Nashville Tn. St Louis Mo.

Thur. One more trip to downtown Nashville.  We both had a physical and we are both healthy.  We now have to have our blood work done.  When we got home we move our RV to Nashville North KOA.  Then to Addy’s kindergarten graduation(top left two). Fri. It was nice not to get up early. Mackenzie and Katie made waffles(top right two), then we played games and went swimming.  Went to Save-a-Lot to get lunch and dinner. Chris and Jen came over and we played more games.

Sat. Was a great day. Katie spent the night and in the morning we had the left over waffles. Then to Jen’s to help Chris put in the sink that Fred and Betty gave them.  Then we started to take down the pool deck (they are not going to keep the pool).  Around 9:30 wen meet Tam's family at a gas station and Chris and I went with Tam and Kenn to St. Louis and the kids went with Linda to the campground.  

Sun. We got to St. Louis around four and the four of us crashed.  We got up around 7 and unloaded the 26 foot rental and there two cars.  We got done around noon and by the time Kenn took back the truck it was 12:56 and they closed at one.  We got all the boxes to the right room and got the furniture set up in each room. After showers we went to Costco for dinner then drove to Jen,s.  Meanwhile Linda had the kids for the night and Mackinsey had a game so her and Jen came later.  As you can see from the picture above the kids had fun Baseball, play ground checkers,games, and pie eating contest.
We got to Jen's about 9 and celebrated four of the grandchildren's birthdays.

Mon.  We had Bryce,  Brendan, and Katie spent the night.  When we got up we went to Jen's for breakfast.  After they ate the coffee cake Jen and Linda made Tam's family left for home and we went back to the rig and moved it back to Cages Bend. 

Tues. What, NO COFFEE when we wake up!!!! No we have to have our blood tested.  But for a treat we went to Loveless Cafe for breakfast. They make 7,000 biscuits a day and Linda and I did not want them to have leftovers so we ate 4 1/2 each??. At 10 in the morning they had already started to cook their chicken.  That evening we went to Mackenzie’s softball banquet.  The bottom right picture is the girls that have a 3.5 grade level or higher (it was over half the team) and Mackenzie was one of them(3rd from right side).  When we got to the rig we watched movies and popcorn.

Wed. We all slept in, then had biscuits and sausage gravy (Mackenzie,s favorite)  We took walks, lunch, and played bump volleyball. Then the rain came and came hard.  Mackenzie was to have pitching  practice but when the rain came it was cancelled.  So more walks and games after the rain and before bed movies and pop corn.

Travel Home Drive to Nashville Tn.

Wed. As we approached Copenhagen through the fog, we stopped at the mouth of the port.  The pilot boats were not there so we waited. We still left port on time for the airport.  After getting a wheel chair for dad we went an upgraded his ticket to first class ( we surprised him! which he said was a highlight of his trip) then through customs.  We made it with no problems and we found a Starbucks and a place for lunch.  For over eight hours we flew to Washington D.C.  Then thru line after line to get through customs.  We made our flight to Tampa after getting in a line up to take off.  When in Tampa we got a taxi and was at dad’s by 9 P.M. With time changes some 22 hours after we got up.

Thur.  We were up early and Linda did 2 loads of laundry before going to Skidders.  After  breakfast then Publix for groceries.  We got dad a appointment for the Dr.  He got blood work done, ultra sound of his leg(for possible blood clot but was neg.)and chest x-ray. His blood sugar has been high and he was congested for over a week. They put him on antibiotics for pneumonia. We stopped by Skidder’s for the best hamburgers and fries.  After we packed the truck we  left and got back to the rig at 10 P.M.

Fri.  We were both up by 6 and started doing things to get ready to leave for Tn.  We got fuel, Starbucks, and groceries. 

Sat. We left for Tn. We got to exit 306 in Ga.  The campground we are staying at had a pot luck and had lots of food left over.  The had invited us to eat so we did.  So for $17.75 we got full hook up, 50 amp., with free internet,cable, and lots of food!!!

Sun. It was nice to get back to church.  After church we ate and drove to Gallatin Tn. to the Corp of eng.  After we got set up we went to Jen's church for Katie getting initiated into 6th grade.  It was rainy but we did not expect to come home to down trees and the park wind blown.  Thank God we did not have any damage.

Mon.  What a night.  We found out that a big wind storm blew threw and the elec. has been out since 4:30 p.m. yesterday.  We had no damage but as you can see one of the motorhomes had a branch fall on it.  After no a/c for the night we took cold shower for the water heater had not been working either.  We left for our Dr. appt. in Nashville only to find that they had to cancel the  appt. for some emergency.  So we went to Betty and Fred’s new place and had a great time with them and Ron and Diane.  Kari and Addy came over for dinner.  

Tues.  Ah it was nice to sleep in have coffee in bed.  Then we did laundry and went for a walk.  We drove to Nashville for the Apple Store for lesson on photos.  Then to Katie school to watch her and her chorus class perform.  She had a big group to watch her.

Wed. Up and away to Nashville again this time to go to CPA and finance advisor.  After our meetings Subway then each of us had a dermatology exam. Linda none me 10. We drove to Jen’s had dinner with them at Culver (a hamburger and custard place).  Linda got her hair cut then to church.  What a day.

Tallinn, Estonia- Saint Petersburg, Russia- Helsinki, Finland- Stockholm Sweden

Wed.  This is a deal day 63.  We enjoyed the ship activities one a chocolate demonstration with Norman Love's chocolates. This was a formal night earthing looked so nice and the evening show was great.

Thur. Tallinn Estonia rainy 52. We took a tour to old upper town. Top left is a theater where this person was famous for using his hand jesters. Next to it is a statue of a man that lead the big chorus for 60 years.  Second row left is the cobble stone streets which were in the upper and lower old town.

Picture below is some of the old buildings.  Top right is the place where once a year they have a song festival Sat. and Sun. About 2,500 have studied and are accepted to sing.

This is a picture of the olympia village in 1980 where they held the sailing. the next picture is Toompea Hill. Here is the Palace ,Palace Square, and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Russian Orthodox Cathedral).

Fri. St. Petersburg, Russia Rainy 54. Only 30 days of sun shine each year.  70% divorce rate and alcohol abuse.  They believe weather is a factor. We had an early slow start.  We usually go and get on the buses and go but today we had to go through customs twice when we got off ship and just before we got on. The first six pictures below are of some of the apartments from the 60’s to now.  The government owned the buildings and everyone lived free.  Now you rent or buy your apartments. 90% of them rent.  The last six are of the water ways they are known as Venice of the North.

There are monuments and statues everywhere. The picture below shows some of them.  There are 100 statues of Linden still remaining here but destroyed every else.

We went on a city tour where we saw the outside of buildings and did not go in.  Here are some of the buildings we saw. Vasilievsky Island and the Rostral Columns, River Neva(which has Rostral Columns the original lighthouses top and bottom 3rd pictures) Old Stock Exchange, lighthouses, St. Isaac,s square with it’s cathedral, Hermitage  Bronze Horseman in Decembrists Square, Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood, and many more things. We passed by the Peterhof Palace known as the Russian Versailles. The Grand Cascade fountain which we could not see features Samson prying open a lion’s  jaws as water cascades down terraced steps.  We just saw the gardens surrounding the palace with lots of white marble statues.

Picture below top left Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood (3-1-1881 assassination of Tzar Alexander 2). Top right  Hermitage Museum (with an art collection to rival the Louvre, the Tsar’s former Winer Palace and four other buildings is the home over 3 million artworks, including paintings by Da Vinci, Monet, Rembrandt and Renoir). Bottom pictures are of St. Isaac’s Cathedral (cathedral’s central gold dome is one of the largest in the world, and covered with 220 pounds of gold in 1818 and took more than 3 decades to complete).

Top left I am trying free vodka.  It was good but very warm going down. 2nd picture is horse sausage!!! Top right I was trying on Russian hats. Bottom left is the banner they put for it is a huge celebration here for the 70th yr celebrating the victory of world war 2.May 9th 1945-1015. Bottom right Russian dolls that have many smaller dolls inside.

SatWe are still in St. Petersburg Russia clear 55.  This is there 70 ann. of the ending of WW2.  They had a big ship parade then other actives downtown.  Since we do not have a visa we could not go to town to see it.  We did see some on the TV while doing laundry.  After dinner we left port.  Then enjoyed the production showtime Fiera. 

Sun. HELSINKI, FINLAND clear 42 when we left on tour and 55 when we returned.  Sunrise 4:55a.m.,Sunset 9:40p.m. Finland is known as “the land of the midnight sun.”  During the summer, the sun is visible for a full 24 hours and stays above the horizon for over 70 days. Our guide told us Finland people are not much of a conversationalist.  They only talk when spoken to and answer very short answers.  Their motto is Speech is silver and gold is silence.  Also she said they say I love you only once and if it changes then they will tell each other!!!!Top left the call the naughty boy. Top right 18th century Uspensky Cathedral. Helsinki makes 60%of the Ice Breakers (bottom left) they also make cruise liners. Bottom right is Market Square (alot of the stores were closed today because of Mother’s day)

Top left is the Russian Embassy next to it is Presidential Palace, 3rd picture Uspensky Cathedral. Top right where there diplomats stay. Bottom three is Rock Church(Temppeliaukio)  This one of a kind Lutheran church is built into a solid rock.  Natural light pours in from the church’s glazed dome and the rough stoned interiors amplify sound making it a unique concert venue.

Picture below is Helsinki Cathedral (19 century) at Senate Square.

Picture below is one of the highlights that Linda was looking forward to Winterland. It is one of the world’s largest ice bars.  Toasting with their vondka from a glass made of ice.  Everything is made of ice.  They had Santa’s area, ice igloo with beds three different bed types to choose from if you choose to sleep there.  We did a slide ride.the temp. was 3below and they provided very warm parka’s, boots and gloves. Gramps enjoyed himself as much as we did!!!

Mon. We arived at Nynashamn Sweden sunny high 55.  Top left picture is  a tender(temp.45) which we had to take to port because the ship was to big to get into Nynashamn and Stockholm. Stockholm was the host of the 1912 summer Olympics. As we traveled to Stockholm we passed many red homes. Which is residue of copper mining which produces this color.  As we got close to Stockholm we stopped by the Ericsson Globe Arena built in 1989 (the rest of the pictures).  It is the worlds largest spherical. They have four large areas where they can hold events.  The old on is the flat roof that says Ericsson is the old stadium the one with the open roof is the new one. 

There were many exciting things to see from a city that has kept from the 16 century to now. Stockholm cover 14 separate islands. We went to the old town called Gamla stan. The 2nd picture both rows is Queen street where folks would travel to the Palace. Top left is some of the waterways for the city is made up on many islands. There are many statues of men though out there history.  Housing is everywhere.  They have evan put apartments between building which block the view for many people.  We drove under buildings that they have built over the roads. We passed Royal Palace, Opera and the Parliament buildings(bottom left).

 A lot of the churches were tore down when they went from Catholic to Lutheran.   Top left was one that they started to take down but stopped then rebuilt.  It was beautiful and the pictures we saw showed it as nice on the inside. City Hall (top middle) and Western Bridge (top right). The Place was plain but very large (bottom left). The Parliament bottom right two pictures. Stockholm became the venue for the first Nobel Prize in 1901. on Dec. 10 they have the Nobel banquet at city hall. The old stock exchange building became the Nobel Museum.  Vasa Museum is the home of the warship Vasa. In the 17th and 18th centuries Sweden was a world power they built a ship between 1926 to1928.  The ship sank within one mile of maiden voyage.  It was retrieved in 1961 with many artifacts found.

Tues. This is the last sea day.  Wed. we fly home to dad's. Below is some of the things we did and saw on ship.

Hamburg, Germany- Copenhagen, Denmark-Oslo, Norway-Aarhus, Denmark, Rostock and Berlin, Germany

Wed. This is a sea day on our way to Germany.  Today as they explore the world they did all nations.  Here are the flags they had on display.

This next picture top left is shot down on the displays next to it some chickens hanging on a rack. Top right he was putting the finishing touches on the flan. Bottom left we had our third formal night and dad got the bottle of champagne that our travel agent gave us. Bottom middle is another chocolate delight from Norman Love’s. The bottom right is a vegetable carving at the evening buffet.

Thur. Hamberg Germany Rainy and high 54. It took over four hours for the ship to come in and dock(that was one long harbor).  There were many things we saw,  St. Michael Church (Hamberg’s best-loved and most historic landmark), Speicherstadt (world’s largest warehouse complex know for it’s Gothic architecture) Hauptbahnhof Train Station (architectural masterpiece), Jungfernstieg (most elegant blvd.), Alster Lake, St Nikolas Church, and 97 foot TV Tower, and notice bottom row 4th picture Linda holding a STARBUCK’S COFFEE!!!!  The Beatles played at that Hard Rock Cafe (Bottom right picture)

 The picture below is of the Planten & Blomen Park, The Rathaus (town Hall) was completely rebuilt after the 1842 fire (middle pictures), and Hamburg’s.

Fri. Seas calm 50.  Today at sea we enjoyed the ship activities and resting.

Sat. Copenhagen, Denmark 50’s  As we took our tour of the city, we saw history in their buildings and statutes.  The pictures below are a few of the statutes.  Note top left is the famous Little Mermaid of Copenhagen(1913 statue is to express gratitude to Hans Christian Anderson and his world-known fairy tales). Hans Christian Anderson picture bottom right.  Top fifth picture is a women plowing with four ox.  The story goes she wanted more land and went to  the Sweden king and he told her what she could plow in one day and night she could have.

Picture below is of churches, castles, and palaces. The first two are of the Old Stock Exchange with a 196 ft “dragon-spire tower.  Next is the Royal Family Guards and statue in middle of Palace square.  The middle row The first three pictures are of the different Palaces making up the Amalienborg Palace, the winter residence of the Royal Family.  There is one other palace under renovation.  The 4th picture is the Church which the 4 palaces surround.  Last row is the inside with pipe organ etc. 

Top left picture is the band that greeted us when we arrived at port. Many different buildings Christiansborg Palace, home to Denmark’s Parliament.  We saw Nyhavn waterfront Holmens church(built1563 and where Royal Wedding took place in 1967.)  We also pasted the Tivoli Gardens which is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world.

Sun. Oslo Norway sunny 42 this morning in 50’s this afternoon.We docked by the Akershus Castle. This medieval castle and surrounding fortress constructed to protect the capital of Norway. (There are 40 islands within Oslo city limits an has 343 lakes)

The Holmenkollen Ski Jump.  This is the site of the 1952 Olympic ski-jumping competition and was chosen to host the 2011 Ski Jump Championship competition.

City Hall  Inaugurated in 1950 the building’s unique architecture an held the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

Royal Palace  We got to see the elaborate Changing of the Guard ceremony.

Statues around the city

Beautiful buildings and landscapes. (Black building is the US Embasy)

Mon. Aarhus, Denmark foggy then clear 56. The picture below is of the Aarhus Cathedral. The tallest and longest church in Denmark and one of the oldest redbrick buildings.

The picture below is of downtown Aarhus.  Second largest port next to Hamburg. Bottom two left pictures are taken in a viking museum. In the 10th century a viking home and next to it a skeleton without a head believed to be first murder.

Tues. Rostock, Germany rain and 64.  We got to Rostock early and left for Berlin.  For Dad it was not a good start we walked and walked to get on the train for our 3 hour trip.( He has been fighting a horrible cold) We went through a lot of farmland.  The houses along the tracks were small (less than 400 sq. ft.) they had a small yard which was very well taken care of and they had small garden. This first picture is of some of the churches and buildings. Bottom right a bell tower bombed in WW2 which was to be tore down but the German people wanted to save it and it was redone. Bottom left a building which has things written inbetween the floors. Next to it two buildings that have used different color glass. Middle row 2nd picture the use of gold.

This next picture is of Brandenburg Gate and displays around the gate. This point was blocked off to separate East and West Berlin.

The top five pictures is of the Reichstag and it’s gardens (Building used by Hitler and now the German Parliament). Middle left, one of the many canals found in Berlin. 2nd picture has a picture of that spot after bombing in WW2. Next a tower then the new opera house. Last picture the Schwerin Castle for years home of the dukes and grand dukes today the seat of the state parliamont. Bottom row left two the zoo. Third picture called Noodles. The four countries over Germany (USA, Britian, Russa, and ?. Fourth picture is Ka De We a store. Last picture other side of the Opera House.

This picture is of the statues and other famous buildings. 3rd row picture 2 check point charlie. the last six picture what is left of the Berlin wall. A Picture that I did not put in is the Holocaust Memorial. The place of hope in the heart of Europe and Germany’s capital features 2,711 concrete slabs different heights.  It also described as a “Forest of Pillars”.

The Holocaust Memorial. The place of hope in the heart of Europe and Germany’s capital features 2,711 concrete slabs different heights.  It also described as a “Forest of Pillars”. The car is an Trabant a car drives in East Berlin.  It has a vintage two stroke engine. The third picture is Berliner Fernshturm (TV tower). It was told to us that it was 365 feet high so that school kids could remember the height.