Pride AMS-AMS with pictures and comments

[Emperor Norton]

I guess I wasn't overly impressed with most of the buildings in town (at least not until sail away) as I don't have any pictures.

 

Our first out of town stop was the crowded and confusing Sibelius monument. The confusing part is why you'd build a monument that looks like organ pipes or a lot of flutes stuck together for someone best know for the violin.

 

Next we took a scenic drive around until we were back in town. Once near our destination we parked and had to walk a whole two blocks (thankfully NOT San Francisco blocks) to our destination - the most crowded church in town

[Emperor Norton]

We were in the church in the rock.

 

Nice lighting system (so long as the sun is out)

I think they're on the same fire plan as the Russians

Unlike many other churches/mosques/temples/etc... this place didn't seem to care about a dress code

Due to all the spun copper in the ceiling I wonder if one could turn it into a giant electro-magnet?

A close up of the ceiling

I guess with stone floors and walls you don't have too much of a fire hazard here

[Emperor Norton]

The rock itself did have some interesting patterns in it

I did like the look of the organ pipes

The line to get in and lines for the restroom were pretty bad, but once inside it wasn't that bad

I wonder if this has ever been knocked over?

The view from the 2nd floor outside wasn't too bad

[Emperor Norton]

Then it was back to the ship but only after we learned how to pronounce

People got off the bus before the ship so they could see this little market. I'm guessing it really didn't do anything for them as they arrived at the ship not long after those that stayed on the bus.

We must be near Russia;)

I think some of the best views came from sail away

[bobandalice]

We really have no plans for sailing Seabourn, but totally enjoyed your review and pictures. Nicely done! Your wit is to be commended. However, the one line that dropped me like a rock.... was the "Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch". Laughed for a good five minutes. Nicely played!

 

Bob and Alice

[Yorkiebargirl]

Pleased to see from post #145 and the ones after it that my daytime wardrobe will fit right in, if that is smart preppy casual I have no qualms now about my wardrobe.

Edited August 29, 2012 by Yorkiebargirl

[Architect]

Sometimes I do wonder though, just why the starving masses revolted!

 

 

Honestly, that's about what I was thinking. By the time we got to the

Amber Room in the Winter Palace, I was thinking what a miracle it was

the tsars lasted as long as they did.

[Emperor Norton]

And now for something completely different. Every other port this trip I either had an excursion (or multiples) or at least got off the ship. By the time we got to Mariehamm I would've needed something really interesting to draw me off the ship. While there was a tall ship docked behind us it reminded me too much of the Balclutha, which I had visited shortly before I left on this trip.

At one point I thought I might get off to wander around, but that was cut short by a passenger who was less than thrilled to discover instead of local seafood and beer his dining options in town were pizza or ice cream (he and a few other passengers also mentioned there really wasn't much to see in town).

So I just admired the quaint little fishing village and the ships from my ship.

The nice thing at the end of this day was the on deck BBQ (now to a BBQ purist, this wasn't truely BBQ, more like propane grilling). This would be only the second time they'd had al-fresco dining at night. It would also be the only time to sample the suckling pig.

 

Setting up for the BBQ

[Emperor Norton]

People lined up for the BBQ (pay attention to the clouds, those will come into play later)

The high light of the BBQ was a creature rumored to be mythical by some cruise critic posters.

 

Behold, the mythical sucking pig!

After obtaining the best parts of the pig (much to the chagrin of some of the crew) it was time for dessert. But what to pick? Perhaps there was too much choice?

Dare you risk turning yourself into a sticky mess?

Do you favor something easier to obtain?

Perhaps something "healthier" with fruit?

[Emperor Norton]

Maybe a little bit of chocolate?

Or something complex?

There are always smaller options

Towards the end of dinner (or did it end up ending dinner?) we had a interruption from above

That didn't seem to want to stop

Eventually it did stop. Then resumed. As a result the on deck entertainment was moved inside, then outside then inside then...

 

Next up: Stockholm, Vasa museum, an Ice Bar, the Kiel Canal and some on ship things and possibly more text

[seabournaddict]

Loved the Vasa Museum. That trick "click on the photos to see the fountains move" was a very clever idea, much too technical for me, but really enjoyed it. (I have had my camera for years and years, and never even read the bit that says how to do videos) Saw some more of my favorite crew, Big Joh, Dean and Jose. Keep them coming!

[Spree75]

I think you did a good job of capturing the essence of Mariehamn. My partner and I actually did get off the boat and between the two of us took 4 total pictures. 3 of them were of the ship/museum that was docked next to the ship and I took one more of the church in the center of the city. Not becuase it was special looking. More to actually show that I've been to Mariehamn.

 

Just curious Baychilla, what was the weather like for your cruise? All of the outdoor activities that were planned for my cruise got moved indoors either because it was too darn cold (Dessert and Dancing under the Stars, Caviar Sail Away, Rock the Boat) or it was raining (Deck BBQ). Interestingly enough there was at least partial sun in every port we visited with most of the guides mentioning that the weather was unusually nice for our visit. I guess they have been having a terrible summer across Northern Europe. We had rain on the 3rd day in St. P but nothing major. I never needed to open the umbrella at the Peterhof. We also had intermittant downpours in Stockholm and Faaborg. Stockholm was really weird... The rain bands could be measured in feet. So you could be standing in rain while the person next to you was dry.

[Emperor Norton]

The weather was mostly warm and sunny or somewhat warm and sunny with patchy clouds. Aside from the third day in St. Petersburg (which also covered the Caviar) and the on deck BBQ the rain seemed to schedule itself around our activities (the chocolate bit may have been a swapper as well I can't recall now). I found it warm enough at night to stay at the Skybar in either a shirt or on a few occasions a pull over. Staff kept commenting how lucky we were with the weather. I guess previous cruises had been pretty much "Rain, rain, more rain..."

[Emperor Norton]

Welcome to

What the naked eye saw (But the camera didn't) was "Vasa Museum"

The Vasa was the (or one of the) ultimate exercises on why the king isn't always right or Physics > Kings. Originally built with a single gun deck the king decided he needed more. He told workers to add on a second gun deck. Designers said this was a bad idea. He then had people test the ship (crew ran from one side to the other). The tests had to be aborted as the testers said they'd capsize the ship if they continued. Ignoring his testers the king had the ship put to sea. That lasted for around a mile and then it did what it's designers and testers had said it would do. It sank. As most of the crew didn't know how to swim they followed along. It would've been nice had this particular tour left much sooner. By the time we got to the museum it was already crowded and had a seemingly endless supply of buses disgorging more and more visitors.

They seemed to have followed a form over function plan, while it may have looked pretty, its operation wasn't

Why hello there!

It takes a lot of bracing to hold the old ship up

Again with form over function. The lions head on the gun door wouldn't do much other than toss even more splinters around when it got hit.

[Emperor Norton]

Even inside I wouldn't want to have to run that rigging.

Just as Dr. Evil needed his minuscule version so too does the Vasa have its Mini-Vasa

Which showed the actual ship was quite colorful before it sank, almost Disney-esque in its color scheme

They didn't say whether or not the observing chicken was historically accurate

[Emperor Norton]

Rudder and aft firing ports

It appears rowboat design is fairly unchanged

Interior space was at a premium

They did have a nice display on the different types of shot

I understand the need for safety, but why would you put the office in the way of a fire exit?

Edited August 31, 2012 by baychilla

[Emperor Norton]

After finishing in the Vasa museum it was time for a bus tour of town including a hill with a nice view of the rest of the city (they only mentioned after the fact that it was hangmans hill. Also because some pervert might look up the dress of a hung woman they couldn't be hung. They were burned at the stake instead).

 

We did have some nice views (sadly this didn't seem to be in operation)

Including old town and the Pride

As well as this building. Supposedly a while back a group of I believe Finns snuck in and struck the Swedish flag and ran up their own colors

Parts of Stockholm somewhat reminded me of Mariehamm only bigger

[Emperor Norton]

After our scenic bus tour it was time to go to City Hall. I guess this wasn't as near as interesting as the Vasa museum as it was far less crowded.

(see, there's space to move)

This is the hall where the Nobel Prize dinner is held. Once upon a time it was such an honor to be there that the service staff wasn't paid. Things are a little different now.

Once out of the main hall you are taken to a hall that looks like it's lined with gold. The hallway has a graphical version of Sweden's history as well as an odd geography lesson.

The "West"

The "East"

With Sweden in the middle??

What most of the hallway looked like

[Emperor Norton]

When you go to the Nobel prize dinner, make sure your dining set looks like this. Accept no imitations!

Outside of City Hall they have a special oak tree

In Russia look up, in Sweden look down at the storm drain design

I guess they still like the tall ships around these parts

And perhaps tall spires too

[Emperor Norton]

After returning to the ship (later than expected) I got to witness highway robbery Swedish style. Other passengers had just arrived back at the ship via cab. The driver was trying to get a very large sum from them for a short (5-10 minute) ride. I guess be wary of cabs in Stockholm.

 

After meeting up with a nice couple from Connecticut that I'd toured with it was decided that we would walk to our next tourist trap er destination: The Absolut Ice Bar. The numbers for the walk were very interesting. To get there from the ship took about 45 or so minutes. Getting back a hair under 30. Hrm.

 

As we walked around/through old town they pointed out the places they wen't for their roof top tour. They had thoroughly enjoyed the tour and wished there were similar tours in other cities. (It was limited to ~15 people).

 

When we arrived at the hotel we saw a group of Costa(?!) passengers going into the bar. It seems they still offer this tour (Seabourn lists it as an example on their site but never actually offered it). It turns out the hours listed on the website were inaccurate and we had arrived prior to the bar opening to the general public. Darn, guess well have to wait. While waiting we were joined by another couple from the ship who were also interested in seeing the ice bar. Across from a nice waiting area was a tiny hotel bar. Beyond that were restrooms. However these were no ordinary restrooms, they were evil nonsensical restrooms. They had a numeric punch system that needed to be appeased before the door would open. Er, ok. So we're in a hotel lobby, across from two bars and you have a key code system on your restroom doors? Not nice. I guess the small blessing was the code either never changed or changed after some span of time. After overhearing the bartender give it to other guests it was still good to go.

 

After waiting a bit it was time to go into the bar. They give you these thick heavy ponchos and offer hats as well (try not to think about what might be crawling around those unwashed bits of clothing). While we took the ponchos no one wanted the hat. Attached to the ponchos were gloves that in my opinion were not up to the task at hand. Once kitted out we were lead to an airlock like room and waited. Eventually the door on the other side opened and we were lead into the bar. Brr. It's set at 22F. It was playing house music (ugh) and aside from the Tequila only had Absolut products for the alcohol (not surprising given it's the Absolut Ice Bar). The bar itself looked nice aside from the torture chair (solid block of ice with a scoop out for a person to sit, 3/4 surrounded by ice). The rubber soled shoes froze and started making interesting sounds as people walked around.

 

The drinks themselves were less than memorable but they remind you that if you want seconds hold on to your glass as there's an extra charge if you need a new glass. The glass you drank from was actually a block of ice with the center bored out. This lead to a problem. The gloves you are given might keep your hands warm in the room, but they did nothing for me when holding my ice glass.

 

It was interesting hanging out in there and that's I think the consensus. It was just interesting. Now I realize that different cultures have different attitudes towards drinking and children. As an American I do not care for children in bars (even when attached to restaurants). Pubs I understand are a different animal, but this place was a pure bar. While we were standing there talking, toddlers started to spill in, well they offer non-alch drinks so I guess ok. Then the strollers came in. Uhh, BAD PARENT. The toddlers can at least run around to generate heat and try to stay warm. Watching the babies shivering in the strollers was a bit much. We left at that point. The place was a total tourist trap, but now we can say we've been to an ice bar and had drinks out of giant ice cubes.

 

Welcome to the Ice Bar

The bar itself

The torture or freeze yer naughty bits off chair

Im not sure those pads would really do much to keep the cold off your posterior

Our glasses on a table

Finally, I'm not sure what the point of this was, but I did like how it looked

 

Once back on the ship there was just enough time to warm up before heading up to the Skybar to get a good seat for sail away.

Edited August 31, 2012 by baychilla

[seabournaddict]

I am glad your friends did the "roof top tour" BEFORE they did the the trip to the Ice Bar. Afraid I must be in the minority, never had an urge to go to an ice bar, not even to say "been there done that". Looking at your Vasa photos, now reminds me what I must do. I didn't have Lightroom when I took my photos, I do now, think Id better use it!

[Emperor Norton]

Even with LR I wish I had a faster lens in there.

[RachelG]

Love the vasa museum, but I have never understood the attraction of the icebar. I can't think of much I would dislike more actually. Standing around in a really cold room drinking shots out of glasses made of ice. I don't think so.

[wripro]

One of the main reason I never entered an ice bar was exactly what Baychilla warned us about....those ponchos and hats that have been worn by countless people without knowing how often they are cleaned.

[Spree75]

We didn't go to the Ice Bar because we knew it was going to be a total tourist trap. Our guide did offer to take us but we politely declined. She did offer a comment on something that you mentioned in your pictures. The pads and other items that you might think were for comfort of the guests are actually there to protect the ice from the heat of the guests. Even the ponchos and gloves are just important to the ice. Even so they have to replace the entire bar every 4 months.