Pinoyspotting: Cruising through Europe

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From May 20 to June 1, my wife Lynn & I were blessed to have cruised the Baltic Sea  and visited the following cities and countries: Copenhagen, Denmark to Kiel/Hamburg, Germany to Tallinn, Estonia to St. Petersburg, Russia to Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden to Berlin, Germany and back to Copenhagen, Denmark.

We enjoyed the company of new-found friends we met aboard the cruise ship Holland America’s  Eurodam especially, Jun & Mina Quitasol from Los Angeles, CA. 

From left to right: Joe Santos, Lynn Gabriel-Santos, Mina Quitasol & Jun Quitasol at The Piano Bar inside Holland America's Eurodam (Photo courtesy of Joe Santos) 

From left to right: Joe Santos, Lynn Gabriel-Santos, Mina Quitasol and Jun Quitasol (Photo courtesy of Joe Santos) 

This photo was taken at Nyhavn, Denmark (literally: New Harbour) which is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Especially during summer Nyhavn is the perfect place to end a long day. Have dinner at one of the cozy restaurants, or do as the locals do and buy a beer from a nearby store and rest your feet at the quayside. Nyhavn was originally a busy commercial port where ships from all over the world would dock. The area was packed with sailors, ladies of pleasure, pubs and alehouses. Today the beautiful old houses have been renovated and classy restaurants dominate the old port. Nyhavn is filled with people enjoying the relaxed atmosphere by the canal, jazz music and great food.

Tammy Tantoco with Joe Santos inside the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia  (Photo courtesy of Joe Santos) 

What were the odds that I will bump into my good friend Tammy Tantoco inside the world famous State Hermitage Museum? In 1979, Tammy Tantoco, with a group of leaders from Ateneo approached me to charter the University of the Philippines Chapter of Inter-School Business Association ( IBA) for the purpose of expanding IBA in other universities like UP Diliman, De La Salle University, Assumption, Maryknoll & St. Scholastica. The rest is history.