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The Europe we missed

April - May 2018
During our trip around Europe last year we did not manage to go to Italy and since we had cruise credits we picked an itinerary that took us around the boot plus a couple of other countries. While in Europe, we are adding the Russian river cruise. Read more
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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    Day 25

    Valetta

    May 8, 2018 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Another new country to add to our list - this time Malta. We had a really nice time at Valetta and is a place steeped in history. It has been under the control of various empires for thousands of years from Roman to Ottoman but now is quite British. Once again, due to its strategic location, Malta played an important role in WWII and in fact is the only country in the world to receive the St George Cross - the highest civilian award that can be given.

    Another fortified city, Valetta is quite spectacular to sail into. We toured independently, visiting the gardens, The Malta Experience (an audio- visual about the history of Malta), and also included a brief tour of the hospital which boasted the longest ward in the world at 155 metres long; and Fort St Elmo which tied all the history we saw in the AV together.

    During WWII they had 3 small planes (nicknamed Faith, Hope and Charity) that they constantly flew around to help thwart incoming attacks from the enemy. This was one of the reasons they earned the St George Cross.

    Twice a day they fired canons and Brad was pretty chuffed to get the perfectly timed photo. It was a long day with plenty of walking, but very enjoyable.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    Day 26

    Gozo

    May 9, 2018 in Malta ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Gozo is another island of Malta and we spent half a day here. We did the hop on hop off bus, or rather we hopped on but didn't hop off until the end as time was short and it was the only way we could guarantee to get back to the ship on time . There was not a great deal to see in Gozo - there is a church with reportedly the third largest dome in the world, a blue grotto or azure window or something but we really only glimpsed these things from the bus.

    Some of the architecture was rather interesting - enclosed wooden balconies that protrude from the side of the building. Couldn't really fit more than 2 people, certainly not a chair and table and they don't look all that secure.

    This is a short entry - probably a port we really don't need to stop at but would possibly be better to do a ship tour instead.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    1
    Day 27

    Palermo

    May 10, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Palermo is on the island of Sicily (Italy) and we did a tour of the Mysterys of Palermo. This included a trip to the Catacombs of the Capuchin monks. Here there were well preserved bodies of people from the late 1500's through to the 1800's? (not sure of date). There was even the preserved body of a 2 year old child who died of influenza in 1920 - the family got permission to open the catacombs for her. Quite interesting, people were very small back then. Could not take any photos, but then, it is bit macabre!

    We then had a walking tour through 2 oratories in the city. I am not really sure of the purpose of an oratory- they are sort of like a church or cathedral but it is a place where they meet to recite the rosary. My apologies to my Catholic friends as I probably have this entirely wrong but when the guide explained the paintings and the sculptures which outlined each of the 'mysteries' of the Christian faith (eg, the nativity, crucifixion, Pentecost etc - there were 15 sections) it made sense. The detail was incredible.

    Apart from that, Palermo is a large city. The traffic is chaotic, everyone seems to drive and park all over the place. Not a pretty city but an interesting day nevertheless.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    1
    Day 28

    Mt Vesuvius

    May 11, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We arrived in Naples again, 2nd last day of the cruise. Brad had booked a trek up Mt Vesuvius which all sounded a bit too strenuous to me so I just stayed on the ship, had a leisurely breakfast, finished up a couple of my footprint blogs and went to the port terminal to find WiFi so that I could post them. Naples is not a city I cared to walk about on my own so I was happy to have a bit of a day off from touring.

    Brad said the walk up Mt Vesuvius wasn't too bad...a little steep in parts and you got to look down into the crater. Steam was coming out of fissures but no eruptions (thankfully). He said there were people selling pieces of lava which was a little strange because you only had to bend down and pick up pieces. They may have been carved into a shape or something but I don't know why you would buy it.

    Back on the ship it was packing our bags for disembarking and we even went to afternoon tea - very civilised with little sandwiches, cakes and scones with jam and cream. Not sure why we had not gone to this before as it was served every afternoon. For the last week or so we had been going to trivia with Bert and Margaret, a retired couple from Northern Ireland - Bert was very funny, always had a joke to tell. They were very clever and we won a majority of the time much to the disgust of the other teams. We were asked by a couple of other teams if we were continuing on the cruise but we were all leaving so now they are happy because they think they have a chance.

    As usual, it has been a good cruise and the longest one we have done (2 back to back cruises of 12 days each). The ship is one of the older ones in the fleet and is looking a little tired but we were happy with our room.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    Day 29

    Return to Rome

    May 12, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Ship docked in Civitaveccia we had a Glimpse of Rome tour with transfer to the airport. We are actually staying in an airport hotel and flying the next day so we thought we may have time to visit St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican in the afternoon. The bus tour took us past a few things we did not see before such as Circus Maximus (think Ben Hur and the chariot racing), Palantine Hill and Roman Forum plus Republic Square with its impressive large building. We didn't get any photos of these though because to much reflection from the bus windows. Actually, the main reason was because the camera was at the bottom of the backpack and too hard to get out.

    We did stop at St Paul's Basilica which is smaller but is still the largest church I've ever been in - very ornate, very impressive. It's a good thing we stopped here because as it turned out we never did get to see the Vatican (except from the outside). By the time we got to our hotel it was 2pm and to get back into Rome and queue up we did not think we would make it. Maybe it is something we will have to aim for in the future (or maybe not!?!)    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    Day 31

    Helsinki

    May 14, 2018 in Finland ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Our first impressions of Helsinki are......... fabulous!!! We arrived from Rome yesterday afternoon fully prepared for temperatures to drop to mid teens but actually it is perfect mid 20's. We have this great little apartment near the city centre, fully self contained... including a washing machine (yay! ). Grabbed ourselves some supplies for breakfast etc. and then walked into the city centre - about 15 minutes - as we had to collect our Helsinki Card in the morning and wanted to find where the ticket office was. (The Helsinki Card gives us access to all public transport, 2 bus tours, a boat tour plus other discounts for entry etc. ) This city is beautiful - it was 10.30pm and still light - and clean, except for the ever present cigarette butt- yuk!

    Good sleep in this morning, beautiful sunny day again, and walked into town to get Helsinki Card. Started with the Panorama bus tour which orientated us with the city. It only makes one stop at the Rock Church (has a long name) which has been built into a blasted out rock and the ceiling is a mixture of copper and glass. Looks amazing. After our drive around the city we had lunch by the waterfront and dined on a bit of Rudolf and Bullwinkle - yep! Reindeer burger and moose meat pie. Actually tasted pretty good (No, not like chicken!)

    We checked out two of the large churches in the area - the large white Lutheran Helsinki Cathedral and the equally large red brick with shiny golden orbs Russian Orthodox church - before going on the boat cruise around the many islands around Helsinki harbour. Very enjoyable day with a other one tomorrow and the weather promising to be sunny and warm again.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    Day 32

    Helsinki part 2

    May 15, 2018 in Finland ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Our last day in Helsinki and we woke to another beautiful day. Apparently warm sunny weather is a bit of a rarity in Finland and even makes the news headlines. We are lucky to have seen Helsinki at its absolute best.

    We caught the tram to the railway station as a bit of a trial run as we needed to leave early to get to the airport (it all worked well as I am writing this blog at the airport). After that we caught the HOHO bus to pick up a couple of sights we missed the previous day. First stop was the Sibilius monument - an unusual sculpture dedicated to a Finnish composer. We checked out the interior of the Russian Orthodox cathedral (was closed on Monday), had some lunch and bought some Finnish lollies that are apparently an acquired taste. They are like a salty licorice. I don't like licorice but first taste I thought it was ok, second taste not so much.

    In the afternoon we caught the ferry to Suomenlinna Island - a sea fortress that protected the city of Helsinki. We inspected a WWII submarine , a military museum and generally walked around the island enjoying the scenery and the sunshine. In the evening we went to a traditional Lappish (Lapland) restaurant where they had a fish boat - large boat filled with ice and variety of seafood dishes and salads.... something a bit different and it was very nice. Surprisingly one of my favorite dishes was some sort of fish (pike?) that was pickled? with a purple fruit (lingonberry?)

    Overall, we had a great time in Helsinki and would recommend it to others... just make sure you order the fine weather as Helsinki in the middle of winter is covered in snow and ice and sees just 2 hours of daylight.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    Day 34

    St Petersburg Part 1

    May 17, 2018 in Russia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Early start Wednesday as we made our way to the airport for our flight from Helsinki to Russia. No hassles and arrived in St Petersburg and thankfully were met at the airport by a travel representative and transferred to our ship. Russian river boats are not like the fancy European river boats and our cabins are quite cosy (real estate lingo for cramped) however they are comfortable enough. There are 210 passengers on board - all Australian I think. Unlike ocean cruises, WiFi is available (free ) in the lounge/ bar although it may be a bit sketchy along our journey.

    Our first full day started early with a city tour including photo stops at various points of interest such as the Smolny Cathedral, St Isaacs, and the Church of the Saviour on our Spilled Blood (with its ornate onion shaped domes) before visiting the Winter Palace (The Hermitage) which was the main residence of the Russian Tsars from the 1760's. Today, the Hermitage boasts over 2.7 million exhibits from throughout history (from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century Europe). The experts say that if you were to spend a minute looking at each exhibit on display in the Hermitage, you would need 11 years before you'd seen them all. Needless to say, we only saw a smidgen of artworks etc. One of the must see exhibits was The Peacock Clock which features 3 birds that which come to life when it strikes (only once a week apparently - 5pm Friday), so we didn't see it working but there was a video showing its operation. There was also an impressive vase made from from a single slab of jasper and weighs over 19 tonnes.

    After a four course lunch at a local restaurant, we then visited the St Peter and Paul Fortress which is a citadel that houses several buildings including the mint (for coins only) and the Peter and Paul Cathedral which is the burial place of most of the Russian tsars plus a few other members of the royal family.

    It was a busy day with a lot of walking and standing around but it was very interesting. The guides kept thanking us for bringing lovely sunny Aussie weather as they generally only have 30 sunny days a year. Our run of great weather continues!    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    Day 35

    St Petersburg Part 2

    May 18, 2018 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Another fine sunny day even though rain was forecast. Fortunately it held off until the evening, after all our touring of St Petersburg was completed. Today we visited the Imperial Estate - Peterhof - also known as the Russian Versailles . Intended as a Summer royal residence, it features beautiful gardens with numerous statues and fountains. We were fortunate at this time of year to see masses of tulips and daffodils flowering.

    Our tour took us through a section of the palace, which like most royal palaces just oozed opulence with carvings in gold leaf, expensive silks and tapestries, intricate timber inlaid flooring and basically no expense spared. We also visited the bath house complete with cold baths, warm baths, steam rooms and fountain shower room - all completely over the top.

    Unlike other palaces / museums / cathedrals we have visited, at Peterhof we made to donn protective booties (like those used in a hospital), and were paraded through each room in quick smart time with rather serious faced Russian women in each room ensuring we did not touch anything and kept walking with a rather abrupt 'Move it'. It came across as quite rude but it think it was more due to the language differences.

    Back on board the boat we sailed out from St Petersburg, making our way to Moscow.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceThe Europe we missed
    Day 36

    Mandrogi

    May 19, 2018 in Russia ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    On our way to our next destination we crossed the largest lake in Europe - Lake Lagoda. Almost like an inland sea it became quite rough during the night and the boat rocked and rolled a bit (but not enough to make us sick). In the morning we entered the Svir River on our way to Mandrogi, our lunchtime destination. We had a lecture on handicrafts and what to look for if purchasing Matrousska dolls (the Russian nesting dolls), lacquer boxes, Faberge eggs and the various lacework, embroidery and other handiwork. Basically, if it only costs a few hundred rubles (100 rubles = $2 approx.) then it is not the genuine article and probably not even a good copy. After this we had a Russian language lesson. At 33 letters in their alphabet and letters that look like backward N, R,; E on its side; K as a back to back mirror image; plus an assortment of other strange symbols, we soon discovered that Russian would be a very difficult language to learn (especially when a P is pronounced as R and H as N.) Still, it was a bit of fun and we even started learning a Russian song. We will find out what we were singing about next lesson.

    We arrived at Mandrogi, a fishing village that was ruined during WWII. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a group of Russian investors decided to restore the village as a type of open air museum which demonstrated traditional Russian folk life, arts and crafts (hence this morning's lecture), woodworking and probably the most popular, a vodka museum (the tour included some vodka tasting)

    During a traditional Russian BBQ lunch (chicken shishlak) we were entertained by a Russian folk music group. Now, usually I view traditional music as nice to fill in a bit of time but not really enjoy that much. These guys however were fantastic especially the guy playing a kind of lute (I think) - it was so full of energy and everyone thoroughly enjoyed them.

    I forgot to mention the weather. The morning started quite cold and overcast but by the time we arrived at Mandrogi the sun had come out and it was very pleasant. Our run of nice weather continues.    Read more

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