July 1st, 2010
Steve
Another quick city and country overview, or many a small history lesson (your call). Helsinki is the Capital of Finland, situated on the southern coast, overlooking the Gulf of Finland and Baltic Sea. Helsinki is predominantly a modern city with a population of 500K inhabitants. Surrounded by water on three sides, Helsinki has a natural seaport, which thanks to icebreakers can stay open year round. Currency used is the Euro. So, as you can see from this trip, money exchange has been a necessity (other than credit cards).
For Helsinki, we thought it best to finally take one of the ships tours. Reason why is that most of the sites are quite a distance from the port. Walking around town, would limit us to seeing just a few places. Our tour gave us the highlights of the Helsinki, trip to Porvoo and lunch at a local farm. Driving around the city we were able to see pretty much everything. Helsinki has plenty of parks and squares for the folks to sit out during the sunny days they have. We were once again lucky, that we had a rather nice sunny day. We passed by Senate Square, considered the masterpiece of the city. Our trip out to Porvoo, 30 miles outside the city, gave us a nice view of the countryside. Porvoo is the second largest city in Finland, established in 1346. We had time to wonder around the old town part, which is filled with old wooden shops, winding cobblestone streets and narrow alleys.
A surprise highlight was the visit to the farm. I was raised in the farm lands of upstate New York, going to a farm in Finland was not something that I thought I would enjoy. I did enjoy it. The family farm has been around for almost 70 years. The original owner is still operating it. The father and his adult children live on and run the horse farm (sort of a family compound). Of course, Dad gets to just keep an eye on things and mow the lawn. We were treated to some of the family recipes for lunch. I was not able to get a Finish hot dog – as the bus only had limited stops.
My overall impressions:
- Helsinki is definitely different that Copenhagen and Stockholm. The overall ages of the buildings are newer (as the original city was made of wood – and many fires have fixed that).
- Since I was on a tour, I was not able to get a sense of the overall atmosphere of the city and the people that live there. From the bus, I did not see many people smiling and enjoying themselves. Could be just a miss of observing on from the bus. The folks on the farm were definitely upbeat and loved sharing their story.
- Provoo was cool. My wife and I took many pictures. We also stopped in a grocery store to see what all is in there. This store was like super Walmart or Fred Meyers – everything from food to clothes.
June 30th, 2010
Steve
Stop number two was Stockholm, Sweden. Time for, once again, some limited history for Stockholm. Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, situated on the country’s east coast and is the Baltic Sea’s largest port. Population is about 1.65 million inhabitants that occupy about 14 islands that are connected by 50 bridges. The city has often been called “The Venice of the North” or “Beauty on Water.” The currency in Sweden is the Krona.
The cruise ship made its 5 hour sailing into the port around 4:00am (the view of that sailing was outstanding). This narrow trek was lined with many islands with many summer homes on them. I didn’t get up that early, because we had to leave Stockholm the same way (which was early evening). We decided to walk this one as well. First, we were very lucky, as we were in Stockholm only 3 days before the Royal Wedding of Princess Victoria and Daniel. The city definitely filled with excitement and love – theme of the summer is Love 2010. We watched many people making preparations for the upcoming celebration. Many of the public squares were getting new flowers, ribbons for the light posts and special cleaning. We spent time walking around the old town district, which houses the palace and many small shops and restaurants.
Our next, visit was to try and locate the Jewish Synagogue, which is the oldest standing since WWII. Our map was not very good, so I had to ask for directions from many (and I mean many) locals. We got many different answers and different locations. We finally found it, but missed one of the two opportunities to see the inside (there are two tours during the day). Our walk trying to local this, took us to the new parts of Stockholm. It was a nice blend of the old and the new within blocks of themselves.
My overall impressions:
- Stockholm is another one of those clean cities. Was it just because of the Royal Wedding? I think not.
- There are many different squares and parks throughout the city. We decided to take lunch at one of the parks small café’s. The food was pretty good too!
- Another country that go crazy for their football. I guess coming from America – everything seems crazy.
- If people are looking for a hot dog review. We forgot to get one in Stockholm, but have another stop in Gutenberg.
Odd ball items:
- Wifi was pretty much everywhere. Local places offer free wifi for 30 mins. With the Love 2010, as a gift to the folks, wifi was free all over the city. I was able to connect! Always love cities that make connecting easy.
- People were friendly, but trying to locate anything Jewish was a bit tough. Most of the locals did not know they have the oldest synagogue standing since WWII. When I finally found it, we ran into about 10 people that were looking for it too. They each had difficulty locating it as well, with people pointing them to different locations as well.
June 29th, 2010
Steve
The first stop on our 12 day cruise is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Let’s start with a brief Copenhagen history or such. Copenhagen is the capital city of Denmark. The entire country is about the half the size of Maine. Copenhagen means “Merchant City” and is to believe to be founded around 1167 by Bishop Absalon. Local currency in Denmark is the Krone (DKK).
Ok, enough history and general information – if you want more look it up on-line. We decided not to take one of the guided tours from the ship, due to the closeness of most items of interest, so we set off by foot. Walking around Copenhagen was fairly easy, but after awhile the cobblestone streets can wear on you. Copenhagen is a very elegant and clean city. It has a very special blend of old and new architecture. Its people were extremely friendly and helpful. I can see why this is one of the highlight destinations in Europe. Our walking trip took us through the vast shops and café’s to the Amalienborg Palace, home of the Danish Royal family since 1749. Our next main attraction for me anyways, was Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli Gardens is Copenhagen’s famous amusement park in the heart of the city. We were told that Walt Disney visited there before he built Disneyland. I can definitely see some similarities. I wish that I had the courage to try some of their rides; they definitely had some that are not for the weak at heart. The last spot that we planned on visiting was the Little Mermaid Statue, but it was on loan to China.
My overall impressions with Copenhagen are:
- The people are extremely helpful and friendly.
- It is a clean and beautiful city.
- Cost of stuff is a bit higher for everything. When traveling, you expect the costs to be higher than the US, but with Copenhagen expect higher. Cost of living must be extremely high.
- While there my wife and I decided to try one of the local hot dog specials. We saw Anthony Bourdain’s Copenhagen’s special and the hot dog that he ate, so we decided why not. That hot dog got us thinking why not try a hot dog in every county that we attended on this trip. This hot dog is much longer and thinner than our usual American version. We went with the completely covered version – which had bacon, cucumbers, mustard, onions and horseradish. I have to say it was an experience that I enjoyed.
- Denmark was playing their first match of the World Cup that day. The streets and pubs were alive with crazed football fans.
Some odd ball items:
- McDonald’s has free wifi.
- Tivoli Garden’s – you have to purchase a ticket to get into the park and if you want to ride a ride – you must purchase tickets (if you want to do more than one, buy the multi-ride pass).
June 28th, 2010
Steve
Shot taken from our balcony
With Day 3 being extremely long, having the first day at sea is just what the doctor would order, rest and relaxation. It was a lazy day. On this trip, we were blessed with 4 at sea days. Many would argue that four days is too much. For me, I wanted to get to rest up some. So having four days was great.
Each night when you were off to dinner, your stateroom attendant would deliver you next day agenda, so you could map out your day. Planning is a key step in success!
Agenda for those “At Sea” days:
- Go to the gym for some workouts
- Attend a seminars (health, wellness, bettering yourself)
- Attend the port of call briefing to understand what to look for, where to shop and understand the port better
- Rest and relax
- Write
- Meet new people – there are over 2400 people on board, not counting the crew. There are plenty of opportunities to meet people, just have to sometimes make the first step. A warm “hello” or “enjoying the cruise so far” can go a long ways.
I have to say, I did accomplish most of what I set out to do. With the included items as watching World Cup 2010 with some crazy’s from Europe. The first game of the World Cup for the USA was against England – which was exciting. I got to see how much each country gets behind their “football”. Since the ship was majority British and American – that first match between the countries was pretty cool to soak in. I am not shy about meeting people, so I did have some interesting conversations. The only drawback for me was I can only communicate in English. So, this hampered some effective communications. I struggled with some of the accents – some of which the folks are supposed to speak English already (not to upset the British folks, it was a bit difficult for me at first). I really enjoyed my at sea days.
Added 7/29: Met some great people.
- Our dinner table was just great – J, Michael, Karen and Marc (Thanks!)
- Derek, the wacky inventor, and Pam – the discussions were fun!
- Cigar bar – staff (Rey the bartender and Duncan the guitarist)
- The crew of the Jewel of the Seas – the smiles are priceless.
June 27th, 2010
Steve
Another day and another opportunity for me to apply some key lessons. As we had difficulty moving about on the tube on day 1, I was not going to make that mistake again, off to Liverpool Station in a taxi. There is always just another adventure just around the corner and today was no exception. Liverpool station is just a minor adventure. Down the escalation with many bags, large station and no idea where to go. So, off to the help desk. After some minor questions and answers – I was off to purchase tickets. We got our tickets for the train to Harwich International with moments to spare. Once our gate was up on the board, we were off for the next part, sitting on the train for about an hour. The train ride was definitely a good way for us to view the country-side.
The day was rolling along very smoothly. Yes, I wrote it and quickly the tides turned as we got closer to the check-in for the cruise. Walking up, I noticed that there were not many folks waiting around. My wife and I have been on a few cruises and the check-in usually has quite a few folks waiting around. We were greeted nicely with a smile and a memo that the departure time has been changed, due to the last cruise having about a 300 or so folks get sick causing the cruise line to super cleaning the complete ship. We checked in and were shuffled off to a bus to take us to a locate hospitality area. We rode to Colcesther and to the local football stadium. Many folks were upset, unhappy and tired from their travels. Me, it was an inconvenience but rolled with it. No need to upset yourself over something that you have no control over. We got to continue to experience new things, what more can you ask for. After hours we were called to board the bus and head back to board. Excitement starts to set in again. Once back, there were lots of people now waiting to board, a familiar sight. We got on board and were greeted with another smile and an announcement that we are only allowed in the common areas, no checking out your room, they are still being super cleaned. The silver lining in this was that you actually had plenty of time to see the ship. The Jewel of the Sea is a very large ship (Royal Caribbean Cruise Line), with that time we got to explore all over before leaving port. It was a very long day, as we were finally allowed to get to our staterooms around 10pm. I was lucky, as all of our luggage was waiting for us in the room. Unpack and finally get some sleep.
Overall, the ship’s crew did an amazing job with handle the customer service end. The crew smiled and tried their best to remain positive throughout the late afternoon and evening. Many people could have taken a lesson from keeping a positive attitude – as it helps to make a bad situation at least seem better.
Lessons learned from Day 3:
- Stuff happens; you must roll with them and stay positive throughout. I watched so many people set themselves off to a very bad start to a 12 day vacation. Me, stayed upbeat, smiled and enjoyed the people around me.
- No question this day was rough for me and many others. Not as rough as the crew that did have to deal with the super cleaning. So as bad as you think it is for you – someone else is having it worse.
Things I would have done differently:
- Called ahead to the cruise line to see if there were any delays in boarding. Especially that day… As it was the Queen’s birthday parade and is a big deal in London. I know I would have like to experience that. Since we did not really board the ship till after 4pm, I could have gotten an opportunity to see the Queen and everything that goes with that day.
June 26th, 2010
Steve
My intention for writing these and posting real time – just did not happen (some technical difficulties and time). So I will be publishing my travels now. I am going to post by day… All pictures or videos in my post will be those that were taken out and about by my wife or myself.
A mission that I wanted to get accomplished on this trip was to get a day trip or two completed. Keeping with the flexibility theme and the lessons learned from the day earlier – we decided to sign up for a tour instead of doing this day on our own. Simply put, my skills in getting around with public transportation is just okay. Getting around with those 3 locations would definitely would have stretched my abilities. Know your limitations and make sure that you set yourself up for success!
Overall, the day went pretty well. The timetable for this trip is pretty tight! During the travel time, about an hour between each location, the guide gave us the history, what to look for and some basic tips to see the sites. Basically, they are not allowed to guide you once inside the venues. Since this was my first time with any of the sights, I have to say that they were pretty good. Windsor Castle is impressive. It’s size and overall appearance you can not get from just looking from the highway. We were very lucky to get through the tour and watch some of the changing of the guards. Stonehenge was next on the agenda. I was impressed with the wonder and 
mystery of Stonehenge. Walking around the outside of definitely kept me wondering why and how all of this was done. Now that I have seen it, I doubt I would go back, too many people. Our last stop was Bath, which was one of the spots that my wife and I were before, but due to limited time and bad weather we missed really getting to see anything. This time we had limited time, but the weather was awesome. We did get to see the Roman Baths and do some window shopping. Since we had been to Pompeii, trying to compare is not fair. The hot natural bath and set up was in those times a very impressive engineering feat.
Lessons learned:
- Apply learning’s can be key.
- High expectations may not always be met. I definitely had too high of expectations for the day trip. Overall good, but not outstanding.
What I would do differently:
- Don’t set high expectations, just soak in the experience. High expectations are solid, but when traveling and experiencing new things – go with the flow.
June 16th, 2010
Steve
Landing a little after 7am local time and not sleeping on the flight, definitely had me feeling the effects. Made it through customs, picked up the bags and got our tickets on the train to London – with no hassles. Everything going smooth. As like in every instance of feeling everything is going well, we encountered the first hurdle, Victoria Station! I studied the maps, routes to the hotel and figured we would do the tube. With the luggage that we had with us (traveling for about 2 weeks) made that choice a bad one. Would have been much better to take a taxi from the station to the hotel.
My plan was off to a rocky start and did not get better from there. I thought we would be able to get early check-in and a shower to held out and enjoy exploring and reacquainting us to London (had been over 4 years since last there). We were too tired from the lack of sleep on the flights and the hotel did not have a room ready yet. An hour later the room was ready and we crashed! I guess my age caught up to me. Once the power nap and shower were completed it was time to held out to see London, which was just as cool as I remembered. Getting around on the tube is almost as much fun as using the subway in New York. We enjoyed the late evening exploring and the evening London Eye.
Lessons learned from Day 1:
- Sleeping on the flights is a must.
- Traveling on the Tube with lots of luggage – not good. One bag is ok.
- Flexibility is key to success.
What I wished I had done differently:
- Had jumped on the day tour double decker bus to get reacquainted with London. My memory is usually good, but over 4 years I just can not remember that wonderful Italian restaurant and pub we spent time at in our last trip.
- Used a taxi from Victoria Station.
June 9th, 2010
Steve
The time has officially started, traveling to places I have never been. I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks, as my wife and I head out. I am not sure how this is all going to go, as I have all good intentions of attempting to write to my blog every couple of days – with the places and the sites. For me, that is part of the fun – have a basic idea and see where it goes.
When traveling, the experts always tell you to do as much upfront planning as possible. I believe that I have done just that. I had my trip lists of what to do, what to see and such – put together. This time around, I was the vacation planner and set up everything (definitely new to me). Three months ago, the basics of the trip was set, just need the details ironed out. Two months before – all set! Month before – finished most of the reading up on the locations and stuff that was of interest to my wife and I.
Week before – time to really get going. Here is where I found that it is really time to put pen to paper. List for everything. Packing list, daily to do lists for home, trip and everything else. Writing everything down and checking off the stuff that is done – is very helpful. Yesterday was packing day… Some folks would say, do it weeks in advance, not me – I had the basics written down. Of course, you have to make sure that you do not go over the weight restriction per bag. I think I maybe a pound or two over on each… Only the airport scales will tell the truth. Let’s hope all is well…
Anticaption is a wonderful thing, sometimes. That night before the trip sleep is a bit tough. I have found over the years that I usually go to bed late, wake up early and just have a very restless sleep. Excitement in the air. Soon we will be leaving the house, driving to the airport and finding out that the pack job was a success. Then begins the long day of air travel! Excitement to get going! So, excited that I am up hours before the alarm, writing this post.. I am not looking forward that long air trip Phoenix, Az to London. Nothing like leaving at 10am in the morning on Wednesday to land in London about 10am the next day. Kindle is loaded with reading material, iPod has new music and all other electronic devices have a fun charge.
List of devices going on this trip – Kindle, iPod Shuffle, Kodak Sport Video Camera, Asus Netbook with Intel Atom micro processor (insert shameless plug) and Flip Video Camera.
June 4th, 2010
Steve
It is now time for the 9+weeks off to begin!
I have been a manager too long, because I can not just sit back. I have to have goals to accomplish for this time off. So, here are the list of goals that I have set for myself.
- Couple of vacations! Everyone needs a break. During this break, I want to go to places I have never been. A previous post – I mentioned it. These trips will give me an opportunity to write more, try out some new gadgets and do some reading.
- Network more. I will be missing Enterprise 2.0 this year. Always look forward to Boston in June. Really miss getting together with the folks. Will have to fill that void with other things.
- Home front list. Have to attack that list. Closet, carpet and backyard. Only 3 things,but if I get 2 done – I will be happy.
- End of July is back to school. This year, I will be able to help out more.
- Spending time with family!
There is much to do, but I have time. At least it seems that way now.
June 2nd, 2010
Steve
This topic is one that everyone can agree that leading by example is a must do for anyone that wants to lead successfully. Go out to Google and search on Lead by example – over 11.6 million links. Why is it, that many leaders don’t do it? Is it easier said than done? Afraid to really look in the mirror? Ever just sit back and observe those that you really think lead well and lead by example?
Over the past 28 years, I have been a student of leadership. I observe those that do it well, do somethings well and those that just don’t. From my simple observations, I have developed of list of those items that should be done in order to effectively lead by example.
- The path that we walk, should be our path. Basically, we all have a core sense of values and follow them. A leader must follow his/her core values. Walking on a different path is not natural and everyone can see what that. Walk your path.
- Balance is key, health and productivity can work together. Today it is much easier to be connected and work from anywhere. What is the cost? If you employee’s see you working late every night, on vacation and during the weekends. 2 things are for sure – you don’t have balance and you are putting the expectation on your employee’s that they must do the same.
- Treat others as you want to be treated. I know we all have learned this growing up! Those leaders I have truly enjoyed following did this everyday. We are people first, resources second. If there is one single item that I feel is critical this is the one. Nothing makes me run to the hills when a leader treats others badly in words or actions.
- Don’t wait on solutions, create them. Never sit around waiting for something to happen, go out and make something happen. For me, I have never seen a passive leader that has been the slight bit successful.
- Negativity just kills. What more needs to be said than that!
- Listening is the first real step in effective communications. Asking sharp and good questions, while listening to the answer – makes the leader stronger. Ever have those leaders that cut you off mid sentence? How about the meetings where the leader is the only one talking. Not good. I prefer the sponge approach; listen, watch and develop my wisdom. Then part said wisdom, if necessary.
- Think in third alternative. There is always two sides, let’s go out and find the third side. Somewhere in spending time in there – a better solution could be formed and developed. To use an example, you have two employee’s that have an idea on how to do something better. Each are good. Picking just one could slight one or the other employee. Is there a third alternative? Maybe that is the best one.
- Laughter is the best medicine. I don’t care what people say on this one. If you can not laugh at work – than you are going to have a very dull day. Laughing is human. I know when I laugh, I feel good. A true leader makes people laugh, either by laughing at themselves, making light of a tense situation or just having fun.
There probably are more. I find these to be the one’s that I make sure that I focus myself on insuring I continue to live up to. What about you?
Another quick city and country overview, or many a small history lesson (your call). Helsinki is the Capital of Finland, situated on the southern coast, overlooking the Gulf of Finland and Baltic Sea. Helsinki is predominantly a modern city with a population of 500K inhabitants. Surrounded by water on three sides, Helsinki has a natural seaport, which thanks to icebreakers can stay open year round. Currency used is the Euro. So, as you can see from this trip, money exchange has been a necessity (other than credit cards).
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6e29daff-5a45-49d4-b606-c633071de55f)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7ca14cfd-e3cc-4bdd-a761-68413edc3aad)
