Since Last Time...

(Just a side note to prepare you for what is to come… uh… yeah… Most of these posts I’ve written to let you know what’s going on with me right now, and most have been rushed and written quickly, cramming all I could into a post while sitting in and Internet café. This post is not like that… instead, I’m writing it here, aboard ship, where I have more time, and am in a writing mood. So don’t be alarmed if this sounds more like a story than a post. Here I packed in more description, thought, and feelings than I originally intended, and I guess am just bringing out the inner author in me.)

Last post I left you off at the Hermitage, but what I failed to mention was where I was at the time of that post. I wrote that last post in Tallinn, Estonia, which was probably my favorite port so far (besides the Hermitage, or… maybe right along side it…). Estonia is an older town build in medieval style, with cobblestone streets and old-style houses. The Old Town, especially, with it’s old rock walls and fortress surrounding, had the same feel as if you were at the seen of a medieval movie. It was like walking out of normal life and into one of the many fantasy stories I’m so fond of reading. Andrea and I had planned to eat out at a medieval-style restaurant for lunch, but spend too much time just wandering and sitting in the Internet café, that we had to leave before we could go. So, rushed and out of time, we ran back towards the bus stop, pausing quickly to buy 9 bags of sweet, warm almonds with all the money we had exchanged (for the restaurant) before making one of the last shuttles back to the ship. We’ll be eating them for month, probably… but man, they were good.

After Estonia, we (the ship) were booking it back to Amsterdam, pausing in Copenhagen, Denmark, before moving on. The ship was moving very fast those sea days, and you could see waves swiftly passing us by. Andrea and I didn’t sign up to escort tours here, but instead took the shuttle into town, wandering our own way back to the ship. We saw numerous cathedrals, their spires beaconing us on from beyond the towering rooftops. We walked past the botanical gardens, and saw the Royal Palace through bars of the gate surrounding it. We toured an old winter castle, seeing rooms full of paintings, murals, and gilded walls. Old palace chairs, worn thin with age, beautiful carvings and sculpted artifacts. I stood there and imagined how it must have looked hundreds of years ago, when kings strode through the chambers, not giving any notice to all the beauty that surrounded them. We saw the throne room; guarded by life sized golden lions, rooms full of statues, glass wear, and china, all unique and beautiful. A mirror room, where all the walls and ceiling were mirrored, and you saw the room a thousand times over above and below you. The floor reflected in the ceiling, and a round mirror on the floor gave the appearance of looking down into the same room below. We saw where they slept, we saw were they ate; we saw their Royal treasury on display underneath the castle. Jewel encrusted swords and crowns, carved Ivory, a decorative pistol set that was a gift to the king from Abraham Lincoln.

From there, we wandered back along the shore, taking pictures every few feet and just enjoying our day of exploration. We walked through an Island shaped like a star, former home of an older fortress, walked by what looked like another palace, and on to the little mermaid. We actually saw two mermaids that day, but it was the smaller one that was the famous little mermaid of Copenhagen. I don’t know the story behind the little mermaid, but it is a bronze statue sitting on a rock in the ocean, waves crashing around her. Lots of tourists. :P By the time we got back we were both exhausted, or perhaps that was just me, I’m not sure… but we decided to call home while we could before leaving. (Seeing as it would be Andrea’s birthday the next day while we were at sea.)

So yes, Andrea’s birthday has come and gone, and I think it was a very good birthday for her this year. I smuggled some snacks and pastries down to our room and inserted a ‘makeshift’ candle, then singing happy birthday when she returned from the gym. We both enjoyed going through the presents sent from home, along with the list of reasons to be happy today, that went along with them. Although, Mom, I do think that sending that little music box that sang the ‘happy birthday’ song was a bad idea. I must have heard her playing it 50 times throughout the day with a silly grin on her face the entire time. She showed it to all her friends onboard too. I got a video. But yeah, the day was good; we spent time playing a new game called bananagrams with one of Andrea’s friends onboard, a game similar to scrabble. We were going to go to the Marano (the really nice restaurant aboard) but Marie wanted to spend time with Andrea, so we didn’t. It turned out she had a few tricks of her own up her sleeve, and all the band as well as the singers and dancers were waiting in the RendezVous Lounge to surprise her. I was asleep by that time, because I thought they were just going out for drinks, and am kind of sad I missed it, but happy that they were able to make her day esxtra-speacial.

Yesterday in Amsterdam we didn’t go into the terminal again to use Internet – but instead took the opportunity to wander our way throughout the city, our destination being the Anne Frank House. It was very different than I expected, but really neat just the same. We walked through a museum in a side building, and into the warehouse on the bottom floor of her father’s business. Walking up to the second floor, we saw where all the offices used to be, then climbing up the steep staircases to the Secret Annex. Each room held a quotation or two from Anne’s diary – the descriptions she gave us alongside the actual room. The actual bookcase that concealed the stairs was still there, open on its hinges to allow us passage through. It was like walking into the story – although all other furniture had been removed, shadows still remain of what once was. Magazine pictures still pasted onto the wall of Anne’s room, the stove base and kitchen sink still in their places, the bathroom and attic where Anne and Peter spent much of their time. A model of the house and video show us how it looked fully furnished. It was amazing and moving at the same time.

From there, we wandered our way back along the canals, past house boats and parked bicycles, stopping to buy some berries from a local vender on the way back. Those were probably the best berries we’ve ever had, and now I wish we had gotten more. The blackberries were HUGE, bursting with sweet flavor, and the raspberries too. I don’t think I found a single raspberry that was sour, and only one berry of each batch (blackberry & raspberry) was bad. I also had wanted to go to the Van Gough while we were out, but it was way on the other side of town, and we just didn’t have enough time. Ah well… maybe some day.