Friday, December 4, 2009
Annual Christmas Cruise - Southern Caribbean this year!
Heading for Florida on Sunday December 20th for our annual family Christmas Cruise! Warm weather here we come!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Monday's Multiplying Fractions and Mixed Numbers
Today we continued our work with fractions only now we are multiplying them. I started the session differently than previously. After our meeting last week about setting up our virtual classroom like a brick and mortar room, I thought I would incorporate some suggestions. One was to have something for them to work on when they enter and the other was to list the rules for them. I explained these changes to our room and the students had no problem with them.
After the housekeeping parts it was on to the actual lesson. This went extremely well. I explained to them that multiplying fractions was like looking at the problem as 2 multiplication sentences on top of one another. This really seemed to help them understand. Everyone wanted to work a problem and all did very well with this. The challenge came when we started to talk about using Mixed Numbers. Since we cannot multiply them like they are we have to convert the mixed number to an improper fraction. I demonstrated this since most of the lcass presented me with confused faces. Once I went over how to do it, they reeally caught on. We continued on to the multiplying part. In the end, I mentioned they would need to simplify the new fraction. This meant they needed to create a new mixed numbers. Since I had mentioned this last week, we reviewed how to go about it. There were some students who were still confused. I mentioned they can come back to class tomorrow when we go over everything once again.
I was very pleased with today's lessons. Once again, if they do not understand something they will not hesitate to tell me and we work it out together. They feel very comfortable with making errors and learning from them.
Til tomorrow!
After the housekeeping parts it was on to the actual lesson. This went extremely well. I explained to them that multiplying fractions was like looking at the problem as 2 multiplication sentences on top of one another. This really seemed to help them understand. Everyone wanted to work a problem and all did very well with this. The challenge came when we started to talk about using Mixed Numbers. Since we cannot multiply them like they are we have to convert the mixed number to an improper fraction. I demonstrated this since most of the lcass presented me with confused faces. Once I went over how to do it, they reeally caught on. We continued on to the multiplying part. In the end, I mentioned they would need to simplify the new fraction. This meant they needed to create a new mixed numbers. Since I had mentioned this last week, we reviewed how to go about it. There were some students who were still confused. I mentioned they can come back to class tomorrow when we go over everything once again.
I was very pleased with today's lessons. Once again, if they do not understand something they will not hesitate to tell me and we work it out together. They feel very comfortable with making errors and learning from them.
Til tomorrow!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Finally Friday!
Well, it is finally Friday. No scheduled teaching classes today. Several parents missed their conferences when I called so I scheduled them for makeups today. Of course one person read the message and they were not even there (or answering the phone) when I called. That part is so frustrating. I did successfully make contact with 2 of them.
The rest of the day was spent completing my notes and other miscellaneous administrative tasks. It will be nice to relax this weekend.
Next week, we continue working with fractions. This time we will be multiplying fractions and even multipying fractions and whole numbers. It will be interesting to see how well they pick up the concept presented in these lessons.
Until Monday!
The rest of the day was spent completing my notes and other miscellaneous administrative tasks. It will be nice to relax this weekend.
Next week, we continue working with fractions. This time we will be multiplying fractions and even multipying fractions and whole numbers. It will be interesting to see how well they pick up the concept presented in these lessons.
Until Monday!
Thursday - Reviewing this week's lessons
Thursday ended up being quite a busy day. I had a meeting about using our Elluminate classroom in a similar fashion as the brick and mortar building. Then, I reviewed with the students Adding and Subtracting Fractions with Uncommon Denominators. Finally, the day ended with conferences with some parents. I was so exhausted that I didn't get a chance to post.
In our meeting, they really reinforced how we need to make sure we have things set up just like in a brick and mortar building. They even provided some examples. I know now I have to get some things set up, but quite a few of them I already incorporate in my room.
The math lesson was a huge success. It was more of a review of what we covered this week. In fact, I did notice several students who have come to all the sessions this week. We reviewed the steps and then I provded practice problems for them to work out on the board. They love working on the whiteboard. Some of the students made minor calculation errors, but this provided a wonderful opportunity to point out how we can use these as a learning opportunity. As I was going through the problem, I would gently point out where an error has occured. In the end, I asked the student if going through this helped and received quite a few smiley faces. :-). I was also greeted in the chat window with several messages saying "Hugs for the Teacher".
Although it was a packed day, I couldn't help but smile from receiving my virtual "hugs". What a great group I had on Thursday.
In our meeting, they really reinforced how we need to make sure we have things set up just like in a brick and mortar building. They even provided some examples. I know now I have to get some things set up, but quite a few of them I already incorporate in my room.
The math lesson was a huge success. It was more of a review of what we covered this week. In fact, I did notice several students who have come to all the sessions this week. We reviewed the steps and then I provded practice problems for them to work out on the board. They love working on the whiteboard. Some of the students made minor calculation errors, but this provided a wonderful opportunity to point out how we can use these as a learning opportunity. As I was going through the problem, I would gently point out where an error has occured. In the end, I asked the student if going through this helped and received quite a few smiley faces. :-). I was also greeted in the chat window with several messages saying "Hugs for the Teacher".
Although it was a packed day, I couldn't help but smile from receiving my virtual "hugs". What a great group I had on Thursday.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday's Work - Adding and Subtracting Mixed Numbers!
Today was challenge day in the class. It was a smaller than usual class, but I anticipated this since the topic was a challenge. We reviewed how to add and subtract fractions since this was part of what is needed. Regrouping was also reviewed since with some of the problems they needed to regroup fractions. I received quite a few confused faces (icons they can use) when mentioning regrouping with fractions.
I just did what I have done previously and broke it down for them in simplier terms so they could get what I meant. Since it was a smaller class, this allowed almost every person to try a problem. If for some reason, they were incorrect with setting up the problem we worked it out so they could see how to accurately solve the problem.
I enjoy working with smaller groups and posing a challenge to the students. All of these students were up for it and even though at times they were confused they immediately spoke up so I could offer any assistance. Did not have anyone in class today who only wanted social hour. They were here to work and it was obvious. Great class today!
Tomorrow (Thursday) is a review session over Adding and Subtracting fractions. The more they practice this skill the better they will get at using it when necessary.
I just did what I have done previously and broke it down for them in simplier terms so they could get what I meant. Since it was a smaller class, this allowed almost every person to try a problem. If for some reason, they were incorrect with setting up the problem we worked it out so they could see how to accurately solve the problem.
I enjoy working with smaller groups and posing a challenge to the students. All of these students were up for it and even though at times they were confused they immediately spoke up so I could offer any assistance. Did not have anyone in class today who only wanted social hour. They were here to work and it was obvious. Great class today!
Tomorrow (Thursday) is a review session over Adding and Subtracting fractions. The more they practice this skill the better they will get at using it when necessary.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday's Teachings - Adding & Subtracting Fractions with Uncommon Denominators
Back to teaching on Tuesday. It is always so nice to get back into the "room" with the students. They really enjoy our time together and I think this helps them and the parents with the lessons they are covering at home.
Since my classroom is quite different from the "normal" brick and mortar room, completing the time on task needed to be interpreted creatively. After reviewing the chart, I have really taken to noticing the tasks we are working on, if any one is off task (in this case that usually means randon chatting in the chat window instead of paying attention to the lesson), how is this managed, who am I calling on to answer the questions, and what interventions have I taken.
I cannot use proximity since I am not physically in the room, but what I can and do often use are my words. For example, during today's lesson one student what totally off track and typing away in the chat window (she only has priviledges to chat with me) about anything but Math. I reminded her "
If I needed to evaluate where I am considering my Classroom Managemnt and Organization, I would say I am a Professional who is working towards Mastery. I feel there is always room to grow even if you are at the top, but I know I am not there yet.
Today's lessons dealt with adding and subtracting fractions with uncommon denominators. The students really seemed to understand and like I said if they didn't they would ask. We reviewed vocabulary - denominator, numerator, common (from last weeks lesson), multiple, least, operation (in math terms), special form of one (1/1, 2/2. 3/3, etv.). I always feel reviewing the vocabulary will help them as they see these words in books and on the tests they take.
After reviewing the vocabulary, we moved on to working on finding the LCM (lowest common multiple). I reminded them this was skip couting with that number such as 2, 4, 6, 8 . . . or 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 . . .. I strongly suggested they write this out so they can easily seem what the LCM is. We practiced this quite a bit since they did seem to struggle with it (the same person wanted to answer so I knew it was time to really go over this deeply). Once this seemed to be something they understood, we moved on to using the special form of 1 to get an equivalent fraction so they would both have the same denominator. When this is accomplished, the adding and subtracting seems easy for them - denominator stays the same as the LCM and you simply add (or subtract) the numerator. This also allows me the opportunity to reinforce how important it is to know in your head the multiplication facts since we use these to determine the equivalent fraction. At the very end, I showed them how we can use what we just learned and challenge ourselves to work with mixed numbers. This will be Wednesday's 11AM class - working with adding and subtracting Mixed Numbers. Hopefully, they have remembered what we worked on earlier since this will really help them with this lesson.
I'll let you know how adding and subtracting Mixed Numbers goes Wednesday afternoon. LATER!
Since my classroom is quite different from the "normal" brick and mortar room, completing the time on task needed to be interpreted creatively. After reviewing the chart, I have really taken to noticing the tasks we are working on, if any one is off task (in this case that usually means randon chatting in the chat window instead of paying attention to the lesson), how is this managed, who am I calling on to answer the questions, and what interventions have I taken.
I cannot use proximity since I am not physically in the room, but what I can and do often use are my words. For example, during today's lesson one student what totally off track and typing away in the chat window (she only has priviledges to chat with me) about anything but Math. I reminded her "
If I needed to evaluate where I am considering my Classroom Managemnt and Organization, I would say I am a Professional who is working towards Mastery. I feel there is always room to grow even if you are at the top, but I know I am not there yet.
Today's lessons dealt with adding and subtracting fractions with uncommon denominators. The students really seemed to understand and like I said if they didn't they would ask. We reviewed vocabulary - denominator, numerator, common (from last weeks lesson), multiple, least, operation (in math terms), special form of one (1/1, 2/2. 3/3, etv.). I always feel reviewing the vocabulary will help them as they see these words in books and on the tests they take.
After reviewing the vocabulary, we moved on to working on finding the LCM (lowest common multiple). I reminded them this was skip couting with that number such as 2, 4, 6, 8 . . . or 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 . . .. I strongly suggested they write this out so they can easily seem what the LCM is. We practiced this quite a bit since they did seem to struggle with it (the same person wanted to answer so I knew it was time to really go over this deeply). Once this seemed to be something they understood, we moved on to using the special form of 1 to get an equivalent fraction so they would both have the same denominator. When this is accomplished, the adding and subtracting seems easy for them - denominator stays the same as the LCM and you simply add (or subtract) the numerator. This also allows me the opportunity to reinforce how important it is to know in your head the multiplication facts since we use these to determine the equivalent fraction. At the very end, I showed them how we can use what we just learned and challenge ourselves to work with mixed numbers. This will be Wednesday's 11AM class - working with adding and subtracting Mixed Numbers. Hopefully, they have remembered what we worked on earlier since this will really help them with this lesson.
I'll let you know how adding and subtracting Mixed Numbers goes Wednesday afternoon. LATER!
Monday's Musings
Well, sorry to say no teaching today since I helped proctor the 3rd Grade Reading OAT test. I do have class scheduled for Tuesday @ 1PM and Wednesday @ 10AM. Both of these sessions are covering adding and subtracting fractions with uncommon denominators. Wednesday @ 11AM I am going to extend the other lessons and work with adding and subtracting Mixed Numbers!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
What happened on Friday?
Well, I was not in my class on Friday since I had an all day meeting. Working from home allows me to attend these meetings when needed with very little disruption to my class and no sub required!
Friday we had an LPDC meeting - this is our License and Professional Development Committee. We look over the goals teachers have established for their renewal every 5 years. It is always interesting to see how some are quite specific and others are quite general. The state has certain guidelines we must follow and it is our job to ensure the teachers follow this as well.
The goals require teachers to be reflective on what they will work on to help them in their job as a professional and how will this impact student learning. Many things to consider when working on completing these. I enjoy looking over what other teachers are working towards and helping them in any way I can. When we have the pieces in place, the teachers and students all benefit.
Monday starts another week. We are on to fractions this week in Math! Until later~
Friday we had an LPDC meeting - this is our License and Professional Development Committee. We look over the goals teachers have established for their renewal every 5 years. It is always interesting to see how some are quite specific and others are quite general. The state has certain guidelines we must follow and it is our job to ensure the teachers follow this as well.
The goals require teachers to be reflective on what they will work on to help them in their job as a professional and how will this impact student learning. Many things to consider when working on completing these. I enjoy looking over what other teachers are working towards and helping them in any way I can. When we have the pieces in place, the teachers and students all benefit.
Monday starts another week. We are on to fractions this week in Math! Until later~
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Factors, Primes and Composites Oh My!
After working on GCF, we went backwards and worked on Factors, Primes, and Composites. It still amazes me how many of my students have a poor recall of their multiplication facts. This is going to really hinder them as the lessons continue. I will continue to stress to them the importance of knowing those facts without even thinking about them. However, until they see the real need to commit these to memory we can only prod them along.
This is another challenging topic especially for 5th graders. We started with a PowerPoint again and reviewed the definitions of factors. I also showed them with a triangle how the multiplication and division work together instead of thinking of them as separate math topics. Maybe if they see this connection it will be easier for them to remember the divison facts.
After the review of what factors well it was on to the new words Prime and Composite. Explained that a prime number only has the factors of 1 and itself (however, 1 is NOT a prime or a composite since it does not have 2 or more factors). Composite numbers have more than 2 factors such as 4 (Factors - 1,2,4). Worked on breaking these down using various numbers. Was also able to introduce the term exponent and show them what it means. I think they really enjoyed knowing this and the fact it makes writing a factor sentence much smaller and quicker.
Overall, they did quite well with this new topic. At the end, we used an interactive whiteboard Prime Factor Tree. I mentioned I had sent this to them as well and they were excited they could practice with this as much as they want. Planning on revising this topic since they are usually tested on it on the 5th grade OAT test (although it is really a 6th grade standard). I don't know who set up those standards or our math book but they need to work together on this :-). My one student who like to monopolize the chat window was back. However, this time I only allowed her to write to me. No one could see her posts. Since they were not on topic, it was better for everyone so they could concentrate on the lesson. I only hope she understood what we were doing since she seemed to writing in the chat window while we were going over things. I guess time will tell.
Next week in Math we are working with Adding and Subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. This is in Unit 4 and I am not sure some if the students are at this section. If that is the case, this will be nice preparation for them.
Until next time - Practice those math facts!!!
This is another challenging topic especially for 5th graders. We started with a PowerPoint again and reviewed the definitions of factors. I also showed them with a triangle how the multiplication and division work together instead of thinking of them as separate math topics. Maybe if they see this connection it will be easier for them to remember the divison facts.
After the review of what factors well it was on to the new words Prime and Composite. Explained that a prime number only has the factors of 1 and itself (however, 1 is NOT a prime or a composite since it does not have 2 or more factors). Composite numbers have more than 2 factors such as 4 (Factors - 1,2,4). Worked on breaking these down using various numbers. Was also able to introduce the term exponent and show them what it means. I think they really enjoyed knowing this and the fact it makes writing a factor sentence much smaller and quicker.
Overall, they did quite well with this new topic. At the end, we used an interactive whiteboard Prime Factor Tree. I mentioned I had sent this to them as well and they were excited they could practice with this as much as they want. Planning on revising this topic since they are usually tested on it on the 5th grade OAT test (although it is really a 6th grade standard). I don't know who set up those standards or our math book but they need to work together on this :-). My one student who like to monopolize the chat window was back. However, this time I only allowed her to write to me. No one could see her posts. Since they were not on topic, it was better for everyone so they could concentrate on the lesson. I only hope she understood what we were doing since she seemed to writing in the chat window while we were going over things. I guess time will tell.
Next week in Math we are working with Adding and Subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. This is in Unit 4 and I am not sure some if the students are at this section. If that is the case, this will be nice preparation for them.
Until next time - Practice those math facts!!!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Teaching Greatest Common Factor - Woo Hoo!
Well, today's lesson was on Greatest Common Factor - Unit 3 Lesson 3 in the 5th grade Math Book. I tried to make it as interesting a subject as I can since when you see the topic it really doesn't excite many people. :-(
I set up the classroom with the PowerPoint I was going to present and the quiz ready to be file transferred to the students at the end. Class began at 10AM. The first thing we did was to make sure everyone could hear me so I performed a "sound check". I instructed the students to give me a smiley face if they could hear me ok. One step down and it was on to the lesson.
I set it up so students could chat with me but they couldn't with others. We had a previous problem where one student would not stop harassing another with questions and even starting shouting by using all caps. Since I didn't want another repeat of this I felt it was a good idea to limit the students writings (although they really did want to chat). I have also noticed when they have chat privileges they are not paying attention to the lesson. Greatest Common Factor is not an easy lesson so I wanted to make sure they stayed on task and focused.
We started by defining what the words Greatest, Common, and Factor meant. Since these can be a challenge to remember, I broke it down into more familiar words. Greatest=Largest, Common = Same, and Factor=Number. They felt more comfortable once I presented it in terms to which they could easily relate.
Came to the first hurdle when I realized as we were talking about factors and multiplication sentences, the students didn't have a firm grasp of the multiplication facts. NOTE TO SELF: Send websites for students to practice these facts. These have to be mastered in order to work on the more complicated 5th grade Math. Reminded students to practice, practice, practice those facts.
I think by the time we are finished with the lesson they will realize how important those facts are to Math. Started working on listing the factors of 2 different numbers 15 and 40. Created a table and under the number listed all of the multiplication sentences which make up the number. Start with 1 on the far left hand side and continue with 2, 3 etc. If the number does not have a number sentence which begins with one of the numbers in numerical order, go to the next. I explained how they would be able to easily list the factors by listing the sentences in this manner. Needed to remind them that for example 4x9 is the same as 9x4 and it doesn't need to be listed twice.
I started for them with the 1x15 and 1x40. Then asked the class who thought they could come up with the next sentence. Hands started being raised since they knew they would get to talk in the mic and write on the board. Once that first one confidently answered, everyone wanted a turn. We finally listed all of the factors and now it was time to put them in order numerically. This is why I mentioned to list them from 1 on down since when you look at it starting with 1 and moving down and they over to the right with the last number sentence you will have your factors in numerical order. Much easier to find the common and greatest number this way.
They did great with the example so we moved on to problems they could do on their own. Had 4 students working each on a separate problem. Make sure to mention next time not to use the highlighter since it writes to fat. Some students had calculation errors so I reminded them to look over the factors they had listed and see if they noticed anything. Most of them did well in finding their errors.
They really enjoyed being able to use the mic and write on the board. This helped to keep them engaged. Pushed the quiz to them and told them to figure out the answers and then email them back to me. I said I would let them know if they were correct or needed to try again. Not many have responded so I might what to make this a quiz they do in the room instead. I will probaby want to test them on the multiplication facts every once and a while to make sure they are working on them.
Students seemed to understand the lesson. Next we will work with Primes and Composite numbers since they will see these when working with factors. I hope they can grasp this concept as well. Need to make sure I have an engaging lesson with this topic for sure!
Until later! Do you know your Multiplication facts? If not practice them!
I set up the classroom with the PowerPoint I was going to present and the quiz ready to be file transferred to the students at the end. Class began at 10AM. The first thing we did was to make sure everyone could hear me so I performed a "sound check". I instructed the students to give me a smiley face if they could hear me ok. One step down and it was on to the lesson.
I set it up so students could chat with me but they couldn't with others. We had a previous problem where one student would not stop harassing another with questions and even starting shouting by using all caps. Since I didn't want another repeat of this I felt it was a good idea to limit the students writings (although they really did want to chat). I have also noticed when they have chat privileges they are not paying attention to the lesson. Greatest Common Factor is not an easy lesson so I wanted to make sure they stayed on task and focused.
We started by defining what the words Greatest, Common, and Factor meant. Since these can be a challenge to remember, I broke it down into more familiar words. Greatest=Largest, Common = Same, and Factor=Number. They felt more comfortable once I presented it in terms to which they could easily relate.
Came to the first hurdle when I realized as we were talking about factors and multiplication sentences, the students didn't have a firm grasp of the multiplication facts. NOTE TO SELF: Send websites for students to practice these facts. These have to be mastered in order to work on the more complicated 5th grade Math. Reminded students to practice, practice, practice those facts.
I think by the time we are finished with the lesson they will realize how important those facts are to Math. Started working on listing the factors of 2 different numbers 15 and 40. Created a table and under the number listed all of the multiplication sentences which make up the number. Start with 1 on the far left hand side and continue with 2, 3 etc. If the number does not have a number sentence which begins with one of the numbers in numerical order, go to the next. I explained how they would be able to easily list the factors by listing the sentences in this manner. Needed to remind them that for example 4x9 is the same as 9x4 and it doesn't need to be listed twice.
I started for them with the 1x15 and 1x40. Then asked the class who thought they could come up with the next sentence. Hands started being raised since they knew they would get to talk in the mic and write on the board. Once that first one confidently answered, everyone wanted a turn. We finally listed all of the factors and now it was time to put them in order numerically. This is why I mentioned to list them from 1 on down since when you look at it starting with 1 and moving down and they over to the right with the last number sentence you will have your factors in numerical order. Much easier to find the common and greatest number this way.
They did great with the example so we moved on to problems they could do on their own. Had 4 students working each on a separate problem. Make sure to mention next time not to use the highlighter since it writes to fat. Some students had calculation errors so I reminded them to look over the factors they had listed and see if they noticed anything. Most of them did well in finding their errors.
They really enjoyed being able to use the mic and write on the board. This helped to keep them engaged. Pushed the quiz to them and told them to figure out the answers and then email them back to me. I said I would let them know if they were correct or needed to try again. Not many have responded so I might what to make this a quiz they do in the room instead. I will probaby want to test them on the multiplication facts every once and a while to make sure they are working on them.
Students seemed to understand the lesson. Next we will work with Primes and Composite numbers since they will see these when working with factors. I hope they can grasp this concept as well. Need to make sure I have an engaging lesson with this topic for sure!
Until later! Do you know your Multiplication facts? If not practice them!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Starting Grad School!
Well - I officially start Grad School tomorrow. My EDUC 782 (Educational Research) class begins on 9/8/09. I am also taking another class as well EDUC 729 (Instructional Analysis).
Our teacher for 782 is going to be using resources that are web based and might even try using Twitter. I have signed up for her tweets so we shall see how it goes. Haven't used Twitter much but this might need to change.
Here's to a great first semester back to school in 11 years. I know it will a huge amount of work, but in the end (as always) it will be worth it.
Keep checking back for updates!
Our teacher for 782 is going to be using resources that are web based and might even try using Twitter. I have signed up for her tweets so we shall see how it goes. Haven't used Twitter much but this might need to change.
Here's to a great first semester back to school in 11 years. I know it will a huge amount of work, but in the end (as always) it will be worth it.
Keep checking back for updates!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wave outside our window!
Wave outside our window - notice how high it is to the window. This was not normal!!Day 12 – Waves and Wind on the High Seas!
Normally I would not write about our day at sea since there isn’t really anything exciting which happens. Well, I was wrong about it for our last day. Thursday night around dinner time (~ 8PM) the sea started to get rough. I didn’t think anything of it since it wasn’t bothering me. However, Mom was getting a little seasick so she took some Dramamine to help calm her stomach and the feeling of dizziness she had. So off to dinner we went. After sitting down, I could tell she was not doing well. In fact, she looked a little green. She ordered her food hoping this would help, but she knew she couldn’t make it through dinner so she went back to the room to lie down. After dinner, I went back to the room to check on her and I noticed by the elevators they had the bags you see on planes for air sickness. Apparently this was affecting a lot of people.
I went to bed and didn’t think anything of the waves. Only hoped they would lull me to sleep and be gone when the morning arrived. Well it didn’t quite happen liked I had hoped. During the night the waves picked up as did the winds. I woke up at 7 and at 8. Mom woke up too and asked if I felt the waves during the night. I said I did but then she proceeded to tell me the waves were up to our window when she looked out during the night. I didn’t need to hear to one. She decided to call the concierge to see if there was any update on when they thought the waves might lessen in intensity. They thought between 11 and 12 noon. We went back to sleep after hearing this. When we woke up again about 11:40 it wasn’t much better. In fact, we turned on the TV and it said we were having high waves (duh!) and the winds were 45mph. Just as a side note, a tropical depression has winds of at least 35mph and as the winds increase they look to see if it will become a hurricane. We didn’t have to worry about this since it was sunny outside and the water is much too cold for a hurricane to form in the North Sea. It is now 5:05PM for us and it seems like the waves have started to calm just a little. A couple of hours ago, I turned on the TV to check out the waves (still high) and the winds. The winds were down to 30 mph.
After having the hurricane come through Ohio last year, I never wanted to experience high winds like those again. Well, I guess I can be thankful the winds didn’t get any higher than 45mph but I am ready for the boat to stop rocking and to be on dry land once again!
I went to bed and didn’t think anything of the waves. Only hoped they would lull me to sleep and be gone when the morning arrived. Well it didn’t quite happen liked I had hoped. During the night the waves picked up as did the winds. I woke up at 7 and at 8. Mom woke up too and asked if I felt the waves during the night. I said I did but then she proceeded to tell me the waves were up to our window when she looked out during the night. I didn’t need to hear to one. She decided to call the concierge to see if there was any update on when they thought the waves might lessen in intensity. They thought between 11 and 12 noon. We went back to sleep after hearing this. When we woke up again about 11:40 it wasn’t much better. In fact, we turned on the TV and it said we were having high waves (duh!) and the winds were 45mph. Just as a side note, a tropical depression has winds of at least 35mph and as the winds increase they look to see if it will become a hurricane. We didn’t have to worry about this since it was sunny outside and the water is much too cold for a hurricane to form in the North Sea. It is now 5:05PM for us and it seems like the waves have started to calm just a little. A couple of hours ago, I turned on the TV to check out the waves (still high) and the winds. The winds were down to 30 mph.
After having the hurricane come through Ohio last year, I never wanted to experience high winds like those again. Well, I guess I can be thankful the winds didn’t get any higher than 45mph but I am ready for the boat to stop rocking and to be on dry land once again!
Day 11 – Copenhagen Denmark
We arrived in Copenhagen Denmark around 7AM. When looking outside after waking up, the weather was beautiful. However as we were eating breakfast (something I usually do not have), I noticed the clouds getting darker. I was praying the possible rain would hold off until after our tour (~ 2PM). Well my prayers didn’t work. As we were departing the ship, we noticed the rain had started. During our trip, this is really the only place we have had rain. It called for it in most of the locations, but never really materialized. Thank heavens this was a bus tour although we were going to be taking a tour of the harbor in a canal boat.
It was interesting to learn that Denmark is made up of a mainland peninsula, Jutland, and 406 islands. Copenhagen is the largest city in all of Scandinavia. Something I found interesting is in 2000 a transnational bridge was built that connected Denmark and Sweden. It is called the Oresund Bridge and this will allow Sweden and Denmark to work together to foster their labor markets. We drove by the Frihedsmuseet (Museum of the Danish Resistance Movement), Amalienborg Slot (Amalienborg Palace), and Tivoli Gardens. We made a stop at Tivoli Gardens which is said to be the inspiration Walt Disney had for his theme parks. Tivoli Gardens was built over 150 years ago and is a combination of a beautiful garden and amusement park. Reminds of what Coney Island in New York looks like. Nothing like King’s Island!
After visiting Tivoli for about an hour it was time for our canal cruise. It was, of course, still raining off and on and we were walking to where we needed to board the canal boat. In fact, it rained so hard at one point our guide found some shelter since most people didn’t have umbrellas or coats with hoods. After a brief pause, we made it to the boat and boarded. It was covered but the windows would slide up for air and picture taking. Not like our cars windows, but these were curved windows in sections to slide along the tracks to open. Shortly after starting, the rain quit and the sun came out. It was turning out to be a beautiful day. We cruised around the harbor seeing the various sites. When we came to the end of the canal cruise, they left us off near our ship which also happened to be quite close to the statue of Hans Christian Anderson’s Little Mermaid. In Danish, she is called Den Lille Havfrue (Little Mermaid). The story says she is the sea king’s half-human and half-fish daughter who must wait 300 years until she can enter the world of humans. Since she was put up in 1913, you can see she still has a long way to go.
That’s the last of my updates from our ports of call. I will update more if something really interesting happens though. So be on the look out!
It was interesting to learn that Denmark is made up of a mainland peninsula, Jutland, and 406 islands. Copenhagen is the largest city in all of Scandinavia. Something I found interesting is in 2000 a transnational bridge was built that connected Denmark and Sweden. It is called the Oresund Bridge and this will allow Sweden and Denmark to work together to foster their labor markets. We drove by the Frihedsmuseet (Museum of the Danish Resistance Movement), Amalienborg Slot (Amalienborg Palace), and Tivoli Gardens. We made a stop at Tivoli Gardens which is said to be the inspiration Walt Disney had for his theme parks. Tivoli Gardens was built over 150 years ago and is a combination of a beautiful garden and amusement park. Reminds of what Coney Island in New York looks like. Nothing like King’s Island!
After visiting Tivoli for about an hour it was time for our canal cruise. It was, of course, still raining off and on and we were walking to where we needed to board the canal boat. In fact, it rained so hard at one point our guide found some shelter since most people didn’t have umbrellas or coats with hoods. After a brief pause, we made it to the boat and boarded. It was covered but the windows would slide up for air and picture taking. Not like our cars windows, but these were curved windows in sections to slide along the tracks to open. Shortly after starting, the rain quit and the sun came out. It was turning out to be a beautiful day. We cruised around the harbor seeing the various sites. When we came to the end of the canal cruise, they left us off near our ship which also happened to be quite close to the statue of Hans Christian Anderson’s Little Mermaid. In Danish, she is called Den Lille Havfrue (Little Mermaid). The story says she is the sea king’s half-human and half-fish daughter who must wait 300 years until she can enter the world of humans. Since she was put up in 1913, you can see she still has a long way to go.
That’s the last of my updates from our ports of call. I will update more if something really interesting happens though. So be on the look out!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Day 9 – Tallinn Estonia
The distance from St. Petersburg to Tallinn is only 156 nautical miles. We left Russia at 6PM and arrived in Tallinn at 7AM. What a beautiful city to see. Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and one of the oldest cities on the Baltic dating back to 1154. This tour was going to be a walking tour of the city. Our guide on this tour was excellent – very knowledgeable and informative. We drove from the dock up to the new town where the nobles lived. She told us most the city’s progress occurred while it was occupied by various other countries. The Danes occupied it from 1219 – 1346, the Swedes from 1561 – 1710, and Russia from 1710 – 1918. On February 24, 1918, Estonia declared itself an independent country. However, the very next day German troops occupied Estonia and refused to recognize this independence and remained there until 1944. In 1944, Russia was in charge and made life challenging for its people. In fact, our guide told us that the bombing the city suffered was explained in the history books as being caused by the Nazis. However, after the Russians left in 1994, the older generation told the truth about the bombings – it had really been the Soviets. The history books were then rewritten explaining what really happened. Estonia was once again a free country.
In the Old Town it has remained mostly unchanged for over 600 years. Building can be found dating back to medieval times. The roads are cobblestone and it is a charming place to walk through. After walking though most of the New Town and Old Town, we were given time to shop or snack. A place had been recommended for snacks – the Peppersack. We decided to start there. They have wonderful pastries as we found out. Mom says they are the best she has ever eaten – even better than in South St. Louis which she insists has the best pastries. After a relaxing break at the Peppersack, we ventured down the streets to see what shops had to offer. Mom found a beautiful sweater handmade from Linen. We were sailing early this day so our tour was relatively a short one – about 4 hours. We left for Copenhagen at 2PM and should arrive there on Thursday at 7AM.
More from our last stop later – Copenhagen home to Hans Christian Anderson and the Little Mermaid!
In the Old Town it has remained mostly unchanged for over 600 years. Building can be found dating back to medieval times. The roads are cobblestone and it is a charming place to walk through. After walking though most of the New Town and Old Town, we were given time to shop or snack. A place had been recommended for snacks – the Peppersack. We decided to start there. They have wonderful pastries as we found out. Mom says they are the best she has ever eaten – even better than in South St. Louis which she insists has the best pastries. After a relaxing break at the Peppersack, we ventured down the streets to see what shops had to offer. Mom found a beautiful sweater handmade from Linen. We were sailing early this day so our tour was relatively a short one – about 4 hours. We left for Copenhagen at 2PM and should arrive there on Thursday at 7AM.
More from our last stop later – Copenhagen home to Hans Christian Anderson and the Little Mermaid!
Day 7 & 8 – St. Petersburg Russia
We arrived in St. Petersburg Russia early Sunday morning. This city used to be known as Leningrad but rather recently they have decided to return to its original name – St. Petersburg. It is located on the Gulf of Finland and is the 4th largest city in Europe after Moscow, London, and Paris. Peter the Great had it built to resemble Venice or Amsterdam since it consists of 65 rivers and canals. This means there are about 400 bridges in the city as well. He designed it to be a monument to himself with palaces, cathedrals, and residences (he really liked himself if you couldn’t already tell)
The Russian people are very particular about letting people into the country. Unless you have a Visa you cannot tour the city or country on your own. You must be with a tour guide. Since this was the case, our traveling companions rented a van for the day. We needed to start quite early and it would be a long day – 7:30 – 4:00. We left the ship and met our guide for the day – Polina and our driver Yuri. The first recommendation was to visit Peterhof first since it can get quite crowded in the afternoon. The drive from the ship to Peterhof was about an hour but we did get to see the city (or at least parts of it). Polina kept pointing out the apartments (some new and some old). The smallest is about 30sq m (~270 sq ft) and the largest is about 50 sq m (~540 sq. ft) – quite small by our standards but since they are forbidden to own land the best they can do is own apartments. The smallest one would cost about $60,000 and the largest one $150,000. Not a bargain if you ask me. We finally made it to Peterhof.
Peterhof was the summer palace of the czar. In fact, our guide told us. Peter the Great wanted it to be known as the Versailles of Russia. From what people were saying about having seen Versailles and now Peterhof there is no comparison – Versailles is much nicer. Peterhof is a little over the top. We had to wear “museum shoes” – booties we slipped over our shoes to protect the floor. Great idea since the floors are gorgeous ones made of wood placed into patterns. Most of the rooms made many mirrors to make the rooms appear larger than they were and had gold leaf on the walls or chandeliers. Not one single person working at the museum smiled. Unfortunately this just reinforced our American stereotypes of Russians. The grounds at Peterhof are beautiful though - incredible gardens and fountains. In fact, at 11AM they started the fountains. We were there to see this. It is quite interesting how the fountains work – all without electricity or pumps! There is a reservoir about 70km from Peterhof. They connected the fountains to this reservoir and then using gravity and the fact it is higher at the reservoir than where the fountains are located they allows the water to flow and start the fountains in a cascading effect. It really was breath taking to see.
After we left Peterhof, it was off to the Winter Palace also known as The Hermitage (pronounced her-mi-tage). This was started by Catherine the Great who brought in treasures of art from all over parts of Europe. The Hermitage closely resembles the Paris Louvre with its collections of nearly 3 million works of art. We saw works by De Vinci, Matisse, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Botticelli, Rodin, and Picasso. We spent about 3-1/2 hours looking at the highlights of the museum as our guide liked to tell us. They mentioned if you spend only 1 minute at each piece it would between 11 and 16 years to see all of them. Incredible!
After the Hermitage, it was back to the ship. The roads were quite crowded but the reason was this was Navy Day. The last Sunday in July, Navy ships from the Russian Federation visit St. Petersburg. It was fascinating to see all of the ships on the Neva River. I took some really great pictures of them as well.
Since we were so far north, the sun had been setting later and later. We asked our guide about this as well. She told us that on June 22, they have only twilight – no total darkness. In July, they have about 5 hours of twilight at night and only 1 hour of total darkness. In fact, that first night in St. Petersburg I stayed up to see the set at 10:57 and stuck around to see if it ever really got dark. It still looked like twilight at 12:06AM. Since we were having another early day, I decided to retire even though I would have loved to stay up and see if she was right about 1 hour of darkness.
The next day we had a walking tour of St Petersburg. We were able to see St. Isaac’s Cathedral, The Bronze Horseman (commissioned by Catherine the Great to commemorate Peter the Great), and the Palace Square which is home to the Winter Palace and contains Alexander’s Column. This column was cut from rock face of a cliff in Karelia. After it was completed they transported it to St. Petersburg which took a full year to complete. The monument commemorates the victory over Napoleon in 1812. The final stop was the Church of the Spilled Blood. I believe she said this is where Czar Nicholas II was killed. The unfortunate thing about this was our guide. She smoked while we were at the Palace square and talked to people on her cell phone. This was quite disconcerting to those of us on the trip. We also noticed while on the walking tour just how dirty the city is – there was trash everywhere including the grounds of the Heritage. Such a shame. Overall, St. Petersburg is interesting although it was quite depressing as well. They have a saying in St. Petersburg about the weather which I think might hold true of the city in general – they have 9 months of anticipation and 3 months of disappointment. I would say we were anticipating quite a bit and left somewhat disappointed.
Next we are off to Tannin, Estonia!
The Russian people are very particular about letting people into the country. Unless you have a Visa you cannot tour the city or country on your own. You must be with a tour guide. Since this was the case, our traveling companions rented a van for the day. We needed to start quite early and it would be a long day – 7:30 – 4:00. We left the ship and met our guide for the day – Polina and our driver Yuri. The first recommendation was to visit Peterhof first since it can get quite crowded in the afternoon. The drive from the ship to Peterhof was about an hour but we did get to see the city (or at least parts of it). Polina kept pointing out the apartments (some new and some old). The smallest is about 30sq m (~270 sq ft) and the largest is about 50 sq m (~540 sq. ft) – quite small by our standards but since they are forbidden to own land the best they can do is own apartments. The smallest one would cost about $60,000 and the largest one $150,000. Not a bargain if you ask me. We finally made it to Peterhof.
Peterhof was the summer palace of the czar. In fact, our guide told us. Peter the Great wanted it to be known as the Versailles of Russia. From what people were saying about having seen Versailles and now Peterhof there is no comparison – Versailles is much nicer. Peterhof is a little over the top. We had to wear “museum shoes” – booties we slipped over our shoes to protect the floor. Great idea since the floors are gorgeous ones made of wood placed into patterns. Most of the rooms made many mirrors to make the rooms appear larger than they were and had gold leaf on the walls or chandeliers. Not one single person working at the museum smiled. Unfortunately this just reinforced our American stereotypes of Russians. The grounds at Peterhof are beautiful though - incredible gardens and fountains. In fact, at 11AM they started the fountains. We were there to see this. It is quite interesting how the fountains work – all without electricity or pumps! There is a reservoir about 70km from Peterhof. They connected the fountains to this reservoir and then using gravity and the fact it is higher at the reservoir than where the fountains are located they allows the water to flow and start the fountains in a cascading effect. It really was breath taking to see.
After we left Peterhof, it was off to the Winter Palace also known as The Hermitage (pronounced her-mi-tage). This was started by Catherine the Great who brought in treasures of art from all over parts of Europe. The Hermitage closely resembles the Paris Louvre with its collections of nearly 3 million works of art. We saw works by De Vinci, Matisse, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Botticelli, Rodin, and Picasso. We spent about 3-1/2 hours looking at the highlights of the museum as our guide liked to tell us. They mentioned if you spend only 1 minute at each piece it would between 11 and 16 years to see all of them. Incredible!
After the Hermitage, it was back to the ship. The roads were quite crowded but the reason was this was Navy Day. The last Sunday in July, Navy ships from the Russian Federation visit St. Petersburg. It was fascinating to see all of the ships on the Neva River. I took some really great pictures of them as well.
Since we were so far north, the sun had been setting later and later. We asked our guide about this as well. She told us that on June 22, they have only twilight – no total darkness. In July, they have about 5 hours of twilight at night and only 1 hour of total darkness. In fact, that first night in St. Petersburg I stayed up to see the set at 10:57 and stuck around to see if it ever really got dark. It still looked like twilight at 12:06AM. Since we were having another early day, I decided to retire even though I would have loved to stay up and see if she was right about 1 hour of darkness.
The next day we had a walking tour of St Petersburg. We were able to see St. Isaac’s Cathedral, The Bronze Horseman (commissioned by Catherine the Great to commemorate Peter the Great), and the Palace Square which is home to the Winter Palace and contains Alexander’s Column. This column was cut from rock face of a cliff in Karelia. After it was completed they transported it to St. Petersburg which took a full year to complete. The monument commemorates the victory over Napoleon in 1812. The final stop was the Church of the Spilled Blood. I believe she said this is where Czar Nicholas II was killed. The unfortunate thing about this was our guide. She smoked while we were at the Palace square and talked to people on her cell phone. This was quite disconcerting to those of us on the trip. We also noticed while on the walking tour just how dirty the city is – there was trash everywhere including the grounds of the Heritage. Such a shame. Overall, St. Petersburg is interesting although it was quite depressing as well. They have a saying in St. Petersburg about the weather which I think might hold true of the city in general – they have 9 months of anticipation and 3 months of disappointment. I would say we were anticipating quite a bit and left somewhat disappointed.
Next we are off to Tannin, Estonia!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Day 5 & 6 – Stockholm and Helsinki
On Friday, we arrived in Stockholm Sweden. But before we arrived in Stockholm, they suggested going up on deck about an hour before we were to dock. The reason for this is to watch as the ship sails in the archipelago of Stockholm. It is comprised of 24,000 islands some of which are inhabited by people. The lucky ones have electricity and fresh water. They travel into Stockholm via private boats or they even have shuttles which transport people into Stockholm.
After docking, we started off the ship on our excursion for the day. Shortly after we started, the bus came to a high point in the city where we could take pictures of the skyline. Then we proceeded to see the sights and history of Stockholm. It is very rich in history. They at one time had all of Norway and Finland and were considered the largest country in Europe. Several of the kings went to war over the land and eventually they lost Norway and Finland. In fact, the king who lost Finland for Sweden lost his life since people were so upset. I saw many signs advertising an IKEA sale which starts at the end of July. I didn’t see and IKEA, but here is where it all started. They did have a tour which took you to the birthplace of IKEA, but we did not go on this tour.
We visited a museum which held a ship called the Vasa. At its time, it was the largest ship. However, they day it set sail it sunk within 10 minutes where it stayed for 300 years. Apparently way back when they were more concerned with how the ships looked over functionality. When looking over this ship with 95% of the original material still on it, you can see what happened. The ship was very top heavy. In other words, the majority of its weight was out of the water. Well, a strong wind blew and it started to tip. They were able to correct it, but another wind blew and this toppled the ship. After visiting the Vasa museum, we then proceeded to Old Town Stockholm location of the palace of the king. This was very impressive. Next it was on to Helsinki, Finland which is about 150 nautical miles from Stockholm on the Bay of Finland.
Helsinki is a small city located on the coast of Finland. They are very proud of finally gaining their independence from first Sweden and then Russia. Our tour consisted of highlights and history. We drove through the city and looked at the various buildings – a mixture varying architectures from modern to much, much older styles. From here we went to an open air museum where they have homes representative of one found all over Finland. While there we were treated to a cinnamon roll and tea or coffee. The homes were quite small to retain the heat in them and also since they are not a very tall people. They only have about 4 months of nice weather and daylight. Hard to imagine it being dark most of the time but it is for most of Finland 8 months of the year. Helsinki does not have the midnight sun, but up north in Lapland they do where it is 24 hours of light on June 21. Unfortunately, they start to lose daylight quite rapidly after this time. It was a tiring day and we came back and took naps. However, I am sure we will be well rested for our 2 days in St. Petersburg, Russia.
More after our visit to St. Petersburg Russia.
After docking, we started off the ship on our excursion for the day. Shortly after we started, the bus came to a high point in the city where we could take pictures of the skyline. Then we proceeded to see the sights and history of Stockholm. It is very rich in history. They at one time had all of Norway and Finland and were considered the largest country in Europe. Several of the kings went to war over the land and eventually they lost Norway and Finland. In fact, the king who lost Finland for Sweden lost his life since people were so upset. I saw many signs advertising an IKEA sale which starts at the end of July. I didn’t see and IKEA, but here is where it all started. They did have a tour which took you to the birthplace of IKEA, but we did not go on this tour.
We visited a museum which held a ship called the Vasa. At its time, it was the largest ship. However, they day it set sail it sunk within 10 minutes where it stayed for 300 years. Apparently way back when they were more concerned with how the ships looked over functionality. When looking over this ship with 95% of the original material still on it, you can see what happened. The ship was very top heavy. In other words, the majority of its weight was out of the water. Well, a strong wind blew and it started to tip. They were able to correct it, but another wind blew and this toppled the ship. After visiting the Vasa museum, we then proceeded to Old Town Stockholm location of the palace of the king. This was very impressive. Next it was on to Helsinki, Finland which is about 150 nautical miles from Stockholm on the Bay of Finland.
Helsinki is a small city located on the coast of Finland. They are very proud of finally gaining their independence from first Sweden and then Russia. Our tour consisted of highlights and history. We drove through the city and looked at the various buildings – a mixture varying architectures from modern to much, much older styles. From here we went to an open air museum where they have homes representative of one found all over Finland. While there we were treated to a cinnamon roll and tea or coffee. The homes were quite small to retain the heat in them and also since they are not a very tall people. They only have about 4 months of nice weather and daylight. Hard to imagine it being dark most of the time but it is for most of Finland 8 months of the year. Helsinki does not have the midnight sun, but up north in Lapland they do where it is 24 hours of light on June 21. Unfortunately, they start to lose daylight quite rapidly after this time. It was a tiring day and we came back and took naps. However, I am sure we will be well rested for our 2 days in St. Petersburg, Russia.
More after our visit to St. Petersburg Russia.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Day 3 – Berlin
Well like I said I didn’t think I would have been able to update after our trip to Berlin. Boy was I right. The ship was late to dock in Warnermünde and therefore we were late to leave for Berlin. We took a 3 hour train ride to Berlin and arrived @ 1PM. They dropped us off at the Berlin Hilton (nice place) and from there we were on our own to explore the city.
The first place I wanted to go was Checkpoint Charlie. If you know anything about Berlin you are quite familiar with this term. For those who aren’t, this is the place where from 1961 to 1989 you had to travel through to get from West Berlin to East Berlin or vice versa. West Berlin was the Democratic side and had guards from the US, UK, and France (at times) guarding it. The Eastern side was guarded by the Soviets. In 1961, a wall was put up to keep the East and West Berliners apart. Many people tried to escape to the West side but the wall and the barbed wire along with the guards and dogs pretty much prevented this. Families were torn apart when the wall was put up since one part of the family may have lived across the street from the other. Once the wall was up one part of the family was in West Berlin and the other was in East Berlin. They have Checkpoint Charlie set up like it was until 1989 and you can have your picture taken with a “soldier” from the US and one from USSR standing beside you. Of course, it cost money - 1€ (euro)or $2. Mom took the picture for me. There is also part of the wall they have left standing and I took pictures of it as well. Pretty cool!
After lunch, we went to a museum that housed some Rembrandt paintings one of which was the Man in the Golden helmet. I am sure quite a few of you have seen this painting but if not Google it and you will see what I saw. After this we decided to see the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. What amazing buildings these both are to see. Such a rich history in Berlin and unfortunately 6 hours was not enough time to see everything there was to see. Would love to go back some day and see much more. We boarded another train for the ride back to the ship. We didn’t get back until 11:15PM and the ship sailed at 11:59. It was a long day but so worth all of the time. I kept a pedometer on me to see just how much we walked there. It ended up being 3.75 miles. Wow!
Thursday is another day at sea as we travel to Stockholm. Then we move on to Helsinki, St. Petersburg (2 days), and then Tallinn. It is going to be crazy for the next 5 days. We are at sea after Tallinn enroute to Copenhagen.
Auf Wiedersehen (Good bye in German) for now.
The first place I wanted to go was Checkpoint Charlie. If you know anything about Berlin you are quite familiar with this term. For those who aren’t, this is the place where from 1961 to 1989 you had to travel through to get from West Berlin to East Berlin or vice versa. West Berlin was the Democratic side and had guards from the US, UK, and France (at times) guarding it. The Eastern side was guarded by the Soviets. In 1961, a wall was put up to keep the East and West Berliners apart. Many people tried to escape to the West side but the wall and the barbed wire along with the guards and dogs pretty much prevented this. Families were torn apart when the wall was put up since one part of the family may have lived across the street from the other. Once the wall was up one part of the family was in West Berlin and the other was in East Berlin. They have Checkpoint Charlie set up like it was until 1989 and you can have your picture taken with a “soldier” from the US and one from USSR standing beside you. Of course, it cost money - 1€ (euro)or $2. Mom took the picture for me. There is also part of the wall they have left standing and I took pictures of it as well. Pretty cool!
After lunch, we went to a museum that housed some Rembrandt paintings one of which was the Man in the Golden helmet. I am sure quite a few of you have seen this painting but if not Google it and you will see what I saw. After this we decided to see the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. What amazing buildings these both are to see. Such a rich history in Berlin and unfortunately 6 hours was not enough time to see everything there was to see. Would love to go back some day and see much more. We boarded another train for the ride back to the ship. We didn’t get back until 11:15PM and the ship sailed at 11:59. It was a long day but so worth all of the time. I kept a pedometer on me to see just how much we walked there. It ended up being 3.75 miles. Wow!
Thursday is another day at sea as we travel to Stockholm. Then we move on to Helsinki, St. Petersburg (2 days), and then Tallinn. It is going to be crazy for the next 5 days. We are at sea after Tallinn enroute to Copenhagen.
Auf Wiedersehen (Good bye in German) for now.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Day 1 & 2 – Embarkation and At Sea (in the North Sea)
Hi Again! Sorry I didn’t write anything yesterday – it was crazy getting to the ship and settling in. Before we went to the ship, we took a canal ride in Amsterdam. Boy was that something to remember (maybe not when you are 6 months old like I was the last timeJ). I took tons of pictures and hope to post some of them for you. Amsterdam has been a city since October 27, 1290 when the name Amster Dam was first used. The city is named for the Amstel River (there is also a beer named Amstel and I guess this is where it came from). We rode by the museums that contain Rembrandt artwork as well as Van Gogh. We were going to visit the museums but we didn’t have time before we needed to board the ship.
We finally needed to go to the ship. This was an adventure! We made it there fine, but found out when we got there you could board until they called your number (we had number 12). Well, my traveling companions didn’t want to wait so they decided to try to board. There was a German lady “guarding” the area we needed to pass. They went up to her and with a heavy German accent, she told them – “We have not called number 12. Have a seat over there!” (Picture it with a heavy German accent!). We affectionately named her Broomhilda. After our number was called, she still stood there very stoically NEVER smiling.
Once on board, we proceeded to our room. Very nice! It has one of the largest bathrooms I have ever seen on a cruise ship. We unpacked and then proceeded to get ready for dinner (we were told by our travel agent we had seats @ 8:30PM.) Before dinner, we decided to meet our companions for a drink (I chose Hot Tea and it was wonderful!) After our drinks, we went to the restaurant. Well, when we arrived at dinner they told us we were actually to be at the 6PM dinner. They wanted to see our dinner cards and we proceeded to tell them we didn’t have one. “It is in your room.” They said. “No it was not” we replied. Well, we did get to have dinner. Unfortunately, my chicken was dry and the mashed potatoes left a lot to be desired. I hoped that the next day things would be better in the food department. Oh – the sun didn’t set until 10PM last night! Very different for it to be so light for so long but we are3 further north then at home.
This brings us to today. We slept until 11:15AM (for you back home it would be 5:15AM with the time difference). The entire day is at sea since we need to go around Denmark to get to Germany! Since we were too late for breakfast, we decided to just do lunch (I was hoping my meal would be better). The only entree that sounded good to me was the Cowboy Burger. Let me tell you – if you have ever made meatloaf with Lipton Soup mix you have what my burger tasted like and it was DRY! Oh well, dessert was good (cheesecake). Hopefully dinner (which we did get straightened out- we dine @ 8:30PM) will be better.
Well, I am happy to say that dinner was much better. We arrive in Germany early and leave on the train for Berlin @ 9AM. I probably won't be able to update until Thursday.
Enjoy my travels! Later!
We finally needed to go to the ship. This was an adventure! We made it there fine, but found out when we got there you could board until they called your number (we had number 12). Well, my traveling companions didn’t want to wait so they decided to try to board. There was a German lady “guarding” the area we needed to pass. They went up to her and with a heavy German accent, she told them – “We have not called number 12. Have a seat over there!” (Picture it with a heavy German accent!). We affectionately named her Broomhilda. After our number was called, she still stood there very stoically NEVER smiling.
Once on board, we proceeded to our room. Very nice! It has one of the largest bathrooms I have ever seen on a cruise ship. We unpacked and then proceeded to get ready for dinner (we were told by our travel agent we had seats @ 8:30PM.) Before dinner, we decided to meet our companions for a drink (I chose Hot Tea and it was wonderful!) After our drinks, we went to the restaurant. Well, when we arrived at dinner they told us we were actually to be at the 6PM dinner. They wanted to see our dinner cards and we proceeded to tell them we didn’t have one. “It is in your room.” They said. “No it was not” we replied. Well, we did get to have dinner. Unfortunately, my chicken was dry and the mashed potatoes left a lot to be desired. I hoped that the next day things would be better in the food department. Oh – the sun didn’t set until 10PM last night! Very different for it to be so light for so long but we are3 further north then at home.
This brings us to today. We slept until 11:15AM (for you back home it would be 5:15AM with the time difference). The entire day is at sea since we need to go around Denmark to get to Germany! Since we were too late for breakfast, we decided to just do lunch (I was hoping my meal would be better). The only entree that sounded good to me was the Cowboy Burger. Let me tell you – if you have ever made meatloaf with Lipton Soup mix you have what my burger tasted like and it was DRY! Oh well, dessert was good (cheesecake). Hopefully dinner (which we did get straightened out- we dine @ 8:30PM) will be better.
Well, I am happy to say that dinner was much better. We arrive in Germany early and leave on the train for Berlin @ 9AM. I probably won't be able to update until Thursday.
Enjoy my travels! Later!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
We made it to Amsterdam!
We have arrived in Amsterdam. Actually, we did that at 9:40AM which was 3:40AM to me. Needless to say, we are quite tired. We moved through Customs, got a taxi, and went to our hotel. Since it was before our check-in time of 3PM we could only store our bags. We decided then to walk aliong the roads near the hotel to see what was near. Found some shops and a nice little restaurant to have lunch. Then, we walked some more before deciding to return to the hotel to see if our rooms were ready. Our room was but our traveling companions wasn't. We went upstairs to get some shut eye before we went to Anne Frank's house.
After resting and finally taking a shower, we were ready for our walk to Anne Frank's house. It is a half a mile from where we are staying. What a phenomenal place! Amazing what history is here in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, in the United States we don't seem to value preserving history. In fact, when were were walking we saw some building that were constructed in the 1600's!
Well, that is all for today's update. Still very tired and since it is going on 11PM here I think I will be hitting the hay. We board the ship tomorrow so hopefully I can update from there.
Later from Amsterdam!
After resting and finally taking a shower, we were ready for our walk to Anne Frank's house. It is a half a mile from where we are staying. What a phenomenal place! Amazing what history is here in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, in the United States we don't seem to value preserving history. In fact, when were were walking we saw some building that were constructed in the 1600's!
Well, that is all for today's update. Still very tired and since it is going on 11PM here I think I will be hitting the hay. We board the ship tomorrow so hopefully I can update from there.
Later from Amsterdam!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Made it to JFK Airport!
Hi Everyone!
Well, I am sitting in JFK Airport waiting for our flight to leave. We can board the airplane starting @ 7:45PM. One of the problems flying overseas is the time difference. There is a 6 hour time difference not in my favor. In other words, they are 6 hours ahead which means I lose 6 hours. When we land, it will be about 9AM over there. To me, it will only be about 3AM. Hopefully since we cannot check into our hotel until 3PM someone won't find me sitting on some park bench sleeping :). It has been known to happen (i.e. England 2001!). I will try to sleep some on the plane. Here is a picture of what the plane will look like. This one is actually going to Paris and leaves before we do. Will update when I get a chance again - hopefully from Amsterdam!
Well, I am sitting in JFK Airport waiting for our flight to leave. We can board the airplane starting @ 7:45PM. One of the problems flying overseas is the time difference. There is a 6 hour time difference not in my favor. In other words, they are 6 hours ahead which means I lose 6 hours. When we land, it will be about 9AM over there. To me, it will only be about 3AM. Hopefully since we cannot check into our hotel until 3PM someone won't find me sitting on some park bench sleeping :). It has been known to happen (i.e. England 2001!). I will try to sleep some on the plane. Here is a picture of what the plane will look like. This one is actually going to Paris and leaves before we do. Will update when I get a chance again - hopefully from Amsterdam!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Baltic - Here I come!
Well, I have started my trip to the Baltic. I am currently in Bloomington, IN waiting to travel to Indy in the morning. Need to get up by 6AM we can leave for the airport by 7:30AM. Flight to NYC leaves @ 10:35AM. We touch down in NYC JFK @ 12:48PM. I will try to update when we are in JFK. Looking forward to keeping everyone updated! Calling it a night.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Half way there!
Well, we made it to Atlanta today. Heading to Venice tomorrow and by evening I should be able to see the Gulf of Mexico. Looking forward to sand and sun on Sunday! Also looking forward to doing something special on Tuesday for our 25th Anniversary!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Before Baltic - Fun in Florida
Before I leave for the Baltic, hubby and I are heading to Florida for a vacation. This isn't just any vacation though - we are going there to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary! It just seems like yesterday we were getting married and now we are at year 25 with two grown kids. Can't wait to leave tomorrow. It should be a blast - sun and the ocean.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Countdown to the Baltic!
I can't really believe it is finally July. Hubby and I celebrate 25 years on July 7th in Florida! Then we return on July 12th home. On July 17th, I leave for Bloomington and then to Indy to fly to Amsterdam! Hard to believe I was there when I was 6 months old - and no I don't remember any of it :). The trip of a lifetime my husband says! Can't wait to post things to this blog to show you what we are doing on our trip. Later!
What is happening with this blog?
Well, I think I have the page set up the way I want. We shall see. I have such a hard time deciding what I want it to look like. So like life this is a work in progress.
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