Guten Tag!

We are now in Germany after a long boat ride and a quick flight. Thanks again to cousin Andrew, we arrived in Europe in style after 14 days on the Norwegian Jewel. Of course, my clothes are much tighter now, and I can barely get my fat fingers to type anymore, but we did beat the jet lag and had a nice and relaxing time. Still, it just didn't feel like a cruise without our friend Stu aboard. Pictures of the ship, and of our stops in Madiera, Italy and France to come soon.

We disembarked in Barcelona, Spain on 14 May and immediately caught a train to Valencia, which was a wonderful city. Beautiful architecture, great food (as if we needed it) and not quite as touristy as Barcelona, which Matthias and I had both visited a number of times before. We walked quite a bit around the city (one could say from tapas bar to tapas bar) and to the beach and port, which is the new home of the 2007 America's Cup sailing race. The weather was delightful and we had a great time there. (Photo of Valencia street scene)

On Wednesday, 17 May, we took an EasyJet flight to Berlin. Well, it would have been easy, but we had to pay 75 Euros (more than the price of both flights together) for our excess baggage (that's how they get 'ya, I guess.) We met Matthias' parents at the airport and they drove us home. Next day, we went back into Berlin to get our visas for our trip to Russia. Not an easy prospect either... aparently, according to Matthias' father, not much has changed with the Russian bureacracy since the fall of communism. They now have our passports and expect to issue our visas by the 2nd of June (two days before we are supposed to leave!)

In the meantime, we are awaiting my parents' arrival in Frankfurt on the 25th. We will spend three days there and then meet Matthias' parents for a family trip through Germany. Then, on 4 June, we are scheduled to fly to St. Petersburg to start the Volga river cruise to Moscow.