Mt. Fuji is a cold, desolate, ugly mountain that is prone to extreme weather no matter what month of the year.  The dust and rocks/boulders are challenging and extremely annoying.  The mountain is just rock, rock and more rock both up and on the way down.  It is, after all, a volcano. The climb starts at a relatively high altitude and is quite steep in places; so we had a few “dropouts” early on during our climb. (They ended up spending the night at the lower lodging huts until the guides picked them up the next day.)  Altitude sickness also hit a few climbers as we all headed towards the 12,340 ft. summit; as most of our group did not live near mountains or climb on a regular basis.  Our guides told us that some of the most fit people experience altitude sickness.

We  were the first of our group to reach our Mt. Fuji 8th station “hotel”/hut, arriving around 3:30 p.m. (Hooray! We beat the young ones!) The first day’s 4600 ft. vertical climb to  this 11,049 ft high hut was tough at times but exhilarating. The last of our group appeared 2 hours later.  Dinner/prison grub (if you could call it that) was served at exactly 5:20 p.m.  One wonders why they can’t make somewhat edible food even if we are high atop a mountain???  Most of our group retired shortly after dinner (really?) to be ready for the 2:00 a.m. wake-up call from our Mt. Fuji Guides.   Since we were the first to arrive at the 8th station, we had been able to select our bunk/hotel “accommodations” (1st or 2nd level).  The beds for both levels ran both sides of a long room with sleeping bags and rock-hard pillows literally side-by-side.  The bunk room accommodated about 50+ climbers.   Of course, we selected the bottom bunks.  Lesley decided to shove David into the corner sleeping bag just in case his snoring became violent due to his sheer exhaustion.  We retired to bed around 7:30 p.m. and in 15 nano seconds, David was asleep, snoring away.  On Lesley’s left side was a young Indian women who also started to snore and snuggle in her sleepy state against Lesley.   Needless to say,  Lesley, who needs her solid 8 hours, felt that she barely got a wink of sleep.

There was lots of noise inside and out all night long; as many people trek through the night and stop at the 8th station (which is the last station before the Summit) to refresh before the final and very slow 1300 vertical feet climb due to altitude acclamation.  It seemed like forever for the sleepless; but, the 2:00 a.m. wake-up call finally arrived and we jumped out of bed, layered up for freezing temperatures at the summit and marched like little soldiers out the door with our 20 lb. backpacks over our shoulders.   It was pitch dark but we had headlamps on our heads to help us avoid the boulders and loose gravel along the way.  The 8th station is a junction for all the trails.  As soon as we stepped onto the trail,  there was a long slow line of climbers with headlamps trekking up the mountain.  From hardly seeing a sole on the mountain the previous day, and then seeing hoards of people at 2:30 in the morning was a shock for us.  After about 20 minutes, our guides led us to a “private”, yet unopened, path exclusive to our group.

We are very proud to say that we were also the first two (and the elders of the group) to reach the Summit.  Perhaps, it was the altitude because all the “youngins” in the group were quite fit.  Experiencing sunrise on the peak was amazing because not only was it quite spectacular; but, we were also experiencing good weather conditions.  We were informed that clear, non-rainy weather conditions is a rarity.  Although it was cloudy below,  we were very grateful to experience the Mt. Fuji sunrise.

After our delicious cup of noodles soup breakfast at 5:00 a.m. in the very crowded summit hut, we started making our descent on a different trail than our ascent.  About 30 minutes into our descent, our guide informed us that we were about to experience the most difficult part of the Mt. Fuji experience, “the beach”, as he called it.  And,  indeed it was.    .   .  !  Think steep,  mini sand dunes with rocks underneath, boulders on top and loose, “slippery” gravel everywhere.  After several difficult kilometers of this nasty knee-killer experience, we both fell apart.  David took two nasty falls; and, Lesley was struggling to remain upright.  Even though we were vigorously using our walking sticks, both of us had such knee pain (in different knees),  most of our group flew by us.  How could this be?  We felt like super (“old”) stars yesterday since we beat everyone to the 8th station as well as the summit.  This rigorous descent continued on for several hours until we reached lovely large boulder forest gullies we had to climb over. About half the group reached the base camp before we both stumbled in, thighs aching, knees in pain and very sore calves.

Climbing Mr. Fuji was a personal challenge for us that was worth a little suffering.  Our thighs, knees and calves were so sore we could hardly get up the morning after our descent.  That same morning, we are headed to Narita airport for our 20+ hour return trip home which includes air and L.A. transfer times.  Climbing Mt. Fuji was a fantastic last hoorah for us.  The End to an incredible trip to celebrate 40 great years together.

On Saturday, we joined Lesley’s relatives for a wonderful day touring the Lahemaa National Park area which is located east of Tallinn on the Gulf of Finland.   It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day – the perfect weather!

Our first stop was in Rakvere were Lesley’s father and two brothers were born.  The town is famous for the Rakvere Castle, which is open to the public.  This medieval castle  is complete with knights, horses, chickens, a torture chamber and a number of re-enactments to show how life was in this castle’s heyday.  Lesley’s cousin, Tonis, (who was with us) was born and raised across the street and spent many hours in the castle (probably before it was enhanced for tourists).   We also visited the gravesite of Lesley’s relatives and her father’s brothers.

Next, we drove along many tall pine forests, rivers and a few secluded windmills to reach an elegant and secluded baronial manor house in Vosu called Vihula Manor.  It was originally built in the 15th century and has many historical buildings, extensive flower & vegetable gardens and a scenic lake.  Over the years it has grown; and, today it is a beautiful 5-star resort and spa.

We also visited Altja, a typical seaside fishing village along the Gulf of Finland.   No professional fishermen live in this former fishermen’s village anymore.  The village has a number of old fishermen’s houses that have been well restored.   All of the homes, both old and new, are the typical Estonian wooden houses.  We were told that these houses have been sold to families in Tallinn and surrounding areas who use them as summer homes.   The scenic beach here has many marshes and a few fishermen’s huts which have been reconstructed on the basis of old photographs and memories of the villagers.  These huts were only used by the fishermen to dry their nets.  The reeds along the shore are used to make roofs here which last up to 100 years!   Like Haapsali, the shoreline reminded us of parts of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.  No wonder why Lesley’s parents loved and lived on Cape Cod!  The village also has its own little local tavern offering local Estonian dishes.

As we continued to drive through the national park area, we saw many more farms compared to what we saw when we visited the area west of Tallinn a few days earlier.  The park takes in a stretch of deeply indented coast with several peninsulas and bays with pine-fresh hinterland including pleasant forests, lakes, rivers and peat bogs.   The landscape throughout this area is mostly flat or gently rolling.  We made a short stop at Kati’s summer house and then had to say our goodbyes to our wonderful Estonian relatives.  It was such an amazing experience to meet the relatives; as, they were so kind and generous.  We look forward to seeing them again soon.  The boys and their (upcoming) wives are anxious to do a family trip to the “Homeland” in a few years.

We arrived mid-afternoon on Tuesday in Tallinn, Estonia after taking the “optional” slow 3-hour ferry from Helsinki.  The capital of Tallinn is considered to be the country’s crown jewel.  When we stepped on dry land in Tallinn, the distinction between the two capitals was immediate to us.  From the newness of Helsinki to the quaint old world charm of Tallinn, we couldn’t wait to start exploring the “homeland”.  Estonia is known for being one of Europe’s most friendly and forward-thinking nations.   Nicknamed “E-Estonia” or the “European Silicon Valley”, this tiny Baltic country is now a world leader in high level cyber security; and, an Estonian was the founder of Skype.  In two decades, Estonia has undergone a major transformation from a rather impoverished communist society to a free, forward-thinking transitional society.  We also learned that it was the first country to allow online voting and 98% of it 1.3 million citizens bank online!  This country exudes young entrepreneurial spirit; and, interestingly it holds the world record in “start-ups” per person.  It was very clear to us that Estonia has certainly embraced independence enthusiastically.

Our hotel is just on the edge of Old Town. Tallinn is a compact, buzzing city of 400k (about a third of all of Estonia).  Lesley’s father was an Estonian orphan at age 10.  He was able to return  to visit his brothers (who he hadn’t seen in 60 years) after the Soviet Union failed; and Estonia was free of Soviet rule in 1991.   It was Lesley’s first trip to Estonia.  This afternoon, we met with Kati, one of Lesley’s relatives, who was stunning, vivacious and looked far younger than her 43 years.   Kati was in charge of planning some joint activities with all the relatives for the days ahead.

Tallinn is a balanced blend of medieval and modern and has lots of cultural allure.  The city is shaded by 14th century churches and older buildings which hide a peculiar mix of restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, scenic ruins, galleries and boutiques within it’s stone walls.  Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is quite nice compared to a number of other European cities we have visited.   This small enclave within Tallin is a little Disneyesque with its pristine, multi-pastel building.   It doesn’t feel like Tallinn’s Old Town area was “recreated” for tourism; as, it appeared to be the case for a few European countries we have visited.  The locals are very friendly and most speak English as Estonian is only spoken within the country.

On Wednesday, we spotted one of the usual “free” tours of Old Town and decided to join them.   It was a delightful and interesting 2-hour experience.  Winding our way along the alleys with the group and periodically tripping on the cobblestone paths, we were soon in Old Town Square which was bustling and alive with day-trippers from Helsinki.   In addition,  there are many cruise ships that daily come in and out of the harbor.   Tallinn’s town square, like all other European town squares is overflowing with restaurants and cafes.   There were heavy medieval feasts offered thoughout the city; however, we found the modern Estonia fusion dishes to be a lot more appealing.   Estonia has a very Nordic feel to it.  Perhaps, it is because their language is similar to Finnish. (Finland is only 60 miles away across the bay).   The Finnish and Scandinavian influences are clearly in the well-made handicarfts like the  wooden toys and hand-knit sweaters that are displayed in Old Town shops.

After the long Russian occupation of Estonia, many of the Soviet & Russion monuments, etc. were destroyed.   We made our way uphill to one of the few remaining remnants of Soviet occupation.   It is a beautiful Russion Orthodox Church, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, sitting high on a hill opposite the pink Parliament Building.   The church and Parliament were absolutely spectacular.  There were also two lookout points on the upper city that had extremely impressive views of the Gulf of Finland over the spires and red tiled roofs of the Lower Town below.

Later, we climbed the tower of St. Olav’s Church. The tower was the tallest structure in the world during the 14th and 15th centuries until, after being struck by lightening 8 times over many years, the church decided to rebuild the tower 40 meters shorter. The view was spectacular but the walkway around the outside of the roof was quite narrow (less than 2 ft wide). A number of tourists (including Lesley) that had made the long spiral staircase trek, were clearly uncomfortable on the outside edge of the tower.

Another element that remains here are the old Russian factories just outside the Old Town walls that were abandoned in 1991 and became a haven for drug addicts.  About 6-7 years ago some younger people began moving into this inexpensive area.  The area is called Telliskivi but it is more commonly called the “Creative City”.  Now it has become an area of small shops, bars, restaurants and small company offices.  The area was a little too funky (young?) for us; but, it is certainly rapidly growing and will probably take another 10-15 years before it fully realizes its potential.

Estonia has had a chequered history. Like that of its’ Baltic neighbors, it has been almost singly devoted to maintaining independence from its powerful neighbors, most notably Russia.  The country also has been occupied at one time by the Danes and Swedes; and, there is also a strong German influence within the country.   While the younger Estonians mix freely, we were told that friction between the older generations of Russians and Estonians is a throwback to the Soviet era.   “Annexed” by Stalin,  Estonia retained its language and culture far more strongly than many other members of the USSR.   Who could blame the way the Estonians feel with all they went through during the nearly 50-year period of communist stagnation?  Today, Estonia is making great strides with rediscovering their culture and reveling in their newly acquired relative wealth.   We saw many expensive German cars along with Bentleys tooling around the streets of Tallin.

We were told that Tallinn is the most exciting gateway for weekends especially for the people of Finland.  Everything is much less expensive in Tallinn compared to pricey Helsinki.  There are many ferries that leave in the morning from Helsinki to Tallinn and come back by evening.  On our way back to Helsinki from Tallinn, we saw people carrying loads of big packs of beer and other alcoholic beverages; as, there was a sizable “supermarket” on board our ferry/cruise ship.

On Tuesday, we took the hour train ride north of Amsterdam to the quaint village of Delft.  Delft’s most famous resident was Vermeer, the painter who did so much with light.

Delft is a lovely town with its small canals, cheese shops, traditional Dutch homes and a very leaning church.  The city has two grand churches aptly named the New Church and the Old Church which is the leaning one.  With all of the Netherlands built on swamp with the original foundations of massive logs laid in the mud, it is common to see tilting buildings.  All the homes lining the canals here are quite slanted.  The very tall church tower, which leans about 6 feet, just accentuates the phenomena.  One can climb up the New Church’s tower for dramatic views of Rotterdam and The Hague.  We opted not to do the climb due to the fog and rain.  The city is also home to the famous Delft Porcelain.  This pottery is a little “old school” for us but the showroom was packed with bussed in elderly tourists.  Even though Delft was the hometown of Vermeer, Delft earthenware is the most significant tourist attraction in town.  The town has been producing this blue and white pottery since the 16th century.

The Vameer museum was fascinating. It focused on his life and works throughout his brief 42 years. They did not have any Vameer originals at the museum but the story took us through his life and the majority of his paintings, which numbered fewer than 50.  The fascinating component of his works was his ability to highlight his subjects with various shades of light – whether direct sunlight, light through a window or curtain or reflections off a mirror.  It was quite interesting.  It should be noted that one can buy all kinds of items with a picture of a Vermeer painting.  There are also Vermeer sandwiches, chocolate and even beer here!  Of course these touristy items are quite tacky but overall the town exudes an excessive amount of charm.  This quaint medieval town is not a heavily touristic city, like Amsterdam.

Bruge, with its picture-perfect, fairytale looks, was like a medieval time warp for us.   It is a city of colorful bricks and mortar and is largely pedestrian with all the major attractions explored on foot.  We easily managed to continually get lost in the tangle of cobbled alleyways complemented by the Venice-type canals.  These canals link the two picturesque main market squares with their lofty towers, historic churches and pretty brick homes.  This mini-city is also known as “the Venice of the North” due to these canal system and bridges.  Today, this overcast, drizzly little enclave had a constant crush of tourists.  It felt like every tourist in the entire country was visiting Bruge today! ( It is only a one-hour train ride from Brussels.)  The city was also teaming with locals clad in yellow, red and black ready to celebrate an today’s soccer game against Ireland.

We had lunch at a fabulous fusion, health-food restaurant called #Food.  Yes, we know it wasn’t the typical Flemish food we should be eating; but, we were drawn to it’s upscale exterior and unique menu.  The food was superb and interesting.  The presentation was possibly the best we have ever seen-absolutely beautiful and really artistic. There were lots of amazing vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.  Both our dishes were fantastic.

Burg Square is the heart of the city.  For the architectural lover, this city is a treasure.  We were in total awe with all the exquisite buildings around the square, especially the Town Hall and the Basilica of the Holy Blood.  The Basilica is very famous because it holds a piece of Jesus Christ’s clothing with a blood stain.  The second major square is the “Markt” (yes, that is the correct spelling) which is surrounded by gabled medieval palaces and  the Belfry.  The Belfry is the city’s looming clock tower with its 365 steps.  We wanted to climb this tower for the great views but there was a 2 hour wait!  This square is lined with lots of Flemish eateries with seats under colorful awnings.  Bruge is certainly not a city of green spaces.  Bruge is, of course, known for it’s beer, along with diamonds, lace and what appears to be hundreds of chocolate shops throughout the city.  There is even a chocolate and friet (French fry) museum within the city!  It was a fun Saturday in Medieval-land.

Now, off to Amsterdam for a week.  It is hard to believe that we only have 3 weeks left in our 7 1/2 month journey!