Early in the morning on Thursday, August 4.our group of 13 couples plus me entered the new fast train "Allegro" from Helsinki to St. Petersburg. After 3,5 hours we stepped out at Finland station into beautiful sunshine. We then had a bus sightseeing tour in this very attractive old capital of Russia. Definitely this city, which was built just over 300 years ago by zar Peter the Great, is one of the most beautiful cities in the
world. After the bus tour we had a couple of hours to enjoy the life in surroundings of the famous main street " Newski Prospekt" before boarding our luxory cruiser 5-star m/s "Volga Dream".
I'll have to discontinue untill tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Visiting Savonlinna Opera Festival
On July 12. my longtime friend and godfather of my younger son Tomas, Mr.Peter Gloystein arrived from Duesseldorf , Germany to Helsinki. He had been a year earlier my
host at Bayreuth Wagner festival, so it was my turn to invite him to Savonlinna. This small east Finnish town hosts nowadays annually a famous opera festival since 1912 for two weeks time in a beautiful medieval fortress. We enjoyed the operas "Tosca" of Puccini and "Don Giovanni" of Mozart, which performances we both liked very much.
During the day between operas we sailed on fantastic lake Saimaa with a more than 100 years old steamer having a most wonderful Finnish Summer weather and some nice drinks.
host at Bayreuth Wagner festival, so it was my turn to invite him to Savonlinna. This small east Finnish town hosts nowadays annually a famous opera festival since 1912 for two weeks time in a beautiful medieval fortress. We enjoyed the operas "Tosca" of Puccini and "Don Giovanni" of Mozart, which performances we both liked very much.
During the day between operas we sailed on fantastic lake Saimaa with a more than 100 years old steamer having a most wonderful Finnish Summer weather and some nice drinks.
Friday, April 15, 2011
World famous opera singer Matti Salminen at Finnish Club
We have finally got Spring here after a very cold and all-time record breaking snowy Winter. My life since back from Cuba has been quite peaceful,nothing much to report.
However yesterday evening at Finnish Club of Helsinki was memorably. Mr Matti Salminen, who with Miss Karita Mattila are Finland's internationally most well known opera singers, has recently joined our club. It was an excellent evening, the club was naturally fully booked and his performancy concerning of songs from his native city of Turku was magnificent. Turku is by the way the Cultural Capital of Europe Year 2011.
However yesterday evening at Finnish Club of Helsinki was memorably. Mr Matti Salminen, who with Miss Karita Mattila are Finland's internationally most well known opera singers, has recently joined our club. It was an excellent evening, the club was naturally fully booked and his performancy concerning of songs from his native city of Turku was magnificent. Turku is by the way the Cultural Capital of Europe Year 2011.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Cuban holiday
Last week I was back from a eleven days trip to Cuba. We were a group of nine and seemingly very satisfied one. We spent five days in Havanna, and visited also Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Santa Clra and Pinar del Rio, which was the only new place for me. As always Cuba was very friendly, and the drinks good in quantity and quality but cheap. Weather was mostly perfect but of course on that day we supposed to relax on the beach, the sky turned its back to us. We had to watch a heavy tropical rain for hours from the "all-included" hotel bar and restaurant, sipping masswise local delicious drinks.
We had lot of fun, even some very pleasant "cubanas profesionales" tried to seduce me during our stay in Havanna, but I kept my trousers tightly on me.
Havanna had changed a lot since my last trip, four years ago. The old part of the city had been almost completely restored or renovated. The city also was filled with European, Canadian and South American tourists especially from Venezuela.
For me was new that you could follow with Spanish subtitels CNN, BBC and Deutsche Welle among other TV stations, not just in your hotel room but in the bars too.
The rural countryside was like it always has been beautiful but poor.
And the music is there, always and everywhere. We had luck one evening to get a table in a restaurant, where world famous "La Buena Vista Social Club" was performing for two hours. Of course we did visit places which Ernest Hemingway made popular "Floridita" bar and "Ambos Mundos" Hotel, even staying there for one night. As before also now many people called me Papa, his nickname, and some asked if I would be related to Hemingway due very similar looks.
I love Cuba, and I do not think it was my last visit there.
We had lot of fun, even some very pleasant "cubanas profesionales" tried to seduce me during our stay in Havanna, but I kept my trousers tightly on me.
Havanna had changed a lot since my last trip, four years ago. The old part of the city had been almost completely restored or renovated. The city also was filled with European, Canadian and South American tourists especially from Venezuela.
For me was new that you could follow with Spanish subtitels CNN, BBC and Deutsche Welle among other TV stations, not just in your hotel room but in the bars too.
The rural countryside was like it always has been beautiful but poor.
And the music is there, always and everywhere. We had luck one evening to get a table in a restaurant, where world famous "La Buena Vista Social Club" was performing for two hours. Of course we did visit places which Ernest Hemingway made popular "Floridita" bar and "Ambos Mundos" Hotel, even staying there for one night. As before also now many people called me Papa, his nickname, and some asked if I would be related to Hemingway due very similar looks.
I love Cuba, and I do not think it was my last visit there.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Bridgetown in Barbados
That was the final port of my cruise on Dec 3. Actually a very pleasant cruise, where you during your lazy and sunny days had time and imagination to enjoy with some glasses of inspirations or reflections into your former life, with the most important persons of your past, especially of women.
I have known many women in my life, in whom, I most honestly think, I was in love with. However I cannot say, who was the most important for me, to routes of coming roads. But many of them changed my way.. Who did mostly effect in my life? She was definitely not my late wife, because I then, when I met her, I already was 39.
We were marrid for 25 years, and I honestly miss her very much, even what happened during our last years due her sickness.
But I also did have several excellent bosses during my young years , who at their time could turn my way or ideas about my future to happy direccions.I really was lucky to work under such exprienced peronalities, who teached me how to care and handle things in difficult circumstancies.
I have had good friends too, and still have, but I cannot think that anybody of them did effect directly in my life's turns during the years someway.
I grew without a father, the years after the war were difficult to everybody, and we children did only understand or sense something, if anything.
As a very young boy I started to plan my life myself, turning my back to my mother, who in my opinion never took care of me, except food and clothes. The love was missing, or I needed to much.
So as young as possible I started to travel. To find the world, which I sensed very romantic. I was 11 years, when I went to Stockholm alone,living with my aunts family, but walking on the streets of big city for days alone. With 16 I studied the night life of Copenhagen,and a couple of years later at Reeperbahn in Hamburg.
And almost noboby knew Casablanca, when I was there 1965.
I could continue with a long list, maybe one day.
Now with 70, I am going to live further an adventurous life, because just a few weeks ago in Bridgetown, a young lady of Indian origin from Trinidad promissed to me 30 more years to live. She told me, that it is in their family a long tradition to see the future. I then asked, if I could buy a drink to her for those good news.
Instead, she was so happy for me, that she started to buy drinks to me, saying that, if she would be free, and her boy friend not next to her, she would marry me, or make love to me on the beach immediately, because I shall find a new love very soon.
So, that was the speciality of Bridgetown, much bigger and interesting city than those on the other islands. I had been there nine years ago, and found myself in the same marina bars as then, with two new T-shirts including some rum punches, and preparing to return to total winter back North. Most of the last 6 days I spent on the southern part of Bridgetown, called Hastings, just walking around the beaches or relaxing at funny Kevin's Mobile Bar at the beach, where I also met this lucky lady of mine. Kevin was a Jamaican born, British nationality, very nice, very good looking gentleman, who really could take care of customers, everybody in his bar had a good time . I didn't count, but he absolutely had at least 50 different kind of rum punches each to be served for USD 6.
I stayed in a cosy hostel "Pirate's Inn" nearby the beach or Kevin*s. Very friendly, clean and economy with nice swimming pool. There I also met a very friendly Hungarian couple Robert and Tamara. It is a pity, we did not have more time together. But we might meet us again in Budapest or Helsinki.
Again back Dec.11 in snowy Helsinki !
Next from CUBA!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I have known many women in my life, in whom, I most honestly think, I was in love with. However I cannot say, who was the most important for me, to routes of coming roads. But many of them changed my way.. Who did mostly effect in my life? She was definitely not my late wife, because I then, when I met her, I already was 39.
We were marrid for 25 years, and I honestly miss her very much, even what happened during our last years due her sickness.
But I also did have several excellent bosses during my young years , who at their time could turn my way or ideas about my future to happy direccions.I really was lucky to work under such exprienced peronalities, who teached me how to care and handle things in difficult circumstancies.
I have had good friends too, and still have, but I cannot think that anybody of them did effect directly in my life's turns during the years someway.
I grew without a father, the years after the war were difficult to everybody, and we children did only understand or sense something, if anything.
As a very young boy I started to plan my life myself, turning my back to my mother, who in my opinion never took care of me, except food and clothes. The love was missing, or I needed to much.
So as young as possible I started to travel. To find the world, which I sensed very romantic. I was 11 years, when I went to Stockholm alone,living with my aunts family, but walking on the streets of big city for days alone. With 16 I studied the night life of Copenhagen,and a couple of years later at Reeperbahn in Hamburg.
And almost noboby knew Casablanca, when I was there 1965.
I could continue with a long list, maybe one day.
Now with 70, I am going to live further an adventurous life, because just a few weeks ago in Bridgetown, a young lady of Indian origin from Trinidad promissed to me 30 more years to live. She told me, that it is in their family a long tradition to see the future. I then asked, if I could buy a drink to her for those good news.
Instead, she was so happy for me, that she started to buy drinks to me, saying that, if she would be free, and her boy friend not next to her, she would marry me, or make love to me on the beach immediately, because I shall find a new love very soon.
So, that was the speciality of Bridgetown, much bigger and interesting city than those on the other islands. I had been there nine years ago, and found myself in the same marina bars as then, with two new T-shirts including some rum punches, and preparing to return to total winter back North. Most of the last 6 days I spent on the southern part of Bridgetown, called Hastings, just walking around the beaches or relaxing at funny Kevin's Mobile Bar at the beach, where I also met this lucky lady of mine. Kevin was a Jamaican born, British nationality, very nice, very good looking gentleman, who really could take care of customers, everybody in his bar had a good time . I didn't count, but he absolutely had at least 50 different kind of rum punches each to be served for USD 6.
I stayed in a cosy hostel "Pirate's Inn" nearby the beach or Kevin*s. Very friendly, clean and economy with nice swimming pool. There I also met a very friendly Hungarian couple Robert and Tamara. It is a pity, we did not have more time together. But we might meet us again in Budapest or Helsinki.
Again back Dec.11 in snowy Helsinki !
Next from CUBA!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
St. Kitts , Dominica and St. Lucia
Basseterre of St.Kitts and Roseau of Dominica were tiny towns, where we stayed next couple of days. Friendly,easy and colorfull places with many marks of their colonial history. In Dominica three of us from the ship, Peeter, his friend John, both from Canada and me,took a taxi for sightseeing around the Island. I had met Peeter earlier, a very pleasant guy, a child refugee from WWII-time Estonia via Sweden to New World. His original home was on beautiful Saaremaa Island, where I have been twice. For those readers, who might not know, we are a small racial group of same family in Europe consisting of three nations, Hungary, Estonia and Finland, who are like brothers emotionally , especially trough very tough times in history, until recent decades.
Anyhow on the tour trough rain forest and statusque hills almost mountains, we came on the foot of a local attraction, the Trafalgar Falls. Peeter and I decided to climb 15 minutes to reach them, but John decided not to. Well, I have seen Niagara and Iguazu Falls and after heavy climbing, these were for me like comparing Jumbo Jets to swallows. Afterwards we made a little tour around Roseau,to get for John something to drink before back to the ship.
Next day in St.Lucia, Ruth had agreed with the young Irish / Estonian couple to go to Pidgeon Island to Rodey Beach in Castries. This couple was not a couple but shared a cabin and were only school friends and had accidentally met each other onboard, also Pidgeon Island was not an Island, maybe once when Arawak-indians were living there some 1000 years ago. before Carib-indians killed them, and Spanyards killed on their turn the Caribs. I was asked to join them, and I did it with pleasure. We later swam a little , but I soon found some half a mile away a little old hut, a romantic place with excellent rum. I stayed there, when the others climbed up to hill to the old Admiral Rodneys Fort. To be continued...
Anyhow on the tour trough rain forest and statusque hills almost mountains, we came on the foot of a local attraction, the Trafalgar Falls. Peeter and I decided to climb 15 minutes to reach them, but John decided not to. Well, I have seen Niagara and Iguazu Falls and after heavy climbing, these were for me like comparing Jumbo Jets to swallows. Afterwards we made a little tour around Roseau,to get for John something to drink before back to the ship.
Next day in St.Lucia, Ruth had agreed with the young Irish / Estonian couple to go to Pidgeon Island to Rodey Beach in Castries. This couple was not a couple but shared a cabin and were only school friends and had accidentally met each other onboard, also Pidgeon Island was not an Island, maybe once when Arawak-indians were living there some 1000 years ago. before Carib-indians killed them, and Spanyards killed on their turn the Caribs. I was asked to join them, and I did it with pleasure. We later swam a little , but I soon found some half a mile away a little old hut, a romantic place with excellent rum. I stayed there, when the others climbed up to hill to the old Admiral Rodneys Fort. To be continued...
Monday, December 27, 2010
Getting to Caribbean and Antigua
I really did enjoy a most pleasant sail to Antigua,to our first harbour after seven days. I had been there before, and after a walk around the streets of the capital ST.Johns, I did find a couple of souvenir T-shirts at the market place at expensive prices in my mind, compared with those of Far East. But,who knows, maybe "Made in Honduras" quarantees a better quality. I'll be very happy to wear those next summer on the streets of Helsinki. Then I surprisingly did find a street terrasse, very near of our ship, where a most beatiful waitress served me with the best rum punches. Several colleagues from the boat did join me, if because of her or thirst or sudden rain of five minutes, I do not know. Next day we were already in Basseterre of St.Kitts.
To be continued...
To be continued...
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