starting to get discolored, and werenāt staying tuned well. So, as much as I hate changing the strings, but love the results of changing them, once they stretch, I knew it was a job that urgently needed doing. I had just put one string on when my phone rang.
It was someone from Regent Seven Seas Cruises calling. I felt confident in answering, since I knew Bill was already agreeable to my booking the cruise, once we confirmed the correct price. The cruise specialist, whose name is Andrea, is from Germany. She thought I was German too, and was speaking German to me, even though I had made contact in English. I didnāt realize it, but the voicemail on my phone is in Germanā¦ No one ever calls me, so I didnāt know. I thought the call was coming from Germany, but actually, it was a U.S. based call that somehow looked like it came from Germany.
Andrea and I got to talking, and it turns out she lives in Florida, which is where Regent is based. Sheās been there since 1991. I always find myself bonding with Germans in the U.S., since Iām an American in Germany. As we discussed the cruise, we talked about how we ended up in each otherās countries. In many ways, Germany is kind of like the U.S., but I find that the U.K. feels more like home to me than Germany does, even though people drive on the other side of the road and kids wear uniforms to school.
Andrea said that my request went to her, because I am in Germany. She handles all clients from Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, even though she’s based in Florida. It was still very early in the morning where she lives when we were talking– maybe 5:30AM! Nevertheless, she was wide awake and friendly. I guess she’s a morning person like Bill is. All of our documents are in German. Andrea says there’s nothing she can do about that, since I’m in Germany. Google Chrome will save us, I’m sure…
It didnāt take long for Andrea to sell me on Regent. I put down a deposit on the cruise. I would have just paid for the whole thing, since the cruise is coming up in June, but I used my credit card with a lower limit, and the whole cruise costs more than the limit is. I used that card rather than the other one, because I knew it was less likely to get declined for āsuspicious activityā. Both of my cards usually have zero balances. I rarely use them because it took me forever to pay them off when we were less affluent. The deposit didnāt raise any red flags, which made me feel confident about using my card (mistake).
Bill got home later and I proposed booking the flights. I was thinking of flying into Stavanger or Bergen, since we had never been to either of those beautiful towns, and we have been to Oslo. But it turned out there werenāt any flights that worked with boarding Noyzi and didnāt cost an arm and a leg. Likeā¦ there was an attractive flight that would have worked, except it left at 10:30AM, and that wasnāt enough time to get Noyzi to the Hundepension and get ourselves checked in at the airport. So, Oslo it isā¦
I had no idea that Norwayās cities were so far apart. Stavanger looks like itās not that far from Oslo, but itās a seven or eight hour car ride or train trip. Bergen, likewise, is hours away by car or train. There are cheap flights available, and we may decide to avail ourselves of one, just so we can get a feel for a city other than Oslo. But, we did also enjoy visiting Oslo when we were there in 2009, and that was at a time when we had a lot less money.
Oslo is also closer to Stockholm, which is where we will be meeting the ship. We havenāt seen anything in Stockholm except the cruise port, which is where our first Baltic cruise in 2009 ended. It was a four night āshort breakā on Royal Caribbean, and we started in Oslo and stopped in Tallin and Copenhagen, then ended in Stockholm. We couldnāt enjoy the city, because Bill had a conference in Garmisch-Partenkirchen the next day. So, we hopped a plane to Munich. I spent the next week taking tours out of the Edelweiss MWR Lodge while Bill tended to his Army duties. We had flown to Oslo from Munich, and when we got back to the parking garage, the car battery was dead, necessitating a call to ADAC. Plus, our bags didnāt make the flight, and had to be brought to us in Garmisch.
This time, we will end in Copenhagen, a city weāve been to twice, but havenāt had much of a chance to really enjoy. The first time, it was on that short cruise, that only allowed a few hours in town. The second time was in 2019, when we were passing through on our way home with our new car and stopped for a night of rest as we continued onward to Rostock, Germany. This trip will at least give us a full day to enjoy Denmark. Weāll spend a couple of nights there before coming home on July 2.
So, off I went to Lufthansa to book our flights, after confirming with Bill which ones we wanted. I input all of the information, then tried to use my trusty credit card to pay. Sure enough, it was declined. I called up PenFed and explained that I was trying to book my vacation. I should have probably asked them to raise the limit on that card, too. Maybe next time I callā¦
The tickets are now booked. All I have to do now is decide on hotels in Norway and Denmark and maybe book transportation to Stockholm. A flight from Oslo takes an hour, but a train is much more scenic and is about five hours of fun. š Ohā¦ and I also need to choose excursions and restaurant reservations for the cruise, since they are included in the fare.
Itās hard to believe, just a few days ago, I was agonizing over all of this. Itās all coming together now, like magic. I wasnāt planning to do a cruise, but this may turn out to be a bit of a Godsend. If it turns out we really love any of the places we see, we can come back and do a land based tour, as I originally planned. They are now building a railway in the Baltics that will make it a lot easier to travel there. And I do want to go and spend more than a few hours. We already know we like Tallinn from our 2009 trip, and Bill enjoyed Riga when he went.
I knowā¦ first world problem, and maybe I should be ashamed of myself for writing about it. But, at least this isnāt a cranky complaint post about politics or similarly unpleasant topics.
For those who are curious, hereās a video highlighting the ship weāre going to be on. Yes, itās expensive, but itās not like you donāt get a lot for the money. This is also not our usual style. We normally prefer much smaller ships, and that generally means the ships weāre on are usually much older. Splendor was built in 2020. Hebridean Princess, by contrast, was built in 1964 as a car ferry and later became a cruise ship in 1989. SeaDream I was built in 1984. I think Vision of the Seas is 1998 vintage, and Iām not even sure if itās still in service.
A new experience for usā¦ revisiting the region where we had our very first cruise. This time, weāre taking more time and spending way more money!
We booked a Concierge Suite.
Again, I chose this entirely for the itinerary, and the fact that itās an all inclusive cruise. Iām not a Regent cheerleader, and Iām not sure weāll give up small ships for this. But then again, maybe we will. We wonāt know until we actually have the experience. At least now, Iāll have something new to write about on the travel blog!
By the way… I was very impressed by Andrea. I hope she’s a representative of most of the people who work for Regent. She seems pretty awesome… but then, maybe it’s because Germans demand it. š
Cross posted on my main blog. The featured photo was taken in 2019, when Bill and I went to Sweden to pick up our car and drove it on a Nordic adventure.
Iām in the midst of trying to plan a summer vacation/birthday trip for Bill and myself. Because of the whole COVID-19 odyssey, and the seemingly endless lockdowns that followed, weāve decided that this year, weād like to fly somewhere. And because there are a lot of places in Europe we still want to see, we decided to choose our destination using the āchampagne bucketā method.
Iāve written about the champagne bucket method on this blog. Basically, I got the idea for it from āblind bookingsā on Germanwings (now known as Eurowings). Iām not sure if Eurowings still does blind bookings, but Lufthansa does, and Lufthansa owns Eurowings. It basically involves booking a surprise flight, and usually paying a lower fare. You donāt know where youāre going until after you pay for the ticket(s). Bill and I have done it four times to great success. We visited Barcelona, London, Berlin, and Munich that way.
When we moved back to the States, I decided that it wouldnāt be hard to plan more of our vacations that way. Instead of relying on the airline, we just put our choices on slips of paper and put them in the champagne bucket. Then, Bill picks one of the slips out of the bucket.
I was really rooting for a trip to Armenia and possibly Georgia this summer. That was one of the choices, too. Bill was a bit reluctant, because of political and military issues going on in Armenia right now. We may still go there this year, but for a short trip to Yerevan, instead of an all out country tour. Then, I can show Bill where I lived, when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, and sign him up for a more extensive trip. š
Anyway, when we did our champagne bucket challenge, Bill ended up choosing Finland. Neither of us has ever been there before. We have been to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Estonia together. Bill has also been to Latvia a couple of times on business. Neither of us has seen Lithuania, but weāve met people from there and Latvia on cruises.
Originally, I was planning for us to go to Helsinki and do a land based trip, then go by ferry to Tallinn, Estonia, stay a few days, and work our way south to Latvia and Lithuania, before flying back. Then I started researching and discovered, thereās no easy way to travel to Latvia and Lithuania that doesnāt involve riding a bus. We considered renting a car, but that seemed potentially risky.
So then I thought, maybe instead of trying to hit the Baltic capitals, I could go west. Visit Finland, do a day trip in Tallinn, then head west toward Norway, which we know we love. Then I thought, maybe it would be better to start in Norway, and head east to Finland, then go to Tallinn and spend a night or twoā¦
Then I realized how expensive flights would beā¦ plus the stress and inconvenience involving finding transportation, hauling bags, and booking hotelsā¦ and although Iād already looked for cruises and initially didnāt see any I liked, I kept getting ads for Regent Seven Seas on Facebook. And Regent isā or wasā considered a luxury line, although itās a much bigger ship than we usually go for when we cruise.
I noticed they had a cruise available during the time we plan to travel. It starts June 23 and ends June 30, and hits ports in Sweden, Helsinki, Estonia, Latvia, and Denmark. We could still go to Norway and do a land based trip, working our way to Stockholm, a city weāve been to, but didnāt really get to explore at all in 2009. Best of all, the cruise in question is on sale. Itās still expensive, but doable for us. We wouldnāt even have to stay in the cheapest stateroom. I pitched the idea to Bill, who liked it.
I started making a booking request. It took about a half dozen times to finally get registered. I mismatched my email address, or added one too many dots in the address, or the passwords didnāt match. Finally, I had my account, and started to make the request.
But the stateroom I wanted was listed as twice as expensive than was advertised. While we technically could do it, Iād rather spend that much money on a new car or a down payment on a house. So I stopped making the request, and sent an inquiry to Regent, asking them to confirm that the cruise is on sale.
About an hour later, I got a phone call through my iPad, which I wasnāt prepared to answer, as I was reading something to Bill. I also got a message, written in German, indicating that the cruise is on sale, and inviting me to call between 11am and 8pm today. I sent a message back in English, asking if I have to call to get that rate, and clarifying that Iām American and canāt speak German worth a damn. š
Then I went on Cruise Critic and started reading reviews and comments on the messageboards. The consensus is, the ship Iām looking at booking is beautiful, although Regent has āgone downhillā in recent years. Bill and I have done cruises on Royal Caribbean, SeaDream, and Hebridean Island Cruises. SeaDream and Hebridean, like Regent, are considered luxury and are all inclusive. However, they are much smaller ships. So Regent would be a different cruise experience for us, and it would offer some convenience, as weād be hitting places we want to visitā albeit for a shorter time than we would personally plan for ourselves.
I truly am attracted to the cruise because of the itinerary and the time the cruise is going. I donāt have particularly high expectations of great service or being treated like royalty. A cruise just offers a convenient way to cross some items off our bucket list.
On the other hand, I was kind of looking forward to a deeper dive into the areas, and exploring more on our own. Also, thereās less chance of running into people with whom we donāt mesh when we do land based trips, or getting sick from any number of viruses on ships. I like to plan trips and look for interesting places to stay. I guess the pre cruise travel to Norway would offer that, but I was kind of wanting to get more of a feel for Finland.
Either way, this trip is going to be expensive. Good thing Bill got a generous raise this year. We do have the money, tooā¦ at least for the cruise. Iām just not used to having that, eitherā¦ being somewhat well-heeled is kind of a new experience for us.
Sighā¦ a trip to Armenia would be a lot more economical. On the other hand, if I develop a bleeding stomach ulcer, Iād feel better about seeking treatment in a nordic country. š
This is truly a first world problem. Iām sure I should just go for it and see what happens. Weāve had some great times on cruises and made some friends. And a bonus is, since Regent ships are a lot bigger, thereās less chance Iāll get seasick this time.
Weāll see what happens. I may scrap the idea of the cruise. It is tempting, thoughā¦ Regent is probably more comfortable than the Stockholm to Helsinki ferry.
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