Baltic Cruising Part 1: Leaving London & European Shipping

Where else to depart for a Baltic cruise than one of my favorite cities; London. We departed Greenwich outbound on the Thames near the Cutty Sark & the International Date Line. This post will feature assorted waterborne vessels since some are unlike US vessels.

This was our temporary home for the next 2 weeks. The Azamara Journey. (phone camera photo so the image quality is so-so)

Early morning around 4:45am. This is natural light that was enough for the camera to be happy with.













Fuel transfer from small vessel to large vessel. The small vessel is a self powered bunker boat. In the U.S. we use unpowered bunker barges moved from customer to customer via tug boats.

As we sailed toward the North Sea, English villages were just waking up.













London Cruise Terminal. This is where the huge cruise liners usually dock when calling on London. Our vessel was small enough to travel much further up the Thames.













Notice the mast supports on this ship. The masts can be lowered when needed. You'll see why in a few more photos.

Light ship on display













Drilling rig. The tower is part of the ship, not some land based structure behind the vessel.













Monster container ship. How goods travel from county of manufacture to country of use.













It was a tad cool. The pool did not see much use this morning.













Europe is way far ahead of the US in making the change away from fossil fuels. We saw wind farms beside nuclear plants beside coal fired units. I'm told Germany has totally eliminated nuclear. This wind farm was located just into the North Sea as we exited the Thames.

On our way to Antwerp













Hopper dredge. I heard one lady ask "is that a refueling boat?" No, not even close.













One of my favorite spots on board. The promenade deck. A good place to watch the world go by, with a good book and a drink in hand. Notice the low profile of the bulk freighter coming up river.

Why the need for the low profile & the ability to drop a mast as seen in an earlier photo? These ships travel European rivers as opposed to open seas. Here is the typical bridge they must pass under to deliver cargo. No bridge lifts, no elevated roads. This particular bridge is located in St. Petersburg, Russia. More on that city in an upcoming post.
 

Up next: Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium. From there we transit the Kiel Canal in Germany & into the Baltic.

 

Boston Walking & Street Scenes, Part 2

As a bonus, this post has a few Harvard photos also. So the post is a bit longer than previous entries.

Seen from the waterfront. Boston is a very compact city. We walked from the Taj Hotel on Arlington, through the Commons & through the city center to the waterfront.

 This & the next few shots are lovely homes centered around Beacon Hill.

 This grey mansion is home to the Sears family. Yes, that Sears family.

 The old state house. From this balcony, the Declaration Of Independence was first read.

 Lots of tourists moments later.

Look down the street at the base of the large dark monolith. Same old state house, different perspective. If our founding fathers knew what would arise from their beginnings . . . . . 

The corner of Arlington & Beacon Streets. Time to find an old location.

Row Houses on Beacon Street.

The wider view.

473 Beacon Street. 4th floor walkup. I was fortunate enough to spend time with family here many years ago.

Looks a bit overgrown with the ivy. How many times did I crawl out of that turret window to watch the activity below. And there was a fraternity in the building across the street just to keep the entertainment going. Good memories.

Was formerly a church. Now condos and such after a fire.

Corner market.

Commonwealth Ave. Next photo also.

Last time I crossed this walkway was about 35 years ago.

Looking across the Charles River toward MIT.

The Esplanade. Excellent walking space along the river.

And now on to Harvard.

Apparently, getting your photo taken with Harvard himself is a thing.

One of several entrances.

Annenburg Hall.

The type of place my wife holds in reverence. Widener Library.

This looks absolutely nothing like the university club I frequent. This one has no room for a golf course.

A few years ago we changed planes at Logan airport while on our way to Maine. Sitting in the co-pilot seat of a twin engine turboprop, I was able to get a great overhead look at the city & recognized several locations. I do like Boston.

Boston Walking & Street Scenes, Part 1

For our 28th anniversary, we decided on a long weekend in Boston. Boston is a walking city, pedestrian friendly with a new destination around most corners. Just like in London & several other cities, I feel quite comfortable playing city dude. Much of our early U.S. history happened in Boston. I was fortunate enough to spend some time here years ago & was happy to be back.

Home for our stay was the Taj Boston on Arlington Street.

 Our 5th floor room overlooked the City Garden & met our approval.

 City Living. This was shot from a hallway window. Plant boxes with assorted vegetables. BeeKeeper boxes also. And a lovely planter box in the lower left that was previously used for other purposes.

With a direct flight, we were on the ground before 11am. By 11:30 we were checked in and found this place just around the corner for lunch.

 Hampshire House. AKA the Cheers Bar from the TV show.

 

 The interior of the real bar and the TV program are 2 different issues. Reality is a typical basement bar found in any large city.

 Boston is full of lovely old brownstones.

Typical street. It's been a long time since I saw exhaust coming from the street grates.

How to do it properly for the well-to-do. A nice apartment that includes a roof garden spot. 

 

 Boston City Garden in a quiet moment. On Saturday, this was a place of weddings, impromptu brass band concerts & family picnics. All happening at the same time.

 

 Just across the street: Boston Commons. Add tour groups to the mix & you get the idea.

 

 This could be the location of any park bench story.

And just up Tremont Street we find . . . . . . 

 

 The Granary Burying Ground.

 

 Tombstone styles were a bit different back then. Maybe a bit ghoulish to some, but I found it quite interesting.

 

Among those buried here: Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams.

 

 The best was to see the city for a tourist? The hop-on, hop-off trolley tours.

 

 This is a phone photo taken after leaving Smith & Wollensky, a rather up scale dining establishment.  There is something magical about a city at night. 

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