One can step back in time as you explore the winding cobblestone streets, medieval towers and old city walls of Tallinn – a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Tower of St. Olaf’s Church (on the right) dominates the skyline. Hard to believe – but in the late 1500’s this was the tallest building in the world!! The 19th century Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevski Cathedral, with its onion domes, is another skyline highlight.

A wonderful view of Lower Town Old Town Tallinn

The entry to Old Town is guarded by Fat Margaret Tower just as it was in Medieval times. Besides being a defensive outpost, the tower was made big just to impress anyone coming to town from the harbor. The relief above the gate dates from the 16th century.

Come on in!

Impressive walls protecting the city! Some of the original 46 towers.

This Old Town is full of beautifully carved, fanciful facades, many dating from the 1400-1500’s – –

Built in 1440, this was used as a German merchants’ club.

Church of the Holy Ghost is a wonderful little medieval church sporting an outdoor clock from 1633. The interior is quite simple – especially when compared to what we saw in St. Petersburg!!

Such a simple ‘pulpit’ without all the gold.

The Town Hall Square was fabulous! It, of course, served as a marketplace through the centuries and is the focal point of the Old Town. Once, it held criminals chained to pillories for public humiliation or knights showing off in chivalrous tournaments. Today the square is full of cafes and provided a wonderful spot for us to have lunch and watch the world go by;-)

The Town Hall opened in 1404 so the city’s burgomasters would have a suitable place to meet. It dominates the square.

Town Hall.

Uh Oh – A well known ‘criminal’ chained for public humiliation!!!

The Upper Town is dominated by Toompea Castle and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. The pink Toompea Castle is an 18th century Russian addition to the medieval Castle. Today, it is the Estonian Parliament building. The Russian Orthodox Cathedral – which faces Parliament across the square – was built in 1900.

Estonian Parliament

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Another wonderful church in the Upper Town is St. Mary’s Church – known as the Dome Church. It is an example of simple Northern European Gothic built in the 13th century during Danish rule. One can climb the 140 steps up the tower for fabulous views of the Upper and Lower Towns.

Yes – we climbed all 140 TINY steps to the top of the Tower!!

The sights and sounds of this little, old Medieval town were wonderful – –

Tallinn was a bright spot in our itinerary. Loved the day here.

E & G smiling;-)

What awaited the next morning was – LINES!! It was Sunday morning, more ships were in port and everyone was going to the Hermitage;-(.

REALLY!!!!

But – all was worth the wait. The Hermitage Museum complex contains a staggering three million pieces of artwork housed in a series of imperial buildings on Palace Square. The most prominent is the eggshell blue Winter Palace built in 1754-1762 by Peter the Great’s daughter, Elizabeth. This was the czar’s official city residence, built by Italian architects in the Elizabethan Baroque style, named for the czarina who popularized it. The entire palace is designed to impress, astonish and humble visitors with the power of the Romanov dynasty. And it did!

Extravagant gilded decorations cover the walls, alabaster statues watch over visitors and the Greek gods relax in the clouds above. The double-headed Romanov eagle is a common symbol everywhere – indicating the ability to look ahead and behind to protect.

Peter the Great Room (Small Throne).

There are actually two throne rooms in the Palace. The ‘Small Throne’ room (above) is to pay homage to Peter the Great and the walls are emblazoned with the double-headed Romanov eagle. The St. George Room – or Large Throne Room – was created in the 1840’s as the setting for official ceremonies and receptions. The magnificent parquet floor is made from 16 types of wood and the design is a mirror image of the gilded ceiling.

The War Gallery of 1812 displays more than 300 portraits of the generals who helped to expel Napoleon from Russia in 1812.

In 1762, Catherine the Great commissioned the Small Hermitage be built, as there was not enough room in the Winter Palace to display all the art she had collected. The Pavilion Hall was a connector, decorated in the French Renaissance style with MUCH gold – –

One more dance in another Grand Hall;-)

When the Small Hermitage would no longer hold the artwork collected, the Old and New Hermitages were constructed. Once through the rooms of the Winter Palace, one begins to see the magnificent art collections. With over 3 million pieces, we didn’t put a dent in what was to be seen.

An early Leonardo da Vinci – Benoit’s Madonna (1475-78)

Raphael Loggia and Majolica Room – A long narrow hallway (200 feet long, 13 feet wide) decorated with colorful paintings is a replica of one of the painter Raphael’s – the Vatican Loggia in Rome – which Catherine the Great had replicated in the 1780’s.

And so, a very brief visit to the Hermitage ended as did our stay in St. Petersburg. For all the comments received prior to our visit – we did not find the city a bleak gray with unfriendly, unhappy people. There was a very European-ish city with tremendous sights to see (and we did not see anywhere close to all we would have liked to). The new Gas company headquarters just across from the piers did amuse us;-). And – we found the new football (soccer) stadium built for the 2018 FIFA championships an advertisement for St. Petersburg. That is not to say there weren’t crumbling apartment buildings all around – as there were. But, so are there projects in NY blocks from Fifth and Park Avenues.

A new edifice for the Gas company headquarters.

The stadium built for FIFA 2018.

The storm clouds parted and we were on our way to Tallinn, Estonia – –

A rainbow has been over our shoulder. Another opportunity to check one off of the Bucket List – happily. St. Petersburg was a sight to see.

Moving on – E & G

So – Peter the Great began the city of St. Petersburg at the Fortress of Peter and Paul and extended into the ‘suburbs’ with Catherine Palace and a little palace at Peterhof referred to as Russia’s Versailles. Continuing to be impressed with the French, Peter built this magnificent 18th century palace set amongst beautiful fountains and parklands in the style of Versailles.

Peterhof sits along the Gulf of Finland west of the city atop a hill that tapers down to the water. The drive up to the palace is impressive – but nothing like the view out the back looking over the 150 fountains contained on the grounds. The pictures speak for themselves – –

Welcome!

This is only the front!!

Once again, there is more gold and artwork than you can imagine exists —

It appears there are hundreds of rooms.

For some reason the men’s beds were always smaller than the women’s?? So – this was Peter’s with his ‘throne’ just to the left (you, of course, know what ‘throne’ this was!!)

And now to the really beautiful part. The ‘backyard’ with the sweeping waterway to the Gulf of Finland. There is quite a ceremony that goes with the turning on of the fountains – all at once at 11AM daily. There are no pumps – all is done hydraulically with a complex system partially created by Peter, who was something of a scientist.

Our happy little group;-)

Needless to say, after the somewhat miserable rain of the first day, we were all ecstatic about this beautiful day to explore the magnificent grounds of Peterhof;-). Can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings.

E & G thoroughly enjoying St. Petersburg

About 15 miles south of St. Petersburg is the small town of Pushkin. Here Peter the Great began the building of a summer palace and called the area Tsarskoye Selo, or Czar’s Village. The main attraction of the area is the Catherine Palace (named for Peter’s wife, Catherine I), thought by some to be the most enjoyable palace to tour/visit. This night – we certainly thought that as we were formally welcomed, given a tour of the palace including the breathtaking Amber Room, celebrated the evening with champagne, dancing and music and were then provided an entertaining evening with a scrumptious dinner;-). Truly treated like ‘royal guests’!

Peter & Catherine’s daughter, Elizabeth, expanded the Palace to make Russia’s Versailles.

First, we must see the Royal coaches to pick one to arrive in. The one below would NOT be a good choice as this is the one Czar Alexander II was blown up in on the site of the Church on Spilled Blood;-(

Ahhhh – perhaps this is the one!!

So – off to the front gates to be officially received – –

Now to the really good stuff – like the Amber Room. This jewel box of a room is slathered with six tons of amber mosaic. Originally commissioned by Frederick the Great of Prussia in the early 1700’s, he sent it to his then ally, Peter the Great. First installed in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg but moved to Tsarkoye Selo in 1755 as ordered by Elizabeth. In 1944, the Nazi army completely dismantled the original Amber Room and shipped the pieces to Germany – never to be seen again. In 1979 Soviet authorities set about recreating the room relying on prior photos. The new room was unveiled in 2003.

Unbelievably beautiful!!

The various Baroque apartments were beautiful with no detail left undone – –

After the tour, it is time for a little champagne, entertainment and perhaps a dance?!?

To the Emperor and Empress

And – here’s to us;-)

This way to dinner – please.

Here’s to a wonderful evening at Catherine Palace;-)

What a fabulous evening. And, now before we change back to pumpkins, it is time to head back to the ship.

E & G with glazed eyes

A city willed into being (out of a swamp) by Peter the Great, St. Petersburg is a very European city. It showcases palaces, gardens, statues and arched bridges over graceful waterways. Three wonderful churches define the skyline as one enters the city.

The gold dome of St. Isaac’s Cathedral glitters over the city. While perhaps reminding Americans of the US Capital building, the dome is the 4th largest in the world. The church built between 1818 and 1858 emphasizes the one piece granite columns shipped from a Finnish quarry 150 miles away. A beautiful sight even on a rainy day – –

St. Isaac’s Cathedral towers over the city.

The Church on Spilled Blood is perhaps the more anticipated look of the Russian church. It is built on the place where a revolutionary assassinated Czar Alexander II in 1881 – thus the name. Exuberantly decorated with its gilded top of onion domes, it is a perfect photo opportunity – EXCEPT for all the electric and phone lines;-(

.

A REALLY rainy day – but it didn’t stop us!

Third is the Kazan Cathedral – a functioning house of worship (the prior two are basically museums today) for the Orthodox. The sweeping exterior portico is patterned after St. Peter’s in Rome and is another city landmark.

One of the most stunning and notable sights along the Neva is the Peter and Paul Fortress, with its slender golden spire. This is the sight of the birth of St. Petersburg when in 1703 Peter the Great began building this fortress to secure territory he had won in battle with the Swedes. The centerpiece of the fortress is the cathedral, whose dome can be seen behind the spire. This was the first church built in St. Petersburg and is the final resting place of the Romanov czars, who ruled Russia from 1613 – 1917.

An awesome fortress protecting the city.

This early 18th century cathedral was designed in Baroque style by a Swiss-Italian architect imported by Peter the Great to introduce European culture to Russia. Therefore, not surprisingly, the interior is NOT typical Russian. Here rests Peter the Great in the lower right corner and Catherine II the Great in the upper left. Elizabeth (ruling between Peter and Catherine) is in the lower left corner.

Back outside in the rain, one is able to see the watchtower frequented by Catherine as an escape to watch the ships go by. Also, from this deck the cannons shoot at noon daily and can be heard around the city!!

Beware the noon blast!!

One more stop along the Neva to catch a glimpse of the St. Isaac’s Dome towering over the Winter Palace and the Hermitage (to be seen on another day).

So ends the first day in St. Petersburg. A Grand – very European – city created by Peter the Great and enhanced by Elizabeth and Catherine the Great.

E & G looking excitedly for more

Helsinki is the only European capital with no medieval past. Originally founded by the Swedes in the 16th century, it remained little more than a village until 1746 when Sweden built a huge fortress just outside Helsinki’s harbor. The village boomed as it supplied the fortress. Then in 1809 Russia took over Finland, moved its capital to Helsinki and designed new public buildings using St. Petersburg as a model. Therefore, Helsinki looks and feels Russian – so much so that it was actually used for the filming of Dr. Zhivago and Gorky Park.

The skyline, as one comes into Helsinki, is quite distinctive with the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral rising above the harbor on one side and the Lutheran Cathedral rising above on the other.

The Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral was built for the Russian military in 1868. The large upper done represents the heart of Jesus with the 12 smaller ones representing his 12 apostles.

A Beautiful sight on the hill as one approaches Helsinki.

Just across the city is the Lutheran Cathedral with its prominent green dome and its 12 apostles overlooking the city and harbor. It is unadorned with the emphasis on preaching and music.

Another Beauty across the way.

Very imposing entry.

Next up – that huge fortress that Sweden built in the mid-1700’s to counter Russia’s rise to power. This was Sweden’s military pride and joy with 5 miles of walls and hundreds of cannons. It was the second strongest fort in Europe after Gibraltar.

Some of the 5 miles of walls!

King’s Gate – built in 1753 as a ceremonial gateway to the fortress.

One of Hundreds!!

Look out! Woman shooting;-)

Always FUN to climb on canons;-)

The Three Blacksmiths – perhaps celebrating human labor and cooperation.

Three + Three;-)

To more modern times – Church in The Rock. Blasted out of solid granite in 1969 and built within a years time. Barren of decor except a couple of crosses, the church is capped with a copper and skylight dome. Pretty awesome – –

13 miles of copper ribbon coil!

One last experience in Helsinki – a tram ride back to the ship.

Time to say good bye to Helsinki and head to St. Petersburg.

Off again – E& G

Another wonderful adventure awaits, as we head for the Baltics and St. Petersburg.  BUT – before boarding Oceania Marina, three days were to be spent in Copenhagen – Denmark’s capital and the gateway to Scandinavia.  Kobenhavn was born on the little island of Slotsholmen in 1167 – today the home of Christiansborg Palace (coming soon).  More recent history writes (literally) of Hans Christian Andersen – the “Danish Charles Dickens” – and his well known and adored fairy tales.  Who didn’t hear about “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Princess and the Pea” or “The Little Mermaid” when they were growing up??  Both “The Little Mermaid” and Hans Christian Andersen are top sights to see in Copenhagen;-)

A Heartbroken Little Mermaid looks Forlornly for Her Prince

Friends, Rheta and Tom, Getting a Reading from Hans

The Fountain of Charity is in the old town center – Gammeltorv – and has provided drinking water to locals since the early 1600’s.  Charity tops the fountain and is a pregnant woman squirting water from her breasts with a young boy standing next to her urinating;-)

Be careful where you get your drinking water from!!

Next up – the National  Museum, a fabulous facility which traces this civilization from its ancient beginnings through thousands of years to current times.  The ‘frozen’ bog bodies are incredible – but not as fearsome as Gary the Viking – –

Beware the Viking!!

The City Hall provided a look at the original architecture of the city with incredible detail-

Then there is Tivoli Gardens!  The world’s grand old amusement park since 1843.  Think Chicago’s World Fair, Disney Land and Epcot Center all wrapped up into one.

Go  anywhere in the world at Tivoli Gardens!

Robot mower kept the lawn tidy.

 A perfect lunch spot in the Gardens;-)

Finally – to the birthplace of Copenhagen in the 12th century – Slotsholmen or Castle Island.  Christiansborg Palace, with its three crown spire, is the imposing former residence of kings.  Today it houses the parliament.

Welcome to Christiansborg

Thank you Trump for canceling your trip to Denmark or you would have been having lunch here.

Or here!

The Royal Family – Queen Margrethe II and her husband – now live in Amalienborg Palace, with her son and his family living to the right.  We were just in time to see the changing of the guard.  Not quite as formal as Buckingham Palace but fun to see.

The flag is not up – the Queen is not home;-(

Next up – Rosenberg Castle, built by King Christian IV in the early 1600’s as a summer residence. It was his favorite and where he chose to die. Thankfully, no dead bodies today just the Danish Crown Jewels and 500 years of royal knickknacks!

A Stately Rosenberg Castle

Current “His” and “Hers”

There was soooooo much more – but, this is all time would allow. Tomorrow we board the Marina and set sail.

More when we can get a connection;-(. E & G sailing away.

Park City IS a wonderful place to spend the summer – and this one couldn’t have been any better.  It was different since we were right at the bottom of Main St. – SO close to all the activities.

AND – there seemed to be a pretty steady stream of friends who also felt that Park City was THE place to be.  Which means – there was always plenty to do.  Especially the hiking this year.  The winter had been such a wet one, that there was lots of water to ‘ford’ out on the trail and the plant life was very lush and abundant;-)   We drug everyone we knew out on some of old favorite trails and some brand new ones to explore.

Sundance as a destination is always a good one.  It is just so beautiful with Mt. Timpanogos towering over the trails – AND, there are wonderful choices for lunch when one finishes the hike.  So – we were off to indoctrinate friends Jane and Larry with the experience.  Stewart Falls was the destination (just a little secret – we did cheat and take the lift up so they could get a glimpse of Redford’s).

Hiking with Larry & Jane Bolton.

Our destination – Stewart Falls – is in the center of the picture.  WAY over there!!

A much closer view.

We had a few streams to ford on the way.

Since Larry and Jane were only here a few days – there was no rest for the weary.  So, the next day we were off to Alta to hike Catherine’s Pass – another fave, especially when all the wildflowers are in bloom.  Nothing is more beautiful than that carpet of yellow and blue and the sight of Catherine’s Lake when one reaches the saddle – –

A great view from Catherines Pass was not diminished by the rain storm.

And the wild flowers along the way were beautiful!!

The ladies also had a Sound of Music moment:-)

One of the really FUN things is to take “the back way” home from Sundance – passing through a lot of moose territory.  Sure enough, we were lucky this day.  There was a whole family – Mom, Dad and a calf:-)  Doesn’t get any better than that!!

Dad …

…a calf and cow.

After wearing Jane and Larry out (they left to get some rest), we turned back to our Vi friends – Cay and Norris.  They were so good to indulge us on all our hiking whims.  Perhaps a new trail was in order.  The ‘talk’ of the PC ladies hiking group this year was Noblett’s Creek just outside of Woodland.  So, we loaded up the car and were on the way.

Noblett’s Creek – – Really lush and pretty with a stream the entire way;-)

Almost felt like Hawaii it was so lush!

We found the spring!

Not quite a moose today – but still beautiful nature.

Catherine’s Pass was so beautiful a few days before, perhaps we should go back to Alta and try Cecret Lake in the same area.  Unfortunately, there had been a really bad storm the night before that knocked all the flowers off their stems AND created pretty bad mud slides.  Fortunately, the slides on the roads were cleared so we could get to the trailhead – but the carpet of flowers were gone;-(

Not sure Cay and Norris were enamored with our next trail selection – Cecret Lake.

More water to cross!!

The memory banks forgot how steep and rocky the trail was;-(

The view from the top was terrific, though – – once we made it;-(

After a snack we were ready to slip, slide and trip our way down the mountain.

One more ‘walk’ for Cay and Norris before they returned to Scottsdale – along McLeod Creek, through the Swaner Preserve and to lunch at the junction (always need food as a destination!!).

Making music along McLeod Creek.

It had been quite a long time since we had attended one of the summer plays over at Sundance.  This year’s play was Mamma Mia – what better for a FUN evening out, including dinner at the Grill?!?!  One must always remember that these plays go on rain or shine!!

Mamma Mia…….

…..that was some downpour.

And – what would summer in Park City be without a concert or two at Deer Valley.  Thanks to friends, we got to see The Rolling Stones Tribute Band followed by the Indigo Girls.  More fun, cool evenings;-)

The Indigo Girls with the SLC Symphony at Deer Valley.

And – just that quick, two months had passed and it was time to return to Scottsdale.  One stop was made on the way home to attend “The Book of Will” at the Cedar City Shakespeare Festival, which was a lot of fun.  Then it was up and over Route 14 to 89 and 89A – anything to avoid LV;-(  Besides – E really needed to see her favorite sign so she could laugh half way home – –

Ho – ho – ho made;-)

Then it was back into the Valley of the Sun!!

HOLY CRAP!! – Welcome Home!

What an awesome FOUR months;-)  We love our travels – we love seeing and spending time with all our family and friends.

Love to All – E & G, home safe and sound (for 10 days!!)

My goodness!  Hard to believe it has been almost 7 weeks since our arrival in Park City – and a post here on the blog.  Park City truly is our home away from home, our second home, our home on the road – you get the idea;-)

Always one of the summer highlights is the 4th of July celebration.  Don’t think we have missed any (maybe 1 or 2??) parades in 22 years!!

Nothing like a small town parade on the 4th of July.

E’s favorite – FIREWORKS!!

Come to find out – Park City is also the escape for many of our new Vi neighbors!  So – there had to be a mini gathering of Vi-ites at Phyllis’s.  A lovely evening of good drink, food and visiting;-)

A very fine evening.  Thank you Phyllis (far left) for a wonderful evening.

There were also rounds of golf and lots of concerts, hikes, shopping and dinners with our new Vi neighbors – –

Golf at Crater Springs with our Scottsdale neighbor Gailyn.

Free concerts (and dinners) from the balcony of our friends condo in Canyons Village.

E goes out of her way to find trails that G can NOT easily fit through/under.

One wonderful result of having new friends who are also NEW visitors to the Park City area is that we have a fantastic excuse to revisit all the favorite haunts to show them off! Exactly what has been done in exposing Cay and Norris to the area.  There were a couple of short road trips to Kamas for a concert at DeJorio and up into the Uintas to wander along the Provo River and falls – – 

‘Kinda’ like a scene from Dirty Dancing????

A lot less water in Provo Falls than expected. Still a very enjoyable visit.

New friends from Vi, Cay and Norris, hiking the E&G way;-)

Beautiful scenery;-)

Of course, wildlife sightings are always a HUGE plus.  This evening walk around lower Deer Valley was very kind to us with a very fortuitous sighting of this guy just trying to cool off – –

Come on in – the water is fine!!

These weeks have flown by.  What might be in store for our few weeks left??

See you with more soon – E & G, happy (and cool) in Park City

Hard to believe we said good-bye to Scottsdale exactly 8 weeks ago.  During that time we travelled 10,000 miles, visited 5 cousins and their families, spent time with a couple of prior employees and friends, ‘wandered’ thru 6 National Parks, played 8 rounds of golf, visited 2 Presidential Libraries and 4 college campuses, watched our countries business in both the Senate and House chambers, sat in the Supreme Court chambers, Segway’d thru the Gettysburg battlefield and spent 10 awesome days as ‘Owlheads’!!!

MiniMagic also dodged tornado warnings all across the South and flood warnings through Iowa and South Dakota.  Forgot to mention that MiniMagic did go into a shop FOUR times on the journey for one thing or another.  But – those things were minor.  UNTIL – heading into Park City (our last day on the road) a construction equipment delivery truck driver decided to fall asleep and come straight at us!  Not sure how, but G managed to avoid the head-on resulting in only a glancing blow – –

Thank goodness – only a side swipe.

The truck that hit us did not fare as well. Very scary.

Well – that was our welcome to Park City!!  Since that day, we have settled into our condo on Park Ave. and gotten back into our routines;-)

The view from our condo for two months.

Some of the good old routines include golf on Monday and Thursday and hiking any other day of the week when the weather says “Go”.

The weather for our first hike since arriving in town was beautiful – –

– – As were the views.

Totally enjoyed our two months of wandering – but, also really glad to be in one spot for a couple of months.  Also, happy to be alive;-)

E & G – looking forward to two months in Park City and what is in store there!