Moscow, Russia (September 12th 2016)

Friday September 9th we arrived in Moscow at 6:30 in the evening. We had a taxi arranged to meet us at the station and take us to the Kitay Gorod Hotel located in the old part of the city next to Red Square and the Kremlin.  Soon after checking in we headed out to see the famous Red Square and St. Basil Cathedral at night.

After less than a five minute walk, I felt the traveler's goose bumps appear as the famous sights I had seen so many times in books and on TV came into sight. 

On Saturday, our first full day in Moscow we were a little disappointed to find that all roads leading to Red Square were blocked by military police. It appeared that only those with tickets were going through the secutity line. With the language barrier as thick as the road blocks, that is what we were left to assume.

We later found out the road blocks were all related to the Moscow Day events that were taking place. Apparently, it was the 869th year for this event and a huge celebration this year would make this the biggest one yet.

Unfortunatly for us it meant higher than normal levels of security, restrictions on certain places like Red Square and  accessibility to Lenin's Mausoleum; one place I really wanted to go.

Moscow Day however did not prevent us from going to the Kremlin where we spent most of the afternoon. We were able to walk past the State Kremlin Palace. There was no sign of Vladimir Putin around; however, by followng strick rules of conduct we were able to see some incredible sights within the walled, park like, heart of Russian political power.

We were able to enter a number of Cathedrals, including Assumption, Annunciation and Archangel. 

All these Cathedrals turned museums were stocked full of famous paintings and treasures of various historical significance.  We stood under Ivan the Great's Bell tower and posed for pictures next to the Tsar's giant cannon and broken bell.

After we were all caught up on 800 years of Russian history, we made our way over to the Moscow Day celebrations which were taking over many of the city streets in the area. After learning a little today about the city's turbulent history, I figured they deserved to celebrate. 

Finally the day was topped off with a massive display of  fireworks.

On Sunday we were given a lot more freedom to go where we wanted even though we still had to go though metal detectors and have our bags constantly searched.

Once on Red Square we were surprised to see the line up of people in front of Lenin's Mausoleum which is normally closed on Sunday.  We figured Lenin must make exceptions on Moscow Day weekend and consider the occasion as one worthy of taking extra visitors. 

After our brief visit with Lenin we took a seat right in the middle of Red Square and paused for a moment to let it all sink in. 

Then we moved on as far as Arlat, the very modern, trendy walking street. This high fashion area full of international brand names and restaurants was a big change from the older area of Kitay Gorod where we are staying. According to Jueun there was nothing like this in Moscow the last time she was here 12 years ago.

Later on we headed back to the hotel to grab a bite to eat and gather our stuff together before we took our taxi to Yaroslavskiy Station to start our Trans-Siberian Railway experience.

All aboard as the journey continues...

Saint Petersburg, Russia (September 8th 2016)

On Tuesday September 6th we took the Allegro,  a very nice fast train from Helsinki to Saint Petersburg.  It left Helsinki at 11am and arrived in Saint Petersburg at 2:30 pm.

All immigration formalities took place in the comfort of our seats on the train. The Finnish officers quickly stamped us out of the EU and shortly afterwards the Russian authorities boarded the train. We were instructed to remain seated during the whole operation. 

First, military police went through the carriage with sniffer dogs, than another officer questioned us about the contents of our bags. Finally, another officer slowly examined our passports and Russian visas. Once satisfied with our paperwork she stamped us in and moved on to people in the next seat we were officially in Russia.

We had a driver pre-arranged to meet us at the station and take us to the Hotel Vera. My first impression of the city was it seemed huge and there seemed to be an incredible number of military personnel everywhere. 

We were warmly welcomed at the Hotel Vera and after a little extra paperwork registering with the hotel were ready to head outside and explore the famous city.

We walked all the way down the main Avenue Nevsky Prospekt towards the historic heart of the city. We walked past the massive State Hermitage Museum, The Summer Palace and the Church on Spilled Blood. 

The atmosphere felt different than other cities but different in a way that is hard to explain. The crowds were huge especially considering it was rush hour. Nevertheless, looking beyond the crowd the view was incredible as we both experienced that "I can't believe we are really here" feeling.

On our first full day we managed to take the city bus. Once we figured out to pay one of the people in the back and not the driver we were on our way to the heart of the city.

We walked around Hermitage Square again and around the Church on the Spilled blood which got it's name by being built on the exact spot where Alexander II was assassinated in 1881.  The church is incredibly beautiful. Although it is somewhat Disney cartoonish in design and actually modeled after St. Basil's in Moscow I couldn't resist referring to it as the Blood Splatter Cathedral.

From there we went to see a famous statue of Peter the Great on a horse. We ate lunch out side and then continued on to find some famous theatres. Finding The Mariinsky theater was a big thrill for those of us who are into Ballet.

The next day, Thursday September 8th we took the bus back down to the Hermitage area again where we got in the line to purchase tickets for the State Museum.

 After about three hours in there we managed to see a number of its famous treasures from around the world. Some highlights included walking up the grand staircase trying to tell time from Peter the Great's golden peacock clock, seeing Egyption mummies that looked better than any we had seen in Cairo and and going through a very interesting Korean Exibit. Some paintings we saw included Leonardo Vinci's Madonna and Child and Rembrandt's Prodigal Son.

It is a huge musem, one of the biggest in the world where one could spend days and days and still not see everything.  We were satisfied after finding a few key items in the time we had given it.

After that we headed over to Blood Splatter Cathedral and managed to make our way through the inside of it as well.

On Friday September 9th after finishing a nice relaxed breakfast at the hotel we got our stuff together and walked over to the train station.

Our train pulled out of Moskovsky Station in Saint Petersburg at 2:30 pm as we made our way to Moscow.

Finland (September 7th (2016)

After an evening of music, dancing and reassurance that ABBA is still popular in this part of the world we arrived in Helsinki. It was about 10:00 am when we docked.

As we were sitting outside the ferry terminal, drinking a coffee, looking at the map and planning our route to our accomodations we witnessed some very unusual activity which gave us an interesting first impression of the Finnish Capital.

Military personal began swarming into the station. One after another soldiers with machine guns began running through the doors. Once in the main terminal they drew their guns and started manhandling people to the floor. A group of roughly 25 people were forced flat down with their hands behind their heads before they were all marched into another room. 

At this point we figured the show was over and shaking our heads, feeling very confused made our way down the road. We only made it a few meters before we noticed a large sign stating in numerous languages including English that authorities would be conducting military exercises this morning in and around the ferry terminal.

After this interesting welcome to Finland we made our way to the Sokos Hotel Presidentti, not the type of place we would normally stay; however, It was somehow linked to the train ticket we booked to Saint Petersburg. Although a little strange, it was still a welcome break from Hostels.

While in Helsinki, we walked around as usual. We visited Temppeliaukion Kirkko, the church that is built in Solid rock and went to the main train station where we checked on our Russian train tickets and changed some money into Russian Roubles.

That evening which would be our last in Scandinavia also happened to be Freddie Mercury's 70th birthday. It seemed like a good excuse to spend it at the Hard Rock Cafe listening to Queen music.

Next stop Russia, as the journey continues. 

Sweden ( Sept. 5th 2016)

After a very early rise and a doggie bag breakfast ready for us at 4:30 am we managed to catch a bus to get us to the station in time for our 6:00 train to Stockholm. It was a very nice train which we shared with Edmonton Oiler Oscer Klefbom.

 We were actually given another breakfast as we rode along. The joys of backpacking... Some days you totally miss breakfast and other days you are given two in the company of NHL hockey players. I would have preferred Mats Sundin but...oh well.

At 10:46 am we arrived in Stockholm, changed some money and made the long walk to the Zinkerman HI Hostel. Here the rooms were small but they were private. That evening we treated ourselves to a delicious meal at the nearby Southside Irish Pub

On Saturday September 3rd we headed out to
explore Stockholm. We made our way past the  thousands of tourists mostly off of cruise ships and wandered around Gamla Stan, the old part of Stockholm. We walked through the little lane ways including lane 81 which at only one meter wide is supposed to be the narrowest lane in the city. 

We walked past the Royal Palace and stopped in a square to listen to a police brass band play Frank Sinatra music. With "Come fly with me" still ringing in our ears we made our way down to the Marina area and ate our sandwiches.

Later in the aftenoon we made our way back across the bridge and along Hornsgatan Road
back to the hostel just before it stated to pour out of the Swedish heavens.

On Sunday September 4th, we walked around Gamla Stan a little more in the morning, making fun of how everyone here seems to talk like the "If you got it, flaunt it" Swedish Girl from Mel Brook's musical "The Producers".

I'm not sure if we were having too much fun with the Swedish accent or what the reason was but somehow we seriously lost track of time. We somehow forgot what time we needed to start heading to the Ferry terminal. Once we realized how tight time was we gathered our bags from the hostel and quickly walked to Zinkensolamm Station to take the Metro to Gardet Station.  We arrived there at 3:45. Our boat was scheduled to leave at 4:45 and last check-in was at 4pm.  This is totally not the way I like to do things was the thought going through my head as we followed sign after sign though tunnels and over passes leading to the Tallink Silja Line check-in area. At 3:58 we checked in using, yet another,  automated kiosk. Then we basically walked straight on the board.  The huge cruise ship was massive. The main foyer of the ship  looked more like somethig out of West Edmonton Mall than a boat. 

Anyway, after counting our blessings and catching our breath we settled in for an evening of luxury as we crossed the Baltic Sea.

Norway ( Sept. 3rd 2016)

The Fjordline Ferry to Norway was a huge ship with numerous restaurants, bars and entertainment areas. We had supper and enjoyed some of the entertainment before settling in for the night.

We arrived in Bergen Norway at about 12:30 the next day.

We finally managed to figure out how to get a bus ticket to the Bergen Montana HI Hostel. It wasn't an easy task and took us awhile to actually find the bus station.  We are finding everything a little on the futuristic side here in Scandinavia. Buses, trains and even elevators all seem to operate in ways that are slightly ahead of our time.

Using cash here is quite uncommon and even the simplist task of buying a train ticket, using a vending machine or even entering a public toilet requires a credit card.

Once at the hostel we got ouselves settled  into our large mixed dorm room, did our laundry and made supper at the hostel. In the kitchen we met an older English man named Issac. He started to talk to us about his travels and boy could he talk. It seemed like he had been practiclly everywhere on Earth and he had a story to tell about each place. He was the type who would ask a question but before you had time to answer would be well into another story. Anyway we listened to him for awhile until we really couldn't take it anymore.

On Tuesday August 30th  it was raining outside which was a little disappointing because it was the only day we had for going to the fjords. We decided to go anyway. We did a three hour tour from Bergen to Mostraumen and back again.

Even though the weather was not ideal, the views were still fairly good. We were certainly both glad we decided to go ahead with the plan.

Back at the hostel we ate supper and had some more time to talk or mostly listen to Issac who we now, because of his appearance, started calling Papa Smurf.

We were up really early the next morning.  At  5:30 am we were quietly packing our bags trying not to wake the others in our room.

At 6 am we took our spot second in line to Papa Smurf at the bus stop to take the first bus downtown. Our train departed Bergen at 7:57 am. Along with seeing the Fjords, the famous Bergen to Oslo Railway was one of the main reasons we really wanted to go to Norway. This train is often described as one of Europe's most spectacular rail experiences.

The landscape changed dramatically as it took us to ear popping heights next to snow capped mountains and along high plateaus before it decended down to Oslo at 2:45 pm.

We figured out how to take the Metro to Sinsen Station and walked up over the grassy hill to Oslo Hearldsheim HI Hostel, where who should we meet again at the check in counter? You guessed it... Papa Smurf.

Thursday September 1st we spent the day exploring Oslo. After a little confusion trying to get my credit card to work buying Metro tickets, we were able to make our way downtown. We stopped by the Noble Peace Centre and took a Ferry across Oslofjorden to the Bygdoy Peninsula. Here we walked around the Maritime Museum, the Norsk Folk Musem and Oscar's Hall. After that we spent most of the afternoon at the very impressive Akershus Fortress.

Oslo is certainly a nice clean modern city. With it's organization and modern glass buildings there were times I felt like I could be walking around almost any Canadian city. Although it didn't give me the same thrill other cities may have it was the first day of September and "here we were" in Oslo Norway! It was a September 1st I enjoyed much more than usual. Although we didn't actually go in the National Gallery and see the original Edvard Munch's "The Scream",  seeing copies of it around the city reminded me of my usual reaction to this date in the calender.

Denmark (Septemner 1st 2016)

We arrived in Copenhagen at 8:05 pm on Friday August 26th. Now it felt like we were really getting somewhere. Neither of us had ever been to Scandinavia so we were both excited to take on some new territory. 

The next morning we headed out to explore some of the city. It was another exceptionally hot day as we walked past Tivoli Gardens, which is basically an old fashioned amusement park dating back to 1843. We walked around City Hall Square as we made our way to Kastellet Park and then on to the unusually, makes me wonder, famous statue of the little mermaid. 

We walked along the river past the many marinas and hung out down by some large swimming pools next to the river. We ate our lunch here as we watched locals enjoying life, picnicking, swimming or lying in the sun.

We finished off our Copenhagen day by dropping by the "Carlsberg Exbeerience." Although they offer tours of the famous brewery we opted to just stop by the visitor centre and have one of my favorite beers in the Carlsberg garden. 

We made pasta for supper back at the hostel before we went out again to take a few night pictures.

The next day things got interesting...We left the hostel at 9am,  walked to the station and had a croissant and coffee for breakfast and waited for what we thought was our 11:00 train. As it turned out it was actually 12 noon. For some unknown reason the times on our reservation form were different from what was on the actual tickets. We had been only looking at the reservation form. We were already a little worried about making it to Hjoerring in time to make our connection for a train to Hirtshals where we would catch our boat to Norway.

Anyway, things seemed to go from bad to worse once we figured out there was a major power problem with the trains in Copenhagen this day. Due to this, our already later than planned, overcrowded train began to get behind schedule. We figured our Norway plans were in serious jeopardy by the time we were asked to make an unexpected train switch in what seemed like the middle of nowhere Denmark.  We were told our current train ran out of fuel. Anyway this new fuel filled train must have picked up just enough time for us to try plan B which was to try taking a taxi directly from Hjoerring to the ferry terminal in Hirtshals.  Lucky for us the plan worked and we were able to check in just in time. That evening we were on our way to Norway.

Amsterdam (August 26th 2016)

After a great visit with family in Germany it was time to move on again.

We went to Amsterdam on Wednesday August 24th. It was a short two night visit basically to break up the trip from Kiserslaughten to Copenhagen.

It was my first time back to the Dutch city in 19 years. We arrived at the same station and made the walk to the very same hostel where I stayed back in the fall of 1997. The infamous Flying Pig Hostel really hadn't changed very much. The lobby looked the same as it did and the hallways, rooms and the atmosphere was pretty much what I remembered.

Although the hostel and the care free party atmosphere were the same as my first trip to Amsterdam, the weather was entirely  different. The city was a cold damp place for me in the fall of 97. Nothing like the blue sky sunshine and temperatures in the low 30's we had here this time.

We had both already done the more famous museums and Anne Frank's house so this visit was more about exploring some of the lesser known areas of the city and basically just  chilling out. 

We spent most of our time wandering around the streets and canals and a lot of time just soaking up the Dutch sunshine in the very relaxing Vondelpark.

Actually we spent a lot of time simply just people watching and as anyone who has ever been to Amsterdam knows there are certainly some interesting people to watch here. Especially when Amsterdam's legendary night life comes alive.

We spent a couple hours just taking in the action around us at Dam Square. The scene included British University students dressed in their school colours, groups of young bachelor and Bachelorette parties doing their thing and tourists of every kind snapping up pictures as fast as their fingers let them.   Most people looked like they were having a great time and a few others looked like they were on another planet. 

Anyway after a couple of free spirited days here and satisfied that the Pig was still flying we were more than ready to move on and continue the journey.