jmvp

Percy or jacketwatch:

When you were in Stockholm did you walk down a very narrow street? And There is suppose to be a very small statue also in the Gamla Stan area.
I am planning to go in late May 2008!

Thank you
jmvp

jacketwatch

Gamla stan is an entire area with many narrow streets. What specifically did you have in mind?

Percy

jmvp

If you still have my e-mail address from the posting I do on the Latin America forum on Fodors ...feel free to e-mail me.

First let me answer libraryladyc for her question on September 12th:

Yes you can wander off at Catherine's Palace, just let them know when you have to be back.
Actually Alexanders Palace is a "bit run down"

They have done renovations but not to the extent of the other palaces .
(Nicholas the ll,the last Tsar and his family lived here during the summer)

You may be better off doing the grounds
in front of the Palace and seeing these places:

Hermitage
Cameron Gallerry
Grotto
then
walk around the lake and see the :
Admiralty
Chesma Column in the middle of the Lake
Turksih Bath Pavillion
now walk over the ...

Marble Bridge, ...from here turn to the right and walk a short ways to see the "Girl with a Pitcher" (Pushkin wrote a poem about her.
from here you casn walk back to Catherine's Place via the ....
Concert Hall Pavillion
Kitchen Ruins
Chinese Creaking Pavillion ( so named because the floor was made to creak when you walked in !!!hmmm .

All you have done is made the big circle loop around the lake and over the Marble Bridge.

It is good to have seen all these building in a picture so you will know what you are looking at.
Remember you will be on your own walking around...while others are in the gift shop!!

Now on to jmvp:

I know what statue you are talking about:

When you are on Slottsbacken Street...(the street along the entrance to the Royal Palace)..you will now the street,it has the Obelisk on it.
Okay across the street from the Royal Place is the Finnish Church( orange colored building)....

Now go to the BACK of the Finnish Church...you see a small park and HERE you will find this "little" statue which is about FIVE inches tall(called The Iron Boy).
The locals dress him up in the summer and in winter!!!!
He is sooo cute !!

I know the street you perhaps are asking about....
here is how you get there ...it is not far away ,perhaps about 3-4 blocks.

You really need a nice simple little map of Gamla Stan.
But anyway you WILL be at the Stortorget as this is the Square with the Well in the middle of it( next street over from the Royal Palace.
now from the Stortorget
walk down the street called...
Svartsmangantan..

don't let the name scare you !!! just lookat the street sign and walk down this street...a block or so down you see the German Church called Tyska Kyrkan(remember Kyrkan means church!!)
now
at the street called Tyska Stallplan( this street is only a short block long).
Now STOP right here!!!
See that that cobblestone lane called
"Marten Trotzigs Grand"...that is IT!!!!you are here.

Walk down this lane...it is only 3 feet wide,stretch out your arms and touch both walls off the buildings.!!!
Now as you exit..
turn LEFT and walk back to the Royal Palace
Print this out and take this info with you or you will never remember.
Percy

jacketwatch

Way to go Percy!!

Percy

Hi jacketwatch:

I made a lot of notes and took them with me,as it is so easy to forget places you want to see.

I knew about Iron Boy and that very narrow street and I also brought up pictures of them from the Internet.!!..that is why I knew where they were!!

Percy

Percy

jacketwatch:

Speaking of forgetting places or things to see!

I had a total of 3 days in Copenhagen before the cruise and one full day when I disembarked.
I could not stay at the Marriott as I did before the cruise because it was all booked ..so on the final day( the day I disembarked) I stayed at the Palace Hotel...this is directly across from the Town Hall Square..the main square in Copenhagen.
Anyway..
There is a clock inside the Town Hall(City Hall) that I wanted to see.

It is called the world Jens Olsen Clock, it is suppose to run for 570,000 years!!!
It was started in 1955 and is still running, so in another 100 years I will check to see if it is still running!!!!
Anway....because I did not make a note of it...I FORGOT to go to see it, and I was right across the street for the whole day ( Grrrrr!!)

So people, no matter how much you think you will rememeber....make a note of it.....it was the only thing I missed out on in Copenhagen(I am still kicking myself !!)

Percy

Percy

Actually ,I am doing this: :'(

Percy

jacketwatch

Well Percy now you MUST go back! Actually I would like to spend some time there too. Hopefully one of these days we'll make it back there but for now we just love those cruises. Cheers, Larry

Percy

I agree ,I loved everything about the Baltic Cruise.

Your suggestion on Tahiti are good ones.

Take care
Percy

jacketwatch

Thank you. I feel very fortunate that we had a chance to cruise FP on the TP. After she leave that area the very expensive PG and the big rig ship Star Clipper are all that is left in the foreseeable future. Cheers, Larry. Go Cubbies!

Percy

Yes,I like those vine covered out field fences.!!
Percy

cruise08

Thank you Percy for all your great information. We've booked St Petersburg with Alla and she was happy that you gave her a good recommendation.

Percy

cruise08

Glad I could help.

You will meet Alla at the end of your second day as she comes to the ship dock area personally to see you ..and will give you as DVD on St.Petersburg.

Our driver was Boris and our guyide was Julia

Have a great time

Percy

traveller69

Percy thank you also. We are booking Alla because of your great report. I have also saved all of your port info - just great. I think you had better take another extended cruise so we have some more great reading.

Good Night!!

Percy

Well Thank You traveller69!

I made my trip report kind of long but I wanted to cover the ports in some detail
...so that other would be able to just pick and choose fromwhat I said.

If you have extra questions about any of the ports...just ask !

Percy

traveller69

HI Percy - Before I give you my list of questions (well maybe a couple) have you done other European ports as well eg Rome, Athens, Dubrovnik Marseilles etc?

I think you should write a travel guide - we get all this great info for free!! Make some money for your next cruise.

Percy

Hi traveller69

Yes, I have been to Rome,Florence Naples, Venice, Athens Marseilles ,Barcelona but not to Dubrovnik!

Thank you for the kind words.

I was going to do a trip report on those ports but instead I just answered a lot of question as they came up !!

Take Care
Percy

traveller69

Percy we are disembarking in Athens and will be staying a few days. I am booking a hotel in the Plaka. Because we wouldn't be able to check in right away and because we would have to cab it or take the train in - I am thinking about starting with a 1/2 day tour. That would kill two birds with one stone - we could arrange pickup at the ship and dropoff at the hotel. It would give us a good overview for our time in Athens. Does that sound reasonable to you and if so can you recommend a tour company?

Thanks

Percy

Yes, that sounds okay and the Plaka area is below the Acropolis.

It is kind of congested here( Plaka) but then you are in the old shopping area of town.

Nice sidewalk cafes here.

Here is the name of a good tour guide.
He picked us up (4) in a stretch limousine!!!

Dennis Kokkotos

[email protected]

E- mail him right now and hopefully he is available.
If not he will certainly know of another good fellow.

His English is perfect which is a huge plus.!!

For the Acroplois you can spend time there on your own walking around ..so know something about this area.
Then Dennis came pick you up after a good hour or two.

At the Acropolis the first thing to do is orientate yourself as to which side is South , West etc.

This is easy because South faces the Plaka area.

You will get nice view from up here ,so it is nice to know what direction you are looking and what you are seeing.

To the South is the Agora area below and you will see Hadrian's Arch here and the Temple of Zeus.
That pillar lying on the ground by the Temple of Zeus was knocked down by a storm in 1853.!

From the Acropolis you can also see the site of the 1896 Olympics.

Beside the Acropolis is a structure called the Erechtheion.

Aren't the Caryatids( lady statues) terrific .
The real one are in the Museum ( at the Acropolis also)

Beside the Erchtheion on the West side is the famous Olive Tree. Take a picture beside this tree !!

Also there are two Amphitheatres here as you look down the South side of the slope of the Acropolis .

Herods Theatre is still used for open air concerts ( Rolling Stones).
It seats 12,000 people...not bad for a place with no acoustics !!

The other theatre is the Theatre of Dionysos..where Greek Tradegy was born !!

Dennis will take you to some nice lookout point in Athens.
then
To the Parliament building to see the chnaging of the guards...you have to see the "funny shoes" the guards wear.( No laughing now !!)

In the Plaka area you may be walking distance to see the Tower of the Winds.

If you get luck your hotel room in the Plaka might give you a nice view of the Acropolis!!

Have a good time
Percy

traveller69

Percy, thank you. I sent an email off. I thought that it would be a good idea to get an overall picture of the area and then we could walk back to see more as I understand we will be staying very close to the Acropolis and Agora etc. I think on the last day we should have him give us a tour of the surrounding area.

Thanks again but more questions will be coming.. If you have any questions about Vancouver, Victoria, Okanagan Valley and even Tucson - just ask.