Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Sailing in Scandinavia

During Ray and Traci’s past cruises, they met several people who recommended visiting the Baltic Sea capitals. Since neither had ventured to Scandinavia before, Ray and Traci decided to schedule a sailing in early September on Norwegian Cruise Lines. Their journey started with a Delta nonstop flight to Amsterdam where the travelers connected to a KLM flight ending in Copenhagen. Ray booked a room at the Copenhagen Hilton which happens to be connected physically to the airport. The Hilton was a modern hotel with large clean rooms and easy access to downtown. Since it was raining, Ray and Traci decided against a first evening trip into downtown and instead Ray made himself a caricature of an American tourist – carrying take out chicken nuggets from the airport Burger King into the Hilton hotel. Neither Ray nor Traci slept well during their first European night; trying to sleep at 1pm Seattle time was difficult.

Despite the restless Friday night, they embarked with ambitious plans during their only full day in Copenhagen. Ray purchased 48 hour Copenhagen cards (~$83 each) which turned out to be quite a bargain (which are few and far between in Copenhagen!) as it covered all admissions, canal boat tours and transportation (metro, train and bus) for their visit. They took the metro from the airport Hilton to the Nytorv stop where the Blue Netto Canal Boats are docked. Ray and Traci enjoyed their 10 AM cruise around Copenhagen’s canals and harbor – highlights included the famous Copenhagen Opera House with its signature profile and roof spanning 3 football fields. Another interesting architectural feature about the city is the recycling of old structures such as expensive apartments built inside of an old aircraft hangar. After their one hour boat ride, Ray and Traci walked to Amalienborg where 4 different rulers built similar looking palaces all adjacent to each other. Apparently, the Egyptian pharaohs weren’t the only ones who didn’t share hand me down publically financed palaces. During Ray and Traci’s visit to Amalienborg, the Danish military conducted their ceremonial changing of the guard routine which attracted a huge crowd. Those who have witnessed the event in England’s Buckingham Palace would be a bit disappointed at the Danish version. Leaving Amalienborg, the visitors went to Rosenborg Slot (Castle). While the outside was hardly up to fairy tale standards (made worse by the scaffolding in place for construction), the inside with ornate regal dining and throne rooms was quite impressive.


A collection of crown jewels and old military weapons also attracted tourists. While Ray and Traci encountered a couple of showers during their long day, the mostly cloudy skies were optimal for traversing the city and taking pictures. After Rosenborg, Ray and Traci visited the Round Tower (Rundetaarn) which is Europe’s oldest functioning observatory built in 1642. Currently, most of the observations today are not scientific, but by tourists looking at the cityscape.

The stylish Stroget Street was found nearby, attracting large crowds of shoppers and tourists alike – the usual designer boutiques co-exist with the more affordable H&M. During a brief rain shower, Ray and Traci ducked into the factory store one of Denmark’s greatest contributions to civilization – Lego. The very busy store had the expected variety of Lego along with some very impressive custom displays. Ray and Traci took a late lunch at wagamama, the European chain featuring Japanese food where both had ramen with chicken – as with most Asian restaurants in Europe it was a bit bland. Christianborg Palace was the next stop, again with the usual accouterments found in royal palaces. Outside the palace, scores of swimmers were participating in some sort of organized race as the canals were filled with bobbing heads and lifeguards in rafts and on paddleboards.

Ray and Traci finished their citywalk with stops at the National Museum and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Late in the day, the National Museum’s Viking exhibit was fully booked so Ray and Traci made only a brief stop before going to the nearby art museum (Glyptotek). Ray was quite fascinated with the unusually large collection of Egyptian artifacts – while the best pieces such as golden burial masks are found at other museums, the many 4,000 year old wood, stone and clay objects were captivating. From the Glyptotek, Ray and Traci boarded a train at Central Station, transferred to the metro at Norreport station and took a short ride to the Christianshavn stop. Here was found Our Saviors’ Church, with its distinctive tower over Copenhagen.


Not for the faint of heart or those with a fear of heights, the 400 steps to the top pose quite a challenge due to the steepness and compact space. Visitors feel like they are climbing ladders until reaching the top of the main church at which time the ascension turns into a steep spiral staircase around a spire. The views were impressive but the climb was neither easy nor organized and during a busy time one wonders what chaos may develop with only a single narrow stair path. With the completion of their planned daytime itinerary, Ray and Traci went back to the Hilton for a brief rest. They then took a regional train from the airport to Kobenhavn Central Station which is next to Copenhagen’s Tivoli Park – basically a Danish Disneyland, the park has a large number of eateries, concert venues and some impressive rides. Ray and Traci arrived in time to watch Illuminations – a Bellagio like water show with laser light and some fire effects set to music. The show was quite well done. Afterwards, Ray and Traci shared an organic hot dog and fries.  The fries came with a tiny fork which Traci thought was genius!



Dessert followed with chocolate dipped soft ice cream cones. The final event at Tivoli was a closing fireworks show which was a nice end to a long day. Both Ray and Traci arrived back at the Hilton for much needed rest well after midnight. Even in the wee hours of the morning, the trains ran every 12 minutes or so.

Ray started Sunday morning with a run from the Airport Hilton to the adjacent neighborhood which borders the Baltic Sea. Both Ray and Traci then repacked and took a taxi to the cruise port where the NCL Star waited. Copenhagen is an interesting city which is easily navigated – their public transit system is well organized. Despite hearing Dutch spoken everywhere, Ray and Traci met no one who didn’t speak English well. All of the signs in the airport are labeled only in English (while the advertisements are in Dutch). Copenhagen has a reputation of having expensive prices and it is well deserved with almost $10 per gallon gasoline, $13 Hot dog/fries, and $20 chicken ramen and tap water (yes, they charged for tap water!). Bicycles have reserved lanes everywhere, and trains have special areas for people to ride with their bikes. The city is extremely easy to navigate especially with a little advance planning. Ray and Traci hit most of the major attractions without assistance.

Ray and Traci began the cruise portion of their adventure with a smooth check-in and unpacking on the NCL Star. Much of the ship architecture and routines paralleled the NCL Jade, a ship Ray and Traci sailed on twice previously. Passing showers and breezy conditions made enjoyment of their balconies challenging but a pretty rainbow appeared which Ray and Traci took as a good omen to start their voyage.

After a restless night (still not fully adjusted to European time), Ray and Traci woke for the longest of their tours – Berlin. The ship docked at Warnemunde, a port city 3 hours drive time from Berlin. Ray booked a 5 city package shore excursion with SPB Tours and strongly recommends it for a quality experience at a great price. While tourists have debated the value of 6 hours of bus ride to spend 6 hours viewing a completely reconstructed German city, both Ray and Traci felt missing even a brief visit to Berlin would be a mistake. The tour started shortly after the NCL Star docked at 8AM with a 3 hour bus ride to the Olympic Stadium, built for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. After breaking into smaller 25 person groups, Ray and Traci’s guide Espin gave an excellent tour of Berlin including highlights such as the Brandenburg Gate (originally built in 1788 to mark the entry to Berlin) and the newly constructed Holocaust Memorial.


Building monuments to wars lost is especially challenging given the horrors of the Holocaust, but the German memorial composed of thousands of differing sized concrete blocks leaving visitors to ponder the meaning and encourage self reflection. With over 80% of Berlin leveled in World War II, most of the construction is modern although pre-existing structures such as the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and the New Synagogue (built 1959) serve as a bridge between pre-war and modern eras. Berlin resides in swamp land and every construction site has to build temporary drainage pipes to drain water when digging the foundation. Europe’s (and probably the world’s) most visited parking lot resides in Berlin where Hitler committed suicide at the end of World War 2 in an underground bunker. Another popular historical attraction is the Berlin Wall which used to prevent East Germans from leaving the Soviet dominated East – most of the wall has been torn down but a section remains in place, ironically now protected with its own security fence.


The extremely tight schedule limited the Berlin tour to mostly drive by photo ops, but the chance to see one of the world’s great cities was well worth the journey.

The Baltic Cruise itinerary is very port intensive and probably not very popular among those who just want a vacation at sea. The ship had only 2 days at sea in the 9 day cruise. The NCL Star is a relatively older ship (built 2001) compared to the new super ships but it is well maintained and contains most of Norwegian Cruise Lines signature features. Criticisms on the internet boards range from food quality to loud music. The public areas are clean and facilities updated. Ray loved their ¼ mile running track on deck 13 – like the NCL Jade, having a separate running venue from the typical promenade walkers looking for a morning constitutional always wins big points in his reviews. The crew has typically received rave reviews as far as friendliness and hard work.

Ray felt the food was quite comparable to the NCL Jade although the buffet seemed to be more limited in selection. NCL is not known for their haute cuisine in contrast to other lines such as Holland America, but most of their dishes were quite tasty. A richer selection of desserts would be most welcome. In contrast to NCL Jade cruises, Ray and Traci ate at two of the “pay” restaurants thanks to a promotion – they both enjoyed the Italian La Cucina where Ray had lobster fettuccine and tiramisu and Traci had spaghetti with olive oil, chili flakes and sausage followed by an affogato.  Ray’s favorite meal in the main dining room was steak and lobster on the first night (with the baby back ribs and coconut shrimp as a close second) while Traci enjoyed the pork loin. The NCL Star has a more American flavor than the NCL Jade – most of the music played and performed is American 70s-80s pop and what little dress code NCL has in place is even more relaxed on the Star. One valid criticism is the music – it was quite loud and everyone in cabins surrounding tall atrium heard it even late at night. The same applies to anyone in the main pool area. The ship had many barbecues during the cruise (as if people needed even more food!) and tried to promote a party atmosphere. Of course, Ray and Traci’s NCL Jade sailings were in the winter which limited much of the outdoor activities onboard. 

Entertainers on the NCL Star included performers previously seen on the NCL Jade including the Sanders and Alison Magic show and Alexey & Anastasia who put on an amazing Cirque du Soleil type show. Alexey’s show was especially appealing – it started with three very strange segments involving costumes resembling fat chickens racing around stage on razor scooters followed by a modern dance segment with instantaneous costume changes and then a shooting gallery segment with toy guns – some unknowledgeable viewers got up and left! After the strange start, they brought the house down with mind blowing gymnastic stunts both on the stage and high above the crowd worthy of any Las Vegas Cirque production. The NCL cast put on two excellent shows including Band on the Run and the renowed Elements grand finale. Ray continues to be impressed with the quality of entertainment even on itineraries where the exotic ports are the real entertainment.

Wednesday brought sunny weather and a new port – Tallinn, Estonia. This port city plays a critical role in European trade as its Baltic Harbor is the only one that doesn’t freeze in the winter. The NCL Star docked next to four other large cruise ships all visiting on the same day. Ray and Traci joined their SPB Tours guide Vadim and proceeded to the upper level of the city. Ray and Traci had high expectations after talking to previous cruisers who have visited Tallinn, and unfortunately they may have been too high. The quaint European city has medieval buildings including the tallest building at the time of construction in the 16th century. The beautiful St Nicholas cathedral resides in upper Tallinn. Vadim gave intriguing insights into his country – political, social and economic. Estonia seems to follow a melding of liberal and conservative philosophies – Government paid universal health care, tuition free universities, free public transportation along with a flat 21% income tax rate, policies favoring small and medium sized businesses and strong personal privacy protection from the days of KGB spying. Vadim ended the tour at Tallinn’s Town Hall sporting dragon heads and public shackles for misbehaving wives. Estonia gives glimpses into life during medieval times but other than entertaining stories from an excellent guide, little unique experiences.

In contrast to Estonia, sailing into St. Petersburg on a sunny Thursday was a very unique experience. Getting off the ship was a major hassle as immigration will only grant temporary visas to those registered with approved tour groups in advance. Ray & Traci’s 15 person SPB tour group required nearly an hour for everyone to assemble and depart the port for the famous museum, the Hermitage.  Like its French counterpart, the Louvre, the Hermitage is a giant collection of art from ancient Egyptian to modern day Picasso. The SBP Tour guide Nina led the group to the museum’s highlights including works by da Vinci and Rembrandt as well as Russian works focusing attention on the nation’s rich history. The Hermitage currently occupies 10 buildings.  However, only 5 are open to the public including the Czar’s former Winter Palace.  More space is being readied – the former St. Petersburg Army headquarters will soon house the impressionist collection including Picasso, Van Gogh and Cezanne. After the museum tour, the group went to the Church of Spilled Blood which is a colorful structure where the Russian Czar Alexander II was murdered.


Apparently, regicide was a common method of ascending to the throne in Russian history. Now a historical landmark and not a functioning church, the interior is covered with mosaic tiles creating beautiful wall coverings.  A lunch break at a Russian restaurant specializing in Russian pies was next – Traci had a pie stuffed with salmon while Ray had one with apples. While Ray was quite pleased with himself for eating an apple Russian pie, his meal was indistinguishable from an American apple pie. After the “authentic” Russian meal, the group went to Peter and Paul’s fortress and cathedral located on the smallest island making up St. Petersburg – Hare island. Supposedly the island was named for a rabbit that jumped into a czar’s boat to avoid flooding of the island. On the island one finds the fortress and cathedral famous for its sarcophagus containing bodies of the Romanov royal family including Peter the Great. The ornate cathedral/mausoleum served as a house of worship for the Russian Orthodox Church. Another grand cathedral was nearby – St. Issac’s, the fourth largest Catholic cathedral in the world.  The first day touring St. Petersburg ended with the tired group returning to the NCL Star.

On Friday, beautiful weather again greeted the travel group.  After viewing some additional landmarks in St. Petersburg including the battleship Aurora and imported miniature Egyptian Spinx, the bus headed to Catherine’s Palace where President Obama was planning on an important dinner that evening with the G20 conference. Catherine’s Palace was the Royal family’s summer home and contains breathtaking opulence. Large gold plated wall coverings adorn the amazing ball room.


Another famous locale in Catherine’s Palace is the Amber room with tree sap covering walls like stained glass panels. Unfortunately, Ray and Traci were not invited to what must have been an amazing G20 dinner. The final destination of the tour was Peterhof Gardens. Built to resemble the incredible French Versailles, the parallels are obvious – enormous luxurious royal palace with large garden and multiple fountains scattered around. Ray and Traci’s group did not tour the palace but the gardens were spectacular.


A visitor who had not previously visited Versailles would find the experience quite extraordinary. Ray and Traci enjoyed their visit but noted the many parallels with Versailles. President Obama and the G20 had their own visit to Peterhof on the prior evening so again, Ray and Traci missed an opportunity to see the American President staying nearby. Overall, visiting Russia was an amazing experience – the beauty of Paris with the intrigue of Istanbul. SBP tours did an excellent job of organizing a great introduction to St. Petersburg and Ray recommends their experience to future Baltic cruisers.

Their trip rapidly ending, Ray and Traci encountered even more spectacular weather in their next stop – Helsinki, Finland. Their SPB guide for their 4th of 5 tours emphasized the unusual warmth and cloudless sky encountered by today’s group. Unlike the previous tours, Helsinki's program consisted of a short 3 hour bus ride with a few stops and commentary about the country. The highlights included visiting the Olympics Stadium where the 1940 Olympics were held, a park with unique monument composed of 527 steel pipes honoring the great Finnish composer Jean Sibeilus. Another famous site in Helsinki is the Rock Church which is a house of worship dug into the rockery which is ubiquitous in the city. The unique structure of the church consists of hollowed out bedrock.



This type of building is also used to construct some residences in Finland. After touring the city the SBP bus returned Ray and Traci back to the NCL Star to complete their 4th Baltic port visit.

On Sunday (day 8 of the cruise), the ship made its final port call in Stockholm, Sweden. Ray and Traci’s SPB bus took them first to City Hall. Ray found it quite odd that Stockholm charges people to visit city hall. Remarkable features included a large gathering room used to host the annual Nobel Prize Dinner and a room covered with golden mosaics promoting Stockholm as the center of the universe. After leaving city hall, the group stopped at the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a warship built 300 years ago and delivered to the King of Sweden. Unhappy with the standard armament of the ship, the King ordered a second level of cannons be put into the hull of the Vasa, dramatically affecting weight and stability. Unfortunately, 20 minutes after the vessel’s maiden voyage began the ship took on water from the lower level of cannons which led to the vessel sinking. Hidden in the mud for centuries, in 1955 the vessel was rediscovered and raised. An entire museum was constructed to house the salvaged vessel and to focus on the life of sailors during the 17th century.


The tour ended with a brief visit to old town which was busy with tourists looking for souvenirs. Sail away from Sweden was spectacular thanks to the 72 degree weather and bright sunshine. Ray and Traci completed their 5th tour arranged with SPB travel and found the organization, guides and transportation to be excellent.

Their final day on the NCL Star was a quiet one – the weather changed with windy and rainy conditions limiting outside activities. The crew did an excellent job taking care of the passengers and the great tour of historic cities provided a fantastic cultural experience. The NCL Star docked in Copenhagen the next morning, and Ray and Traci had a smooth 15 hour journey back to Seattle via Amsterdam.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Baseball in the Lone Star State

Despite being lifelong Mariners fans and having followed their team to many distant ballparks, Ray and Traci had never followed their team to their AL West nemesis, the Rangers. Thanks to an early road trip having games both in Arlington and Houton, Ray and Traci planned an early season tour of Texas’s ballparks. Alaska Airlines fortunately flies nonstop to both Dallas and Houston, so transportation was quite convenient. After arriving at DFW airport, Ray called the Arlington Hilton shuttle bus to bring them to their hotel. With a late arrival, Ray did not get tickets for the Friday game which was a good thing since the Mariners posted the first of many losses that weekend. Ray did wander out of the Hilton to the ballpark, to watch the Friday post game fireworks show. Saturday was a very busy day – the Hilton shuttle bus took Ray and Traci to the NFL’s Taj Mahal – Cowboys Stadium for an amazing tour of the facility.


Starting in the team store, visitors then wander around the stands, then head down to the artificial turf where kids of all ages played out football dreams. Afterwards, the tour continues into the locker rooms for both the Cowboys and their cheerleaders which were also pretty amazing.



The stadium has a retractable “sunroof” similar to the opening in the Cowboy’s famous old stadium, although the tour guides remarked how few games are actually played with the roof open. After leaving the grand cathedral of NFL football, Ray and Traci walked toward another Arlington attraction – Six Flags giant amusement park. Walking turned out to be a mistake because it was 3 miles along a path which very little pedestrian access. During the journey, Ray and Traci had the opportunity to really admire the exterior of the Texas Ranger’s Ballpark.

The brick facades sported curious pictures resembling ancient hieroglyphics.

Eventually, the baseball fans arrived at Six Flags. Given the limited time available, Ray bought a platinum entry pass which basically means guests don’t have to wait in any lines. This turned out to be a mistake as riding some pretty intense roller coasters – Batman, Mr Freeze, and the Texas Giant was enough to make Ray and Traci feel quite ill. So after only 5 rides in 90 minutes, they decided to go back to the hotel. Ray and Traci ate dinner both Friday and Saturday evening next door at Boston’s Restaurant and sports bar. After dinner, Ray and Traci took the Hilton shuttle to the ballgame. The inside of Rangers ballpark isn’t quite as nice as the outside. Some of the field views are obstructed and the upper deck level railings made front row patrons look through a plexiglass barrier to see the action.


The Rangers have been a great team during the past few years and the crowd clearly brought much enthusiasm to what was previously a football only town. Unfortunately, the Mariners played the role of a kind guest and lost the second contest in a row.
Ray started Sunday with run around the stadium district, again admiring the beautiful setting of both the Cowboys’ and Rangers’ home stadiums. Large grass parks along with artificial lakes break up the long roads and parking lots. Ray and Traci took the shuttle bus to the stadium for a final Mariners game.

Fortunately the game was rather close until Ray and Traci had to leave for the airport, allowing them to mercifully miss what turned into another lopsided Mariner loss making the Arlington series one of the Mariners worse ever. The friendly Hilton Shuttle bus driver turned out to be a former Seattle native and classmate of Traci’s aunt – he brought the baseball fans from the stadium to the airport where they took a very short American Airlines flight from Dallas to Houston. Of all of the places Ray and Traci have visited, it would be hard to find a more friendly tourist  town than Arlington – at the hotel, the stadiums, the restaurants, everyone worked hard to make tourists feel welcome…everyone except the Texas Rangers who didn’t share the hospitality with the Mariners.

At Houston’s Bush International Airport, Ray and Traci rented a car and drove to the downtown Hilton. The hotel was beautiful and modern, perhaps the nicest Hilton they ever stayed at. It also was only a few blocks from the Houston Astros’ Minute Maid ballpark. Arriving late on a Sunday night, Ray and Traci had dinner at the hotel’s main restaurant.
On Monday, Ray and Traci drove their rental car to NASA’s Johnson Space Center.


While America is currently not launching any manned spacecraft, the Space Center continues to provide a glimpse into the rich history of the program with a tram tour of the area, close up tours of the past rockets, and a quite informative space exhibit and museum covering all aspects of space flight.


Having done a similar tour at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida which just happened to include a satellite launch taking place that day, they weren’t as impressed at the Houston site. From the Houston space facility, Ray and Traci returned to the hotel. After a late lunch at a nearby food court, Ray and Traci walked a few blocks to Minute Maid Park. Houston plays in a downtown retractable roof stadium much like Safeco Field. Minute Maid has a sterile feel to it - perhaps the plethora of empty seats and having two struggling teams playing that evening removes much of the enthusiasm seen in Arlington. Taking place on a beautiful spring night in Texas, one of the ushers remarked how she was unhappy that the roof was actually open as she anticipated a cold night in her empty section.


Ray and Traci actually scored some dugout seats behind the Mariners using stubhub.com and witnessed a brilliant Felix Hernandez performance allowing them to salvage one victory among the three games attended.


Much like the Met’s new Citi Field, there doesn’t seem to be much wrong with with the stadium but it really doesn’t capture visitor’s imaginations either.

Before leaving downtown Houston, Ray jogged around downtown early next morning. Despite being a large metropolis, downtown was easy to navigate with limited traffic in the area around the Hilton. After checking out of the beautiful Hilton hotel, Ray and Traci drove to the airport. Their Alaska Airlines flight brought to back to Seattle, completing their Texas baseball adventure.