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Tui Snider
Tui Snider

Tui Snider

Inquisitive world traveler who writes books, gives talks & leads tours through historic cemeteries. My homebase is Texas, where I share a goth/tiki castle with my mad scientist husband & tabby cat. For my newsletter & more visit: TuiSnider.com Read more🇺🇸United States
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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Vasa Museum

    July 8, 2022 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    In 1628, Sweden’s Vasa warship had such a top heavy design that it sank 20 minutes into its maiden voyage. After it was raised and restored, they built a museum around it. Really fascinating!

     The entire ship is covered in intricate carvings including lots and lots of lions. That’s because King Gustav Adolph wanted to fulfill a prophecy about “the lion of the north conquering all.”

    Researchers were able to find the names of several who drowned on the ill-fated ship’s maiden voyage, and even did facial reconstructions of them from their skeletal remains.    Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Whats in a name?

    July 8, 2022 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    Why was King Gustav Adolph’s massive warship named Vasa? According to our guide, “vasa” means “wheat” and is referenced in the ship’s masthead and elsewhere as a bundle of wheat.

    In addition to symbolizing abundance, this bundled wheat is also meant to be similar to the ancient Roman symbol for power, which is a bundle of rods with an axe jutting out of it.

    This Roman symbol is called a fasces, and gives the word “fascism” its root.    Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Propaganda carvings

    July 8, 2022 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    At the Vasa Museum in Stockholm: “The man under the bench is a caricature of a humiliated Polish nobleman. According to a Polish tradition, a slanderer was forced to crawl under a bench, bark like a dog three times, and beg for mercy. The sculpture was meant to remind the crew [of the Vasa warship] how they should think of the enemy.”Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Stockholm Cemetery

    July 8, 2022 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    It smelled of roses and fresh rain as we explored this lush historic cemetery in Stockholm, although the sound of children screaming as they rode amusement rides at a nearby amusement park added an amusing touch to the scene.

    I found a tree with little gnomes and a cherub tucked into it beside what looked to be a caretaker’s cottage. I hoped to meet them because I have many questions, but no luck.

    Larry saw a rabbit the size of a cocker spaniel hop by while I prowled around, but I missed it. Dang!

    As with other seaside towns, many graves were for sailors. Some of them featured actual anchors and other nautical gear.

    Once again, (just as in Iceland, Norway, and elsewhere on this trip)I encountered thin-but-sturdy slate as cemetery monuments.    Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Bits & Bobs

    July 8, 2022 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    I don’t know the stories behind these statues and architectural details in Stockholm, but here are a few of my faves.

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    No umbrellas

    July 8, 2022 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    We didn’t bring umbrellas, so every time it rains we hop back on the Hop On/Hop Off bus in Stockholm, Sweden.

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Sailing into Stockholm

    July 8, 2022 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    We’re sailing into Stockholm and it’s so picturesque! I didn’t realize it’s an archipelago.

    As much as I travel, I’ve always been terrible at geography until I visit a place in person. Maybe it’s ‘cuz I tend to be a hands-on learner.

    How about you?    Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Classroom at Sea

    July 7, 2022, Baltic Sea ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    Travel is my favorite classroom, but not everyone agrees. The other day I saw a couple of women emerge from the spa clad in fluffy robes and slippers.

    As they leisurely strode to the buffet, I overheard one tell the other, “He’s always Googling stuff and going on about history. I keep telling him, ‘all that history stuff is in the past,’ y’know?”

    “Yeah,” the other replied, “Who travels to learn, anyway? I’m on vacay!”    Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    4 Countries in 4 Days

    July 6, 2022, Gulf of Finland ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    In a perfect world, we would have a sea day after every port. This would give us time to digest all the sights and sounds from our shore time.

    In reality, it rarely works out this way. On this leg of our journey, we’ve had 4 countries in 4 days.

    That’s a lot of travel to take in!

    I don’t want the ports to blur together, so I leaf through my paper travel journal again each night.    Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    A Wander-ful Time!

    July 6, 2022 in Estonia ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Tallinn, Estonia has the oldest intact medieval city center in Northern Europe.

    The labyrinthine streets are filled with cafes, taverns, shops and delightful nooks and crannies.

    It’s the perfect place to wander aimlessly, which is exactly what we did.Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    TV Tower

    July 6, 2022 in Estonia ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    During the Soviet occupation, the Russians erected this TV tower to broadcast propaganda.

    These days, it houses a coffee shop with a great view in Tallinn, Estonia.

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Forest Parks

    July 6, 2022 in Estonia ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    The cemetery in Tallinn is kept forested and lacks fancy monuments. Three times a year, candles are placed on all the headstones. Our guide said it’s a beautiful sight.

    Tallinn is full of forest parks. These parks have streetlights for wintertime when sunlight is limited. I love how wooded it is here!Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Pottering Around the Bay of Finland

    July 6, 2022, Baltic Sea ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    Every day at noon, and again before we set sail, either the captain or the officer of the watch speaks over the intercom to the entire ship.

    They fill us in on pertinent info, such as when we will embark pilots, what speed the ship will go, any route changes, what the weather will be at the next port, etc. Sometimes they add a bit of nautical trivia, or share an anecdote about the upcoming port.

    As we left Helsinki, the captain told us that since Estonia was so close, “We will spend much of the night pottering around the Bay of Finland.”

    As you can see from the FindPenguins route detector, that’s exactly what our ship did last night.    Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    56 Shades of Slate

    July 6, 2022 in Estonia ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    I didn’t expect to learn so much about slate on this trip, but the topic keeps coming up. In Tallinn, our guide told us there are 56 layers of slate here and that each one has a name.

    The best stone masons not only know the name of each layer, but the best uses for it. Some are better for interiors, while others are better for siding, and so forth.Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    First Rainy Port

    July 6, 2022 in Estonia ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    After taking the entire Hop On Hop Off loop in Tallinn, we decided it was time to hop off.

    Just as we were about to step off the bus, however, the skies opened up. “Good idea,” chuckled the bus driver as we clambered back aboard.

    Heavy rain ensued for the next hour! We lost our wonderful front row seats and I pouted hard for ten minutes, but finally got over it.

    After another loop around town, we hopped off and had a wonderful time exploring the Tallinn’s medieval walled city.

    This was the first rainy shore day we’ve had! We fared fine, but at dinner, we heard tale after tale of other passengers getting soaked to the bone during the deluge.

    I bet the ship’s laundry room is extra busy tonight.    Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Busy port

    July 6, 2022 in Estonia ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    Tallinn is the busiest port we’ve seen! Not only were several cruise ships in the harbor, but several short haul ferries were in operation.

    Finns and Swedes enjoy shopping in Tallinn because the prices are lower here. Estonia uses the Euro, so it’s especially convenient for the Finns. (By the way, the Euro and the Dollar are nearly equal right now, so it’s a good time for us to shop, as well.)

    The Swedes still use their own Kroner, so there’s an exchange rate to deal with, but they still come here in droves.

    We met a sweet couple from Stockholm who were spending the day in Tallinn. They peppered us with questions about what it’s like to take an ocean cruise.    Read more

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Helsinki harbor

    July 5, 2022 in Finland ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    Sunny day in the Helsinki’s harbor. We just had a 5 minute downpour. It then returned to the previously scheduled program of breezy sun.

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Seabird

    July 5, 2022 in Finland ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Pretty seabird perching above seaside food vendors in Helsinki, Finland.

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    City beneath a city

    July 5, 2022 in Finland ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    FUN FACT: There’s a network of tunnels below Helsinki’s rocky landscape. It was built to house 600,000 people… just in case!

  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Traveler

    Rock Church

    July 5, 2022 in Finland ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    It’s difficult to convey the interior of Helsinki’s Temppeliaukio Church. It’s built deep into the bedrock. The roof slats made me feel like I was standing under a huge mushroom. It’s a popular concert hall, too, and is known for its excellent acoustics.Read more

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