I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list. - Susan Sontag June 21, 2009, Sunday, off the ferry in Stockholm to the Bandang Campgroung, Stockholm, Sweden. Getting off the ferry and passing customs, at 9:40 AM, Bob, the driver, along with all the other drivers, was stopped for a breathalizer test, this country is serious about not having drunk drivers on the roads. The duty free shops present a temptation for drinkers, but it is 9:40 AM???Sunday Morning. Whatever? An interesting experience, and we are on our way to the campground, the city is quiet still celebrating the holiday weekend. As we arrived at Brandang Campground, we noticed our friends, Tom and Judy, getting ready to leave. We stopped and chatted. They are on their way to Denmark. We got ourselves settled and started ... read more

Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. - Benjamin Disraeli June 17, 2009, Wednesday, Tallinn City Camping, Tallinn, Estonia, to the ferry to Rastila Camping, Helsinki, Finland. We found our way down into the city of Tallinn and out to the docks to the Silja Ferry. The ride on the boat to Helsinki was just two hours. Driving off the ferry in a new city and being directed off the pier… things get confusing…which way to turn? This is the time to trust our GPS, and “Matilda” came through with flying colors. Soon we were at the Rastila Campground, 16 kilometers from Helsinki. It is located next to the Metro, so it is easy to get back and forth. We got the Metro System ... read more

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. - Robert Louis Stevenson June 13, 2009, Saturday, Laagna Campground, Narva , Estonia, to the Gulf of Finland and Valaste Falls to Saka Cliff Hotel and Spa/Campground. Estonia… and it is time to catch our breath and reorganize. The currency is now the Kroon, about US$ 1 equals 10 Eeks. After cleaning up, and getting some Kroons we headed to the food store and the Info Center. We decided to visit the cliffs along the Gulf of Finland. In spite of road construction, we found Valaste Waterfall, the largest. They had an interesting spiral staircase down to the observation deck. We came upon a young couple who recently got engaged and were involved in the ... read more

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes. - Marcel Proust June 9, 2009, Tuesday, St. Petersburg, Russia. Our bus was waiting at 10 AM and we were off to the State Hermitage. This is the second largest art collection in the world, after the Louve in Paris. The enormous collection (over three million items) amounts to a history of Western European art history. We (the four Americans) had our own English guide and she was wonderful. It was a rainy day as we scurried right past the long line of tourists waiting in line for tickets, right in and on our way. “Irene” knew her way around and was a wealth of information. After 3+ hours we were mentally saturated. After a pleasant lunch we did ... read more

Not all those who wander are lost - J. R. R. Tolkien June 7, 2009, Sunday, Novgorod to Tsarakoe Selo (Pushkin), to St. Petersburg, Russia, 170 km. As we started to leave Novgorod, there was yet another flat tire! Pushkin: The vast baroque structure of Catherine the Great’s Palace was created between 1744 and 1796. After being devastated by the Germans, it has been carefully and accurately rebuilt. The original magnificent Amber Room was created from engraved amber panels given to Peter the Great in 1716. (Amber was more precious than diamonds!) It was plundered by the Nazis in WWII and somehow the panels went missing? In 2004 Putin of Russia, and Schroder of Germany, presided over the re-opening of the new Amber Room restored exactly as it was. It is an amazing room, photographs ... read more