Cruising the Big Cities

Stockholm, Sweden

I finally found where Becky came from. Judging by the citizens of Stockholm she fits in well with her blond hair and blues eyes. Imagine a city where everyone looks like Becky, that would mean its a city where everything could lead to greatness with moments of silliness (or being air-headed).

It was fun to tour the Vasa warship. It was built and sailed in 1627. A grand and wonderful warship with over 50 cannons and the tallest grandest warship of its time. So just as stated above it was built for greatness, it's blond moment came 20 minutes into it's maiden voyage when it rolled over and sank. A design default from making it too tall for its size.
Our next stop was the Palace and some shopping. We toured the city via boat and by foot. We even immersed our self into their culture by visiting a local grocery store and buying some candy bars and Coca Cola.

Upon returning to the ship Becky and I made our impact felt in the casino. I drew a crowd to the quarter flipping machine that tries to knock more quarters out for everyone you feed it. You know the suckers bet in the casino. Unfortunately for the casino this sucker did not lose! I walked away 10 minutes later with my same dollar I started with. So ha, casino who thinks it will take my money, take that! Becky took on a blackjack tournament. In the first round she finished 3rd to qualify for the championship. After 6 long rounds of back and forth action it came down to 3 players hands. The first player hit to a 20. The second scored a blackjack. It all came down to the dealer who was initially dealt a 13. With the next card drawn the dealer ended up with 18. Had the first hand been beat by the dealer with a dealt 21 then Becky would have won with her blackjack. Instead she finished second in chips to the first player making her 2nd place in the tournament (or as I informed Becky she was the first loser).

Helsinki, Finland

Walking on cobblestone sidewalks is horrible on your feet no matter what kind of shoes you are wearing. We trudged on walking to Temppeliaukio Church (we called it the “Rock Church”). In Helsinki 70% of the population is Lutheran, 29% is Orthodox (Russian Orthodox but they prefer to not call it Russian), and 1% is other. The Rock Church is the other. When a group wanted to build a new church the city at first said no they had enough churches. Finally the city thought the best way of getting rid of these people who kept bothering them was by giving them the only land in town with a big rock on it. So what do you do when the only land your given is filled with a rock? You blow a hole in it and build a church in it. So now you know why we called it the “Rock Church”. While there we were able to hear a symphony orchestra that was performing for a Finnish radio station.

We continued to tour the other large Lutheran and Orthodox churches, but none of the these beat the Rock Church. Along the way we shopped and enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere of this bustling but relaxing city. At the end of the day I only wished I could have sat in the park with the locals and read a book with them. (Something to save for another day.)

We are now back on the boat and heading to St. Petersburg, Russian. I should have another post up on Sunday. By the way we have added another time zone and will get a second one in St. Petersburg (this puts us 9 hours ahead of our home time). This is making my sleeping pattern get really screwed up (that plus only 5 hours of darkness).

Hello from the Emerald Princess

Well what an adventure our first days have been. Our flights were fine and rather uneventful. However upon arriving in Copenhagen our fun began. After gathering our luggage we found our way to the train that took us to the Central Station in downtown Copenhagen. From here we walked to our Hotel to check-in our luggage. Once our luggage was secured we ventured to the shopping district to find something to eat. Never thought we would travel all the way to Denmark to have pizza but that's what we did. After eating we hiked to the Queen's Palace to see if we could visit with her. (I thought she might allow us to rest on her couch.) Upon being greeted by her sentry with their guns and tall fuzzy hats we decided we would just take a picture of them proceed on. (The Queen will just have to wait to meet us another day).

We hiked back to the hotel viewing many of the sites of the city along the way. Upon arriving at our hotel we came to the conclusion that cobblestone sidewalks hurt your feet and that walking with jet lag is mind numbing. After taking up residence in the hotel lobby we started to notice that the staff was looking at us strange (after being their for couple hours and partially sleeping on their couches). I guess they were wondering if we were ever going to check-in, the problem was the room reservation was in my Dad's name. Mom and Dad were running late to meet us and we had no idea of the adventures they were on in London. Finally after waiting 2 hours after their scheduled time to meet us we gave in and decided to ask the hotel for help with what was going on. Funny thing some how my name was put in the system for the room and this allowed me to be able to check-in. Evidently my Dad had tried to contact the hotel to give us a message and during this exchange my name was put on the reservation. The message was given to me in a sealed envelope but the hotel instructed me that this message was from the hotel to my Dad and not from Dad to me. After checking in we accessed my computer and find out what had happened to my parents flight. We discovered that they had a flight delay leaving DFW and were late getting into London. This caused them to miss their flight and to be placed on a later flight. Three hours after our scheduled meeting time they showed up.

Finally now that everyone was together we ventured downtown and had an authentic Danish meal, steak and potatoes. (Wow, seams like something I would eat back home.) This was followed by a well deserved night of sleep. The next day we took a boat tour of the canals of Denmark learning about all of the sites and history. After this we headed to the cruise ship to get settled in for the next leg of our journey. Since we have been on the ship we have verified two things. 1) the European milk has a funny taste and they like to drink it warm. 2) after all of these years my Mom still likes to hit the bottle of free champagne. That's probably another story for another time. (Like when she is not able to see and read this).

By the way if you happen to see an episode of Danish Most Wanted, please understand I did not mean to assault the guy on the train with a piece of luggage, accidents happen. Off to Stockholm and the rest of our travels.

Almost Here!!!

The time for us to sail on our cruise is almost here. We all packed and now are forcing ourselves to go to bed. Being so giddy with excitement, I do not know how we will sleep. We have had such a long day of packing and preparing everything for our departure. We even played in a hockey game tonight. Mom and Dad asked one favor of us, "do not get hurt playing hockey". Well we escaped bruised (Becky's arm from a puck) and battered (my tender groin being agitated again). Otherwise we will look good as we limp into formal night pictures with a pretty black and blue mark on Becky's arm.

I am looking forward to finally getting away and visiting such unique places and cultures. I hope to be able to blog on some of the experiences we have but please remember the Internet is slow on the boat and must be bought by the minute. Plus who can be daunted with such a long period of being on the computer when you can be living it up in a conga line. My goal is to win the longest drive contest on the boat.

Quick updates Becky's Dad had a tumor removed from his neck on Wed. All tests came back that it was benign. He is home recovering with a smiley face incision on his neck. (If you didn't know him you would have thought he tried to off his self by the looks of the incision.) My Mom will have some work done on her elbow and wrist when we get back. I guess old age is starting to catch up to her. (Mom don't worry I will get you a turbo charged walker one day, then you can use it to beat Dad over the head to keep him in line.) Please keep Becky's Dad, my Mom, my Dad, Becky, and I in your prayers. We hope to have a fun and safe vacation and will chat with you upon our return. Now where did I put that hammer to knock me out so I can get some sleep?

How did she do?

Sorry for no pictures from Becky's last practice. After experimenting with a new restaurant she became too ill to practice and experienced what hockey officials would call a upper body illness. Don't worry it was short lived.

The lack of practice put Becky at a disadvantage for our first game with the rough and tough Mutineers. After a period of long thought regarding sitting her out for the game I decided to put her in the game with one caveat. She would be playing on a line with one of my first centermen, Sergio. Sergio is a tough fast skater who can electrify the ice with his charisma. At the same time his speed can sometimes do him in. Becky was able to establish a good repertoire with him and through their chemistry Becky at one point was able to carry the puck into the offensive zone and send a pass to a charging Sergio. Unfortunately his speed was a factor as he skated too fast into the pass and became handcuffed by it. I was so proud to see Becky become so active in the play after only being on the ice for a short period of time. It also made it fun for her to be joining another female newbie, Diana who just joined our team (it gave them both someone to help put all of that gear on with).

I was a little concerned however that she may have a little bit of an agitator in her as she became involved in a shoving and elbowing match with a player on the other team. Add that to the fact that she has threatened to take Sergio's girlfriend out with a "cat fight" at center ice when we play against her and the Silverwings (they are both first time players trying to show off). With this kind of action the Crossbar at the rink will surely be full to see these fisticuffs. I put the odds at even on who will win. Becky maybe quick, but Jenn is stronger. So let the match begin (I will send dates and times on this one as soon as it becomes available).

If you want to check out Becky's next game it will be this Saturday at 7:30pm against LSI. One of my old teammates and good friend Mike plays for them. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of agitation Becky can deliver upon Mike. If you can make it see you there.

Wish me luck as I am wrapping up final exams next week. I will be so happy to be finished with my Anatomy and Physiology course. Though I enjoy my lab class professor the lecture professor has been quite arduous (more than necessary). I cannot wait to be finished and to start preparing for our Baltic Sea cruise.