Author: tarakauffman
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Bazaar & Dolmabahçe Palace
The best time to visit the Grand Bazaar is when it opens at 8:30. Our expectation was that the bazaar would be like the markets in other large European or Asian cities. It was not, the aisles were wide and clean with 4,000 shops. They were somewhat organized by type, scarves, shoes, clothes, bath accessories,…
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Another Continent in the Same City
Our style of travel focuses on history and the culture and lifestyle of the people. Typically we stay in nice hotels, eat really good food, fly expensive and then take public transportation once we get there. Visiting with locals, shopping in ordinary grocery stores and doing our own laundry is our usual. This morning after…
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Palace and Mosques
The Tomtom Suites checks all our boxes. It is in the middle of the new district, which doesn’t really mean new. It was built in 1850 as an annex building for the French palace/foreign embassy and was then used for the Franciscan nuns. In 2000, it was fully restored to a 20 suite hotel. It…
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Turkey
Coming into Istanbul last evening it was cold and pouring down rain, but this morning the sun popped out for us. This made the walk all the better as we wandered to the Hagia Sofia Mosque. This mosque was originally built from 532 – 537 as a Christian church by the Romans. Hagia Sofia means…
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A Little History to Start
It is funny how everyone knows the song about how, “it’s Istanbul not Constantinople”. If not, you should pull it up on YouTube and it will run through your head all day long. Constantinople was the ancient name for modern day Istanbul. It was first settled in 7th century B.C. and with its location, it…
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Istanbul in April
We are busy planning our trip to Istanbul and basically eastern Europe. Most places on this trip will be a first and we are excited to experience the food, culture and the people. Back again soon!
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Frankfurt Finish
Our last stop before returning to the U.S! Always an enjoyable time visiting with Victor and his family. They stay very busy, so we really appreciate them making us feel so much like extended family. The first night we ate along the Main. I had Schnitzel for the third time in as many days. This…
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Hamburg, Germany
We heard from several Viking cruise travelers that the Miniatur Wunderland trains were something not to miss in Hamburg. They require a reserved time slot and so when we went to get our Hamburg card they were able to reserve a time for us this morning. It was amazing, with over a million man hours…
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Moving Day
We had a relaxing morning compared to the majority of folks leaving the ship around 3:00 am. After a leisurely breakfast at 7:30 we caught a taxi to the train station. We watched two large cruise ships dock on either side of us this morning too. Our train to Hamburg was delayed about 30 minutes,…
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Copenhagen, Denmark
The Little Mermaid is an iconic sight in Copenhagen. The sculpture was inspired by ballerina Ellen Price, who in 1909 danced the lead role in the ballet “The Little Mermaid” at the Royal Theatre. It is not the same story as our Disney movie. This story is the Hans Christian Andersen (I’m sure the original…
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Århus, Denmark
It’s a boy!! Coming in big at 1,100 lbs. I really wanted to touch this statue. It looked like it would really feel like real skin. The “Far from Home” exhibit at the ARoS Museum focuses on the idea of home and the challenges faced by individuals in modern society, the exhibition asks the question…
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Lübeck & Wismar, Germany
Lübeck was the capital of the Hanseatic League. Most of the cities that we have traveled to on this trip were part of this group. In the 13th to the 15th century there was a need for merchants to have protection and trade connections. These Baltic cities thrived on the Hanseatic League trade. One of…
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Gudhjem, Bornholm, Denmark
In order to make Gin there must be Juniper berries. Other fruits can be added for flavor, even rhubarb after distilling. There are different types of tonic and it does make a difference, either to be sweeter or have a milder sweetness. On up the hill to another little village called Gudhjem. This is a…
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Karlskrona, Sweden
We continue to see parts of the archipelago, the thousands of very small islands that are all around Sweden. Today is our last Swedish stop, in Karlskrona. The Swedish Navy has been located at Karlskrona since 1680. We saw several small military boats in the water around the port. Pictures are not allowed to be…
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Gdansk, Poland
We came into the port in Gdansk just before noon. This port area has great importance. It is where the first shots were fired on September 1, 1939 which started WWII. The Solidarity movement came out of protests in 1980, but before the 1980 protest, workers had tried in 1956 and 1970 to get better…
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Visby, Gotland, Sweden
Visby is such a picturesque city of only about 24,000 folks. From Vikings, to pirates, to Danish for 300 years and finally in 1645 to Sweden. Many churches were burned out by the Danish when they knew the Swedish were taking over. The German church was the only one that we saw in the old…
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Mariehamn, Åland, Finland
Even though Mariehamn has Swedish as their native language they are a autonomous territory under Finland. They try to sustain themselves, with cattle, farms and apple orchards. The main industry is the sea. They have two harbors one on the east and one on the west side of the isthmus, many ferry services and a…
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Kayak and Palace
For our first morning on the ship Viking Jupiter, we were up early and out the gangway to kayak. Not exactly in my comfort zone, but an experience to try. After a quick lesson in the proper way to hold an oar and how to get in and out, we were off. Our fearless bohemian…
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City Hall & ABBA
City Hall was built from 1921 to 1923. The population had grown so much that they needed more space for their government functions. They built the voting/meeting hall first in 1921. They currently have 101 representatives. In 1970 the country made it so that there would be an even split between men and women. The…
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Packed Day
We had a list and really we checked a bunch of boxes. Our hotel is right next to the Modern Art Museum. Once again their signs suck. We sat outside for about 15 minutes waiting for it to open. We knew we were on the backside of the museum, but they unlocked the doors, so…
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Moving Day
We landed in Stockholm mid afternoon after our early morning flight was cancelled. It wouldn’t be a vacation without a few hiccups. To get from the airport to center city should have been a simple train ride. The main train was not running and the second choice was sold out. So we had to take…
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The Two F’s
Today we learned about fires and the way they shaped Bergen or an area within the city called Bryggen. From the start of the Viking time there were many fires caused by the buildings being made from wood, close proximity and open fire within the buildings. The process was that they would then rebuild directly…
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Moving Day
This morning we caught a train in Oslo and left for Bergen. It is about a 300 mile trip with quite a few stops along the way, so it takes 7 hours. The elevation changes from sea level up to 4,000 feet at Frinse, which is about 2/3rds of the way to Bergen. It is…
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Munck and Park Day
Today we started at the same little bakery for breakfast. I had a cardamom roll and Bryan a blueberry pastry. Both were really yummy! The Munch Museum, pronounced Moonk, is a really new building (2021) that is a tribute to their best known artist. Edward Munch was born in Oslo on December 12, 1863. He…
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Ready, Set, Oslo
After running on four hours sleep on the plane, we slept in until 10:30 this morning. To start the day we decided to purchase an Oslo Card. It was $60.00 each for a two day card. It was worth it for what we saved today in trams, ferries and museum costs. Close to the central…
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Frankfurt/Oslo
In the last few weeks the Texas panhandle has seen buckets of rain. It only goes to figure that we would have a delay out of Dallas due to a thunder storm. Flying into Frankfurt this morning though, we saw just sunshine and beautiful weather. Victor picked us up at the airport and treated us…
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Scandinavia
We are getting excited for our next trip to the north in June. This trip will include Oslo, Bergen, and Stockholm… and much more!!
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Heading Home
The Têt New Year is right around the corner on the 22nd of January. It will be the year of the cat for Vietnamese and the year of the rabbit for the Chinese. They are so smart, because we think every year should be the year of the Cat. We started the morning watching our…
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