Warnemunde 08-21-08

Today, we arrived in Warnemunde, Germany. This is our ship, the Carnival Splendor.

Warnemunde is a seaside fishing community and beach destination for German nationals.

Along with fishing boats, there are a lot of personal sailing craft in the city.

Since the city has a port on the Baltic Sea, there are several lighthouses in the area.

Lynda and I climbed to the top of this lighthouse and got a really good view of the city.

You can see our ship in the distance over the downtown area of the city in this picture from the lighthouse.

This is the boardwalk along the beach from the top of the lighthouse.

The old windmill we visited had a restaurant on the ground level.

We took a few minutes to visit this old church and sat in the pews to meditate.

Lynda and I ate bratwurst at this roadside stand for lunch.

A typical street in the shopping area of Warnemunde.

The police cars in Germany don’t resemble those of the United States!

Copenhagen 08-20-08

On Wednesday, after a day at sea, we pulled into the harbor at Copenhagen, Denmark. The first site everyone goes to see is the Little Mermaid. This sculpture sits in the bay near where our ship was docked and is a major site seeing destination.

Copenhagen has numerous parks and statues. It is a clean city, but not as modern as some we will visit.

This is an example of one of the many fountains we have seen on our trip. We saw several more during our visit to this city.

This is a colorful shopping district on one of the downtown canals. There are several restaurants along the walkway.

Another park in the middle of one of the busiest intersections we encountered.

Just a reminder that the “law” is enforced everywhere you go.




In Copenhagen, the primary mode of travel is by bicycle. The city has several thousand bikes spread out all over and they are free to ride. You take one and ride to your destination, then drop it off and pick up another one when you need to travel again.

This building is in the middle of a square downtown and has several fountains and sculptures nearby.



This is a statue of Hans Christian Andersen that sits near the building in the past picture. He lived here and is famous for having written many children’s stories.

This is a downtown shopping district.



This is the entrance to Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest amusement parks in Europe. It was the inspiration for Walt Disney to design Disneyland.

Oftentimes, you see as many bicycles on the street as cars. They have designated lanes for bicyclists that are the width of a normal lane for cars.

This is the entrance to the Danish National Museum of Natural History. We spent quite a lot of time walking through it and taking photographs of the exhibits.

The museum has numerous exhibits of very old battle armor and weapons, such as these battle helmets.



Here is an example of some shields that have been used in battle.




They have several types of swords that have been preserved for antiquity.

The museum has an exhibit from Egypt that includes several mummies.

There is also some papyrus with hieroglyphics on it.

This statue is in the courtyard of the Royal Palace.








It appears that the Royal Guards take their jobs very seriously.














This is a picture of the Danish Royal Family.



This is a church we passed on the way back to the ship.




The City of Copenhagen as seen from the top of the ship as we are getting ready to leave.




Denmark appears to be serious about the use of alternative energy sources, as these wind turbans would indicate.

Dover 08-18-08

On Monday, it was time to leave London and head to Dover to catch our cruise ship. This is the port we left from in Dover.

This is the downtown section of Dover that our bus drove through to get us to the cruise ship.

After checking in, a brief orientation and life boat drill, it was time for the tugs to put us out to sea.

Here we have 4 happy sea cruisers with the white cliffs of Dover in the background.

Later Monday night, we were able to take in a full moon over the Baltic Sea.

London 08-17-08

On Sunday, we went for a ride on the London Eye. This is Lynda and I with Big Ben in the background.

This is Mark and Pat when we all went for a ride on the London Eye. At the top, you are 443 feet off the ground.

This is the view of the Thames River and downtown London from the top of the London Eye.

London 08-16-08

This is Lynda and I on the bridge near our hotel and Westminster Abbey is behind us. Our friend, Mark, took us on a walking tour Saturday morning and this was our start.

We stopped at Scotland Yard where Mark and I were able to converse with some law enforcement officers and trade stories about out jobs in different countries.





When the Royal Guards are working security, as you can see here, I don’t think it would be a good idea to mess with one.

London 08-15-08

We started this morning with a breakfast of pastry and juice on the lawn at Hyde Park.

After breakfast, we went on a 4 hour bike tour of downtown London. We ended up biking and walking 10.5 miles. During the trip, we saw some of London's oldest and most famous sites.

This is Buckingham Palace, where the Queen resides. She was not in this morning, but normally lives here Monday through Friday. The Royal Family has occupied this location for several hundred years.

While at Buckingham Palace, we caught the end of the changing of the guard. It was quite impressive, as the British are experts at putting on a show. There were mounted guards, a marching band, and of course the guard who were changing watch at the Palace.

This is Westminster Abbey. This is the church were all the Kings and Queens of England are crowned. All the members of the Royal Family are buried here. It is also the home of Big Ben, which is not the clock as most people think, but is actually the bell in the tower, which goes off on the hour and can be heard for miles.

We finished our bike tour at the memorial fountain for Princess Diana. The water is furnished by a natural spring 60 feet underground. As Lynda can attest (she waded in), it is very cold.

On Friday night we took a river cruise on the Thames River, which runs through the middle of London. This is a shot of Westminster Abbey and Big Ben at sunset from the boat.

We sat on the top deck of the ship and that is the London Eye behind Lynda.














This is the millennium bridge. It glows red on one side and blue on the other.

This is the tower bridge which crosses the Thames River next to the Tower of London, which is a very old castle that used to house the Royal Family.

This is what is left of the Tower of London, which burned down at one point during the 1800’s.