The Lessons I've learned...

Its not that I’m overly confident – I don’t think. Perhaps its just that I’m not that smart… anymore. I figure, hey, I’ve done it once and survived – how hard can it be? Maybe its just that in the past I’ve been lucky. Or, that I was in relatively good shape, and managed to feel alright. I don’t claim to be fast, or brave, or intelligent – and clearly my latest race effort has justified that. On a whim, or rather as an impetus to get my running back on track I signed up for the Boulder half marathon. These are the things that I learned yesterday…

• BBQ’s, Beer Pong and general shenanigans do NOT make one fast – especially the night before a race.
  
• Sheer Will does not replace training
  
• Reese’s Pieces don’t count as pre-race fuel
  
• 13.1 miles at altitude with rolling hills is not a “fun time”.
  
• If you’re going to run, try to do it at sea level
  
• Short shorts and a hot day = chaffing.
  
• Bloody Mary’s don’t count as daily vegetable servings.
  
• Bratwurts, chips, beer and pizza sticks aren’t really carbo-loading
  
• Taking a break from running for over a month is not tapering.

I ran this race with headphones, since all my friend’s were smarter than me and refused to sign up. The songs ironically called out my impetuousness “Hurt so good” among many others. Although the race was painful, I would say I learned some valuable lessons and my running is back on track – if, for no other reason, than to avoid the pain of having been severely under trained. I guess this was a lesson I had to learn the hard way.

Day 17 – Going Home 8/25

Amsterdam, to Philadelphia to Denver.

Noooooooooo! Tears streaming down our faces!

Okay, Not really – but the end of our trip has finally come. Slowly, thoughts of finances, work, obligations, cleaning, cooking – these all flood back to our head.

We woke up at 6am, with enough time to grab a final buffet breakfast and fresh coffee on the pavilion deck of the ship. Then, off on a bus to be deposited at the airport. No one to bring us drinks here – or to say “Mr. Steve, Mrs. Sarah – how was your day?”. No seven course meals waiting for us. Oh boy was this a GREAT TRIP!

So, we are sitting at the airport awaiting our flight to Phili followed by a flight to Denver. Total travel time – over 13 hours.

It will be good to sleep in a bed with the correct number of pillows. Steve’s one complaint was a general lack of large quantities of pillows. And it will be great to hug Delilah and force her against her will to cuddle with us. I hope she didn’t have too much fun at Kirsten and James’s house with their dogs.

All-in-all I would say a successful holiday. We packed about as much into it as any two people could. And got a heck of a lot out of it as well. It was wonderful – 5 stars – 2 thumbs up – and we would recommend the trip to anyone! And now I can say I’ve been to:

Holland
Germany
Denmark
Sweden
Finland
Russia
Estonia

And, enjoyed every moment.

Drawn on the plane ride home....

Day 16 - 8/24 North Sea

Our last full day on board the Celebrity Century. An overcast and choppy day at sea as we travel back to Holland. This is the first day I actually felt a little queasy with the rocking back and forth of the ship through the waves. To make the day even more challenging, I actually talked Steve into going to the Tango class held in the theater. So much fun – and I think we were pretty good by the end (and contrary to what Steve might suggest I did NOT have to beat him up to get him to go – he was a willing participant!). The waves made it extra difficult but all in all, we tangoed like pros. Although, we did take our shoes off to avoid stepping down on each other too hard! After Tango, a quick lunch as I ran off to scarp booking. I didn’t stay, just grabbed the pack (hey, we paid good money for this cruise – reminder to self- take shower cap, shampoo and lotion).

Ryder cup finale was held today. The first putt was a tough one. I fell apart. Steve cemented his lead. Next chip was better. Steve ended up winning the whole thing, while we had a shoot out for second place (Me with about 4 other 50 -70 year old men). .. ended up not winning second. But thank goodness my skilled husband won – he got enough loot for the both of us. Celebrity chap stick, t-shirt, visors, mug, pens , and best of all… A TRAVEL PILLOW! (this win was a bit cosmic, since we’d been considering buying a travel pillow for the long flight home).

Dinner was again amazing – if not a little bitter sweet. We didn’t want to leave! You’d think after 16 days of vacation that we would be ready! Except for missing Delilah we were totally willing to stay on as Cruise staff. Ahh – this really was the best trip that either of us has been on. So much fun, adventure, relaxation and being spoiled. The show was again very good. The string quartet performed beautifully, along with our favorite a-cappella group the Neptunes (Steve had be-friended a few of those guys around the ship.) We said our good byes to all the lovely couples we had met and sadly went back to the room to pack up and sleep before our early morning departure.

Day 15 – Copenhagen 8/23

Yet again, another fantastic day in Scandinavian Europe. We woke up bright and early – heading straight to breakfast in the buffet upstairs. At 8am the ship was cleared for arrival and we set off into the city on foot. It took about 45 minutes at a leisurely pace to make it into the heart of Copenhagen. The maps that we get from the ship are (pardon my French) SHIT (as they hold no major streets and only point us tourists to shopping districts), miraculously though, most of these beautiful cities are laid out intuitively and we headed in the direction we thought we ought to head. Right by the city center was a canal boat tour. As we hadn’t done one yet – and the price was more than reasonable, we decided to see the city from the relaxing vantage point of the canal (jump on- jump off). The boat was an excellent way to relax, get our bearings, and see a good portion of the city. We saw Hans Christian Andersen’s “the little mermaid” or Den Lille Maufrue – as the Danish call her. She has been sitting by the sea since 1913.

A note of interest:
Copenhagen is the largest city in Scandinavia. The Danes are famous for The Little Mermaid, Bacon, Carlsberg beer and Marauding Vikings.

Our aim for the day was to see as much as possible and that included the Tivoli Gardens. But as we walked through the city we happened to walk right by an Ice Bar! Based on the Swedish ice hotel, it is an entire bar built of ice. They even served our drinks in ice. So much fun – and it is so cold in the bar that they give you giant parkas and gloves to wear. Steve even ordered the reindeer appetizer. It was an awesome experience - although I’m not sure I’d want to spend the night in a hotel made of ice.

After the ice bar we worked our way to Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli is a famous amusement park and pleasure garden. It is said that Walt Disney got his inspiration for his theme parks from a visit to this 20 acre wonderland. It was cute, and although incomparable to the Disney franchise of today, you could see that Tivoli having existed for over 160 years would have been quite impressive. Steve and I walked around and had some beer and lunch at the pavilion. We had a delicious Tuborg lager (the beer here is so good!) and split a chicken sandwich in a curry sauce ( I love curry!)

After Tivoli we walked around a little bit and passed by a youth soccer tournament, right in the square! It was so cool. They had 1 on 1, 3 on 3, and 5 on 5 competitions in these little courts. The kids were between about 6 and 15 years old and just about all of them were far more skilled than just about anyone we’ve played soccer with in the states. It was humbling to say the least!

We walked again back towards the port, extremely exhausted from our fun filled adventures. We passed by the little mermaid once again and spent all our money at Tivoli earlier before being able to try one of the red sausages we’d heard about. One day is not nearly enough for Copenhagen, but I think we did a good job trying to get everything in. We’ll be back again, after all Steve is ¼ Danish!




Sarah's fish face at the ice bar.














Steve and Sarah... burrr!














Steve and his drink.



















Tivoli Gardens













At Tivoli.














The Palace (Hamlet!)















The Little Mermaid

Day 14 – At Sea 8/22

Steve and I are just beginning to get a bit sad that the trip is winding down. He won’t even let me say “what a great vacation!” and quickly shushes me. “Sarah, don’t say it – just enjoy that we are still here.” This day however, did start out quite rough as both of us had enjoyed a little too much to drink the night before. We missed the formal brunch and instead ordered in room-service. Steve then went up to play the Ryder’s cup while I took a nap. He also managed to squeeze in a bit of blackjack (imagine that!). Steve got a hole in one today at the Ryder cup and won a celebrity cruise visor. Yeah winnings!

Tonight was the final formal dinner here on board our ship. As the older couple at our table (Peggy and Bob from Texas) were invited to dinner with the captain, it was just James and Helen who ate with us. Excellent service and food as always… lobster & beef wellington. And a grand parade of baked Alaska at the end as we all sang Auld Lang Syne. I was almost in tears! More so because all these wonderful dinners are ending and not the sentimentality of the song. I do enjoy being waited on and not having to cook!

The show tonight was very good. Songs from around the world with lots of singing and dancing. Mom, they even had Irish dancing! There was a Russian couple that did cool cirque de soleil type act using a large cloth from the ceiling and spinning, falling and tangling all together. And a Latin American song from those old Disney cartoons where Donald duck is in south America.

After the show we strolled around a bit, and had to stay up late enough to enjoy the crossing of the ship under Öresund Bridge. This bridge connects Sweden to Denmark. We had to pass at exactly the right time (low tide) because the clearance is so close. We went to the top deck at the front of the ship – and BOY was the clearance close. For a moment I thought we might crash (titanic type scenes played in my head), it was as if you could reach up and touch it as we passed. We survived without incident and it was extremely cool to have passed underneath one of the longest cabled bridges in the world at 7,845 meters.

Steve with Frog- legs... ewwe!

Day 13- Tallinn 8/21

The day started very early (again)! We docked at 7am and by 7:45 Steve and I were out and about the streets of old town Tallinn in Estonia. What a gorgeous day to explore – it was sunny and warm! Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is one of the oldest cities in the Baltic sea, founded in 1154. It lies on the northern coast of Estonia on the Gulf of Finland and is an important industrial, political and cultural center, as well as a busy seaport.

Its old town has remained remarkably unchanged for the past 600 years, making it one of the most attractive cities in Europe. Because we woke up so early, Steve and I got to see and explore most of the city without many other people and tourists around. We even ate a wonderful breakfast of coffee (the stuff at this one particular shop was powerful) and danishes. By 10am however, it started getting busy. We decided to have a beer in the town square, and ended up meeting with our dinner friends Helen and James who were on the cruise for their honeymoon from Leeds, England. From our view point we could see just about all the main structures. The town hall built in the early 15th century was right across the square. We also saw a number of churches and castles built in the 13th century and several 15th century towers. It was just like being tossed back in time. The whole town was lined with cobblestone streets rising and falling like ocean waves. You had to definitely watch your step while wandering around.

We saw everything in old town as we wandered through shops and windy streets, before heading back to the ship for our late afternoon departure to Denmark. It was so lovely out that we ate a late lunch in the top deck by the pool and then Steve had a quick dip in the cold pool and we both sat in the hot tub for a relaxing soak, enjoying the sun and atmosphere. After that we went back to the room for a power nap. Good thing too – as the evening quickly escalated into far more drinking that either of us had planned! Dinner was again incredible and we went to the show in the theater with amazing Motown vocals from a woman who is popular in the UK. After dinner they had trivia and dancing in one of the bars (although it was Trivia from the 60s and 70s and I think we were a little unfairly matched to the people who were actually alive during those eras!) – then Steve talked me into going to the casino with him for black jack. It was really very fun & Steve has managed to make some good friends with a few other couples that were gabling. We tried to learn how to play craps, but quickly saw our money disappear and decided to stick to Black Jack. We didn’t win… but we didn’t lose too much either, so all in all it was a good end to another perfect day.

Beers in the town square.

Onion dome Church.

Tiny door or optical illusion?

The old church.

Steve on the streets of Tallinn

Day 12- St Petersburg 8/20

This morning began early – 6:30am so that we could eat a quick breakfast and then head out for Day #2 in Russia. Our tour today is a full day focusing on the Hermitage Museum. We boarded our coach and found several of the couples on this excursion had actually done the trip to Moscow yesterday (this excursion was $700/ person where they took a 1 hr flight to Moscow to tour the red square, cathedrals, metro and have a find dinning dinner.) Our tour guide today had overseen the Moscow trip as well, so we rightly assume she was one of the best guides. Today’s tour was much more historical than political (contrary to yesterday's excursion), and we arrived at the Hermitage just before it opened. The Hermitage is in the Winter Palace, one of the most famous structures of Imperial St. Petersburg.

What an incredible palace! Gold gilded marble with rooms and rooms of fine art. Hermitage got its name because Catherine the Great stayed in the palace with all her artwork and refused to allow the public to see it. Hermit! Another interesting note is that it has the largest collections of Rembrandts in the world.

It was again another whirl wind tour as we swiftly traveled through room after room of art, antiques, and documents throughout the Hermitage. It was an impressive collection that included Picasso, Van Gough, Da Vinci paintings, Michelangelo, and hundreds of other works from Masters around the world.

Following the Hermitage we drove to the church of our Savior on Spilled Blood. This is the magnificent onion shaped domed chapel with amazing colors and mosaics that is the typical representation of Saint Petersburg. Following that stop, we visited a few shopping areas and picked up some nesting dolls as gifts. Back on the coach for our lunch we went to a beautiful stone restaurant and were fed typical Russian food (including a shot of Vodka and glass of champagne). Steve was in for a treat, as the older coupled next to us weren’t up for their vodka. So he took a few extra shots! Na zdorovje! (cheers) We got a small salad, a potato leek soup, and chicken with rice. The best part though was the entertainment. A beautiful Russian woman in traditional dress singing Russian folk songs with a small band.

Following lunch, we drove to see St. Isaac’s Cathedral. This Cathedral dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. Seen from far out in the Gulf of Finland, the dome is covered with pure gold. It was built between 1818 and 1858 and is decorated with 14 kinds of minerals and semi-precious stones. It is also home to the only stained glass window in Russian Orthodoxy. It was an impressive sight.

Back and exhausted we ate another amazing dinner (DUCK!) and wine – then set sail for Estonia. What an incredible opportunity to see Russia. Although it wasn't our favorite city on this trip, it was an amazing experience to have.

This woman is appalled at Steve's drinking!

Click on the photo - its not a painting but a mosaic- amazing!

Sarah at the Church of Spilled Blood.



















Steve at Sarah at Lunch in Russia.















At St. Isaac’s Cathedral.

Day 11- St Petersburg 8/19

We left Finland behind last night and traveled through the soft white light of the Baltic sea to Russia. Steve and I had a late night, the blackjack tables were hot last night and Steve won over $100. Woo hoo! Our excursion didn’t leave until 1pm, so we were able to sleep in a bit and get brunch before going down to the pier towards Russian Immigration. Entering Russia for the day was much like going through immigration at the airport. They stamped our passports and scrutinized us, though it was obvious we were here with the cruise ship tour. We then boarded a bus and headed off for our tour. We signed up for the Lenin & Russian Revolution tour. We began by driving past the Peter and Paul fortress on our way to the Lenin museum. The Lenin museum is in the current Saint Petersburg government buildings. We were struck by the lack of advertising, pedestrians and general commotion from the city. It did seem like we entered a third world country. The courtyard to the museum was beautiful, but the building smelled musty and dank. It was hot in the Lenin museum, but we were over whelmed by the history they presented and didn’t get restless until the end of the tour after we saw several of the rooms Lenin slept in (boring), and where his work for the revolution started. In general, as St. Petersburg was once Leninburg, its obvious that Lenin is revered by the Russian people and still regarded with “god” like awe.

After the Lenin museum we drove by the battleship Aurora. It was used in several of the revolutions, WWI & WWII. Hopped on board for a quick look around (Also present by the ship was a baby Bear! Kate – did I see more bears in Russia than you did in Alaska?) The bear was eating nuts and leashed with a muzzle… pretty sad actually. From Aurora we drove to the Kshesinskaya Museum. This is Russia’s Revolution museum which used to be a private residence of a woman (Kshesinskaya) who was a very wealthy Ballerina who came to Russia and became the mistress of many famous men including Tsar Nicklaus II… the Museum was very interesting and really helped to explain the revolution, the move to socialism, and the implications of these policies on Russian life and culture.

It was a long day in Russia! We finally got on board the ship with just enough time to change for another fabulous dinner.

Baby Russian Bear - also available right by him were bear-skin hats (Ohhhhh!)

Sarah in front of the Battleship Aurora - this ship sounded the alarm for revolution.

Steve holding up the lifeboat on the Aurora.














Sarah and Steve by the Statue of Peter the Great.














Maritime - a ship by the Aurora.

Day 10 Helsinki 8/18/09

A cold and rainy day to start our tour of Helsinki. Steve and I decided to skip the bus or trams and walk into town instead. It wasn’t too long before we were meandering on a dirt path between the harbor and parks leading to the city. We found a skate park, which we turned into Parkour (freestyle walking) and played around a bit on the ramps, tables and jumps. We walked up to a beautiful church… got lost, and finally found the main downtown area. Outside the downtown it seemed that no one was around. Even the downtown wasn’t too crowded. Apparently, Finland is one of Europe’s most sparsely populate countries, with 17 people per sq-km.

Our first stop was the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. We got a free audio tour on little iPods. Such a great idea. The art was very cool. I think contemporary art museums are my favorite. Lots of paintings, photography & film work with deeper social commentary and underlying themes.



After the museum we walked a short distance to the Cathedral and Senate Square. Magnificent buildings. We then wandered around to see the Uspenski cathedral, which was much more ornate that most churches. We had a quick bite to eat and zigzagged through local markets. All-in-all, it was a full day in Finland. I think we walked at least 6 miles all over town! We arrived back at the ship thoroughly worn out. I think we might still be recovering a bit from our full and amazing day in Sweden.

We decided to skip the formal dinner and instead eat on our own. Shushi! Steve of course was in heaven… you get to fill your own boat and its all you can eat. To be honest it was delicious too! Good sushi- travel-gambling – I’m afraid Steve will never want to leave.

Entertainment tonight was an Irish comedic/singer who gave us a Hoolie! Billy Boyle I believe… either my dad got all his material from this guy, or this guy stole it from my dad. Scary. I seriously knew all the jokes and songs. So, if you ever need a new career Dad, I think you could make the rounds as a cruise ship entertainer.

I’ve also had the Monty python “Finland” song in my head for 2 days! Its driving me a bit insane… here it is!



Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.Finland,
Finland, Finland.Finland has it all.

You're so sadly neglected
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.


Doing some rad jumps!

Sarah and Steve in Senate Square

Steve at the Museum of Modern Art

Sarah at the Museum