Stockholm, Sweden - Costa Atlantica Day 3

Lunch:










Dinner:


Tuna







Duck



I have to keep better notes. I don't remember what any of the food was called.

Restaurant and Foods - Stockholm, Sweden

The food didn't seem that distinctive in Stockholm. Plenty of restaurants but nothing on the menus we saw enticed us enough to give it a try.

The Icebar at the Nordic Sea Hotel

We walked into a convenience store to find this small but different selection of pastries. I didn't see anybody buying.

Stockholm, Sweden - Part 2

It was quite a lengthy walk to the Old Town

Royalty (?) were beheaded here.

Modern part of the city

Parliment Building area

This is where the changing of the guard occurred. A lengthy pomp and circumstance.

Who wants to start trouble?

Stockholm, Sweden - Part 1

These were some of the first sights of Sweden

No fear

That is a way out

At Sea - Costa Atlantica Day 2

Breakfast - the first breakfast. I was hopeful that it would be great but instead it was the worst of any cruise breakfast offerings. I was disappointed.

Lunch


Fried Skate - very good


The first of many pasta dishes with names I've never dealt with before. A bite already taken.


Veal


New Tiramisu - fantastic

After this lunch, I was all primed for great meals in the upcoming days.

Gala Dinner. The Europeans don't seem to get as gussied up as Americans for the Gala dinners. That's OK with me. The Gala dinner is a pain because it means I have to bring a suit which means extra clothing I wouldn't otherwise bring. Norwegian Cruise Lines is great in that it has open dinner times.


Wafer do sfoglia al sesamo - puff pastry wafer served with moorhead fish carpacio, ricotta cheese, and lemon juice.


Taglierinini con vagu di capesante e prezzemolo - taglierinin with scallops ragout and parsley


Le costolette di agnello impanate - breaded lamb french cut with potatoes, artichokes, and thyme flavored oil


Milliefoglie filled with mascarpone cheese and carmelized apple tartere.

Copenhagen, Denmark - Embark Costa Atlantica Day 1

Copenhagen is a relatively difficult city to manuever through.  Getting to port involved taking a train to particular stop and then walking about a mile dragging luggage along.


This was the on the walking path to the ship. Would we be doing this a whole lot during the cruise?

Up on board, looking out.

Costa provided the best food of all the cruises we have been on. On first cruise was with Costa. Would the food be as excellent as we remembered?


The buffet was open. The food was drab.

Below is dinner. This would be the true test. As it stood Day 1 was pretty decent from a food standpoint but not spectacular. I was anticipating the rest of the week's food after this evening.


Terrine


Risotto


Veal shank. Not particularly flavorful or as tender as I expected.


Scorpion fish

Wild boar.  This was certainly a different offering however it tasted just like any other pork.


Creme brulee. A little thick and chalky and missing that all important glazed top.

Weinerbrod and Hotdogs - Copenhagen, Denmark

With Ida Davidsen closed, we were out of luck and didn't know where to go.  We wandered the street and found this inviting bakery.

Weinerbrod is a traditional flaky pastry with various middle sections like marmalade and cream. Boy were these buttery flakey good! But expensive. This place didn't have any air conditioning. Americans are spoiled with their AC.

We walked back to get our luggage and stopped for a hot dog to tie is over until we got to the ship.

Hot Dogs are traditional fare in Denmark. This was better than most offerings I've had Stateside.

Bacon Dog with the works. A strip of bacon or two is spiraled around the entire length of the dog.


At the Palace

Riga Airport RIX - Latvia

The flight from Finland to Denmark required a transfer through this airport. We arrived on time and waited a long time. As we lined up for boarding, we were told to wait. We were bumped from our flight to Denmark and we were forced to stay here an extra 8 hours. The airline gave us a voucher for 4.50 Euro for our inconvenience. That's about $5.85 USD that bought only three bottles of water. Food options were limited at this airport.

What a wasted day. The wife wanted to go into town but I kept thinking a flight may open up.

Food in Helsinki, Finland

Stockmann's Grocery Store. Real air conditioning doesn't seem to exist in Finland except in this grocery store.


It's hard learning the language. This is a potato pastry



The Helsinki Fortress

Inside a Church built into the stones

Helsinki Vantaa Airport HEL - Helsinki, Finland

The Helsinki airport has a distinctly more international flare than Reykjavik's airport. Food options are more plentiful also but we didn't try any. We stopped in a few shops to look at food offerings. The Finnish language uses lots of double vowels and consonants.

Split Pea and Barley Soup

For a change in pace and taste. Nothing world class but just something not had every day.

3 1/2 cups water
5 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cup dried split peas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup barley
large carrot diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large stalk celery diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Put all ingredients in a 4 qt pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 1 hour until peas begin to fall apart when stirred and barley and vegetables are tender.

Gray Fox

A backyard visitor.

And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Luke 9:58

House Finch

It's my best guest that it's a house finch.  Can anyone confirm it?

Fruits - 2

These were some new fruits I tried. Now I have a new favorite fruit