Breakaway - Live 7/22

[TheDougOut]

I asked the waiter if he knows CPR, and he motioned some confidence with a few chest thrusts. That was enough reassurance for me to order the Creme Brûlée.

 

Btw, I may be guilty of dipping my filet in butter.

[TheDougOut]

 

 

 

[TheDougOut]

An almost-11 PM Baltic sky...

 

 

New roommates...

 

 

 

And after a ridiculously-rich meal at Cagney’s, my existing roommate disappears and returns with...

 

 

Thankfully we have a magical bonus hour for our last excursion meet-up...

 

[Yorkvillain]

Btw, I may be guilty of dipping my filet in butter.

 

 

An absolute mandatory move. And since your waiter knows CPR, you have nothing to worry about.

[TheDougOut]

 

 

[TheDougOut]

We don’t need the following, as Alla simply extended our excursion by an hour on each side to include the ride to/from...

 

[TheDougOut]

Moderno quick breakfast, with a successful omelette run...

 

[TheDougOut]

Exit music is ABBA with Chiquitita...

 

 

[TheDougOut]

Alla had us wait in a tent while everyone else arrived. The heat/humidity is unreal. I feel like we’re in the Caribbean.

 

One family is still a no-show, but their policy is to leave 15 minutes after the scheduled meet-up time. So we’re off!

 

Another great bus...

 

 

 

Our last two busses have had WiFi, and yesterday’s had USB charging ports.

[TheDougOut]

A photo stop to view the old town from atop a hill...

 

 

 

In Stockholm today are the Viking Sun and Celebrity Eclipse...

 

 

[TheDougOut]

Entering the Vasa Museum, home of the only (and almost fully intact) 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged. It is over 90% original.

 

 

The ship was doomed from the start, when the king insisted on a second cannon deck, making it excessively top heavy. During sea trials, cross winds tipped the vessel until water poured into the lower cannon ports and sunk it.

 

 

 

[TheDougOut]

Starting our walk through old town...

 

 

[TheDougOut]

 

Palace guard...

 

[TheDougOut]

 

 

 

 

 

[TheDougOut]

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2018 by TheDougOut

[TheDougOut]

A quick downpour on the way back to the bus...

 

Edited July 29, 2018 by TheDougOut

[CruisingSwedes]

If you can try the Swedish Princess Cake before you leave (princesstårta) -it’s the green cake in every bakery. It’s delicious! Hope you had a great day here!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheDougOut]

If you can try the Swedish Princess Cake before you leave (princesstårta) -it’s the green cake in every bakery.

 

 

Wishing I wasn’t on a bus right now...

[rigs32]

Just found this thread. Looks like an amazing trip. Just friended you on Untappd and we’re from Rochester as well.

 

 

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[TheDougOut]

 

 

Return song is ABBA with Waterloo...

 

 

Home.

 

[Shellbelle28]

 

Hope those aren't the sugar-free version. Eat more than a few and there will be regrettable consequences. Edited July 29, 2018 by Shellbelle28

[Sauer-kraut]

If you can try the Swedish Princess Cake before you leave (princesstårta) -it’s the green cake in every bakery. It’s delicious! Hope you had a great day here!

 

Wishing I wasn’t on a bus right now...

[TheDougOut]

Well it finally happened... I got sick at sea. Thankfully it’s just a cold, but still, it’s killing my night. A few mornings ago in Moderno the omelette chef had the sniffles - so I blame him.

 

Regardless... it’s our last sea-day-eve, so we’re back at Syd’s, having some drinks between the sneezes, and watching the kids walk the plank overhead.

 

[SClakeliving]

We stop by a gift shop to pay for our Alla Tours for the week.

 

Our 5-city / 6-day tour, including all transportation, admissions and several meals, arrived at $705 per adult and $632 per student.

 

The suggested gratuity is 10% for the guide and 5% for the driver, which we calculated against the non-discounted individual city tour. This totaled another $125 per person.

 

Doug, thank you for your wonderful review! We are using Alla Tours as well for St Pete and Stockholm (but I may add Tallin and Helsinki after your review). Question: did you pay the gratuity in US$ or Euro? Did you tip each guide and each driver individually as you visited each city (vs add it all onto the bill when you paid in the gift shop)?

Thank you!

-Elaine

[TheDougOut]

Doug, thank you for your wonderful review! We are using Alla Tours as well for St Pete and Stockholm (but I may add Tallin and Helsinki after your review). Question: did you pay the gratuity in US$ or Euro? Did you tip each guide and each driver individually as you visited each city (vs add it all onto the bill when you paid in the gift shop)?

 

Thank you!

 

-Elaine

 

 

We paid in cash, all in USD, and handed it directly to each driver/tour-guide individually. I had emailed them ahead of time, and they stated gratuities are appreciated in all currencies.

 

Tallinn was fantastic through Alla, ranking 2nd behind the two days in St. Pete. Definitely consider adding it.