Gale's Place of Travel: August 2009

Just a short comment to describe this most recent adventure. "What a wonderful world". Just when you think you have absorbed much of the world's beauty you will find there is always somewhere else that takes your breath away. The history, the architecture, the art, the lifestyle and the landscape in the Baltic Region is unbelievably fabulous.

A brief synopsis:

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam is so interesting – just walking around the canals and enjoying the old buildings. Our hotel room was in a canal house overlooking the Singel Canal. We enjoyed a night time canal cruise complete with wine and cheese. Just wandering the street is an experience in itself.

Canals at Night

Canal Houses

I fell in love with these curtains (in Amsterdam back in the 1970's on a trip to Europe and bought them where they still hang in my dining room.)

Everyone rides a bike here. Can you imagine trying to remember "Where did I leave my bike?"

Public Urinals in Amsterdam

Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm has a large historic section and is a fascinating city. The ship docked overnight in Stockholm so stayed out until midnight on the first night. Stockholm is so far north (60 degrees) and we were there just four days before the longest day of the year – so when we walked home at midnight, the sun had set but it was not yet dark. The sun started to rise again around 3:00 a.m. Quite magical!

Beautiful city on canals.

Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn, Estonia was a nice surprise! The day we ported in Tallinn was warm and sunny, which always helps. Tallinn is a medieval city and very walkable – so we spent our day exploring the cobblestone streets and sitting in sidewalk cafes.

Tallinn

Tallinn - Russian Military Uniform?

Tallinn

Tallinn - Great Rain Gutter

Tallinn

Tallinn

St. Petersburg,Russia
We were in St. Petersburg, Russia for two days. As you need a visa to travel in Russia , the only logical option was an organized tour. We were transported throughout the city to amazing castles and museums and into historic churches and even took a ride on the amazing subway (where the subway interiors are like art forms in themselves). St. Petersburg is a jewel. I believe the city was more amazing sights than Paris! The fact that many of the museums were occupied during the war and stripped of treasures during the war, and now fully restored makes it truly amazing.

St. Petersburg Street

Elegant Dolls

Peterhoff - Palace of Peter the Great

The Hermitage

The Church of Spilled Blood

The inside of the church of Spilled Blood is as marvelous as the outside!

Church of Spilled Blood - Magnificent!

Cathedral

A View of the Canals from Hermitage Window

Lots of Military on the Streets of St. Petersburg. This one does not look very happy.

Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki was celebrating Mid Summer Night's Eve and everything was closed and it was pouring rain. We explored in the rain in the morning and then arranged to go to a small town in the countryside in the afternoon. Porvoo and the drive turned out to be perfect – the sun shone and we were happy.

Finnish Dolls at Porvoo

Change Houses on Pihlajasaari Beach, Finland

Helsinki

Mid Summer Pole for Celebration - Helsinki

Helsinksi

Porvoo

Porvoo

Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen is lovely, the canals, all of the greenery and the historic buildings and clean streets. Definitely a place to return!

The Little Mermaid is the most famous landmark of Copenhagen

Copenhagen

I came across this gallery of signs on a visit to Copenhagen in June 2009. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did. Follow this link to see more photos of these signs.

To see more of my Baltic photos click this link.