Category: Europe

Tallinn, Estonia – BEEN THERE GOT THE T-SHIRT

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Estonia is a country situated  in Northern Europe it has borders on the west with the Baltic Sea, on the north with the Gulf of Finland, on the south with Latvia and on the east with Lake Peipsi and Russia. It was formally part of The Soviet Union. Soviet authorities recognised Estonian independence on 6 September 1991, and on 17 September 1991 Estonia was admitted into the United Nations. 

Estonia consists of the mainland and a lot of islands……if you ask one Estonia they’ll tell you 1500 and if you ask another you’ll be told 2300 Islands….so I’ll just say a lot!!! The largest islands are Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. Estonia covers a total of 17,504 square miles(45,335sqkm).  It has a very diverse terrain which includes rocky beaches, old forests and many lakes. It’s attractiveness is not just one of scenery but it also in its very aesthetically beautiful castles, churches and hilltop fortresses. 

We visited Estonia as part of a Northern Europe, Capital city, cruise with Princess Cruises. We had had it booked before the arrival of the pandemic and it had been moved twice….so we were delighted to finally go  even though the itinerary was much changed from our original booking. This had been pre-invasion of Russia into Ukrainian and had included both St Petersburg and Helsinki, both of which were removed from the itinerary, the former because it was a country at war and the later because it was too close to Russia. 

Our trip to Estonia included a day trip to Tallinn, it’s capital city. Tallinn has a population of about 461,000. Tallinn is renowned for its preserved Old Town and museums. Our coach picked us up at the port and took us to the monument complex which commemorates the victims of communism. 

Our next stop was the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds it is valued architecturally and is the first post-war building in Tallinn which was completed in 1960. When not being used for The Song Festival the park is open for walking, sports activities and having a picnic. There is a beautiful statue of Gustav Ernesaks  who was an Estonia composer who died in 1993. The statue of him sitting overlooking the festival ground was erected in 2004. 

The coach parked up outside the old city walls and we followed our guide to Toompea Hill. Toompea or “Upper Town” is the home of some of Tallinn’s oldest architectural wonders and home to Palace Square. Our first stop was Alexander Nevsky Cathedral . This is a historic Russian Orthodox Cathedral. St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral serves as the dominating landmark in Palace Square, the cathedral’s cupolas and golden crosses rise high above the rooftops.

Turn your back on the Cathedral and you come face to face with Toompea Castle. The castle with its late Baroque façade was built between 1767 and 1773 and sits on the site of the foundations of a 13th century fortress. It’s outside wall is pink which was an attractive contrast to the wet dark cobbles of the area on this particular grey rainy day. The castle is now home to the Parliamentary buildings.

We then slipped and slid our way around the streets, if it hadn’t been for the heavy rain we would have been more enthusiastic about the history and beauty of the quaint streets. Instead of concentrating on what our guide was saying we were more concerned with staying upright and keeping warm. We made our way to Piiskopi Viewing point. It was worth it …the views were terrific. We looked down on Lowe Old Town. Our guide pointed out many buildings but we were ready to scurry into a tourist souvenir shop and get into the warm and out of the rain for a few minutes.

We made our way back to the coach which returned us to the port terminal. The weather really impacted on our tour and we were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t appreciate this obviously beautiful historical capital city….maybe sometime we will get to visit again.

A trip to The Netherlands.

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I have always called it Holland but my Dutch friend is very quick to remind me that North Holland and South Holland are just two of the 12 Provinces of The Netherlands. It’s a bit like us, in the UK, calling  Scotland and Wales Britain..!!!!  The Netherlands official name is actually “ The Kingdom of The Netherlands”. It borders Germany to the east and Belgium to the south, and has a North Sea coastline to the north and west. It’s population is 17.9 million people all living in its relatively small area of 16,160 sq miles ( 41,850 sq Km), this makes it the 33rd most densely populated country in the world. It’s quite amazing that with this high level of population it is the 2nd largest exporter of food and agricultural products ( by value) in the world. This is obviously due to its fertile(much has been reclaimed from the sea) land, mild climate and its eco life style.

During the past two years we have enjoyed visiting The Netherlands twice, this blog is the first of our visits which took place at the end of November/beginning of December, we went for 6 nights.  The Netherlands has 4 large cities which are Amsterdam Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. We visited the first 3 cities along with smaller towns and Villages. Amsterdam is the country’s most populous city and is known as the capital city though the political national institutions are located in The Hague.
We based ourselves in a village called Hendrick-ido-Ambacht, approx 11miles south-east of Rotterdam. A quaint village with a great network off buses. We stayed at B&B ‘t Ambacht. A boutique Bed and Breakfast which occupies a 100 year old building. The building was the village bakery and the shower in our very pretty bedroom was actually in one of the old brick built ovens. The authentic warm decoration brings back its glorious history. It costs about £113 per double per night,  inclusive of a fantastic breakfast, most of which is made on the premises.

From here we took trips out. Although we had hired a car, from the garage in the village, it wasn’t really necessary as we used buses, trains and trams most of the time. 

Our fist visit was to the nearby UNESCO World Heritage site of Kinderdijk. Kinderdijk is a small village in the the Netherlands’ South Holland province. It is well known for its iconic 18th-century windmills. Its has 19 mills and 3 pumping stations, plus dikes and reservoirs that control water levels in the low-lying surrounding land. At the main visitors centre you can buy a ticket to take a boat for €19.50 weekend and €18.00 Weekdays. The boat takes you to  2/3 of the windmills which are set up as museums and working museums. It allows you to hop-on and hop-off…..although I expect in the summer and at weekends it sticks to a stricter timetable than when we visited, in late autumn. Many of the windmills are privately owned and lived in. It is a beautiful area, if you don’t fancy the boat there are cycle and footpaths which crisscross the area. 

On returning to the visitors centre we warmed up with a hot drink and one of Hollands famous pastries……John of course couldn’t resist trying the clogs on…..

Our sightseeing continued to Delft…the weather was most inclement but we still braved the conditions and had a nice wander around…we of course had to purchase a delft Christmas bauble…admittedly it was about all we could afford, and even that was €25!!!

We continued our sightseeing with a visit to Dordrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague.

The three days passed at speed and it was soon time to return to Amsterdam for 2 more days. We booked a tour with Viator. It was a full-day tour to Zaanse Schans ( another area with windmills), Edam ( the town where the famous cheese originates from and a cheese factory), Volendam ( a seaside town known for its old fishing boats and traditional clothing), with round-trip transfer from central Amsterdam ensuring a hassle-free trip. We saw windmills, waterlands, cheese makers, and clog factories up close, and learnt about the region’s rich history directly from a professional guide, with tasters of cheese and other local produce. The price of the ticket also included a 1-hour canal sightseeing tour right after the tour, ending at Amsterdam Central Station. The day ticket cost £31 per person, which we thought was tremendous value.

We were fortunate enough to have visited just as the canal based festival of light show had commenced for the Christmas run-up……..the photos certainly don’t do it justice…

Our second day in Amsterdam we spent taking the Hop-on Hop-off bus around the cities sights…. My highlight was the diamond cutting company, which I found totally fascinating. We explored the red light area, cathedral, quaint streets, restaurants before finally getting a rickshaw back to our hotel.

Our 6 nights were over very quickly and it was soon time take the train back to the airport for our easyJet flight back to Luton airport. It had been a great 6 nights. Our hotel in Amsterdam was small, expensive and to say it was B&B was a figment of their imagination, unless they think one croissant each constitutes breakfast!! ….Our experiences lead us to believe that this is normal for hotels in countries capital cities….our Amsterdam hotels saving Grace was that it was walking distance to the station and all the main attractions, and if you were too tired to walk a rickshaw could be hailed..

Monaco – BEEN THERE GOT THE T-SHIRT

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Monaco

It was in my teens when Monaco first fascinated me and it has been on my ‘bucket list’ ever since.
You see I was confused. My stamp album referred to it as the Principality of Monaco, and on asking the question of my father, he informed me ‘A Principality is a country ruled over by a Prince’. That raised a second question in my mind ‘well doesn’t our Queen rule over Wales, which I’ve often heard referred to as a Principality? Never mind, back to Monaco.
Then, in my working life, I was told that this small nation has more millionaires as a percentage of total population than any other country on earth (recently estimated at 30%). There was always a suspicion that this local wealth might be subjected to what we would today probably call money laundering.
Incidentally, if you fancy a little piece of this nation’s real estate, then expect to pay in the region of 50,000 US dollars per square metre (YES!- that’s per square METRE!)
The country has, in fact, a population of just under 40,000. It is the second-smallest state in the world, behind Vatican City, and is also the most densely populated with these residents squeezed into just 2 square kilometres, bordered by France and Italy today. Once a colony of Genoa, Monaco has been ruled over by the Grimaldi family for centuries, with Prince Albert II currently the country’s Sovereign Prince as head of state.

So, fast forward to April 2016 and our Mediterranean cruise ship was booked to call at the French Riviera resort of Cannes. It was a ‘no brainer’ with Monaco just over thirty miles from the port, a day in the Principality was too good to resist. As they said in that 1969 movie it was ‘Monte Carlo or bust!’
Arriving in Monaco, we could see that the preparations were well advanced for the famous Grand Prix event, for which the country takes six weeks to set up and a further three weeks to disassemble.
Our whistle stop tour took us, first, to watch the ‘Changing of the Guard’ at the Prince’s Palace in Palace Square, similar to our own ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Then it was on to the cathedral of St. Mary the Immaculate, a view of the Marina with surely one of the world’s most impressive collections of super yachts, and a chance to admire the magnificent floral displays in the Principality.

Our final stop was at the Hotel de Paris and the world famous Casino.

We resisted a flutter and soon came back down to earth and met up with our coach to take us back to Cannes and our cruise ship. But we had, for just a few hours, stepped into a different world.

Gotland, Sweden – BEEN THERE GOT THE T-SHIRT

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Gotland is a large Swedish island and province in the Baltic Sea. It is located about 90 km / 56 miles east of the Swedish mainland and about 130 km/81miles from Latvia. 

On arriving at the cruise port we disembarked and decided to walk into the main town. As luck would have it a hop-on-hop-off bus arrived and was touting for business. We negotiagated a good rate and climbed up on to the upper deck. It’s usual price is approx £35 per person.

The bus took us along the coast to a holiday village which looked very nice. After which we went quite away along a quiet road looking at the flora and fauna. This is an eco/ green island…known as little paradise.

We turned around and came back along the outer side of the walled city of Visby
Visby, is the biggest town on Gotland it is distinguished by its cobblestone streets and well-preserved medieval city wall, (‘ringmuren’).

We disembarked the HOHO bus and entered the walled city of Visby via one of the arches in the wall

Visby is also home to the grand, centuries-old St. Mary’s Cathedral, built at the end of the 12th century.

Visby also has many medieval churches around which include St. Nicolai and St. Karin. Nearby, Gotlands Museum traces the island’s natural and cultural history with art and artifacts.

We wandered around the cobbled streets which make you feel as if you’ve been transported to medieval times. The quaintness of the residential streets of Visby, with their idyllic cottages, contribute to the town’s unique charm.

Finally we wound our way back towards the HOHO bus, stopping to eat a tub of ice cream before being transported back to the ship. A lovely place to spend a day.

Sicily – BEEN THERE GOT THE T-SHIRT

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Been there – got the T-shirt.

SICILY

The island of Sicily is the largest in the Mediterranean Sea, and home to around five million people. It lies off the ‘boot’ of Italy, about three miles from the mainland separated by the Strait of Messina.

Messina is the island’s third largest city, behind Palermo, the capital, and Catania. It is also a popular calling port for many cruise companies, with the Golden Statue of the Madonna sitting at Messina’s harbour entrance as cruise ships pass on their arrival on the island.


Perhaps the island’s most famous icon is the impressive Mount Etna. At 11,000 feet, Etna is both one of tallest volcanos in Europe and one of the continent’s most active. Its snow-covered peak can easily be seen on arriving by cruise ship.

For us the island’s stand-out place to visit, particularly if time is limited, is the beautiful old town of Taormina, perched high on a cliff overlooking the Ionian Sea. Its main street is Via Roma with quaint, narrow streets to either side and its cathedral, Duomo di Taormina, sits proudly at its centre. A stroll in this town will not disappoint but, be warned, it can be crowded, particularly at the height of the season!