Moscow

11 August- last day with guide. Walked to Red Square to visit St Basils Cathedral. Full of old Russian icons. Ivan the Terrible responsible for the building of this Cathedral I believe . All gets a bit confusing after a while because the cathedrals get rebuilt at varying intervals and their purpose/meaning changes depending on regime change. Anyway incredibly beautiful inside and out. Very atmospheric. More a Capella singing inside to enjoy by male voices- no organ music in Orthodox churches. We're given more history to absorb about the eventual defeat of the Mongol Tartars, the Troubles before the appointment of the first Romonovs i.e. major unsettled times etc. seen enough Russian  religious icons to last us a while. Was also told the Bolshevics wanted to blow up St Basils i. e. Stalin but some brave architect refused to let this happen- basically camped there. Saved the church but he ended up in a gulag. Now like a national hero. After St Basils rode the famous Moscow metro with our guide and saw some incredible artwork inside the stations. The stations were built in the late 1930's and the mid 1950's- well the ones we saw were. The art was 'socialist realism' which was the only art allowed in the Soviet era. More hammer and sickles and statues/mosaics of Lenin as well. He is the only acceptable past ruler it seems. Other than the past Tsars. No statues etc of any that came after- well not yet anyway. oh yes- much excitement outside St Basils. Kremlin is closed today and a very noisy helicopter with camoflage flew in low into the Kremlin and it was Putin - well that was what we were told. People around us were very excited. Back to the metro- stations all very beautiful plus it is very impressive as a means of public transport. Very efficient it appears. Almost forgot- walked through GUM department store. Very upmarket. Were offices at some stage during 'Soviet times' ( getting used to that phrase). Now again all shops and food. Very glamorous. Also one of their favourite tourist things both here and in St Petersburg was to have people wandering around in period costume and you paid for photos with them . St P was full of people looking like French nobles to me. Moscow had men dressed as Stakin, Putin and Lenin. Our guide Masha told us at one stage one person appeared dressed as Hitler- she said in her deadpan way that no one wanted a photo with him. Not sure what he was thinking. While Stalin is not now liked they will laugh about some aspects- no one here laughs about Germany and WW2. I think Hitler rates just above Napoleon in the unpopularity stakes in Russia.

Both feel like over- stimulated 5 year olds. Been so much to absorb this holiday and learn and think about. Enjoyed Moscow as much as St Petersburg. Place and its history is fascinating. Also been worthwhile having guides- good for explanations at sights etc but also we got at least some local perspectives on life now and in the recent past. Did not like to pry too much as still some sensitivity about the break up of the USSR and did not want to appear condescending when asking questions about life under Stalin, Kruschev etc ( both guides being old enough to remember) as so much seems so bizarre in Australian eyes but we're not Russian or lived through any of this.
Just had last dinner at restaurant at hotel-,kept it fairly plain given long flight tomorrow. Stephen made very apt comment about hotel while eating dinner- reminded him of the hotel in the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. Perfect description - slightly bizarre, old fashioned complete with maitre de resembling Ralph Fiennes.

Favourite parts of holiday? Possibly Norwegian scenery on the fjords especially, Norwegian people- love their understated manner- suits us both and for me- Russia. Really enjoyed other bits but probably these were the highlights for me.

Moscow

9-10 August- not much happened on the 9th as both of us suffered an attack of food poisoning from the afternoon before. Fortunately had a spare day up our sleeve so travel company rearranged schedule to allow us time to recuperate. Back on track on the 9th with car and driver- Masha and Vladimir our driver. Masha reminds me of a long gone Hungarian great aunt. Met her in the foyer- she looked us up and down and told us to change. Shorts on SA and above knee dress for me not good enough for cathedral visit. Returned 5 minutes later with changed clothing. Great tour of the city by car- with frequent stops to get and see various sites. Will try and remember- cathedral of Christ the Redeemer or Saviour was first up. Tallest Orthodox Church in the world apparently. Originally built in 19th century, dynamited by Stalin, site used as large swimming pool during Kruschev and rebuilt by 2000. Official services held here including 2 riyal chairs set aside fir royalty in an alcove. (???) Guide was not sure who if anyone sat there these days. Also saw many buildings in the 'Stalinist style'. They look like Gotham city- actually very impressive. Funny enough reminded me a bit of New York City's Empire State Building. We're also shown this apartment building that was built during the 'commune era'- in this version, families did not live together. Traditional marriage was not encouraged- men and women lived separately. Not quite sure how that worked but anyway this particular block was also built in the shape of a tractor- promoting industrialisation etc. now the apartments which are close to the Kremlin are very expensive individually owned. Previously all apartments were supplied by the Govt. and very low rent was paid. Now it is all privately owned or presumably rented . Also saw Moscow University- again very old- founded in 1700's. Went to Sparrow Hills- tallest point and got a good look over Moscow centre. Some pretty modern offices and apartment buildings- all built from the 1990,s onwards. What else? Novodevichly Convent- where many Russian noblewomen went or were sent. The building where the 1991(?) peoples uprising I guess occurred where Boris Yeltsen emerged. The protest etc lasted a few days. Our guide told us it was somewhat annoying as she had a lunch to get to nearby and had no idea what was going on. The day to day mingled with these types of occurrences seems normal to them. Went to Red Square- huge and briefly saw St Basils and GUM store- back there tomorrow. Lastly went to the Kremlin. Now that is impressive. Incredible churches there full of 1500's and earlier Russian icons and the tombs of various tsars pre- Romonovs including 'Ivan the Terrible' and 2 of his sons. The walls were just covered in old icons- the churches were- Patriarch's Palace , Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin and Archangel Cathedral of Kremlin. The Kremlin with its towers and walls is on its own very impressive. Do we like Moscow? I'd say yes. Very interesting.  I'd say the place has changed substantially since the early 1990's. Lots of police around as well so feels pretty safe in the tourist places. This guide more forthcoming as to recent changes- Appears the Romonovs are back in fashion- all quiet strange she believes. They can now travel freely apparently . She told us there is even a village looking at establishing some memorial to Ivan the Terrible.oh yes and were taken to a war memorial commemorating baically the defeat of Napoleon and of Hitler. Lots of monuments around regarding Napoleons defeat and Hitlers defeat. And we're told same story as in St Petersburg about Hitker booking a victory banquet in some hotel here- which he had to cancel.

Moscow

8 August- early train to Moscow this morning. Just under 4 hours on a fast train. Train very comfortable- not much to see on the way- water, fields, little villages. Most excitement was being mistaken for Russian at the train station- some woman foolishly asked me for directions. Also got to say Nyet and now know 'thank you' in Russian. Progressing slowly. Does feel good at least being able to thank people in their own language. Hotel again very central and looks to be in upmarket area. In fact I feel like I have been teleported to Double Bay times 10. Never seen so many brand name shops all in the one place. Place full of youngish Russians- skeletal young women and generally much larger men driving expensive black cars. Lots of restaurants and cafes as well- looks like we could get a decent cup of coffee around here. Even found an English language bookshop. Number of security guards around as well and some guards/police with some impressive hardware. Feels a bit like a gated community. We are in the inner circle geographically and can walk to the Kremlin so probably no surprise. Are some impressive looking buildings around here- very ornate- look mainly like banks and Government offices. Some buildings with huge arches in the middle where the horse and carriage used to go so is also an old area we assume. Feel I need to read up on Moscow a bit more. Feels very different to St Petersburg from very brief acquaintance. St Petersburg seems more faded grandeur. Have half day tour tomorrow of the Kremlin and its environs . Trying local restaurant tonight- may finally go for beef Strogonov- seems like we should.

St Petersburg

7 August- enjoyable dinner last night. Tried different restaurant called Jerome. Looked fairly new and   menu was vaguely English- enough to work out dishes. We had delicious meals. I had a ravioli dish with proper beef inside the ravioli and SA had veal cheeks with some mash- lovely slow cooked veal. We then went to this cute coffee shop for vodka and dessert. We had a shot of Russian vodka each - Stolychnaya with too much dessert. Too much dessert because the waitress spoke little English and our Russian is pathetic. Somehow ended up with 2 scoops of ice cream and 2 large meringues. Have found some younger people- around Will's age are more likely to speak English. I refuse to laugh at their English translations on menus as I can just imagine how I'd go translating food into Russian.

Also had a great afternoon yesterday- went to the Impessionist gallery at the Hermitage- located in the old General Staff building. Some I don't know 10 rooms of paintings- all the usual suspects- Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Renoir. We're told the collection belonged to some Russian industrialists and the collection was taken over by the State. Huge number. Spent some 2 hours there.
K
Ok- today we went to the Tsars Village- some 20kms south of St Petersburg to see the Summer Palace- built after the one we saw yesterday which became the 'backup summer palace'. OK I made the back up part up. It is stunning. Built by Elizabeth in the Russian baroque style and added to by Catherine the Second who preferred the more modest Classical style. There are buildings designed by this Scottish architect- Cameron who lived in Russia for some 20 years . Bizarre. Beautiful gardens- French manicured style and English and various pavilions dotted around- smaller buildings where the family would go to eg have breakfast each day or to entertain guests. There is one room totally decorated in Amber. The Germans trashed  the place in WW 2 so a lot has been reconstructed.

We had our guide and driver again. On the way there we saw a very impressive monument regarding the siege of Leningrad. It was amazing- huge statues. Can't describe it so as to give it justice. Also saw some impressive apartment blocks built in the time of Stalin that were actually very modern looking and stylish. Who'd have thought. Looked actually like something you'd see in New York.
Lots of little satellite suburbs in effect on the way to the Palace.

Have to record a story told by Vladmir so don't forget- SA asked where the Stroganov Palace  was ( he saw it on Maps me). Vladimir pointed it out- near our hotel. The story is that Prince Strogonov loved his meat but had very bad teeth and ended up with them all pulled out and having wooden teeth. He could not chew well so his staff came up with the idea of chopping the meat into small strips- hence the invention of beef Strogonov. Also the hotel next to ours is the Hotel Astoria. Vladimir told us that during the siege, Hitler made a booking there for essentially a party to celebrate Germany entering St Petersburg. Of course he never got to confirm the booking. Our guide's mother and step brother escaped to Georgia just before the siege and is obviously a topic close to his heart.

Said goodbye to guide and driver today. They were excellent. Should also mention that Russians drive like maniacs- like Italians. Was interesting at times watching our driver weaving across the various roads. Vladimir did tell us that Russians are crazy drivers- he does not drive.

St Perersburg

6 August- had both tour guide and driver this morning. Went for a drive out to Peterhof Palace and Gardens. This was the summer residence for the Tsars on the Gulf of Finland. The building was started by Peter 1 and then extended over time. The Grand Palace is beautiful inside and out. It is of the Russian baroque and classical style, both of which I am getting very good at recognising. The baroque style is more gaudy- lots of gold leaf, large mirrors and Windows. It is a bit like the French palaces but with a Russian twist with their gold minarets and generally richer colours. Peterhof is sometimes called the Russian Versailles a lot of which it was modelled on. The gardens are huge and are famous for these incredible fountains. There are some impressive statues commemorating the victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War ( all these battles I now know about). There are also a number of 'trick' water features designed by Peter 1- designed to wet the unwary. I should mention that a lot of what we saw was a reconstruction- the Germans destroyed most of the place in WW2. There are photos of the devastation around the park. They have done an impressive job putting it back together. Vladimir told us in his laconic way that the German tourists get an edited tour. He has also mentioned a couple of times that they now get a lot of tour groups from Iran but they insist on their own guide ( as well as the official Russian one) and they do not visit any Russian orthodox churches. They do a tailored tour. Seems a pity to miss the churches- a number are more museums now anyway and are incredibly beautiful. St Petersburg also receives a lot of tourists from Israel with Russian heritage. Vladimir does provide some interesting side comments at times.

In some ways the drive there and back was as interesting. We drove past many many apartment blocks- some newer styles and some not. Vladimir told us how when he was growing up they all lived in communal housing. Families shared kitchens, bathrooms, telephone and generally just had one room to themselves. When Krushev came to power he reintroduced the concept of private apartments again. Unfortunately they were built very quickly and were not so good. We did also pass some rather up market houses and one of Putins residences which is also on the Gulf of Finland, just up from the Summer Palace.

We changed plans on the way back and Sasha our driver dropped us at a metro station and Vladimir brought us back to the hotel on the metro. Knew nothing about St Petersburg's metro. A number of stations are stunning. We got out at a few to have a look- mosaics, Ronanesque statues, busts of Lenin, statue of Pushkin, hammer and sickle motifs. Some reminded us of the Italian art during the 1920's I think- about industrialisation. It is also the deepest metro in the world apparently. Our station is 86 metres below ground.  While we had a guide, actually looks very easy to navigate- the station names even appear in the Latin alphabet as well.

St Petersburg

5 August- had lovely dinner last night at local Georgian restaurant. Tried local dishes- pressed chicken and chicken livers dishes both with a red ajika sauce- sort of a spicy, paprika, tomato sauce. Tried Georgian wine- a red and white and finished with some baclava. Food was very good- quite plain with a sorta smoky flavour. Wine OK- not bad but not outstanding. Baclava seemed to have more of a honey and less of a clover like taste. This morning we got taken to the Hermitage. The entrance is off Palace Square which is where the 1905 'bloody Sunday' massacre took place and from where the Bolsheviks stormed the Summer Palace in 1917. The Hermitage is mind blowing. We had our guide thank goodness so we did not have to queue and he took us through the various buildings for some 3 hours. The most impressive is probably the Summer Palace in terms of the rooms themselves- never seen so much marble and gold leaf in one place. Quite overwhelming. Saw a variety of sculptures and art as well including Rembrandt and Michelangelo plus De Vinci. The sheer volume of art is impressive but I think the buildings themselves and probably the amount collected esp. By Catherine the Great takes a bit to assimulate. The history itself is hard to take in all at once- oppulent dressing rooms, throne rooms, a chapel, a smallish dining room where the Romanov families dined even up to the last Tsar and where the Bolsheviks stormed in in 1917. Not hard to see why there was a revolution. The Russians are very proud of the collection- some of the vases, tables, doors, walls and ceilings are the most beautiful I think I have ever seen. not just tourists wandering around. Our guide told us some of the collection was sold off in the 1950's for hard currency and wealthy Americans bought up a fair bit. Some art work was exchanged/ sold during Brezchnevs time as well and they now believe some of the art received are fakes. Also found out when looking at a portrait of him that the Duke of Wellington fought in the Russian army- the things you learn. Also told that Catherine the Great had many lovers and no one knows who the father of her son actually was. Saw an official portrait of her- not a beautiful woman but I guess who was going to refuse the Empress of Russia.

After a short rest went out for a boat ride on the canals. The commentary was only in Russian but was still very interesting- very impressive houses/palaces/bridges lining the various canals. We started in the Moyka then exited onto the river Neva and went along the Hermitage on our right and the Peter and Paul Fortress on our left . Back into the canal system we went alongside the summer palace gardens which look stunning to me. This canal is the Fontanka. We went past some of their theatres including the Mariinsky ( probably spelt wrong) and again various grand houses and palaces. Some are in disrepair and some are in the process of being repaired. There are also rather incongruously factory chimneys peeking just behind some rather grand places. The boat turned into a smaller canal- the Krukov and then back to the start. The houses less grand on the smaller canal but still pretty impressive- looked like some were being done up. Many apartments/ houses have huge archways in the middle so you could imagine the horses and carriages riding through these. Mainly 18th century buildings. Was great idea to get out on the waterways. We went for a beer/cider afterwards- tried to get adventurous in one place but very hard when no one speaks English. Ended up at nice place where some English spoken. Extremely difficult when you cannot work out from menus what anything is. SA also very excited as went to local food store to get some juice and nuts and found local Russian chocolate. Bought a couple of bars for investigative purposes only.

St. Petersburg

4 August- first full day. Breakfast at hotel and Stephen again went for herrings. He told me they were very nice but the saltiest so far. I had failed to notice that he has had herrings at every breakfast of this holiday. That's commitment. I liked that there were blinis as one of the options. We were met at 10 by our guide- Vladimir and our driver- Alexander. Vladimir speaks good English, Alexander none. He does negotiate the traffic well. Felt a bit decadent having a private guide and driver but is a good idea for the short time we have.

This was a city reconnaissance tour I guess you'd say with a few stops for photoes plus we went to the Peter and Paul Fotress and the cathedral there. The Fortress is on an island and is where 'Peter the Great'- the Tsar who founded St Petersburg first set up camp in effect. There are some old prisons which I believe have been used until not that long ago- did not visit them. Did go to the Cathedral which was stunning. Full of gold, beautiful decor and the coffins of all the old Tsars and their wives plus assorted Romanovs are also accommodated in an additional building. Only one Tsar is not buried here now.- he apparently died in Moscow of the pox some while ago and was burned there. Even the last of them is buried here. Is actually the most unorthodox Orthodox Church I have been in . Almost more like a tribute to the Romanovs chapel. The city is full of palaces it seems. Practically every Tasr, Empress and near relation plus assorted friends seems to have had some sort of palace. Particularly lining the River Neve there is row upon row of impressive buildings. We also got taken to the 'Church on Spilt Blood'- great name. It was built where one of the Tsars was assassinated- Alexander the Second I think. Anyway history records he was actually popular - abolished serfdom, made steps to a Constitution etc so he is said to have been killed by a terrorist. The church is also stunning- saw the outside only- full of mosaics, the classic onion domes etc. hard to describe how stunning. We even saw a stunning Sunni Mosque- who'd have believed. Saw statue of Peter the Great, and the Hermitage from the outside- there tomorrow. In the afternoon we took ourselves to St Isaacs Cathedral which took some 40 years to build. Is more a museum than church these days. One of the Tsars or more than one of them commissioned it. I do remember that when it was finished the current Tsar was assassinated 40 days later- think he was Catherine the Greats son- Paul. They do appear to have bumped off a few Tsars. Also went for a walk down one of the main streets- Nevsky Prospekt. Somewhat disappointing to see a huge Zara amongst other brands! Lots of tourists but is still very Russian. Very little English spoken outside of the hotels and tour guides. Some restaurants have English menus but that is about it. Was told a few times by guide and hotel- don't carry passport and be very careful with belongings. Didn't feel particularly unsafe when not with guide but you do stand out- no one thinks we are Rusdian even when we aren't speaking! Plus of course we have no idea what is being said around us. The people we have come across are very helpful though and most of the time just feels like you are in a big city again with all that brings with it.

Lying on hotel bed staring out the window at St Isaacs- St Petersburg certainly gives other cities a run for their money in terms of impressive buildings.

Russia-St Petersburg

3 August- caught train from Helsinki to St Petersburg. Very easy 3 1/2 hour trip. Had to do 2 border crossings on the train- when exiting Finland and when entering Russia.. First time since Oslo when anyone was interested in our passports. Passed through some small Finnish towns but mainly just forests and some lakes. Arrived mid afternoon in St Petersburg. Hotel is huge- pretty plush and very central. Short walk to the Hermitage and across the road from St Isaacs Cathedral. Lots of very impressive buildings lining the waterways. Went for walk before dinner. Initial impressions- people standing on quayside with snakes wrapped around their necks (!) and lots of largish spoons for sale. The snakes?? There is a monument nearby of Peter the Great on horseback and the horse is stepping on a snake. I read that the horse is stepping on the Swedish empire- as represented by the snake. Monument is impressive anyway - solid marble apparently. Had light dinner at hotel cafe- stopped for a couple of beers- SA tried the local brew, first the light and then the dark. I stuck with Peroni- then too tired to move so progressed to pizza and a green salad. The green salad was a bit different- no lettuce. The green was for the cucumber accompanied by radish, tomatoes and onion. Mainly cucumber and sour cream. We also stumbled into cocktail hour so after my beer I ended up with a red cocktail- not sure what was in it but it was nice. Going to try and find more traditional restaurant tomorrow and time to study up on sights.

Helsinki

2 August- had a short bus tour this morning. Was a good way to see parts of Helsinki would not have got to. Saw 3 churches- 2 we saw yesterday and the 3rd is a modern one built into a rock. Interesting idea. Also saw a Sibelius monument- looks like organ pipes- impressive, the Olympic village from when the games were held here, basically some suburbs which was interesting as you get to see where some of the wealthier Heksinkians live. Some rather huge places. Some of the area where the docks are is being redeveloped into apartments. Went into the Russian Orthodox Church after the tour as was closed yesterday- very different to the Lutheran one unsurprisingly. Wandered around Market Square and bought some lovely fruit to eat. Was a brilliant sunny day- like a spring day in Sydney. Did a bit of shopping. Their summer sales  are on and we get the VAT refund. Scary how expensive Sydney must be when prices here do not look much more if any expensive than home- applies to both food and clothing. Very easy place to wander around. Of course we got interested as to why Finland was never part of the USSR. Probably don't know exact answer but did discover was part of Sweden at one stage, then Russia. It became independent in the 1920's like the Baltic States. Russia did try to invade in 1940 but sounds like the Finnish are scary fighters and the place is just so inhospitable weather wise that too makes it a bit hard to invade. They defeated the Russians and then had some strange cooperation arrangement with the Germans in WW2. Now have some sort of cooperative trading arrangements with Russia but is a Western nation. Very different place. SA was told about ice fishing yesterday- he found a fishing shop - in a homing pigeon sort of way he finds these shops. He is coming alone if he plans on huddling over a hole in the ice in winter here! Think maybe a step too far for him even.

Helsinki- Finland

1 August- caught a very large ferry across the Baltic Sea to Helsinki. Took approx. 2 hours. The boat had numerous food places including a formal restaurant, a supermarket, shopping and a live band. There was not much to see- Stephen unoriginally asked me what was I expecting: ' the Hanging Gardens of Babylon' ? Hah. Anyway was just a lot of water- some surprisingly shallow water it seemed. Hotel is yet again in a very good location and is comfortable- near the main square where tomorrow's tour starts . We walked around the old part of the city this afternoon. Some cute markets down near the water and saw the 2 main churches- Uspenski Catgedral which is a Russian Orthodox one and Helsinki Cathedral- White Lutheran cathedral- very plain inside but is definitely a landmark on the skyline. The area with the markets is in a square called Market Square. Walked past a yellow brick building we liked the look of but was closed. Just checked and is a 19th century Old Market Hall. It is also right near the waters edge. May go back tomorrow. Most buildings seem to date from the 19th century. Are some impressive buildings with impressive statues.. Saw the main railway station- that has huge statues outside. Very imposing looking. Lot of buildings very grey block- like looking though- quite severe looking. Lots of shops and shopping areas are very pleasant to wander around. Low key Italian meal tonight. Is summer here of course but back to wearing warmer clothes as is definitely cooler around 18 degrees. Get a city bus tour tomorrow.

Tallinn

31 July- managed to get ourselves upgraded to a suite. Only after a sleepless night however due to being on 3rd floor- highest floor in a small room with a non functioning air conditioner. We must have sounded pretty crabby last night. Forgave them no safe in the room when they said could hold valuables downstairs, forgave the lack of a little mini bar to keep water in but when aircon stopped working we did get a bit techy. We thought nothing could be done but for day 2 they offered us a bigger room with more Windows and a fan. Still no aircon but is also lower down and it is mid afternoon and feels much cooler. The bathroom even has a sauna in it- will pass on that. Had another interesting morning walking tour. The city is similar to Riga but better preserved as has never really been invaded as such- occupied but only really under attack once during WW2 by the Russians. Tour guide said this but then again when went to upper old town- were shown Russian cannons embedded in a tower. The guide was also keen to make clear that Estonia has essentially been part of Western Europe for most of its existence. Russia has not been the predominant influence. Was also keen to say how important the EU and NATO were for them- no brexit for Estonia. What else? Well Estonians while Lutherans like Latvia, are not generally religious people. They see themselves as more pragmatic or less romantic than the Latvians or Lithuanians. Also culturally their most defining feature is their language. Oh and marzipan. Most of the tourist stuff on sale is not really traditionally Estonian- definitely not the amber apparently. They don't even really have a defining food ( other than marzipan). Like the other Baltic states- was pagan until around 1200s. Still a few churches around but a number are now used for other purposes- museums and the like. A number of the old Soviet factories are being repurposed for other uses such as an art academy. The old KGB building is now luxury apartments. I liked her way of describing their history- very pragmatic. Probably a mixture of Tallinn being very used to western tourists and their proximity to Finland, but found this guide the most relatable.Its city walls and towers leave Gotlands for dead we thought- but maybe we are just getting a bit too picky- too many Unesco world heritage sites and are all starting to blur into one.

Tallinn, Estonia

30 July- caught an elevator up the top of St Johns Cathedral in Riga to get a good view of the city. Got to see how crammed in the early buildings are. Caught bus to Tallin. Very easy trip again. Got to see some of the art noveau district in Riga on the bus. Some beautiful buildings. Reasonable number of very old wooden houses too when you get further out. Border post into Estonia deserted as was the case in Katvia. Hotel is in old city again- good location. Had a light meal at one of the very many restaurants and then wandered around. It is hard not to run into historical- medieval streets and buildings. Place is full of them. It also has a largely in tact city wall- actually looks just as impressive as Gotlands. One other thing there is are lots of tourists! Not surprised as they also get the cruise ships here. Bit scary how busy it will be tomorrow as the cruise people were back on their ships by the time we walked around. Lots of Amber and linen shops- strikingly similar in that regard to Riga and Lithuania. Half day walking tour tomorrow- steeling myself for the tales of who the various invaders were at various times-assuming Russia, Sweden, Germany and perhaps Denmark in there somewhere.

Riga

29 July- busy day. Had another half day tour with a local guide. She was excellent. Started with a 10 minute summary of Latvian history which gave some context to the tour. As far as I can recall- pagan tribes until the 1200's then under German rule for some 300 years. Not predominantly Catholic like the Lithuanians but Lutheran because of the German influence. Was invaded and ruled by the Swedes at one stage and from memory when Lithuania and Poland were united they too ruled for a bit. They had Russian rule for some 200 years when Peter the Great invaded initially. There was a brief period of independence between the 2 wars but came under Russian rule again at the beginning of WW2. The Germans then broke their agreement with Russia and invaded. Apparently everyone was happy for a short while until they realised what German occupation meant. Of course there was then Soviet occupation until 1991 and now independence. There are still bullet holes in some buildings from the uprising in 1991. Very much liked Riga- prettier and more interesting we thought than Lithuania. There is still some fear about Russia returning. When buying some clothing the shop assistant asked where we were travelling to and I said Russia- she replied that she had not been to Russia but then again that it was still a bit like living in Russia in Riga. One third of their elected members of Parliament are Russian at present but they have to be Latvian citizens apparently.

We saw the Dome Cathedral . It has a beautiful organ and we finished the tour with an organ recital- heard some Bach and Widor. Was lovely. Also saw the remaining city gate called the Swedish gate- built in the 1600's during Swedish rule We also saw something called the Powder Tower which was part of the city's defences. Most of it dates from the 16th century and it has some cannon balls still embedded in the walls from Russian cannons. Also saw the House of Blackheads- nothing to do with acne but is literally to do with men with dark skins. Saw the main squares, a hideous bunker like building built by the Soviets which used to be a museum about their occupation but is now emplty while they work out what to do with it. Was also part of the Hanseatic League and was very prosperous at that time. I got the feeling it was a pretty prosperous city under the Germans at that time. Now it has about 700,000 residents in Riga so not large. Could go on and on- is basically a very pretty and interesting old town. It is of course pretty touristy- lots of restaurants. We tried a more traditional fare tonight both opting to have some pork spare ribs and potatoes. Is more expensive than Lithuania but still pretty inexpensive. Found out that the liqueur we had in shot glasses last night is a traditional Latvian drink called Black Balsam. Oh yes went to Rigas Central Market- mixture of fresh food- lots of fish, pickles, bread, cheese, meats etc and some clothing. It is unusual looking as it was originally used as military airship hangers- sa read somewhere they were old Zeppelin factories. Also is a lot of art nouveau architecture which is a style I love. Very pleasant place.

Riga- Latvia

28 July- arrived in Riga this afternoon via coach. Was a very comfortable way to get here- about 4 hours. The coach even had screens on the backs of the seats with movies , games, music etc. ended up watching Bridge of Spies- enjoyable Tom Hanks/ Spielberg production. Hotel is part of an old church- we have a very old corner heater in the room- the place is 16th/17th century. Similar to home. The hotel is also in the old city so again very convenient for sightseeing. Went for a walk after checking in and is a lovely looking old town. Found a restaurant full of locals- no tourists as far as we could tell. I had a seafood pasta dish which was the best meal I have had on the trip so far. I also inadvertently had a fair bit of alcohol. Was told it was happy hour and I should have a cocktail- I thought that meant half price so ordered some gin fruit combination. Mmm the waiter turned up with 2 shot glasses of liqueur for us plus I got 2 cocktails ( for the price of one). Pretty relaxed by the end of dinner but even so we both thought the food was excellent. There seems to be a music festival on so place is full of live bands. Great atmosphere. Half day walking tour tomorrow morning.

Vilnius

27 July- Must remember not to visit Europe in summer- it is very hot again and sunny. Must be high 20's . What were we thinking- I think a bit of snow in Moscow would have been more tolerable. Enough complaining. We had a very interesting day. This was day one of our private guides segment. We were met at hotel and taken for a walk around the old city. Cannot really list everything we saw but essentially we went to a large baroque church  in cathedral square first up.  Sa tells me it is the basilica of St Stanislavsky and St Vladimir can neither confirm nor deny this because just noticed my tourist map is in Russian Cyrillic. Anyway was plain but rather beautiful inside. Just checked and it is called Vilnius Cathedral- should have guessed. It was first built as a Christian church in the 1200's on the site of a pagan temple. The guide said that Lithuania came to Christianity relatively late and was basically a pagan country before then. Anyway it was closed by the Soviets and used as an art gallery which was fortunate as at one stage they were thinking of using it as a garage for truck repairs. It now largely dates from the 18th century. A lot of their architecture seems to date from then. Given there were a lot of wars, invasions and fires in the 17th to 18th centuries, not surprising very little medieval architecture has survived. We stood in Cathedral Square for a bit and were told that certain coloured stones marked where the wall around the original castle stood. There is also a marked spot that was the beginning of a human chain linking people across the 3 Baltic States in 1989 at the start of the Soviets eventually leaving. We were told that 80% of the population is Roman Catholic and they have very many churches. They used to also have many synagogues. We were told that about 7%  of the population was Jewish but 95% of them were wiped out in ww2. We were also shown where the 2 Jewish ghettoes were behind essentially what was the main market square in medieval times.its where the Town Hall now is. Typical medieval place where there used to be executions, markets selling goods etc- the usual. A number of the buildings date from the 16th century here and there used to be a city wall with 9 towers. The city basically grew beyond the wall so it was left to crumble. We walked under the one remaining tower which has survived because there is a chapel in it. It has some wooden effergy of mother Mary which they apparently all genuflect in front of when walking under this tower. It is called the Gates of Dawn. Just remembered that the parts around the Town Hall were built by Polish and Lithuanian nobles. Also a reasonable number of Poles or those with Polish ancestry live here. We also got taken to the House of Amber and given a short lesson on where Amber comes from and the different types of Amber. We mysteriously then finished the tour in a shop selling.... Amber. We were quite surprised. We did learn though that real Amber floats in water that is 10% salt and if you rub it very hard eventually you will smell pine. Mmm so apparently we need to either carry a small glass of salted water with us or pick up any proposed purchases and rub rubbing them vigorously. Either that or only buy Amber in an official looking store that will issue you with a verification certificate.

We got an hours break for lunch and then got driven out to see Trakai which is an old village really that has an old castle on a lake on it. The castle has been reconstructed from its 13th century origins but a very good job has been done. It is located on one of 21 islands on Lake Galve and built as a 'seat of power' by one Vytautas the Great. We were told about the Lithuanians and Poles uniting to defeat the Teutonic Knights - around that time seems to have been the hay day of Lithuania. The castle was then destroyed by the Cossacks when the Russians invaded in the mid- 1600's.There are also some Crimeans brought over to fight basically who have remained. They live in these little wooden houses always with 3 windows in the front. They are called the Karaim. They seem to be some unusual mixture of Turks and Ukrainians that practice some Old Testament religion that is like Judaism. For some reason they were not considered to be Jewish in ww2 so survived. Think I'd better look this up. Some Tartars were also brought in but our guide dismissed them and said there were none remaining. I thought there may be some descendants?

We were also shown this beautiful White pavillion on one of the islands that was a spa for the KGB. It is referred to as the Soviet era post ww2. Trakai is a bit like Lake Balaton in Hungary- a place to go swimming, sailing etc on in summer. People apparently ice skate here in winter. Oh yes also learnt Lithuania is very flat so no slopes for skiing on in winter- they do ice skate though.

When we drove back into Vilnius we noticed lots of Soviet- era apartment blocks. This is where most people still live. Looked pretty grim to us. We suspect our guide was either very little or not yet born when the Soviets last left. She spoke quite dispassionately about the protests that occurred, the number of people shipped off to Siberia by Stalin etc. frankly I was surprised there was anyone left alive after Stalin and then Hitler turned up. They seem to take it for granted all the various invasions, alliances etc which I guess you would . Oh also saw their main University- the oldest one in the Baltic States. They have some ridiculous number of Universities given the relatively small size population wise.- 3million and some 23 Unis. Not sure why.

Vilnius- lithuania

26 July- travel day from Stockholm. Only a short 1 hour plane trip and met at airport in Vilnius so easy. Caught airport bus  in Stockholm as right near apartment.  Carefully did our homework to allow plenty of time to get to airport. Of course we're so cautious that in the end caught a bus that was even earlier than the earlier one we were planning to catch. Arrived at Arlansa airport in plenty of time. This also gave us plenty of time to work out the self serve checkin and baggage drop. SA now so relaxed about the process he did it all in Swedish. Was slightly alarmed but luckily ( for SA) the bags both arrived in Vilnius.

Did short walk after checking in and very initial impression is firstly not unsurprising, is considerably cheaper than Scandinavia. Secondly reminds us somewhat of East Germany in 1991- lots of expensive cars whizzing around tourist area which is upmarket, some expensive clothes etc but a lot of run down buildings still and the average person still looks a bit like Hungary circa 1987 when we were there. Could be wrong but looks like a few wealthy people/businesses have swarmed in and are doing very well, while for a lot of people, their standard of living has not changed hugely. SA swears he saw some bullet holes in some buildings still. Signs seem to be in Lithuanian and often Russian. More English signs and English spoken than was expecting in tourist parts. May have come across some Amber jewellery in our wandering.

Stockholm

25 July- another hot sunny day interspersed with a thunder storm in the middle of the day. Went on a boat trip for a couple of hours. It went under 12 bridges and through 2 locks which connect the Baltic Sea with Lake Malaren. Was interesting seeing Stockholm from the water. Was interesting to see the number of apartment blocks - I assume most people live in these apartments. They are very plain looking generally but we quite liked them but we both like a plainer style of architecture anyway. There were many people sun baking by the water and even saw some Swedish beaches.  Is high 20's again so very hot for here. We wandered around some shops after the boat trip and snapped more photoes as it is a very photogenic city. Helps that it has not been in any wars for some 200 years- everything is basically in tact. On an unrelated note we have learnt 3 words- Nasta which means next; hiss ( SA's favourite) which means lift and tak which means thanks. Suspect that is all we will learn. Also found out that the Vikings were not always war like and did a lot of trading and settling new places and there were not actually a lot of them. Also apparently they never wore pointy horns. That was an English invention in the 1800's to inspire young men in the army. Not sure why. Mind you if there were really not a lot of Vikings and they were really not that war- like; not sure how they got such a big and lasting legacy. Who knows. I do think however that they built the most amazing boats- based on the Viking museum in Oslo. They have also been very good for the tourist trade in Scandinavia. I think we will never know but they have certainly captured the imagination of many people. Would I come back here? Not sure. Is very pretty- lovely buildings and very easy being a tourist here. Lots of English spoken and seems very safe to me. Interesting to see a different culture but if I was going back to Europe would probably still prefer somewhere like Paris, London etc.

Stockholm

24 July- had a great day . Caught a ferry to one of Stockholms many islands- Djurgarden to see the Vasa Museum. The ferry trip itself was great- bright sunshine for most of the day and Stockholm looks beautiful from the water. The Vasa Museum would be one of the best museums I have been in. The Vasa is a giant ship launched in 1628 which sank in Stockholm harbour after about 20 minutes. It lay at the bottom of this harbour for around 330 years. It was built for King Gustav 11 Adolf who was apparently keen to establish a Swedish kingdom. He was at war with his cousin who happened to be the King of Poland and Gustav did eventually managed to gain control of Finland, parts of Germany, Poland and the Baltic. Apparently Swedish power peaked however in the 1600's and it was downhill after then. The ship itself is incredible. The museum also recreates information about some of the people on the boat based on their skeletal remains- they were generally short, malnourished at least for some parts of their life and had bad teeth! Basically day lived in medieval times. Potted summary. Another part of the museum contained information on what was going on in other parts of the world in the 1600's- from Africa to parts of Asia to Turkey, UK etc. that was fascinating- very cleverly done. We had a lovely bite to eat for lunch sitting in I guess an outdoor micro brewery, sharing a goats cheese tomato pizza. We sat staring at boats and the water in beautiful sunshine sipping on our beers. We then caught a tram and got off around the Opera area because we decided it looked  very nice - then stopped at a park and bought ice cream each. We very much enjoyed this area- lots of people enjoying themselves. Upmarket but very relaxed area- much preferred it to the famed shopping strip we went to yesterday. Some of the parks reminded us of Paris. Have booked a 'water excursion' for our last day tomorrow as given how much of Stockholm is based on and around the water we thought this was sensible.

Forgot- had lovely dinner last night. Went back to local restaurant and sampled more tapas. Tonight we are cooking up a vegetable dish- well Stephen is cooking and I am providing moral support. It actually poured at one stage this afternoon- the clouds rolled in very quickly but by 4ish was sunny again. Pretty hot- high 20's.

Stockholm

23 July- had a lovely dinner back in the apartment last night- Stephen cooked up a variety of mushrooms, some potatoes, bacon and herbs. Was very pleasant . Followed this by watching Wallander- seemed appropriate given it is set in Sweden. Today was even hotter and very sunny- around 27 degrees by late afternoon. It feels very warm but neither of us are sunburnt so have concluded sun is much weaker than at home. Decided to walk the length of what is meant to be one of their main shopping strips- on Drotninngg street or whatever street is in Swedish. Was enjoyable but not widely exciting. Given globalisation these days is hard to discover anything really different clothes-wise. We did manage to get Stephen a pair of shorts. Both of us are well equipped should the weather decide to turn arctic but not so equipped for this very warm weather. We spent about 3 hours last night washing and drying clothes so our t shirts etc are topped up again- necessary given it appears the weather is going to remain warm for the rest of the trip. Mind you trying to work out the instructions for the washing machine and then dryer which were all in Swedish was interesting. There is a big central washing space in the basement so we had to take photos of the instructions, go back to the apartment and translate into English. We know the clothes got wet at least so we assume some washing was done.

After our shopping this morning we went across to a small island which has their Parliament on it - loved the outside of this building- very grand- and went to the medieval museum. Had heard it was very good and it was. The museum is under the Parliament buildings so also consists of medieval ruins that have been discovered. It provides you with a vast amount of information as to the beginnings of Stockholm, it's various trading partners, how people lived in medieval times, the bloodbath of a war with the Danes at some stage, trading with places like Lubeck and displays various artificers that have been discovered including the remains of a rather large boat. Fascinating stuff. We both know a lot more about Stockholm than we did previously.

We then wandered back to Gamla Stan and caught a train to Hornstull. Dropped bits off at apartment and walked to a park on our island- Sodermalm where you get brilliant views across to the City Hall and beyond. Lots of church spires- decided they are all very medieval looking- very steep roof, very thin steeples. Quite severe looking . The park was full of Swedes enjoying the sunshine. Have tried to decide whether the Swedes or Norwegians are friendlier. Hard to say but I think on average the Norwegians are friendlier. The Swedes seem more distant but of course could just be that the Norwegians generally speak much better English. We have booked at our local Spanish  restaurant for dinner. Eating later and later given the very late setting of the sun and the apartment does not cool down very early. The apartment is tiny but has 3 radiators so is well equipped for winter. For summer- 2 blow fans and open windows. Sleeping can get interesting as I want the windows closed as don't know how safe is to keep them open. Our apartment door has a deadlock with 4 bolts plus a normal deadlock- as do all the doors so decided just was not sure enough to risk it.

Stockholm

22 July- hot and sunny. Tried the metro today- very easy to navigate. Caught train to their old city called Gamla Stan. This was the original part of Stockholm and like most old cities is very scenic. Lots of cobblestones, ancient homes etc. Visited the Royal Palace where their royal family still resides. Didn't do a tour but you could still see some parts like the Royal Chapel and we fluked the changing of the guards ceremony. That was actually really enjoyable. The guards wore bright blue uniforms with quite scary looking metallic helmets complete with the pointy Teutonic looking thing on the helmet. It was actually quite warlike. We gathered that these guards have been in existence since the 1500's. We walked across one of the many bridges here to then get to the City Hall. We had to do a tour to visit this building so decided that was a good idea. The Nobel prizes ( other than the peace prize) are all awarded in the large hall here. The outside is very dark forbidding looking- bit like Oslo's city hall but the inside is pretty impressive. Everything is huge- the statues, doorways etc are all massive. It was definitely designed to impress. We wandered back to the Gamla Stan and enjoyed the streets a bit more than caught train back to Hornstull which is our local station. Read somewhere that we were correct- this is an up and coming area and is full of hipsters apparently. We bought some food to cook for tonight to have a break from restaurant food. Stockholm is very scenic- more scenic than Oslo.

Stockholm

21 July- today could be covered by 'in transit'. Left Visby around midday for Stockholm.. Blazing sunshine in both places. Going to have to wash some t shirts! Found apartment without incident. Is small but full of food and most everything we will need for 4 days. Lovely park across the road and had some great tapas for dinner just up the road. All men look like hipsters in this neighbourhood- well based on my 1 hours worth of observations wandering around. Looks to be youngish area age- wise. We may have brought that average up a bit. The area is Sodermalm. From memory did not used to be so nice around here but is now very popular- has that sort of in transition vibe where we are.

Visby

20 July- glorious sunny day in Visby- like a warm Spring day at home. Spent the day outside. Sat on the grass facing the Baltic Sea, followed the old city wall, climbed city wall towers, sat in their botanical gardens and read, wandered in and out of their very many ruined churches. There are some 900 ruined churches here and they are all huge. Actually not all are in ruins but a number are. It is known as the city of ruins and roses. Can see why. Lots of climbing roses as well- seemingly growing out of the asphalt. One thing we discovered is that a lot of places serve Nescafé instant coffee. Why!! Our restaurant last night was very excited to tell us they had Nescafé decaf. We both blanched. Our hotel breakfast includes... Nescafé... Had to google decent coffee places  in Visby after breakfast. Managed to locate a decent cup of coffee. So strange. I thought the Swedes drank lots of coffee- they always to in those Scandi crime shows we watch. Mmm maybe we missed them spooning the instant coffee grains into their cups. The city wall and ruined churches are pretty amazing. Can see why it is an UNESCO world heritage site. Would I rush back? No. Is also pretty touristy although not as bad as say Venice but perhaps we would have been better off spending the extra day in Stockholm. Anyway we will see after our 5 days in Stockholm.

Visby

19 July- today was a longish travel day. I did at times question why I thought it was a good idea to fly into and out of Stockholm for essentially one whole day on the island of Gotland but once we arrived I remembered that the town we are in on Gotland is meant to be pretty special and it did mean we were not just seeing Stockholm.

Gotland is the biggest island in the Baltic Sea so has quite a checkered past. It has been ruled by the Danes, Teutonic Knights and pirates at various stages, even Russia briefly. Now it is part of Sweden.
It was part of this Hanseatic League I keep running into on this trip. Didn't plan it but it seems to have turned into a bit of a Hanseatic League holiday.

We are staying in a town called Visby. It is a medieval walled city with the wall still in tact. There are many many crumbling churches and old wooden and stone buildings around the place. It also has beaches and given it is summer there are Europeans galore enjoying their summer. We walked briefly along the edge of the Baltic  after dinner- seemed surreal mingling with the Swedes barbecuing along the edge of the Baltic enjoying the sun. Of course the sun does not set until about 11pm so everyone is out late.

Great dinner at one of the many restaurants here and we both had... Swedish meatballs- of course. It seemed compulsory to have meatballs. For some reason I remembered the Swedish chef in the Muppets who cooked meatballs all the time and said 'nurdle nurdle'  a lot I think. Anyway the Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, sweet pickled pickles and some berries were delicious.

Hope it is sunny again tomorrow as looking forward to walking around the city Walls.

Bergen

18 July- wandered around Bergen today. It is the sort of place best enjoyed by just meandering around the streets and enjoying the lovely old houses. We had a look at the Bergenhus fortress from the outside which includes Rosenkrantz Tower- a tower dating from the 1270's so pretty old and something called Hakons Hall- also very old - built between 1247 and 1261 ( not sure how I got those exact dates) and which was built by you guessed it- King Hakon Hakonsdon. A lot of it was destroyed in WW2 so assume the Germabs were here again. They are all very forbidding looking- dark stones and very tiny Windows on the walls facing the water- unsurprising given both the weather and fortification purposes. Also went on what is meant to be the number 1 attraction- Floibanen which is a train that takes you up the mountain where you get a great view of Bergen and its surrounds. You could see why it was a prosperous city when a lot of trade occurred via water. We also saw the oldest building- St Mary's church which dates from the 1200's and inadvertently stumbled on a church where there was a trumpeter playing into the square outside from the church tower. It looked brilliant- s/he was playing one of those trumpets with a long stem- can't think what it is called. It is a medieval looking trumpet. Wandered up the main pedestrian mall- Bergen looks to be pretty wealthy still and circled back to the hotel for a mid day rest. Oh yes and found a cafe that roasted its own coffee beans- had the best cappuccino of the trip so far. Very pretty little city.

Bergen

17 July- arrived in Bergen by the end of today. Left Flam for a cruise through the Naeroyfjord which is a Unesco heritage site. Amazing views- soaring mountains and waterfalls everywhere. Tiny little villages as well- very scenic. Stayed outside for most of the cruise as did not want to miss anything. Freezing so numb by the end but worth the pain. Arrived at Gudvangen and caught a bus to Voss. Drove through more mind blowing scenery, particularly the Stalheim Girge which has some amazing hotel perched on top of a mountain. There are hairpin bends there and back and the hotel is only open in the summer. The driver told us that the farm animals in this part have to be brought inside from around late Seotember when the snows start. It can get to minus 20 easily and sometimes minus 40. Lots of farms around here- sheep and cows. Apparently are no bears which I had not even thought of. Lots of reindeer, Lynx and foxes. We caught a train from Voss to Bergen. Voss was apparently flattened in WW2 by the Getmans because it is in a strategic spot and has good transport links. Sigh. SA very excited as all through the travels today we passed lots of running water apparently filled with trout and salmon. The price of fishing is actually quite reasonable compared to Scotland but expensive to get here and of course things like food and drink are also pricey. Bergen is lovely- reminds me of Brugge in that it is a very scenic historic little place that used to be a major trading hub. Now lots of tourists. Bergen used to be the largest city in Norway until the 1830s. Used to be a major trading and seafaring port and one of the Hanseatic merchants most trading centres. The hotel is in the historic part called Bryggen. One of the oldest parts of Bergen and consists of beautiful 14th century Hanseatic buildings, including some very old wooden buildings. Lots of narrow alleys and pathways to wander around. Briefly visited the fish market- lots of salmon, caviar and whale meat. They love their whale meat- both of us are not tempted to try it aside from our objections to whale hunting. Dinner at very old restaurant- Tracteursted- apparently it has been serving food and drink since the 1700's. It looked old- complete with sloping floor so we ate at a slant. We had Norwegian tapas so could try a variety of dishes. We had a sausage which may or may not have had reindeer in it, smoked trout ( delicious) , cod, salad, various pickled vegetables, type of salami( again not sure what type of meat), potato salad and salad. Was all very good. Pretty sure we still managed to avoid eating whale.

Flam

16 July- today had an early start- mainly because my phone kept making noises every time my ABC app delivered another piece of bad news about Turkey or France. Very glad not in either country. Got a train to a place called Myrdal as part of the Norway in a Nutshell tour. Very scenic 4 hour train trip through the mountains saw lots of snow and watched the temperature drop to around 9 degrees. At Mydral you swap to the Flam railway- a very scenic train trip through the mountains- lots of waterfalls, grass roofed houses etc. scenery is very dramatic- reminded us a bit of Scottish highlands interestingly. Some of the rocks had that purplish tinge. Did really enjoy the ride and was easy way to see dramatic Norwegian scenery. We are staying overnight at the Fretheim Hotel in Flam. A very small place which started its tourist life as a fishing spot for wealthy English lords. Eventually the wealthiest person in the village - Mr Freitheim built this hotel as he got sick of the English lords staying with him. The hotel is more ' comfortable' then grand now but definitely good enough for an overnight stay. Went for a walk mid afternoon and visited every tourist shop as that is all there is. Many overly warm jumpers for sale hat we would only ever wear if we moved here. Neither of us can imagine how cold this place must be in Winter- judging by the weight of some of the jackets- very very cold. The place is wedged between dramatic mountain scenery and the beginning of a fjord- beautiful  scenery. Dinner is at hotel as part of our package and then off on a fjord cruise tomorrow morning- looking forward to it. Enjoying a smallish glass of Cointreau before dinner- the bottle was definitely a good investment. Dinner was very enjoyable - buffet which is not generally our favourite but was pretty good and we splurged and had a glass of Italian red each- missed having wine with dinner. Decided over dinner that the place reminded us of a scene from a James Bond movie- was expecting to see Bond abseiling over one of the sheer mountains any moment and walking into this hotel in the middle of nowhere. Also decided that west coast Norway is like Scottish highlands on steroids- the mountains and lakes are similar just more dramatic- the mountains are definitely much larger and the lakes are huge.

Oslo

15 July- last day in Oslo. Lovely sunny mild weather . Caught a tram to the Vigeland Sculpture Park which essentially is a huge park full of large sculptures made by a Norwegian sculpturer called Vigeland. They were very striking. The ones we saw were all of oversized humans in various stages of their life. It culminated in this obelisk with bodies wrapped around it. The statues all are naked and looked to be carved from granite. A place you could go back to. Then caught train to the Munch Museum. Really enjoyed his paintings and saw a very interesting introductory film about him and his works. Was slightly disappointed by small size of his collection on display given he basically created art non stop since he was very young. Immensely talented and totally obsessed with his work to the exclusion of everything else. back onto public transport- this time a bus to a marketplace for lunch ( Mathallen Vulkan). Had some sushi ( they make very good sushi) and fresh fruit. Really good. Back on another bus to hotel for rest. The public transport system is excellent- very easy and plentiful. Changed my mind about earlier smoking observation- they do smoke and even have ads for it. Not as bad as used to be the case in say  France but definitely smoke outdoors in restaurants. Just starting to feel more comfortable getting around and time to go! Enjoyable and interesting city but not sure we would return. Is expensive but Sydney is not miles behind when we compared the cost of some food and equivalent clothing.

Oslo

15 July- last day in Oslo. Lovely sunny mild weather . Caught a tram to the Vigeland Sculpture Park which essentially is a huge park full of large sculptures made by a Norwegian sculpturer called Vigeland. They were very striking. The ones we saw were all of oversized humans in various stages of their life. It culminated in this obelisk with bodies wrapped around it. The statues all are naked and looked to be carved from granite. A place you could go back to. Then caught train to the Munch Museum. Really enjoyed his paintings and saw a very interesting introductory film about him and his works. Was slightly disappointed by small size of his collection on display given he basically created art non stop since he was very young. Immensely talented and totally obsessed with his work to the exclusion of everything else. back onto public transport- this time a bus to a marketplace for lunch ( Mathallen Vulkan). Had some sushi ( they make very good sushi) and fresh fruit. Really good. Back on another bus to hotel for rest. The public transport system is excellent- very easy and plentiful. Changed my mind about earlier smoking observation- they do smoke and even have ads for it. Not as bad as used to be the case in say  France but definitely smoke outdoors in restaurants. Just starting to feel more comfortable getting around and time to go! Enjoyable and interesting city but not sure we would return. Is expensive but Sydney is not miles behind when we compared the cost of some food and equivalent clothing.

Oslo

15 July- last day in Oslo. Lovely sunny mild weather . Caught a tram to the Vigeland Sculpture Park which essentially is a huge park full of large sculptures made by a Norwegian sculpturer called Vigeland. They were very striking. The ones we saw were all of oversized humans in various stages of their life. It culminated in this obelisk with bodies wrapped around it. The statues all are naked and looked to be carved from granite. A place you could go back to. Then caught train to the Munch Museum. Really enjoyed his paintings and saw a very interesting introductory film about him and his works. Was slightly disappointed by small size of his collection on display given he basically created art non stop since he was very young. Immensely talented and totally obsessed with his work to the exclusion of everything else. back onto public transport- this time a bus to a marketplace for lunch ( Mathallen Vulkan). Had some sushi ( they make very good sushi) and fresh fruit. Really good. Back on another bus to hotel for rest. The public transport system is excellent- very easy and plentiful. Changed my mind about earlier smoking observation- they do smoke and even have ads for it. Not as bad as used to be the case in say  France but definitely smoke outdoors in restaurants. Just starting to feel more comfortable getting around and time to go! Enjoyable and interesting city but not sure we would return.

Oslo

Day 2 continued... Spent afternoon looking for a restaurant for dinner. We're trying for 'authentic' Norwegian food but that seemed to comprise whale or deer meatballs and couldn't quite come at either. They also do a lot of seafood so eventually found a place called Bacchus right near an old church- I think it is the main church. Had a lovely meal. Stephen had a lovely fresh asparagus salad- White and green asparagus and I opted for some shrimps- basically baby prawns. They were delicious- very sweet with a strangely rough shell. The restaurant was only doing outdoor seating under large umbrellas with heaters. Summer in Norway. We were assured our table near the edge would be fine. it bucketed down for about half an hour- we got moved. Got to admire the Norwegians, perserving with the outdoor summer cafe scene. Even given name of restaurant did not have wine. $20 each for a glass. SA commented he does not know how anyone could afford to get drunk here.

Oslo

14 July- day 2 in Oslo and I dressed as a raincoat today thereby guaranteeing very little rain. Caught ferry to Bygdoy which is I guess an outlet of land- that's the opposite of an inlet that houses a number of museums. Possibly my favourite was the Viking Ship Museum. The Vikings ships and various artefacts have been found in boat graves around the Oslo Fjord. The boats are stunning. So slick looking. Also visited the maritime museum briefly - Norway is definitely a maritime nation and lastly the Polar ship Fram museum which was all about the various polar exbitions including the discovery of the NW Passage. The Fram and Gjoa boats are in the museum and you can walk onto the Fram. Again really interesting for us except when SA insisted I poke my head through an Inuit costume photo opportunity thing. Why!!? The Bygdoy area itself was interesting - huge houses around this part- nearly all are bright white. Don't know why. We caught a bus back which gave us a bit more of a look at different parts of Oslo. Pretty wealthy place.  My no doubt ignorant conclusion of Norwegian history is that post the Viking era, Norway was the poor cousin to Denmark and to a lesser extent, Sweden for a few hundred years. Finally became independent in 1905 and then was able to shrug off the poor cousin look once oil was discovered in the 1960's.

Oslo

13 July 2016

First full day in Oslo- SA very happy as had 5 different types of raw fish for breakfast- 3 different types of mackerel, a herring and salmon. I had fruit, yoghurt, toast and will confess to a wafer thin pastry. Coffee of course as all watchers  of scandi crime noir shows know that you must drink lots of coffee.
Started at Opera House for a walk around the outside. It is designed to resemble a glacier emerging from the sea- it does. Then Walked to Akershus castle which is your typical European castle- originally medieval, then Renaissance and with parts built in the 1930s. Interesting bits of Nowegian history- how their kings were actually Danish for a long time and how rarely the King of Norway actually lived or in fact was born in Norway. Interesting parts about the fortress being occupied by the Nazis in WW2 and there is a resistance museum in there as well. Always interesting reading historical accounts written by another country. Sounds like the Brits were the only ones really trying to help the Norwegians during their occupation although there were some hints about a general layer of chaos with various warring resistance groups. Definitely an important part of their history though- not surprising given they were occupied for some 5 years.

Wandered to the Nobel Peace Centre next. Wasn't planning on visiting but was really interesting. Had an exhibition on the Arab Spring in Tunisia, a darkened room with individual plaques of the recipients and its special exhibit at the moment is on the 1935 winner who was a German journalist called Carl von Ossietzky- he wrote about Germany rearming and ended up imprisoned. Never heard of him . There was also some information about Alfred Nobel himself. Overall a very WW2 focused morning.

Walked back for lunch and ended up in some shopping streets- some lovely warm jumpers and shoes- so different from home. Very clean and organised city. Also noticed they have gigantic double revolving doors to get into buildings. Assume these are necessary to keep out the cold and wild  weather for most of the year. Also lots of street art- primarily largish statues and very few people smoking. There you are. Out after lunch after short pause for a rest- went to the City Hall which had some great wooden carvings of mythology- especially about Thor. Inside was also imposing- the main hall is where the ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize is held. Then to National Museum which was really interesting. Saw Munch's Scream but was crazy in there with the Chinese tourists madly snapping photos of each other. A German tourist lost her cool and berated one lot as it was impossible to view it and they did not seem to be actually looking at any of the art work. Was strange. Saw some really interesting Norwegian artists other than Munch which we enjoyed. They studied in Germany and Paris but was interesting seeing the Nordic twist. We walked up to the Royal Palace and then got caught in large summer storm! We're prepared with our coats but still absolutely drenched. Hotel bathroom has heated flooring so is currently festooned with wet clothing. Resting with Cointreau and ice- bought some duty free at Heathrow given the price generally of alcohol here.

12 July 2016- start of Northern Europe adventures- arrived in Oslo to sunshine and a fairly mild temperature in the low 20's. Had to discard heavy coats quickly. Hotel is very central and looks to be good. Caught express train in from airport and hotel is near central train station. Did brief walk around environs- look across at the Opera House and water. Lots of Christmas trees and greenery and lots of people wearing shorts and shirts- suspect their expectations of summer are less than ours. Shared an early dinner of pizza and salad and purchased Oslo Pass as seemed good value. Early night- vainly trying to stay awake until 9 by watching Norwegian TV. Early impression is that is very easy to be English speaking tourist- everyone speaks perfect English.

EUROPE 2016