24 May 2007:

I just noticed that yesterday’s posting was incomplete and that the title didn’t make much sense to folks on the email list since the title was ‘Sunset Over The Baltic”, but I made no mention of either sunset or the Baltic. Sorry about that....I was attempting to compose the email and cobble together a webpage from three different sets of files and in the middle of everything I lost the wireless connection. When I finally got it back for a few seconds I sent the incomplete email and then promptly lost the connection again. It took another 6 hours to get back online and finish the webpage, which now has photos of a sunset over the Baltic, but still no mention of it because somewhere in all that I lost my train of thought where I was waxing eloquent about the sun and the sea. Perhaps I’ll be able to recover that prose from the miss-firing synapses of my brain later in the voyage.

We are in Stockholm, which after this long on the boat, is starting to look very much like Copenhagen or Amsterdam, except that the weather was brilliantly sunny. While sailing in through the Stockholm archipelago it was overcast and cold, but as we docked the sun appeared and it has been a fine day. After the extensive walking in Copenhagen I opted for a shuttle bus ride from the ship into town and then just wandered about looking at landmarks that I could find from the map. Sadly, I did not do my homework and learn much about the history and culture of Sweden......as I mentioned before, I may be reaching ‘culture overload’....but I can tell you have Stockholm is a very pleasant place. Not that I spent all day just sitting in a café drinking beer......although, I did sit in a café and drink beer for a while....but I visited the Palace, saw the Palace Guards, walked passed the Parliament, and the Nobel Museum and visited a church and the Great Square where the Stockholm massacre occurred and spent a little time shopping in the giant NK store. But, little of the history or grandeur stayed with me. What stayed with me was that it was just a very pleasant place to wander around in. Perhaps I’ll learn more of the history on another trip....and I would like to make another trip.

For the record, the shop keepers and waiters that I encountered spoke good English and were very helpful. Everything was very convenient and I never felt uncomfortable about crime or crowds. You do want to have a few coins of Swedish currency....the WCs are mostly “pay before you go” and change machines are not readily available. The lack of proper coinage led me to make a pit stop at a café for a sandwich and beer.....OK, it was 2 beers....which cost about $42 with tip. That was a fairly expensive bathroom break. But there was the entertainment of watching the parade of people walking around the city. The Swedes, like the Danes and the Dutch are a very handsome people..........which is my politically correct way of saying that there are a bunch of hot babes in this part of the world.....Ann-Margret, I see where you came from. (Note: for those of you too young to know Ann-Margret look for her earlier pictures...like with Elvis....not the “Grumpier Old Men” stuff...although she was pretty hot in that one too).

As I type this the Star Princess is sailing out through the Stockholm archipelago under now cloudy skies and in the fading twilight. It is extraordinarily calm and peaceful. Everything is tinted blue and light grey...water, trees and sky...I can hear music playing softly in the background coming from some corner of the ship. Tonight we head towards Helsinki, Finland........and as I typed those words, the sun broke through the clouds for a couple of brief minutes, just before setting.....so, I had to interrupt these thoughts and grab the camera for a few minutes....it was a fine farewell to Sweden.

We lose another hour tonight....and then do it again tomorrow night as well. Also, while in St. Petersburg (Saturday and Sunday) I will be on all-day and most-of-the-night tours so I don’t know if I’ll post much for the next several days. I’ll try, but I may have to wait for a sea-day to catch up.

Distance sailed from Fort Lauderdale is 6437 nautical miles. Distance remaining to our next port in Helsinki is 181 miles.