July 31 - Leaving Budapest

When we got up, after sleeping in as long as we wanted, we didn't have a lot to do. The hotel let us stay for a couple hours later than regular check-out time, so we had about 3 hours to wait until boarding our ship. We were checked out just before noon, and left our bags for storage at the hotel. Then, it was spend some time walking the streets near the hotel, looking at the shops and restaurants.

The young lady who had greeted us outside the restaurant where we ate the first night there was working, so Dawn suggested I get a photo of her. When she was finished greeting some guests, I asked her if it would be alright to take her picture, she agreed. So I got a nice photo of her outside her restaurant.

Then we walked into the square and decided to sit in the outdoor part of another cafe and have some ice cream and a pop. We were under the awning, so out of the sun, and when the breeze blew, it was quite nice. We watched the people walking by, and listened to the conversations of those around us. There really is nothing different about these folks from us, except the language.

We managed to make this last for about an hour, and then I wanted to have a look at what was just up the way from us. We walked up the square, and found one of the bridges that crossed the Danube. We knew approximately where our boat was docked, so we decided to go onto the bridge (It seemed to be only for pedestrians and bicycles) so see a little farther down the river side. The breeze was blowing down the river, and without buildings blocking it, the breeze felt great and cooled us down. We knew our ship was at mooring place 9, and the ships right by the bridge were at number 6. We could see 7 and 8, but 9 wasn't very visible due to the boats in front.

I walked farther out onto the bridge (almost half way across) to see if it was visible. We knew it was docked outside of another ship, and I thought I could see it, so at least we now had an idea of where to go. I had spoken to someone from Gate 1 to find out exactly where the ship was, and because the area is quite long, they were only able to tell me the number of the gate, and the name of the building close to where it was moored.

About 2:30, we headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and get a taxi to the ship. We probably could have walked, but decided to ride. The driver let us out a ways from the gate because the road didn't go along the shore at that point, so it would have saved us 5 Euros if we had walked, rather than take a couple minute ride.

Boarding was a pretty easy process. We left our bags at the shore and crew members took them aboard. We had to walk through another ship, go upstairs a couple flights, then cross to our ship, and go down a flight to get to the office area. We gave them our passports, they checked to find our room, and then a crew member took us to our cabin and showed us around.

The ship looked new (we found out later that it had been commissioned at the beginning of April this year) and our room was really nice to see. First, the air conditioning was working very well, and it was chilly in the room, which was a welcome relief. Although not large, it was comparable to the rooms we had on the ocean cruises, and very similar to the room we had in China on that river cruise. A very nice bathroom that was bigger than the ocean cruise bathrooms, but not quite as big as the Yangtze cruise bathroom. We did have a large glass door, which was our balcony door, but there was no room between the door and the balcony railing, so it was only for show. At least the door was large, making the whole wall a window.

Once unpacked, we went up on the top deck to just sit around until the Welcome and Safety Briefing at 5:45 pm. This lastest until about 6:45, when there was a talk about the port we would be at tomorrow. They gave us some pointers, and spoke about what was on the itinerary for the day. Then it was time to head down a deck to the dining room for the Welcome dinner.

We had met and spoken with a few people while waiting for the events just mentioned, and so sat with one of those couples who were from Southern California. A couple other fellows from Fort Lauderdale came and joined us, and as we ate, we got to know each other. The dinner was a 5 course meal, starting with soup, then a cold appetizer followed by a hot appetizer. The the main course (there were 2 special items to choose from, as well as one that is available all the time). We chose the chicken stuffed with prosciutto and cheese. Before dessert was delivered, there was a big entrance with the wait staff carrying a cake around the restaurant. We thought it was to show what was for dessert, but as they were passing our table, they stopped, lit a sparkler, and presented it to Mark, the retired firefighter from Southern California. Today was his birthday, and he was certainly surprised that they knew about it. Dessert was actually the chocolate cake, similar to what we had on the tour yesterday, but presented a bit differently. All in all, a very nice meal.

Dinner was going to be followed by entertainment with Budapest Operetta. We decided to forego that pleasure, and instead went up on the top deck to wait for the ship to leave. We would be traveling upstream, and going by most of Budapest after dark. This would be an opportunity to view the beautiful lights on the amazing buildings. Ahead of us, in the direction we would be going, there was clearly a large thunderstorm, and the clouds were building toward us. The light show behind the amazing buildings was spectacular in itself. 

The ship was late leaving because there was some sort of emergency, and they had to wait for an ambulance to come and get someone. The longer we waited, the closer I got to falling asleep, so I finally went back to our cabin. Dawn stayed up on the deck to watch the departure, and she said once the ship started moving, it got quite chilly and windy. Most of the people left, and once we were past the main part of the city, she came back to the room. Shortly after she returned, I could hear the rain hitting our window. However, this was not a problem because we were both trying to go to sleep. A cool room, a comfortable bed, and warm blankets - what more could we want?

June 30 - Day Trip to Danube Bend

We were off again at 8:30 for a whole day tour. This was a tour 3 historic sites and took all day for us to experience them. We finally got back to our hotel at 6:45 pm. We were tired, hot and sweaty and it was good to be back in our room.

Many of the Budapest streets were closed for a Triathlon that was taking place that morning. Our taxi to the tour beginning had a lot of trouble finding a way to get there, but after some doubling back, driving down some streets the wrong way, and generally working hard to get us there, the driver finally made it. We were greeted by a young woman who verified we were on the tour and then showed us to the bus. There were only a couple people on it, and it was quite hot. We were going to get off to try and stay cool when more people started showing up, and the driver started the bus and ran the air conditioner.

Our Bus

By the time we left, the bus was full to overflowing. We thought they might have oversold the trip, but there were exactly enough seats for the 32 paying customers. The tour guide had to sit on the floor at the front of the bus because there was no seat for her.

Off we went. We had driven by the same places a couple times by now, so were able to recognize a number of the buildings and streets we were on. The bus also had trouble finding the way out of the city, due to the triathlon, but he finally got by the road closures. Once on the highway, it took about 45 minutes to get far enough from the city center and we began to see less dense areas and individual homes. The roads were busy (it was Saturday morning and we were going to a place of tourism and relaxation) but we made good time to our first stop.

Entrance of the Cathedral

Main Altar

The first place was the site of the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary. It was at Eszergom which means Center of the Catholic Church. We had a visit inside the cathedral, which is a huge building. It doesn't look what we think of as a church from the outside - tall columns, flat marble walls, and very imposing. Inside, though, was a different story. It was huge with lots of arches and very high domed ceilings. One room was the original chapel which was quite small, but the added on parts were simply huge.

1000 Pipes

There was a pipe organ with over 1000 pipes that only gets played on Sunday at 10 am. It must be beautiful to hear. While we were in there a fairly large group of people gathered and sang what sounded like something from the Renaissance era. They may have been a choir who traveled there to sing. The acoustics were amazing, sounding very clear and loud. I thought at first that it was recorded music because I couldn't figure out where the music was coming from. Finally, I noticed where they were gathered and realized that they were the ones singing.

View of the Valley

After about 45 minutes we moved back outside and looked at the view over the Danube Valley. This was also quite lovely to see. It reminded us of home, with the rolling hills and lush greenery. We took a few photos.

Bridge to Slovakia

From Slovakia

Beside the Cathedral was the Visegrad, the former Royal Residence. We didn't go inside, but it was quite a building. Shortly after leaving here, we went across a bridge into Slovakia, just to get a photo opportunity of the Royal Residence and the Cathedral. In total, we were in Slovakia about 20 minutes before going back across the river and off on our 45-minute drive for lunch.

Fortress on the Mountain

Lunch was at a restaurant on top of a mountain. It was beside what was once a military fort to protect the Danube Valley from invaders. It looked like there was a wedding scheduled for later on in the day. A section of the dining room was set up for the wedding party, and outside, there were 6 identical models of Audi parked in a row. The steps up to the restaurant were decorated with the wedding colours, as well. Lunch was chicken soup with pasta, the main course was turkey and potatoes (lots of them), and the dessert was chocolate cake. It was a filling lunch, but not spectacularly good. The view from the dining room, and outside on the deck was very pretty, overlooking the river valley and the fields below.

Outdoor Cafe

Audi's Gathered for the Wedding?

After lunch, it was back down the mountain and another 45 minute drive to Szentendre, a small town on the bank of the river where we were to catch the public boat back to Budapest. This town was supposed to have a guided walk around the town to see some of the sites. We walked a little way, and then decided to stay near the public boat. We sat in an outdoor restaurant, watching the people walk by and had a pop. We asked for lots of ice, and this place was very accommodating. They don't use a lot of ice in Europe, we have found, and it is somewhat difficult to get cold drinks.
Finally, it was time to board the boat. We decided to sit on the top deck (it did have a cover, but it was outside). The boat was very full, with all the seats upstairs were filled. At least when we were moving, the wind allowed us to feel somewhat cooler. The sun had also gone behind the clouds, so we didn't get the direct sunlight. The locals clearly knew what we didn't, and picked the side that was going to be in shade while we traveled the 22 km back to Budapest. However, they did sit in the bright sun while we were waiting to leave, so in the end, I think we had it a bit better.

Up the Street From Cafe

It was fun to motor up the river, seeing the sites on both sides. It was somewhat sparsely populated for a fair amount of the trip. There were lots of summer places; cabins, small houses, bigger houses, some camping in tents. We didn't see a lot of swimming in the river. The girl at the restaurant said the river was pretty dirty. The part that we traveled in was quite muddy, looking a lot like the colour of the North Thompson as it goes by Westsyde.

Upstairs on the Public Boat

Well like all good things, in and hour and fifteen minutes, the trip came to an end. Once off the boat, we had to find a taxi to take us back to the hotel. We found one sitting at the side of the road and asked if he could take us to our hotel. He told us to wait and called for another taxi to take us there. When it got there in a couple minutes, the driver didn't appear to know where the hotel was. He kept asking us a street name, but we didn't know street names, so weren't able to confirm if that was where it was. He asked another driver who said it was on the street our driver was indicating. I pulled out my phone and used the GPS which basically showed that our hotel was not where he was going to take us, so he used our directions and we got there within about 10 minutes. It cost a bit more than the taxi from the previous day, but was within range. We were out of the local currency (Hungarian Forint), so I paid in Euros and got change back in Forints. After checking with my exchange program, it turned out to be about $12 Canadian.

We were both very tired, and after cleaning up, we relaxed. I began to write this post, but was falling asleep, so rather than end up falling off my chair, I stopped and laid down and had a nap. It was difficult to wake up, but I knew I wouldn't sleep through the night if I didn't stay awake.  I did share a selection of our photos with mom, so got something done before it was time to go to bed.

Tomorrow, July 31, we board our ship, the Monarch Empress. We will have to figure out where it is docked so we can get a taxi there when it is time. However, that is for later today.

June 29 - Tours in Budapest

We were awake this morning at about 6:30. Showered, dressed, and went off to breakfast at the buffet. It was quite a nice buffet (not like the ones in Helsinki and Malmo, but still quite nice). The coffee was good, and so were the scrambled eggs and sausages. It was a good experience and we will be eating here for the next couple mornings.

We had to be ready for our pickup for the tour of the Hungarian Parliament House and Budapest Sightseeing Tour by 9:00, so back to our room. The driver arrived about 15 minutes early, and we hurried down to the lobby, so he could drive us to the tour company office. We had a wait until 9:30, and then boarded a bus. There were about 25 people altogether in our group.

This bus was very comfortable. It was a regular sized tour bus but had large, comfortable seats with lots of room. There were 2 seats on one side of the aisle, and only 1 seat on the other side. Unfortunately, we were only on this bus for a short while until we got to the Parliament House. The guide who took us there got us in, set up with the sound equipment, and then told us where she would meet us at the end of this part of the tour.

Parliament House

We started off by entering through a security area. I forgot my phone and wallet in my pocket so had to be wanded but we still got in. Then we had to climb upstairs to start the tour. They offered us an elevator, but we figured we could make it. After we started, they told us there were about 140 steps, which we soon regretted, but weren't able to turn back. After a few rest stops, we made it to the floor where the tour started.

Ornate Architecture

Like what our experience has shown from other European cities, the architecture is pretty spectacular. It was very impressive to see the domed ceilings, the gold-leaf covered columns, and the beautiful stained glass windows.

We were able to take pictures everywhere except the room where the Crown jewels were stored. In this room, there was a roped-off enclosure where the King's crown, sword, and a couple globules were stored. This was guarded by 2 soldiers who stood very still, only moving once a minute to move their sword from one shoulder to the other. The soldiers were changed every hour. It must be very difficult to stand so still for 60 minutes, especially when it is so hot and humid

Legislative Room

We had a look at the room where the legislators sat during their session. It is like what you might see on TV, very similar to pictures of the US Senate room. Apparently, the sessions are televised, and all the discussion is recorded and made available to the public. It sounds like a very open legislature.

After going through a few more rooms, we were finished here and went to the souvenir shop to meet our bus guide. Once everyone was present, we left and went to where the bus loading area. Here we waited until another bus came, which was to take us on the tour of Budapest. We said farewell to our first guide and met a different one. This bus was not so roomy as the first one, and there were already folks on it who were only taking the sightseeing tour. Some of our first party were only on the Parliament House tour, so they left us, too.

Then it was off to view some of the areas of Budapest. This is a city of about 1.8 million people. The country only has about 10 million people, so it is by far the largest city in the country. Most of the tour took place on the Pest side of the Danube River. This area is flatter and contains most of the historical buildings and architecture. Many of them were damaged or destroyed during WWII, but they are putting things back together.

View Through one of the Gates

We drove by a number of very impressive buildings and stopped at a couple places so we could take photos. Our final stop on that side of the river was at Castle Hill, which was a large castle area where many of the main departments of the government are located. They are still in the process of rebuilding some of the structures,

many of them have been completed, keeping with the original styles. Again, very impressive.

View of the City and the Danube

Towards the end, we crossed one of the bridges to go on the Buda side. There we drove up to the citadel, which gave some very impressive views of the city. This was basically a photo stop, and once this was done, we went back to the hotel where the tour began. From there, it was walk to the market again for a few things, and then back to the hotel room to rest until our next tour, which was a Dinner Cruise on the Danube.

 We paid for transportation to and from the Dinner Cruise, so were waiting for the taxi by 6:30. Our driver showed up, and off we went to this boat. It was one of those tied up along the shore, and when we arrived, a young man came and collected us from the taxi. He gave us the tickets we had purchased online, along with a couple free drink tickets.

Similar to our Dinner Cruise Boat

Then it was a short walk to the boat, and wait until the gates opened to allow us to board. This was a simple process and handled well with a waiter taking us to an assigned table. We were sitting with a couple from France, a couple from Germany, two young women from the US who were in Budapest at the European Lacrosse Championship (one was the trainer for the Scottish team, the other was her friend (a police woman) from New York). The Americans were not shy and spoke to everyone, the man in the German couple spoke a bit of English and was able to speak with us, his wife and neither of the couple from Paris had any English so we didn't learn much about them.

View from the Top Deck

The boat left and moved downstream. The sun was in our eyes and we couldn't see a lot. Like all cruises, there was a photographer who came to take photos of each couple (for sale before the end of the journey). Then we set off to get our dinner at the buffet. It was quite good - fish, chicken, beef of some sort, dumplings, and potatoes. There was also a few different types of salad, but we didn't get anything there, instead filling our plates with the main courses. I also had another bowl of Hungarian Goulash, which was still quite good.

One of the Castles

While we ate, a string group played for the audience - first from the stage, and then walking around and playing at many of the tables. They were good and seemed able to play whatever was requested.

Sunset From the Top Deck

When dinner was over, we went up on the top deck to watch the passing shoreline. The boat only went a short distance downstream, then turned and went upstream for a ways and then turned again, and went back to our river slip. The entire trip took 2 hours and was very enjoyable. The views were spectacular, and as it got dark, and the lights came on to highlight the buildings and bridges, it was very pretty.

Once back at the slip, we disembarked and then were taken by taxi back to our hotel. We are up early again tomorrow for another tour. This one is for most of the day and is a bus tour to someplace called the Danube Bend.

View of the Steeple on the Hill

                                     

Passing under one of the Bridges

July 28 - Arrival in Budapest

After our long flight from Toronto to Budapest, we finally arrived about 10:45 am.  We were about 2 hours late leaving Toronto due to a number of issues, but made up time during the flight and arrived about 40 minutes later than we were originally scheduled.

It took a while to go through immigration, collect our bags, and find the transportation to our hotel, but we survived. It was very hot inside the airport, and outside it was raining and thundering. I saw a bolt of lightning hit the ground a short distance from our plane, just as we touched down. Too bad about the weather as it had been sunny and hot (as well as humid) here over the past while. I don't think this will last too long, but we are forecast to have thunderstorms again tonight.

The hotel is about a 45-minute drive from the airport. We were early for check-in, but our room was ready so they let us in. It is quite small but big enough for us to stay in for a couple nights. Nice bathroom with a shower, a queen bed, and a TV. What more could we ask for?

Our Room

We were pretty tired, so lay down for a rest and were soon snoring away. I struggled awake after an hour, but it was pretty difficult to get mobile. Then, I realized I had left my medication on the sink counter at home. So, we went off to see if there was some way I could get some to last.  We were pointed to a pharmacy, just up the block from the hotel. After finding the pharmacist who could speak some English, he gave us a suggestion about what we could do. Our plan was to find a fax number and I could call the doctor in Kamloops to get the prescription faxed here. Not going to happen.

Then, the pharmacist gave us a card for a company who will send out a doctor who will provide prescriptions for those not here. I cost 230 Euros to get the doctor to the hotel, but he prescribed the medication I needed, checked that the pharmacy had the meds, and provided me with official forms I could present to our travel insurance company in order to get a refund.

Down the street from our hotel

Well, we purchased enough meds to get us back to Kamloops on this trip, so I should be good to go now.

Our hotel is pretty much beside the big outdoor market and walking mall so we walked around a bit. Lots of little tourist shops, much like those in Alaska and other cruise ports. Lots of little restaurants, too. We stopped and had supper at one of these, sitting outside on the sidewalk. The reason we stopped there was because the little greeter girl spoke such good English, and we struck up some conversation with her. They had schnitzel on the menu so because we didn't get any while in Germany, we thought we would try it here.  It was quite good, and we were sure full. We both started with a small bowl of Hungarian Goulash soup. This was very good, just like our vegetable soup that Dawn makes now and again.

Restaurant where we had dinner

Then it was back to our room. We have a couple tours tomorrow, so have to be up early. Hopefully, we sleep well but I'm expecting that we will wake quite early. Right now I'm having a real problem keeping my eyes open. It is only 8:45 pm, but I don't think I'm long for being ready to sleep.Rest

Day 11 - Day off before heading home Jan. 7, 2016

Here we are. The tournament is over, and we chose to stay an extra day due to how tired we were last time when we left a few hours after the final game was played. Our plan was to spend the day packing, and then go to bed early so we could start to adjust our sleep.

We were up at about 9:00 am, and after showering, we went down for breakfast. This was our final breakfast here, because we would leave tomorrow before the buffet opened up (way before). The first groups had already left the hotel early in the morning, so there weren't a lot of people in the buffet. We got what we wanted, and then went back to the room to finish off our writing entries, and to do some of the packing.

When we were finished, we decided to go over to the store across the street (a mall with a number of shops, including a Target (or whatever the Finnish word is for Target)). We needed some small things, and Dawn wanted to be sure she had some trinkets for her friends at home. We got them, and then headed back to our room.

We met some friends at the elevator and said our goodbyes. They were going to Tenerife for a few months and were also leaving tomorrow. Tenerife is located off the coast of Morocco, Africa. They are certainly looking forward to some warmer weather. They have rented a house and will travel around the islands and just enjoy themselves.

Then it was back to our room. We watched a couple episodes of "House of Cards" and around supper time, decided we should go and find something to eat. It was too cold outside (-21), so we decided to eat at the hotel. When we got down by the restaurant, we noticed some of our group going upstairs, so we asked them if that was where we went for dinner. They told us that there were complimentary hors d'ouvres for those in Business Class rooms, free of charge. We did not know that, but were in the right class of room, so went up. There was a good selection, and we got enough to keep us going until the next meal.

Back to the room, and shortly afterward, we were in bed. We had to board the bus, so I set the alarm for 2:30 to ensure we were downstairs in plenty of time. Wouldn't you know it, sleep was hard to come by. We must have slept, but it didn't feel like it. However, staying in bed at least rested our bodies.

On Jan. 7, we boarded our bus at 4:00 am (there were 3 of them this morning) for the trip to Helsinki airport. We arrived at about 4:45, and it was cold (-25). Once inside, we had to get our boarding passes, but the counters weren't open yet, so there was a pretty big lineup of people waiting to make the trip to Frankfurt.

After going through security, we boarded the plane and left at about 7 am. This was an hour and a half trip, and then we had to go through the very large airport in Frankfurt, to find our boarding gate. Security is pretty tight here, and we also had to go through passport control, so it took a while. I had our boarding passes on my phone, and wouldn't you know it, they weren't updated when things changed. My phone showed we were supposed to be at Gate B28. However, nobody from our group was there, so Dawn went to find information.

It turns out, our gate had been changed to B25. We got there (it was only a short distance), and joined the line of people who were already boarding the plane. It was a very long lineup. Finally, we got in and found our seats. We sat there for quite a while, and Dawn had just finished saying that it would be strange if something was wrong and we had to get off again (there were 400 people on the plane). Wouldn't you know it, the pilot came on the blower to say that there was a fuel leak in one of the wing tanks, and we would have to get off. There was another plane we could use, but it would have to be prepped for us. He told us to go to another gate, so off everyone went.

Part way to this gate, we were told to go to another gate, and for this one, had to go through security again. These guys were very thorough. We got patted down, had to take off our shoes and belts, had our carry-on bags checked carefully. Generally, we got to know them quite well (none of them were very friendly). Then we had to walk another long way to the gate we were sent to. When we found it, there was quite a lineup to get into the boarding lounge.

There wasn't nearly enough room for everyone, so they finally ordered a couple buses for those of us in the lounge to get onto, and after a while, they drove us over to where there was another 747. Then we had to sit there while the bus got hotter and hotter. It was quite a bit warmer in Frankfurt (+5) and became quite uncomfortable. Finally, they let us off and inside the building. We were at the gate they had sent us to after we got off the previous plane, but we finally started boarding.

As quickly as they could, they got everyone in, seated, and strapped in, and then began the take-off procedures. We were in the air at about 11:00, an hour and a half late, so we would be late getting into Vancouver. This was not a big problem for us because we had to get our car from the hotel where we left it, and then drive out to Abbotsford. However, some folks had to make connections with other flights. They didn't.

It was quite a wait getting our bags from the plane. They didn't quickly show up. Finally, we got them, and went outside to wait for the  hotel shuttle bus. When we got there, I picked up our car, we loaded our bags, and started off to Stella and Doug's place.

We got there at about 5:00 pm. Stella phoned to see where we were, just as I was about to open their door. We had a pretty good laugh. They had supper ready for us, and we sat down to eat and visit. After supper, we retired to their TV room, and I promptly fell asleep, much to the amusement of those who were there. What can I say.

Snow at the rest stop where the toll booths used to be.

Dawn got herself ready for bed, and then woke me up to come to bed. We were both in bed by 8:00, to try and get enough sleep for the drive home on Jan. 8.

We left the Holbrow mansion about 10:00, and after filling up with gas, began the drive home. I had checked the road report and things looked pretty good, so we had a good trip. We were home at about 1:30, and unpacked our bags. There were great piles of dirty clothes in our bedroom, waiting for the washing machine.

We went to the Blazers game that night and watched the Blazers come away with a win. This was the first time this season we had seen them wearing their white sweaters. The league changes colours for the teams after Christmas. They played Tri-Cities, and it was a good game. Fast, close checking, hard hitting, and fun to watch. The Blazers scored the winning goal with a few minutes to play, and Tri-Cities wasn't able to respond with a goal.  Them home we went and off to bed.

Day 10 - Bronze and Gold Games - Jan. 5, 2016

Photographer Across Arena

Part of our Group Photo

We had some time to waste today before we left for the arena. We were going early for the Farewell Reception and lunch, as well as the group photo. Buses were to board at 12:40 pm so we could get into the arena early and have the photo done. Security was at the door and let us in, making sure we went to the proper place. We set up in the lower bowl behind the penalty boxes, and the photographer was located across the arena in the stands there. It took Rita quite a while to get the whole group organized because some of them thought it was funny to be a problem. Clearly they weren't/aren't teachers.

Lunch Speeches

 Then it was to a large room they had rented for our Farewell Luncheon. Our group was so large that we had to use 3 levels of this section of the arena. For some reason, they couldn't fit 530+ people into one room. This was also a buffet lunch - salad, cold chicken, scalloped potatoes, and a type of pork rib done in a barbecue sauce. It was very tasty. I got us some cold water to drink. When the girl came around asking if we wanted coffee or tea, we each ordered a cup. She didn't tell us that a small cup would cost us 3.5 Euros each. Well, lesson learned (again).

After the farewell speeches, we were on our own until the doors opened. That would take place in about 20 minutes, so we went downstairs and used the bathrooms. Then on our walk around the arena, the doors opened, and things went from quite comfortable walking around, to battling the hordes as the crowd entered.

At 3:30, we went into our seats and watched the warm up. They get 20 minutes for this, so we saw the final 10 minutes. Then it was ice clean, and the beginning of the Bronze Medal game between Sweden and the US.

Before Doors Open

Shortly After Door Open

I felt that Sweden had shown to be the stronger team in the round robin, so figured that they would win the bronze. The Americans had a different opinion, and outplayed the Swedes for most of the game. It was pretty even for the first part, and then the US scored the opening goal. There wasn't much of an American group there, but many folks cheered for this. I think the Finns were hoping for the US because they dislike the Swedes so much.

Then the US scored again. It got quite a bit quieter until the Swedes scored their first goal. Before the end of the period, they scored again, and the arena was pumped up.

When the teams came back out, the US began to play better again, and they scored the 3rd goal. From there on, the Swedes couldn't do much. This goal really galvanized the US, and demoralized the Swedes. There were lots of goals, with the final score being 8-3 for the US. They won the bronze medal.

After the awards ceremony, it was wait for the final game - Finland vs Russia. We stayed at our seats for this game because it gets so crowded in the mezzanine. Part way through the break, a friend from Kamloops and his wife, came down to our seats to say hello. We knew they were going to be there, but didn't expect anyone to spot anyone else in that crowd. Somehow, they were able to find us in the crowd, and they showed up at our seats for a hello. That was a real surprise.

At 7:50 pm, the teams came on the ice for the warmup. We could see the Russian team better than the Finnish team because of where our seats were. They had some really interesting drills that were fun to watch. There is a lot of skill in these young players.

Russian in front of us

Then the ice clean before the game and the teams came out. The arena was full. There were quite a few Finns there, but also a lot of Russian supporters. Sitting just a couple rows in front of us, were a couple Russian men, one who was really pumped up; waving his flag, singing, and generally being noisy. When the game started, and the Finns had a scoring chance, he jumped up and blocked the view of a lot of us. Our new friend sitting beside us shouted at him to sit down, and there was a bout of raised hackles and chest-pounding before he sat down. It was effective because he rarely stood up after that, although he appeared to want to on occasion.

This was an excellent game. It was back and forth. The Russians scored first and the man in front of us was playhing that up. They held that lead for the rest of the first and for all of the 2nd period. The Finns came out and scored, right at the beginning of the 3rd period. They the Russians scored again, just over a minute later to take the lead back. Half way through the 3rd period, the Finns scored again to tie the game again.

The Russians were taking a lot of penalties. We thought the refereeing was pretty good, and the penalties were actual penalties. Finland scored the go-ahead goal with just over 2 minutes  the to go, and it looked like they were going to win. However, Russians scored with 6.9 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Final Score

In the OT, the Finns scored in the first 2 minutes to win the game. The place went nuts. It was loud and crazy right through to the presentation of the medals and the national anthem. We had to leave at that point to catch our bus back to the hotel, but we were pumped.

All-in-all, it was a great tournament. We had a great time. We saw lots of sites of places we likely won't see again, we met some great people, we met and conversed with the very friendly Finns, and we had great weather for the first part, and pretty good weather (but cold temperatures) for the last part. We are now thinking about joining Destiny Tours again, if they decide to run a tour for the WJC that will take place in the Czech Republic in 4 years.

All that is left now is to get packed up tomorrow, and then get on the bus at 4:00 am on Thursday morning for the flight back to Vancouver.

Day 9 - Semi Final Games - Jan. 4, 2016

We were up and went to breakfast just after 8:00 am, in the hotel. This chain of hotels certainly supplies good breadfasts as part of our stays.  Then it was back to the room to get ready to board the bus back to the train at 9:20. Once everyone was accounted for, we were off on the buses.

We arrived at the train station at about 10:00 and had to go through an initial security check to enter the station. Then we had to wait until just before the train arrived to get passed the ticket checkers. Here they checked our passports to make sure we were supposed to be on the train. This was a secure area, so photographs were not allowed, although some people were taking them. We saw one girl have to delete a photo she had taken, but we know she took more than just one, so she still had some.

Inside the Train heading to Helsinki

Then we were on the train, sitting in one of the cars that were for our group, and began the 3 hour trip back to Helsinki. Once again, we had to have our passports checked by the Russian border people, while on the train. When we entered Finland, the Finnish border gaurds came around and checked our passports. These guys were much friendlier, and smiled and laughed with us. They asked who we were cheering for, and of course, everyone said Finland which drew lots of laughs.

The train was a little late arriving back in Helsinki, so we had to hurry to drop off our backpacks, get our tickets, and get down to the buses for the trip to the arena. We got off the train, walked to the hotel, went up to our rooms and got to the bus, all within about 20 minutes. Pretty spectacular for a couple of old folks who have trouble walking on slippery roads.

We were a little late getting to the arena. Traffic was quite bad for some reason. We figured it out as we got closer to the arena. Lots of cars were going to the same place we were going. When we arrived, there was only about half an hour before the game started. We found our seats for these games, which were in the lower bowl of that arena. We had seats in row 6, but they were behind the time keeper and the penalty boxes. Quite a lot of glass to look through, and it was hard to see the game. Dawn watched most of the games on the big screen, and wasn't too happy.

Beginning of the game

We were surprised that the first game was Sweden and Finland. We had thought that Finland would play the late game, but I guess all those folks who were driving knew more about it than we did. We were sure that Sweden had a stronger team (and we still think that). However, they played a fast, hard checking game, and in the end, Finland prevailed, 2-1. There were some pretty upset Swedish players, and some pretty jubilant Finns by the time this game ended.

Then it was another walk around the arena, in the walkway with lots of restaurants and beer places. What a crowd. In places, it was very difficult to move. People were standing in line, and generally standing around, blocking access to anywhere to walk. We finally found a less busy area, and leaned against the wall until they opened the doors to let back into the seating area.

The second game went very similarly to the first game. We felt the US team was stronger than the Russian team. The US scored the first goal in the first period. It stayed that way until more than half way through the second period. Then the Russians scored. A short while later, they scored their second goal, and the US seemed to wilt. They continued to play hard, but the Russians put on even more pressure and basically kept them tied up. This game also ended 2-1, and now things are set for the Bronze and Gold medal games tomorrow.

They should be fun, and if today is any indication, they will be hard fought.