Day Trip from Warnemunde to Berlin, Germany

Our next port of call was Warnemunde, Germany situated on the Baltic Sea.  We decided to take the day trip to Berlin via the autobahn.  The bus ride was 3.5 hours one way and much of the scenery was bucolic in appearance with massive wind turbines doting the landscape.  About 30 minutes outside of Berlin we stopped at a rest stop that had the best looking convience food at a rest stop I had ever seen.  We stopped to use the restroom and strentch our legs.  Right before we got into Berlin our English speaking guide Tim passed out a little lunch bag that consisted of half a sandwich with a cream cheese spread, apple, peanuts, small chocolate bar for dessert as well as a bottle of water.  Also before our arrival our guide handed us all a map of the city of Berlin as well as emergency contact information in case we got lost.  He also offered everyone his cell number.  We arrived at the Hilton in Berlin and were told what time to meet back and like that we were off!! 

CheckPoint Charlie 

CheckPoint Charlie Actors as Soldiers!

Robert and I could have gotten our passports stamped with the Check Point Charlie stamp but decided against it as no one else was doing it and since our new passports have the embedded microchip there could have been someone nearby that was stealing the information from passports.  

A section of the Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall Museum

Franzosische Dom - French Cathedral in Gendarmenmarkt

Konzerthaus of Berlin

Statue on top of the Konzerthaus

The Berliner Dom - The Berlin Cathedral

Angel at the top of the Victory Tower

Even the manhole covers are a work of art in Berlin

Charlottlenburg Palace 

Just like that it was time to board our bus and make the 3.5 hour ride back to our ship. On our why back our guide gave us another lunch bag filled with all sorts of goodies.  This snack consisted of a half a sandwich, plum, German pound cake and chocolate. Overall in Berlin we had a delightful time! We both agree that five hours was simple not enough time to even put a dent into seeing all that Berlin has to offer.  We would like to go back and spend more time.

Copenhagen, Denmark

The first stop our ship made was to the port in Copenhagen, Denmark.  We took the traditional cruise ship sponsored tour.  We had a lovely local Dane whom was named Lillian.  We stopped by the most popular tourist attractions.  The first was of the statue of the Little Mermaid that was a gift from brewer Carl Jacobsen (The Carlsberg Breweries) to the city of Copenhagen, made by a little know sculptor by the name of Edvard Erichsen. She was unveiled at Langelinje in 1913. 

The next stop on this tour was the Gefion Fountain.  The Gefion Fountain is a large fountain located on the harbour front.  It features a large-scale group of animal figures driven by legendary Norse goddess, Gefjun.  The fountain was donated to the city of Copenhagen by the Carlsberg Foundation on the ocassion of the brewery's 50 year anniversary. 

Another popular fountain is the Fountain of Charity in the Old Square in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark.  The fountain has provided drinking water to the citizens since the 1600's.  The pregnant women on the top squirting water from her breasts next to a boy urinating was once considered scandalous.

Here are some other sites that we saw while in Copenhagen, Denmark! 

The Church of our Saviour

This magnificent church is named after King Christian V, the first monarch on the Danish throne with absolute power. The church is located in the Christianshavn area, close to the Freetown Christiania.

Look up at the church tower and you'll see an exterior golden staircase winding up to the spire. At the top, there is a golden globe crowned by a statue of a flag-bearing statue. The golden staircase enables you to climb to the top of the church’s 95 meters high spire and from there you have a fantastic 360 degree view of Copenhagen, as well as the Oresund Bridge connecting Denmark with Sweden. To climb to the top is a must when you visit Copenhagen; even if it can be quite a climb, it is well worth it for the excellent views. There is a total number of 400 steps to the top of the spire, the last 150 being outside. When inside the church, look up into the ceiling, where you'll see the chains of the Order of the Elephant and the Order of the Dannebrogen. Both decorations were instigated by King Christian V. The church's exquisite organ is supported by a relief of two elephants.

Christiansborg Palace - The Danish Parliament 

The Danish Monarchry & Amalienborg Palace 

Changing of the Kings Guard at Amalienborg Palace 

I wanted to get a picture of this member of the Kings Guard and he stared us down as I was taking this picture. 

Copenhagen, Denmark has a lot of canals and we spotted a Mother swan with her babies on the nest.  We were surprised at how close we were able to get without alerting the Mother.  I had heard a story on the news this April where a man was killed by a swan when he got too close to their nest, he was the caretaker of the pond and surroundings.  I remembered that story when I approached her.  She did not even bother to look up.   

Scandinavian Cruise

Scandinavian Cruise on the Royal Caribbean ship Vision of the Seas.  My husband and I selected this cruise because we had never been to Europe.  We left from Dulles International Airport on Friday, June 15th at 8:40 P.M. to the Keflavik International Airport in Iceland at roughly 1:20 A.M. Since we had about 45 minutes before our next flight we decided to go in search for something to eat.  As we scoured the food court we discovered that the food did not appeal to us (and I am the adventurous eater). We decided to play it safe and get a bottle of Icelandic water and a kleinur or Icelandic doughnut. Since the currency of Iceland is the Icelandic Krona, we paid for our breakfast with the U.S. Dollar which was $11.00 for two bottles of water and a stale greasy doughnut. The doughnut left a greasy film on your lips you could not fully wipe off. The Keflavik airport is a small airport that resembles something constructed by the CEO of IKEA.  Frommer's ranks this airport three on the list of most beautiful airports.  Thought that might be the case this airport is currently ill-equipped to accommodate large crowds. The terminals were not much of a terminal at all.  The terminals or waiting areas had very few seats and many were forced to sit on the floor or against the wall before boarding.  Icelandair staff did not have any particular organized manner in calling passengers to board.  It seemed to be a free for all when boarding was announced.  The flight attendant were mostly blonde and I would venture a guess were no shorter that 5'7''.  

Our flight to Oslo, Norway was about three and a half hours and seemed longer than the previous five hour and 45 minute flight from Dulles International Airport to Keflavik, Iceland.  When we finally touched down at Oslo, Norway Gardermoen we were ready to get of that damn plane.  We grabbed out luggage and exited the airport in search of the familiar Royal Caribbean representative dressed in the tradition blue blazers with all too familiar RCL nametag holding the sign with the name of our ship Vision of the Seas.  After an hour wait we boarded a tour bus with the other passengers and headed toward the port to board our home for the next five days.  

We checked and received our sea passes.  Also we headed to the gangway we were accosted by the annoying photography staff eager to take their quota of guess photos for the cruise.  Robert and I actually despise these photo ops as were are the ones who look like we have been on a 24 hour flight and look and feel the worst.  To humor the photographers we stopped for a photo for which we never purchased.  These photos are huge money suckers and we always seem to look like dorks and our pictures are always found at the bottom of the rack.  I believe that they put the ugly people at the bottom, so that is where we look and find most of our pictures.  

Making Art of Food

On our most recent cruise through Scandinavia on the Royal Caribbean Ship Vision of the Seas we were treated to a late night buffet.  The highlight of the buffet was not the food but the great artistry that went into creating such a beatiful presentation.

Going Back Cabo...Cabo...Cabo!!!

Coming up October 2012, Sammy Hagar will be turning 65 and will become Medicare eligible!! Robert wants to go back to Cabo San Lucas to be there for the week long festivities.  We were there in 2010 and stayed at the Finisterra resort which is not an all inclusive.  The hotel suited the purpose but we decided that we wanted to try a resort with more amenities and all inclusive.  We are booked at the Riu Santa Fe and we think we will like it better.  We have decided to book this early as things do book up rather fast during the birthday celebration.

Renewed Passports & Booked Airfare

Our trip to Norway is becoming more of a reality!!! This past week we booked our airfare to Norway on Iceland Air.  We are flying out of Dulles in Washington, DC and then to Reykjavik, Iceland and then to our awaiting ship the Vision of the Seas in Norway.  Our airfare was a little over 2k for two round trip so I really do not consider that too bad.  Seeing as our passports expire May 2012 we went ahead and renewed since this trip to Norway will be in June 2012.  It is hard to believe that we have had our passports for 10 years, time really does fly!!!  I personally believe that all US citizens should be entitled to a free passport instead the cost of renewal is $110 per passport.

Bar Harbor, Maine

On our recent cruise on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Jewel of the Seas our second port of call was Bar Harbor.  A family member visited Bar Harbor raved over this quint shore town.  The Main Street in Bar Harbor is just like any small town with a main street.  The road into Bar Harbor is tiny with one lane roads. I can imagine would be very congested during the peak of their tourist season.  All of the shops and restaurants that line Main Street are one of a kind and strike a curiosity for any shopper looking for something unique.  My husband and I are had never had a lobster roll and so we decided that Bar Harbor would be place we would have to try a lobster roll.  We wondered Main Street looking at restaurant menus pondering where would we have the best lobster roll experience.  We settled on The Lobster Claw.  We ordered the traditional lobster roll which the lobster meat was prepared with a scant amount of mayo.  Our order came to the table and we were  disappointed that the roll did not have any flavor.  The lobster roll was like eating bland cold lobster on a buttered bun resembling and piece of Texas toast folded like a hotdog bun.  Our disappointing culinary experience with the Lobster roll came to a total of $36.36 and that included 2 bland lobster rolls, over fried homemade potato chips and 2 cups of old tea that had been obviously sweetened by a northerner.

Two other shops that we visited where Fiore which carries an impressive array of artisan olive oils and vinegars. All of the olive oils and vinegars are available of sampling.  I purchased the 18 year aged Dark Chocolate Balsamic as well as the Vanilla Balsamic.  Both are thick and great on fruit or gelato.  I could have bought so much more but I was trying to watch the weight of my luggage.  The store representative kindly advised that they do ship but I decided I would be fine with the two 200ml bottles I purchased.  http://fioreoliveoils.com/site/

Another great shop we visited was the Bar Harbor Tea Company. I have been to several tea shops and each is unique in the inventory that they carry.  Their selection of different teas was impressive.  They also carried a wide variety of local or regional teas.  I was delighted to see that they also carry a wide selection of tea cozies made in a variety of fabric patterns. After going back to the shelf several times I decided on the a cozy with a blueberry pattern since Maine is known for it blueberries. http://www.barharbortea.com/