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.
2 comments:
Sounds like you have gotten to see some fantastic places on your tours! Can't wait to see the pictures! Love, Mom
I have a question: How exactly do you get around in all these non-English-speaking countries? Are there lots of English signs? Do many of the native people also speak English? Have you ever gotten lost and needed directions from someone? How do you deal with that?
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