St. Petersburg, Day One: Doherty Baltic Adventure

We had a two day stop in St. Petersburg and, due to visa requirements, were faced with the decision of either staying on ship for two days, or booking a tour with an agency, which would grant us a short-term entry visa. We went for the tour option, and mom and Shannon did some careful pre-planning and research to arrange a private van to take us around the city. We left the ship, cleared customs, and found our guide, and we were on our way. The first stop was along the main river that cuts through town. The guide explained some of the statues and buildings alongside the river. Then we transferred to the subway system and went for a ride on the subway, deep underground.

For the next portion of the tour, we drove further outside the city to the Peterhof Palace, which was a massive structure with a wonderful, expansive garden dotted with around 200 water fountains. The area was beautifully landscaped – I would love to have a job just mowing the palace lawns!

We followed this with a visit to The Catherine Palace, another massive structure that was similar in size and beauty to Peterhof. We actually walked inside this palace, while the focus at Peterhof was only outside on the grounds, and the decoration inside was neat. Every room had some kind of distinguishing feature.

Then we returned to the main walking street of the city, where I tried to exchange my currency (I was carrying Chinese yuan, U.S. dollars, Euros, Danish kroners, and Russian rubles at this time). After spending some time at the money counter, we strolled along and Shannon bought a painting at a small grouping of art tents. Then we ended up at another cathedral.

Back on the ship, we feasted at the restaurant, Tamarind, for an Asian-themed dinner.

for more St. Petersburg Day One photos, go here

Copenhagen: Doherty Baltic Adventure

I’d been to Copenhagen on my last trip to Europe with Shannon, and we’d seen a lot of the major tourist attractions. Taken into account with the overwhelming city life in Shanghai (a city of 23 million or so), I wanted to make this portion of the trip a time to get some fresh air and ‘get out of the city.’ So I booked a room at a nice bed-and-breakfast cottage. When I got in the taxi and the driver asked me, “why did you book something so far away?,” I knew I had made the right decision. The cottage had its own chickens and the other properties nearby had horses. I was out in the country side, I reckon, about a twenty minute walk from the coast, and I enjoyed those two nights, and one day, of down-time. On my second morning there, I had an early breakfast, then followed the nice owner’s directions to take a bus to the train system, and then to the cruise terminal.

When I arrived, Shannon was already outside waiting for me! We chit-chatted and practiced what would become our ‘vacation prance’ dance moves, while we waited for boarding time to begin. Shannon is friends with one of the photographers, so we just goofed around and took some rather ridiculous photos for our entrance image, not expecting that he’d actually give us the images for free later that night, haha! Once on board, the waiting game began. We knew mom and dad’s flight should be on time, but we were worried they’d get lost in the airport. We made an attempt to take the train to the airport, thought better of it, and then returned to sit by a window and scout for their arrival. Nothing. We waited. Still nothing. Then the mandatory emergency drill began, which meant time to leave shore was very near, so we were pretty nervous. Turns out mom and dad were held up at the boarding gate because of this drill, because no one can come on board at that time. Then they were allowed on, but they must have come aboard before we had a chance to see them. So Shannon and I raced around the ship in a mad search.

I went to the front desk and the employee gave me the report, play-by-play as: “no, they haven’t arrived…oh wait, they just checked in outside…now they should be boarding, right now!” So I raced down to the gangway but missed them there, then raced up to their room and there they were! Shannon was inside, so she had already beaten me to the first hugs, and it was such a delightful family moment, reuniting in Europe on the cruise ship!

The second most important thing to happen that day (after finding the parents) was the distribution of goodies: we pried open the suitcases and dug through all the familiar stuff they’d brought from home and that our ever-caring aunties had sent. Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful goodies!

At Sea: Doherty Baltic Adventure

Our first day and night on the cruise ship was spent at sea. We enjoyed a casual breakfast at the restaurant, did some working out, and toured the ship. Shannon and Mom went to one of the dance classes, while dad and I went to a health seminar in the gym. The time passed quickly (as it often does when we're doing nothing) and before we knew it, it was time for dinner (with a formal dress code) and then Shannon's show. The show was amazing, with performer of the night award going to Shannon, according to the Doherty review group. I was feeling a bit tired, I have to admit, and must have looked a bit sour from my seat in the front section of the audience. Well, Shannon caught me and she briefly flashed a sour face while spinning out a dance move, then was back to her wonderful stage smile. I made sure to keep my face straight after that!

Estonia: Doherty Clan Baltic Adventure

Our first day back on dry land began with us moving from sitting on the 936ft cruise ship to sitting on a 30ft log on the pier, which had been dragged up from the bottom of the sea! After a few pictures in front of the ship, we put our best feet forward and walked into what felt like medieval Europe (with modern day comforts). The small town had old architecture, a city wall, and a cool looking watch tower.

Lots of the local businesses staff were wearing traditional outfits to fit the time period; we stopped at a stall for some tasty roasted almonds, then entered a restaurant and really stepped back into time. The menu was written in old, Renaissance English, the walls were decorated with beautiful tapestries, but prices had definitely been adjusted for modern inflation rates! Dad and I snacked on some elk jerky, washed down with a nice honey beer.

Further in to town, we climbed the stairs of a bell tower that overlooked the whole area. The view was very nice. Having spent eight months living on the top of Shanghai, where even my rooftop view of the city was only privy to other views of other skyscrapers, the view of low rises, single and two story homes, surrounded by trees and parks, along the beach was remarkable. We left the tower and walked through the town some more, including along an interesting kid’s park / play place that really got the teacher in the family interested.

In order to get back to the ship at the end of the tour, we had to first get past one major obstacle: a semi-truck full of chocolate! Resistance was futile: we stopped and loaded up on supplies for late night snacks and souvenirs.

We had dinner at the normal dining room on the cruise ship, then spent family time in my stateroom, with the girls watching some of Disney’s Anastasia to get ready for the next day in Russia, and the men on internet duty.

Me
Best memory: Exploring medieval Europe with the family
Fave spot: The restaurant where we had some kind of deer/elk jerky, drank honey beer, and were transported back to the middle ages.

Dad
Best memory: Shopping at the chocolate truck!
Fave spot: Restaurant, eating elk jerkey, olives, and drinking honey beer.

Shannon
Best memory: Exploring the medieval town with the fam
Fave spot: The bell tower with a beautiful view of the ship and the town

Mom

Best memory: You mean, other than having you and Shannon there for all sorts of spontaneous photo shoots???? I liked scaling the 258 steps up to the top of St. Olaf’s Church…coming down those 258 steps was not as much fun! (This church was once the tallest building in the world!)

Fave spot: The medieval looking café with costumed wait staff and beautiful menus, “Delicious Dishes of the Merchant’s Home”, made me feel like we were transported to another place and time!

For more photos of Estonia, go here

Overview: Doherty Clan Baltic Adventure

 

When I discovered that another family at my bed and breakfast in Copenhagen shared the same family name as my family, I thought that was a strange coincidence. But when the coincidence turned uncanny, as in one of the family members was a retired firefighter (like my brother), and they were from Colorado, and they were going to be on the same cruise ship as my family and I, I knew the cruise trip was going to be full of awesome, happy surprises that we'd never expected. Since a lot of our conversations with these Doherty's centered around Ireland and the Doherty family reunion that takes places every five years, I figured the trip needed a good name as well. And so it was, the Doherty Clan Baltic Adventure began!

Below is a brief overview that highlights the family favorites from the trip. We had an excellent tour guide along for the whole time - Shannon - who had visited all of these places before. If you are thinking about jumping on one of the cruise's with Shannon, she will be happy to see you! She summarized the trip with these words: "It was a lot of fun showing my family the places I remember exploring from my past trips here, as well as experiencing new things! I love traveling with the Doherty (and Ford!) clan!!!!!"

Dad

Fave country: Russia
Fave site we visited: Peterhof Palace
Best food eaten: borsch
Best dessert: Cherries jubilee
Best place on the ship: Captain’s bridge!
Best part about being on a cruise: Eating all the food without having to make it, plus the entertainment!
Fave show: Night Life

Fave souvenir: Commie t-shirt

Mom

Fave country: Russia (I liked having our personal tour guide show and tell us about her home country. I enjoyed listening to her talk to other Russians in their native language.)

Fave site we visited: Peterhof Palace and Garden. WOW! Talk about living in style! Simply gorgeous setting!

Best food eaten: Tomato soup and an assortment of breads at a café in Copenhagen, when Tim and I were left to survive on our own in Europe:)  The restaurant overlooked one of the town squares where we watched a crepe maker create her crepes for the people going to and from the Jazz Festival! We went to the Jazz festival after dinner. We also returned to the crepe maker the next evening, for our final treat in Copenhagen before we flew home. Melanie had raved about the tomato soup from her travels to Europe, so I had to go with her recommendation.

Best dessert: An ice cream that Shannon and I pretty much devoured in record time! Sadly, Tim managed only a bite or two. This was in a favorite café/internet stop, for the dancers and cast members in Kiel, Germany.

Best place on the ship: Obviously, the theater, but after that, the Crow’s Nest. I liked playing games and looking out the massive windows at ports and being surrounded by the beauty of the ocean!

Best part about being on a cruise: Besides having Shannon and Sean in the same place at the same time, and there was no place to run…I loved the amenities: no cooking or washing dishes, no laundry, plus, somebody else ready and willing to drive us to our next destination! There was always something fun to do.

Fave show: Nightlife, because Shannon was highlighted with each male dancer and she rocked the boat!!!! This was followed closely in second place, by Sean’s Jive performance in the Dancing with the Stars at Sea competition!

Fave souvenir: The book, A Material Life, we bought for Ivan in Copenhagen. After marveling at the history and architecture which surrounded us in every port, we happened upon this resource. We hope it will inspire Ivan with his portfolio.

Shannon
Fave country: Sweden
Fave site we visited: Catherine’s Palace
Best food eaten: Russian pancake
Best dessert: Chocolate soufflé
Best place on the ship: Tamarind Restaurant
Best part about being on a cruise: Traveling the world with your family!
Fave show: Nightlife
Fave souvenir: Painting from St. Petersburg and the pictures with the family

Me

Fave country: Denmark
Fave site we visited: Hermitage Museum
Best food eaten: my daily breakfast: berries and granola muesli, with a Denver omelette, and a Sante Fe omelette
Best dessert: everything with chocolate!
Best place on the ship: The captain’s bridge
Best part about being on a cruise: chillaxin’ with family
Fave show: both of Shannon’s shows that I saw were awesome!

Fave souvenir: cruise ship jacket that dad and I both purchased

All by Myself...

After having spent the past six months living with an incredible mix of people, fluctuating from 3-6 roommates at a time from different countries all around the world, I decided it was time for a change. So I've traded in the 29th floor penthouse apartment in the heart of downtown Shanghai, for a 4th floor apartment, also centrally located downtown, but in a nice, secluded part of the city that is fairly well isolated from city life. Beautiful trees grow in the courtyard and throughout the neighborhood, hiding the surrounding high-rises. In the morning, instead of hearing the chorus of traffic floated up to my window on the 29th floor, I wake up to the sound of bird songs and tai chi music downstairs. And the best part: I'm on my own now - no roommates :-)

Here are some pictures of my new place:

Passing the Time in Shanghai

Life has been much too busy lately, between work and a few other projects I have on my plate, so I haven't had much time for typing up longer updates, as is my style. I have been able to enjoy some different places and activities in Shanghai recently, so at the very least, I will post some pictures so everyone knows I'm still having fun these days, despite the busy work grind!

I went to an English Corner (for locals to practice their English with foreigners and make new friends) in a very random, kind of run-down part of the city and, lo-and-behold, the coffee shop is a almost perfect replication of the coffee shop featured on the Friends TV series. The coffee shop's TV was locked on repeat episodes of Friends, the coffee (I was told by those who imbibe) was good, and the event was fun. So interesting to see a place like this that felt, really, like it was lost within the city: a real hole in the wall.

Here's a view from my apartment with the sunset; the weather has been getting warmer and we are able to enjoy more sun on a daily basis.

This past Sunday afternoon, I went with my German roommate, Fabian, for some rock climbing at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium. It was certainly the biggest wall I've ever looked upon, not to mention been on. But I made it up all the way - two times!...on the beginner course. When I tried a more difficult course, I could only go about 1/3 of the way.

Kind of looks like I'm going up the side of an apartment - but scaling buildings is more for my firefighter brother to do!