The McGuires

For our last hurrah in Sweden, we took a cruise. If you remember our last experience on a cruise, I vowed to not go on one with kids for a long, long time. But, I couldn't resist this opportunity and I gave in. We hoped for the best and things were GREAT! We left from Stockholm on Thursday and spent the day on the ship. It was such a nice day, we spent it by the pool. Friday we ported in Tallin, Estonia. It was such a fun place to see. Saturday we went to St. Petersburg, Russia. This is where we celebrated the 4th of July. It was so cool to see Russia, I would have never thought in a million years I would ever get to Russia. It is not the prettiest place. It was very gloomy and didn't seem very clean. But, there were some very pretty buildings that stood out. Here are some pictures...

In our room

Swimmining in the pool

You always have to get a picture of the life vests.

Hanging out by the pool

First night at dinner

Kens was so excited about the puppy dog wearing Daddy's sunglasses.

Tallin, Estonia
The Stout Margaret Tower

St. Olaf's Church
At 159 meters it was the tallest building in the world in the 16th century.

The defensive structures of the old town.

Estonia hats made out of lambs wool

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

The Town Hall Square

The Town Hall

Romantic Catherine's Passage

Viru Gates

I loved Tallin, it had such a fun feel. Someone on the cruise ship said, "I was waiting for Shrek to come around the corner". It was so fun to see a medieval city, it was so old and very neat.

Another towel animal

They didn't last long with Cade around

Out by the Pool on Sunday. It was kind of a long day because it was really cold and we couldn't swim.

This was Kenslee's favorite person. She wouldn't let us cut up her food, we would have to wait for him. He was so nice.

Dinner

Saint Petersburg, Russia

In Russia we had to do something through the cruise. You can't go out on your own unless you had a visa. We decided to do the canal cruise. First they took us to a store to buy souvenirs. It was a place that has been approved through the cruise lines as "safe". You could use your credit cards, and didn't have to worry. Then we got on a little boat that took us through all of the canals around the city. They consider Saint Petersburg the "Venice of the North" because canals run throughout the city.

To be able to tell which canal you were in you could tell by looking at the gates along the canal. They were different for each area.

Summer Garden

Kazan Cathedral

Peter and Paul Fortress

The Cruiser Aurora at permanent anchor

On our canal cruise

Rostral Column

Winter Palace
The State Hermitage

Billy on the bus

Famous bridge
It is a tradition for the grooms to carry the brides across this bridge after they have been married.

Church on the Spilled Blood (Church of the Resurrection)

View of Russia from our Cruise Ship

Watching a show on the ship

Beautiful sunset

This was such an amazing trip. I am so glad we were able to do this and see these places before we left Sweden. Sweden was an experience that I am so glad we were able to do as a family. I absolutely loved the 4 1/2 months that we were there. Living there gave us much more of the cultural experience than just visiting and staying in a hotel. We learned so much about Scandinavia, I can't wait to get back to visit some day. It is an experience that I will ALWAYS remember!