Monday in Singapore - news in Aus

Pleasant walk along the river this morning. Our hotel is in a great spot on a bend in the Singapore River in a very residential area...... so quiet. About 1500M up river from Clarke Quay and with a treed river path on both banks.

Took a cruise down river and around Marina Bay on a very pleasant morning (air quality excepted). Followed on with a walk up through the colonial quarter which has some lovely old buildings that have been preserved. Time for Pat in Raffles Plaza and then on to Raffles - still the same grand old place but hard to imagine it being a financial or literary powerhouse these days.

Back to hotel for feet up for Pat and a shuttle (more like a slow boat to China) to Chinatown for me. Nothing has changed here, still the same old Chinatown - 5 degrees warmer than the rest of Singapore, but progressivey being surrounded on all sides by big new retail developments, all with the same brand name shopping opportunities.

Arrived back to the news that a PM challenge was on at home, and to be determined this evening!! By late afternoon today the air quality has really deteriorated, with visbility down below around 400M. Time around the pool and then off to dinner, this time to our genuine local hawker market on Zion Rd. Nowhere near as busy tonight as the weekend nights, but really enjoyed my food. For the past four weeks Pat has carried her umbrella and rain jacket with her everywhere - tonight they would have been handy.

Rain cleared, and our last walk back along the river. There are some things Singaporean that we could do with back home - we come back via two under road tunnels that in Australia would be prime graffiti sites,  but here they are pristine, not a scribble, not aspeck of rubbish and not a cigarette butt.

Back to the hotel, and guess what???? Aust has a new PM! You leave with one and come home to a new one. Home tomorrow!!!!

Well, well, well -Sunday in Singapore!!

An early night to make some adjustment to the conditions prevailing in Singapore - very heavy smog, so it was with some surprise that sleep extended to 9.50am!!! Big rush for breakfast!

A good 15" taxi ride to the Singapore Flyer for just SGD$7.30, and no queue, saw us on top of Singapore in no time. Unfortunately the smog seriously limited the views, but you cannot miss seeing the massive development that goes on here. The Flyer sits atop the F1 street circuit's starting grid, so the immediate vicinity is a hive of activity - grandstands, safety fences, hospitality marquees, VIP enclosures etc and we saw a couple of arrving cars. It will be a busy place next weekend.

Shuttle service over to Gardens by the Bay, a massive wonderland of flora, including two spectacular cooled conservatories, Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, the latter, 7 stories high with a 35M waterfall. All of it surrounded by lush gardens  - and developed from nothing in just the last few years. An absolutely spectacular addition to Singapore, but quite ironic that it has such a strong focus on the environment and climate change when this country is currently so overwhelmed by the effects of Indonesian burn offs. To see the impacts of that burning off, you really have to wonder why we Australians spend so much time kicking ourselves over our minimal contribution to climate change.

Onward again to Sentosa Island. Once again, the developments of the last few years have seen the island become the playground of Singapore. So much has changed since we had a few days there 7 years back. Our Singapore Airlines stopover package has a full complement of inclusions, but I was not allowed to take up the Segway option on Sentosa. Took the shuttle around the Island and had a beer (SGD$26 for two stubbies made the taxi incredible value) before heading back. Intention was to use the Cable Car, but out of service for maintenance, so came back on the sky rail to Vivo City and Harbourfront. Another hawker stall (shopping centre based) dinner before heading home to the Grand Copthorne Waterfront via a 20" taxi ride (Sunday night) for SGD$12 - SGD$19.30 for 35" in two taxis and SGD$26 for two beers - comparative value??

Heard that Kangaroos had won - pleased they took the fighting spirit of the laundry wars into the game.

Off the ship, out of Copenhagen and into Singapore

With the cruise over, a few comments are worth making. Regal Princess is by far the biggest ship we have ever sailed on but, in reality, it rarely seemed crowded. The biggest "size" issue goes to port access, so I think that is the most important matter in making decisions between cruise lines and ships.

Princess absolutely stood out with its amazingly efficient and effecively "no wait" embarkation and disembarkation procedures, and its production shows (and Beatle Maniacs). It doesn't quite match Holland America with some of the little things like towel size and quality, crockery, cutlery etc - but would be very happy to again be a passenger, subject to itinerary.

A few comments on passengers (and I guess the more you have, the more experiences you will have). There are a small number who seem to believe that the cruise is run just for their benefit, there are some who only believe a queue exists if they are at its head and, sadly, some who do not seem to have the terms "please", "thank you" or "excuse me" in their vocabulary. Pleasing to say that Australians did not feature in any of the above observations.

The biggest blight on modern tourism, however, has to be digital photograpgy and digital media. Where one or two photos used to be enough, now its more like ten - and then you continue to block everyone else while you review each of them. And as for the selfie stick - it needs to be planted very firmly up the you know where of its inventor.

Anyway, as noted above, disembarkation was a standout and never had to break stride but for a 5 minute taxi wait. Relaxing time in Copenhagen lounge and on time flight all the way to Singapore. Efficient transfer to Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel on Singapore River and into room by 8.30am ($150 excess for a pre-noon check in). Did the full HOHO bus route (part of Singapore Airlines stopover package) then headed back to hotel for Pat to catch some sleep while I went walking. Late swim and then for dinner.

We have experienced minimal high rise in the last 3 weeks, but to experience Singapore is to know what high rise is - and there are just so many more in the course of construction. Construction is everywhere here, buildings, roads, infrastructure, Metro extensions etc, etc, etc. The Singapore Grand Prix is on next weekend, and it too is a massive infrastructure exercise requiring significant interruption to roads, transport, pedestrian access etc. Regrettably, it seems the Grand Prix will be impacted by the very polluted air quality currently being experienced in Singapore due to Indonesian burn offs. Breathing is somewhat impacted - particularly in head cold recovery mode.

A peaceful (last day) at sea - or almost WWIII!!!

Looking to take advantage of an early morning, I headed for the quite busy on-deck laundromat. Very soon discovered that they can be like war zones!!! When one dryer completed it's work, and no one arrived to empty it, a waiting woman cruiser carefully emptied it, placing the dry clothes neatly on a table. Five or six minutes later, the woman owner (with a woman colleague) appeared and was seriously aggrieved that someone had "touched" her washing. Not content with a reasonable explanation and apology, she batted on and it quickly developed into "landrywomen at one pace". A passing Cabin Steward, hearing the commotion, was unable to achieve calm or quiet, and I was forced to step in (almost physically!!) to restore something like calm - but only for a few brief seconds, before it erupted again. This time the only other guy there (like me, a novice in the matter of laundry) stepped in as well, and a parting of the ways was finally achieved. My hopes from this experience are twofold:
1. That I never again need to encounter "landrywomen"; and
2. That the Kangaroos show as much fighting spirit against Richmond as these three mid 50's veterans of the "Great Baltic Laundry War".

The balance of the day was blissful, with beautiful sunshine as we lazily cruised south toward Copenhagen. In sight of land on both sides of the ship for most of the day, passing and overtaking many ships of all sizes (a few yachts included) and km after km of sea based wind farms. Joe Hockey would hate the scenery!!!

In a number of areas there were both north-south and east-west channels and we regularly had ships running parallel on port and starboard as well as crossing forward and aft. We were also flown over by a pollution inspection aircraft.

The final show was a hypnotist, and of course there is something strangely compelling about watching people "perform" under hypnosis - as long as you are not one of them. Last dinners are always a bit sad, but it was "good bye" to our table friends, whose company we had much enjoyed.

Wednesday 9 September - Stockholm

Stockholm is a beautiful city but unfortunately our itinerary and arrangements did not do it justice. While I maintained hope to the end, it was not realistic that there was a chance of docking in Stockholm itself. The Regal Princess is a huge ship and has apparently only ever got in once or twice. It is apparently an extremely slow and tortuous entry, even when a large berth is available. And so it was, that on a beautiful morning, we anchored for tendering, as scheduled at Nynashamn, 1 hour out of Stockholm.

A disappointing 30 minute wait between tenders (might have been a one off) to reach shore started us off. Once there, we paid for a Stromma transfer with seamless access to its Stockholm HOHO bus and boat service. Just a km or two into the transfer my mood became darker (as had Pat's cold), when a clown on board began his photograpgy exploits. In quite unremarkable countryside, he took around 400 photos in 40 minutes with his extremely large camera and lens - doubling that rate once we hit Stockholm. He was oblivious to the requirement to remain seated and seat belted while the bus was in motion, and on 5 or 6 occasions almost went over when we braked or changed lanes. In almost wishing he would go over I, of course, sought dispensation from the Rotary 4 Way Test.

Alighting at the Vasa Museum (getting to it shortly), I enquired of the driver the location of their nearest HOHO boat point, only to be told "no boats, boat already stopped". This, without any pre-sale disclosure and despite their own brochure telling us that boats ran every 20" in the period ending 9 September. Boats are the best way to see Stockholm at its best on a beautiful sunny September day, so this was a bummer.

Anyway, the Vasa is a naval, sailing, salvage and technology story like no other. At over 200 ft long, and ommissioned by King Gustavus (who directed that she be built high (172 ft) but skinny (less than 16ft at the water line) and accommodate an extra gun deck, the result was her almost immediate demise. In fact, she rolled over and sank just 40 minutes into her 1628 maiden voyage - and lay at the bottom of Stockholm's harbour for 333 years. Rediscovered in 1956 and raised in 1961 she was in incredibly good condition and underwent great restoration activity to now be housed in her own massive museum which allows inspection from 5 levels. In addition to the Vasa itself, the museum has wonderful displays and explanations - including many almost fully formed skeletons of more than 30 sailors whose bodies were retrieved.

Completed the HOHO bus route and then wandered Gamla Stan (Stockholm's wonderfully preserved "old town" which is fronted by the Palace). Visited the Palace Chapel and caught the tail end of the Changing of the Guard. Took a late coffee and snack in a real waffle shop, where they make their own on a window front 7 station machine. Some more waterfront wandering and then time for our 1 hour trip back to Nynashamn and our tender to Princess Regal.

Another enjoyable dinner on our table and then to our final full cast live show production - 16 piece Orchestra and 17 performers. A wonderful show with outstanding performances, costumes, staging and sound and light effects. The quality of the live show productions has been top shelf.

Interesting day in Helsinki

Pleasant but cool morning as we arrived in Helsinki, having crossed the Gulf of Finland (and a substantial Russian naval establishment). An unremarkable outer dock but with massive redevelopment and extension underway. Took the shuttle into the city, but could almost as easily taken a tram.

Helsinki is the only European capital with no medieval history. It was never much more than a village until Sweden built a huge fortress on an island outside the harbour in 1746 and the village boomed as it supplied the fortress. When Finland was overtaken by Russia in 1809 (remaining part of the Russian Empire well into the 19th century), the capital was moved to Helsinki and the city's new public buildings were modelled on St Petersburg. Helsinki was used for the filming ot Dr Zhivago because filming in Russia was not possible during the Cold War.

We wandered up to Senate Square (with its statue of Alexander II - Finland's favourite czar) via an attractive promenade, the Lutheran Cathedral, below the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral (built in 1868 for the Russian military when Finland belonged to Russia), around the inner harbour and Market Square. The waterfront is a key part of the city and is a hive of activity with boats of all sizes constantly on the move.

The city has a very comprehensive tram system, including one big figure of 8 loop line which we rode and which travels past the impressive central railway station, the National Gallery, through the shopping and entertainment districts, trendy apartment blocks, the National Opera House, the 1952 Olympics site, a working class district and through the Embassy area. It proved an interesting trip. We first met a female Law Professor from Seattle (travelling on another ship), then a young Finnish law student who was both informative and keen to talk. He alighted just before the working class district, from where we had the pleasure of the company of the town drunk - but he was a happy middle aged drunk, keen to engage us in loud conversation. So we had a most interesting exchange for the next 20 minutes or so, with much laughter on both sides, and without a word of common language. I wonder if he will ever know how Helsinki memorable our meeting was!!!

Helsinki is a very pleasant city, with a big CBD, and it is very pleasing to the eye with its lack of high rise developments and the manner in which it has integrated new development with old buildings. Spent time wandering the essentially pedestrianised inner city streets, to the City's most famous statue, the "Three Blacksmiths", which honors hard work and co-operation. The statue stands outside Helsinki's very classy iconic, 8 floor, Stockmann Department Store.

With an early sail off,  it's time to head back to Regal Princess. Another formal night tonight with a beautiful dinner featuring cray tail dishes - how lucky are we. Another excellent full production show brought the day to an end - but another early one tomorrow.

Day 2 in St Petersburg

Another early morning kick off, through Immigration in a flash and heading for our canal tour of St Petersburg. The canals form a significant piece in the City's public transport system as well as being a mecca for tourists. We had slight drizzle, so were pretty restricted to the lower undercover deck. St Petersburg has had a number of floods in its history - the biggest rising to about 1M above the canal walls.

With the drizzle gone, on to Yusupov Palace, the former private residence of one of the richest families in Russia. It was the site of the 1916 murder of Gregory Rasputin (depicted in an on-site wax exhibition), has beautiful artistic interiors including a palatial 160 seat theatre.

Then to St Isaac's Cathedral, built between 1818 and 1858. It is particularly notable for its mosaics and lavish columns and decorations. St Petersburg has a lot of internal mosaic art works, as it was quickly discovered that, having been built largely on reclaimed swamp land, paintings deteriorated quickly due to humidity. St Isaac's was at one time the largest cathedral in Russia. Interestingly, the Cathedral's do not have pews - the congregation stands, around 2 hours for a "standard" service, and extending to around 4 hours for an Easter service!!!

Basket lunch today as we headed 25km out of town to the Tsarz's Village (the basket fell a long way short of yesterday's restaurant) to the royal summer estate of Catherine Palace. If we thought we had seen gold leaf, we were mistaken, because the Palace drips in it. It is literally impossible to describe in size, grandeur and extravagence. The Palace was originally presented by Peter the Great to his second wife, Catherine I in the early 18th century. A few decades later it was rebuilt to its present appearance on the orders of the royal daughter, Elizabeth I. It is home to some of Europe's most extravagant interiors, including the world famous Amber Room. About 30% of the works were removed before the Nazi occupation,  but there was major damage and looting, including of the Amber Room, since re-established in its original form.

Back to the city to St Peter and Paul's Fortress, the birthplace of St. Petersburg.  Originally constructed in timber over 3 months during the Great Northern War with the Swedish Empire in the early 1700's, the fortress was rebuilt in stone after 1730 to act as a military fortification. We drove over the original wooden bridge - over 300 years old. The Cathedral of St Peter and Paul is on the grounds of the fortress and is the burial place of many Russian emperors, starting with Peter the Great (1689-1725), and ending with Nicholas II (1894-1917). The remains of Nicholas II, the last Russian Tsarz and his family (dad, mum and five children) were buried beneath the Cathedral on 17 July 1998 - their 17 July 1918 assasinated (and hidden) bodies having finally been discovered.

Finished off in the biggest Souvenir Shop ever seen - but they had free vodka!

Really glad we chose to do St Petersburg with Alla Tours - very professional and with a small group of just 16 we got real value for money and had a very well versed guide who was happy to talk about Russia and the difficulties its people face today.

Good dinner again but our table numbers are down - one of the downsides of cruising is catching a cold. We have both been inflicted to a degree, but fortunately, only mildly. One of us missed the Show last night - the other had no partner to dance with to the sounds of the Beatle Maniacs!!

Sunshine in St Petersberg - Sunday 6 September

Great show last night, the Beatle Maniacs, apparently Princess' most popular show and it was easy to see why.  Theatre was full and they had the audience in the palm of their hands with a show full of the Beatles greatest hits.

Early morning arrival into St Petersburg and the much feared very early enxounter with Russian Immigration. It was really quite a breeze and we were on the road with day 1 before 8am (fair to say that Russian Immigration officials are stony faced and, despite my best efforts in four encounters over 2 days, I could not get anything like a smile cracked). Our time in St Petersberg is with a Russian tour company, Alla Tours. Our guide has been excellent, getting us through queues and extremely informative - in her other life she is a University language lecturer. Our driver is also very efficient, but could have had a career in Immigration. There are at least 4 other cruise ships in town, so things are busy.

Started our day with a couple of photo stops then took a short subway ride. St Petersburg has a comprensive subway system and while we travelled on its newest section (about 6 years old), it was stunning, beautiful stations decorated in huge mosaic murals. The platform at which we alighted was 120M below ground - and it took around 6 minutes to come up via two extremely long escalators.

Off then to the Hermitage Museum, one of the five largest art museums in the world - more than 3 million exhibits of the finest collections of all main European artists and art schools. The collections had originally been started by Catherine the Great. If you spent 1 minute looking at each exhibit, it would take 6 years to see the lot.

Next, to The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, built on the site of the 1881 murder of Emperor Alexander II (and with some of the cobble stones on which he was murdered highlighted inside). This is one of St Petersburg's most stunning and iconic buildings. It has already been obvious that St Petersburg is the world capital of gold leaf.

Lunch then at a local restaurant in a beatifully preserved old building - soup, chicken kiev and apple pie, with some enjoyable Russian beer, before catching a hydrofoil for a 30 minute ride to Peterhof Palace where we toured the Lower Fountain Park and Upper Gardens. Peterhof is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was built by Peter the Great in the 18th century (rebuilt after the ravages of WWII) it is a huge complex of palaces, gardens and waterfalls and one of Russia's most famous tourist attractions. An absolutely stunning site, and one we were so lucky to see in beautiful sunshine. It is simply impossible to describe, but once again,gold leaf everywhere, including the multitude of waterfalls, many of them grandiose.

St Petersburg is a city of contradictions, built on the Neve River and with a labyrinthe of canals like Venice, it has many wide boulevards and many very big parks, a lot of vehicle traffic (very cheap petrol), quite clean and very little graffiti. On the one hand, full of very grand old palaces, castles and buildings that would challenge Paris if restored, and on the other, huge numbers of soviet style 50's and 60's apartment complexes that are bleak and evidence much concrete cancer.

Back on board for dinner and a Russian Folk Show - another sell out night in the theatre.

If it's raining, we must be in port

And so it was as we docked in Tallinn, Estonia - but this time it was real rain. Estonia has more than 1500 islands and islets and has struggled against Swedish and Russian domination throughout its history. It achieved independence after WWI but after WWII, it fell victim to a 50 year communist twilight. Even now, two decades after independence, tensions still simmer between the ethnic Estonians and the 25% ethnic Russian population.

Tallinn's medieval old town is extremely well preserved and much of it's city wall (26 watchtowers) remains intact. With the rain, we elected to take a taxi to the top of the old town to Toompea Castle (Estonian Parliament), the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (the one with the domes) and the Dome Church (the one without domes).

With the rain stopped, it was down to Town Hall Square with lots of restaurants, market stalls and entertainment. By now things were getting busy with four cruise ships in town - probably about as busy as when the town knights engaged in jousting tornaments and when the Square held criminals chained to pillories for public humiliation.

We then climbed part of the old wall to walk along it's top (more difficult for me than the Sea Walk!!). This section of the Wall is known as the "Sweater Wall" as on its outside are about a dozen stalls selling "home made" knitted hats, scarves, jumpers etc, etc. Lots of meandering through cobbled alleys (about the most seriously cobbled we have ever encountered). Many musical recitals happening around town and even brief periods of sunshine.

Came back down through Pikk St, via a Wheel Well, St Olav's Church (the KGB used its tower to block Finnish TV signals) and located it's HQ nearby, Fat Margaret Tower and the Pikk Gate.

Approaching the ship I could have used my cap as the sun was burning - 30 minutes later, rain again!!

Pre-dinner show tonight as we prepare for two big and long days in St Petersburg.

An at sea day of rest

Beautiful blue sky on this rest day at sea. One of us has needed the rest more than the other - more so, because she lost an hour moving into another time zone as we sail for Tallinn, Estonia. I do need to mention Pat's exercise class, her lap of the ship and her vigorous stair climbing.

Had a "meet & greet" of Cruise Critic members with a number of the senior crew turning up. Once again, a big number of the on board Cruise Critic members are Australian and we had one American approach us to proudly tell us he had been born in Melbourne - father, a US serviceman who took an Australian war bride and took her back to the USA..

One of us spent the afternoon on Deck 17 in, and around one of the pool and spa areas - beautiful in the sunshine. The Regal Princess is a huge ship but outside of meal times never seems crowded. It is very stable and even on the top decks, you can barely feel that you are at sea. It has a glass bottomed Sea Walk on Deck 16 which extends about 5M out over the sea. Interestingly, it is less challenging than I have found above ground glass platforms. The Baltic is a very busy shipping area and there is rarely a time when we don't have four or five ships in our balcony line of sight.

Big night with the champagne chandelier, the champagne and the Captain's address - English, with a fun sense of humour. Very enjoyable formal dinner and then the "Spectacular" Show, a very high quality production.

A long day for some

Good dinner and show last night, but I caused a bit of consternation trying to get my next bottle of wine when I did not have my wine package card with me. Following an "assessment" by senior staff, I was permitted another bottle - but I dare not forget my card tonight.

One little piece of information from Sweden - there are no longer any Post Offices, so Sweden is taking a very different approach to the postal business.

Just before midnight, we sailed under the Great Belt Bridge with not a lot of clearance, and by 7am we were docked in full sun at Warnemunde in Germany. About half the passengers headed off to Berlin - an 11 hour day (6 hours driving). We wandered off about 9am in what was a clear sky. Warnemunde is a major port area at the mouth of the Warnow River, with major shipping activity extending about 12 miles up river to Rostock. Ships and boats everywhere, ferries of all sizes, pleasure boats, fishing boats etc, etc.

Rostock is a city of 200,000 inhabitants with pretty much all of it's sights in its compact Old Town. We caught the train, about 5 stations, and a quite graffiti filled uninspiring trip (the ticket machine made myki look good - about 40 seconds to process each single instruction, coin etc). Great trains, however, with tram system running below the station. Took the tram to Old Town and wandered New Market Square, the local market, St Mary's Church, dating from the 14th century, the Rathaus (Town Hall), rows of reconstructed merchant houses and, with the onset of light drizzle, to University Square and the Kropelin Gate (one of two surviving towers of the old town wall). Seemed quite a vibrant town with modern shopping integrated into many older buildings.

Caught a ferry back to Warnemunde, a very pleasant 50 minutes sailing past numerous marinas, shipyards, ferry terminals. Also some nice waterfront residential properties. The river was often more than 400M wide and it was most enjoyable with a Rostock pilsener in hand (Rostock is a well regarded brewing area).

Wandered the boat harbour area of Warnemunde with lots of boats, fishing and pleasure, and attractive winding streets and housing. The harbour front is full of restaurants, market stalls - and on one side, fish sales. The town, which is a very popular holiday spot, also has a very long and wide sandy beach with dozens of beach chairs and mini cabanas for hire, as well as a very wide promenade with lots of day trippers.

Sunshine returned as we reboarded and we took advantage of it before dinner and the night's show, a Canadian comedian with quite a bit of audience participation.

Wednesday in Gothenburg

Very pleasant dinner last night, table now full, with 8 - all from Australia (2 x Adelaide and 4 x Perth). Followed dinner up with late show - excellent young English violinist playing a range of modern music.

Early morning arrival into Gothenburg and off ship by 8.15am. Initially a broken sky with a little sunshine. Gothenburg is a very large port, the biggest in Scandanvia, set at the mouth of the Gota River and strictly controlled - security, oh&s, migration etc. We were shuttled from the outer port into the city centre to Gustaf Adolfs Square and from there we went walking city streets in mixed weather, light showers then a brief period of sunshine, repeating. First time we have seen significant car traffic since Paris, but it was morning peak. Down past Kungsports-Platsen statue to one of the major canals and the fresh food market. On one side the canal is lined with parklands and we criss crossed a number of bridges to get to the fish market - alas not open till 10am.

Wandered on and through Gothenburg's pedestrianised streets to see the Gothenburg Cathedral which is built in a light filled Neo-Classical style (the third to be built - first two burning down in 1721 and 1802 respectively). Then considered a canal boat tour, but wisely opted for a coffee as the next two showers arrived (canal boats are not covered). Headed into the Tradgardsforeningen (the Garden Society of Gothenburg) which has a pavillion in the same style as Kew Gardens, and is set in lovely gardens.

Headed back to inner harbour area to Gothenburg's Opera House and for a view across the Viking, a 1906 four masted steel barque, reputedly the biggest sailing ship ever built in Scandanvia, to the building affectionately known as the Lipstick Building - 23 stories in red and white.

With our half day in Gothenburg over, we headed back to ship via shuttle bus with police coming on board checking every single passenger card before being allowed into port area. Not suprising as the news over here is constantly of "asylum" seekers coming into Europe. Greek islands being over run with thousands of arrivals every day, Austria experiencing the deaths of people smuggler victims, Hungary building a border wall, and Budapest main station closed for two days as it is besieged by those trying to catch trains into western Europe.

Spent a couple of afternoon hours chasing sun around the ship. Weather is so so, with a significant low pressure system holding fast over the Balkans.

Drizzle in Oslo

On time arrival into Oslo, but very light drizzle as we got off ship.  We were berthed adjacent to Akershus Fortress, so an easy stroll into centre. Headed to Tourist Information office in Central Station, a magnificent station on three levels with all services you need on site and adjacent bus and tram interchanges, to change some money (this trip encompasses six different currencies) and buy all day Oslo travel tickets.

Caught a tram to Aker Brygge, Oslo's waterfront neighbourhood which is a very nice redevelopment, full of restaurants, office blocks and apartments, but nothing over 6 or 7 floors - makes Docklands look sick, and would be a great place to live (in the summer). Took the tram further to Frogner Park, 75 acres of parklands containing the lifetime works of Gustav Vigeland. From 1924 to 1943 he worked on site, creating 192 bronze and granite statue groupings (all nude). The park is much loved by the locals (no police, no fences - and no graffiti).

Worth mentioning here the price of public toilets,10DK to 20DK (almost $2 - $4). Oslo is a beautiful city, just like we observed of Norway generally last year - lots of parks, flower beds and fountains. Onward to Bogstadveien, a long boulevard lined with trendy shops, restaurants and cafes. We then walked to the Royal Palace and its park before completing our HOHO diy tram circuit of the city.

One more tram ride to City Hall (Radhuset) on the harbourfront. The site was a slum, with building works commencing in 1931, a WWII delay, and a 1950 completion in time to celebrate the city's 900th birthday. The huge open hall is lined with massive murals depicting Norway's WWII experience, Norwegian life and the contribution of people from all walks of life.

We have had drizzle all day, just enough to be annoying but not enough to stop us doing things or preventing enjoyment. Despite the drizzle, Oslo has on confirmed our very positive impressions of Norway.

On board Prince Regal

Very enjoyable time last  night at Tivoli. It is an amazing amusement park, built over the road from City Hall, right in the centre of Copenhagen. The equivalent area in Melbourne would extend over the square bordered by Bourke, Swanston, Queen and Lonsdale St's. Lots of restaurants (we ate Japanese), wonderful lakes and gardens, and rides and amusements of all sorts. Had a young couple who heard us talking come over for a chat - just married, she from Adelaide, he from England, and had just moved to London.

This morning we visited Copenhagen City Hall. Amazingly, you can wander freely through the whole complex - the office areas included. It is a very large and beautiful building, draped inside and out, in Danish symbolism. The famous Danish world clock is on working display - time (although it cannot account for daylight saving), day, month, year, world time zones etc, etc. One of its cogs will take over 25,000 years to complete one revolution!!!!!

Took our last stroll along part of the Stroget and had a coffee, bumping in to other Australians we met yesterday-we have met quite a few sailing on our cruise. A bit of drizzle as we headed to our ship and had the fastest check in yet - matched the Elites!!!! Beautiful ship in just its second season, but huge and we are still working it out. First time ever, emergency drill was indoors.

Big plus tonight for Pat as the Show for late diners was before dinner, not after. Entertaining English Cruise Director but a couple of Ashes jokes as one would expect. Ship is full with over 3500 passengers (1400+ USA, , then, Australian, with about 570). Good magician for first show.

Only four turned up for dinner on our table, ourselves and a Sri Lankan, 30 year, aussie couple from Perth - good company and good food,  but getting a wine package arranged was a work of art!!

Copenhagen again

Another very pleasant day around 20C and no wind. Sacrificed our breeze last night in the interests of sleep - amazing the impact of double glazing.

Resumed our HOHO experiences by taking trip around Chritianshavn, the old Danish military area, now home to lots of cultural, artistic and musical campuses, sports fields, community garden plots (on which the locals generally have a very small summer house) and the Christiana freewheeling alternative community. Hopped off at new Copenhagen Mall, built on site of the old fish market (absolutely best toilets yet - pristine! Most public toilets in Copenhagen cannot cope with the massive tourist numbers.

Then around further for boat to Nyhaven, which is the waterfront area most emblematic of Copenhagen, and lined on both sides with 3 to 5 story brightly painted properties dating to the 1740's. Full of restaurants and all fully patronised today. Wandered on to the Royal Danish Playhouse and then through the streets of the Stroget (Copenhagen's bunny hopping pedestrianised inner core) which is lined with shops,  shops, shops!

Final HOHO bus route, out and back to Carlsberg Brewery. We have had full value from our 48 hour ticket - all 3 bus routes, the boat route, a canal tour and a few link up rides.

Feet up for an hour before we head off to Happy Hour and then out to Tivoli Gardens for the evening. Tivoli is Copenhagen's, and the world's, grand old classic amusement park since 1843 - on 20 acres of city central land and very close to our hotel.

Saturday in Copenhagen

We are in an area full of hotels and lots of restaurants - but on the edge of Copenhagen's red light district.  Lots of noise through to daylight hours, but one of us slept through it. Very nice breakfast and then off to explore.

My plans were pretty quickly thwarted by building works on the main canal and by the fact that the Copenhagen Open Water Swim was on (full day of events, swimming around one of the CBD islands). Altered plans with a 48 hour hop on/hop off bus and boat ticket. On the boat to Nyhaven, the Little Mermaid and then to Amalienborg Palace where Fred and Mary live - they were not taking visitors, but we at the right time for the Changing of the Guard. Big crowds everywhere in a very nice 23C day of full sun. The locals love the sunshine (bikes and boats everywhere) and were out in force, bolstered by the passengers off four big cruise ships.

Then on to bus to Rosenborg Castle and its gardens, built in the early 1600's by King Christian IV as a summer residence. Walked through part of the Stroget, the main shopping area and then took boat around the canals - amazing the number of boats out on the water.  Saturday afternoon, amazing also the number of wedding attendees arriving by bike. Bikes are everywhere, big costs in having a car - and sometimes it is near impossible to get along a footpath because of the parked bikes. The locals have great bike skills - talking, texting, taking photos while in full flight is common.

Walked home via Christiansborg Palace, once the royal palace (rebuilt six times in 800 years ) and now government offices.

Happy Hour at our hotel is free so enjoyed some wine with 5 South Australians who had just arrived (3 sailing on our cruise). Dinner down the street in a very old and authentic Danish restaurant -I could not finish my schnitzel!! On the way back had to pass a Lidl store, Pat can report that Lidl is just like Aldi.

Berlin to Copenhagen - Friday 28 August

Relaxing breakfast and checkout. We loved our hotel which was well placed, and our upgrade to a fully renovated apartment was a real plus. Just an 800M stroll to main station which is on 4 levels and very new - 80 shops.

Impressions of Berlin. (These are mine because Pat found few redeeming features (other than the supermarket prices - before getting to Kurfurstendamm, which she thought better than the Champs Elysees.) Berlin:
● Does not have the style of Paris or Milan.
● It has some stunning architecture, but not as consolidated as in Paris.
● It's landscaping is not well kept, and cigarette butts abound.
● There are major infrastructure projects happening all over, including Museum Island, another new underground rail line (with another just completed) and major building projects everywhere.
● Almost all young girls and women smoke, and large numbers have tattoos.
● Make up is not a big seller.
● It does not seem to have traffic problems, probably due to its massive and efficient public transport systems.
● Much of the city area, having been east of the wall, is still catching up in terms of infrasructure and build quality.
● It seems to be brutally honest about it's Hitler led history. 
In summary, it is a city of contradictions - compare the graffiti in many places,  including the East Side Gallery, with Kurfurstendamm, where the designer shops have permanent glass showcases on the footpath, and they are untouched.

Anyway, on to Copenhagen. We headed first to Hamburg where our train split in two and our half headed to the German coast, the train drove on to the ferry and in 30 minutes we were in Denmark and then on to Copenhagen. 200M walk to the Andersen Boutique Hotel (a little more bohemian than boutique!). Very small room as is, I think, the way of Copenhagen, and such a contrast to our Berlin apartment. Immediately invited to an arty party with drinks in the foyer with the"beautiful people" of Copenhagen - expected Paul Barbera to turn up at any minute!!

Some Copenhagen street food, a quick wander, a little more party and off to bed.

No need to panic

Sleep was a prized commodity after yesterday's hard day - and it came easily until the hotel fire alarm activated at 3.02am. It was loud and continuing, so all out down the fire escape (just 3 floors for us) to the safe assembly area. Most had dressed, but some were just in pj's and bare feet (read, us). We had police and 3 fire units arrive, but knew all was ok when just two firemen went in with their invoice book just to ensure the call out fee was signed for. It was, however, an excellent effort for an unrehearsed evacuation. Finally back to bed after 3.30am.

A bit later for breakfast than planned, and then off with an all day public transport ticket, great value. First to Eastside Gallery, the biggest remaining stretch of the Wall and now "the world's longest outdoor art gallery". Almost a mile long and covered with murals by artists from around the world. While the artists re-created their works in 2009, the 20th anniversay of the fall of the Wall, the years since have seen significant defacement and graffiti-a great shame. Parts of the gallery are also being removed for driveways into new buildings.

Across town then to the grand Kurfurstendamm boulevard for shopping centres (the newest of which has a panoramic window into the baboon enclosure in the adjoining zoo). Kurfurstendamm is full of all the designer shops (plenty of waiting time for me) and is a boulevard more than a mile long and similar to St Kilda Rd, very wide with a tree lined centre plantation.

A quick bite to eat and a beer then back on the SBahn and UBanh to Hackescher Markt (the station is atop a series of classic Neo Gothic brick archways) for the afternoon market and for a lap of Museum Island which contains many of Berlin's museums. Many of the museums are undergoing renovation or rebuild with the intention of the Island becoming one of the world's premiere museum precicnts - a project extending to 2025. Some of the buildings are quite spectacular, as is the nearby Berlin Cathedral which towers over Museum Island.

Another long day of many walked km's before a quick supermarket visit for dinner supplies, an excellent dinner, and a run for the washing machine - heaven for Pat!!!

A big day in Berlin

Very pleasant breakfast in our hotel restaurant and then it was off for a long day of 11+ hours, with most on our feet.

We headed off on the UBanh to Checkpoint Charlie where East met West.Today it is just a tourist re-creation but at the real spot adjacent to what was the Berlin Wall. It has a panelled story of the Wall on its street corner. Then off to the Topography of Terror, an internal/external pictorial museum documenting the Nazi perpetrators, built on the site of the former Gestapo/SS Headquarters, with a preserved section of the Wall, and brutally honest. It would be possible to spend 4 hours at this compelling site.

Walked on to Potsdamer Platz (major intersection of around 8 roads and an area of more modern architecture) via an Opera House with clearly visible armament damage and an East Berlin watch tower. Then through to, and through, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust memorial with almost 3000 symbolic pillars) to Brandenburg Gate, one of Berlin's most famous landmarks, and at the former border of East and West.

Into Tiergarten, Berlin's huge park in front of the Gate and the parliament, and to the Memorial to the Murdered Sinti and Roma (Gypsies) of Europe. Walked a while along the Spree Riverfront before catching a riverboat tour - trap for young players, check that they have an English commentary. It was, however, an enjoyable cruise in beautiful sunshine.

Needed a bite and a beer before heading down part of Unter den Linden which is Berlin's premiere boulevard (dating to the 15th century and once the heart of the former East Berlin). At present it is rather unattractive as an underground rail extension is being built below it - a 3 station long  line linking two existing lines, and requiring the relocation of an incredibly complex array of water, gas, electricity, drainage, sewerage and telecommunications infrastructure.

I had been able to pre-arrange a guided tour of the Reichstag, the German parliament building, and this was a highlight of the day. An excellent young guide took us through a massive building complex that brings together the old and the new. A parliamentary chamber that was wrecked during the war, unoccupied from that time due to the East/West divide, as it sits adjacent to where the Wall was, and was only rebuilt 19 years back. It retains on its internal walls, the messages of Russian troops who were involved in taking Berlin at the climax of WWII, a lot of armament evidence as well as modern parliamentary chamber and a striking glass dome. Sloping ramps take you to the top for great views - and during the tour we were able to loiter at Angela Merkel's office door.

Heaed home via the UBanh and SBanh (and Pat's supermarket) for an eat in night with shoes off after lots of km's - and dead beat!!

Paris to Berlin

Long day with very early breakfast and taxi.  Very light traffic (last week of summer holidays) saw us with plenty of time for Paris to Mannheim leg. On a TGV but not all the route is fast track - best is within France and touched 313km/hour. French countryside is quite spectacular with almost manicured cropping - grain harvest finished but now ploughing for next season. Very nice breakfast/morning tea box on French leg with passenger announcements in French, German and English.

Quick transfer at Mannheim for Berlin train. Once again very comfortable but without the niceties of France - buy your food and drink and announcements just in German. Agricultural areas very nice but not, the precision of the French. Many, many wind farms, some huge with around 100 turbines and quite a few solar farms.

On time into Berlin (after more than 9 hours) and brisk 800M walk to our hotel. The value of a pre-trip exchange of pleasantries (suck up!!!!) was rewarded with an upgrade to a full apartment (just completely renovated) with the works, kitchen, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer etc, etc. Pasta and pizza meal then off for a walk during which Pat discovered a supermarket - naturally, the best and cheapest she has ever encountered!!!! Blueberries €0.99/200gr - she is still talking about it, and still eating blueberries.

Big day of sightseeing tomorrow - forecast 28C.

Bad day in Paris - 24 August

After wonderful weather for the last 6 days, we woke to a mild but wet Paris day. Early steady rain which broke up for parts of the day but was with us in fits and starts pretty well all day - occasionally heavy, but mostly just beyond annoying, and sometimes worse.

We had a bus tour around the principal tourist sites which kept us quite dry. We then took leave at Invalides and walked back to Montparnasse and then the full length of Rue de Rennes though St Germaine before heading to the Seine and walking back to Musee D'Orsay and catching the Metro back to Javel and Avalon Creativity.

The Creativity is a beautiful ship kept in pristine condition and I could not fault any part of what Avalon delivered on this trip.  Being on the Royal Deck obviously had the benefit of the best views - including always being well above the river bank (except when in the locks) and beeing just steps from the rear lounge and its facilties. Our docking port is just a little distance from the Eiffel Tower, so it is always in view and we have an adjacent sightseeing balloon (locked down due to the weather today).

Our last dinner was, as always, beautiful, with the wine flowing freely. The challenge is a very early start tomorrow - taxi booked for 6.40am for the 8.07am train Paris Gare de l'Este to Berlin. Packing still to be done!!

Docked at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine

Somewhat cooler as we went for an early stroll to the waterfront market.  It is very hard to walk past the beatifully presented food stalls.  Then off to Auvers-Sur-Oise, the town in which Vincent van Gogh lived the last 10 weeks of his life.  Amazingly he painted just on 70 works in those 70 days before he committed suicide (or did he ????).

van Gogh sold only one painting while alive, even though his brother, Theo, who died just a few months later and is buried alongside, was an art dealer and his benefactor. The Notre Dame church of Auvers-Sur-Oise was the subject of one of his best known paintings (now in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris) and just 250 metres from the site of his death in the adjoining fields. Despite assurances of no rain, we were caught in a shower walking from those fields to the Inn where van Gogh boarded in those last weeks of his life.

It is worth mentioning the quality of the guides we have had - without exception, excellent.  Today's was a young woman who had travelled extensively (Australia included), had a vibrant personality and was very well researched. She could see the funny side of everything,  including the French themselves and particularly the Parissienes.

Relaxing time this afternoon as we sailed back toward Paris with a scheduled arrival around 8pm. Very peaceful on the river, plenty of slow boats, white swans and ever changing scenery. Very pleasant on the Sun Deck but had to lower the wheelhouse, radar etc to slide under a few bridges - hard not to duck. 

Very social night with champagne, canapes and a 5 course meal (small serves!!!) Including the obligatory parade of crew and bombe alaska.

Rouen - Saturday 22 August

Slower paced day today as we enjoyed blue skies and 30C in Rouen, the capital of lower Normandy.  Started off with a guided walk around the old town which features many spired churches (leading Victor Hugo to call Rouen the "city of the hundred spires"). Despite its WWII devastation, its old town contains 800 classified buildings and numerous half timber houses dating back to the 15th century.

It is also the city of Joan of Arc's barbaric martrydom, now memorialised on site in a beautiful stained glass centre, and it was the spectacularly spired Cathedral of Our Lady, that inspired one of Claude Monet's series of works.

Back on board for lunch (food is first class) before Pat and I explored further into an area of stunning food shops. The great pity is that you simply cannot get to eat it because we are so well fed on board. We wandered through a pedestrianised restaurant precint with a stream running through, an area of antique shops and even a violin/strings artisan.

The cobblestones are very hard on the feet and legs, and we always need to struggle a bit to get back on board. Took the opportunity for an on board haircut - Ezster from Hungary and just 8€!!!

Beautiful dinner as we sailed off in the sunshine and later finished the evening with the crew show - highlighted by an outstanding comedy skit. The crew are from many nations and seem to have great comradrie to go with their bright dispositions and dedicated customer service commitment.

D Day Beaches & Tastes of Normandy

We went our separate ways today, Pat on a Tastes of Normandy day and I went to the British & Canadian D Day Beaches and two war cemeteries. A beautiful day which touched 30C.

Our travel through upper Normandy took us through much of France's foodbowl, with very big wheat farms (record harvest this year), corn (for animal feed), sugar beet, flax, dairying, very impressive horse studs and, apple orchards for the cider and calvados. We also passed very big transmission lines and heard that Normandy has two nuclear power plants supplying 70% of the country's electricity.

My first stop was at Ranville Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. Ranville has some 2300 Commonwealth war dead from D Day and the fighting which followed (vast majority British). The yougest buried here was just 16 (having put his age up to enlist). Two Australians are buried here, Fl Lt's T. Anderson & Henry Lacy Smith, the latter having been shot down five days after D Day, on 11 June 1944.  Smith's plane crashed into a river and his body was not discovered and recovered until 2010. He was finally buried here in 2011. 300 Germans are also buried in this beatifully maintained cemetery - one of 18 the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains in Normandy. Because of its commitment to the war in the Pacific, Australia had minimal D Day involvement - esentialy limited to the RAAF flying contingent.

We then moved onto what is now known as Pegasus Bridge. The bridge was over the Caen Canal and was targetted as the first and vital objective for D Day. It was taken in 10 minutes (the Germans having been convinced to move many troops toward Calais as the anticipated landing point). The 6th Airborne Division  force that took Pegasus came in from England on massive towed "gliders" (28 fully equipped soldiers in each). Three landed within 150 metres of the bridge to forge the beginning of D Day. The original Pegasus Bridge is in a quite new British museum which we visited, together with a replica glider and an original fuselage.

On then to Arromanches one of the beaches where the British established articial pontoon harbours (many remnants remaing in the water) to facilitate post D Day landings. Lots of people on the beach and in the water as the end of summer holidays approach.

Then to Courselles-S-Mer (Juno Beach) where the Canadians landed in the early hours of D Day, suffering huge casualties due to the obstacles placed in the water by the Germans and the land based bunkers from which the Germans operated.  Courselles-S-Mer is said to be the first town freed in the D Day campaign. It is now the site of a Canadian War Museum, staffed by young Canadians. It was quite surreal to see the town and its marina as a beach resort with many taking advantage of the summer sun.

Our last stop was Beny-Sur-Mer, Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery where more than 2000 (almost exclusively Canadian) are buried from the action on D Day and the early advance to Caen - eight sets of two brothers and one set of three.

Pat's Tastes of Normandy tour experienced all the agricultural and pastoral activity noted above and included a visit to Bayeux for its Gothic cathedral and the famous Bayeux tapestry which depicts the battles of William the Conqueror (known in many parts as William the Bastard). They then proceeded to Beuvron en Auge, said to be one of France's most beautiful villages, for sightseeing and a local lunch, including tastes of the three significant Normandy cheeses, including camembert. On then to the cider route road to Chateau de Brevil for tastings of cider and calvados, before the end of a 10 hour day.

It was a long day, it's a long post - and it will be a long read. Sorry!!!

Moored at Caudebec

Woke to what we understand is a typical Normandy day - fog across the water and misty rain. With breakfast over we headed off on the Route des Chaumieres to see some of Normandy's half timbered, thatched roof houses just as the drizzle ceased.  Some magnificent properties in a very quiet rural area, through fields and forests. The top ridge line of the thatched roof is planted with irises to tie the thatching together and to remove humidity from inside the property.

On then to a small Normandy town, Pont Audemer, where we walked those streets not destroyed by WWII bombing.  Lovely old shops in buildings more than 300 years old, with a number of water courses running between them. Once again, just us and the locals in what was now a pleasant morning.

Back on board for lunch and then to Honfleur at the top of the Seine estuary - and what a culture shock that was.   Unlike this morning's isolation and tourist free nature, Honfleur was packed with tourists.  Restaurants by the dozen on the waterfront - and all of them packed. Once again, ancient half timbered properties, including tall thin properties surrounding the waterfront and a massive salt wharehouse where tons changed hands, primarily to support the preserving of fish. Much of Honfleur had also been destroyed by WWII bombing but it is now a tourism mecca, particularly around the preserved harbour - but the ancient cobblestones took their toll as the afternoon ended.

Back to the ship for a D Day landings information session before dinner, which once again was delightful food, excellent company and good wine. Early night to prepare for a big 10 hour day to the Normandy landing beaches tomorrow.

Giverny & Les Andelys

Creativity sailed most of night and we passed through 4 locks. Good sleep, good breakfast, docked at Vernon and off we set for Monet's garden in Giverny.  Beautiful morning and we beat the crowds for an idyllic stroll through the gardens and the house.  Very colourful and relatively informal gardens and with the property now in the hands of the Monet Foundation.  Delightful small town of house proud owners and a number of galleries.

Back on board for a savoury pancake lunch from a local chef on the Sun Deck as we set sail for Les Andelys.  Once docked, we took the low road (not allowed to take the climb to Richard the Lionheart's Chateau Gaillard which was built as a fortress in 1196 and overlooks the town).  Les Andelys is one of the prettiest we have experienced anywhere - much of it Elizabethan, with the Parish Church of Grand  Andeley dating to the 1200's and a magnificent retirement home on the waterfront in what was previously a massive abbey.

A lot of shipping activity all along the river - predominantly working boats and barges.

Dinner beautiful as we sailed by long stretches of magnicent river front properties, many of Elizabethan flavour and size.  Very easy to see the past relationship of Britain and Normandy when you look at the predominant architecture of these parts.  Sitting in a lock, as I write this, the northernmost of 5 through which we have passed.

In to Paris - 17/18 August

Early pick up saw us with plenty of Tulla time. Our Express Pass seemed of little value in getting through Customs as our arrival coincided with many flight crew.  Once through Customs, however, we jumped the queue completely and were in the Singapore Airlines lounge in no time. On time boarding onto what seemed a very new B377 with a top notch crew who knew what customer service was all about. Heston B of the Fat Duck was on board and will never know how close he came to getting Curtis Stone's life story.

Transfer to Terminal 3 by foot and rail with more time in Singapore lounge and on time departure (A380) to CDG Paris. Very good service again, and a bit of sleep got us through. Beat our scheduled arrival time into CDG where our Express Pass saw us through French immigration without a queue and in 1 minute flat. Handed over luggage to Avalon rep and transferred to Pullman Montparnasee Hotel meeting point. After a freshen up, spent 3 hours wandering the Montparnasse streets before returning for our Eiffel Tower excursion.  Some years since we went up the Tower, but a pleasant 22C and a clear sky resulted in a good view over Paris - always spectacular.   Tower now has a glass floor on part of level 1 - not for me! Queues were very long but we bypassed most and had about 45 minutes at level 2.

Continued on for efficient Avalon check in on Creativity, welcome drink and settling in before setting sail on the Seine.  About 80% full with around 70% from US, and the balance mainly from UK, Canada, Australia and NZ - average age probably a bit older than us. Beautiful dinner and then an early night - about 46 hours since we were last in a real bed.