This young male lion, one of southern Africa’s Big 5 animals, gave us a big yawn for the camera. Photo by Gene Korte.

Lions, leopards, elephants, cape buffaloes and rhinos are the Big Five in this part of the world, but reports suggest one can safari for days here and not see all of them. We got lucky and spotted a young elephant playing in the mud nine minutes into our first game drive. Fate aside, the real credit goes to Singita Game Reserve guides for knowing where to look.

Over five days we viewed wildly splashing mating hippos (a first for a fellow traveler who was a veteran of more than 400 game drives), shy kangaroos, running zebras, even a few reptiles like the 8-foot crocodile and her baby catching fish in a water spillway. And every day complex termite nests as tall as people dotted the road sides. …

The Silver Wind, moored here in Copenhagen, is part of the Silversea fleet that is often ranked first among small cruise ships by sea travelers. Photo by Gene Korte.

The Silver Wind is pizzazz on the high seas. The vitality of its staff, layout and offerings made us feel like we were guests, not customers, on a floating five-star hotel. On our 10-day northern European voyage, we saw touches of the Vikings and glimpses of the czars amidst the graciousness of our floating home.

In Copenhagen the changing of the Danish Royal Guard is as old as the city subway is new. Helsinki’s bustling flower market near the harbor is only a few blocks from the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral, a reminder of the centuries when Russia ruled Finland. In high-tech Estonia, one of northern Europe’s oldest intact medieval cities is the core of this tiny nation’s capital, Tallinn.

And St. Petersburg in western Russia still has the glory of the past with palaces, churches and its enormous display of priceless art in the Hermitage, while Sunday afternoon bridal parties filled nearby parks, http://www.silversea.com.

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