We got up to find a beautiful sunny morning. After eating breakfast at the hotel, we went out to explore Munich. We found it strange to see people at sidewalk cafés drinking their morning beers. We spent a morning in Munich and decide to go to Salzburg, Austria which was a short train ride away. Using our rail pass, we took the train to Salzburg. It is one the most beautiful cities we have seen. It is along a river with the Alps rising behind. We spent the a...

We had intended to send the night in Copenhagen but since we arrived a day early, we decide to spend an extra day in Munich. Using our Euro rail pass, we got a 1st class reservation to Munich through Hamburg. We boarded a clean modern train. European 1st class tickets get you seats in small cabins, usually holding about 6 people. We frequently have a cabin to ourselves, at most 2 others. Copenhagen is on an island. We were wondering how the train would get to the...

We were supposed to stop in Tallinn, Estonia yesterday but the captain decided that it was too dangerous due to high seas and wind. Instead he headed straight to Copenhagen, getting us there a day early for an unplanned overnight. We docked about a half hour walk from downtown, but it was a nice day so we decided to walk. We passed by the famous Little Mermaid, and it is indeed, surprisingly tiny. We passed the Nyhavn tourist area with its restaurants and lots of...

We spent 2 days in St. Petersburg. Our original plan was to do some exploring on our own. Russia requires a Visa unless you are taking a tour with a licensed tour company. We did get our Visas but after talking with several folks on board, we decided that going on our own was not a good idea. No taxi companies or tour companies are allowed to pick up people unless prior arrangements have been made. There are private cars but we were not about to get into one of t...

Helsinki is a fairly new city, being established in the 1800's, so it does not have the classic look of the other cities we have been visiting. It is very clean and the people are friendly. The ship docked close to downtown. We visited a thriving market near the port and then decided to see one of the major tourist attractions, the Stone Church. As the name says, it is a church built into a stone cliff. It looks almost like a cave. We took the local tram there, a...