BALTIC EXPLORER: In thr Draft of the Hanseatic League


Advertisement
Netherlands' flag
Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam
June 24th 2011
Published: July 20th 2011
Edit Blog Post

DepartingDepartingDeparting

Early in the AM David drives us to PDX,and we're on our way
Marty & John prepare to go on our Baltic Cruise with ROAD SCHOLAR (ELDERHOSTEL). Our itinerary includes: 2 days in Amsterdam touring the city, embark MS Prinsendam - 14 nights, Helsenborg (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark), Helsinki (Finland), St Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia), Stockholm (Sweden), Warnemunde, Kiel Canal (Germany), Tilbury (England), depart Heathrow Airport for USA. We are looking forward to this cruise and are checking all the lists to make sure we have everything. The last washing has been done, the floors have been swept, the garbage has been emptied, and our suitcases have been packed and weighed. BON VOYAGE!!

In the early AM, David drove us to PDX and we took our flight (direct) to Amsterdam. Toward the end of the flight, I captured the sunrise just over the wing if our plane. It was beautiful to watch. Laurieanne Wysocki , our group leader, met our plane and corralled the rest of the group arriving on incoming flights. We all troop, with luggage, out to the bus lanes and find that our bus wasn't there!!

Laurieanne immediately called the bus company, and found out that our bus had been canceled!! Much conversation went on between the bus drivers
Sunrise!Sunrise!Sunrise!

We see Sunrise over the edge of our wing in flight
who were already there, the company office, and Laurianne. We waited about an hour and finally our bus pulled up and we were all delighted to be on our way into Amsterdam. Needless to say, Laurieanna was somewhat contrite to have our trip start with no bus. We all reassured her that "we understood". Thank goodness it was raining and not terribly hot during our wait. We had our first view of Amsterdam on the drive into town.

After checking in (our group is 36 people) we were all glad to REST! In the afternoon, we met to get oriented and Introduced to each other. Then we went on a canal boat tour of Amsterdam - a relaxing introduction. Dinner at the hotel was our first group dinner and we all enjoyed "getting to know" each other and good food. After dinner we were all ready for bed and SLEEP.


Additional photos below
Photos: 10, Displayed: 10


Advertisement

Welcome to AmsterdamWelcome to Amsterdam
Welcome to Amsterdam

waiting for an hour for our coach
Eden HotelEden Hotel
Eden Hotel

Just off of Remberant Square
First DinnerFirst Dinner
First Dinner

as a Road Scholar Group
Laurieanne WysockiLaurieanne Wysocki
Laurieanne Wysocki

Our group leader


4th August 2011

Road Scholar Participant Blogging
Greetings, Martha! Let me start by commending you on your wonderful blog, Martha. Your commitment to documenting your amazing travels and the insights you share are inspiring. My name is Conor O’Shea and I am the social media coordinator at Road Scholar. Today I read a very interesting series of entries on your blog about the Baltic Explorer program that you and John recently embarked on. I must say, I was thoroughly impressed! I was wondering if you would be interested in having your blog featured in its original form on Road Scholar’s Participant Blog Page, where participants, lifelong learners and our team members provide enlightening firsthand accounts of their educational travels: http://www.roadscholar.org/lps/blog_participants.asp?cm_sp=Plug-_-Boomer-_-PaxBlog Your picture would appear beside a short excerpt from the blog, and the link on our page would redirect back to your website. I believe your wonderful stories would make a great addition to the page. If this interests you, please let me know! Thanks for your consideration. Best regards, Conor O’Shea

Tot: 0.219s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 6; qc: 46; dbt: 0.09s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb