Marty Freeman

This morning I woke up, looked out our window to see our luggage being off-loaded directly below us. We went to our last breakfast at the Lido Restaurant and sat at our favorite breakfast table. Gathering at our debarkation point, our Road Scholar group left the ship together and boarded our coach to Heathrow airport. After a surprisingly long ride we arrived at Heathrow and began the "rat maze" of departure. You know, find the right terminal, get your luggage off the bus, walk in to check in, get in line (only the beginning!!) Crowds of people, all looking to find their correct airline, check-in line, weighing of bags, security line, departure gate, departure time. ACH!!! At last, we're at the gate and find a student group of about 35 (all with their orange back packs) ... read more

Right after breakfast, I went up to the top deck to view and take pictures of the approach to the Kiel Canal. There were already people (with chairs) along the rail so I found a space and took pictures between people. The whether was good - clear and sunny. The Kiel Canal, the world's busiest artificial waterway, links the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. An average of 250 nautical miles are saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of the way around the Jutland Peninsula. During its building stages, naval strategies were important (the German navy wanted to link its bases in the North Sea with the Baltic Sea instead of having to sail around Denmark) - Today the canal is used for trade between the countries of the Baltic with the rest of the ... read more

This morning with Andres, our Guide, we stroll down the pedestrian street, Kropeliner Strabe, and do some shopping there for post cards and misc impromptu buys. Then we stop at Rostock University, the oldest university in northern Europe, to learn about the educational system in Germany. Next we explored the town of Rostock, town square, City Hall, shopping street and St. Mary's Church. St. Mary's Church is a large brick gothic church constructed in the 13th century. Over the many years it has been reconstructed into the Basilica it is today. John & I went inside and viewed the massive organ, the gothic pulpit and large stained glass windows. Very impressive. On to lunch at a local restaurant, where we all enjoyed "dark beer soup". After lunch we toured around Rostock and Warnemunde . Andres lives ... read more

This morning, after breakfast I went up on deck to photograph our passage through the Stockholm Archipelago, a series of islands leading to the City and Harbor of Stockholm. It was a clear day so the views were very good and fascinating to see. It was the first time I discovered I could look over the railing and see the bridge on both sides of the ship! After we were on our excursion coach (the new gold model), I could look up and see the bridge from the dock. Our guide decided to take us to see the Vasa Museum first, to hopefully avoid the crowd of tourists in the afternoon. The warship Vasa was ordered to be built by King Gustavus Adolphus from 1626 - 1628.The ship foundered and sank after sailing less than a ... read more

On the fourth of July, while in St. Petersburg, The staff of the Prinsendam had a Barbeque all afternoon on the Lido Deck. The food was delicious and the many food carvings were very decorative. At dinner in La Fountain dinning room the waiters and staff were all dressed up in the Stars and Stripes with a few "Uncle Sams" thrown in. ... read more