Hi All,

The contrast of sea and land was constant on our travels. We headed to the Estonian capital and Port of Tallinn. The port was very vibrant with much construction of port facilities to enable the growing flow of tourists and the welcoming nature of the Estonians.

The smallest Baltic country but one of the most lovely with its displays of spring and summer flowers, put on a very sunny and warm day as we disembarked for our tour of Tallinn with our very amusing guide Raoul. He had such a dry sense of humour about life and the past and present history of Tallinn. He told us we were free to walk on the grass and not be concerned that there would be no whistles to keep us off the grass as we would shortly find out about in St Petersburg.

We visited some Lutheran churches that had been the main religion after the reformation that occurred in Estonia as in other parts on western Europe under Martin Luther. The roads of the Old Town were not paved with gold, but with large cobble stones that would easily break an ankle if in high heels.

There were opportunities to taste local treats of sugared coated almonds as well as a local brew with marzipan and chocolate for coffee drinkers, as we stopped for a toilet break and shopping. We were introduced to local points of interest such as the building with the most spies in town – the Russian embassy, the top coffee shop in town with the local sport of spot the spy – opposite the Russian Embassy.

Next day we arrived early for our 2 day tour around St Petersburg. However the European summer rains had set in. the joke for such weather was to ask – What is the weather like in St Petersburg? It is raining! When did it start? In 1702 (when St Petersburg was founded) and its been raining ever since.

It was the heaviest rain we had seen all tour and was made even more glum with the stern and drawn faces of the Russian customs guards who were required to interrogate all passengers as they were leaving the ship for shore. But we made it and waited just under cover for our bus and Vladimir our guide. The highlight of this day was the tours of the Peterhof Palace and that of the Hermitage. When the clock strikes 11:00 am the water flows from top to bottom of the grounds and starts up all the water fountains across the parks areas to spray out of the the larger than life gold plated statues.

The mirrors and lights against the goldleaf in the main ballroom of the Hermitage makes this room look like the best fairytale. Here Russian Czars entertained the Crown Heads of Europe and other Russian nobles. Inside both the Peterhof Palace and the Hermitage, world class paintings by Masters such as 2 Da Vinci’s are on display for all to now view.

To cap off the visit to St Petersburg we were able to spend the night at the Russian Ballet where the company was dancing the ballet of “Sleeping Beauty”. We had drinks at interval with our Ship’s Captain.

We then headed down the Baltic Sea to visit Latvia and Lithuania where we saw many interesting buildings of the Art Noveau architecture in Riga the capital of Latvia. Of most interest was the 3 buildings in the city that had the rare blue tiles.

In Lithuania we stopped at the Amber Museum, as Lithuania is known as having the best Baltic amber in the whole region. The afternoon was capped off by trying the local beer and their fried bread and grated garlic in cream. A very tasty treat as you can see.

Our last port of call was Copenhagen with a required stop at the little Mermaid in the Bay of the city. Another city doing major capital works to improve the city with a new underground metro of 35 stations is being built and causing great disruption to the city traffic. The Danes are also very focused about building up their alternative energy sources and have wind powered generators all around the bay area of the port of Copenhagen. We can see ’000 of machines as we sail into our last port of call.

Regards

Wendy and Andris