John and CB's Most Excellent Adventure

After a fabulous few days in Paris, we took an early morning train to Bruges, Belgium to meet up with Happy Meal–a dear friend from university!  He was living in Brussels for a few months, so we opted to explore Bruges one day and head to Brussels for a couple of nights.  We walked around Bruges for the better part of the morning and found the Beer Wall before settling down for a delicious lunch in one of the squares.

So happy to see Happy Meal!!!

The Beer Wall!

Love this guy!

Sampler

Celebrating John’s birthday at lunch.  Yum!

After lunch, we walked around a few of the shops–my favourite:  the cookies!

My dream store–a cookie shop!

Next, we took a cruise along the canals.  I was completely charmed by the beauty of Bruges, but when I looked over, both of the boys were asleep!!!

All aboard!

Beautiful canals

Gorgeous.

Looks like a fairy tale…

After a lovely day exploring Bruges, we hopped the train to Brussels, had a delicious dinner and headed to Happy Meal’s apartment for a good night’s rest.

The next morning, we set out to explore Brussels, Happy Meal’s new city and seeing as he had only been there for three days, we got to discover it together!  Our first stop:  Brussels’ famous fountain–Manneken Pis.

Manneken-Pis

Not impressed…

Brussels also has some great examples of Art Nouveau architecture.

Old England Building–a beautiful example of art nouveau architecture in Brussels.

And of course we had to visit the Grand Place.

Grand Place

Grand Place

We ended our final day together with a low key dinner at Chez Leon on Rue de Bouchers and a nightcap in the Grand Place.

rue des Bouchers

Mussels in Brussels–escargot style!

Grand Place at twilight…so beautiful!

Some live music to enjoy in the Plaza.

I loved this tower!

Love these guys!

We can’t wait to get back to Brussels, explore some of the awesome museums, and soak up more of the Belgian culture (chocolate, beer, mussels, etc.).   And…Happy Meal…can’t wait to see you again 🙂

In September, my parents and two other couples I have known ever since I can remember made the trip across the pond to London and together we had an adventure in Paris!  The photos below are just the photos from my camera (I believe there are 2,000 more documenting everything we did), so forgive photographic any gaps in our time together!

The crew landed in London late in the evening and the next morning we were off to Borough Market and then walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral via Southbank.  From St. Paul’s Cathedral we rode the double decker bus (on the top deck, of course) to Westminster Abbey and Parliament.

The ultimate London experience: top deck of a double decker bus!

After a busy first day, we started the second morning by attending the service at our church (St. Helen’s Bishopsgate) and then walked a few hundred meters for brunch at one of the most popular restaurants in London:  Duck and Waffle.  It’s on the 40th floor of Heron Tower and offers spectacular views of London.

Brunch at Duck and Waffle

After a delicious lunch, we headed to the Tower of London, then to our flat (we had just moved three months prior) and The Gun (our favorite pub) for dinner.

The next morning, the crew started with a tour of Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Park before checking out the Churchill War Rooms.  Then, we were off to high tea which the gentlemen found to be surprisingly filling.

Good morning, Mom and Daddy!! The crew at high tea.

After high tea, we headed over to Knightsbridge for a bit of shopping at Harrod’s!

Shopping is exhausting! Taking a break at Harrods.

After catching the morning Eurostar to Paris, we checked into our hotel and headed out to explore and grab some delicious french food!

Daddy is excited to be in Paris!

After a late lunch, we wandered down the Champs-Élysées and took in the sights and sounds of Paris before settling in for a quick dinner.  We were all exhausted, so we turned in for an early night.

The next morning, after acquiring our museum passes, we popped into the Louvre for a whirlwind tour!

Winged Victory at the Louvre

Obligatory Mona Lisa photo. I decided to include everyone else taking the obligatory Mona Lisa photo.

Next we walked along the Seine and onto the Île de la Cité to visit Sainte-Chapelle and the Notre Dame.

Beautiful stained glass windows in Sainte-Chapelle

Action shot–checking out the beautiful glass!

At the top of the Notre Dame–amazing experience to share together!

Watching over Paris with the resident gargoyles.

We watched the Notre Dame light up for the evening from a sidewalk cafe before heading back to the hotel.

Dinner at a sidewalk cafe.

Notre Dame selfie–with a Priscilla photo-bomb!

The next morning, we wandered through the winding streets of Montmartre to reach Sacré-Cœur.

Next stop, one of my favorite places in Paris: Sacré-Cœur!

Beautiful ladies and a beautiful view!

After visiting the Basilica, we walked through the Artist Quarter before grabbing some lunch.  Next, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and took a river cruise before settling in for a delicious dinner atAU BON ACCUEIL PARIS–my favorite meal in Paris!

Love love love this picture of my parents!

Serving the velouté

A. MAZING.

The next morning, we hopped the train for Versailles to explore the beautiful palace.

Versailles!

Hall of Mirrors

After getting back to Paris, we made a quick trip through the Musee D’Orsay, then had a brief round of shopping before having dinner at a sidewalk cafe.  Our last stop was the Arc de Triomphe where we watched the hourly Eiffel Tower light show.  Such a perfect ending to the trip!

View of Eiffel Tower from Arc de Triomphe

Thanks to the Shelbyville crew for such an amazing trip!!

The next morning, the Shelbyville crew caught a plane back to the USA and John and I hopped a train to visit a friend in Belgium.

Shelbyville crew, we LOVED having you all here!!  Looking forward to many more adventures together.   Thanks for a wonderful trip!

As many of you know, we love to cruise. It’s a great cost-effective way of sampling lots of places.  Plus, it’s nice to get on the boat, disconnect for a while and constantly be waking up in new destinations.

This year, we went on a North Sea cruise to the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Scotland, and Norway.

Leaving Harwich–ready for the adventure!

Our first day was a day at sea.  We were so thankful for this as it gave us a chance to unwind and get into holiday mode.

Formal night! (Ignore the thumb in the top right corner. A sweet old man took this photo for us!)

Our first stop was Torshavn, Faroe Islands.  The Faroe Islands are a protectorate of Denmark and Torshavn is the smallest capital city in the world with a population of approximately 20,000 people.

Torshavn: city in a cloud

The buildings on Tinganes (meaning literally Parliament Jetty) are the site of the Faroese Home Rule government and one of the oldest parliament meeting locations in the world. Vikings began meeting here in 825.

Love the grass rooftops!

Next we climbed to a hilltop monument that was surrounded by a farm.  This sheep slipped through the fence and tried to eat my shoe!

John trying to defend me from the naughty sheep

Torshavn from the hilltop

Because the winds from the sea are so intense in Torshavn there are very few trees.  As a result, the government built this park to provide a nice sheltered green space for the community.

Checking out the park

Our next stop was Reykjavik, Iceland for an overnight stay.  The landscape in Iceland is incredible.  Vastly different than anywhere we had been before.  We started our morning with a long walk from the cruise port into town.

Happy to be in Iceland!

We explored the city of Reykjavik (it felt smaller than we expected) and then settled into a cafe for some coffee to warm up.

Obligatory photo in front of the Hallgrímskirkja Church.  The weather was AWFUL!!!!

Not only did we have a chance to visit the smallest capital city in the world (Torshavn) we also had a chance to visit the northern-most.  At 64 degrees north of the equator, Reykjavik wins this honor!

Icelandic Parliament

After a rainy morning exploring the city, we headed out to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal hot springs.  Nestled amongst lava fields, the mineral filled water was as relaxing as it was gorgeous.  It really is blue!

Warming up!

We loved swimming around and staying warm in the water with the air so chilly.  The water is so rich in minerals that you can’t see through it.  We also had the chance to put the silica mud on our faces for an unexpected facial!

John was not a fan of the texture…

Scary!!!!

Relaxed!  The landscape was amazing!

Gorgeous!

The next morning, we opted to do a “geothermal” tour of the area outside of Reykjavik.  It included a stop at a geothermal power plant, a geothermal park, and some gorgeous scenery created by seismic events.  The pictures tell the whole story.

Geothermal Power is AWESOME!!!

Reykjavik’s CO2 emissions since adopting geothermal power.

Hot spring at the Geothermal Park

Bread being cooked using the steam/heat from the geothermal park. It was yummy 🙂

Our final stop was a gorgeous view point over a lake.  Seriously beautiful.

Rift in the ground

We saw a rainbow!!!!

Simply stunning!

Watching the steam escape

Our next port:  Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland!  We decided to take a bike ride through the city and into the countryside along the coast.  Fortunately, since we have been in the UK for a while now, riding on the left was no problem!

A Shetland pony? Well, at least it’s a pony we found in Shetland.

We found the BIGGEST cows I’ve ever seen. These are supposed to be our scared faces because one kept staring us down..fail.

Peaceful ride.

The Knab

We saw several oil platforms during our trip–this is the closest we got to one.  Most were in the middle of the ocean while we were en route.

Oil platform

The next morning, our boat pulled into Geiranger, Norway where we did some exploring of the fjord.  But first, we hiked up to the top of a waterfall…

Norway!

A little pre-fjording hike

View of the Geirangerfjord from the top of the waterfall

Next–kayaking in the fjord!  After taking a boat taxi to the kayak launching point, we ended up kayaking a total of 10km and seeing three waterfalls.  A great way to experience this breathtaking site!

Off we go!

Kayaking selfie!

The water was soooo blue

The first waterfall.

Thankful that a fellow kayaker offered to take this photo!

The Seven Sisters Waterfall from below

Tall waterfall

The Friar

Love being on the water!

Kayaking on the fjord–one of our favourite adventures to date!

Perhaps the most impressive thing that happened that day occurred as we were sailing out of the fjord.  The ship’s captain opted to do a 360 degree turn between two waterfalls (the Seven Sisters and the Friar) so that everyone on the ship could get a great view.

Taken from the front of the ship–such an impressive maneuver!

A word about the food on the ship:  we ate like royalty.  So many delicious dishes served in interesting ways.  Below are a few of our top picks:

Lobster Flambé

Sushi Lollipops

Mezze Platter/Box

Build your own cupcakes!

Our final destination before heading back to England was in Bergen, Norway.  After so much exploration the previous days, we opted to do a quick walk around the city.  Our first stop was the Bergen fish market.  We heard it would be expensive, but had no idea how expensive.  We saw a plate of fish on sale for 65 Euros!!  In a fish market!  I think we’ll stick to Billingsgate 😉

Bergen Fish Market

Bryggen–the old wharf in Bergen (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Lots of cute narrow alleyways!

Finally, we headed back to England after a lovely trip.

Final sunset at sea…

Thank so much for reading!  Our next adventure will be coming soon!!!

In the cold winter months in Europe, you can count on one thing:  awesome Groupons to some fun cities!  This time we took off early one Saturday morning to Prague, Czech Republic!

After landing, we headed out to lunch.  On the way there, we spotted this cool apartment building.

Dancing House

For lunch, we enjoyed a delicious (and affordable) meal at U Kroka.  We had two appetizers, two mains, two desserts, two glasses of wine, two beers, and two espressos all for 32 Euros.  The quality of the food was amazing and we definitely had our fill–a great introduction to Czech food!  Highly recommend a visit to this restaurant!

PIckled sausage (this was on the menu at several places, we only tried it here)

Saddle of Rabbit

Light beer and dark beer–have never seen it served this way!

John and I agreed–the best thing we ate on the trip. “Misa Cake”–a traditional local cake!

After enjoying our long, delicious Czech feast, we strolled down the Vltava River to the Old Town to check out the historic district after sunset.

Strolling down the Vltava River–we found some swans!

The Castle District across the river

One of the many beautiful statues on the Charles Bridge

Church of Our Lady before Tyn all lit up

The Old Town Hall

The next morning, we ventured to the Jewish Quarter (Josefov).  Our first stop was the Old New Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Europe.

The Old New Synagogue:  built in 1270.

Jewish Town Hall

One of the most moving sites was the Old Jewish Cemetery, accessible from the Pinkas Synagogue which currently serves as a memory to the 77,000+ Jews that were removed from the Czech Republic and killed during the Holocaust.  There are more than 12,000 tombstones and more than 100,000 burials onsite, with some bodies stacked 12 deep.

Old Jewish Cemetery

Old Jewish Cemetery

Old Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery with Jewish Ceremonial Hall in background

Next we checked out a couple more synagogues and a church before heading back to the Old Town Square.

The Spanish Synagogue (modeled after the Alhambra on the inside)

Crystal Chandelier in St. Nicholas Church Old Town Square. Czech is known for it’s crystal–they sell it everywhere and it’s BEAUTIFUL!

Next stop, a little snack!

Coffee and a hot raspberry crepe at Grand Cafe Orient.

After our snack, we went to the Old Town Hall in the town square to the famous Prague Astronomical Clock.  Every hour, as the clock strikes, 15th century statues (including the 12 apostles and a skeleton representing death) move to celebrate the new hour.  We (along with several other tourists) braved the cold to watch the clock strike.  At the end of the show, we were rewarded with a live bugler trumpeting in the hour from the top of the tower.

Excited to be at the clock!

Astronomical Clock

After the show, we climbed the tower.  Honestly, this is the only tower we have climbed in Europe with lift (elevator)!

Loving the view!

Bird’s eye view of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn!

Loving the red rooftops!

For dinner that night, we took the metro out of the city center to a restaurant called Staroceska Krcma–a restaurant with no electricity (in the dining room).  So we ate another delicious, hearty Czech meal completely by firelight.

When in Czech! Trying John’s beer…

Love the ambiance!

On the way home, we got off the metro one stop early, to walk through Wenceslas Square (the site of numerous protests and the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that ended communist rule in the Czech Republic.

Wenceslas Square–the current centre of Prague. You can see the National Museum in the background.

The next morning, we awoke to a wonderful surprise:  it has snowed the night before!

Loving the snow!

First stop:  the Castle District!

St. Vitus Cathedral. One of the most stunning facades we’ve seen!

Inside St. Vitus Cathedral

An extremely ornate memorial

On our way out of the church, we saw the Czech Guard on their way to the changing of the guard.

I really wanted to be part of it!

Coats of Arms painted on the interior of the palace

Our final stop in the Castle District was Golden Lane, named for the 16th century alchemists who took up residence there.  Also on the edge of the castle wall, it’s where the soldiers and castle defenders lived.  It was a quaint street–fun to walk down.

Golden Lane

After a snack, we made our way to the Charles Bridge and the Mala Strana (Lesser Town) area of the city.

A delicious Czech snack:  the Trdelnik!

The Charles Bridge (construction began in the 1300s) has 30 statues and three towers and is arguably the centre of historic Prague.  No trip to Prague is complete without a stroll down the bridge!

Walking down the Charles Bridge

One of the beautiful statues and a bridge tower

View of Charles Bridge looking towards Lesser Town.

On our way to the Museum Kampa, we stumbled across the Lennon Wall.  Since the 1980’s the wall has been filled with Lennon inspired graffiti and Beatles song lyrics.

Lennon Wall

The Museum Kampa is a modern art museum that showcases the work of central European and Czech artists.

Interior of the Kampa Museum

Modern Art

Installation on the River Vltava

After leaving the museum, we had time for one last Czech meal before returning to London.  We finished with Rynerovy Koule, a delicious dessert dumpling (like a Chinese dim sum bao) filled with raspberry and topped with bits of cottage cheese.  Absolutely delicious.

Rynerovy Koule

Prague is one of our favorite cities in Europe, thus far.  We love the history, the people (very friendly) and the food.  Central Europe has been a great place to visit, definitely looking forward to exploring more.  Can’t wait to go back to Prague–maybe it will be a bit warmer, next time 😉

One of the pluses of living in London is easy access to other amazing European cities–like Paris!  Christmas is a beautiful time in Paris.  We were so fortunate to get to experience it!  We hopped the Eurostar one Friday morning, and by early afternoon we were in Paris!

The Christmas Tree in front of the Notre Dame (kind of hard to capture at night…haha)

A little snack!

The next day, we set out to explore the city!

Christmas time in Place Vendome

Opera Garnier

We LOVE Paris!

Musee Rodin–one of the most romantic museums in Paris!

View of Les Invalides from the museum gardens

View of the Museum from the Gardens

Place Vendome all lit up for Christmas at night!

The next day, we decided to visit some old favourites in Paris and take a walk down the Champs-Elysees to enjoy the decorations.

The Louvre–so pretty!

The inside of one of our favourite museums–the Musee D’Orsay.

Snack break! Crepes and coffee in Jardin des Tuileries. Have I mentioned we love this city?

Now, for a little window shopping!

Chocolate monkey with an attitude problem.

Eiffel Tower at night

Loving our romantic weekend in Paris!!!

We took the early train back to London on Monday morning and were back in our desks well before the morning tea break.  Paris, as always, was a beautiful getaway.  We’ll have to do it again soon 🙂

Since we moved to Europe, we’ve been hearing about the wonderful Christmas markets in Germany and nearby countries.  So, this year, we decided it was time to visit one!  We selected Budapest, which is rumored to have one of the best Christmas markets outside of Germany (the powerhouse of Christmas markets).  Plus, we’d heard from several people that Budapest is a great city, so off we went!

After landing and taking a shuttle to our hotel in the castle district on the Buda side of the river (Budapest is split by the Danube, with Buda on one side and Pest on the other).  Since our hotel was in the castle district, we decided to explore it first, but not before a delicious lunch at Pest Buda where we sampled a wide variety of Hungarian cuisine and wines.  The pumpkin soup was perfect for a chilly day!

Matthias Church at twilight

The painted interior of the church

The exterior of the church from the Fisherman’s Bastion after nightfall

Our hotel had an incredible view of Pest.  We took some time to enjoy it before heading down the hill and crossing the river.

Hungarian Parliament at night…spectacular!

Crossing the Chain Bridge on our way to Pest

Finally, we made it to the Christmas market!  There were two:  one in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica and one in a different town square.  Our first stop:  the one in front of Ste. Stephen’s Basilica.  We even squeezed in a tour of the church while we were there.

Enjoying the Christmas market!

The interior of St. Stephan’s Basilica

Some of the cuisine on offer

Busy Christmas Market!

It’s hard to see in the following picture, but we went to a “ruin bar” after visiting the market.  We were curious to see exactly what a “ruin bar” is.  Ruin bars are located in the old Jewish quarter in buildings that had been left to decay following World War II.  It’s underground bar scene that has become wildly popular.  The building is literally a ruin–concrete walls, metal rods everywhere, very cool atmosphere.

The ruin bar

On the way back to our hotel, I just had to stop for a sip of one of my holiday favorites:  mulled wine!

Mulled Wine–YUM!

The next morning, we were walking past the Hungarian President’s home and happened to catch the changing of the guard–an unexpected treat!

Hungarian Changing of the Guard

Good morning, Budapest!

Our next stop was the Museum of Fine Arts for a Caravaggio and Canaletto exhibit.  John recently discovered Canaletto and is a huge fan.

At the Szepmuveszeti Museum (Museum of Fine Arts)

Next stop:  a tour of parliament!

A close-up exterior view

The beautiful ornate interior of Parliament

Inside the chamber!

Next, we visited the House of Terror, a museum with exhibits relating to the fascists and communist regimes of Hungary in the 20th Century.   This was a very moving museum, with a large focus on the plight of oppressed Hungarian people.  No photos were allowed inside, but I did get one of the facade and roof.

House of Terror

Our last stop of the day (before dinner) was one of the famous baths in Budapest.  We walked in from the street wearing heavy coats, proceeded to change into our bathing suits and head back outside to get in the water.  Such a mind trip.  Sadly, I forgot my camera in the locker room while we were in the pools, but I did manage to get a shot afterwards!

The thermal pools. Such a treat in the cold weather!

On our way back to the Christmas markets for dinner, we found this castle!

Pretty excited about this castle

Our dinner–Hungarian Goulash. Really delicious and hearty!

Our final morning in Budapest, we set out fairly early, because we only had a half-day.

Parliament by day!

View of Buda Castle and our nearby hotel

Palacsinta. So glad we tried this (thanks Lincoln for the recommendation!)

Last, we visited the Dohany Street Synagogue–the largest is Europe!

Dohany Street Synagogue

We visited in the middle of Hanukkah!

The interior of the synagogue

John wearing his yarmulke

Memorial to those who were lost in the 1940’s.

Though we only spent 2 days there, we found that we really loved Budapest and really felt like we got to know the city.  The people were friendly, the food was delicious, and the vibe was cool.  Budapest, we will be back!

For our fifth wedding anniversary, we took off on a cruise to Scandinavia and Russia.

We headed out from Harwich, England–just a quick train ride away from London.

On the deck in cloudy Harwich, England.

First stop:  Copenhagen, Denmark where we toured a Design Museum, saw some churches, and enjoyed the RedBull Cliff Diving Championships.

First stop: The Design Museum. The Danish are famous for their design skills.

John checking out some of the unique designs.

We happened upon the RedBull Cliff Diving Competition. They were diving off of the Opera House into the harbour!

Picturesque street in Copenhagen.

Watching the Cliff Diving Competition from our perch on a fountain

That night, en route to Stockholm, the ship went under the Oresund Bridge, the bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden.

Beautiful bridge.

Next stop:  Stockholm, Sweden where we toured an old Cathedral, the Nobel Museum and took a lovely walk along the waterway.

St. George and the Dragon. A common theme in Stockholm.

St. George and the Dragon in Stockholm Cathedral (made of antlers)

The Nobel Museum: home of the Nobel Prize!

Picturesque Stockholm

After leaving Stockholm, we sailed through the Swedish Archipelago to get back to open ocean. It took us HOURS to get through it and it was absolutely gorgeous!

On the front of the ship enjoying the view

Simply beautiful

Next stop:  Helsinki, Finland!  While here, we toured several churches, visited a very cool modern art museum and shopped at a local street market.

Temppeliaukio Church (built into a rock)

The Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma

Trying out the artwork

Snack in the market!

Uspenski Orthodox Church

When we got back to the boat, we got to enjoy some Wimbledon from the hot tub!  This became a regular occurrence 🙂

Wimbledon 2013:  Best seats in the house!

Next stop:  St. Petersburg, Russia!  We did something we don’t normally do in Russia:  we went on a guided tour.  Typically, as Americans, we would need a tourist visa to enter Russia, but on a ship guided tour, this wasn’t the case.  That being said, we are SO glad we did the tour.  Our guide was knowledgeable and we got to see so much more than we would have otherwise!

Catherine Palace at Pushkin. I decided to match 🙂

Very ornate

Be sure to check out our awesome shoes!

Exterior

When in Russia…enjoying some vodka shots with our lunch. They were included 🙂

Saint Isaac’s Cathedral. Look at all that gold!

Peter and Paul Cathedral

Tombs inside Peter and Paul Cathedral, where the emperors and empresses of Russia are buried (Nicholas II, the last Russian czar is buried here).

Church on Spilt Blood. Unique and beautiful!

Our favourite sight of the day.

At the “White Night Party”. At this point it’s almost midnight!

The fountains and Gulf of Finland at Peterhof Palace

The fountains are all gravity powered. This was in the morning just before they were all turned on

This palace was as beautiful as Versailles

The fountains were unreal!

Matryoshka dolls. We like to call them Babushkas, but apparently that is an incorrect usage of that name.

Next, we toured the Hermitage museum, which used to be the Winter Palace of the Czars.  As a result, the building was gorgeous as was the art work.  This museum definitely exceeded our expectations!

A beautiful palace AND artwork? Yes please!

Inside the Hermitage Museum. Checking out some paintings that were discovered in an attic somewhere a few years ago.

John discovered the veduta style of painting at the Hermitage. It’s now one of his favourites!

If we had to choose one museum in the world as our favourite, this is the one. So, we had to stop for a photo.

Next stop:  Tallin, Estonia!

Tallin was a charming city that had a medieval feel to it.  We enjoyed the storybook streets and delicious food and drink!

First, we opted to climb a tall church tower to get the lay of the land.

Tallin, Estonia

Former KGB Headquarters. Notice the bricked-in basement windows.

The “most romantic street in town”

The Old Square

Snack time! John is fishing a pickle out of a barrel.

Trying the elk stew the traditional way: no spoons. Drink straight from the bowl!

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Trying the local dessert wine made from apples at the cosy wine bar Gloria Veinikelder.

That night on the ship, we went to our first “Silent Party.”  Everyone is given headphones and the music is played through those.  If you aren’t wearing headphones, it’s hilarious, because everyone is dancing to what looks like no music!

On the dance floor: our first silent party!

Our final stop:  Gothenburg, Sweden.  After touring so many towns, we decided to take a break on this day and stay near the port.  Fortunately for us, this is where the Volvo Museum is located!  I drove a Volvo in high school and college, so it was fun to come to where the company started.  The museum was interesting and focused on more than just cars.  John’s favourite part was the Volvo Ocean Race!

I’m a Volvo girl!

Cool exhibit on the Ocean Race

Enjoying the classic cars!

One final shot in front of our ship!

We loved our time in Scandinavia and found cruising a great way to see this part of the world.  It was also great that we left a short train ride from our home in London.  What a fantastic anniversary holiday!!