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Hotel Continental, Barcelona

Hotel Continental, Barcelona

We’re a Holiday Inn Express kinda folk. We like to know what to expect when we book a hotel, and we like to have a good feeling for the value we’re about to get for our money. It makes sense, then, that we were a little on the skeptical side when we booked our recent two night stay at the Hotel Continental in Barcelona, Spain.

We were flying in from Florida, planning to catch a ship in Barcelona for an Atlantic crossing voyage back to Florida and wanted to spend a day in Barcelona first, just looking the city over. We wanted to stay downtown somewhere and all the reviews suggested that the Hotel Continental might be a good choice.

When we landed at the airport in Barcelona, we were greeted by a driver that was previously booked and paid for. Our previous experience with folks in Barcelona was that not everyone spoke English, and we wanted to have an easy trip to the hotel after traveling all night. We were tired and severely jet lagged. The driver was a good call. He spoke absolutely no English, but already knew where he was taking us, so there was no problem getting to the hotel.

Our arrival on Las Rambles Street was at about 8:00 PM on a Friday night. The lights were just starting to come on and people were definitely out and about starting to enjoy their evening; a true lively and vibrant part of the city. Continue reading →

Posted by Donald Fink and Bonnie Fink in Blog, Europe, Hotels, Travel, 0 comments
Barcelona in a Day

Barcelona in a Day

Not long ago, we had the fortunate occasion to spend the day in Barcelona, Spain. We were traveling from Orlando, Florida and catching a cruise ship in Barcelona back to Florida. We’ve grown fond of Atlantic crossings in the last couple of years and found a great price on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, the Epic.

The last time we were in Barcelona for just a day we were seeing it from the comfort of a cruise ship shore excursion and decided that if we ever returned, we’d make some time to explore it on our own. Continue reading →

Posted by Donald Fink and Bonnie Fink in Blog, Cruising, Europe, Travel, 1 comment
Oregon Coast – Brookings to Bandon

Oregon Coast – Brookings to Bandon

It’s a rare place where you can find brutal power of nature on an unforgiving rampage, where the colors are vivid and alive with a deep blue sky meeting the foaming ocean, and a rocky coastline ranging from obsidian black rocks to sprinkles of turquoise. The sea seems to be held at bay with the thinnest of clean, undisturbed sand beaches before swallowing up the majestic rocks of the rugged coastline. On even the calmest of days, the Pacific Ocean seems to be straining the sand beaches, waiting for a chance to unleash her awful power on the land, and that very land standing solid and fixed against the attack. And yet, in the midst of this activity, you can find peace and solitude. It will bring order to your thinking if you let it.

The paradox between the chaos and power of the ocean against the land and the very peace it brings might be hard to understand unless you spend time along the southern Oregon coast. One day it’s foggy and rainy and the next the sun brightens the surroundings with colors from nearly everywhere, the landscape cleaned from the rains before.

Oregon CoastlineWhile the Oregon coastline from Brookings to Bandon is not particularly unique when compared to northern California or even the rest of Oregon, it contains a combination of places to see and things to do in a combination that makes for a very good destination spot for a few days, or even a few weeks if you have the time. It’s almost too cliché to say that the pace is slow, but when this slow pace is in the background of one of the most active and powerful coastlines, it has a new meaning.

The Oregon coast, like much of the Oregon interior, has been inhabited by native Americans for many thousands of years. The people of the coast would spend their time gathering acorns, roots and berries from the land. They hunted deer and elk along the coastal mountains and harvested clams, salmon and sea lions from the ocean water, beaches, and rivers. When Europeans began to settle the area, they found that the nearly endless supply of food resources combined with the abundant supply of wood for fuel and building materials made life in this primitive and secluded place relatively easy. Most transportation until recent times was via the ocean and rivers, and it’s therefore easy to see that the settlements are generally located along the coast near rivers and bays where safe mooring could be found for boats and ships traveling along the coast.

Coquille River Lighthouse is located at Bullards Beach State Park. It's open year round and visitors are welcome. Image by Donald Fink

Coquille River Lighthouse is located at Bullards Beach State Park. It’s open year round and visitors are welcome. Image by Donald Fink

So what are the activities here that create such a great experience? For starters, there’s the opportunity to stand along the coast at just about any point you choose and just take it all in. You can go down to the water and stand as close as you dare to the waves. Try to figure out their patterns. You can stop along one of the many turnouts along Highway 101 from high up on the cliffs. Did you know that on a clear day, when the visibility lets you see all the way to the horizon, you can see the curvature of the earth?

From the point of view of an outsider who only occasionally visits the area, the State of Oregon should be commended for their park system along the Oregon coast. Their campgrounds and day use parks are progressive and evidently in touch with today’s modern travelers. The camp sites, for example range from primitive spaces for a tent, to full hookups for even the most majestic diesel pushers. They sometimes provide WiFi and cable. While there are many privately operated RV parks along this coastline, the Oregon Park system gives them serious competition.

Hiking trails appear to be endless along the coastline. They range from short ¼ mile excursions to adventures that can last for several miles and even several days along the coastline if that’s your interest. Just about anything you’re up for can be found at many points along the coast. You’re never far from incredible views either. Whether you’re walking along a beach with the water pounding and foaming its anger at the shore and rocks, or circling a hidden cove with sunbathing sea lions, the views are just about anywhere you look.

 

Posted by Donald Fink and Bonnie Fink in Blog, The West, Travel, 0 comments
Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden

It’s really unfair to judge a place by one day’s worth of sightseeing, especially from a controlled tour bus from a cruise ship. But Stockholm and its surrounding areas left us with the impression that we weren’t finished visiting this place. Not being particularly keen on hanging out in big cities, we were impressed with how clean and safe this city seemed to be. There were many places that appeared to be favorite hangouts of the locals and tourists alike, and the people, like most folks we met in and around the Baltic Sea, seemed to be generally friendly. Continue reading →

Posted by Donald Fink and Bonnie Fink in Blog, Europe, Travel, 0 comments
Helsinki Finland

Helsinki Finland

Those of you who know us might know that we’re not city folk in general. We’ll go to a city and spend time occasionally, but we wouldn’t pick a city as vacation destination. Having said that, it isn’t a surprise that, while we were impressed with Helsinki, it wouldn’t necessarily be a destination for a vacation to Finland. Rather, we would probably fly in and spend an afternoon seeing the sights; maybe have coffee and a pastry in a coffee shop somewhere and then make our way north to Lapland to see some reindeer.

Continue reading →

Posted by Donald Fink and Bonnie Fink in Blog, Europe, Travel, 0 comments
Tallinn, Estonia For Just a Day

Tallinn, Estonia For Just a Day

When cruising, there are places you visit that you’re glad you’re on a cruise and only have to spend one day seeing. It’s either because it simply doesn’t interest you or some other underlying reason. For us, we thought Estonia was going to be that kind of place. It was, in our view, something to do while we marked time waiting for the ship to get to a better port. As it turns out, Tallinn was one of the highlights of our cruise, so far. We thought Germany was the highlight, and to be truthful it was big on our list to come back and see more, but much to our surprise, Tallinn, Estonia was up there too. What we saw in our one day visiting the city left us craving more. Continue reading →

Posted by Donald Fink and Bonnie Fink in Blog, Europe, Travel, 0 comments
Warnemuende and Schwerin Germany

Warnemuende and Schwerin Germany

Germany is probably going to be the high point of our trip, at least the high point of our cruise. We arrived in Warnemunde along the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, May 20th. The day was about as perfect as you could imagine for a warm spring day.

We traveled by bus for about 1 ½ hours from Warnemunde to a little town called Schwerin for the purpose of viewing the Schwerin Castle, which has been in existence in one form or another since at least 973 AD when it was controlled by The Polabian Slav Tribe. It was primarily a fort at that time rather than a “castle”. Around 1160, it was targeted by Germanic Nobelmen under the leadership of Henry the Lion. From then on, the Schwerin Castle has had a rich history, serving as a castle and home for many nobles, a military barracks, and even a nursing college during the time of the German Democratic Republic after WWII. Presently, Schwerin Castle serves as a museum and the seat of the local state parliament. Continue reading →

Posted by Donald Fink and Bonnie Fink in Blog, Cruising, Europe, Travel
Copenhagen

Copenhagen

 

Today was a lazy day in Copenhagen, Denmark. We left the ship at around 9:00 AM and were guided by a tour guide to all the various sites of the city, including the palaces of the royals of Denmark, the Parliament building, the Old Stock Exchange, and even passed an amusement park. Continue reading →

Posted by Donald Fink and Bonnie Fink in Blog, Cruising, Europe, Travel, 0 comments