Stockholm

Yesterday, we enjoyed another relaxing day at sea.

At the break of dawn this morning we entered a straight that exited
from the Baltic Sea that lead us to the heart of Stockholm Sweden.
This passage was beautiful to say at the least. Imagine the shoreline
being the best of Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe combined with the rugged
shore of Maine. All along this route were private camps and palatial
mansions.

Upon arrival we visited the Vasa Museum. This museum is dedicated to
the complete renovation of a cargo/warship that was built in the late
1300's. It sunk after sailing less than a mile on it's maiden voyage.
The care to detail is amazing.

We walked a great deal while exploring various sites in the old part
of the city.

Santa and Bullwinkle would not be happy with us as I had reindeer
steak and Brenda had moose meatballs for lunch.

We've just set sail for Helsinki with an arrival set for 10 tomorow.

Warnemunde & Rostock Germany

We enjoyed a full day at sea yesterday which included a nice massage
and four (yes, four) naps. Oh, and did I mention the great food and
Broadway show last night?

Today we arrived in the seaside resort of Warnemunde. We quickly
departed via train to the ancient Hanseatic city of Rostock. Lots of
walking and exploring this beautiful old town with some buildings
dating to the 13th century. Enjoyed some local beer and bratwurst for
lunch before returning to explore coastal Warnemunde.

On our way to the hot tub aboard ship.

Another day of Amsterdam fun

We started our day on the canal boat en route to the Van Gogh museum.
The crowds were nuts. Brenda tried to get a glimpse of the famous
artist's works. Steve people watched. Guess who had more fun?

Next stop, more ice cream!

Then, we did one of our favorite things and walked through a ton of
local neighborhoods including an artist's region an a stop along the
flower market with every kind of frsh flowers, bulbs, orchids, etc.
that you can imagine (pictures to follow later).

Then, back home for a brief rest before heading off to dinner in the
shadow of a castle dating back to before rembrandt's time.

Finally a return walk home through the infamous Red Light district.

In bed early tonight in anticipation of boarding ship tomorrow.

Een zeer drukke dag!

Een zeer drukke dag? That means "a very busy day" in Dutch.

We started out by getting a day pass to the Canal Bus -- a fleet of
luxurious motor yachts that take you all over Amsterdam via the
interconnected canals.

First stop was the the Rijksmuseum home of the art of the Dutch master
painters and featuring the works of Rembrandt. We then strolled in one
of the many beautiful parks and had a little ice cream.

Later, we got off in a beautiful part of the city to enjoy a lunch at
an outdoor cafe (pictured). The weather has been clear and in the 70's
perfect for walking.

After a nap, we took the canal bus to Anne Frank's home; a sobering
reminder of how cruel we humans can be to each other at times.

Tonight we went to an excellent Italian dinner with alfresco dining.

Blonde and beautiful

A five hour layover in Helsinki and finally en route to our final
destination -- Amsterdam.

You notice a few things right away -- the people are gorgeous,
friendly, and thin. It's no coincidence that there are no fast food
joints in view.

All tobacco have giant warnings on them -- you smoke you die!

We can learn from the Finns.

En route to Helsinki

We had a lengthy runway departure delay to Helsinki due to sudden
thunder storms in New York. However, shortly after takeoff we were
treated to a stunning sunset over the wing of our plane.

Not the start we expected

Sometimes you have to work for the good things in life.

We got a little surprise from American Airlines yesterday morning...
Our flight was cancelled. In a mad dash to try to get back on
schedule, we had to take a day earlier flight and scrambled to depart
late afternoon Thursday instead of Friday morning. This came with a
BONUS. A 12 hour layover at JFK.

So here we sit in a comped Ramada room with this gorgeous view.

It no doubt gets better from here. On to Amsterdam later today.

Itinerary

Our Cruising Information

No. of Nights: 12 Nights Destination: Europe Ship: Celebrity Century Departs: Amsterdam, Holland

Ship Facts Occupancy: 1,814 Tonnage: 71,545 Length: 815 ft Beam: 105.6 ft Draught: 25 ft Cruise Speed: 21.5 kts Inaugural Date: Dec 20, 1995

Date	Port/City	Activity	Description
Tue, Aug 25	Amsterdam, Holland			Depart 4:30 PM
Wed, Aug 26	At Sea
Thu, Aug 27	Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany	Docked	Arrive 9:00 AM	Depart 11:59 PM
Fri, Aug 28	At Sea
Sat, Aug 29	Stockholm, Sweden	Docked	Arrive 10:00 AM	Depart 5:00 PM
Sun, Aug 30	Helsinki, Finland	Docked	Arrive 10:00 AM	Depart 6:00 PM
Mon, Aug 31	St. Petersburg, Russia	Docked	Arrive 7:00 AM
Tue, Sep 01	St. Petersburg, Russia	Docked		Depart 6:00 PM
Wed, Sep 02	Tallinn, Estonia	Docked	Arrive 7:00 AM	Depart 2:00 PM
Thu, Sep 03	At Sea
Fri, Sep 04	Copenhagen, Denmark	Docked	Arrive 7:00 AM	Depart 5:00 PM
Sat, Sep 05	At Sea
Sun, Sep 06	Amsterdam, Holland		Arrive 5:00 AM

Getting Ready to Go!

Well, the reservations have all been made. The maps are packed. The batteries are charged. Now comes the hard part -- counting down until we actually depart for our trip to the Baltic.

Our itinerary:

We fly from San Diego to New York and then fly over the pole to Helsinki. We then board a brief flight to Amsterdam.

We'll enjoy three days in Amsterdam and then board the Celebrity Century for a cruise to include stops in Germany, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Estonia.

We start our trip with three nights at the Park Plaza Amsterdam. Link here.