Day 4 - A Day in Tallinn, Estonia - Dec. 30, 2015

We were up early as the bus was scheduled to leave for the ferry at 8:30 am.  Going down for breakfast just before 7:00, we found that buffet wasn't going to open until the usual time, 7:30. This was somewhat hard to believe, but that is the way it was. Back down for breakfast at 7:30, and the place was very busy. There were 260 going on this trip, and everyone wanted to eat before leaving.

Ferry to Tallinn

Ferry Terminal in Helsinki

It took a while to find a table, but once we did, we ate and were outside, ready to board the bus by 8:10. We took 6 buses to the ferry. When there, we were given our tickets. It was a slow process, but the ferry operator wouldn't give them the tickets before the day of the trip. Finally, we were inside the terminal, and then began the queuing for the ticket gate and the long walk to the ferry.

It was much busier than we expected, but we made it on the ship. Not knowing where to go, we basically followed the crowd upstairs. We came in on deck 5 and went up to deck 8. The crowd was milling around, looking for places to sit, so when we spotted a table with some empty chairs, we grabbed it. The chairs were uncomfortable, but we thought we would stick it out. This was an area where there was a cafe, but we weren't hungry so didn't purchase anything.

The trip was 2 hours, and when we got to Tallinn, we had to figure out the procedure for disembarking. Everyone who didn't take their car on the ship, gathered at one of the exits. The hallway was packed. We used the elevator to get back down to deck 5, and when the door opened, there was basically nowhere to to. Interesting, because we had to get off the elevator.  We pushed our way into the crowd, and stood there, jammed like sardines in the space by the exit. Then the door opened again, and there were people on the elevator with children in buggies. They also had to get off the elevator, and again, everyone squeezed closer together, letting them et off and into the crowd.

Ferry Terminal in Tallinn, Estonia

Then, another long walk to the terminal. When we got to the terminal, there was a very pretty girl standing in the walkway with a Destiny Tours sign. She directed us to where our buses were parked. For this part of the trip, there were 9 buses so we were in smaller groups. We found our bus, got on, and waited until everyone was there.  The temperature was lower here than in Helsinki, so it was going to be a long, cold day.

Our new guide came on the bus and introduced herself - Eva Marie. She was going to be with us for the next 6 hours as we did a quick tour of Tallinn. Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia, and has a population of about 450,000. The total population of the country is about 1.5 million, so this city holds about 1/3 of the people. We travelled around the shore area where the ferry came in, and then went farther into the city.

Gazebo in the Castle's pond

One of the first places she showed us was a large hotel that was built to accommodate all the tourists who came to Tallinn from Helsinki. She said that this hotel was built from a special kind of material Called micro-cement.  It was called this because half of it was said to be built of cement, and the other half built of microphones. This was the hotel where people visiting Tallinn generally stayed, and the KGB had infested it with microphones. The joke was that when someone complained while in the bathroom that there was no toilet paper, within minutes there was a knock on the door and on opening it, an employee was there and said, "Here is your toilet paper." Everyone got it then, and it sounds like this was what it was like at that time.

Castle - Home of the President

We had a quick glimpse of part of the city wall, and then we went to the castle that is the home to the president. It was originally a small castle built for the Russian Tsar to spend his summers. After Estonia got their independence

Grounds of the Castle

, it became the home for the president and his family.  The grounds are very beautiful, and it is easy to imagine how great they must look in the summer with all the trees with leaves and the flower gardens in bloom. However, at this time of year, it is cold. Not as cold as they usually have, but cold enough for the ponds to be frozen over. Our tour has not met cold while on tour, and after walking around this park and area of the castle, we were pretty cold. I would assume is was about -5, but it could have been colder.  There was no snow, which is also unusual for this time of year, but why should then be different than the rest of the world.

Amphitheatre with snow making

Amphitheatre and the view

Then back on the bus to the next stop. This was a huge amphitheatre that was built during the time of Russian rule so that large groups of choirs cold come and sing, making the people who gathered there seem joyous and happy. It is a huge outdoor amphitheatre with what are said to be perfect acoustics from anywhere in the area in front of the stage.  There was snow-making happening while we were there as they prepared for a snow festival that would be occurring later on. It was certainly cold enough to make snow, and it seems like they had just started as most of the field in front of the amphitheatre were bare.

Statue of this composer sits on the steps

After a short time there, we got back on the bus, to move on to our next stop. Eva Marie took us for a quick drive along the beach area, and then we turned and went back the other direction along the beach. There is a monument there that looks quite interesting. On one side of this highway is a large cement structure that looks like a channel built to carry water, and on the other side of the highway is another, in the same shape. The story goes that there was talk of building a bridge across the Baltic Sea to Helsinki, and this structure was the beginning of it. However, with Estonia being a very small country, they thought that they had done their share of the work, and now the rest was up to Finland to complete. A good story, but not likely to happen.

Gates to the Lower Old Town

Busy cobblestone streets

Then we were off to our walking tour of the "Old Town" and our lunch. When we got there, Eva Marie set off, walking at a fairly brisk pace. We went through the main gate into the old town, and then she took use through a number of streets toward our restaurant. Eva Marie was walking so quickly, that we had a tough time keeping up, and little time to look and take photos. It is hard to walk on the cobblestone roadways, and we had to keep our eyes on our feet, rather than taking time to look at the shops and architecture around us.  When she finally stopped at the restaurant entrance, I mentioned to her that she was going to fast for us old folks, and she needed to slow down. She was instantly apologetic, and now had this new information for later.

Our Restaurant

Then it was into the restaurant. We went down some rock stairs, around a number of corners, down some more stairs, and then finally came to a large, crowded dining room. We squeezed everyone in, sitting where there was an opening. Apparently there wasn't enough room for everyone in our party, and they had organized lunch in 3 different restaurants around this area.

Our lunch was a 3 course meal. There was a green salad at each spot, which was our first course. It was a nice salad, and quickly disappeared. The waiter came around and asked about drinks, but everyone was happy with the water that was on the table. After a bit, one of the ladies ordered a glass of red wine, and it was brought. The salad plates were cleared off the table, and then the main course started arriving. This was grilled chicken on a bed of vegetables, with a nice gravy sauce. Again, this was very tasty. The vegetables were nice to have, and the chicken was pretty good. The gravy made for some good dipping. There was a bowl of bread on the table, some black and some white. I had a piece of the black bread (no butter) which tasted quite sweet and made for good cleanup of the gravy.

The final course was a piece of cake that had a jello top. Again, this was quite tasty. The jello top had small pieces of fruit embedded in it. A small, dark berry in there was quite tart, while the addional berries added some further flavour. The cake part was somewhat dry, but in all it was a nice dessert. Coffee was served at this point. It is strong coffee, but I like the taste of it.

Huge Tree in the Market

Then it was use the bathroom, and meet outside for our walking tour of the lower Old Town, and then on to the upper Old Town. This was going to be a 2 hour walk, and we were already tired, so not sure we could do it all. We asked about where we could go to get the bus, but Eva wanted us to stay with her because it was not likely we would be able to find the buses. So we stayed. We were quite cold by this time, and it was getting dark, so photos would be hard to take.

Church at the Market

We did have about 15-20 minutes to look around the Christmas market that was still running. Apparently they keep the market running until January 7, which is when the Russians celebrate their Christmas, and often come here to celebrate. Dawn had seen a small store that interested here, so we went and found that store, made a couple purchases, and then went and quickly looked at some of the wares in the market. Again, some more purchases, and then we were ready to join the group for the tour.

Quilted Christmas Tree

We went to the oldest continually working pharmacy in the world, and had an opportunity to go inside to look around. Back outside again, and we then went to a store that held a number of artisans, and had a walk through. There wer quilters, knitters, leather works, bookmakers, along with other types of artisan work. Some was quite beautiful.

Outside again, we were in a narrow walkway with a number of decorations on the wall from the time when the churches were closed by the Russians. Eva talked about this for a bit, and then we continues down the walkway where we met the city wall here. The wall was built 16 metres tall and 8 metres thick, with guard towers all around the city. Apparently some are still there, but we didn't see any of them.

After that, we continued and ended back at the market. From there, we went uphill a ways to visit a shop that is the oldest continuously operating restaurant. Dawn had spotted a place to purchase some post cards, and we had some time to go and purchase a few to send home. Then we caught up to the group as we walked through the restaurant to a famous chocolate/marzipan store, again the oldest continuously operating marzipan shop.  I finally made a purchase here, buying a couple of the chocolates. I fear they may not make it home, but at least I have tried them.

Then it was uphill to upper Old Town. We had a choice of steps or inclined walkway, but we didn't really understand how steep the walkway would be. It was very narrow, and very dark and the cobblestones were very hard to walk on, especially when you can't see where you are going. We finally moved over to the steps that were at least even. It was a narrow, dark, and scary place for old people with poor knees and bad balance to walk. We made it to the top, but we're basically out of gas. Unfortunately, by this time, it was too dark to take many photos.

Cathedral in Upper Town

Eva Marie showed and spoke about a number of the things there. This was where the parliament sat, and again, it was quite spectacular. The building was similar to the castle we had looked at earlier in the day, just on top of a hill, inside the city walls. The lights shining on the cathedrals and the large buildings made for a very pretty sight.

A few of us had enough at that time, and Eva took our small group to the bus, which was just around the corner. Then she took the rest of the crowd further on to a viewpoint where they could look over the town. We got back on the bus to warm up. Dawn spent that time, writing on the post cards which we then asked Eva if she could mail for us. We didn't have an idea of how much the postage would be, so just gave her the change that was in my pocket, about 6.5 Euros. That should be more than enough.

When everyone got back to the bus, we were off, and heading back to the ferry. The same process for getting back on the ferry was followed, and we again found seats in the same restaurant area. Again, they aren't comfortable, but at least it is a place to sit. The 2 hour ride back to Helsinki seemed to be longer, but we arrived back safe and sound. We found our bus, got on, and then went back to the hotel. It was a long, tiring day, and we were soon in bed.

Back of the crowd waiting to exit the ferry. The crowd is to the right.

Day 3 of Tournament - Dec. 28, 2016

We were up and had breakfast by about 9:00 so decided to go for a walk and look at the area around our hotel. Just down the street, there is an ice rink where lots of people skate each day. Skates can be rented here, but we decided to not put ourselves through this indignity of falling down and likely hurting more than just our rear ends. Instead, we continued walking.

Our Hotel in the Background

Beside the rink area, is a major bus station, train station, and tram station. Lots of people come up the escalator pulling suitcases and wearing backpacks, so it appears that lots of people travel by train. We walked past this area, continuing on to a Marks and Spencer department store.

On entering the store, we had to go up a level to get to an area where there was some shopping. It is strangely laid out, compared to what we are used to. It seems that the store is mainly around a central square area. However, there are 4 levels in this store, and we didn't go to all of them. Instead, after determining that they didn't have the Christmas items on sale that we were looking for, we went up the escalator to another store on the 5th floor. Here we were able to spot some things, and of course, had to make some purchases.

Then it was down the escalator to the store basement, where there was a grocery market. We thought we would purchase some snacks to help fill the gap if we didn't eat supper again. We have been quite hungry after we return from the last game each night, but don't feel like eating something big at this time of day.

Back to the hotel after this. There is a really simple way to attach an HDMI cable to the TV, so I set it up and we watched another episode of "House of Cards" on Netflix. The HDMI connection is right beside our bed, and once plugged in there, the connection is made to the TV. That show depicts how awful some politicians are - dishonest and conniving. I hope it is not actually that way, but fear that there is some truth to the things shown.

One of the Vendors

By then, it was time to get ready to board the buses, and set off to the arena. We got 2 games again this time. The first was Sweden playing the US. Both teams were 1-0 going into the game, so someone would end up 1-1 after this game.

Arriving outside the Helsinki Ice Hall

The arena was very full. Lots of Swedish fans, and of course, lots of Canadian fans. It seemed like most of the Canadian fans were cheering for the Swedes, and when they scored the opening goal of the game in the 2nd period, the place erupted. The teams put on a great show. Both are fast, skilled, and intense. Each had their turn to put pressure on, and each responded by holding that pressure off

Warmup for US-Sweden Game

The Americans out-shot the Swedes by a considerable amount in the 1st period and were carrying the play in the 2nd when Sweden scored. After that, it was back and forth for the rest of the game. The Swedish goalie played very well, holding the US off the scoreboard, despite intense pressure. In the last few minutes of the game, the US pulled their goalie, but then took a penalty. Once they got control of the puck again, they again pulled their goalie, and took another penalty.

Now down 2 skaters, the writing was on the wall. Sweden generally took control of the puck and really pushed the US, not allowing them any chances. Sweden won the game 1 - 0, and the place was pretty wild. The Swedish goalie was their game star, and was deserving of the award.

Then it was "hang around" time, waiting for our game to start. We finally broke down and purchased some "very expensive" food. We got a couple small slices of pizza and a small pop for 8.50 Euros (about $13 CDN). The pizza was not great, but it did fill the gap.

The arena seemed much colder than it had the previous games, and we were chilled. We stayed on the mezzanine for much of the break, before heading down to our seats. Our section is in the zone that Denmark would be defending for 2 periods, so we hoped we would see lots of good action.

When the game started, it was clear that Canada was bigger, faster and stronger than the Danes. Both teams had some skill, but the Canadian players are clearly more skilled than most of the Danish players. The Danish goalie stood on his head and kept his team in the game. The Danes finally scored the first goal, which was deflating for our crowd and the team. Clearly the Swedish fans who had stuck around were cheering for the Danes because they got quite raucous on that goal.

After that, Canada scored to even it up by the end of the 1st period. In the 2nd period, Canada scored 4 more goals, outshooting Denmark 22-7, after outshooting them 21-4 in the 1st period. The 3rd period was similar - lots of Canadian shots and another goal. In the end, it was not an exciting game, but it was a good one. The Danish goalie was their star of the game, and it appeared that the Canadian players were congratulating him as they shook hands (at least that is what I believe they were doing).

We were tired and needed to get back to the hotel. Once we got back to the bus and started to warm up, it was difficult to keep our eyes open.

Day 2 - Day off from Hockey - Dec. 27, 2015

Well, today is a day off from our viewing of the tournament. There is only one game in our arena - Denmark vs Switzerland, and we're not going. Instead, they organized a 2-hour tour of Helsinki in the morning, and tonight is the Welcome Reception. All of the people on the tour should be here today, so they will greet us with some entertainment, a dinner, and our jackets. That part goes tonight. We leave the hotel at 6:00 pm, and should return about 11:00.

Cornelia, our Guide

Our tour guide today was Cornelia. She is a pretty Finnish lady and speaks English very well. Our driver was Jari, which she says is a popular Finnish name.
We saw a number of the sights around Helsinki, which is a fairly young city compared to other capital cities in Europe. It has a population of about 800, 000. When it was made the capital city, it belonged to Russia and the Tsar decided the capital should be further away from Stockholm than the original capital city. At that time, Helsinki had a population of about 1500, and only 5 stone buildings. Now, there are a lot of big buildings, modeled after the architecture of St. Petersburg.

Luthern Cathedral

We stopped at the Luthern Cathedral, which is a large church built up on a hill. There are a lot of steps going up to it, and there is a statue of Alexandre II in the square at the front of the church. The sun was shining fully on the Cathedral, and it was quite spectacular to see. It appears that this will be the site of the New Years celebration as there were a number of workers setting up staging in the square at the front of the Cathedral.

Alexander II

OKRA - Craft Store

Across the street from where our bus stopped, Dawn spotted a craft store that she had researched before we came over, so she was quite excited about going in there. She didn't spend much time looking at the Cathedral, and instead, scurried across the street to make some purchases from the store.

After that, we went on with our bus tour. We passed the ship building area. Apparently they have 3 main ship building yards in Finland and build many of the world's large ships. There were 4 ice-breakers moored near here, along with a number of large ferries that go between Helsinki and Sweden (overnight), Helsinki and St. Petersburg (didn't fit our schedule), and Helsinki and Tallinn, Estonia. We will be taking this ferry on a day trip, later on in the tournament.

Ferry from Stockholm

Ferry is just in

We went by some beaches and swimming area, one which is used for winter swimming. Can you imagine, people pay money to join the club so they can swim in the Baltic Sea in the winter. We didn't see any swimmers, but apparently they are around. Near one of the beaches, we stopped at the monument to a famous Finnish composer (Jean Sibelius). There is a unique stainless steel monument along with a bust of his head at this site.

Monument to Sibelius

Sibelius' Bust

The bus dropped us off at one side of the park, and then moved to the other side of the park to pick us up. We were quite careful while walking in the snow, but Dawn slipped and fell. She was really worried about her knee but was likely more embarrassed from the fall. In the end, she was all right, but she did have a couple scary moments.

Ice Breakers

A Boat in the Bay

After that, it was on to a visit to a church that was cut into the rocks, in another part of the city. The bus had to park quite a ways from this church, and it was a walk to it. We decided not to go, and instead, walked around the close vicinity of where the bus was parked. There was a slight wind, and our faces got quite cold in the -4 degree temperature. We got back on the bus and then headed back to the hotel for the afternoon.

Statue

Church Cathedral

Back on the bus at 6:30 for our trip to the Messukeskus Convention Centre and our Reception Dinner. Everyone is here now, the last groups arriving late this afternoon, so there are now 11 buses to transport our group around, and 526 guests on the tour.

When we got to the Convention Centre, they let us off the buses in order, staying on the bus until the previous group was in. It worked out well, because, within half an hour, everyone was in the hall and seated. As soon as we were seated, we were told to go to the buffet table to dish up. There were 3 buffet stations, each one being accessible from both ends, so things went pretty quickly. We were amazed that this many could be eating so quickly after arriving at the hall.

Hotel in a Ship

Olympic Stadium - 1972

It was a cold-plate dinner, salmon, caesar salad, green salad, chicken fingers, pasta salad, desserts, coffee/tea. The salmon was great, and there was more than enough to go around. We have had quite a bit of salmon while in Helsinki, so it must be one of their staples.

After that, it was entertainment by a comedian they had hired to be the emcee as well one of the bus leaders. He was pretty good, and had us laughing pretty hard very quickly. He described life growing up in Canada, which was something everyone could relate to; things like dad watching the hockey game on Saturday night, while drinking beer, dads being as surprised as the kids when the presents were opened because he had no idea what they were getting. It was a lot of fun.

The Comedian

The group

This was followed by introductions of the owners and staff of our tour company. Besides the owners and their family, there are 11 bus leaders, some who are staff, and some who are volunteers. Most have been on these tours with the company before, so were known to those who have come before.  Rita talked about starting out on their first World Junior tour with 23 people - 20 parents of players, and 3 guests, advancing to this year, their 12th tour with 526 guests. They don't do tours when the championship is in Canada, so we estimated they have been doing this for about 24 years. It is a first class tour, with first class facilities, and first-class management. We are more than happy to be with them.

Ater the dinner, it was back on the bus to return to the hotel. We got back after 11:00, and it was time to head to bed.

The stage

Day 1 of the Tournament - Dec. 26, 2015

We slept well last night. It is somewhat hot, even though the air is cooler than what we have had. Blankets in Europe seem to be a duvet inside of a cover. With the duvet on, I was too warm, and with it off, I got too cold, but I'm getting used to it. We woke just after 7:00 this morning, and after showering, we decided to head down for breakfast.

It is a nice buffet, once again. Different than in Munich, but still very impressive. Some folks got in from North America last night, and some will be getting in tonight or early tomorrow morning. Once those groups are here, all of our tour will be together. Apparently we have the hotel to ourselves for the duration of the tournament. I'm pretty sure they are happy to have us here, but I'm also sure they will be happy to have the Canadians gone. There are some pretty rowdy people.

We board the busses for the first games at 2:50 this afternoon.

Well, it is time. We are off to the arena where Canada plays their round robin games. There were a few flakes of snow when we went outside, but the skies were mostly clear. It starts to get dark in a short while, so the nights are long in Helsinki.

Helsinki Ice Hall

At the arena, it took a while for us to find our seats. It seems to be a relatively new arena, but either the Finns are generally small and like billy-goats, or we are too wide and unable to climb steep stairs very well. We found the section where we were to sit, but the seat numbering system was strange. In the row we were to sit, the numbers were way off what we had. However, a few seats into the row, the numbers changed to ours (quite a jump between them). We sat in the first row, and there wasn't a lot of room for our feet. Oh well, that's life.

The first game was Switzerland against Sweden. It looked like it was going to be a blow-out. In the end, it was, but the Swiss played the Swedes really hard. There were a few unfortunate 5-minute penalties, one we didn't believe warranted 5 minutes, but the other, clearly should have. The Swedish star player, Nylander who is property of the Leafs, went down with what we think is a concussion. He better learn quickly that you can't skate around looking backwards for the pass. Someone in the NHL will really hurt him if he continues that bad habit.

The final score was 8-3, and I believe that was a realistic score. The Swiss tried hard, but were smaller than the Swedes, and didn't have the greatest of team play systems. There were a few times when the hemmed the Swedes in, but that was after the game was well in hand, and we think the Swedes were looking at getting points, rather than playing defence.

Then, there was an hour and a half break before the Canada - USA game. We walked around the arena, and that is when we noticed it had snowed outside - probably a couple centimetres. All the vendor locations were packed. Lots of beer being sold, and very expensive food, from what we saw. A couple of places were selling popcorn and a soft drink for 10 Euros (about $15 CAD). We didn't look at prices for food but decided we would hold off trying to purchase anything.  Dawn did buy a little Finnish bear, which I think is the mascot for Finland.

The atmosphere was great when the teams came onto the ice. The arena was packed with lots of Canadians, small pockets of Americans, and clumps of other nationalities. It wasn't as boisterous as the tournament in Sweden, but I think there was some trepidation about meeting the US in the first game.

Canada scored first, and that set the crowd off. However, USA scored the next 2 goals, and things got a lot quieter. Then, Strome scored the tying goal and everyone was up and hollering again. The Americans took a 5 minute major for spearing with about 2:20 left in the 2nd period. This looked like the perfect time for our boys to get going. Unfortunately, they didn't score before the end of the period.

When the 3rd period began, we still had 2:40 left of the power play. The Americans played really good defence, and didn't really give the boys a sniff, and they escaped the power play with no scoring. Then it was back and forth until about 6 minutes left. What appeared to be a harmless shot from the point, without any screen, was deflected by our defence, and went into the net. This was pretty deflating for our team, and our crowd, and the place got pretty quiet, except for the noise from the Americans.

Then, with about 2 minutes left, a puck got through our goalie and lay on the ice behind him. The Americans swatted it in the net, and now were up 2 goals. After that, they pretty much hemmed our team in and didn't give them much of an opportunity to get the goalie out until just about 1 minute left. They had some chances, but no luck and the game ended in a defeat for Canada.

Then, we had to find our buses and get back to the hotel. They told us that the buses would leave 15 minutes after the National Anthem, so we were under a time constraint. We made our bus in plenty of time, and then left for the hotel. About half way back to the hotel, our bus leader got a phone call from Rita (Destiny Tours owner) that some people were back at the arena waiting for the bus. So we turned around and went back to get them. I don't think they were from our bus, but we got them anyhow.

It was after 11:00 when we got to the hotel. There wasn't any food that we could afford, so we decided to forego something to eat and go to bed hungry. We need to loose weight anyhow.

A tour tomorrow, and no game, so it is like a day off for us.

Arrival in Helsinki - Dec. 25, 2015

Merry Christmas everyone. It doesn't feel like Christmas for us, but it must feel even less like it to those who have to work at the hotel, with the buses, and at the airport. We sure appreciate them doing this for us.

We bussed to the airport in Munich, leaving our hotel at 8:15 am. There were 151 people staying at the hotel from our group, and they had booked 3 buses. Unfortunately, there was not enough room for all the baggage, and they had to hire a van to get the extra to the airport. It seems the drivers didn't anticipate how much space would be needed for the bags, and didn't pack too well. They had to repack, but there still wasn't enough room. In fact, it was quite a tough fit for all the people, but we finally made it.

It was about a 45-minute drive to the airport. They had chartered a flight on Tuifly for us because Lufthansa was not flying on Christmas Day (at least to Helsinki). The plane was a 737, and there was quite a bit of room. Many of us (including Dawn and me) had an empty seat between us, which allowed us lots of room. Otherwise, it would have been very crowded - not much room between rows, and relatively small seats.

The flight was just over 2 hours, and we lost another hour in time because Helsinki is farther east. So we landed in Helsinki at about 2:00 pm. Then onto our bus (we were scheduled for bus #2, which held a lot of people. However, one of the buses sent only held 46 people, so some had to move over to seats in the other buses in order to get a ride.

We arrived at the hotel about 2:50, and the check-in procedure began. They had 4 lines set up to accommodate all of us, but still it took a long time. Then, one of the elevators to our floor was not working, and with all the bags, it took a long time to get everyone to their rooms on that side of the hotel.

Finally, we were in our room. It is a nice room - large, a king bed, large bathroom, a sauna (which it is unlikely we will use) and a large sitting area. It took quite a while to figure out the lights. Like all the hotels we have stayed in in Europe, you have to put your room card in a slot just inside the door that applies power to the lights. However, in this room, the light controls are electronic and adjustable for different "moods". It wasn't a problem at this time, but when it was time to go to bed, it became a problem because I couldn't figure out how to turn the lights off. I finally found the switch for the lights on our headboard, but it took a lot of searching.

We had a good sleep. It feels like we are finally catching up and our sleeping rhythms are adjusting to the time difference. Our bus leaves for the games at 2:40 pm, so there is lots of time to get up, shower, eat breakfast, and relax for quite a while, before the hectic schedule begins.

Trip to Salzburg, Austria Dec. 23, 2015

Our bus to Salzburg

We were up early for this trip. We had two different times on our itinerary, so weren't sure which was which. Turns out it was the later time of the two shown. The earlier time was there for the return trip, and Rita made a mistake putting in AM, rather than PM.

There were 2 busloads of people who went. We were on bus #1 with 46 people from our tour, plus a couple local guides. The drive to Salzburg was about 2 hours, with a stop as we near the city to spend some time because we were early for our Salzburg guide. As it turned out, we had to wait quite a while for him when we got there. The guide who was scheduled got stuck in traffic, we were told, and another had to come and do the tour with us.

We started off with a driving tour through the new part of the city. This part was started in the 17th century because the old town was running out of room to expand. The old town was built between the river and the mountain, and they ran out of room for expansion. So, they went around the mountain and built the new part on the other side of the mountain where there was lots of room.

Sealed Tunnel

I wouldn't want to drive a bus around there. The streets are quite narrow, and it was quite amazing to watch the driver navigate through the corners and traffic. We looked at some pretty old places that were built at the base of the mountain. Some things were clearly built into the mountain. In one place, there was obviously a tunnel into the mountain, but it was sealed off and fenced so that people couldn't get in. We weren't told what this was, but I assume it may have had something to do with the war (or, at least, one of them).

Drive to Salzburg

Mountains on way to Salzburg

The mountain views were quite spectacular. These are the Bavarian Alps, and as we were driving to Salzburg, it reminded me of driving towards the Rockies from Calgary. We were told that the bus could not go into the old part of town because the streets were too narrow. It was interesting to see what he was driving in the new town and to imagine what it was like in the old town.

Von Trapp Mansion

We got off the bus a couple times to view some of the castles and sights that were prominent in "The Sound of Music" movie (which was also playing on our drive to Salzburg). We saw the castle that was supposed to be their home and the site where the kids and Maria first met the Duchess. We also saw the town square where the German flags were waving after the occupation. I think the guide wanted us to know that some of it was just Hollywood, because he kept referring to things that were impossible to do in Salzburg. One of these was the trek over the mountain to escape. Apparently the way they went would have landed them in the area of Hitler's summer home.

Catacombs

Cemetary

In the old town, we went on a walking tour with the guide. We saw the birthplace of Mozart, some amazing cathedrals, 3 different Christmas markets, the oldest cemetery in Salzburg, which was still in use today. I'm not sure I would want to be buried where tourists are walked around to see the sites. in the wall of the mountain leading to the fortress above, were catacombs cut into the wall where people were buried centuries ago.

Dining Room

Part of our tour was lunch served in the oldest restaurant in Europe. The restaurant was first opened in 672 A.D. It is now in the area of a monastery, but still going strong. The room we ate in was very elaborate - beautiful ceilings, great chandeliers, white tablecloths, lots of silverware. It was pretty amazing. We quite enjoyed this meal, which was served to us by a wait staff that was very good.

After that, we had free time to walk around. We were given a time to meet up for the return trip to Munich and then set free. Of course, we HAD to go back to the markets and spend time looking at the wares being sold. In our opinion, they weren't overly spectacular, reminding us of the markets where cheap trinkets are sold. However, not a lot of these trinkets were cheap in price.

After an hour or so, we were getting quite tired of walking, so started looking for ways to get to the meeting spot. We had a map, but the writing was small and in German, so I had a real time figuring out where to go. We generally knew where we were supposed to go, but getting there was more difficult. We made it with lots of time to spare, but there was no place to sit and wait. So, we leaned against the wall, complained about our sore feet and backs, and waited for everyone else to show up.

Finally, everyone was there at the appointed time, and we then had to walk again, across the river, through the streets, through a park, and around the area until we got to where the bus was supposed to pick us up. It wasn't there, but came around the corner, a short time later. It felt very good to get on and sit in our seats.

In all, it was a good day. We enjoyed the drive there, and the tour of the city of Salzburg. We feel that we had learned a little about another part of the world that we had heard of, but had never seen.

Fortress Above Salzburg