Travel The World

On our 3rd day in St. Petersburg, we enjoyed walking along the canal where they offer a cruise for those who wants to tour the city through the canal.  Then we're off to The State Hermitage Museum , one of the largest and oldest museums in the world.  The museum has a huge collection of paintings and other art and culture pieces.  The whole museum is so enormous that it's easy to get lost inside.  We saw the Peacock Clock, then entered via the council staircase, and the rooms like the Large Italian Skylight Room, Gallery of the History of Ancient Paintings, The Great Imperial Throne, St. George Hall, The War Gallery of 1812, etc.  The place is huge and there's just so much to see but we don't have much time so we had a quick lunch and we're on the road again to our next destination, Novgorod. Novgorod is in the middle of St. Petersburg and Moscow, so before going to Moscow, we stayed one night in Novgorod to appreciate the city.  We stopped at the Novgorod

We left our hotel earlier than usual because we'll be crossing the border to Russia.  Our first stop in St. Petersburg is the Peter and Paul Fortress where the Peter and Paul Cathedral is located.  We were able to go inside the cathedral where the remains of Russian Emperors and Empresses were buried. On our way to our next destination, we passed by St. Isaac's Cathedral and the statue of Peter the Great called the Bronze Horseman .  We arrived at the Moika Palace , also called the Yusupov Palace because it belonged to the House of Yusupov, a wealthy Russian noble family.  The building is also the site of Grigori Rasputin's (a.k.a. the "mad monk") murder, and they also have a wax figure exhibit of the murder scene in the exact rooms where it happened.  The whole palace is amazing!  Starting from the marble grand staircase with intricate ceiling designs, and each room has it's own theme, there's a music room, Blue Bedroom, Ballroom, Red Drawing Roo

On our way to Helsinki, we boarded Silja Line cruise ship for an overnight trip.  Just like the usual cruise ships, they take your picture as you board, and you'll see them on sale later on in the gallery. ^^  Our tour director picked an early dinner buffet reservation since there are many guests on board. After dinner, we went to the upper deck to enjoy the sunset.  The wind was so strong that we had to hold on to our jackets, lol! XD  We walked around the lobby and checked out the shops before we finally decided to hit the sack to prepare for another day. =) The next day after breakfast, we finally arrived at Helsinki, Finland! =)  We went straight for a city tour passing by Finlandia Hall , Senate Square , Market Square , and the Uspenski Cathedral .  Next we stopped at Sibelius Park to take some photos of the Sibelius Monument before we head to our hotel for check-in. That afternoon, we head to the city on our own to check out the places we passed by on the tour and

Leaving Copenhagen, we traveled north-east across Oresund to Smaland .  We had a short stop for lunch and saw a couple of preserved moose, they're huge!  We don't have moose in our country so even if they're preserved, it's my first time to see a life-size moose.  We continue the journey past Lake Vattern and viewed the Brahehus Castle towards Stockholm. Upon arrival in Stockholm, we checked-in our hotel, a few minutes rest and we leave again experience a panoramic view of Stockholm.  We went to the Kaknas Tower , it's a TV tower that allows visitor to go up it's viewing deck and see the city of Stockholm.  We end our day with a dinner at Solnadals Vardshus , it's a really pretty small old fashioned restaurant with servers in aprons. =) The next day, we had a guided tour inside the Stockholm City Hall .  We entered the Blue Hall where the Nobel Banquet is held every year.  Just above is the Gold Room where the guests dance after the banquet.  The