Amsterdam was exactly what you think it will be.

Quick note: The idea of being on a ship like this is that you have what amounts to (maybe) several hours to experience each city; you truncate the experience and drink in what you can in short bursts. Now, though, we're hitting these cities many times over and again. In St. Petersburg especially we have many, many overnights and altogether I'll be there for 29 days.

So... Amsterdam. We all wanted to see Anne Frank's house. If any of you have seen the Mr. Show episode about Anne Frank's house, you'll sympathize with the immense guilt I felt siltently giggling at the memory while confronted with the astounding reality of that monument. It's so ... well, it's EXACTLY what I imagined it would be. Profoundly affecting and ...thankfully, mostly uncommercialized.

Then we walked out to find the Red Light district. We didn't enjoy the city to its fullest, as the ship tends to give "random" tests for such things.

The Red Light district is... a stark contrast to the Anne Frank house. One unexpected thing about Amsterdam was the fact that it is the only city we've visited that has many, many "Gay and Lesbian Tourist Information" kiosks about town; there's a big ... well, I don't know what it is but it's called the "Homomonument"... and these things are not, as some of you may think, in the Red Light District. However, the only English language comic book store I've yet found (or had yet found until TODAY) IS in the Red Light District.

Copenhagen was very rainy but has 7-11s, which don't make their coffee cups to US standards and heats their coffee so hot that, if the cup collapses and it spills on your hand while you're holding a bunch of stuff you can't just "drop"... it will in fact raise blisters. Also, Copenhagen... well, to be fair it rained ALL DAY. I loved it, though, and can't wait to see it in the sun.

Talinn was maybe the second biggest surprise of this trip. I never in my life have thought, "You know, I should go to Estonia."

You should go to Talinn. It's this fascinating place that has many, many buildings and structures still standing from the medieval origin of the place next to a great mall and modern convenience; winding streets of fascinating history. This place was occupied by the Nazis AND then part of the Soviet Union; the breath of freedom here now is palpable. I can't wait to spend more time there.

St. PEtersburg, however, while I did love it and am glad to have so much time to be there, does NOT feel a palpable breath of freedom. It's like ... well, if this means anything to you, it's very much what you might call "Soviet" in its feeling. There are certainly exceptions and it offers a lot to the modern traveller... but travelers without visas are not allowed to disembark without escort. Luckily, those of us on the crew have special "seamen's books" which allow us to get around that. The passengers have to stick with tours. We went to the markets, took local busses about town, absorbed local color, tried not to get robbed, were abandoned in the cab by one of our cab drivers downa back alley as he went in this beat up door because "there's a little problem, you no mine I take five minute."

He comes back, says "Spasiva" (Thank You) and proceeds on our way. I was sure we were kidnapped or worse.

A guest who DID have a visa was accosted by Gypsies. You know, in the US if I heard that I'd have thought it a joke. Gypsies? No, really. They're around, and they're dangerous.

Pickpockets in Europe are VERY common, FYI; lots of signs warning about it in particular around the Church of the Spilled Blood and the market nearby. That is, I should note, my second favorite building I've ever seen, next to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

I bought a lot of Russian DVDs of questionable origin and will soon be visiting a legendary electronics market which tends to shade toward the dark side.

Today was Stockholm, and while I was only off the ship for a few hours I discovered A LOT of things to see and do and a wonderful English Language comic / sci fi book / dvd shop. An amazing place really. I'll put the link up here at some point.