The car came really early – 4:45AM - as the latest Mueller adventure began before the sun came up. Everyone did well on the plane and the taxi ride into downtown Copenhagen. As we were walking off the plane, we started thinking about what to do in town. Colleen suggested a boat tour around the canal. Jack immediately responded “I vote no. We are going to be on a boat for 10 days Mom.” We dropped the bags off at the Kong Arthur Hotel and headed off to see the city. We walked through the city center looking at the shops and had a bit of ice cream. We hopped aboard a little train down to the harbor. We walked along the canal and had a bite to eat at Nyhaven. Jack continues to find new fish dishes he likes, at lunch he had haddock, with fries naturally. Owen and Kate continue to stick to the reliable stand-bys; chicken nugs, burgers and fries.
After checking out a street performer we went back to the hotel to check-in. We rested for just a bit and then headed out again. This time we made our way to Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli Gardens is a large amusement park in the middle of the city. Tivoli has rides for kids of all ages. Colleen kept saying it was a cross between KiddieLand and Great America. Kate liked the airplanes ride while Jack and Owen liked the roller coaster. Mom & Dad liked the beers and popcorn. We stayed and played and even had dinner there. We didn’t leave Tivoli until 9:45PM.
The next day was pretty rainy, but being from London it did not deter us too much. We visited the Guinness World Records museum; the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum and the Hans Christian Anderson museum. With the morning rain, there was a lot of inside activity. The rain started to let up a bit so we decided to hit Tivoli again. The kids loved every minute of it. They didn’t let the rain bother them at all. We enjoyed just about all of the rides, well except the really big roller coaster. Kate even rode on the bumper cars. Leaving the ride she turned to John and said – “See Dad, I am brave!”. She was truly brave, they are called "bumper cars" for a reason! We spent another great afternoon and evening at Tivoli. During the walk home the boys were describing what they could do and determining if belonged in the Guiness Museum or the Ripleys Museum. Owen – “No, no Jack – drinking through your nose should be a Believe It or Not.”
Cruise Day
We had to be at the ship in the afternoon – so we didn’t plan much for this day. We decided on a bus tour to see some of the other sites of Copenhagen that we missed – namely the Mermaid statue in the harbor. The bus tour was popular as all seats were taken shortly after we got on board. We saw the Mermaid (very over-rated) and some of the other sites. Copenhagen is a beautiful city and we were happy we had time to spend there before setting sail on our Baltic adventure.
The Emerald Princess
After the bus, we decided to go get on the ship. We checked in and made it to our room. We had two interconnecting rooms with a nice deck. Jerry – our steward – made us feel very welcome and always set up Kate’s friends (stuffed animals) on her bed to welcome us back to our rooms. The kids had a room with bunk beds and LOVED their accommodations!
The kids changed into their swimming suits in a nanosecond. We went up to the Lido Deck for a little pre-departure swimming. We met up with John and Lindsay Vlahos – our cruise companions. To avoid confusion the kids referred to John Vlahos as "Big John." Big John's first order of business was to show the kids where the free ice cream was. Oh boy! After swimming a bit, we headed in for dinner. Jack surprised us again by ordering from the adult menu, grilled salmon. The meals in the restaurants were terrific. The buffets – not so much; especially when you had to battle for the last pieces of the bacon. I’m convinced you could become a great rebounder by trying to keep that pushy retiree from the last piece of bacon. “Keep those elbows out, keep a wide base, move your feet. “ It was brutal which is why we stuck to the restaurants. Anyway - after some great food, we settled in for the first night of movies under the stars. The boat has a movie screen setup on one of the decks by the pool. We watched "Mamma Mia." Kate knows all the words to most of the songs now. We all enjoyed the free popcorn and had a great time.
The first day was a full day at sea. We swam, played in the arcade and went to the kids club while the grownups had a wine tasting. The kids became regulars at the ice cream counter. The cruise had unlimited ice cream as part of the package. I think they may have lost money on the Mueller kids. Owen’s record for ice creams in one day was 7...at least that is where we stopped counting. Dinner the first night was a formal night. The kids got dressed up and we hit the steak restaurant for some good ol’ USDA beef. Well, Jack tried striped bass and loved it. The kids hit the kids club for some post dinner movie time while the grown ups hit the bar at the back of the boat for a late night drink.
Stockholm, Sweden
To get to Stockholm from the Baltic sea, you have to go through a beautiful archipelago. The trip through the various islands takes around 5 hours. We were pulling into Stockholm around 9AM so this early morning trip was very peaceful and quiet (well until Colleen started blow drying her hair). It was amazing to see our huge boat navigating the narrow channels. We were very close to the houses that sit on the edges of the islands. At one point – the width of the access channel was 650 feet. That is where the Swedes built a fort during WWI for protection.
Once we made it to Stockholm – we took a bus tour around the city. Stockholm is a very pretty city with a nice downtown area. The first stop was the Vasa Museum. The museum has an old ship from 1626 built by Gustavus Adolphus. The king wanted to show what a great shipbuilder he was so he added an extra level of cannons. Well, it was a bit too top heavy and capsized about 5 minutes after it was launched when a gust of wind hit it. Luckily it was preserved wonderfully in the mud and can now be seen in the museum.
The next stop was City Hall. The main hall, Blue Hall, is where they award all of the Nobel Prizes, with the exception of the the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Olso. The original plan for the room was to be painted blue. However when they were finished, they liked to look of the red brick and decided to keep it unpainted. The name Blue Hall stuck though. The grounds outside were really cool too with some great views of the harbor. We took some pics around the water and then headed back to the ship. We really liked Stockholm and wished we had more time to spend exploring the city.
Upon arrival back to the Emerald Princess, the boys (naturally) hit the pool and the ice cream. As we were leaving Stockholm, the boat had a "Sail Away Party. " The kids entered the dance contest. They didn’t win, but I think they were robbed.
Helsinki, Finland
Our next city was Helsinki. We also took a bus tour in Helsinki. We went to Senate Square where there is a status of Alexander II. We decided to not walk up the stairs with the kiddies. Next stop was a sculpture that paid homage to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was very pretty, but the kids were more excited about the playground next to it. We play on the swings and slides for a bit and then headed out to the Rock Church. Two brothers in 1952 decided that this rocky spot would be a great place for a church. So they decided to blast some of the rock away and great a great hall for the church. It was interesting, but nothing too spectacular. We then headed back to the boat for some more pool time. If you haven’t guessed it by now, we told the kids that mornings were going to be all about sightseeing; going on tours and learning about things. Then, the afternoons were about the pool, ice cream and the kids club. It worked out for the most part. Mom and the boys decided to take a dip in the hot pool. We did make it back to Movies Under the Stars for Monsters v. Aliens. Somebody said Ebert gave it 3 and half stars out of four but I find that EXTREMELY hard to believe. After the movie, everyone headed to bed as Saturday was an early start time in St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg, Russia
Danny Noonan: I gotta go to college.
Ty Webb: You don't have to go to college. This isn't Russia. Is this Russia? This isn't Russia.
Yep – we’re in Russia. We sailed in St. Petersburg at around 5AM. Needless to say, we did not get up to watch this one. We got through Russian passport control in only 15 minutes and met up with our guide - Yana. We are guessing she was in her early to mid-twenties and she spoke English very well. We had a bit of time to kill before the Hermitage opened so we hit a local shop that was open specifically for the cruise passengers. There is nothing like having a little sample of Russian vodka at 8:15AM. Smoooooth. After buying about 18 Russian dolls and other trinkets, we made it into the Hermitage. It was amazing. Colleen and I could have easily spent two or three days going through the place sans little ones. They have two Leonardo da Vinci paintings plus entire rooms of Matisse, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso and more. They have sculptures from Michelangelo and Rodin. It was truly amazing. Of all these amazing treasures – the kids favorite was the painting with the peeing cow (“A Farm 1649” – Paulus Potter). The kids were pretty tired and starting to melt down a bit. So we left the Hermitage through the square. We took some pictures with the natives. OK – so they were dressed up natives selling photo ops for a mere 100 rubles but the kids loved it. We then headed over near the Neva River. We could see the Peter and Paul Cathedral – but didn’t have a chance to visit it. It was a great day with a few moments of very tired children. It was an early night for them as we had been going non-stop and bed time had not been before 10 p.m. since arriving to Copenhagen, so we decided to give them an early bed time. That left a nice evening for Colleen and I to have dinner on our deck. Since we weren’t cruising that night, we could sit and look out and the scenery while having some wine and dinner. The ports of St. Petersburg didn’t offer much to look at but the weather was great and we had a nice relaxing evening. Team Vlahos opted for the excursion to see the Russian Ballet that evening, so the kids weren't tempted to find "Big John" and play.
The next day – Yana took us out to the suburbs of St. Petersburg to see Peterhof Palace. The palace itself was very similar to the Hermitage. However, the palace grounds are incredible. There are fountains all over the place. Some have “secret” rocks that turn on the fountains as you walk by. (In reality, there is someone sitting in the bushes watching as you walk by and switches them on.) The kids loved trying to find the rock that caused the fountains to start. We watched the fountains and bought the kids some ice cream. (Have you caught the other theme – ICE CREAM!!!) After a few soakings, we headed back to the boat. Overall, St. Petersburg was pretty cool.
Tallinn, Estonia
In Tallinn, we opted for another personal tour. This time it was Kaia who took us around the sites of Tallinn. First we stopped at the home of Estonia's President. It was surprising that there was very little security and we just wandered around on the driveway taking pictures. Next stop was at the Tallinn Music Festival Grounds. We learned that the Estonians were very musical by nature and use the Music Festival as a way to unite the people of Estonia. The next stop was the grounds were they held the water based events of the Moscow Olympics – nevermind that Moscow was about 600 miles away. The site looked pretty Soviet – dull, boxy and grey. Next, we went through the old Soviet Housing Blocks. Colleen and I both independently said that it looked a lot like Chicago Public Housing. Sounds like it was about as safe. Now many of the buildings have been converted and are a bit nicer. Our guide said that it’s still a bit sketchy at night, but getting better. Enough of the Soviet Estonia – lets head to the cool part.
Downtown Estonia is a medieval town. Tallinn was a prosperous city during the Hanseatic days. The medieval city is packed within the Old Town within the old city Wall. The square was also a hit. We stopped at an authentic medieval restaurant for a quick bite to eat. Jack ordered – “I would like some french fries and a coke please.” This was met with a confused look by our waitress and she let Jack know that all they had was juice and spiced nuts. Jack let out a big sigh and responded, “Well, this is not going to work out well for me.” After some juice and spiced nuts, we headed back to the boat for some more swimming. But I’m afraid I may be selling Tallinn a bit short as it was one of our favorite stops.
Gdynia and Gdansk, Poland
The next stop was Gdynia and Gdansk Poland. We decided the kids had had enough old cities and buildings for awhile and allowed them to stay in the kids club on this port day. It was a good thing as the trip was a bit of a downer. Traffic was terrible so we were on the bus for about an hour and a half. Then we had about an hour to tour Gdansk in the rain – before getting back into the traffic for the trip home. This didn’t include the 20 minute walk to the bus that was parked In a grass field. I’m sure Poland is a great place – but they didn’t put on their best face this day. We did walk up and down the main drag and stopped for a beer. Imagine that, Colleen and I stopping for a beer somewhere...actually the best part of our day in Gdansk. We headed back to the ship for a drink and some mini-golf.
Day At Sea
The next day was a day at sea. Due to another rainy morning we let the kids have a bit of a lye-in (stay in bed with some television) and then the kids opted to return to the kids club. We went to another wine tasting with Big John and Lindsay and then sat at our favorite spot - the wine and sushi bar. It was another formal night. The kids decided they didn’t want to dress up so they went to dinner with the kids club (loved it!) while the grown-ups had dinner in the Italian restaurant. Food was great – but it was a bit slow on the service so we had to cut it a bit short to pick up the kids from the kids club.
Oslo, Norway
The next morning we arrived in Oslo. Oslo is a very pretty city. We decided on the bus tour for the city highlights. Our first stop was the Viking Ship Museum. This was a nice stop as we arrived before it actually opens to the public, but they let in the cruise ship passengers. So we had the museum to ourselves (well a few bus loads) for an hour before it opened. The kids had a GREAT time in this museum. They were fascinated by the old Viking ships.
In hindsight, however, the bus tour was probably a bad idea as the tour then took us up some very windy roads and the bus was hot. Kate got car sick and had a little throw up episode – and we were not prepared for this. Thankfully she pretty much nailed Colleen's rain coat, so it wiped right off and Kate was good as new. We went up the hill to see the ski-jump at Holmenkollen.
It is closed for construction to prepare for the 2011 Championships so we just went up and checked out the view. It was an amazing view but not seeing the ski jump was a downer. We headed back through the city and to the boat. We decided that in hind site we should have just walked off the boat to the fort and the city right by the harbor….but we didn’t know at the time. So I took the kids back to the boat for some lunch as Colleen decided to hit the shore store for some Norwegian goodies. I hear this story later from our friends John and Lindsay.
Lindsay: “Where’s Colleen?”
John: “Over here buying every sweater they have.”
Needless to say, we are well outfitted for the winter.
Last Night on Boat
The last night on the boat turned into a birthday party night for both Owen and Lindsay. Our steward Jerry hung balloons on our cabins to celebrate Owen's Birthday, which he loved.
The kids got dressed up to celebrate - it was very cute that they wanted to make our last night on board very special.
Then, at Owen's request, we had dinner at Michelangelo’s, our favorite restaurant on the ship. The waiters sang to Owen and Lindsay. A good time was had by all.
The next morning we left the ship and went to the airport to head back to London. Jack cried as we got off the ship saying, "This was the best vacation, I don't want to leave the Emerald Princess!" It was his favorite vacation so far and at his request (Mom didn't argue at all) we have already booked the Grand Mediterranean cruise for next summer! Anyone want to join us? All in all – this was one of the best trips we have been on. The cities were great, the boat was awesome and kept the kids entertained. Thanks to the Vlahos’s for being such great travel partners. I think the kids expect you to be on all of our vacations from now on!
CHEERS! SKAL! GUTÅR! KIPPIS! ваше здоровье! TERVISEKS! Na Zdrowie!
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