Day 8: Helsinki, Finland
adminWe visited the fortress and a few markets in town. The ferry to Suomenlinna (the fortress) was beautiful and provided great views of the harbor.
Day 7: St Petersburg, Russia (Stayed Overnight)
Today we took an unguided tour which included a bus ride into the main shopping street in St. Petersburg then 2 hours of roaming and shopping on our own. We walked to the Church of Spilled Blood, found a Starbucks, and picked up a few gifts for friends and family.
Day 6: St Petersburg, Russia
We made it to Russia! First stop was immigration where they needed to see “our papers.” Kenzie passed with flying colors, and was issued her day visa for the day. Then it was off to see the sights.
Today we took a long, hot bus ride outside the city to Peterhof, the summer palace for the Russian royals. The inside of the palace was extravagant with gold and porcelain everywhere. Kenzie’s favorite rooms were the Queen’s bedroom, her writing room, and the throne room.
The outside gardens were amazing as well! Keep in mind, this was just one royal family’s summer home!
In the evening, Kenzie stayed at Adventure Ocean while Jodi and Brad when back into the city for a river cruise. Overall, the stop in St. Petersburg was educational and a worthwhile experience, but we found that people here, in general, were very serious and not very friendly.
Day 5: Tallinn, Estonia
Kenzie wanted to stay at the Adventure Ocean kid’s club so we went into old town without her. We were able to squeeze into a last minute Segway tour, which is always a great way to see a new town. Our tour guide was local and he experienced, first hand, the Soviet occupation. It was interesting to hear him talk about how the locals resisted and how they eventually overcame the ‘Evil Empire’.
The wall was built about 1,000 years ago to protect Tallinn from invaders. Two thirds of it remains, including the moat!
Tallinn’s first submarine from 1854.
The pink building below is the Estonian government building (he said, ‘equivalent to the White House’). The Soviets built the white building directly across the street during their occupation. Although a popular tourist attraction, the tour guide said it is not popular with Estonians.
A few more sights from Tallinn:
This one’s for Mom:
Day 4: at sea
Kenzie is loving the kids club so she spent most of the afternoon there. Brad was out by 9pm so Kenzie and Jodi decided to take in the late show – a comedian and magician. We had time for a quick snack first. This is what 10pm looks like in the northern Baltic Sea!
Day 3: Skagen, Denmark
Pronounced ‘skaen’, it is Denmark’s northernmost town. It serves as Denmark’s main fishing port and renowned for its herring, but we weren’t brave enough to try any.
Day 2 on the Vision: Day at sea
Pictures to come soon
Day 3 in Amsterdam/1st day onboard the Vision of the Sea
Pictures coming soon
Day 2 in Amsterdam
We rented bikes to tour the town today and saw the sites! We started with Dutch pancakes then moved on to the outdoor flower market. We stopped for lunch and then Jodi went to the Van Gogh museum while Kenzie and Brad found a fountain.
Canal boat tour:
The infamous Red Light District!
Off to Amsterdam!
1:30pm and we’re officially on VACATION! The first good news of our trip… what we thought was going to be a 12 hour flight turned out to be only 9 1/2 hours! Kenzie’s flight #87. She did great but none of us got much sleep so when we got to the hotel Thursday morning, we were tired! We took a 4 hour nap then used the hop on hop off bus to get a lay of the land.
We picked a restaurant with local favorites and, although it had great ratings, it wasn’t great. Brad read that Amsterdam isn’t known for their food…. so far, we agree. But, we found a good crepes place for dessert!
The view from our hotel room:
Never more than a few steps away from anywhere around here it seems…
