Well, I am back in St. Petersberg. Different ship, same parking spot. It is near eleven pm and I just watched the sunset from a deck 13 treadmill. I forgot how disorientating the late and early sun is. Luckily, though sarcastic, my room is very dark. I have a tunnel port hole. By this I mean I have a porthole that looks through three feet of hull before seeing the outside.
It is July 27th, and the high in St. Petersburg today was 63F or 18C. Damn that is cold after being in Mykonos Greece two days ago.
Being on a new ship, of roughly the same design is like being in a fun house. Everything is the same but different. The Officer's Bar, the most important reference, is still deck four midship, but the actual bar is on the aft side instead of forward. The crew office is deck four midship port, instead of starboard. (It is on the left side of the ship instead of the right side.)
The big difference in the ship is the size of the corridors. I know this is a random thing to mention, but that extra six inches makes the entire ship feel larger.
Perhaps most important upgrade is the wonderful cappuccino machine in the O-mess. This makes me very very very happy. For evidence, just talk to me at 7am, post cappuccino.
The strangest thing going on at the moment is the Russian authority's revocation of recognition of the Bahamian Seaman's Book.
To make the long story short, that mean there are over 550 of 650 crew members who are not permitted to enter Russia.
As seafarers we acquire what is internationally recognized as a transient visa, a seaman's book. This book is a formal document issued by the governing body of the ship's registry indicating service to a vessel. Since my first vessel of record was of Bahamian registry, my seaman book is Bahamian. (If I started on a ship of different registry, I would have a book of that registry, Norwegian for example.) The book, the size and shape of a passport, with identification information in the front and pages of contract service stamps, is generally accepted in lieu of a visa as long as the seaman enters as a worker on the vessel of his/her current contract and will leave by the same vessel in a short period of time.
Russia has turned around and simply decided not to recognize the Bahamian Seaman's Book as valid. Thus all crew members with Bahamian Seaman's books need visa. Visa's must be acquired out of Russia, and are a minimum of $100 if you apply six weeks in advance.
Hence, we are all stuck on the ship. It is funny in a cruel sort of way.
Anyway, because of the imprisonment, there is a big party starting in just a few.
Gotta run…
Friday, July 28, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
It's Midnight in Helsinki
And it is still light out.
I would blog more often if I had high speed internet access. It is much easier. (The ship is connected by low speed satelitte.)
So I was in Vienna today talking on the phone to my father. He told me to have some coffee, as Vienna is well known for its coffee. I laughed. I was standing across from a Starbuck's. Somehow I don't think that is what he has in mind. I had dinner at the Starbuck's. (Starbuck's is conquering the world.)I am all for trying the local flavor, but there was no place else to eat at the airport. I had a "New York Style Bagel," a bagel, cream cheese and lox. It was 4.90 euros. The fact that I paid in euros being the only distinction from home.
I left my home ship today, to switch to a different ship. It is very odd to me, to fly from one time zone, +3 Mykonos Greece, back one to Vienna +2, and then to Helsinki, +3. I have never flown through a different time zone just to return to my orginal one.
Anyway. It is the middle of the night and I should sleep... even though it is light out.
Love from Hel
sinki.
PS:
American businesses are invading the world.
I forgot to mention that I am staying at a Holiday Inn and watching CNN. I can buy a Newsweek downstairs. Add that to Starbuck's, McDonald's and all the other American influences.
On the other hand, half the people with cell phones in the world, have a Finnish Nokia. The world is just merging to one culture. (And I appreciate the fact that that culture speaks English. I took a flight from Greece to Austria and Austria to Finland today and both flights had announcements in English. Every person I needed to interact with at all airports spoke English, including the girl at Starbuck's. I realize "New York Style Bagel" does not require much translation, nonetheless our friendly conversation was in English.)
I should sleep... despite the fact it is still dusk at, at 12:40am.
I would blog more often if I had high speed internet access. It is much easier. (The ship is connected by low speed satelitte.)
So I was in Vienna today talking on the phone to my father. He told me to have some coffee, as Vienna is well known for its coffee. I laughed. I was standing across from a Starbuck's. Somehow I don't think that is what he has in mind. I had dinner at the Starbuck's. (Starbuck's is conquering the world.)I am all for trying the local flavor, but there was no place else to eat at the airport. I had a "New York Style Bagel," a bagel, cream cheese and lox. It was 4.90 euros. The fact that I paid in euros being the only distinction from home.
I left my home ship today, to switch to a different ship. It is very odd to me, to fly from one time zone, +3 Mykonos Greece, back one to Vienna +2, and then to Helsinki, +3. I have never flown through a different time zone just to return to my orginal one.
Anyway. It is the middle of the night and I should sleep... even though it is light out.
Love from Hel
sinki.
PS:
American businesses are invading the world.
I forgot to mention that I am staying at a Holiday Inn and watching CNN. I can buy a Newsweek downstairs. Add that to Starbuck's, McDonald's and all the other American influences.
On the other hand, half the people with cell phones in the world, have a Finnish Nokia. The world is just merging to one culture. (And I appreciate the fact that that culture speaks English. I took a flight from Greece to Austria and Austria to Finland today and both flights had announcements in English. Every person I needed to interact with at all airports spoke English, including the girl at Starbuck's. I realize "New York Style Bagel" does not require much translation, nonetheless our friendly conversation was in English.)
I should sleep... despite the fact it is still dusk at, at 12:40am.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Stromboli
So, I looked out my window today…
And…
There was an active volcano, wisping vapor.
Stromboli, Italy
And…
There was an active volcano, wisping vapor.
Stromboli, Italy
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Istanbul: A Strange Collision of East And West
With women in burkas or at very least conservatively dressed, Bath Houses, calls to prayer, mosque spires, and yellow, gleaming, perfectly maintained “TAKSi”s, Peugeots, The Body Shop, United Colors of Benneton, Coca Cola advertisements, and the showing of Rodin at the art museum, western style department stores like Mark and Sparkers, coble stone streets.
Roman aquaducts, dividing four lane bumper to bumper traffic.
Turkish delights everywhere...
Turkish rugs hanging from everything, waiting for a sale,
Arches adorned with deep color designs,
All in all, I did not like Istanbul. I think this is the result of one thing, sales tactics. I hate being sold too and invited in.
In Istanbul as with many of the eastern Mediterranean countries, it is customary for shop attendants and owners to stand outside their shops and verbally offer their wares and invite you in. “Hello Lady. I have beautiful silk for you. You must see. Finest around. Good price. You come in. Come in. Come in.” They can be quite aggressive. This drives me crazy. If I like your stuff I will buy your stuff. If you harass me, I go away, and buy no stuff.
My second trip to the Grand Bazaar, I dressed like a local, meaning black linen pants, sandles, a shirt that had a full closed collar and covered my shoulders. I also left my smile at the door. I walked around with an annoyed look on my face.
The result was mixed. On the one hand very few people approached me or tried to sell me anything. This made my shopping experience more enjoyable. On the other hand, my expression wore on me, I fell into character and I was actually annoyed by the end of the trip. I get annoyed like wandering around pretending to be annoyed. In the end, I didn’t like myself.
Turkey is secular, though 98% of the country is Muslim. They are Muslim the way most of America is Christian, some people go to the mosque, most don’t.
Amongst Istanbul’s claims to fame is being the only modern city on two continents, Asia and Europe. Given that, I guess it is most appropriate that it is a collision of worlds culturally.
OK, pictures:
The Blue Mosque is perhaps the most famous site in Istanbul. It is a central prayer location displaying the finest Islamic architecture and design for god.
Unlike Christianity, the Muslim religion forbids the attempted illustration of god and his profits. Thus mosques interiors are a display of lavish designs rather than picture books of biblical stories.
Me outside the Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque ceiling:
And the inside of the Blue Mosque, unfortunately I did not get any good pictures of the interior. (In general, getting good pictures was difficult. The Istanbul is busy and snap shots without people crossing in front of you were difficult to get. Hence all the pictures of this entry aren't as good as I would like.) Imagine ornate swirls of vivid blue and red on tile.
The Blue Mosque, as with all Mosques has no seats. Worshipers worship on the ground. The floor is lined with elaborate Turkish rugs. Visitors must dress modestly and remove their shoes to enter. (The result is a mosque that smells like feet.)
Inside the Blue Mosque and everywhere in Istanbul are fountains. This is a fountain in the Grand Bazaar. People stop for water and wash their face.
And in detail
This is just a building I came upon. Many buildings in Istanbul are ornately decorated with blue tile and glass. It is ironic to me that the national flag is red, because the country clearly is illustrated in blue. All designs are blue. The only not blue are the Turkish rugs. They are red, with designs in blue. This is also a good example of the local architecture specifically in regards to the shape of the windows.
Everywhere there were small shops, there were coffee delivery men. They all had the exact same tray and similar shot glass sized coffee cups. They went from shop to shop delivering coffee. (When will Starbuck’s start delivering?)
The above is a standard street scene. The meat hanging on rotisserie skews is shaved for sandwiches on order. On the right is a man with a coffee tray.
My sister should go to Istanbul for a wedding dress. On this one street for literally miles, there was wedding dress store after wedding dress store, all ranging from typical western to more conservative Muslim, where though white and modern style, the woman’s arms, neck and hair are covered as well. Notice the woman in the full burke in the lower left
I wound up on a tour including an ancient church. What you can’t tell from this picture is that it is a mosaic of small tiles.
This is the nave of the same church.
I tried to get a picture of the train station that was the last stop on the Oriental Express. It is a decorative building, now a mauve pink. Unfortunately there is a big Shell Gas Station in front of it. Oh well.
The other item everywhere is the blue eye, an representation of the evil eye concept. It is really a dark blue circle on a lighter blue circle, on a white circle on a translucent blue circle. It comes in magnets, key chains and every imaginable item. I don’t really know the symbolism, but they are everywhere.
I got up at dawn and took pictures of the cityscape from the ship. The first picture is the tourist area which includes a large well maintained park which is why it is so green. The city is surrounded by water and literally cut in half, though link by bridge and ferry, by the straight from the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea. (This is the dividing line between continents.) Hence there are large waterways every where.
This second picture is a better representation of the city in general, packed with buildings, mosques, lined by water
I am not inclined to return to Istanbul, but I am glad I have been. It is a strange transition from European to Middle Eastern cultures.
I admit it; I hate cities. And Istanbul’s metropolitan area is amongst the largest in the world. Perhaps a trip to a smaller town would endear me more to the country. But, in truth I have been to smaller towns, and the damn sales people are just as aggressive. It is a pity this one aspect taints my view so dramatically. But it does.
As always, I am glad I have been.
Stupid: Aggressive sales people. This goes on my major annoyance list.
Cool: The beauty of the Turkish architecture and elaborate painted designs in every archway; the old world charm of a coffee delivery man who sits and chats for ten fifteen minutes in the afternoon as he delivers.
Roman aquaducts, dividing four lane bumper to bumper traffic.
Turkish delights everywhere...
Turkish rugs hanging from everything, waiting for a sale,
Arches adorned with deep color designs,
All in all, I did not like Istanbul. I think this is the result of one thing, sales tactics. I hate being sold too and invited in.
In Istanbul as with many of the eastern Mediterranean countries, it is customary for shop attendants and owners to stand outside their shops and verbally offer their wares and invite you in. “Hello Lady. I have beautiful silk for you. You must see. Finest around. Good price. You come in. Come in. Come in.” They can be quite aggressive. This drives me crazy. If I like your stuff I will buy your stuff. If you harass me, I go away, and buy no stuff.
My second trip to the Grand Bazaar, I dressed like a local, meaning black linen pants, sandles, a shirt that had a full closed collar and covered my shoulders. I also left my smile at the door. I walked around with an annoyed look on my face.
The result was mixed. On the one hand very few people approached me or tried to sell me anything. This made my shopping experience more enjoyable. On the other hand, my expression wore on me, I fell into character and I was actually annoyed by the end of the trip. I get annoyed like wandering around pretending to be annoyed. In the end, I didn’t like myself.
Turkey is secular, though 98% of the country is Muslim. They are Muslim the way most of America is Christian, some people go to the mosque, most don’t.
Amongst Istanbul’s claims to fame is being the only modern city on two continents, Asia and Europe. Given that, I guess it is most appropriate that it is a collision of worlds culturally.
OK, pictures:
The Blue Mosque is perhaps the most famous site in Istanbul. It is a central prayer location displaying the finest Islamic architecture and design for god.
Unlike Christianity, the Muslim religion forbids the attempted illustration of god and his profits. Thus mosques interiors are a display of lavish designs rather than picture books of biblical stories.
Me outside the Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque ceiling:
And the inside of the Blue Mosque, unfortunately I did not get any good pictures of the interior. (In general, getting good pictures was difficult. The Istanbul is busy and snap shots without people crossing in front of you were difficult to get. Hence all the pictures of this entry aren't as good as I would like.) Imagine ornate swirls of vivid blue and red on tile.
The Blue Mosque, as with all Mosques has no seats. Worshipers worship on the ground. The floor is lined with elaborate Turkish rugs. Visitors must dress modestly and remove their shoes to enter. (The result is a mosque that smells like feet.)
Inside the Blue Mosque and everywhere in Istanbul are fountains. This is a fountain in the Grand Bazaar. People stop for water and wash their face.
And in detail
This is just a building I came upon. Many buildings in Istanbul are ornately decorated with blue tile and glass. It is ironic to me that the national flag is red, because the country clearly is illustrated in blue. All designs are blue. The only not blue are the Turkish rugs. They are red, with designs in blue. This is also a good example of the local architecture specifically in regards to the shape of the windows.
Everywhere there were small shops, there were coffee delivery men. They all had the exact same tray and similar shot glass sized coffee cups. They went from shop to shop delivering coffee. (When will Starbuck’s start delivering?)
The above is a standard street scene. The meat hanging on rotisserie skews is shaved for sandwiches on order. On the right is a man with a coffee tray.
My sister should go to Istanbul for a wedding dress. On this one street for literally miles, there was wedding dress store after wedding dress store, all ranging from typical western to more conservative Muslim, where though white and modern style, the woman’s arms, neck and hair are covered as well. Notice the woman in the full burke in the lower left
I wound up on a tour including an ancient church. What you can’t tell from this picture is that it is a mosaic of small tiles.
This is the nave of the same church.
I tried to get a picture of the train station that was the last stop on the Oriental Express. It is a decorative building, now a mauve pink. Unfortunately there is a big Shell Gas Station in front of it. Oh well.
The other item everywhere is the blue eye, an representation of the evil eye concept. It is really a dark blue circle on a lighter blue circle, on a white circle on a translucent blue circle. It comes in magnets, key chains and every imaginable item. I don’t really know the symbolism, but they are everywhere.
I got up at dawn and took pictures of the cityscape from the ship. The first picture is the tourist area which includes a large well maintained park which is why it is so green. The city is surrounded by water and literally cut in half, though link by bridge and ferry, by the straight from the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea. (This is the dividing line between continents.) Hence there are large waterways every where.
This second picture is a better representation of the city in general, packed with buildings, mosques, lined by water
I am not inclined to return to Istanbul, but I am glad I have been. It is a strange transition from European to Middle Eastern cultures.
I admit it; I hate cities. And Istanbul’s metropolitan area is amongst the largest in the world. Perhaps a trip to a smaller town would endear me more to the country. But, in truth I have been to smaller towns, and the damn sales people are just as aggressive. It is a pity this one aspect taints my view so dramatically. But it does.
As always, I am glad I have been.
Stupid: Aggressive sales people. This goes on my major annoyance list.
Cool: The beauty of the Turkish architecture and elaborate painted designs in every archway; the old world charm of a coffee delivery man who sits and chats for ten fifteen minutes in the afternoon as he delivers.
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