R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 121

Fun Photo Friday — 54 Days at Sea; Trabzon and Sinop favorites

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Prinsendam’s Flying Bridge in Trabzon

Today’s Fun Photo Friday I present some favorite images of Trabzon and Sinop:

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Sinop Balcony

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Sinop Splash

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Rainbow Tricycles

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Kristina Regina Anchor

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Sinop Tomatoes

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Trabzon Sunset

54 Days at Sea — Sinop, Turkey

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Sinop panorama

It is with regret that I must report that the ship we took on this voyage, Holland America’s “Elegant Explorer” the M.S. Prinsendam, was recently sold to German cruise line Phoenix Reisen. The ship has been leased back by Holland America and will cruise with that line until July 1, 2019, and which time it will become part of the Phoenix Reisen fleet. Anyone who has taken a Grand Voyage segment on this ship is going to certainly miss her. Alongside M.S. Prinsendam this day in po...

54 Days at Sea — Trabzon, Turkey

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Trabzon, Turkey

M.S. Prinsendam arrived at the Turkish Black Sea port of Trabzon on April 21, the day after bidding farewell from Batumi, Georgia. The day was cloudy with intermittent rain, so I didn’t get a whole lot of photography in that day. Even the views from the port were a bit uninspiring:

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Trabzon, Turkey

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Trabzon, Turkey

And here’s a view of the town taken from the decks of the M.S. Prinsendam:

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Trabzon, Turkey

Off the ship and walking the streets we found this pedestrian shopping area...

Fun Photo Friday — 54 Days at Sea; Batumi Favorites

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Reflections in Batumi Waters

Batumi is a really fun place to explore with a camera. There is just so much to see, colors to capture, and compositions to frame. As such, you’ll notice that today I have considerably more photographic favorites in today’s Fun Photo Friday. Enjoy!

54 Days at Sea — Batumi Sights

Let me begin today’s blog article by wishing my U.S. readers a very happy 4th of July celebration.

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It’s 9:22 according to this Batumi sundial

Walking around Batumi is an interesting experience. There’s a stark photographic contrast between new and old, sound and dilapidated. The church below is the Batumi Cathedral of the Mother of God. Originally built as a Roman Catholic church, the Soviets converted it into a high-voltage laboratory. In 1989 the building regained its religious function, bu...

54 Days at Sea — Arriving to Batumi, Georgia

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Medea and the Golden Fleece

M.S. Prinsendam arrived at our next destination of Batumi in Georgia the following morning, April 20. I found this Black Sea destination a lot more welcoming and photogenic than Sochi, Russia. Here you could explore on your own, free from the mandatory escorted tour required in Russia.

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Batumi, Georgia

Batumi sits upon the site of the ancient Greek colony Bathys (meaning ‘Deep Harbor’) in the kingdom of Colchis. Colchis plays a significant role in the classic epic p...

Fun Photo Friday — 54 Days at Sea; Sochi Favorites

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Seeing the Light

Here are some favorites from our brief time in and around Sochi, Russia:

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Wools and Ursula Taking a Break

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Modern Sochi

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Ursula Climbing Akhun Tower

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Sochi Reflections

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Meeting of the Minds

54 Days at Sea — Akhun Tower and Stalin’s summer dacha

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Stalin’s summer dacha

Outside Sochi are two interesting stops. The first we’ll look at today is Mount Akhun, atop which stands the Romanesque-inspired Akhun Observation Tower.

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Akhun Observation Tower

This tower was built in 1936 by architect Sergei Vorobyev. Akhun Tower is approximately ten stories tall, but when you add to that the height of Mount Akhun, then you’re talking an elevation of 2,297 feet/700 meters.

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Akhun Observation Tower

In front of the tower you’ll find this fun little piece...

54 Days at Sea — Sochi, Russia

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Sochi 2014 Olympics

Two days and about 600 miles/965 kilometers out of Istanbul, on April 19th, we found ourselves in Sochi, Russia, which was at the time gearing up to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. It was an interesting, but hardly inspiring, destination. In order to even set foot off the M.S. Prinsendam, we had to be in the company of a tour guide.

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Sochi

One of the first places we visited was the Saint Michael’s Cathedral. Saint Michaels’ is the oldest Eastern Orthodox church in Sochi...

Fun Photo Friday — 54 Days at Sea; Last look at Istanbul

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Istanbul Tulips

Once last look at Istanbul before heading into the Black Sea: