The Hermitage

One of the highlights of our St. Petersburg tour...The Hermitage

The entry way to the Hermitage...which use to be the Winter Palace. And yes, that IS gold!

Do you think they liked ornate decorations???

I could handle a staircase like that in my house...hahaHere I am in one of the art filled hallways. The Hermitage is known for being one of the world's best museums. Room after room of amazing art. It is said that if you spent 30 seconds looking at each item in the Hermitage, it would take you 9 years to look at everything (with no breaks). Obviously we didn't get to look over everything. But we did enjoy many masterpieces.

Our only regret was that we didn't have more time to enjoy the Hermitage...but after all we were on a schedule!

Helsinki, Finland

The main attraction in Finland was the capital city...Helsinki.

The "Wedding Cake" church

the view from the main square in Helsinki
One of the most interesting sights in Helsinki is the Rock Church

Porvoo, Finland

Our next stop on the Baltic cruise was in Finland. Our excursion took us to the cutest little town called Porvoo. Our only complaint...not enough time to explore.

After leaving Porvoo, we drove to Helsinki. All along the way we passed signs cautioning drivers of moose crossings...and our tour guide said that it is a real danger! Crazy, huh?

Sopot, Poland

Sopot is a quaint resort town about an hour away from Gdansk.

Jason along the pier
the beach looked so inviting
Avi (unfortunately minus Jeff...he was having some knee problems)

Gdansk, Poland

Gdansk, Poland was one of our favorite stops on the cruise. It was one of the most adorable towns. It has such character and charm. We enjoyed some unstructured time to wander through the cobble stoned streets.

Tallin, Estonia

Tallin, Estonia was a completely delightful town. It had a such charm and character. And the icing on the cake was that the people in Tallin were SO friendly (a nice change of pace after leaving Russia). We scooted away from our tour group and enjoyed meandering through the streets and shops (ok, Avi and I enjoyed the shops...Jeff and Jason just tolerated!)

The view of Tallin from the ship

Alongside the boat with Tallin in the background

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm was the second stop on our Baltic adventure. We visited Stockholm over Veteran's Day 2 years ago with Lisa, Zac, Laura, and Sharon. We loved Stockholm even in the dreary cold...but we couldn't have asked for a better second trip...just look at those beautiful blue skies!

My wonderful king...and he even has a crown to prove it!

We didn't have a lot of time in Stockholm. We were only in port for 4 hours. So, we enjoyed a boat ride through the city...and then a little shopping.