Subject: Day 1, May 24, 2007- Our Baltic Adventure Begins
113 down 887 more places to see in Holly’s book “1000 Places to See Before You Die”. I am guessing we will knock off 40 or 50 more of the places/items during this trip. Seeing as Bungee Jumping and Running with the Bulls are two of the items in the book we will probably never complete all 1000, although we did Balloon over Napa Valley and fly around Key West in an open cockpit bi-plane. Even though both of these were thrilling, I am sure neither had the rush that would be felt running at the Fiesta de Sanfermín, the "running of the bulls" in Pamplona, Spain. Although, I can see myself some day sitting on a balcony overlooking a narrow street and drinking Sangria while watching some other fool try to out run a bull’s horns, however I digress. As with the past three years we are keeping a daily travelogue of our travels to help us organize our pictures and thoughts when we return home after three weeks of travel. This year we will be spending six days in London before boarding Holland America’s Cruise Ship ms Rotterdam which will then become our home for two weeks as we travel from Harwich England, across the North Sea into the Baltic where we will stop in Oslo Norway, Arhus Denmark, Warnemunde Germany with a side trip to Berlin, Tallinn Estonia, spend two full days in St Petersburg Russia, then on to Helsinki Finland where we hop a plane and fly up to the Artic Circle for the day, cruise on to Stockholm Sweden, and conclude in “Wonderful Wonderful” Copenhagen Denmark where we will spend four days before returning home. Fortunately there are some much needed restful sea days to drink wine and relax while navigating through the Archipelago and between some of the ports. This is quite different than our last three European itineraries, and one we have been looking forward to for some time, especially the two days we will spend in St Petersburg, Russia drinking Vodka and telling the Russian people why communism was doomed to fail from the onset. I have set up a private two day tour with a capitalist tour company in Russia that is also handling our dinner reservations at a nice Russian Restaurant in St Petersburg. How do you say Borsch in Russian comrade? I am sure my e-mails back and forth to the Russian Tour Agency would have driven our security folks up the wall if they knew about them, oh too bad. As always, if our e-mails start to get too boring please use the delete button or e-mail us and we will take you off the list.
May 25 – We are finally in our hotel room after two very nice – on time – flights. While we were waiting in the Atlanta Airport’s first class lounge up come the police with lights flashing, van and what looked like secret service following. The police hop out first and then usher the gentleman in the photo inside. Can you guess who he is?? Hint! At one time he was President of the US and more famous as a peanut farmer. Internet access at the hotel is $36 a day so the e-mails will probably be longer but less frequent. Even Starbucks charges. The bell boy at the hotel when he delivered our luggage to the room said it was going to be cold in the Baltic but we came prepared this year. However it is a beautiful day today in London. The cab driver that took us from Victoria Station to the hotel said the reason traffic was so bad is that London is having a four day horticultural orgy better known as the Chelsea Flower Show. This flower show is one of the 1000 items in the book, so I guess we will have to go and enjoy the orgy. (No, guess not – the tickets for this 700 acre flower show go on sale the first of Nov. and are sold out by the first of April and no buying tickets at the door. The concierge could get them for us but then we couldn’t afford the rest of our trip ) I forgot to mention that Holly slept all the way from Gatwick Airport to Victoria Station on the train and then in the lobby of the hotel while we were waiting for them to get our room ready.
Today we were determined to find the Grenadier Pub which was built in 1665 and was used by the Duke of Wellington. The original wooden floor and walls are still there. It was very cool. However, because London is so old, talk about winding streets. The hotel’s concierge gave us good directions but we keep missing a few turns. You would all be proud because we actually asked more than ten people. They all knew it and said, “Oh just take this left and it is just around the corner.” But none of the corners seemed to be the correct one. We were determined to find it and when we did, it was worth it. Plus we needed the exercise after sitting on planes for more than nine hours.
Went to Harrod’s Department Store this afternoon and of course went to the toy department. I knew after two years ago to not look at rocking horses, so we decided to look at model cars for Ryder. We found just the perfect one too. It only cost £14,989 which is equal to $30,000. Needless to say Ryder you will not be getting a model car from Harrod’s. Tomorrow night we are going to the theater to se “Billy Elliot the Musical” with music by Elton John.
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Day 2, May 26, 2007
Well, amazing what one good night’s sleep in a bed can do. This morning after a bacon and sausage sandwich for breakfast we checked out where we will take a train directly to the ship. We wanted to see if we could handle all of our luggage on the train. Like everything in England, it was an experience, but we decided that we could handle it. Then we went to the George Inn, London’s only surviving galleried 17th century coaching inn. We had lunch there and visited a local market. Breads of all types and meat are all out in the open – no refrigeration or covering of any type. I wonder that everyone in London doesn’t have food poisoning. They also kept making announcement to watch out for pickpockets. Then on to what is called a London Walk. You meet a guide at a tube station and whoever is there goes on the tour. Our guide for the British Museum was fascinating. One of the highlights of the British Museum was the Rosetta Stone. It was found by the French in an Egyptian tomb. Later during a war with England, the English took it as a spoil of war. It is famous because it allowed us to be able to read hieroglyphics. Of course the Roman Catholic Church didn’t want us to be able to read hieroglyphics because they, in their omnipotent knowledge, had dated the beginning of life and if the Egyptians had a date on the stone older than that date, well you can just imagine. Of course, that is what happened, so the Catholics for centuries said the stone was a fake. The Catholics lost and that one little stone changed history. We also saw Egyptian mummies. Our guide explained the entire process to us. Because one’s brain, stomach and intestines rot first they knew they needed to dispose of them immediately. They believed the brain to be worthless so threw it away. All thinking was done in the heart, so they protected that organ at all cost. The stomach and intestines they kept and mummified separately because they knew you would need those organs in the after life. The entire process took 75 days so the next emperor could not take over until then. Lots of time to plot devious actions. If you were lucky they buried you with a book that gave you all the answers to the questions you would be asked once you reached the afterworld. Then we saw the Elgin marbles that once decorated the Parthenon in Athens. When we were in Athens, they told us that the British stole the marble stones, but our guide today said they were acquired. He weaved a very elaborate story to explain the acquisition. Actually the British Museum now has thousand of artifacts from every country in the ancient world that they have acquired/stolen. It does, however, make for a fascinating tour
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Day 3 May 27, 2007
Last night we saw Billy Elliot the Musical and all I can say is, “Wow!” We heard about it on last year’s river cruise from a lady who lives here. She was correct; it is truly amazing. It is a true story about a boy who wants to be a ballet dance and his Dad wants him to be a boxer. Tom and I both loved every minute. (Tom’s take) I always thought I had to leave the theater humming a song from the play to like it and the only one I could hum from this play was a song they sang that had the main verse “Merry F**k’n Christmas Maggie Thatcher “it obviously had strong political overtones and against the conservative party in England, but had some great British humor. There would have to be a lot of rewriting to bring this play to the US, but the music by Elton John was fabulous.
Today we went back to the British Museum and saw a special exhibit of, “How the English see the New World.” Extremely fascinating, and lots of good info that I can use in American History next year. Then we saw the Lion King. I’ve heard so much about it that we are glad we went. The costumes and stages were amazing, but it won’t be on the list to see again. What was unique about the staging is that everything spiraled up from under the stage and nothing was rolled in from the side.
It rained all day which gave us a different flavor of London from last time when Tom got sunburned. The rain taught me a new sport today - walking in a huge city with everyone carrying umbrellas. I would try to describe it, but words would not do it justice. One must experience it to believe it. We also road the tube all over and that to is an experience that everyone should do at least once. One tube stop we used has not been modernized and we took the stairs instead of the lift. Stupid mistake! I thought I may die before I finally got to the top. On the bright side, for dinner I knew I could eat anything I wanted and it wouldn’t matter. I had burned every calorie I had eaten for the last three days. I am sitting here writing this eating baklava and drinking a bottle of wine for dessert.
Tom’s take on London: London is one of the most expensive if not the most expensive cities in the world. It doesn’t help when the dollar has been devalued to $2.00 a British Pound. A Continental Breakfast in our hotel is £21 per person or roughly $42, remember that is a Continental Breakfast, a hot breakfast cost £10 more. So when we found a place down the street where Holly could get a bacon and sausage sandwich between two slices of bread and I could get a croissant plus we each got a cup of coffee for only $28.00 you start think that is a real bargain and that is when the real numbing effect sets in. Last night after the theater we went to the piano bar in the hotel and had our three glasses of wine each and a cheese tray for dinner and I expected the bill to be around $300. When the bill was only $150 I thought wow that was a hell of a deal. That is when you know you are numb about prices and have lost all sense of reality. On the good side I know once we leave London everything will start getting more reasonable in price. Tomorrow we are taking the train to Hampton Court and hopefully won’t get lost in the maze that is shown in so many movies. We then have tickets to see Wicked which will be our last theater for this trip. On Wednesday we are taking a one day trip to Oxford University, and Shakespeare’s birth place.
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Day 4 May 28, 2007
The first part of this email is for Nikki and all of the little animals friends that I know personally. To set the stage I must give you the day’s setting. I have definitely passed Umbrella 101. I can put mine up and down, thread through millions of people on the street, put the umbrella down and squish into the tube, fight for the escalator, etc. with the best of them. I was prepared this year for cold weather, but it is really cold, damp, and miserable here. It didn’t stop us from having a great tour day however. Anyway, my story for Nikki. As we went along the street, we encountered many homeless people most with little dogs. The poor people and doggie friends were wet and shivering. Ever since I have seen the movie Pursuit of Happiness, I have great empathy for the homeless. I realize that many are there through a set of bad circumstances, not their fault. Anyway those poor little animals didn’t ask for it, I know. I wanted to go down the road and hand out dog food for all. So, to all the little animals in warm houses tonight, give a prayer of thanks.
Today we rode the tube, and then took a train to Hampton Court, the fourth favorite palace of Henry VIII. All of his wives lived there too, before they lost their heads of course. The children played in the famous maze that you have seen in numerous movies. Henry spent what today would be 36 million dollars to make improvements, and he only lived there 811 days during his 38 year reign. Oh, to be rich. The Tudor kitchen is the best preserved in the world. It was amazing. The kitchen covers 700 rooms and 36,000 sq. feet. The best part is that they were cooking there today and each person explained what they were doing. One man was turning meat on a spit by hand. He explained that to feed the 1,200 people living in the palace it was necessary to turn meat which weight was equal to the turners own body weight. Imagine doing that for three hours. Today he only was turning meat equaling 15 lbs. Henry, of course, had his own private kitchen. The richer you were the more meat you ate so Henry only ate meat and it was know that he had scurvy. His personal servants were probably the most healthily fed because they had equal amounts of meat and veggies. Bathrooms were a real problem and I will leave that up to each of your own imaginations. Tom has acquired (just like the British Museum acquired things) an unsecured wireless to boot leg off of so we are able to send this without paying. We are now off to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theater.
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Subject: Day 5, May 29, 2007
Well first of all, I’m glad things seem to be going well at home. Thank you Judy for making it happen and keeping me straight on what the Tudor Kings really did. We had a great day today and even once had the opportunity to put the umbrella’s down and take off the sweatshirts and jackets. We actually saw the sun. We started off at Oxford University which is composed of 39 colleges and a total of 15,000 students. It is probably best know today for the filming of Harry Potter. We went into the dining room where most of it was filmed as you can see in the posted photo as well as the Quad in the movie. Kind of fun to be on a movie set, and yet a working university! Impressive how many famous people went to Oxford including Charles Dodgson who was a mathematics professor, but under a pseudonym wrote Alice in Wonderland. He didn’t believe that math professors should be writers so therefore the pseudonym. Alice by the way was a real person who the professor adored. Queen Victoria liked his book so much that she forced Charles to give her an autographed copy of his next book. He did as commanded and wrote what he loved. He wrote a math book and gave her a copy. The Queen was not pleased.
We next traveled to William Shakespeare’s home were he lived as a boy. It was very neat and Shakespeare has always been my favorite. I have his complete works and fun to see it selling for $80 in the bookstores. We also saw Anne Hathaway’s house, the woman he married. They were re-thatching the roof with wheat straw, and it was fascinating to watch.
Of course, I still have to restrain myself when I walk by a homeless person to not ask, “Please tell me your story. I’m interesting how you got here.” I don’t, but would like to. Judy you are right most of the dogs look well fed, but it is still cold out tonight and all of those people and their dogs are out there. I’m very lucky. Tomorrow we get on the ship. No homeless there. Holly
Tom’s take: Holly forgot to mention that Bill Clinton also went to Oxford; I guess that is why I had such an urge to smoke pot and not inhale while walking through campus. Sometime over the weekend one of the apartments very close to the hotel got a new Belkin Wireless Router and didn’t secure it. I just happened to be searching again for wireless and was able to acquire it. If I ever meet them I do have to thank them for giving me free wireless access for most of my stay here, I do wish they would use it less so I would have faster internet access. I can tell when they are on line because it seems to slow down. Last night we went to see Wicked and the staging and music were fantastic, especially the first act which made the second act hard to follow. Holly puts it at number one of all the theater we have seen, I have it number three behind Mary Poppins and Billy Elliott the Musical. But this is trying to determine if God or Jesus Christ is better. Of course we finished the evening by going to the hotel bar and having our traditional wine and cheese tray. Thank God we leave London tomorrow while I still own the shirt and pants I am wearing. This is by far the most expensive city I have ever visited.
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Subject: Day 6, May 30, 2007
Last night we ate in a traditional pub to celebrate our final night in London and get rid of the few remaining pounds we had left. We saved just enough pounds for a cab ride to Liverpool Street Station to catch the train to Harwich to board the ship and for Holly to have 20 pence to use the water closet. We then dragged our luggage down the train platform, boarded the train and started writing this while waiting for the train to leave. On the way to the train station we passed the Queens Carriages and Horse Guard going down the main street to the palace practicing for the Queens Birthday parade. They were conditioning the new horses to traffic and a couple of them looked like they were having a hard time getting used to the noise. Very interesting. London is a great place to visit, but I can’t see how anyone can afford to live here. Following is Holly’s review of the three musicals we saw plus other assorted comments written during the 1 hour 10 minute train ride to Harwich.
We are now on the ship, have internet access and heading for the life boat drill.
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
London – The Three Musicals
The first musical was Billy Elliot. It had me saying, “Wow!” as the first act was half way through. It was truly amazing and the dancing was great. There was every type of dancing you can think of. Billy even does a hip-hop dance when he is supposed to be boxing that is funny because it is so well done. He wants to learn to be a ‘bally’ dancer mainly because the dance teacher is the first person to really care about him. The girls at the dance studio are great dancers because when they are learning the dance, they are so bad, and it is hard to be that bad. The tap dance at the end is great and quite interesting how talented all of the girls became. Talented, talented children in London. I don’t see how it could ever come to America because it is loaded with English humor that is hard to understand. The language is rough and Billy’s friend is a “puff.” Not a child friendly musical even though it is about children. Billy’s grandmother keeps eating a English pasty during the musical, and I didn’t know what they were. The next day, I had one and I will tell you the English can have them. It is two pieces of pastry- like for pot pie-and chicken and mushrooms between – no sauce. It tasted like paste, and I assume the reason the term pasty. Now the English do know how to make a sandwich. I love them. I had one that was spread with strawberry jam, some awesome cheese and the English bacon which I love. Yum!!! Tom of course missed it because it wasn’t lunch time. I am so glad I indulged. I had another one too that was the traditional baguette with chicken and cheese. I love English sandwiches. They are one thing I will miss in London.
The second musical was the Lion King, our first matinee. I liked it as it gave us time to go to dinner afterwards. Tom missed the cheese tray and wine in the hotel bar. The bar will be much better next time we come because London is going smoke free July 1st. It was much better than the last time we were here because it is at least possible to find a truly non-smoking section where ever you go. We found many restaurants that were totally non-smoking already. The bar still had a heavy smell of smoke even though there was a non-smoking section, so go London. The animals in the Lion King were ingeniously done. They all walk down the isle and onto the stage. The laughing hyenas were my favorite. One hand could maneuver the head and then quickly be used to use both front legs. I watched in amazement. The dancing must have been extremely difficult because most of it was done hunched over. When they first started they must have had some tremendously sore muscles. Tom liked the giraffes. The men walked on stilts for the hind legs and then used their hands on higher stilts for the front legs. Their next muscles had to hold up that long neck. Not an easy feat. I also liked the cheetah. The man was the back legs and then used special sticks to make the front legs work. Every animal was different and well done. Like all of the musicals, the staging spiraled up and then disappeared back into the stage. I of course know and love the music. Great show. Marcy told us to sit in the first row grand circle/balcony and her suggestion was a good one.
The third was my favorite at least the first act. It was funny, entertaining, and great music. We saw Wicked. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like the staging for it. I would love to see it in the US to see how they do the staging in a traveling show. I really enjoyed it. Tom says it is his third all time favorite.
More on England (long and written mostly because I want to remember all that I have seen)
Our last day in England, with no more musicals to see, we toured on Evan Evans to Oxford. There are 39 colleges that make up Oxford University. Probably the most famous is Christ Church. The dining hall and quad is where much of Harry Potter was filmed. About the time of Henry VIII, English students studied in Paris, but during one of the many wars between France and England, the English were no longer allowed, so they had to find another place. A prior of monks lead by Archbishop Wosley was there, and the students sought these monks out to study with. Archbishop Wosley was also Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII. All went very well until the Archbishop could not get the Pope to grant Henry a divorce. Opps! The end of the chancellery job for Wosley.
Then on to what is called the Cotswold. “Cots” means sheep pens and “wold” means hills. This area of England was the wool capital of the world. Today they grow wheat and canola seed for oil. Many cathedrals are called “wool churches or wool cathedrals.” It means they were built by the money from wool farmers who where extremely wealthy. There may be 7 million people in London but once outside it is much more rural than most of the US. Beautiful country side with lots of thatch roofed cottages. Our guide was telling us about one and telling us it was right around the corner. All of a sudden she let out a cry of grief. It took me a moment to see what she was sighing about, but the little cottage she was referring to had caught on fire and the cottage was destroyed. It must have just happened because the fire fighters were still there. She told us that after giving the tour for so long, she became attached to what she was talking about. Sad, but we did see many more pretty cottages with thatched roofs.
On to Shakespeare’s birthplace! His father was a glove maker. Part of the house was his father’s shop. It had a door to the house big enough for a horse and cart to come in one side and out the other to deliver hides to him. He traded in wool of course, so lots of wool in the shop too. He family was wealthy enough to have a bed down stairs. That was big in those days. That meant that you had a bed to share with guests and that the bed could be seen from the outside windows by all passer bys. In fact, having a bed at all was a real status symbol. It was such a big deal to have a bed that Shakespeare willed his bed to his wife Anne Hathaway. I will have to look up more on Shakespeare when I return home. I have to wonder where he learned to write.
Next we went to Anne Hathaway’s home. She came from a wealthy family too because her home was quite large for the day. They were re-thatching her roof, so I will be writing more about that once I do more research. We learned how they cleaned the chimneys in those days. The bottom part was cleaned with a branch from a tree. The small top part was cleaned differently. A child’s job was to go out and catch a chicken. Tie the chicken’s legs together and climb up on the roof. Once on the roof the child would drop the chicken down the chimney and of course the poor chicken would flap its wings wildly knocking the soot below onto a cloth that people were holding below. The child would pull the chicken up and down until all of the soot was removed. The chicken was then released. I bet the chicken after that learned to run when someone wanted to catch them. Poor chicken! I don’t know why they couldn’t use a smaller branch but that is the story our guide told us. The soot was used as fertilizer in the garden, to make ink, and mixed with salt to brush your teeth. The soot was an abrasive and the salt kept your gums healthy. They also had a much more advanced method of turning the spit to cook meat. In Henry’s Tudor kitchen the meat was turned by hand. In Anne’s house, it had a complicated design of sprocket gears pulled by a weight. Very impressive! If I ever teach simple machines again, I will definitely add turning a spit to the lessons.
Talk about organic farming! They had an ingenious idea for that too. They stretched rope above the veggies and strung a potato on the rope about every three feet. They then stuck feathers around the potato so it looked like a windmill. The wind made the potato spin which kept birds and insects away.
England was enjoyable right down to out last meal in a typical pub. My favorite English food was their bacon. It was a cross between our bacon and Canadian bacon. Delish!!
Subject: Day 7, May 31, 2007
So you speak English
I thought this was fun learning what English really was!
English American
Calling at stopping at
Way out exit
Lift elevator
Alight here for ___ get off here for ____
Mind the gap watch your step
Stand in the queue stand in line here for a taxi
Tube subway
Me ______ my ________
(i.e., Our cab driver on the way to the train was talking to another cab driver as we were stuck in traffic and was telling him “I got me toffee, I got me fruit and I got me lunch, me misses is good to me”)
I feel like a world traveler now. We started at 10:00 a.m. taking a taxi to the train station. The taxi ride was almost an hour due to London traffic. It must take a life time to learn where you are going in that city of 7 million people because all 7 million of them are everywhere I want to go. Then we loaded the train for the cruise terminal. Two hours later we were here on ship. We have now found our room, our luggage has arrived and the life boat drill is over. We have been invited to a Captain’s cocktail party, so we won’t have to buy the drinks tonight. Sort of a nice treat after London! It is great having our first day a day at sea to relax after running around for six days in London. Tomorrow it starts all over as we arrive in Oslo Norway.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Subject: Day 8, June 1, 2007
We just pulled anchor in Oslo, Norway and are sailing through the Norwegian Fjords on the way to the Baltic Sea. The scenery is really beautiful surrounded by hundreds of small islands both inhabited and uninhabited. Tomorrow morning we will dock in Arhus, Denmark, home of Hans Christian Andersen. The tours today were very interesting even though the weather left a lot to be desired. It drizzled all day but did not impact anything we were scheduled to do, and the ship handed out umbrellas to everyone as they departed this morning. We had one of the most informative guides we have ever had. Our first stop in Oslo was Vigeland Sculpture Park were there are over 700 statues of naked boys, men and women by Vigeland, interesting to say the least. We then toured the Viking Ship Museum and an ancient Viking Village. The Vikings used to raid the British Towns along the coast n Sunday mornings when the Brits were in church. The Vikings would lock the doors of the church, light it on fire and then rape plunder and pillage what was left. Sort of a cut and run operation. The lunch at the hotel we stopped at had probably some of the best Salmon I have ever tasted. Tonight they have Norwegian Salmon on the menu and I am anxious to see how it compares. Gas in Norway is $8.50 a gallon, and they pay 55% of their salary as income tax. A very socialistic society. When a women has a baby she can take off 48 weeks at full pay or 52 weeks at 80% pay and the husband gets 6 weeks at full pay. Alcoholic drinks are twice what we are used to paying and our guide said the government does this to regulate drinking, However she said the Norwegians drink just as much as the Germans, French and Brits, they just do it all on one weekend a month. There was nothing I saw today that begs me to pack up and move to Norway.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Subject: Day 9, June 2, 2007
Just docked in Rostock Germany, so just a quick note about our stop yesterday in Arhus Denmark before we board the train to Berlin. We won’t be back to the ship until 10 tonight so we are really looking forward to a restful sea day tomorrow and our second formal evening. Yesterday when we docked in Arhus Denmark we were welcomed by a marching band. We spent the day at the birth place of Hans Christian Andersen with an extremely informative guide who was a Hans Christian Andersen fanatic. I am sure Holly will write a lot during our sea day tomorrow. Denmark has the highest tax rate in the world and is truly a welfare state as admitted by the guide. They have a progressive tax where the first dollar you earn is taxed at 30% but it rapidly climbs to 75% of your salary. The average income is $50,000 and they pay 75% income tax, plus a 25% Value Added Tax (VAT) on all purchases including food, plus a 100% environmental tax on anything that impacts the environment. Then they pay a tax on a tax. The example our guide showed us is if you buy $100 of oil you pay a $100 environmental tax and then 25% VAT on top of that bring the total to $250. T hat is way less than 10% of the Danes own two cars. Our guide didn’t even have a driver’s license, she took public transportation everywhere. But in Denmark all health care for everyone is free, all education including college as far as you want to go is free and all basic necessities are subsidized if required. Driving out to Odense, home of old Hans, the scenery was beautiful with the country side dotted with electricity generating windmills, one of their major exports. Other major exports include pigs and grass seed, an odd combination. One final thought on England, the sun might not have ever set on the British Empire, but they never did figure out how to build a flush toilet. I think that anyone who has ever been to England will understand what I mean. Holly will fill in the details tomorrow.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Subject: Day 10, June 3, 2007
The weather has finally turned beautiful with sunny skies and flat seas. The ocean never has been rough even through the North Sea. Yesterday morning we boarded an early morning train for a three hour train ride to Berlin. We then spent 10 hours touring Berlin returning to the ship at 10:30 pm to a cold beer and German Buffet. The buffet didn’t compare to the authentic German Lunch we had at a Bier Garden in Berlin, but at 10:30 at night who can complain. It would take weeks to really see Berlin, but in 10 hours we got a pretty good overview of the historic highlights of the city, plus we had an outstanding guide. He was extremely cynical with a passion for history to the point of embarrassment, because he new more about American History then the Americans on the tour. Probably the best guide we have ever had. Berlin is a fascinating city since the reunification. The ship docked in a port that was in the former East Germany so the train went through a bunch of run down cities loaded with Graffiti that used to be in the Communist part of the country. There were many abandoned houses were people just packed up and left when the borders were opened. We also saw many abandoned railroad cars pushed off to the side of the tracks, some which looked like the wood paneled cattle cars used to transport the Jews to the concentration camps during Hitler’s regime. Holly really thought this was freaky. Even though a lot of new construction has gone on in East Germany since the unification, there was no doubt telling if you were in the East or West part of Berlin by the condition of the buildings. Some of the highlights of the tour included a small remaining part of the Berlin Wall, checkpoint Charlie, the spot where Hitler burned the books. At this spot our guided quoted a German poet of the time that said”First you burn the books and then you burn the people”, quite insightful. We also visited the Bradenburg Gate at the wall where Reagan made his famous speech that included: “Mr. Gorbachov tear down this wall” which helped lead to the reunification of Germany. And then of course we visited a couple churches and the Hotel Adlon where Michael Jackson dangled the kid. About 80% of Berlin was bombed out during the war but they tried to rebuild it to look the same. I could write pages about Berlin but we have a premium wine tasting coming up in 30 minutes and we need to get something to eat. I am sure Holly will write a lot more latter. Tonight is our second formal night and gives me the opportunity to don my James Bond look.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Subject: Day 12, June 5, 2007
We just pulled anchor in Tallinn, Estonia and are heading for St Petersburg Russia where we will dock at 7 am tomorrow. We lose another hour tonight putting us 8 hours ahead of our time at home. The weather continues to be beautiful and sunny so hopefully the rain is now behind us. Last night was our second formal night and we had an Officer join our table again, which is a good thing because he buys the wine. I’ll take all of the savings I can get. Estonia was really a unique country trying hard to recover from their days as part of the Soviet Empire. As with many of the other previous Soviet Block Countries we have visited many of the older people are having a hard time adapting to having to take care of themselves. Under the Soviet Empire they were provided some form of housing, food and a job, but as our guide said it was a difficult life for people who had dreams. Many of them had to share apartments with other families, now they can own there own apartment and go as far as their dreams and ambition will take them. The average salary is $900 per month with a flat tax system of 22%. The average apartment runs about $130,000 so they have to borrow money from the bank. Living with debt is an all new concept that they starting to learn. They used to buy Russian cars for $2,000 and now they are paying around $30,000 for a car, of course they are much better cars. To become an Estonian Citizen you must live in the country for 5 years and pass an Estonian language test. What a novel idea, when they make a call they don’t have to press 1 to speak Estonian. We visited a medieval castle in Rakleve Estonia, a Vodka Plant and did some Vodka tasting and then came back to Tallinn for a quick tour of the city and some amber shopping. Now we have to get ready for a cocktail party with the Captain before dinner. There is always tie for a martini, shaken not stirred.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Tallin, Estonia – June 5, 2007
It was neat to visit Estonia because I worked with a lady at school who was born and raised there. Our guide’s name was Katrin and our bus drivers name was Raco. The Estonian people claim their independence to be 1918. Katrin said the people inside their hearts remained Estonians even though they were occupied by Russia for 50 years. During that time the people were only allowed to buy Russian cars. The moment they were free from Russian dominance, they immediately got rid of every Russian car. Also during that period of time, the Russians took everything you owned and divided it up. Then they would change their minds and if you had a small farm, one hundred acres or less, you could keep it. Then the Russians would change their mind again. Can you imagine how unstable life was during that time? Today if you have papers to prove the land was in your family, you can have it back.
People always amaze me if they want something badly enough. During the Russian occupation, the people of Estonia wanted a National Park. The Russians disliked the word “National” in front of anything because things could get out of control. This is the story they tell on how Estonia is one of the very few countries to obtain a National Park during that period of time. (The park is beautiful and goes for miles and miles.)
Here is the story:
The Estonians invited an important person from Moscow to go bear hunting in the park. They wanted him to believe that a National Park would be good for Russia to have. It would provide wonderful hunting grounds for people from Moscow. The day before this important person arrived, they searched the park for bears, so they would know where to take him. No bears were found, so they went to the local zoo and found a bear that happened to be an old circus bear. Two people were told to take the bear to the woods, watch over him, and turn him loose at the prescribed time so this person from Moscow could then hunt him down. The important Moscow person was late and the two overseers became more interested in their own amusement of food and drink and forgot to watch the bear. The bear wandered off and came across a woman picking mushrooms. She had ridden a bicycle into forest, but was so frightened when she saw the bear that she left the bicycle in her panic. The bear seeing the bicycle started riding it through the park. When the important person from Moscow finally arrived he came upon the bear riding the bicycle. He said, “If you have bears here that ride bicycles, you certainly need a National Park.
No one knows for certain if the story is exactly true, but somehow the Estonian people tricked the important person from Moscow and got what they wanted. Good for them.
We asked how Estonia finally gained back its complete independence from Russian. Russia wanted to build a huge fertilizer plant in northern Estonia. The people realized that it would completely ruin their ground water. They worked very hard but were actually surprised when Russia backed off. The Estonia people knew this was the moment they had been waiting for. Every year they hold a song festival but in 1988 it was different. The people started singing patriotic songs during the fest. The desire for freedom was so great at the time that it united the whole nation. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in mass demonstration singing for restoration of Estonian independence. Singing was the only weapon available to them. This is called the Singing Revolution. People realized that the Russian guards could come in and machine gun them all down at any moment. After that peaceful revolution, independence was gained. People regained many freedoms that had completely disappeared for fifty years. For example they were allowed to have public Christmas celebrations. Can you imagine living where most of all of your decisions were made for you? We don’t know how lucky we are.
Subject: Day 13, June 6, 2007
For those who fell asleep reading about the Vikings, this is the way I closed the last e-mail. I forgot to mention yesterday when I wrote about Tallinn Estonia that our guide told us that the only place Westerners could stay when they were part of the Soviet Empire was the Tallinn Hotel and the joke in town was that it was made of 40,000 tons of concrete and 20,000 tons of microphones monitored by the KGB. Today we toured St Petersburg all day and will write about it in the future. It was nothing like we expected and I had mixed emotions getting off the ship because a large part of my Air Force career, the days I flew on Looking Glass, were spent planning on how to nuke Russia and now I was here. However it was a beautiful warm sunny day. St Petersburg is a beautiful city in a very run down condition. We had a private tour with six other people and were really able to see some of the many palaces in the area. The opulence of the former Russian Czars is unbelievable. They lived in grotesque wealth while the rest of Russia starved which ultimately led to the Russian revolution. One palace we visited had over 200 pounds of gold plating on the walls plus a room lined entirely of amber. When the Nazis captured the palaces during WW II they burned them down before they left. However they have since been restored to there original condition. Our guide was quick to point out that it was the Nazis not the Germans that did the damage. We toured so many palaces today my head hurts and then we rode the Hydrofoil from Peterhof Palace to St Petersburg. Russia is really struggling with their new found Democracy. Our guide feels that Putin is only taking care of the rich and too much Democracy is Anarchy. She said that there is a great gap between the rich and poor with no middle class, everyone no matter how rich or poor pays a flat 13% tax. It seems to me that was the condition they found themselves in prior to the last Russian Revolution. It has been an extremely long day and is time to go to bed and let Holly fill in the details. It is now 11:00 pm and the sun is about where it is at 3 o’clock in the afternoon back home. The sun has been rising at 4:00 am in the morning. Tomorrow we are riding the St Petersburg subway and visiting the Hermitage Museum plus some churches with a little time left over for shopping. We then sail for Helsinki and our trip to see Santa Claus at the Arctic Circle.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Subject: Day 14, June 7, 2007
We just returned after our second full day of touring in St Petersburg. We had an extremely knowledgeable guide named Natalia, and a maniac driver named Igor. That was his real name. As Igor started the trip we all simultaneously searched for our seat belts. Natalia told us, “Oh, don’t bother – seatbelts are not required in Russia and they are all broken anyway. We glanced at each other and thought to ourselves, “I guess if he wants our tip, he will have to get us back safe.” There are no center lines on the roads in St. Petersburg so you just drive on any lanes that are open. Our driver turned a corner and there were four lanes of traffic coming straight at us. I thought it was a one way street but it wasn’t and cars just seemed to separate to let him through. It was amazing the extremely tight places he would wheel that Mercedes Van through at a relatively high speed and never hit anything. In fact we didn’t see one accident and everyone seemed to drive that way. You just sort of shut your eyes and step on the accelerator.
We started the day by riding on the St Petersburg Subway after we were picked up from the ship. The St. Petersburg Subway Stations were built during the Stalin Era and are all extremely deep in the ground, very ornate and each one different. Although our guide didn’t say so it was obvious that they could also be used as bomb shelters as they were built during the cold war. One had glass pillars, another all marble but they all had statues and a Hammer and Sickle in their facade. They get extremely crowed during rush hour which looked liked the pictures I saw of people being pushed into Japanese trains. Natalia told us to stick to her like stamps. Well all was well until our last stop. Now I thought I had this all down by riding the London tube. Nope! The London tube is like kindergarten compared to the Russian system. When the train doors shut, they shut. No waving your hand in front and they reopen. Three of the seven of us could not fit in the train Natalia jumped on. We had to wait until the next one. It was so crowded that there was hardly any room to breath, no room for your feet to move even an inch. Feeling like a sardine would be considered roomy by comparison. The people just keep pushing, but if they don’t they will never get on. And it is just as difficult to get off because you have to push through the crowd that doesn’t want to get off while they are being pushed by people wanting to get on all while guarding your billfold against pickpockets. Hard to believe that people do this day in and day out. The beautiful surrounding stations don’t make beautiful travel conditions. Well obviously we survived but I won’t be riding the Russian subway system anytime soon.
Next we went to the Hermitage or Winter Palace which was built for Elizabeth one of Peter the Great’s daughters. It now houses one of the world’s most massive art collections (more than 2.7 million works). We saw works by daVinci, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso just to name a few. We saw many churches but the most impressive was St. Isaac’s Cathedral. It has the fourth tallest dome in the world. Interesting that in our travels we have seen the other three tallest. St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is of course the largest. Peter the Great called it St. Isaac because St. Isaac and he have the same birth date. The mosaic of Jesus to the right of the alter looks like Peter the Great and the mosaic of Mary to the left of the alter looks like Catherine the Great. These Czars weren’t stuck on themselves or anything. Remember that Stalin said everyone must become atheist and yet surprisingly he refurbished all of these churches after the war. Of course, none of them could be used for religious service. They were all turned into museums.
Then to lunch. This was a second Russian lunch. Our first lunch will always be something I will remember. Natalia told us that they had nice hot ham and cheese sandwiches. Sounded good to all of us. When the sandwiches came, we had to keep from saying, “You have to be kidding me!” It was one piece of thinly sliced white bread, one tomato in the center covered with finely chopped spam and a few shreds of cheese. Now we have been used to eating lots, after all this is a cruise. It was a unique experience. Natalia did say that we would stop for a “bite” because we had a lot to see. No wonder she was so nice and trim. Today it looked like a more substantial meal. Nope again! I had pork and French fries. We decided to not eat anything involving Russia tap water. My pork was so thin that it couldn’t have been more than an ounce of meat and Tom described his chicken as something cooked last week and then warmed up today. I guess Russia has some to go as far as ranking in the world’s list of finest cuisine, although Tom had a fine Russian Beer that he said wasn’t too bad.
We did so much that it will take me a long time to process all that we saw. It is amazing to be in Russia. Quite an experience and I am glad for the experience.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Aahrus, Denmark
It was 57° F and cloudy. A huge improvement over Oslo. Aahrus was founded in 717 years ago and means mouth of a river. It, too, was founded by the Vikings. We know today that they Vikings traveled as far a Bagdad. Our guide’s name was Vibaka and our driver was Leif, pronounced “life.” Four hundred and six islands make up Denmark. It is one tenth the size of California, but has the same amount of coast line as India. Denmark, like Florida, is limestone based and is unfortunately sinking. They know this because when they find skeletons dating to the Stone Age, scientists know the people were originally buried on dry land but their skeletons were found under water.
A tell tale sign of the type of weather that they have in Denmark, is the fact that no one has air-conditioning. In June they receive 17 hours of daylight and in winter only 6 hours. All of our guides have spoken of the two personalities one sees in these countries – their summer sunny personalities and their winter dark personalities. I believe it. Last night Tom and I took pictures from our balcony at 10:45 p.m. It is like 4:00 at home.
Denmark is one of the world leading exporters of pork. They raise enough pork to feed the country of Denmark eight times over. They are also the world’s largest exporter of Christmas trees. Sixty percent of all grass seed comes from Denmark. They also provide most of the world’s insulin. Lego’s were invented here too. They also raise a large amount of barley. Most of it goes to make beer. In fact until just a few years ago all school children beginning at kindergarten started the day off with the teacher giving them a glass of beer. Now there is an idea. I wonder if the kids then sleep the rest of the day. Our guide didn’t say.
We went to see the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen and the museum. You remember some of his 156 fairy tales – “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Hans’ father was a laborer, and even though he loved learning did not do much of it. Although he spent most of his time hard at work, he must have been the inspiration behind Hans’ ability to write. His mother never learned to read or write, however she was very dedicated to Hans. She was so dedicated that Hans was one of the few children of his day to receive a smallpox vaccination.
Hans believed himself to be a great singer and loved theater. He went to Copenhagen, walked into the opera house, and basically said, “Here I am.” They told him that he had to be kidding. Undaunted, he went to the theater and they laughed even harder. Back to the opera house for a bit part in the chorus. It was enough to get him an apartment and his start in Copenhagen. He loved this city. He started to write and actually wrote his first play. Yes, a play, not a fairly tale. His play was a flop, but it received attention from a man who would become Hans’ mentor. He sent Hans to school for the first time. He went to grammar school at the age of 17 where most of the boys were 11. It is said that he got along with the boys but the teacher was another story. It seems like many gifted students, their teachers don’t see the genus that lies within them. Hans during grammar school was not allowed to write plays or poems, but of wrote them anyway. After he graduated, he had them published and became quite well known as a playwright. He also wrote a best selling novel in 1835. Whenever he was invited to dinner he would tell the children fairy tales. He would write these down and keep perfecting them each time he read them to children. He wanted them to flow when they were read out loud. Now that was music to my ears because I am always telling my students, “Read you work out loud so you can hear what it sounds like. Once Hans was told that your plays and novels may make you money but it is your fairy tales that will make you immortal. Truer words were never spoken. For me an interesting fact was that Hans was horrible at spelling and always hired a proofreader who became a good friend throughout his life.
When we went to the museum they told us that Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales are written in more languages than any other work except for the Bible. Our guide very passionately showed us her favorite edition which was written in Russian. She said it was amazing that the book survived. It survived a time when St Petersburg was under siege by the Nazis and Russians stood in lines and were given a matchbook size serving of sawdust and glue. Yes that is what they ate and stood in long lines glad to get it. Therefore most books were eaten or burned to keep themselves warm.
It was a moving place to visit.
Today we docked in Helsinki, Finland and took a plane to Rovaniemi in Lapland and boarded a wooden river boat that took us across the Arctic Circle and then on to a Reindeer farm. Will write more about this experience later, but of all the tours we have taken over the years this one has to rate at the top.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Subject: Day 15, June 8, 2007
On June 8th and we were in Helsinki, Finland where we boarded a plane and flew to Rovaniemi, Lapland. We were given rubber boots and a life vest, boarded open wooden boats, and traveled up Finland’s longest river to a reindeer farm. We had two boats and each boat held 12 people and the driver. They told us that a month ago people were snowmobiling up this same river. All of a sudden, we saw a marker where another boat was tied up. In it were two Laplanders. One was a jolly gentleman waving to us and the other was a young girl who was singing for us. Each of us was then given a glass of champagne. As the boat slowly crossed the Arctic Circle we all toasted the celebration. The weather was about 68° F, which on the water, gave us a very cool breeze. With our jackets and life vests, it was an invigorating feeling. The river was beautiful with houses spread occasionally throughout the country side. I thought, “What a beautiful place to have a summer home. I love being out in the country.” After some forty minutes, we were at the farm. Upon arrival, we were given mosquito repellent. As we were going to the airport, our guide on the bus talked about the mosquitoes. She was right. They were all over us. (I decided then that I would keep my Florida dock where I can sit outside with no bugs.) Nonetheless, we proceeded to walk on two railroad ties lying together as a walk way above the marsh land below. This was the path to the farm. My balance isn’t that good so it was quite the challenge. I had rubber boots so it would probably have been easier to tramp through the water. Once at the farm, we went through the Lapland ritual of driving out our evil spirits because we were now in the Arctic where people are pure of heart. Our Lapland leader was a great story teller, so lots of fun. The ritual was held in a teepee with a real fire at its center. The teepee was filled with smoke to drive out the mosquitoes and keep us warm. It was like being transported back into another time. Then we went out in a paddock with the reindeer for a close encounter. These were reindeer kept just for this purpose. They knew the routine, so were all over you looking for food. These are also the reindeer that pull the sleds.
There is approximately 250,000 reindeer in Finland and each is carefully tagged to show ownership. There are no wild reindeer. The reindeer roam free throughout all of Lapland, but there is a fence, believe it or not, so they don’t leave Finland and go to Russia. The number of people in Lapland equals the number of deer. Each rancher holds two roundups a year. One roundup is in December where they harvest the crop, so to speak; and one in the late spring to tag the babies. They had one four week old baby at the farm. His horns were growing and they must have really itched, so he loved to have his head scratched. He was really cute.
They explained that the best meat is from a reindeer that is about eight to nine months old. They are almost full grown but not tough. Reindeer meat is unique because the fat does not marble with the meat. Therefore the meat is very lean.
For lunch, yes, we ate reindeer with mash potatoes and linden berries. Of course, they told us we were eating the neighbor’s reindeer because they always tasted better. I must admit the meat was delicious. It was very sweet and did not taste like venison. They sell their meat all over Europe and there could be an even bigger market, but if they raise more reindeer, there would not be enough food for the them, plus it would destroy the balance of nature.
We asked about predators. They told us that there were some bear and a few packs of wolves, but most reindeer that are killed are because they are hit by cars. They loose approximately 30,000 reindeer a year to cars. They try to protect them by running fences along the road with holes in the fences in certain places for the deer to cross the road. They explained that the biggest problem was the fact that unlike when a moose crosses the road and goes straight across, a deer runs down the road instead of crossing.
It was a most fascinating place. Everyone was saying how it was such fun. What a beautiful day.
On to Santa’s Village, where we had an opportunity to stand on either side of the Artic Circle. While we where there, I talked to Santa about Ryder and Avery and told him what great kids they are. He said, even though he is really busy, he would try to send them a special card this year. I had a moment to write each a postcard to let them know I am thinking about them. The weather continues to be beautiful with flat seas.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Copenhagen Day 18 – June 12, 2007
Our ship arrived in Copenhagen at 7:00 am June 11, we were at the Hotel and checked in by 9:30, lucky I had requested an early check-in, and Holly had us booked on a city tour leaving at 10:30 before I got to our room. The weather is beautiful and people are sunning themselves in all of the parks. Today we are taking a tour on the canal boats and seeing a castle. As our Australians friends from last year used to say, ABC, Another Bloody Castle. Our flight leaves at 11:00 am Thursday morning and we are both feeling that it is time to come home, but what a trip this has been. From the subways of Russia to the theater of London everything has been outstanding and the memories will stay with us forever.
Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
Tom & Holly
Day 21 June 13, 2007 – The End
Greetings to all,
Well this is our last day here in “Wonderful Copenhagen.” It is indeed a wonderful city, and I can see why Hans Christian Andersen never went back to Aahrus after moving here. I can already actually find my way around. I don’t believe we have been lost once. I think I could live the rest of my life in London and never know where I was. We did something extremely Scandinavian today, we rented bicycles and rode the city. I wanted to do it in Amsterdam but just never did. Bike riding has it all over walking. We have been to other cities with bike paths, but surprisingly there are none in London or Rome. From now on any city we visit with bike paths, I am taking the bike. When we walk places, Tom is always waiting for me, but my bike riding skills are somewhat better than my walking skills, so I think it made traveling together much easier.
Today we visited Christiansburg Palace. Very Interesting! Every palace we have been in is now a museum and belonged to the past. This one is a working Palace for the Denmark’s Queen today. Oh to be Queen! It looks like the ones of old, but not exactly. For example, she just ordered new tapestries in the dining hall for her birthday, and they are very modern looking. It took the artist ten years to complete them. The one representing the 20th century is amazing. There is a top corner missing and it reads, “You fill in the blank.” Anyone greeting the Queen, must wear white gloves, back away a least two meters, and then bow before turning your back. (On the ship none of the officers shook hands at all to help prevent spreading germs. They could follow the Queen’s lead and just wear gloves instead.) Our guide told us that she is very fast and can greet 400 visitors in approximately 30 minutes. When we first came to Copenhagen, we saw where the queen lives in the winter and the changing of the guard. Yesterday on a tour, we saw her summer palace with all of the small houses surrounding it for her servants. We have seen her yacht, her stables, etc. What money these people spend on their monarchy.
We enjoy indulging ourselves by occasionally eating at great restaurants, and had saved that indulgence for Copenhagen. Several months ago at home, we looked up the world’s top restaurants and Copenhagen has #5 called Noma. We emailed for evening reservations but no room. We made lunch reservations instead because after reading the menu, we decided this would be the decadent dining experience this trip around. Here is the funny part. We rode our bikes there. How is that for blending in with the culture? We ordered the three course meal for lunch but it turned into a five course meal. First they brought us milk skin with different veggies cut into very small pieces. They were softened but not cooked exactly. Not certain what milk skin is; I’ll have to research that upon my return. They poured a sorrel sauce over the top as it was served. I looked up sorrel at home and that is a type of mushroom. Each course you were given new silverware whether you used it or not. Next came the appetizer that we ordered – king crab, with leeks coated in ashes of burnt hay. Yes, you are reading that correctly. They poured a sauce over that too with bread crumbs. Oh, forgot, while reading the menu they bring munchies – not anything usual. Very thin skin of fish and chicken, a type of potato chip and fried shrimp but not like we are used to eating. The bread came wrapped in a leather pouch piping hot. There were two types of butter for the bread. One was butter and Danish cheese and the other was made out of pork lard, something green – forgot what she said and pumpkin seeds. I didn’t care for that on the bread but by itself, was “Yum!” Next came the main course. Tom had Dover sole, and I had musk ox. The musk ox was awesome and had a type of wine sauce. It came with thinly sliced green and white asparagus. I love white asparagus. Plenty of time was given between courses. I ate very slowly and enjoyed each bite. Next they brought an extra course. Tom had a salad looking item and I had sweetbreads with egg and, of course, another sauce. For dessert, I had rhubarb sorbet with frozen strawberries chips and beet pieces and rose hip pedals. Tom had rye bread with milk foam and some sort of lime sorbet. We each had one glass of elegant wine. We thought that might be a good idea since our ride home was two bicycles. Lunch was something like 300 US dollars, so it will be hot dogs and beans when we return home. I guess we should be ashamed since I have heard so much about the Nazi occupation of Russia where people were given sawdust to eat. I’m not, however, because who knows what tomorrow will bring. I guess what we did this whole trip is “Enjoy the Moment.” As they say in my book, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” Today took my breath away physically riding a bike all of the city of Copenhagen, and figuratively by our restaurant indulgence.
Now looking forward to going back home with family and friends.
Hope all is well at home,
No more to follow,
The End
Tom & Holly