The Baltic Cruise of a lifetime!

I have been waiting to blog about our trip to the Baltic because blogging should feel like a treat- an escape, rather than a chore, but the last few days I just didn't feel like writing. I always go through a bit of  an adjustment after a fun vacation and its even harder when I have to say good bye to Dan. We have been doing long distance for 9 months now and every good bye at the airport is just as hard as the first. Tears!


Anyway, its been a few days and although my homesickness is still lingering, I am sitting outside at the pool, its sunny, I have my pandora music playing and I just finished spin class...so life is too good to sulk. I am past my grace period.


First, just to clarify, my grad school research work did not pay for this luxurious trip to the Baltic! Dan and his business partner qualified for the trip from an insurance deal and I was Dan's lucky guest!  Dan was by far the youngest agent on the ship and I am very proud of him for all his hard work. He frequently puts in extra hours at the office and he has a work ethic deserving of a reward!


The package deal flew me from Atlanta to Minneapolis where I had some time to BBQ with family and friends. It was great  to see my family since I hadn't been home since Christmas and it was extra special because I got to meet baby James (my best best friend Kate's new baby).

Baby James

I also squeezed in a morning run with the Downtown Urban Tour group. I miss my running friends and it was great to catch up on the latest life events. I made Casie talk most of the time because I was a bit out of breadth from my lack of running in Guatemala ( I asked a lot of open-ended questions and focused on the cookies and juice at the end!).


Twenty-four hours later Dan and I flew from Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Stockholm. We LOVED every bit of Sweden and wish we could have stayed longer. We got in around 2pm and even though we were super jet-legged we walked the curvy cobblestone streets, explored the busy shopping avenues, and relaxed at the waterside restaurants. We felt so safe and enjoyed people watching since the Swedes have a such a vibrant and expressive style. We decided it was prepy-bohemian-grunge look with a splash of trendy color (if you can picture that)! Or, better yet, it was blend of JCrew- H & M- J.Lindeberg's golf apparel! We had a nice (yet pricey since everything there is so expensive!!) fish and chips dinner and loved that it stayed light out later so we could continue exploring. 

This is after 15 hours of flying and no shower but we were excited to explore!

The following morning we had a nice little breakfast at a cute cafe and then ventured off to board our cruise ship. We were greeted with a cool wash rag and a glass of champagne and that's when I realized...this was going to be a fancy out of this world trip! Our private butler (equipped with a pager and all) met us in our room to explain the cruise amenities like 24 hour complementary room service and a bottomless beverage fridge. Dan and I were a bit out of our comfort zone but this time in the opposite direction. It was a HUGE change from our last trip to rural Honduras where we had to bucket bath and wake up to rooster calls rather than room service!

Our welcome!

robe, slippers and a walk in closet (on a ship!)

cruise ship pool

Well, that's all for today since the Atlanta heat is causing me to sweat onto the computer and I need to jump in and cool off. Oh, and I guess I should prepare for my school presentation tonight!


Hasta pronto....