BALTIC CRUISE - June 7-21, 2010

BALTIC CRUISE - June 7-21, 2010

For a Christmas gift, Doug surprised me with another cruise.  We decided to cruise to the Baltic, which included Finland where Doug had served his mission 40 years ago and had never returned. 

Our 12-day cruise included the following itinerary:  Amsterdam (where we flew in and out of), Berlin, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallin, Estonia; and Copenhagen, Denmark! 

We traveled with Dan and Pam Newbold (who owns Cruise Directors in Bountiful; she has also booked two of Dad's cruises) their traveling friends, Randy and Cathy Wade and a family of 26 (grandmother with 5 children, their spouses and her 12 grandchildren with a couple of spouses and fiancees) from Bountiful. 

Pam asked all of us which sites we wanted to see and scheduled tours in each city that included our own personal tour bus and English-speaking guides (just like our trip to China). 

Here's my pictures from our cruise starting in Holland:

Our arrival at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam after a layover in Chicago and an 8-hour overnight flight!  Our tour bus picked us up and we traveled to a couple of traditional Dutch fishing villages on the ocean. 

On our way to the fishing villages, we stopped at a genuine Dutch windmill, which is still lived in!!!

 We also stopped at a cheese farm.  This Dutch lady is dressed in traditional dress and explained the cheese-making process.

These women were our cashiers at the Cheese farm where Doug bought some sheep and goat cheese, along with some wonderful syrup wafers, a Dutch favorite!!

MARKEN--A traditional Dutch fishing village located on an island that is now connected by a road from the mainland.  Dikes surround the entire island.  The wooden houses are painted shiny green and black, and the locals are dressed in traditional Dutch attire.  We felt like we were going back in time. 

 Doug with entrance (draw bridge) into Marken

Such a peaceful idyllic setting! 

Typical shiny, green-painted house in village 

 I loved the neatness--maybe we should all consider not having so much and just live life simply!!!

 All of the windows had crisp white Dutch-laced curtains

 See how shiny the paint is!

 What a pleasant surprise to visit Marken--away from the busy city!

 Just a picture of a unique tree in front of one of the houses.

 As we were walking through the streets, we came upon this fun painted board with cutouts for our heads!!!  Do we look Dutch?

Fishing boats in the harbor 

 This picture is a keeper!!!

 Beautiful Delft blue glassware in one of the shop windows

 Even with the glare on the window, isn't this such a beautiful Delft windmill?!

After we left Marken, we stopped at a wooden shoe factory-- 

 Polishing the wood 

 Trimming the end of the shoe 

 Rows and... 

 ...rows of brightly colored, decorated shoes! 

 Even one decorated like a Nike shoe! 

 This wooden board shows the progressive shoemaking steps.

VOLENDAM--Another old traditional Dutch fishing village where the colorful buildings are typically Dutch architecture.  There are many cafes and touristy shops along the waterfront--very quaint but more touristy than Marken! 

 Walking along the waterfront with the boats on one side and the shops on the other. 

 We had fun looking through the shops, and... 

 ...eating at this fun cafe looking out on the wharf. 

 Doug's lunch--pork ribs with their famous fries! 

 The fries are sold on the street in these fun paper cones. 

 Now you know why I take Doug along on these trips!!! 

 This is fun Pam, our cruise planner and director!  She did such a wonderful job organizing everything!  She wore her cowboy hat (instead of holding up an umbrella, etc., so that we could locate her in the crowd.) Thanks, Pam for all you did!!!

A side street on our walk back to the tour bus.

AMSTERDAM--After visiting the fishing villages/towns of Marken and Volendam, we checked into our hotel (The Radisson Blu) and then went to The Anne Frank Museum. 

Along the way to the museum--one of the hundreds of canals with one of the 1,280 bridges and a touring boat. 

ANNE FRANK MUSEUM--On this very spot, Anne Frank and her family hid from Nazi occupiers in a secret attic apartment.    After someone reported the hideaways, they were taken to concentration camps.  Anne would die from typhus just a short time before liberation.  However, the Jewish teenager kept a daily diary, which her father (the only family survivor) later edited and published as The Diary of Anne Frank.

 This was the second time we had visited the museum (and Amsterdam--we traveled here with George and Laura about four years ago), but it was still very sobering and amazing! 

 Pam with the small bronze sculpture of Anne.  There is always a fresh flower (or flowers) at her memorial.

I will try to post the rest of the trip hopefully one each day from this post!!!