Questions for Percy
 

Hi Percy -
I wonder if your guide in Copenhagen was Grethe Arani? Several tour companies offer a "Sweden Tour" driving to Elsinore and crossing the strait to Helsingborg with visits of Lund and Malmö before crossing the Oresund Bridge back to Copenhagen. Unfortunately, they're not available on the day we're in Copenhagen. Hence, I'm trying to line up a private excursion. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I've downloaded your excellent comments on your Baltic cruise and want to thank you for your efforts to write this detailed trip report.

Hi waggis

Yes the tour guide is Grethe Arani.

Her e-mail address is:

Grethe Arani - H.A.T. Tours

[email protected]

Please say hello to her for me

She just got back from a tour to Prague.

I know she has some groups book right now...so hopefully , she will be able to take you to the places you have mentioned.

Glad to be able to help
Percy :)

Thanks - Percy - will do. We're not sailing until September.

Re Alla, we've booked a 3-day tour. I assume we'll pay for our lunches. They're only 1-hr breaks, so emphasis is not on "fine dining" but did they take you to interesting restaurants? And did you like the food?

We're reading a book on Catherine the Great - the tsars will follow. Excellent suggestion. When we travelled in the Loire Valley, the guides jokingly referred to "Louis Toujours" :-)

Hi waggis

Yes I sampled red and black Caviar and Russian Vodka.

I told alla to reduce our lunches to 1/2 hour to 45 minutes as I did not want to "waste time " eating in fancy restaurants....in this manner we saw a lot more .

But we did go to a few places for Russian beer..nice fancy beer in huge lovely blue bottles.!


Don't forget Catherine's Palace is NOT named for Catherine the Great.!!!

When you go to the Peter and Paul Cathedral ....you will see Peter the Great's Tomb here, amoung other.

Note that all the Tsars except for one is not buried here... here is buried in Moscow.!!

I will let you read to find out which one ..and then you can tell us Fodorites. :)

Aren't I nasty !!

Hi Percy - Shortening the lunch break makes sense. We wouldn't have thought to ask. I'm sure my husband will give the blue bottles a try.

Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? You know you're withholding critical information. That's not like you at all, but I'll accept your challenge ;-)

Okay , Okay , Gee whiz :)

I will tell you.

The Tsar buried in the Kremlin in Moscow was Peter II.

He was the only grandson of Peter the Great m who himslef died in 1925.

He was born in 1715 and died in 1930 of Small Pox on his Wedding Day ( The coward !! :))

oops!!... I did not want to post yet !!

He died in 1930 in Moscow and yes it was his Wedding Day...but why was the Tsar in Moscow when the Captital was
St.Peterburg??

Percy, your terrible , you give the answer and then ask another question ...hmmm :)

oops!!... I did not want to post yet !!

He died in 1930 in Moscow and yes it was his Wedding Day...but why was the Tsar in Moscow when the Captital was
St.Peterburg??

Percy, your terrible , you give the answer and then ask another question ...hmmm :)

Well if the impending wedding anxiety did the old boy in I wonder what kept his alive that long. 1715-1930. Thats impressive. Maybe I'll drink more vodka. How old ws th bride?? He He. :D :D

Hi jacketwatch:

Well I thought he died of "Cold Feet ", but it was Small Pox.

Peter II was only 12 when he inherited the Throne.

Peter the Great's ( who was dead now) good friend Menshikov ( he had that lovely Palace across the Neva River from the Bronze Horseman ( across and a bit over).

Well, Menshikov himself fell from grace and died within 18 months.

Why was he in Moscow ... I will tell you but first waggis close your eyes :)

Another Prince of the day, who Peter II thought was looking after him , took him to Moscow , where he arranged the Coronation and promised Peter II to his niece in marriage.

He even arranged the wedding , but young Peter II became afflicted with SmallPox and died on his wedding day.

Pssst, Jacketwatch don't tell waggis. :)

Percy - Don'cha know not to mix blue bottled beer and vodka?

All I know, Catherine the Great was married to Emperor Peter III.
.... "It was rumored that Peter had been poisoned and then strangled."....."Catherine had denied her husband burial in the honored resting place of the Russian rulers, the Cathedral of Peter and Paul. Instead he was immured in the Nevsky monastery, isolated from his ancestors, as if in a sort of eternal disgrace.".....

Did they move him later to the Cathedral?

To be sure, Catherine was plenty ticked off at her husband, she didn't even attend his funeral, ostensibly for health reasons. :-(

BTW, Percy, taking your advice on another thread, we booked the 3 day-strenuous tour. Wish us luck! :-)

Good Luck waggis !

Yes they moved the body of Peter III to Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Catherine the Great did not attend the funeral of Peter III because she loved two things in life

Men and Opulence and in that order. :)

I think during Peter III funeral she was with Grigoriy Orlov, one of her favourite lovers..... in fact she had the Marble Palace ( next to the Hermitage ) built as a present to him .

Wow !!! ,well she knew how to treat her men !!!

Yes do ther Strenuous Tour for sure.

Hello Percy and Waggis: W you have askedd the right man for help. Been pretty busy at work lately so my time here is limited. Anyway I have a couple of days off now. I am going to be fitted for new irons next week, probably Ping G 10's but we'll see. The guy doing it fitted me for a driver and its worked great for me so I waited until his schedule and mine would jibe for the irons. I hope your hand is improving. We will be on a NE/Canada cruise out of NYC in early Oct. with a three day stay there first. Isn't Canadian Independence day July 1? I'll hoist a Molson to you, albeit a bit late. Cheers, Larry :-)

Hi jacketwatch and waggis:

Let me know how the new Ping clubs turn out.

The hand is static...not better and not worse.

I am booked for Carpal Tunnel Surgery on October 19... imagine that..one surgery to correct the Dupuytren's Contracture and now surgery again to correct the complication !!

You might as well have a Molson because I had a Bud Light ! :)

Yes July 1 was Canada Day.
Happy Independence Day

Take Care

Actually I had a Blue Moon. :-) Man I'm sorry to hear about that hand. I do hope this thing gets back to normal asap. Such bad luck. I will let you know about the Pings. I'm really leaning towards them but its possible, only slightly so, that I may end up w/ something else. However I've wanted Pings for a long time. Take care, Larry

You know you have to be comfortable in the clubs you use....so if you want Pings... then you should have them.

I have Hogan Edges .

I have played 3 nine hole games this year.

My hand grip cannot tolerate grasping a club handle for 18 holes ( Grrr).

Take Care and keep me posted as to the clubs you get.

Percy - I agree with your opinion of Catherine; she wasn't even attractive, but like you say, knew how to treat the guys. :-)

I'm so sorry to hear of your surgeries. Does the pain affect your sleep at night? If so, it may be a loooong wait for you. I empathize with you; had 2 back surgeries last year and there's still more going on. That's why I said "wish us luck" for the strenuous tour in St. Petersburg. When we're in Warnemünde, there's a tempting excursion to the castle of Schwerin, which features the German National Garden Show (BUGA). Beautiful location for such an event, but again, a large area and all on foot.

jacketwatch - are you the Larry who asked for the recipe of a German dish some years ago before registering? I think it was for Sauerbraten....
I hope you'll be able to enjoy a true Indian Summer in the NE. It's the best time of year and great for sightseeing in NYC, too.

I was happy to read that we're permitted to bring beer on board :-)

Holy moly!! You have a great memory. I did ask in fact. Very good!. we are looking f/w to the cruise and to three days in NYC as well. Cheers, Larry :-)

Hi waggis

Yes the hand is very bothersome.
I never thought that I would be in this situation in July.

My right hand is numb and tingling 24/7 ..

Yes it affects my sleep. I am okay once I fall asleep but when I wake up in the middle of the night...then it is a chore trying to fall asleep again. !


The Strenuous tour does not involve more walking but you will be on your feet more because you will be seeing more places.

Like Yusupov's Palace which is lovely to see.

jacketwatch.... you will enjoy both New York City and Quebec.

Hopefull the Fall colours will be on many trees.

Good Night all

Hi Percy

I assume you got the same email from Grethe that I got with the new Opera tours etc. I think you should attend her son's wedding - it sounds quite incredible!