Meet Mira

You might wonder about that title...well Mira is our newest “passport to freedom” or “toy” or “home away from home” or our new Fifth Wheel Trailer. 

                 

Mira is a Grand Design Reflection 303RLS Fifth Wheel Trailer. At 389 inches long, she weighs 9,285 pounds, and is 146 inches tall. She’s not your typical “baby.” We took delivery on her on August 23 and since then we’ve been working hard.

With the help of Eddie, we unloaded the old RV to the new RV. It’s amazing how much stuff we accumulated in 13 years. We did not have time to triage the good from the bad and the ugly, so all of our stuff was switched over. The last few days we’ve been winnowing stuff. Boy, there was a lot of stuff! 

By last night, we could reap the rewards of our labor. So, that’s my feet in their best veranda pose inside the RV. As you can see we had the fireplace on while we were looking at a movie on the big screen TV. This is not your basic camper...my friend Carol called it a Glamper...and well...it is kind of nice!

This afternoon we decided we were 95% done with the switch-over. There’s a bit more to do, but we can do that in the next few days before we take our initial camping trip to the Tetons. So far, Mira has been a lot of hard work and a little bit of fun. We’re hoping that the equation will change to a lot of fun and a little bit of hard work. Keep watching for more info on Mira!

 

Home

Eight days ago we sailed into Amsterdam and started a brand new adventure.

Everytime we disembark a ship I get a “I’m sad to leave but happy to get home” feeling. This time I was sad to say goodbye to the Prinsendam and she will no longer be part of Holland America. She’s been sold to a German company and this year, HAL is leasing her from that company. You can already tell that there’s a change in ownership. 

So we bid farewell to the lovely Prinsendam, walked the “gangplank” and caught a Delta flight to Minneapolis-St Paul. From there it was a short 2 hour flight to home. Those flights are forever and the jet lag is enormous....but this time we had to get out of jet lag fast...see the next post!

 

 

Kiel Canal

Today I sat on the veranda and watched traffic on the Kiel Canal. We entered the canal at Kiel, Germany and we exited it 91 kilometers later on the Elbe River, leading to the North Sea. It was like nothing else on the cruise. A narrow canal way with German countryside on both sides of our ship—very pretty. The Kiel Canal is a shortcut saving a lot of time (and fuel) by not sailing up and around the coast of Denmark. We will be in Amsterdam tomorrow in time to desembark and head for home. We’ve had a very nice 15 day cruise to 3 places we have never been before. I’ll have to get the exact country count when we get home, but it’s well over 100.

Sea Day

It’s a sea day and the sea is quiet. In fact its been like this most of the voyage. We are in the Crow’s Nest looking out the big windows, where I can see 7 ships on the horizon. One looks like a ferry boat, one looks like a cruise ship and the rest are freighters of one sort or another. Generally speaking, you don’t see a lot of ships on the ocean, but the Baltic is different as it’s small.

 We are sailing off the coasts of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Kalingrad. We are scheduled to enter the Kiel

Canal in the morning. The canal will be interesting as we will be sailing thru the countryside! 

All too soon the voyage will end in Amsterdam. 

Helsinki

On the veranda overlooking Helsinki. It’s a nice day—not hot, just about perfect. 

 

It’s a good way to spend a day!

Swan Lake

 

We went to the Ballet, which seems to be the “right” thing to do when in Russia. And, we saw the “right” ballet...Swan Lake. 

 

 

 

 

We have not been to many ballets over the years, but we do know a good performance when we see one, and the St. Petersburg Ballet Company and National Orchestra of St. Petersburg gave us a good performance. We left the theater with smiles. The last time we left a theater in St. Petersburg it was earlier in the summer and the nights were still light. Last night, it was dark...summer is winding down.

 

 

We also had a chance to see a bit of St. Petersburg going to and from the theater. Originally planned by Peter the Great (hence the name), he wanted to create a city that was equal to any city in Europe. He chose Venice as his model, and his city would be built along the  Negev River. He planned that the waterway be lined with elaborate buildings showing the style and richness of his northern empire. Along the river you can see the Hermitage and several big churches among other fine old buildings. There are 17 bridges decorative bridges crossing the river, nowadays they are are lighted and very pretty at night. Peter had a good plan.

 

 

The cruise terminal, which is another way of saying customs (and/or inspection), is outside the perimeter of the river bound city. Still there is development in the form of many high rise apartment blocks. Not as austere as some soviet style apartment blocks, they are still plain. The oldest apartments inside the river are more elaborate; the Soviet style apartments built between 1918 and 1989 are square/boring/dilapidated and not well-cared for; the new apartments, built after 1989 are modern, not as blocky as their predecessors and huge. Most are over 10 stories and cover a lot of space. Thousands of folks must live in these huge apartment blocks outside of the city.

 

 

Drivers are crazy, much like I remember from previous visits. Even our bus driver was a speedy fellow. Based on all the housing, I don’t think everyone has a vehicle, as there’s not a lot of parking available. Public transport is the norm. Given that, the streets in the new part of the city are wide.

 

 

 

Mother Russia

St. Petersburg 

We are at the dock in St. Petersburg ...we’ll go into town tonight to see the Ballet. In the meantime, take a look at the Soviet-style block apartments. Some are the same as they were when the wall fell in 1989; 

others have been painted. 

 

It does not matter, the block— is the block— is the block.

 

 

 

 

 

On the other hand, there is a piece of zoomy architecture seen from the dock. Look at the Lakhta Center—the tallest building in Europe at over 1500 feet—the 13th tallest in the world. It’s the headquarters for Gazprom (a Russian petroleum company). The difference between communism and capitalism is amazing!

Riga

 

 

On this cruise we have stepped foot in 3 “new to us” countries. Today was the last of the set with Latvia. Riga, the capital and largest city is colorful and interesting. Like Lithuania, Latvia has had many rulers — German, Polish, French, Swedish, Soviet— it was also part of the old Hanseatic League—and each of these left an imprint on the city and Latvian culture. 

 

 

 

Today when you travel thru Riga you will note that the whole city is a USESCO World Heritage site, as it has over 800 Art Nouveau buildings many of which have been restored to their former glory. These huge buildings line the streets of the old town. During Soviet days, these buildings were cobbled up into 2 room apartments where 3 unrelated families lived together. Nowadays, they have reverted to their original owner, if that owner has the paperwork. Since a lot of things were destroyed during World War II, finding that paperwork has proven to be difficult for some families.

 

 

 

While the 800+ Art Nouveau buildings are striking, one in particular was exceptional. It is a light blue, unlike most of the buildings, with unusual sculptural elements. I really liked it. All of the buildings are made of brick and then covered in stucco to give them their distinctive look.

 

             

 

There are a number of churches in the capital. The population is about 25% Russian, so there are Orthodox churches. There are also Catholic and Lutheran churches, but the many domes on the Russian churches are exceptional.

 

Mixed among the Art Nouveau bulldings are a few Soviet style structures. The KGB headquarters is a simple store front, the old  Education Center (or as I guide called it “Re-Education Center) is now a meeting all. The tall Stalin-era office building reminds one of the 7 large Stalin-built apartments in Moscow.

 

 

 

 

 

The city is located on the Daugava River about 8 miles inland from the Baltic Sea. It’s a working port with a fair sized container facility. There are colorful bridges that connect Riga with the other side of the river. Today the Grand Circle ship, Clio, was berthed at the dock along with the Prinsendam. Larger cruise ships cannot access the port.

Kalpeida and Palanga

 

Today we visited Klaipeda and Palanga, Lithuania. Our first time in Lithuania. 

 

We drove through the city of Klaipeda looking at a variety of buildings from Soviet style apartment blocks to old style single family homes and stuff in between. The Klaipeda area has belonged to Germany, France, the Soviet Union and of course Lithuania. According to our guide, it’s heart is German and Catholic and no matter what the Soviet Union tried to do, the people stayed the same. 

 

 

We visited yet another amber museum, but this one was so much better than the one we saw in Kaliningrad as we had a guide who interpreted the language as well as the gem. She said Lithuanian is more closely related to Sanskrit than any other language. Did I tell you that the language was hard to decipher. One more place where I was illiterate.

 

 

We learned that Jurassic Park is impossible. The largest chunk of anything found in amber is part of a lizard...and only 5 chunks of amber ever found have a lizard in them. But more important, amber is only 50 million years old, and dinosaurs are far older. Most inclusions in amber are insects or insect parts, including over 125 species of mosquito. Only 0.04% of inclusions are plant matter. No one knows why this is the case. Our guide also said the only thing that makes amber valuable are the diamonds the amber is set in! 

 

 

 

I'm a good watcher. The children were beautiful and well behaved. The streets were tidy. There was no graffiti. We liked our short visit to Lithuania. Tomorrow we stop in Latvia. 

Kaliningrad

 

The whole purpose of this cruise was to see Kaliningrad, which we saw today. Kaliningrad is part of Russia but it’s not connected to Russia...it’s nestled between Lithuania, Poland, and Belarus. It gives Russia a warm water port on the Baltic and as such it’s a great naval center. It’s also Russia, so we needed to go through a lot of security to get in and out of the place. 

 

 

We were greeted this morning by 3 tug boats pushing the Prinsendam into the dock in Baltyisk (that’s pronounced Bal-teesk). 

 

After breakfast we went from ship to tour bus without stopping to look at any scenery. The next thing we did was  surrender our passports to the border patrol officers for stamping. I never like to give my passport to anyone...a few minutes later they were returned to us in a pile. Our tour guide then tried to read our names and return the passports to their rightful owners.

 

 

The drive from Baltyisk to the city of Kaliningrad took about an hour through heavily wooded countryside interspersed with military bases. There were few houses, some of which were unfinished, others were new.

 

 

As we approached Kaliningrad the housing changed to the old Soviet style. Lots of block apartments, which are now owned by their residents  instead of by the state. Nevertheless, you cannot mistake the look of Soviet-era housing, as it’s pretty plain. There does not seem to be much that can be done to it to make it more attractive. Some people have added porches/verandas but even that does not do much.

 

 

Kaliningrad is a relatively new port of call, so the tourist industry has not been highly developed. It has been decided that 2 things are ready for the “typical” tourist..the Amber Museum and a magnificent organ located in a restored Catholic Cathedral from the German era of the country. We heard the organ, and it was an amazing instrument.

 

 

We followed the same road back to Baltyisk. I tried to take pictures of street scenes. I was interested in prams, buildings, people and language. 

 

 

 

The language really tells you you are not home. In Russia, I am illiterate and that’s a strange feeling of powerlessness. I have to rely on others for assistance and of course I don’t speak their language and they do not speak mine. We did have guides and that makes the experience possible and interesting. 

 

 

There is a sense of whimsy in Kaliningrad too. We were told to look out for statues or carvings that tell a little story. We only saw one...a tiny gnome sitting on a bridge railing smiling at all who passed by.

 

 

 

A good day in Kaliningrad. Tomorrow we are in Lithuania;

Beautiful Copenhagen

 

 

 

We are docked in Copenhagen today. A pretty day for a pretty city. We chose not to site see but to take a walk instead. 

 

   

 

About a mile from our ship is the Little Mermaid. It’s important to see her on any trip to Copenhagen. Today as usual, she was inundated with people. All of them taking pictures—either selfies or close ups by climbing on the rock. When there’s a mob scene, it’s best to wait a few minutes and the picture will come to you. I did that, and it was good.

 

 

 

 

From there, it was a short walk to the  polar bear statue. 

 

 

 

That’s one very tall mama polar bear with her 2 cubs. Not nearly as popular as the mermaid but just as wonderful.

 

 

 

 

There are other sculptures at the wharf...all had written descriptions in perfect Danish, only I don’t understand Danish, perfect or otherwise. 

 

               

 

 

 

Power is generated using wind as these new windmills show. There’s a constant breeze at the wharf.

 

 

People from all over the world are traveling. There were 2 ships in port as well as tourists who flew in. Tour buses are alive and well. 

 

 

 

I’m back on the boat. Tomorrow we have a new port of call. All is well.

Beautiful Bird

I looked out Eddie’s window and saw this beautiful bird. Can you see it?

I carefully adjusted my camera and got a closer look. I had no idea what type of bird it was, as I had not seen it before.

 

A look through my bird book and I discovered this is a Cedar Waxwing. According to Audobon, 

the bird feeds on berries, and it’s on a berry bush.

This map from Wikipedia indicates that the bird might be in it’s “year round range.” The map key indicates that yellow is it’s breeding range; green is it’s year-round range, and blue is the wintering range. I wonder why I have not seen one before?