June 1

St. Petersburg

So, what do we know about Russia – and St. Petersburg, the country’s cultural and arts center?  A few useful pointers . . . 

[Places to be visited in the coming days . . . ]

[And now back to the amateur photographer.  Now that you know everything there is to know about President Trump’s favorite country (and Professor Doctor Colonel  Kiehne was reading a biography of Peter the Great), back to the more mundane.  Our first breakfast on the boat – original Russian pastry . . . ]

[And then it was safety drill time . . . ]

[First chance to get to know your neighbors.  Obviously, all English-speaking passengers coming from the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and maybe New Zealand (?) . . ]

[I heard they were serving mimosas . . . ]

[And now for our first off boat excursion – to the Hermitage . . . ]

[Passengers filed out to their appointed buses, all overseen by Karoline Landa.  She was the hotel manager, meaning she was pretty much in charge of everything that wasn’t involved with the operation of the boat . . . ]

[Here she was discussing the day’s events with one of our favorite guides, Sasha, and Margo Goncharova, the program director . . . ]

[Karoline collected all the boarding passes . . . ]

[And pretty much greeted us coming and going on all our off-boat adventures.  She endeared herself to me by remembering my name from day one . . . ]

[On the road again!  Going over the Big Obukhovsky bridge . . . ]

[A boat sighted at a stoplight . . . ]

[This guy must be local rather than national . . . ]

[Because although it’s a substantial statue, I can’t find anything about it?]

[And something well known is made here – I just can’t remember, nor can I find it?]

[The fishy restaurant again . . . ]

[They have wires in the sky . . . ]

[I like the ones that need no further explanation – other than it’s a 4-star hotel . . . ]

[Traffic on the Palace Embankment with Trinity Bridge, ahead, in downtown . . . ]

[Well, there are 5 million people here – gotta expect a little traffic congestion . . . ]

[Modern and colorful apartment construction . . . ]

[Nice views along the Neva . . . ]

[Stranded during a high tide?]

[Peter and Paul Fortress across the river (more further down) . . . ]

[Three-masted frigate near The Embankment of the Neva River . . . ]

[The Summer Garden is located where the Fontanka River flows out of the Neva River. It was founded in 1704 by order of Peter the Great, who was personally involved in planning it, and is laid out according to strict geometrical principles.  The Neva River end of the Summer Garden is bounded by a fence designed by the architect Yury Felten in 1773-1786. The Garden is also home to a Coffee House (designed by Carlo Rossi) and a Tea House (designed by Ludwig Charlemagne); in front of the latter is a statue of the great Russian fabulist Ilya Krylov by the sculptor Pyotr Klodt. The base of the monument is decorated by a bas relief based on themes from Krylov’s tales. (saint-petersburg.com)]

Ladies and gentlemen . . .

We are arriving at the Hermitage . . .

[Peter and Paul Fortress across the Neva from the Hermitage.  The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini’s designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress.  In the early 1920s, it was still used as a prison and execution ground by the Bolshevik government.  Today it has been adapted as the central and most important part of the State Museum of Saint Petersburg History. (Wikipedia)]

[Sasha’s 3C lollipop leads us to the Hermitage entrance . . . ]

[Inside, heading for the Jordan Staircase . . . ]

[The principal or Jordan Staircase of the Winter Palace is so called because on the Feast of the Epiphany the Tsar descended this imperial staircase in state for the ceremony of the “Blessing of the Waters” of the Neva River, a celebration of Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River.  The staircase is one of the few parts of the palace retaining the original 18th-century style.  The massive grey granite columns, however, were added in the mid 19th century. (Wikipedia)]

[Looking back down the staircase . . . ]

[This is a canned photo.  I don’t know why I didn’t get it except I may have been swept up in the crowd . . . ]

[The entrance ceiling . . . ]

[Sasha leads our group into the next room . . . ]

[A room with vases and chandeliers . . . ]

[You are here!]

[Chandelier in The Large Field Marshal Hall . . . ]

[Peter the Great’s Small Throne Room in the Winter Palace . . . ]

[A golden room known as the Golden Room . . . ]

[As a cruise ship group, arrangements were made to enter the museum before it was open to the general public.  Otherwise, we would have been standing in these lines.}

[Another selfie??]

[Russia’s commanders of the 1812 War against Napoleon . . . ]

[St George’s Hall (also referred to as the Great Throne Room) is one of the largest state rooms in the Winter Palace.  It is located on the eastern side of the palace, and connected to The Hermitage by the smaller Apollo Room. (Wikipedia)]

[The Golden Throne in St. George’s Hall . . . ]

[The Super with a floor, and a throne . . . ]

[Elizabeth . . . ]

[The Peacock Clock, the work of the 18th-century London watchmaker James Cox. On the gilt branches of an oak tree sit a peacock, a cockerel, an owl in a cage . . . ]

[Looking out on the surrounding gardens . . . ]

[The Peacock Clock, again . . . ]

[Giant malachite vase . . . ]

[Unknown, but then it appears they didn’t have anyplace to carry ID’s?]

[St. Matthew the Evangelist (?), St. Dujam, St. Anastasius, St. Louis of Toulouse and St. Mark the Evangelist – tempera on panel . . . ]

[A group of tourists looking at stuff – stuff you’re not likely to find in other places . . . ]

[A pair of Madonnas and child by Da Vinci . . . ]

[Generally known as ornate elaborate doors . . . ]

[An elaborate 17th century mantle clock . . . ]

[I wonder what the going rate for bath helpers is today?]

[College dorms, c. mid-1960’s, when the boy had to keep at least one foot on the floor.]

[Commissioned by Empress Catherine II in the late 1780s, the Raphael Loggias are the exact copy of the Gallery in the Papal Palace in Vatican City. The frescoes of the open loggias of the Papal Palace were painted after Raphael’s sketches. Their copies made in Italy by a group of artists under the supervision of Christopher Unterberger, took their place in the gallery of a separate building erected by Giacomo Quarenghi. The Loggias vaults are decorated with scenes from biblical stories, the walls are covered with paintings with ornamentation motifs, known as “grotesques.” (hermitagemuseum.org)]

[Small Italian Skylight Hall . . . ]

[Holding hands . . . ]

[This piece was purchased in 1785 by Empress Catherine the Great from the Lyde Browne collection . . . ]

[There seems to be some disagreement in the literature as to whether this is a “sleeping boy” or a “dead boy.”  I’m going to resolve it by saying he’s sleeping!]

[A popular depiction of Madonna and child . . . ]

[I somehow managed not to get an identifying plaque here – anyone?]

[It’s a Michelangelo – so it’s going to get 360 degree of photo coverage . . . ]

[Whom amongst us doesn’t enjoy a good lute player?]

[This was important enough for extended coverage by Sasha . . . ]

[So much so that we will break off Part 1 here . . . ]

[And pick up later with Part 2 next (obviously), a continuation of our adventures in the Hermitage . . . ]

[Ending with Adonis . . . ]

I don’t much enjoy travelling, but I have always longed to take a slow train to Russia. I’d like to go alone – like writers do – with only a pencil and piece of paper as company. I’d take my sketchbook and note down all the wonderful details of other travellers.  ~ Jane Birkin

Up Next:  Part 2

May 31

Helsinki to St. Petersburg

[In the morning, we ready to leave Helsinki for a high speed train ride to St. Petersburg.  Kiitos, Helsinki!]

[As you’ll recall, it’s just a short walk across the square from our hotel to the train station.]

[The train schedule, we’re the 11:00 on Track 9 . . . ]

[Seems like a civilized, stress-free depot . . . ]

[Here we go, Track 9 . . . ]

[Destination Pietari (St. Petersburg) on “flight” AE784 . . . ]

[The Super went directly to the bar car for a morning beverage . . . ]

[We’re traveling at a smooth 196 kph, or 122 miles per hour.  Will we ever see such in the States?]

[Watching the countryside pass by . . . ]

[Absent the bridge, very much like our Boundary Waters . . . ]

[I don’t recall the specific cities . . . ]

[But Vyborg was our first stop in Russia . . . ]

[The Super holds up the route – next stop St. Petersburg . . . ]

[But before we get to St. Petersburg, YOUR PAPERS, PLEASE!]

[Actually, they were quite nice . . . ]

Welcome to Russia

[We were greeted in St. Petersburg by Tatiana.  Of course . . . Tatiana.  Russian.  Statuesque.  Darkly alluring.  Wait a sec – is this some sort of dime novel?]

[Unfortunately, Tatiana was only with us on the bus from the train station to our boat.  Then she was gone.  Forever.  Dosvedanya, Tatiana!]

[Hi!  I’m in Russia!]

[Hmmmm, shopping?]

[You can identify a statue of Lenin from miles away . . . ]

[This at the Finlyandsky (Finnish) railway station, from which we just arrived . . . ]

[I have reason to suspect this is (or was) the St. Petereburg jail . . . ]

[Generic shot of . . . a parking lot?]

[There’s lots of new construction along the banks of the Neva River – this appears to be apartments or condos.  The Neva, incidentally, is the main river of St. Petersburg though it’s only 46 miles long – but it’s relatively wide and deep as it flows from Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland.]

[Smolny Convent, a major landmark visible all along the Neva . . . ]

[St. Petersburg is 5 million, and growing . . . ]

[There will be several more shots of Smolny!  🙂  ]

[Not Smolny, but certainly renovation of a classic place . . . ]

[That I can’t identify . . . ]

[The buildings in St. Petersburg are usually yellow or light colored to improve the attitude of a populace usually subjected to dark or gray weather.  New apartments have all sorts of exciting exterior designs . . . ]

[Peter the Great Bridge near Smolny . . . ]

[A nice day for a walk along the river . . . ]

[More building exteriors . . . ]

[Not even our guides were sure about this – best guesses, a restaurant still under construction . . . ]

[Close to the boatyard . . . ]

[And ours is in there somewhere . . . ]

[Big Obukhovsky bridge . . . ]

[Cruise boats and the Big Obukhovsky . . . ]

The cruise . . . 

[And here’s our boat – Viking Akun . . . ]

[And we’re in – here’s our dining room . . . ]

[And our menu . . . ]

[And the outside the dining room, Tom checks a selection of hot beverages available 24/7, sometimes with cookies . . . ]

[There’s an option?]

[And this our room . . . ]

[Now where am I going to put these?]

[Yup, we had a balcony – usually used as a place to dry sink washed clothes . . . ]

[First food on the boat!!]

[After eats, we went out for a walk in “the neighborhood” . . . ]

[Tomorrow we will begin our assault on St. Petersburg.]

I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.  ~  Woody Allen

Up Next:  St. Pete

May 30

Tallinn

[Continuing our trek, going down, down to Lower Town . . . ]

[Don’t look if you’re acrophobic . . . ]

[About midway down, there’s this door . . . ]

[A stairway gate between Upper and Lower Towns . . . ]

[Looking back up at whence we started . . . ]

[Still trending downward . . . ]

[St. Nicholas . . . ]

[And bottom in Lower Town . . . ]

[Unique public transportation (which we will partake of later) . . . ]

[Apartments . . . ]

[Ahhhh, my favorite kind of street – just follow your nose . . . ]

[Well, preferably wines . . . ]

[An Estonian toast?]

[Now we’re getting down to where the action is . . . ]

[Coming to you live from Town Hall Square, Old Town, the celebration of summer festival. Live music and dancing and general frivolity . . . ]

[Our guide is releasing us to our own devices, just don’t get in any trouble!]

[A “wine library” is a “wine library” anywhere in the world . . . ]

[Our group, with advice from our guide, begins looking for fine luncheon dining . . . ]

[Well, I think we’ll want to stay where the action is . . . ]

[There were an amazing number of performers and performances over this multi-day event . . . ]

[We’ll meet up again in a couple of hours . . . ]

[Remember, we’re 1D . . . ]

[The Super ponders lunch places . . . ]

[Looks fun?]

[But let’s stay out on the square so we can watch the goings on . . . ]

[OK, we’ll take this table – decent view of the stage . . . ]

[The Super plots our plot . . . ]

[Oh boy, pizza pie!!!]

[The Estonian national dish – well, at least for our purposes . . . ]

[Unfortunately, the camera auto-focused on the blanket . . . ]

[When I was trying to capture the “fun brunette” at the neighboring restaurant . . . ]

[Will you take our picture?]

[OK, it’s a selfie . . . ]

[When activities cease on the stage, the square seems to empty in a hurry . . . ]

[Remember the public transportation?  That’s what we’re riding when I took the following shots . . . ]

[Hanging a left here . . . ]

[Bunch o’ flags . . . ]

[Here’s the theatre . . . ]

[Hanging a right here . . . ]

[A lovely tree-lined street . . . ]

[Fortress wall . . . ]

[With turrets . . . ]

[“No meat!”]

[“Probably the best steaks in town!”]

[I hope you don’t think the capital of Georgia is Atlanta?]

[Finishing our train ride back at the main square . . . ]

[A couple shots for the DOM . . . ]

[Puhkaja, by Tauno Kangro, which means holidaymaker in Estonian.]

[Last photo in Tallinn . . . ]

[Arrived back in Helsinki to Bad Bad Boy . . . ]

[By Tommi Toija, in Market Square . . . ]

[And sights on the way . . . ]

[Back to the hotel . . . ]

[Off to Russia in the morning.]

For us in Russia, communism is a dead dog, while, for many people in the West, it is still a living lion.  ~  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Up Next:  Finally, actually, go to Russia?

May 30

Tallinn

We watched this documentary right before the trip, so we were excited to go to Estonia.  We left Pam and Tom to their own devices – they had been to Tallinn before so decided to do their own walking tour of Helsinki.

[The Helsinki ferry terminal – a beautiful place to start a beautiful morning . . . ]

[We’re heading out across the Gulf of Finland, 50 miles to Tallinn . . . ]

[And away we go . . . ]

[Helsinki, we shall return!]

[Two hours later and Tallinn is in sight . . . ]

[Judging from the skyline, we have modernity on the left and antiquity on the right . . . ]

[Our guide greets us on the bus . . . ]

[An offhanded guess would be . . . chimney?  (Chimney of old Tallinn power plant, 280 feet tall.)]

[Tallinn fortress in Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site . . . ]

[Late arrival, so we had to park at the bottom of the hill and walk up – uffda . . . ]

[The fortress is Toompea Castle, and dates to the 13th century . . . ]

[It is also the seat of Parliament . . . ]

[The Parliament building, a/k/a, Stenbock House, Government of Republic of Estonia, Toompea.  The two guys in the foreground were with our group, but they were at the end of their cruise – they started in Moscow and ended with 3 days in Helsinki . . . ]

[The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral . . . ]

[It is an orthdox cathedral in Old Town built in a typical Russian Revival style between 1894 and 1900, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is Tallinn’s largest and grandest orthodox cupola cathedral. It is dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky, who in 1242 won the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus, in the territorial waters of present-day Estonia.  (Wikipedia)]

[Meanwhile, the crowd gathers back at the Parliament . . . ]

[Shhhhhhhhhhh . . . ]

[Back to our walking tour, where we were joined by school kids (or little “chidrun,” as brother Cam calls them) on a field trip . . . ]

[With their teachers, taking all the proper safety precautions . . . ]

[The Super finds an Estonian friend . . . ]

[And so did I.  Her name is Liis!]

[St. Mary’s Cathedral, 13th century . . . ]

[It is the oldest church in Tallinn and mainland Estonia, and the only building in Toompea to survive a 17th-century fire . . . ]

[This memorial to Voldemar Panso, an Estonian director, actor, theater director, drama theater critic, and author, is located on the outside wall of the Estonian Music and Theatre Academy Drama School.  (waymarking.com)]

[More little chidrun . . . ]

[With teachers and backpacks . . . ]

[You can see the Nevsky Cathedral from everywhere . . . ]

[An open square amid government buildings and embassies . . . ]

[Beautiful courtyards through here . . . ]

[The Super attempts to decipher it . . . ]

[And now, the overlook.  That’s St. Olaf’s Church on the right . . . ]

[The Super says, “Cool, huh?”]

[This is Upper Town overlooking Lower Town, and yes it was a class thing . . . ]

[Did you get a shot of St. Olaf’s?]

[Not surprisingly, a hot tourist spot . . . ]

[Elbow your way to the railing, take your shots, and move on . . . ]

[As I posted on FB at the time:  What I’ve learned so far . . .
The Super can withstand a Dementor;
Although I know I packed all my hair maintenance devices, they somehow decided not to make the trip with me  (they weren’t at home either, meaning they must have been filched out of my checked luggage?);
I asked our server the first night how it felt to be a citizen of the smartest country in the world (Finland), she deadpanned, “I’m from Estonia;”
Our guide in Estonia was Russian;
Our guide in Finland is from Spain;
This was the hottest May ever recorded in Finland;
This is all the way of the world now kids, get used to it.]

[Oh, and here are the shots from the railing . . . ]

[And here comes another pod of tourists . . . ]

[Looks like fine dining could be had here!]

[We’re wending our way along more overlooks . . . ]

[And here with modern Tallinn in the background . . . ]

[St. Nicholas Church . . . ]

[Hi there, boys and girls!]

[This is either a maze . . . or a giant jigsaw puzzle?]

[OK, round ’em up, heading back down . . . ]

[The ever present and delightful Nevsky Cathedral . . . ]

[The fortress walls, lest it wasn’t obvious . . . ]

[We start down to Lower Town from here . . . ]

[Through the archway . . . ]

[A final salute to Nevsky . . . ]

[And came out the other side in wonderland . . . ]

[More Dementors . . . ]

[We’ll begin Part 2 heading down to Lower Town.]

Vladimir Putin signed a treaty this morning that formally absorbs Crimea into the Russian Federation. So if you felt bad because you didn’t know where Crimea was, don’t worry, it’s gone.  ~  Seth Meyers

Up Next:  Part 2 in Tallinn

June 15

Jeff, Tommy and Matt Vee, national music scene veterans and sons and nephew respectively of the legendary Bobby Vee, join forces with their family and friends as The KILLER VEES to celebrate timeless music classics from a wide variety of eras. Known as the “rhythm section to the stars” The KILLER VEES have toured and performed with a virtual who’s who in the music business: Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Ronnie Wood just to name a few! Coming from a musical family of the late Bobby Vee, the KILLER VEES are joined by Matt’s wife Julie Velline on vocals, McKnight Fellow and composer George Maurer on keyboards and guitar king Kurt “Lightning” Rodman. It’s going to be a high-energy rockin’ night!  ~  Carlos Creek Winery

[The SOLD OUT crowd readies for a night of classic rock and roll!]

[Julie and Matt survey the crowd before commencement . . . ]

[Sharing a table with three generations of the family Berg – thus, triple coverage . . . ]

[The Medicare crowd was pretty nimble on its collective feet!]

[Karin tried her hand at cub reporting . . . ]

[Same venue, one year ago . . . ]

[Polka . . . or electric slide?]

[The Super’s standing up front getting a shot . . . ]

[We were in the mezzanine . . . ]

[Did we mention we had food and beverages?]

June 16

[Anthony at the winery – as reliable as Old Faithful!]

[At CCW waiting for Anthony to start!]

[The Boys of ’65, sans Bradley who had health issues demanding his absence.  With Professor Doctor Colonel Kiehne and Little Mayo Johnson, filling in for Bradley were Dad Kiehne (at 96), the Super, and Jerry Kiehne, class of ’63 . . . ]

[Semi-regulars from Ashby and South Dakota completed our record-setting Anthony fan club . . . ]

[Then the Boys of ’65 went on a fine dining search and discovery mission to The Peak (a stone’s throw from the 2nd-highest elevation in the state), two time zones from Alexandria . . . ]

[But apparently I forgot that cameras are permitted inside . . . ]

June 17

Patchouli at Carlos Creek Winery – with good friends, good wine, good fun!

[Tucked in under the porch – kinda half inside and half outside . . . ]

[I don’t think we’d seen them in two years – they’ll be back at the winery twice more this summer . . . ]

[Joined by music aficionados, Deb and Paul Trumm . . . ]

A little video presentation, at no extra charge . . . 

[Bruce visits with his local fan club at the end of the first set.  We had subsequently been joined by music aficionados from Ashby, Helen and John Etnier . . . ]

[You’ve heard about the coming winery brewery?  Currently planned to be located on the chess boards . . . ]

[Instruments on break . . . ]

[“Ets” was delighted to hear The Sounds of Silence . . . ]

It seemed like we had a gully washer every hour all weekend!

Terra Guitarra WINS ZMR Best Instrumental Album of the Year!

June 18

We found Brad, released from his most recent medical situation, just in time to have lunch with the Kiehnes before they returned to their year-round southern escapes.  To our delight, we were served by the just graduated Josie Minnerath – Brad and I saw her play many times as a member of the Cardinal hockey team, No. 6.  There are no records of the event itself – I left my camera in the car and really didn’t feel like going back for it.]

Remember:  What dad really wants is a nap.  Really.  ~  Dave Barry

Up Next:  Estonia

May 29

Helsinki

[And this was our afternoon excursion . . . ]

[So, we’re on the ferry – good day for a sunburn . . . ]

[Cruising by . . . yacht clubs?]

[Helsinki behind us . . . ]

(Suomenlinna ahead . . . ]

[The fortress . . . ]

[Bird shots . . . ]

[Because they were there . . . ]

[And we have arrived . . . ]

[The pink clock-towered Jetty Barracks is the entrance to the fortress . . . ]

[Looking back at whence we came . . . ]

[Cafe Silo?  I’m not sure how’d that sell around these parts?  But we trudged up a mini-hill to get here . . .]

[Where we were . . . ]

[It’s a church/lighthouse combo . . . ]

[Tourists milling around . . . ]

[Dr. Kiehne practices the choreography for his opening act on Austin City Limits . . . ]

[Two stories on red brick on top of one story of rock, i.e., late Paleolithic . . . ]

[Massed tourists, a phenomenon becoming increasingly global . . . ]

[Pam spots an ‘op.’]

[A Super selfie in an overhead mirror . . . ]

[Where we were, again . . . ]

[Another excellent guide whose name escapes – in fact, there’s not much I keep captive any more . . . ]

[With Pam shooting behind them, Tom and the Super ponder things Finnish . . . ]

[If I had a boat . . . ]

[The Fortress is a World Heritage Site . . . ]

[Into the catacombs . . . ]

[Pam adopts the James Earl Jones expression before he slips into the Field of Dreams cornfield  . . . ]

[The Super is standing where . . . ]

[One of these used to be (canned photo) . . . ]

[The Super tries to be friends . . . ]

[But his faced remained stoic . . . ]

[Me neither?]

[I believe these are called cannons . . . ]

[And I believe this is called a drydock . . . ]

[Actually, a rather famous drydock . . . ]

[The dry dock in Suomenlinna is the oldest in Finland and one of the oldest operational dry docks in Europe. The construction of the dry dock began in 1750. The dock’s basins and service buildings served as the base for the Swedish Coastal Fleet’s Sveaborg squadron until 1808. Ships for the Swedish Coastal Fleet were built there in the 1760s under the supervision of the famous naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman. During the Finnish period (1918– ) the State Aircraft Factory used the dock for building the first Finnish airplanes. In the 1930s, the dock’s inner basin was used as a naval submarine base. After the Second World War, Valmet Oy took over the ship-building operations, initially building ships as war reparations to the Soviet Union.  (Suomenlinna Sveaborg Sights)]

[There was a huge owl flying along the side of the building to our left, but alas I couldn’t get a photo . . . ]

[But if you look really close, just slightly below photo center, you can see a mother duck out for a stroll with 3 ducklings . . . ]

[Best identified through the magical powers of googling, a wooden, yellow building . . . ]

[What we in the trade call a “scenic overlook” . . . ]

[What we in the trade also call a “scenic overlook” . . . ]

[The scenic overlook of the Gulf of Finland . . . ]

[Scenic, from a different angle . . . ]

[Overlook, from a different angle . . . ]

[Yup, that’s what it is.  A Viking probably stood here once . . . ]

[A mass of humanity on a dirt road . . . ]

[Wrapping up the circular tour . . . ]

[To open water . . . ]

[Just strolling along a waterway with a bridge and background church . . . ]

[Outdoor live theatre . . . to be or not to be . . . ]

[Suomenlinna by summer . . . ]

[And by winter . . . ]

[Homeward (Helsinki) bound . . . ]

[Good-bye, Suomenlinna . . . ]

[Hello, Helsinki . . . ]

[Gabriella – the ship . . . ] 

[Helsinki Allas Sea Pool . . . ]

[I thought I saw Havis Amanda down there . . . ]

[Close enough . . . ]

[Yes, it’s getting to be dinner time . . . ]

[And here is where we did it . . . ]

[Pam preclaimed here is where we were looking for . . . ]

[The Super snags a window seat . . . ]

[A small delight appeared on the table immediately . . . ]

[As you’ll recall, this is right across the street from Helsinki Cathedral and Senate Square.]

[As you’ll also recall, they were prepping for a big event – thusly, our window view was obscured by the goings-on.]

[Nevertheless, the Super gave it the ole college try . . . ]

[OK, let’s fine dine!!]

[Who’s going to be first to spill their wine?]

[Why yes, I did have the vandace!  “Vandace” means “giant fish” in Finnish . . . [

[It must be good?  They appear to be preoccupied . . . ]

[The Super butters up.  We all proclaimed our meals to be DEEEE-LISH . . . ]

[Some desserty looking thing!  Yes, we dug in – I seem to recall Pam reported we walked seven miles on the day.]

[On the way “home,” we can do better . . . ]

[We can do better yet . . . ]

[No, I guess we can’t . . . ]

[Maybe the girls did better?  (Pam’s photo)]

[What I see in the mirror every morning.  Oh, did I use that already?]

A note in Finnish hotel bathroom: “Help us to save water. If you need fresh towel, throw yourself on the floor. If you don’t need fresh towel, hang yourself.”

Up Next:  Looks like Estonia.

May 29

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital city and most populous municipality of Finland. Helsinki is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. They city has a population of 642,045 with a metropolitan area of over 1.4 million. Helsinki is located 50 miles north of Talinn, Estonia, 250 miles east of Stockholm, and 240 miles west of St. Petersburg, Russia.  It has close historical ties with these three cities.  Helsinki is the world’s northern most metro area with over one million people, and the city is the northernmost capital of an EU member state. Helsinki is the third largest city in the Nordic countries, after Stockholm and Oslo. Helsinki has one of the highest urban standards of living in the world. In 2011, the British magazine ‘Monocle’ ranked Helsinki the world’s most liveable city.  (Wikipedia)

[While breakfasting in the hotel, we couldn’t help but notice the . . . chandeliers?]

[On our first full day in Helsinki, we began our walking tour of the city.  As you can see the weather was terrible!  Actually, the locals were in total awe of the good weather they were having – it’s never this nice here, they would exclaim!]

[Located on Railway Station Square in front of the National Theatre Building, this is either Aleksis Kivi or . . . Jessica Lange?  If Kivi, the writer who founded realistic Finnish lterature.]

[Anteneum Museum across Railway Station Square . . . ]

[Follow the guy with the Viking ‘lollipop,’  whose name we can’t remember . . . ]

[Finnish National Theatre . . . ]

[Pam and Tom are all ears as our guide explains things around us . . . ]

[Makkaratalo (Finnish for “sausage house”?), a/k/a, shop till you drop . . . ]

[And the classic railway station in City-Center . . . ]

[Again, Makkaratalo . . . ]

[The front of the railway station, highlighted by a prototypical Finn striding by . . . ]

[With angle, I can capture the entire station name . . . ]

[Sorry, I don’t do Finnish . . . ]

[Where we were in the grand scheme of things . . . ]

[Passing through Makkaratalo . . . ]

[Wow, the Finns pay homage to the Minnesota state fish – the crappie!]

[Finland’s Parliament House . . . ]

[Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art . . . ]

[Upon further review, it’s not a crappie . . . ]

[It’s  Laulupuut, the giant pike . . . ]

[In front of the Helsinki Music Centre . . . ]

[Artsy . . . ]

[Mannerheim Statue . . . ]

[Marshal of Finland Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, by Aimi Tukuainen, 1960.  The bronze statue is 5.4 m tall. It is raised on a granite podium, 6.3 m tall, 6.3 m long and 2.72 m wide.  Mannerheim is a symbolic figure in Finland since the Finnish Civil War 1918.  (Wikipedia)]

[Your guess is as good as . . . ]

[Urbanity . . . ]

[The largest department store in the Nordic countries . . . ]

[The statue of Vainamoinen by Robert Stigell (1888) decorates the Vanha Ylioppilastalo (Old Student House) built in 1870. (Wikipedia)]

[Three Smiths . . . ]

[The safari continued down a major commercial street toward the waterfront . . . ]

[Actually, I prefer “wear what fits!”]

[Aha, outside the shadows of the commercial street . . . ]

[Johan Ludvig Runeberg, a Finnish national poet, in Esplanadi Park.]

[The waterfront is nigh . . . ]

[But first, an obvious favorite, Havis Amanda at Market Square . . . ]

[Pam and Tom ride the Ferris Wheel at every place they visit – this one was no exception.]

[Market Square]

[Helsinki Cathedral in view down a narrow street . . . ]

[And closer-upper . . . ]

[Shouldn’t every great city have one?]

[Getting closer . . . ]

[Shouldn’t every great city have one?  BTW, that’s the main building of the University of Helsinki in the background . . . ]

[Prepping for Flag Day of the National Defense Forces – 100 years on June 4 . . . ]

[Helsinki Cathedral is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka in the centre of the city. The church was originally built from 1830-1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. It was also known as St Nicholas’ Church until the independence of Finland in 1917.  (Wikipedia)]

[The cathedral overlooks Senate Square . . . ]

[Shhhhhhhhhhh . . . ]

[Again, shhhhhhhhh . . . ]

[Overlooking Senate Square from the cathedral.  We later fine dined in the building directly behind the statue of Alexander II . . . ]

[Suspected to be tourists . . . ]

[Leaving the cathedral grounds to visit here, the main library of the university . . . ]

[Final pix of the cathedral . . . ]

[The National Library . . . ]

 

[Again, shhhhhh – we’re inside the library . . . ]

[Funny, that doesn’t look Finnish?]

[The Uspenski Cathedral spire . . . ]

[And even more of the cathedral . . . ]

[The waterfront . . . ]

[We’re climbing to:  Uspenski Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary). Its name comes from the Old Church Slavonic word uspenie. Designed by the Russia architect Aleksey Gornostayev (1808–1862). The cathedral was built after his death in 1862–1868. The Cathedral is set upon a hillside on the Katajanokka peninsula overlooking the city.  Uspenski Cathedral is claimed to be the largest orthodox church in Western Europe.  In 2006, about 516,500 tourists visited the church. (Wikipedia)]

[View of Helsinki Cathedral from Uspenski Cathedral . . . ]

[Pam and the Super readying for the final climb into the cathedral . . . ]

[Decent view, n’es pas?]

[Pam and Tom’s Ferris wheel . . . ]

[Inside the cathedral (oh, you figured that out?) . . . ]

[Like many such buildings of antiquity around the world, undergoing major fix-up . . . ]

[Professor Kiehne shoots . . . ]

[He scores . . . ]

[Back at the waterfront – swimming pools with “treated and natural” water . . . ]

[It’s lunch time, but we figured this place would be too crowded . . . ]

[So we walked on . . . ]

[Hey, we found vendors!  In a tourist area?  Amazing!]

[Keisarinnankivi – The Stone of The Empress.  The folks at the bottom were tourists from Schenectady, or not . . . ]

[A tourist, not from Schenectady . . . ]

[Remember, it was lunch time . . . ]

[You scream, I scream, Finlanders scream, for ice cream!]

[Sightseeing the Helsinki Sightseeing boat . . . ]

[Don’t know why I took this shot – other than to show we’re in transition back to our starting point . . . ]

[Bye-bye, waterfront . . . ]

[Hello, Havis Amanda . . . ]

[Nice bird . . . ]

[Nice . . . whatever . . . ]

[OK, it’s a thing with us . . . ]

[The gulls really ought to show her more respect . . . ]

[And then we stumbled into a rock concert . . . ]

And now, a little live music.  Proof once again that rock ‘n roll unites the world!

[Promenading through the promenade . . . ]

[Back to Johan Ludvig Runeberg – as with Havis Amanda, he now had an avian perched upon his pate, coming . . . ]

[And going . . . ]

[The image in my morning mirror . . . ]

[This completes our morning tour of Helsinki.  The afternoon tour begins on the next posting.]

It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia.  ~  Sarah Palin

Up Next:  Likely “Russia”

May 27 & 28

* Faux Cyrillic with the backward ‘R’.   Я, “Ya,” is actually a vowel and the last letter in the Cyrillic alphabet.  The correct spelling of Russia in Cyrillic would begin with ‘P’.  So, this spelling of Russia is just . . . to look cool?

Our Viking river cruise, beginning first with three days in Helsinki and Talinn.  We rejoined old cruise partners Pam Mathison and Tom Kiehne, who seem to have visited every country on the planet in the last year!

[Leaving home and blog office behind . . . ]

[We were the only two Executive Express passengers from Alex to MSP – giving us the feeling of  being limoed.  At the airport, we survived the TSA shakedown but needed wine anyway.]

[Helsinki is really that far away?]

[Before boarding, go into airplane mode!]

[Why are we leaving the great spring weather of Minnesota?  Oh yeah, it just started being great.]

[About to endure 8 1/2 hours of agony!]

[But I think it’s coming to an end . . . ]

[It seems Finland may have even more lakes than Minnesota . . . is 188,000 more than 10,000?]

[Not densely populated here.]

[Aha, a building.]

[Welcome to Finland! My first visit . . . ]

[We’re “here” – about 18 hours door-to-door.  We met Tom and Pam in the lobby, but nap time came first for us.]

[But we didn’t go “there.”]

[Where multi-syllabic words and names hold fort . . . ]

[Where we stayed in Helsinki . . . ]

[We’re just off Kluuvi, the commercial centre of the city . . . ]

[That nap thing . . . ]

[A little outdoor area in the “backyard.”]

[I did a quick walkabout.  This is the “centre,” the tower is the main train station . . . ]

[Sidewalk cafes abound along this street . . . ]

[Walking the other way, then looking back at our hotel front . . . ]

[And now we’re off in search of our first fine dining experience . . . ]

[Ateneum is one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of Rautatientori square close to Helsinki Central railway station. (Wikipedia)]

[The railway station . . . ]

[We have crossed the square, our hotel is at the back center . . . ]

[And now paralleling the train station . . . ]

[And now past it . . . ]

[With Pam, Tom, and the Super leading the way, we approach our destination in the FORUM building . . . ]

[And this is Kaarna, recommended by a Viking rep.  It was a home run.  We ambled maybe a half mile through downtown on a beautiful evening to get here. . . . ]

[All modern and stuff . . . ]

[I’m so hungry I could eat a reindeer!]

[Why yes, we are excited about eating!]

[Me too!]

[The menu . . . ]

[I think we all opted for the “classics” at the top and bottom of the menu page . . . ]

[Looks like someone had soup?]

[And you can’t skip dessert!]

[Bon appetit (well, I don’t know the Finnish equivalent) . . . ]

 

[The perfect end to our first day.]

Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife announced that they are getting a divorce after almost 30 years of marriage. When asked why, Putin said, ‘We tried to make it work, but you know what they say: Men are from Malgobek, women are from Kadnikov.’  ~  Jimmy Fallon

And from my fortune cookie as I write this:  Travel with an open heart and positive expectations.

Up Next:  Likely more  Яussia, but maybe not soon . . . or often.  After 17 years, we’re relearning the joys of moving.

Thanks for joining me!   This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more.  Thus, this is “Part 2.”  As the original was initially described: