St. Petersburg and Estonia

Big news!!  Thanks for praying everyone - I finally got confirmation today from the company for Chelsea to some on board with me!!!  Praise God!  He is WAY too good to me. :-)  I'm really looking forward to her coming in just a couple days.  Well, we are nearing the end of my second cruise here. 

Ok, got to catch you all up on our last few ports of call!  We'll start with St. Petersburg.  Russia is very strict on immigration policies, and even crew needed a passport, a photocopy of their passport for them to keep, our crew pass or ship card, plus a tour ticket or ticket for the shuttle bus.  No-one goes out on their own, in other words.  You can't even take a taxi - you HAVE to be on an official shuttle bus so they have a record of you.  I chose to go on a tour, of course - its just easier.  So I went on an all-day one that hit both the summer and winter palaces of Catherine the Great, and Peter the Great.  Peterhof Palace is a palace/museum, where everything has been preserved and restored, and is very ornate.  It was quite beautiful, especially the gardens and impressive fountains.  The second palace is now part of the Hermitage Museum, the second largest in the world, behind the Louvre.  We spent a whirlwind two and a half hours in the museum, breezing by Renoir and Van Gogh and Rembrant and Monet......I couldn't believe their collection.  We only saw the tiniest part.  Apparently it would take years to properly view every exhibition.  It was very impressive.  St. Petersburg is really a city of contrasts - with the official and royal buildings incredibly beautiful and lavish, next to the rather unattractive city itself.  The disparity between rich and poor was very evident.  

The next day we stopped in Tallinn, Estonia.  I was really pleasantly surprised by this place.  It has a medieval feel too it, and reminded me of Rhodes, Greece.  The country was only recently released from Soviet rule in 1991, and definitely has a bit of a Russian flair to some of the architecture.  But they have their own separate language which is among the most difficult to learn.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I went on a short tour.  It was a really beautiful city - I wish we spent more time there.  I'm looking forward to next time.  

Today was a sea day, and it was nice not to have to work until almost 8pm.  We played some more big band music, in addition to the Baked Alaska farewell ceremony.  Tomorrow we will be in Copenhagen, Denmark, which I'm also really looking forward to.  

Berlin, Stockholm

(This is a retro post...I have been trying to post it for a week!  Sorry all!! )  Wow, where to start....the past few days have been pretty overwhelming, just because of the incredible places  I'm seeing for the first time.  First of all, Berlin.

I was not prepared for how much there would be to see in Berlin.  Aside from the 2 1/2 hour train ride, the day was really a whirlwind of stopping every ten minutes to see something.  There is so much history to the city, even though most of it is chilling and has to do with World War II.  I saw parts of the Berlin Wall, the place where Hitler ran the war, where his bunker used to be and where he committed suicide, a very effective memorial to holocaust victims, and so much more.  The Brandenburg gate, Reichstag building, the Twin Cathedrals, museum island....the list goes on.  Plus our tour included a "traditional" German lunch, which of course included bratwurst and sauerkraut.  One of my favorite poignant sights was a cathedral that was damaged by bombing during the war, but was left in that state - neither demolished nor destroyed.  It was neat to see.  It was an amazing day, and I'm so glad we were able to go.  We got back to the ship at 10pm and went straight to sound check, then did a simple play-on and were finished before 11pm.  I sure crashed that night, and slept in the next day until...well, you don't need to know.  It was late. :-)  

Today was Stockholm, and I wasn't prepared for the beauty of that city either.  It was really incredible and picturesque.  I went out with Marie and Liam and Tim, and we shopped, ate lunch, and watched a changing of the guard at the Swedish Royal Palace.  It was a neat afternoon - free time was nice after all the tours I've been doing.  The sailaway was really nice as well - Stockholm is surrounded by something like 40,000 islands, and it takes over 3 hours to get back out to the open sea. I stayed outside on deck 7 to watch for an hour or so by myself - it was really relaxing.  The air felt wonderful and smelled like ocean and forest at the same time.  Tonight we had a couple of late big bang sets and now its time for bed!  So I'll post this tomorrow.  Goodnight, all! 

Second cruise!

Well, I guess the latest news here is that I moved down to deck 4 to join the other musicians.  Kevin gave me the choice of moving once now, or at least twice later.  I opted to just get it over with, especially since it meant I could swipe the bottom bunk (having the bottom bunk is of ULTIMATE importance on a ship, trust me).  My cabin is pretty small, but I don't mind since I have that bottom bunk and it gives me space I can use easily.  I've already decked it out with my posters.  You can really hear the waves beating against the ship here, and the thrusters when we dock and sailaway are pretty loud.  But I'm sure it won't be long before I sleep right through it.   My roommate is our new drummer - a girl my age who's name also happens to be....Andrea.  What are the odds?  Ha ha, its pronounced like On-drea, but we still get confused.  We're considering going by Andi and Drea to make things easier, but she's only here for 2 cruises anyway.  So far she seems like a great drummer and nice roommate.  

We've just begun my first Baltic Cruise, and tomorrow we'll arrive in Warnemunde, Germany - the port of call for Berlin.  I've signed up for a tour, but since Berlin is a three hour train ride away we are all nervous about getting back in time for our sound check that night.  Hopefully our supervisors will be a little bit flexible and let us go on our excursions.  Here's hoping!  

Today we also had a medical emergency - we had to stop moving while a helicopter airlifted a guest off of the ship.  It was quite an operation since we don't have a landing pad - they hooked the stretcher to a line from the helicopter, then lifted off and hauled them into the chopper.  I've never seen anything like it - I hope the guest is ok.  

The only other news is - I got my first mail today!!!!  Thanks, Mom!!!  It made my morning.   If you are interested in sending something my way the address is:

Andrea Smith

Entertainment - Orchestra Musician

M/V Century (CN)

P.O. Box 019030

Miami FL 33101-9030

USA

Also leave me a comment with your current address if you'd like to hear from me.  Hope everyone is doing well!

P.S.

first photos are up!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059182&l=c3837&id=56903845

Norway: Molde, Olden, and Bergen

For the first time, we arrived in a port that started to look the same as the others to me - which means I'm getting used to the way things looks in Norway.  All of the houses are very similar, because almost all of them were built/rebuilt after World War II, when a lot of structures were destroyed during the German occupation or their retreat (scorched earth strategy - leave nothing behind for your enemies to use).  

I went on a short tour In Molde just to get an overview of the city.  I wish I had several days here to take advantage of the great hiking trails they have in the expansive forests.  There is a lot of green here, and trees - evidence that we have left the Arctic Circle behind us.  Actually we officially crossed that latitude line the other day - it is marked by an arctic circle monument shaped like a globe.  We were able to see it from the ship as we sailed through a fjord.  Molde is known as the city of jazz and roses.  Their biggest jazz festival is next week, and there really are roses planted everywhere around the city.  

Then yesterday we were in Olden, and I went on another tour (at the last minute I subbed for Marie) to Lake Stryne.  I think it was the most beautiful thing I have seen so far.  So much green, and a beautiful, calm, blue-green lake surrounded by mountains with snow - it was gorgeous.  Last night we had our first big band set, and it went pretty well.  Thankfully we only do 2 sets maximum, so it isn't killer for the brass like it was on the Galaxy (One advantage to having a horn player as bandmaster - they understand these things).  There weren't many dancers, save one little girl in a blue disney cinderella dress who did her own thing in the middle of the dance floor and kept grinning at me.  Afterwards she came up to me and I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't say a word.  She only wanted to show me her sparkley shoes.  :-)  

Today we are in Bergen - one of Norway's biggest cities.  Unfortunately the weather was pretty rainy and cold today, so I didn't even bother with taking pictures.  Me, Marie, Liam and Tim the cocktail pianist fought the elements to go to TGI Fridays!  I know I really shouldn't eat at places that we have back home, but it sure sounded good.  Everything is VERY expensive in Norway, but we splurged today.  For example, the basic TGI Friday's "world famous" burger cost me about $30.  Yikes!  I didn't order anything to drink.  From now on I will avoid eating out in Northern Europe.   Tonight I have my first jazz set, and I will be sharing with Ian.  Its less than an hour, and should go by really fast.  Its strange not to begin working until 11:30 at night, though.  I've still got a few hours to wait around.  :-)

Tromso, Norway

(This blog was written on July 9th)

Today was a really great day.  This morning I got up semi-early to go on my first excursion - just a drive around Tromso with a couple of stops.  We stopped at some photo ops, downtown, and probably the city's most famous sight: the "Arctic Cathedral."  Actually a protestant church, this building was designed to imitate glaciers and other arctic-associated ideas.  It features one of the largest stained glass windows in the world, which was impressive although I didn't like the design much.  During our short stop there, I noticed a sign advertising the church's brand new organ, being celebrated with a concert every day in July at 2pm.  Of course, I had to go.  :-) So after my tour finished (11:30am) I spent some time enjoying the sights of downtown Tromso, including a free museum, before making the trek back to the cathedral.  And I mean, trek - the church is on the mainland whereas the rest of Tromso is on an island, and a very long bridge connects the two.  Depending on your speed the brigde takes about 15 or 20 minutes just to cross on foot.  I got there in time to enjoy the wonderful half-hour concert, which felt like it lasted only a few minutes to me.  I was so absorbed that it was shocking to me to look down at my watch and realize it was already over.  The acoustics were phenomenal.  My favorite piece was a very haunting, simple minor melody which somehow seemed mysterious and appropriate to the Arctic region.  And the finale of Bach's Toccata and Fugue wasn't bad either...:-)  It was a fabulous day out.   Oh, and among the other interesting things I saw were the world's Northernmost botanical gardens, as well as the world's northernmost Burger King. :-)  

When I got back to the ship I watched another amazing sailaway from deck 7 (have I mentioned how much I love deck 7?? Crew area in the very front of the ship, with a panoramic view....amazing), and then we had a very easy night.  Marie and Liam made a reservation for casual dining, so we enjoyed a leisurely and wonderful meal after we were finished playing for the night.  As I speak I am sitting on one of the top decks in the cafe area, next to a window.  It is almost 12:30am, yet the sun sits just above the horizon in a perpetual sunset, as it will until about 5am when it will begin to climb into the sky once more.  It is such an unearthly effect.  We are slowly beginning to work our way back south again, although we don't officially leave the Arctic circle until tomorrow.  The unfortunate thing about the midnight sun is that it makes any viewing of the aurora borealis impossible - it never gets dark enough to distinguish it.  But you can't have both!  So I guess I'll just enjoy the one phenomenon.  Someday I would really love to see the Northern Lights, though - it is definitely a dream of mine.  

Norway

I visited my first Norwegian port of call two days ago - Alesund. It was an absolutely beautiful city. Unfortunately I'll have to take photos next time because of camera issues (Mom and Dad - I left my batteries charging in my charger behind my mirror! Ha ha). But it was so picturesque. I went exploring on my own (I was feeling brave) and wandered quite a bit. I found my way to a trail in a small park that gave a good view of the city. I visited the church, which was an interesting combination of wood and stone. My favorite experience of the day was as I rounded a deserted corner, I saw a doorway with three extremely long haired cats sleeping in a row on the doorstep, right up against the door. I am dissapointed I couldn't get a picture, but I have a feeling that they'll still be there next time we come. :-)

Sailing out of the port was gorgeous - the mountain-like fjords are still topped by snow. Several of us were out on deck to watch. Today we are in Alta, Norway, and unfortunately I had a rehearsal this morning and will have training this afternoon, so I won't really have time to do more than look at it from the ship, but we'll be back. I do plan to watch the sailaway, and this time take pictures! I'll let you know when I've posted them.

Last night was played a violinist's show, and tonight we play for a singer who happens to be her husband. The rehearsal was a bit long, but pretty straightforward. This band is really good. We even play the written articulations and follow the dynamics! (Gasp!!) I think I am going to enjoy playing with them. And I can't wait to see more of Norway.

The Century!

I made it!!! Yes, I am officially on board the Century - its actually my second full day here, third day if you count my embarkation. I barely made it on board, due to miscommunications with flights and then immigrations (if you want all the gory details ask me sometime) but the main thing is, I didn't miss the ship. :-)

Once embarking, I was met by my new supervisor Kevin, who is also the trumpet player in our showband. He took me up to me room, which is amazing!! I am only in it for two cruises, rooming with a girl from the string quartet, who isn't very talkative. The room has a big porthole!!!! I look out right over the front of the ship, facing forward. So neat! I'm going to miss it when I move, but at least I'll be able to slep at night. With the window the midnight sun and almost constant twilight of the Arctic Circle make things difficult. Anyway, once there, I had just enough time to change into blacks before rehearsal for the bumper (short show on first night of every cruise). It was pretty straight forward, thankfully I didn't have to solo this time. After the shows I went out for a drink with Marie and three other band members, and got to get to know them a little bit, which was great. Marie's boyfriend Liam seems great so far. Actually, meet the band:
Marie: Tenor Sax (&flute and clarinet) French Canadian. For those of you who don't know, she was on the Galaxy (my first contract) with me - we were inseperable roommates for 4 months.
Ian: Alto Sax (and doubles) Canadian. 50 or 60 years old. Really nice, calm, and funny guy, and great player.
Kevin: Trumpet, Musical Director. American. In his 40's, can be testy at times. Yikes!
David: Drummer, American from NY. In his late 20's. He's filling in for the regular drummer, who has Pneumonia and may or may not be coming back.
Liam: Bass Player, Canadian. In his 20's, Marie's boyfriend.
Daniel: Pianist, Costa Rican. In his 40's, really cool guy.

So thats everyone! I have so much to tell but don't know where to start. Last night we played a couple big band sets before the welcome aboard Captain's toast and production shows. It turns out we don't play on any of the shows with the cast here. :-( Tonight we played a guest entertainer's show - a pianist named Brooke Aehron. He's an old british guy who is a lot of fun on stage. The most stressful part of the show were my solos on, get this: slide whistle. Yep, I was tha slide whistle soloist. They forgot to cover that instrument in my APU music classes, and it was actually kindof a testy one that you had to be really careful how you blew into it. Weird. It was the sound effect for Brooke tossing a tennis ball up in the air and catching it, while playing "The Entertainer." Needless to say, it was an interesting show. Well, who knows when I'll be able to post this - they say reception is sketchy in the Arctic Circle, and I couldn't get my internet to work tonight, unfortunately. So you'll get this when you get this!

Welcome to....Chicago??

Well, things have certainly got off to an interesting start!  Thunderstorms in Chicago delayed our plane's landing yesterday, and as a result we arrived about 20 minutes after my connecting flight to Amsterdam had left.  The soonest they can reschedule me was the following evening, with an added layover in Frankfurt Germany.  So my expected overnight in Amsterdam ended up being here, in Chicago.  Luckily the company had built in that extra day into my itinerary, so I won't miss the boat.  Instead, I took a free shuttle to the Embassy Suites, where I paid an airport-issued discounted rate which Celebrity or Proship will reimburse.  Proship knows I'll be arriving later than expected, and is taking care of letting the port agent know. I wish things had gone as planned so I could have a relaxing night tonight before my contract begins instead of last night, but I enjoyed it anyway.

God can bless us in any situation in little ways, though.  In the hour and a half long line for Customer Service (!!!!) in order to reschedule my flight, I met a charismatic businessman who is actually from Holland, trying to get home.  His exaggerated facial expressions and his cheery and witty conversation in his loud dutch accent was highly entertaining - maybe he'll also be on the flight tonight to Frankfurt.  On the shuttle ride to this hotel, I met a neat lady who was caught by the same bad weather.  I ran into her again at the hotel's restaurant later that night where both of our rumbling stomachs had led us (only snacks for lunch and no dinner yet that day).  We chatted the night away while we ate, and then she insisted on paying for my expensive meal because she is going to be reimbursed for her expenses from her company (she's a top executive founding member type).  It was so sweet of her to do that, and so nice to have someone to talk to after a really long, somewhat frustrating day.  I think it was really good for both of us to find each other to ease the solitude of traveling alone.   

Anyway, the Embassy Suites here is gorgeous, and after a good's night sleep I had a relaxing day here.  I slept in, ate a lot of the made-to-order "continental" breakfast, and am going to see if I can get away with practicing a little before I check out around 3pm.  My flight leaves at 6:30 tonight, gets to Frankfurt at 9:55 local time, then my connection to Amsterdam leaves at 12:50 and will get me there around 2pm.  After that it'll be a whirlwind of getting my luggage and dashing straight to the ship before it pulls out at 5pm.  My agent told me to take a cab (for which I'll be reimbursed) if I don't find the celebrity contact right away.  Either way, I'll get there, God willing. :-)  I am learning a lesson in not worrying about something I can't control.  In any case, it is Celebrity's responsibilty to make sure I get to the ship, and they will get me there eventually.  And I did really enjoy sleeping in a nice bed last night and having a lazy day today.  And now, take two!  Lets try this again and hope I get there this time. :-)  The next time you hear from me, I should be writing from the decks of the beautiful Century.  

On my way!!!

Well, it came a lot sooner than I thought it would! I'm off to join the ship in Amsterdam! Currently I'm at one of my layovers (Denver Colorado), then one more stop in Chicago before the long transatlantic flight to the Netherlands. The way the company planned my flight I arrive 9:15am the day before I join the ship, so I'll have an entire day and then an overnight there in a hotel before I join the Century on the 4th. While I am fliying into Amsterdam's main airport, the nearest town to my hotel is called Hoofddorp. So I plan to stay up all day and enjoy Hoofddorp....hope there is something interesting there. :-) I'll go to sleep that night and try to start getting adjusted to the new timezone.

The first cruise initerary will be a trip up the coast of Norway to the North Cape and Arctic Circle. I can't wait to take pictures! It will probably be a week or so before I can get my internet up and running, so bear with me. I already miss home and my AMAZING family, but am ready for a new adventure in all these places I've never been. Thanks for reading - and get ready for the ride!!