August 27, 2016 - Amsterdam
Got a good early start and everything went
well, our flight was delayed an hour, but we took a train into the
city, walked 15 minutes and got to our hotel. Saturday evening and all
of the drunks and others come out, Amsterdam has got to be the Sodom and
Gomorrah of our times. Wall to wall people downtown and the majority
drunk. All of the other cities we have been in seem very tame, but not
here. We are going to Church in the morning and boarding the ship in
the afternoon. This ship was just commissioned in April of this year
and is the biggest in the fleet.
Sunday, August 28, 2016
"Over the hills and through the woods to Great great grandparents house" -- favorite Viking song
August 26, 2016 - Vejle /Borregard
Former is cemetery of great great grandparents, just too long ago. We have been very impressed with how nice they keep their cemeteries. Have some good pictures. Borregard is in the northern part of Jutland, more rolling hills and pine trees, beautiful. Janis's grandfather was born here, just a country village, but she and Karen got a good feel for the country their ancestors came from; and that was the purpose of our staying in Denmark. Put over 900 miles on the "Beamer", and I am really tired of shifting!!!
Former is cemetery of great great grandparents, just too long ago. We have been very impressed with how nice they keep their cemeteries. Have some good pictures. Borregard is in the northern part of Jutland, more rolling hills and pine trees, beautiful. Janis's grandfather was born here, just a country village, but she and Karen got a good feel for the country their ancestors came from; and that was the purpose of our staying in Denmark. Put over 900 miles on the "Beamer", and I am really tired of shifting!!!
Viborg
Temple Day
August 25, 2016 - Copenhagen
I chose a town close to the freeway, but far enough out so that we could find parking. Wrong! All the commuters got there before we did, but fortunately there was a shopping mall right across the street, so it worked out well. Got an all day pass on the transportation system and headed for the temple. They were doing some renovation work on the outside, but it still looked great. Met one of the temple workers outside, and got some good background on temple operations and layout. Apparently, the new videos have not been translated into some of the languages, so they primarily use the old ones. The chapel was just a block away, missionaries were having a District meeting, so we got to talk to a couple of them. We hiked up to the top of a tower (the church Bishop was an astronomer, so they constructed this big tower on the end of the church), great view of Copenhagen. Went to the Church of our Lady and saw the original "Christus" statue, then to Thorvalsen's museum. Absolutely amazing how prolific he was.
I chose a town close to the freeway, but far enough out so that we could find parking. Wrong! All the commuters got there before we did, but fortunately there was a shopping mall right across the street, so it worked out well. Got an all day pass on the transportation system and headed for the temple. They were doing some renovation work on the outside, but it still looked great. Met one of the temple workers outside, and got some good background on temple operations and layout. Apparently, the new videos have not been translated into some of the languages, so they primarily use the old ones. The chapel was just a block away, missionaries were having a District meeting, so we got to talk to a couple of them. We hiked up to the top of a tower (the church Bishop was an astronomer, so they constructed this big tower on the end of the church), great view of Copenhagen. Went to the Church of our Lady and saw the original "Christus" statue, then to Thorvalsen's museum. Absolutely amazing how prolific he was.
Copenhagen Denmark temple
© LDS.org
FOR RENT: One Viking burial plot, roommate with Otis, Astrid and the Møller twins, BYOF
August 24, 2016 - Svendborg/Maribo
We found the sexton early this morning in the Svendborg Cemetery, who located the point of burial of Janis's uncle for us. However, it turns out that if the family has not prepaid or continues to pay the upkeep fees, then head stones are removed and the plot is rented to someone else. The burial spot for Janis' uncle is currently under a row of hedges. We then went to Maribo to see if we could find ancestors there (1850's vintage). Same situation, too old, everyone has been so helpful. This trip to Maribo required a ferry crossing; these people are good at running ferries. Interesting country side, big grain producers and hog farms. They also have some great bridges. Has taken me a little while to learn the speed limit routine. However, it is the same as in Utah (I.e. Normal travel is 10% over the posted speed limit).
We found the sexton early this morning in the Svendborg Cemetery, who located the point of burial of Janis's uncle for us. However, it turns out that if the family has not prepaid or continues to pay the upkeep fees, then head stones are removed and the plot is rented to someone else. The burial spot for Janis' uncle is currently under a row of hedges. We then went to Maribo to see if we could find ancestors there (1850's vintage). Same situation, too old, everyone has been so helpful. This trip to Maribo required a ferry crossing; these people are good at running ferries. Interesting country side, big grain producers and hog farms. They also have some great bridges. Has taken me a little while to learn the speed limit routine. However, it is the same as in Utah (I.e. Normal travel is 10% over the posted speed limit).
On Hasmark Strand
Hasmark Strand
Vikings Punch the Clock at 3p
August 23, 2016 - Odense/Svendborg
We got to the the Fyn Island archives, and found the death records of Janis's uncle, who was born and died (6 mos. old) in Denmark; which was actually an opportunity to find records for other family members who we believed were buried in Svendborg. It was later in the afternoon when we got that information, and decided to drive down there and see if we could locate anything. It was about 3:00 pm when we arrived at the cemetery, and the only person we could find was the guy who did the cremations. He suggested we come back the next morning when someone would be there to help us. We have learned that things start closing down around 3:00 pm in Government offices here. So we went into the main part of town, walked around and had dinner. Nice, smaller town. Our experience is, that like all countries, generally, the smaller the town, the more orderly and neat it is.
We got to the the Fyn Island archives, and found the death records of Janis's uncle, who was born and died (6 mos. old) in Denmark; which was actually an opportunity to find records for other family members who we believed were buried in Svendborg. It was later in the afternoon when we got that information, and decided to drive down there and see if we could locate anything. It was about 3:00 pm when we arrived at the cemetery, and the only person we could find was the guy who did the cremations. He suggested we come back the next morning when someone would be there to help us. We have learned that things start closing down around 3:00 pm in Government offices here. So we went into the main part of town, walked around and had dinner. Nice, smaller town. Our experience is, that like all countries, generally, the smaller the town, the more orderly and neat it is.
Odense
Svendborg
Church in Svendborg, most are brick
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Looking for ancestors, but end up eating pastries
August 23, 2016
- Hasmark Strand, Denmark
Finally figured out how to run the washing machine (remember our experience when we picked Dan up ;)) and got some washing done, hung it out on the line, and it has been raining since then :(. So the house looks like a Chinese laundry. We now are regular shoppers in the little REMA 1000 grocery store in Otterup, of course it doesn't take much time to cover the whole store, but we have been able to find what we needed. We eat breakfast here (I'm the breakfast cook), and find a restaurant about 3:00 pm; and then there are the pastry shops :). We are all going to have a weight problem when we get home. We spent yesterday in Odense trying to find out where Janis and Karen's great grandparents were buried. Found the cemetery, but the Sexton only had digital records back to 2003, so he sent us to the City Cultural offices (thank goodness for GPS - but the real problem is finding a parking spot), who then referred us to the City Archives. Naturally these offices close at 4:00 pm, so we are headed back there today to see what we can find. Everyone has been very friendly, nice and helpful. We were right in the neighborhood of Hans Cristian Anderson's home, so we stopped by thinking we would just take a look, right - nope, wall around everything, a big museum and a $40/person charge to get in, so we passed on that one (took that money and bought more pastries :) ).
Finally figured out how to run the washing machine (remember our experience when we picked Dan up ;)) and got some washing done, hung it out on the line, and it has been raining since then :(. So the house looks like a Chinese laundry. We now are regular shoppers in the little REMA 1000 grocery store in Otterup, of course it doesn't take much time to cover the whole store, but we have been able to find what we needed. We eat breakfast here (I'm the breakfast cook), and find a restaurant about 3:00 pm; and then there are the pastry shops :). We are all going to have a weight problem when we get home. We spent yesterday in Odense trying to find out where Janis and Karen's great grandparents were buried. Found the cemetery, but the Sexton only had digital records back to 2003, so he sent us to the City Cultural offices (thank goodness for GPS - but the real problem is finding a parking spot), who then referred us to the City Archives. Naturally these offices close at 4:00 pm, so we are headed back there today to see what we can find. Everyone has been very friendly, nice and helpful. We were right in the neighborhood of Hans Cristian Anderson's home, so we stopped by thinking we would just take a look, right - nope, wall around everything, a big museum and a $40/person charge to get in, so we passed on that one (took that money and bought more pastries :) ).
Vikings travel in style when they leave the ship.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Vikings don't climb stairs and Swedish teenage boys make donuts in the middle of town
August 20, 2016 - Helsingborg, Sweden
No docks deep enough for our boat, so they ferried us from the boat into the town. The town information center provided us with a little walking tour guide, so we followed that and had a very enjoyable time. Primary point of interest was an old fortress, 367 steps to the top. Janis and I were going to give it a try, but it cost $8/person to do it, so we used that as an excuse not to climb all the stairs. We were about a block from the Main Street when we heard this roar and commotion along the Main Street, smoke billowing up. It was 4 or 5 young guys in their souped up cars spinning their tires, doing donuts, etc. No police ever showed up, so we figured things must be a little laid back here. One elderly Swedish lady but us seemed to be indicating this wasn't the first time it had happened, and she didn't like it. Beautiful day, interesting little town.
No docks deep enough for our boat, so they ferried us from the boat into the town. The town information center provided us with a little walking tour guide, so we followed that and had a very enjoyable time. Primary point of interest was an old fortress, 367 steps to the top. Janis and I were going to give it a try, but it cost $8/person to do it, so we used that as an excuse not to climb all the stairs. We were about a block from the Main Street when we heard this roar and commotion along the Main Street, smoke billowing up. It was 4 or 5 young guys in their souped up cars spinning their tires, doing donuts, etc. No police ever showed up, so we figured things must be a little laid back here. One elderly Swedish lady but us seemed to be indicating this wasn't the first time it had happened, and she didn't like it. Beautiful day, interesting little town.
The Volvo did not fit on the Viking ship
August 19, 2016 - Gothenborg, Sweden
Turns out this is where the Volvo factory is, and there was a nice museum right there on the dock by our ship. Enjoyed that very much, did not realize the number and complexity of products they have produced since the early 1900's. Our ship was too tall to go under the bridge over the inlet to the city, so they bused us in and out. Could not find out a lot about this town before we left, so we just started walking and looking for interesting places. That plan was not terribly successful, but it was a nice clean city and the weather was good - not sure you can ask for more.
Turns out this is where the Volvo factory is, and there was a nice museum right there on the dock by our ship. Enjoyed that very much, did not realize the number and complexity of products they have produced since the early 1900's. Our ship was too tall to go under the bridge over the inlet to the city, so they bused us in and out. Could not find out a lot about this town before we left, so we just started walking and looking for interesting places. That plan was not terribly successful, but it was a nice clean city and the weather was good - not sure you can ask for more.
What happens when the transformer on a Viking ship goes out, head to Home Depot!
August 18, 2016 – Kiel
Janis and I walked through the old town before the shops opened, so we had the streets to ourselves. That was fun. Came back later in the day and had to work our way through crowds, mostly natives. Spent most of our time trying to replace our malfunctioning Chinese transformer and ended up at the Bauhaus, which is just a rebranded Home Depot – orange signs and everything – felt right at home. But it was a lost cause. Obviously, the Germans don’t need or use 240 volt to 110 volt devices. Have been enjoying the evening performances on board the ship, and have been eating way to much ice cream and other good stuff! Had planned to visit a U-boat memorial, but ran out of time. Had a Doener Kabab for lunch!!!
Janis and I walked through the old town before the shops opened, so we had the streets to ourselves. That was fun. Came back later in the day and had to work our way through crowds, mostly natives. Spent most of our time trying to replace our malfunctioning Chinese transformer and ended up at the Bauhaus, which is just a rebranded Home Depot – orange signs and everything – felt right at home. But it was a lost cause. Obviously, the Germans don’t need or use 240 volt to 110 volt devices. Have been enjoying the evening performances on board the ship, and have been eating way to much ice cream and other good stuff! Had planned to visit a U-boat memorial, but ran out of time. Had a Doener Kabab for lunch!!!
Vikings vs. Swedes or Viking seniors have to pay up or stay on ship
August 17, 2016 – Stockholm
Dock again a substantial
distance from the City, and an all-day transportation pass was 70 Krone ($10
even with the senior discount). But it
was worth it, a very clean beautiful city with a great history. I did not realize that the Swede’s, in the
name of God, were out to conquer the world.
We visited the VASA Museum, very interesting; but the explanation is too
long, we will have to show you and explain it when we get back home. Saw the King’s palace, changing of the guard,
old churches, and took a stroll through modern Stockholm. All very good.
Today Vikings forage for veggies and berries
August 16, 2016 – Helsinki
Our dock was on the West side of town, so we had to take a tram into the city center. Have a big open market at the South Harbor. Great looking veggies and berries! Walked some and took the tram other places (8 Euros gave us an all-day pass on the trams). Actually there was not that much exciting to see, but the day was beautiful and things look so much better than in St. Petersburg.
Our dock was on the West side of town, so we had to take a tram into the city center. Have a big open market at the South Harbor. Great looking veggies and berries! Walked some and took the tram other places (8 Euros gave us an all-day pass on the trams). Actually there was not that much exciting to see, but the day was beautiful and things look so much better than in St. Petersburg.
Russian women don't smile, except the glamorous ones
August 14-15, 2016 – St. Petersburg
Went on two day tour
with SPB Tours, great young mother guide.
You just know there are a lot of Russians you could really like, and she
was one of them. Very well educated,
good English and good sense of humor (i.e. We were telling her how non-smiling
the women immigration agents were, and she said there are two types of Russian
women, glamorous and Soviet. Our
overwhelming opinion is that Russian towns/cities are dull and drab. Every once in a while you have one of these gilded
Cathedrals or Tzar palaces, but the rest are old and drab architecture or new
and drab architecture. Their architects
must be those that flunk engineering school.
Hard to imagine the living standards of the Tzar’s and Duke’s, which led
to the Russian Revolution. Katherine I
had 15,000 dresses and changed them 7 to 8 times a day. Learned a lot about the Romanov’s, Rasputin,
and Pushkin. Also about the struggles
young families have today, medical care problems, and that young people are so
involved in trying to make ends meet that they have little interest in
politics. At Hermitage we saw original
DaVinci, Raphael, and Rembrandt paintings and sculpture. Rode on a hydrofoil to St. Petershof and had
a good bowl of borscht.
Russians have fancy ships called hydrofoils...
but ugly houses.
Vikings Storm KGB headquarters
August 13, 2016 – Estonia
We docked at 10:00 am, so we were able to see the approach. Tallin Old Town is situated on a hill, so the approaching view of cathedral spires and turrets was impressive. We learned that the coastline was much nearer the old fortifications then they are now (hmmm- so much for global warming around here). This was a self-guided day (via Rick Steves “walking tour”. Great views from atop the hill and interesting information concerning Estonia: 1) least religious in Europe, only 14 percent think religion is an important part of life, 2) 45 percent of population are of Russian origin, which may explain to some degree, 3) uneasy relationship with Russians during occupation, we saw the KGB head quarters there – Estonians say the basement of that building was the highest point of land, in Estonia, because from there you could see all the way to Siberia. Just an interesting old city for those of us who have lived our lives in parts of the country less than 150 years old. On board entertainment was a Scottish violinist who played a nice medley of classical and popular songs.
We docked at 10:00 am, so we were able to see the approach. Tallin Old Town is situated on a hill, so the approaching view of cathedral spires and turrets was impressive. We learned that the coastline was much nearer the old fortifications then they are now (hmmm- so much for global warming around here). This was a self-guided day (via Rick Steves “walking tour”. Great views from atop the hill and interesting information concerning Estonia: 1) least religious in Europe, only 14 percent think religion is an important part of life, 2) 45 percent of population are of Russian origin, which may explain to some degree, 3) uneasy relationship with Russians during occupation, we saw the KGB head quarters there – Estonians say the basement of that building was the highest point of land, in Estonia, because from there you could see all the way to Siberia. Just an interesting old city for those of us who have lived our lives in parts of the country less than 150 years old. On board entertainment was a Scottish violinist who played a nice medley of classical and popular songs.
"Attention all Vikings, Bjorn the Bloody is now providing massages on the starboard quarter."
Day 4 - Sea day
Janis and Karen (her sister) are having massages at the spa, so this will be a laid back day - real vacation time ;).
Janis and Karen (her sister) are having massages at the spa, so this will be a laid back day - real vacation time ;).
What a Viking won't do for a Spezi
Day 3 - Warnemunde / Berlin
Arrived at the dock about 6:30 am, and by 7:30 am we were on a bus to Berlin (3-hour bus ride each way), enjoyed looking at the countryside; rolling hills and much larger farms than in Southern Germany. Looks like it must be the "German bread basket", lots of grains, potatoes, corn (for silage), grass hay, and wind turbines. Typical German cleanliness and good roads. Bought a bottle of Mezzo-mix at the midway pit stop, and had Spezi for lunch, so with that and the fact that the German seemed to come back pretty easily made me feel right at home. Janis and I decided that the ability to communicate is directly proportional to your comfort level. Our tour guide was a history major from Spokane who has been in Berlin for the last 25 years. Was very knowledgeable, and it turned out to be a very good tour. Started at the 1936 Olympic Stadium, Reichstag Building, Brandenburg Gate, Check Point Charley, Holocast Memorial, Hitlers Bunker, remnants of the Wall, etc. Clearly too short, but gave us the flavor of Berlin, and a lot of good historical background. Got back to the ship at about 8:15 pm and the ship left Warnemunde at 9:00 pm.
Arrived at the dock about 6:30 am, and by 7:30 am we were on a bus to Berlin (3-hour bus ride each way), enjoyed looking at the countryside; rolling hills and much larger farms than in Southern Germany. Looks like it must be the "German bread basket", lots of grains, potatoes, corn (for silage), grass hay, and wind turbines. Typical German cleanliness and good roads. Bought a bottle of Mezzo-mix at the midway pit stop, and had Spezi for lunch, so with that and the fact that the German seemed to come back pretty easily made me feel right at home. Janis and I decided that the ability to communicate is directly proportional to your comfort level. Our tour guide was a history major from Spokane who has been in Berlin for the last 25 years. Was very knowledgeable, and it turned out to be a very good tour. Started at the 1936 Olympic Stadium, Reichstag Building, Brandenburg Gate, Check Point Charley, Holocast Memorial, Hitlers Bunker, remnants of the Wall, etc. Clearly too short, but gave us the flavor of Berlin, and a lot of good historical background. Got back to the ship at about 8:15 pm and the ship left Warnemunde at 9:00 pm.
Brandenburg Gate
Holocaust Memorial
Vikings Away!!
Day 2 - Copenhagen
Took a bus into downtown area, and walked to Nyhavn (a very old harbor where sailing ships docked - apparently old red light district) now just used by canal tour boats. Had breakfast at one of the little restaurants, very friendly people and good English. Took one of the canal tours, with the tour guide giving little tidbits of information in Danish, English, and German. This was an interesting little tour, people living in house boats along the canals, lots of sailing vessels, and a public transportation boat/bus. Good view of apartment living and major buildings in the downtown area. Lasted about an hour and was very enjoyable. Walked back to the hotel, stopping at the "Marble Church" (we plan to go inside when we come back to Copenhagen) then watched the changing of the guard at the Amalienborg Palace (home of the Queen - who was apparently not at home because the national flag was not flying over the palace). Were able to take a bus to within a couple of blocks of the cruise line dock, so baggage has not been a problem, yet. Nice to be in the floating hotel, where you can get things unpacked. Our table companions are from Florida and Australia, and both couples are on a 26-day package from Copenhagen to New York. They both spend several months each year on World cruises.
Took a bus into downtown area, and walked to Nyhavn (a very old harbor where sailing ships docked - apparently old red light district) now just used by canal tour boats. Had breakfast at one of the little restaurants, very friendly people and good English. Took one of the canal tours, with the tour guide giving little tidbits of information in Danish, English, and German. This was an interesting little tour, people living in house boats along the canals, lots of sailing vessels, and a public transportation boat/bus. Good view of apartment living and major buildings in the downtown area. Lasted about an hour and was very enjoyable. Walked back to the hotel, stopping at the "Marble Church" (we plan to go inside when we come back to Copenhagen) then watched the changing of the guard at the Amalienborg Palace (home of the Queen - who was apparently not at home because the national flag was not flying over the palace). Were able to take a bus to within a couple of blocks of the cruise line dock, so baggage has not been a problem, yet. Nice to be in the floating hotel, where you can get things unpacked. Our table companions are from Florida and Australia, and both couples are on a 26-day package from Copenhagen to New York. They both spend several months each year on World cruises.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Do you speak English?
Well we successfully negotiated our way through the Copenhagen
Airport and public transportation system; with the help of very fluent
English speaking Danes. Even the bus drivers speak enough English to
answer your questions. Janis forgot her shower
cap, so we went to the nearby corner "NETTO" store to see if we could
find something. Came back with Saran Wrap and a couple of small
plastic bags, that worked. Everyone very helpful!!!
The flight over was good, we were on one of the new Boeing 787's. Cruising speed was over 550 mph, and no engine noise, charging stations at each seat, and instead of sliding a window cover down, the glass darkens incrementally with each touch of a button.
Not much more to report today, I have been trying to enthuse everyone about walking around a portion of the city in the morning, but sleeping in seems to be winning. Tons of bicycles, sending two pictures of how you get the family and groceries home.
The flight over was good, we were on one of the new Boeing 787's. Cruising speed was over 550 mph, and no engine noise, charging stations at each seat, and instead of sliding a window cover down, the glass darkens incrementally with each touch of a button.
Not much more to report today, I have been trying to enthuse everyone about walking around a portion of the city in the morning, but sleeping in seems to be winning. Tons of bicycles, sending two pictures of how you get the family and groceries home.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Don't forget to pack your helmet!
Up up and away... the vikings (and a german) are on their way to conquer the northern seas. Stay tuned for updates to their conquests.
Sikker rejse!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)