Scandinavian and Baltic Adventure - our trip report
Jul 5th, 2015, 02:46 PM
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Scandinavian and Baltic Adventure - our trip report
On a cruise, we sailed for 11 days, exploring Scandinavian and Baltic ports of call. We departed from Copenhagen, where we spent a few days, pre-cruise. It was a wonderful, but very busy itinerary. I’ll include info about the cruise and our pre-cruise hotel at the end.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is a very attractive city. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights:
Nyhavn – attractive waterfront area, lined with colored buildings.
Stroget – we really enjoyed walking around the many streets here, browsing the shops and admiring the architecture and fountains along the way.
Rosenberg Slot – this was some castle, used as a Danish royal residence. I especially liked all the decorations – the paintings (including on the ceiling), and furnishings (clocks, porcelain, lots of ornate stuff). We saw the throne room and the mirror room. The mirror room also had a mirror on the floor. The King would guide women in skirts to this room, so he could use the mirror to look up their skirts.
Adjacent to the castle was the treasury, where the Danish crown jewels are displayed.
National Museum – this place was huge and filled will sorts of interesting things - from the Stone Age, to the Vikings to modern times. We spent longer in here than we anticipated as there is a lot of see. I especially liked the Dutch perspective boxes – they had 2 of only 6 surviving in the world. The Viking exhibits were also very interesting.
Faelledparken – this is a large park with a really terrific skate park. We often search out skateparks on our travels for my younger son, who always brings his skateboard along. This park had the largest half pipe I have ever seen and very good vert bowls. The Danish skaters here were very good – I assume from practicing in such a good and challenging skatepark.
Ny Carlsberg Glypotek – this was a nice art museum with a beautiful interior courtyard. Their sculpture collection is wonderful (Rodin and Carpeaux are highly represented). I also enjoyed their Impressionism/Post-Impressionism collection – they had a wonderful Monet and Van Gogh.
Tivoli Gardens – we explored this in the evening as the lights were coming on. Fun.
Berlin
This was a short visit, as the cruise port was quite far from the city, but it was well worth the trip.
My son and I split up for the first 1.5 hours – I visited the Gemaldegalerie and he visited the Museum of the Resistance, which he found really interesting.
Gemaldegalerie – wonderful art museum (and no crowds)! They had Caravaggio, Van Eyck, Brueghel’s Netherlandish Proverbs (with an excellent sheet to interpret all the numerous proverbs depicted), two amazing Vermeers, de Hooch, Rembrandt, Bosch -- really a terrific collection.
My son and I met back up and did this walking tour:
Tiergarden – we walked to the Brandenburg Gate through a portion of the wooded and serene Tiergarden.
Brandenburg Gate – we took some pictures of this popular huge arch in Berlin.
Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe – this was interesting to walk through – the heights of the various stones, or stelae, which are arranged in a grid, change, as does the elevation of the ground, from flat to rolling. At times, you are in the middle of a corridor of very high stones, on sloping pavement.
Sections of the Berlin Wall – in Potssdamer Platz and again near the Topography of Terror are preserved sections of the Wall that divided East and West Berlin.
Topography of Terror – this was a wonderful and in depth exhibit about the rise of the Nazis to power and their time in Berlin at this location (which was the Gestapo HQ). What was great was that it was all outside, paralleling a preserved section of the Wall.
Checkpoint Charlie – This spot, one of the best known crossing points between East and West Berlin, was Tourist Central and very crowded.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is a very attractive city. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights:
Nyhavn – attractive waterfront area, lined with colored buildings.
Stroget – we really enjoyed walking around the many streets here, browsing the shops and admiring the architecture and fountains along the way.
Rosenberg Slot – this was some castle, used as a Danish royal residence. I especially liked all the decorations – the paintings (including on the ceiling), and furnishings (clocks, porcelain, lots of ornate stuff). We saw the throne room and the mirror room. The mirror room also had a mirror on the floor. The King would guide women in skirts to this room, so he could use the mirror to look up their skirts.
Adjacent to the castle was the treasury, where the Danish crown jewels are displayed.
National Museum – this place was huge and filled will sorts of interesting things - from the Stone Age, to the Vikings to modern times. We spent longer in here than we anticipated as there is a lot of see. I especially liked the Dutch perspective boxes – they had 2 of only 6 surviving in the world. The Viking exhibits were also very interesting.
Faelledparken – this is a large park with a really terrific skate park. We often search out skateparks on our travels for my younger son, who always brings his skateboard along. This park had the largest half pipe I have ever seen and very good vert bowls. The Danish skaters here were very good – I assume from practicing in such a good and challenging skatepark.
Ny Carlsberg Glypotek – this was a nice art museum with a beautiful interior courtyard. Their sculpture collection is wonderful (Rodin and Carpeaux are highly represented). I also enjoyed their Impressionism/Post-Impressionism collection – they had a wonderful Monet and Van Gogh.
Tivoli Gardens – we explored this in the evening as the lights were coming on. Fun.
Berlin
This was a short visit, as the cruise port was quite far from the city, but it was well worth the trip.
My son and I split up for the first 1.5 hours – I visited the Gemaldegalerie and he visited the Museum of the Resistance, which he found really interesting.
Gemaldegalerie – wonderful art museum (and no crowds)! They had Caravaggio, Van Eyck, Brueghel’s Netherlandish Proverbs (with an excellent sheet to interpret all the numerous proverbs depicted), two amazing Vermeers, de Hooch, Rembrandt, Bosch -- really a terrific collection.
My son and I met back up and did this walking tour:
Tiergarden – we walked to the Brandenburg Gate through a portion of the wooded and serene Tiergarden.
Brandenburg Gate – we took some pictures of this popular huge arch in Berlin.
Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe – this was interesting to walk through – the heights of the various stones, or stelae, which are arranged in a grid, change, as does the elevation of the ground, from flat to rolling. At times, you are in the middle of a corridor of very high stones, on sloping pavement.
Sections of the Berlin Wall – in Potssdamer Platz and again near the Topography of Terror are preserved sections of the Wall that divided East and West Berlin.
Topography of Terror – this was a wonderful and in depth exhibit about the rise of the Nazis to power and their time in Berlin at this location (which was the Gestapo HQ). What was great was that it was all outside, paralleling a preserved section of the Wall.
Checkpoint Charlie – This spot, one of the best known crossing points between East and West Berlin, was Tourist Central and very crowded.
Jul 5th, 2015, 02:49 PM
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Klaipeda, Lithuania
We wandered around this port on our own.
Old Post Office –interesting architecture and beautiful painted walls and ceiling inside.
Sculpture Garden – we wandered around this attractive outdoor sculpture garden in a large park.
Black Ghost – along the waterfront is a large sculpture of a ghost appearing to climb out of the water onto the dock. Fun photo op. According to a Lithuanian story, this ghost warned the citizens of Klaipeda that their stocks of grain and firewood were not adequate. The citizens heeded the warning; the ghost saved the city from famine.
Craft market – there was a small craft market in the one square which was interesting to peruse.
St. Petersburg
I chose the cruise we took based on the itinerary – which included 3 days in St Petersburg. They were 3 very busy days. Not having a visa, we booked a 3 day tour though TJ Travel, whom I would highly recommend. They had a great itinerary and also kept their group size to 12 (other similar companies went as high as 16 and cruise ship’s excursions were even larger).
The city was packed with tourists, and our guide, Nina, modified the order of our itinerary to accommodate crowds and was excellent at getting us to the front of the lines and maneuvering through the sea of people at many of St. Petersburg’s main attractions. Our van driver was also adept at getting through St. Petersburg’s notorious traffic. We never could have seen as much as we did (or even half of what we did!) if we had to negotiate the city on our own.
Here’s what we saw:
Peterhof Palace – this home of Peter the Great is sometimes called the Versailles of St. Petersburg. It was so ornate inside – with gold everywhere. As stunning as the palace was, the highlight (of actually all 3 days) for me was the stunning Fountain Park.
Peterhof Fountain Park – beautiful fountains and gardens. The Grand Cascade is definitely the most stunning fountain I have ever seen – it has over 64 fountains and many gold statues. With the yellow palace behind it, it is an amazing sight. Walking through the gardens, there are several other impressive fountains, and fun “trick” fountains, which appear to go off randomly to soak unsuspecting guests. In reality, the fountains were controlled by operators hidden in a structure nearby.
Church of the Spilled Blood – very colorful church, inside and out. It is crowned by several colorful onion domes, and filled with mosaics. It was built on the spot where the assassination of Emperor Alexander II took place.
cont'd....
We wandered around this port on our own.
Old Post Office –interesting architecture and beautiful painted walls and ceiling inside.
Sculpture Garden – we wandered around this attractive outdoor sculpture garden in a large park.
Black Ghost – along the waterfront is a large sculpture of a ghost appearing to climb out of the water onto the dock. Fun photo op. According to a Lithuanian story, this ghost warned the citizens of Klaipeda that their stocks of grain and firewood were not adequate. The citizens heeded the warning; the ghost saved the city from famine.
Craft market – there was a small craft market in the one square which was interesting to peruse.
St. Petersburg
I chose the cruise we took based on the itinerary – which included 3 days in St Petersburg. They were 3 very busy days. Not having a visa, we booked a 3 day tour though TJ Travel, whom I would highly recommend. They had a great itinerary and also kept their group size to 12 (other similar companies went as high as 16 and cruise ship’s excursions were even larger).
The city was packed with tourists, and our guide, Nina, modified the order of our itinerary to accommodate crowds and was excellent at getting us to the front of the lines and maneuvering through the sea of people at many of St. Petersburg’s main attractions. Our van driver was also adept at getting through St. Petersburg’s notorious traffic. We never could have seen as much as we did (or even half of what we did!) if we had to negotiate the city on our own.
Here’s what we saw:
Peterhof Palace – this home of Peter the Great is sometimes called the Versailles of St. Petersburg. It was so ornate inside – with gold everywhere. As stunning as the palace was, the highlight (of actually all 3 days) for me was the stunning Fountain Park.
Peterhof Fountain Park – beautiful fountains and gardens. The Grand Cascade is definitely the most stunning fountain I have ever seen – it has over 64 fountains and many gold statues. With the yellow palace behind it, it is an amazing sight. Walking through the gardens, there are several other impressive fountains, and fun “trick” fountains, which appear to go off randomly to soak unsuspecting guests. In reality, the fountains were controlled by operators hidden in a structure nearby.
Church of the Spilled Blood – very colorful church, inside and out. It is crowned by several colorful onion domes, and filled with mosaics. It was built on the spot where the assassination of Emperor Alexander II took place.
cont'd....
Jul 5th, 2015, 03:59 PM
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This is the only cruise I am really interested in and so glad we are getting the trip review. Great tip about that tour company in St Petersburg. We went and saw Nicholas and Alexandra: The Last Imperial Family of Tsarist Russia in Wilmington Delaware in 98 and loved what we saw. Was sort of funny because husband's aunt was at the palace in Russia at the same time and was upset that many of the exhibits were gone. I have always wanted to see the malachite fireplaces. How long of a bus trip was it to Berlin?
Jul 6th, 2015, 06:10 AM
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I'm very interested in the St. Petersburg portion of your trip, Phillyfan.
flpab, my women's group visited Wilmington also. Very interesting. Wonder if we passed each other?
For those of you near D.C. Hillwood has many Russian artifacts:
http://www.hillwoodmuseum.org/about-...riweather-post
flpab, my women's group visited Wilmington also. Very interesting. Wonder if we passed each other?
For those of you near D.C. Hillwood has many Russian artifacts:
http://www.hillwoodmuseum.org/about-...riweather-post
Jul 6th, 2015, 07:32 AM
#5
Loving this report PhillyFan.
Could you please give me the sequence of your port calls after you left Copenhagen.
Oh yes in Rosenburg Slot and those mirrors on the floor, with all the layer of clothes the women wore then, what was the king hoping to see.
Glad you went to Klaipeda, as we do not hear much about this place.
Since you were at the lovely Post Office, you were only a block away from the Amberton Hotel.
I mention this only because the hotel has two unit buidings,
one is shaped like a "D" and the other like a "K"
if you stand in the right place the "K" and the "D" units fit ,one in the other. I never saw anything like it.
What did you think of it.?
Here look at pictures # 3 and # 4 in the top row.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Amber...ih=984&dpr=0.9
How did you get to Klaipeda from Copenhagen .?
Loved your outline of St. Petersburg.
Waiting for more.
Could you please give me the sequence of your port calls after you left Copenhagen.
Oh yes in Rosenburg Slot and those mirrors on the floor, with all the layer of clothes the women wore then, what was the king hoping to see.
Glad you went to Klaipeda, as we do not hear much about this place.
Since you were at the lovely Post Office, you were only a block away from the Amberton Hotel.
I mention this only because the hotel has two unit buidings,
one is shaped like a "D" and the other like a "K"
if you stand in the right place the "K" and the "D" units fit ,one in the other. I never saw anything like it.
What did you think of it.?
Here look at pictures # 3 and # 4 in the top row.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Amber...ih=984&dpr=0.9
How did you get to Klaipeda from Copenhagen .?
Loved your outline of St. Petersburg.
Waiting for more.
Jul 6th, 2015, 07:41 AM
#6
OkayPhillyFan, I just got your itinerary from your posting on the thread "St.Petersburg Plus."
Thanks
Thanks
Jul 6th, 2015, 11:51 AM
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Hi Percy - we did see those buildings! And noticed how they fit together when viewed at certain angles. Very interesting!
flpab - the bus excursion to Berlin was horrible! And not because it was 3 hours one way - I knew that going in. Only my son and I went, and we opted for the cruise line's "transportation only" option. What a mess their tours were. All Royal Caribbean's Berlin tours gathered at the same time in the ship's theatre. Our tickets said we were to leave at 7:30am, but we had to report at 7am. 16 other tours assembled at the same place - after they processed all those people, we didnt' end up leaving until 8am. Such a waste of time! What was worse, was that we stopped for a "quick" bathroom break, which turned into 30 mins. b/c 2 other busses arrived at the same time.
Coming home, we were told that we had an additional 20 min. detour b/c there was a bridge reconstruction and the heavy busses could not cross the bridge. That was actually an additional 40 mins....plus a bathroom break, and plus a stop to pick up food for a snack. It was a long ride back.
RC had all their tours arrive back to the ship at approximinately the same time and it took us almost 45 mins. just to get back on the ship.
Moral of this long story: do a private tour!! All of the St. Petersburg tour companies (TJ, Alla, SPB, etc.) also offer excursions in the other Baltic ports and this would have definitely have been the way to go!
However, we could not have done this b/c I really wanted to visit the art museum, and a private group tour would not have accommodated that side excursion.
Regardless of all that complaining I just did, I'm glad I saw Berlin, and very glad I saw the art museum. But it was annoying dealing with cruise ship's transportation.
flpab - the bus excursion to Berlin was horrible! And not because it was 3 hours one way - I knew that going in. Only my son and I went, and we opted for the cruise line's "transportation only" option. What a mess their tours were. All Royal Caribbean's Berlin tours gathered at the same time in the ship's theatre. Our tickets said we were to leave at 7:30am, but we had to report at 7am. 16 other tours assembled at the same place - after they processed all those people, we didnt' end up leaving until 8am. Such a waste of time! What was worse, was that we stopped for a "quick" bathroom break, which turned into 30 mins. b/c 2 other busses arrived at the same time.
Coming home, we were told that we had an additional 20 min. detour b/c there was a bridge reconstruction and the heavy busses could not cross the bridge. That was actually an additional 40 mins....plus a bathroom break, and plus a stop to pick up food for a snack. It was a long ride back.
RC had all their tours arrive back to the ship at approximinately the same time and it took us almost 45 mins. just to get back on the ship.
Moral of this long story: do a private tour!! All of the St. Petersburg tour companies (TJ, Alla, SPB, etc.) also offer excursions in the other Baltic ports and this would have definitely have been the way to go!
However, we could not have done this b/c I really wanted to visit the art museum, and a private group tour would not have accommodated that side excursion.
Regardless of all that complaining I just did, I'm glad I saw Berlin, and very glad I saw the art museum. But it was annoying dealing with cruise ship's transportation.
Jul 6th, 2015, 11:54 AM
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Back to the St. Petersburg portion of our trip:
Fortress of Sts. Peters and Paul – we toured the church here, the which is also the burial site of the Russian czars.
Faberge Museum – The museum says it is the largest collection of works by Faberge. They have 9 Faberge eggs, which is the second largest number anywhere (Moscow has 10). I am quite fascinated by the Faberge eggs – they are exquisite. My favorite egg is the Lily of Valley one, which is exhibited here. (This museum visit is another reason I chose TJ Travel – not all the different tour groups’ itineraries included a visit to this museum).
Subway visit – we visited the deepest subway station in the world. We weren’t in North Philadelphia anymore – their subways are beautiful decorated in marble and mosaics. Some tour companies include a ride on the subway, ours didn’t. I overhead someone else on our ship speaking highly about their guide, who had a great sense of humor. She put her tour group on the subway for their ride, and as the subway departed the station, she said, “Next stop: SIBERIA!”
Canal boat trip – we did a scenic boat ride along several of the canals in St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg is sometimes called the Venice of the North b/c of all their canals. We passed much beautiful architecture along this cruise.
Catherine Palace – Wow. Another Baroque extravaganza – beautiful rooms, many covered with gold. The famous Amber Room is here, or to be more accurate, a replica of the Amber Room is here. The original panels disappeared during the War and have never been found.
St. Isaac’s Cathedral – this church was also beautifully decorated – many mosaics and paintings.
Hermitage Museum/Winter Palace. Stunning!! My husband and son were less than thrilled to learn that we were to have a 2-3 hour tour of this art collection. The rooms were incredible – even without all the wonderful art, this would have been an amazing tour, just to see the rooms. Our tour focused mostly on the Italian and Dutch/Flemish collections and included the Leonardos and Rembrandts. Our guide let me peruse the Dutch area (one of my favorites) in more depth while she moved slightly ahead. I also especially liked the Raphael loggias, a faithful copy of the ones in the Vatican.
This was the art collection of Catherine the Great. I learned that Stalin sold some of the most valuable paintings in the collection and several ended up at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. They sold paintings by Vermeer, Van Eyck and Titian!
After dealing with huge crowds at the other attractions, we were told we had Early Admission for the Hermitage Our guide warned us, however, that many groups are allowed early admission and it can still be very crowded. She told us that just last week, one of her groups had to wait an hour just to get in – that’s how many groups were there. We got very lucky – we had the place to ourselves for an hour or so.
Yusapov Palace – the other St. Petersburg palaces we toured were mostly in the Baroque style (which I actually love). The Yusapov Palace is Neo-Classical, and it was beautiful, too. The rooms were lovely and it had a gorgeous, but small, theatre. The wealthy Yusapov Family lived here. This palace was also the site of the murder of Rasputin. They told the story quite well – with some room replications of the participants on that fateful evening.
Fortress of Sts. Peters and Paul – we toured the church here, the which is also the burial site of the Russian czars.
Faberge Museum – The museum says it is the largest collection of works by Faberge. They have 9 Faberge eggs, which is the second largest number anywhere (Moscow has 10). I am quite fascinated by the Faberge eggs – they are exquisite. My favorite egg is the Lily of Valley one, which is exhibited here. (This museum visit is another reason I chose TJ Travel – not all the different tour groups’ itineraries included a visit to this museum).
Subway visit – we visited the deepest subway station in the world. We weren’t in North Philadelphia anymore – their subways are beautiful decorated in marble and mosaics. Some tour companies include a ride on the subway, ours didn’t. I overhead someone else on our ship speaking highly about their guide, who had a great sense of humor. She put her tour group on the subway for their ride, and as the subway departed the station, she said, “Next stop: SIBERIA!”
Canal boat trip – we did a scenic boat ride along several of the canals in St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg is sometimes called the Venice of the North b/c of all their canals. We passed much beautiful architecture along this cruise.
Catherine Palace – Wow. Another Baroque extravaganza – beautiful rooms, many covered with gold. The famous Amber Room is here, or to be more accurate, a replica of the Amber Room is here. The original panels disappeared during the War and have never been found.
St. Isaac’s Cathedral – this church was also beautifully decorated – many mosaics and paintings.
Hermitage Museum/Winter Palace. Stunning!! My husband and son were less than thrilled to learn that we were to have a 2-3 hour tour of this art collection. The rooms were incredible – even without all the wonderful art, this would have been an amazing tour, just to see the rooms. Our tour focused mostly on the Italian and Dutch/Flemish collections and included the Leonardos and Rembrandts. Our guide let me peruse the Dutch area (one of my favorites) in more depth while she moved slightly ahead. I also especially liked the Raphael loggias, a faithful copy of the ones in the Vatican.
This was the art collection of Catherine the Great. I learned that Stalin sold some of the most valuable paintings in the collection and several ended up at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. They sold paintings by Vermeer, Van Eyck and Titian!
After dealing with huge crowds at the other attractions, we were told we had Early Admission for the Hermitage Our guide warned us, however, that many groups are allowed early admission and it can still be very crowded. She told us that just last week, one of her groups had to wait an hour just to get in – that’s how many groups were there. We got very lucky – we had the place to ourselves for an hour or so.
Yusapov Palace – the other St. Petersburg palaces we toured were mostly in the Baroque style (which I actually love). The Yusapov Palace is Neo-Classical, and it was beautiful, too. The rooms were lovely and it had a gorgeous, but small, theatre. The wealthy Yusapov Family lived here. This palace was also the site of the murder of Rasputin. They told the story quite well – with some room replications of the participants on that fateful evening.
Jul 6th, 2015, 07:32 PM
#9
Love your description of St. Petersburg PhillyFan.
Glad you saw Yusupov's Palace.
I have to add something about Yusupov's Palace, which might help someone going to see it.
When I was doing my research work on St. Petersburg and Yusupov's Palace, I saw this lovely stained glass window in the palace which had a Robin in the centre sitting on a branch.
I said to myself if I ever get there I will very gently touch the Robin and say to myself, you made it here. ( To Yusupov's.
We had the palace virtually to ourselves and when I finally came upon the room that had the stained glass window with the Robin....
I leisurely walked over and put my finger on the Robin.!!
A lady popped out from behind a heavy red colored curtain and said, "Please don't touch anything"!!
Gulp!!! I wondered how many other security people were hiding about.
Glad you saw Yusupov's Palace.
I have to add something about Yusupov's Palace, which might help someone going to see it.
When I was doing my research work on St. Petersburg and Yusupov's Palace, I saw this lovely stained glass window in the palace which had a Robin in the centre sitting on a branch.
I said to myself if I ever get there I will very gently touch the Robin and say to myself, you made it here. ( To Yusupov's.
We had the palace virtually to ourselves and when I finally came upon the room that had the stained glass window with the Robin....
I leisurely walked over and put my finger on the Robin.!!
A lady popped out from behind a heavy red colored curtain and said, "Please don't touch anything"!!
Gulp!!! I wondered how many other security people were hiding about.
Jul 7th, 2015, 06:15 AM
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Wow, Percy, maybe you are now on some Russian list of People to Keep an Eye On, LOL.
I'm glad we saw Yusupov's Palace, too. I didn't know much (well, anything) about it before our trip, and it was an interesting - and beautiful - place.
on to....HELSINKI.
Here we did the Hop On/Hop off bus here, and I was told we saw all the sights that those who paid for the ship’s excursion did.
We really enjoyed walking around the waterfront and along Market Square – there were many interesting food and craft and souvenir kiosks set up which were fun to peruse. We also stopped in the nearby food market building to check out all the different foods available.
Uspenski Cathedral – we walked around here – impressive looking Eastern Orthodox church. We couldn’t go inside b/c it is closed on Mondays.
Lutheran Cathedral/Senate Square – we wandered around here, got some pictures. The Lutheran Cathedral is also an attractive church.
Ferris Wheel – my younger son rode this, while the rest of us lounged about on the Scandinavian designed chairs on the grass overlooking the water.
Views of Suomenlinna – we saw nice views of the island fortress on our way back to the ship. We passed a skatepark which turned out to be quite close to our ship, so younger son went to the ship to get his skatepark and returned to skate a while.
I'm glad we saw Yusupov's Palace, too. I didn't know much (well, anything) about it before our trip, and it was an interesting - and beautiful - place.
on to....HELSINKI.
Here we did the Hop On/Hop off bus here, and I was told we saw all the sights that those who paid for the ship’s excursion did.
We really enjoyed walking around the waterfront and along Market Square – there were many interesting food and craft and souvenir kiosks set up which were fun to peruse. We also stopped in the nearby food market building to check out all the different foods available.
Uspenski Cathedral – we walked around here – impressive looking Eastern Orthodox church. We couldn’t go inside b/c it is closed on Mondays.
Lutheran Cathedral/Senate Square – we wandered around here, got some pictures. The Lutheran Cathedral is also an attractive church.
Ferris Wheel – my younger son rode this, while the rest of us lounged about on the Scandinavian designed chairs on the grass overlooking the water.
Views of Suomenlinna – we saw nice views of the island fortress on our way back to the ship. We passed a skatepark which turned out to be quite close to our ship, so younger son went to the ship to get his skatepark and returned to skate a while.
Jul 7th, 2015, 09:39 AM
#11
Very good PhillyFan
I am following your adventure.
I am following your adventure.
Jul 7th, 2015, 09:49 AM
#12
Your in depth descriptions make it all sound fabulous---especially the Hermitage/ Winter Palace.
This is a part of the world that would be very interesting to visit----thanks for taking us along!
I'd also like to hear more about the cruise---ship amenities, food, cabin, etc.
This is a part of the world that would be very interesting to visit----thanks for taking us along!
I'd also like to hear more about the cruise---ship amenities, food, cabin, etc.
Jul 7th, 2015, 10:20 AM
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Enjoying your report!
We are headed to Berlin for 6 days in August and I am starting my detailed research and am glad to read about the resistance museum. I definitely want to go there! So thank your son for me!
We are headed to Berlin for 6 days in August and I am starting my detailed research and am glad to read about the resistance museum. I definitely want to go there! So thank your son for me!
Jul 8th, 2015, 01:44 PM
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Thanks, all!
TPAYT - I will give more of my impressions on our cruise, and our ship at the end. Overall, I would recommend it!
Florida1 - I'm sure you will love Berlin. My son liked it, and Stockholm, the best. It is definitely a place I need to go back to!
Moving on to... VISBY, Sweden
What an attractive medieval city! We enjoyed wandering all around the narrow cobblestone streets through the old town area.
Botanical Garden – they have a nice Botanical Garden; we got some nice pictures here.
Churches – Visby has several (actually, many! especially considering its size) Gothic churches, all in different stages of ruins. The roofs of many are mostly gone, and plants are growing in some of the walls. Very atmospheric.
Gotlands Museum – this was a small but very interesting museum. They had several picture stones, which are just that – stone slabs with pictures painted/carved onto them. These types of pictures stones are only found in this area. Most are thought to be memorial stones, even though they are not always found near graves.
There was lots of interesting Viking stuff here – including a buried treasure horde found on the island -- other gold and silver treasures, too. Additionally, there were many artifacts from the medieval era.
There are lots of archeological finds, too, including graves. They were faithfully preserved and it was interesting to see the jewelry and types burial items placed with the bodies in their graves.
TPAYT - I will give more of my impressions on our cruise, and our ship at the end. Overall, I would recommend it!
Florida1 - I'm sure you will love Berlin. My son liked it, and Stockholm, the best. It is definitely a place I need to go back to!
Moving on to... VISBY, Sweden
What an attractive medieval city! We enjoyed wandering all around the narrow cobblestone streets through the old town area.
Botanical Garden – they have a nice Botanical Garden; we got some nice pictures here.
Churches – Visby has several (actually, many! especially considering its size) Gothic churches, all in different stages of ruins. The roofs of many are mostly gone, and plants are growing in some of the walls. Very atmospheric.
Gotlands Museum – this was a small but very interesting museum. They had several picture stones, which are just that – stone slabs with pictures painted/carved onto them. These types of pictures stones are only found in this area. Most are thought to be memorial stones, even though they are not always found near graves.
There was lots of interesting Viking stuff here – including a buried treasure horde found on the island -- other gold and silver treasures, too. Additionally, there were many artifacts from the medieval era.
There are lots of archeological finds, too, including graves. They were faithfully preserved and it was interesting to see the jewelry and types burial items placed with the bodies in their graves.
Jul 8th, 2015, 06:26 PM
#16
Thank You PhillyFan, waiting for the next port.!
Jul 9th, 2015, 07:55 AM
#17
ttt !
Jul 9th, 2015, 12:59 PM
#18
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Hello, Percy!!
TALLINN, ESTONIA
First, I will tell you about our family drama. We are no strangers to drama on family vacations – we’ve dealt with throwing-up in Florida, stitches in Yellowstone and being on a plane that got diverted to Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Usually we have minor drama that involves navigation. We didn’t have to worry about 95% of how we would get around on this trip, so we replaced that with illness.
My younger son developed a fever that lasted for 3 days. He’s older so I wasn’t frantic, but it was worrisome not having contact with him when he stayed behind for the day (in his interior cabin, he didn’t get cell phone coverage). His fever took a while to go away, but on the day we arrived in Tallinn he woke up feeling better. His temperature went up slightly after breakfast, and I was outvoted 3:1 that he should remain on the ship.
We get to the main square in Old Town Tallinn, and were there about 5 mins. when younger son breaks out into a sweat. I look at my husband and he already knows he is the one who will escort son back to the ship. (It was easy; the ship had a shuttle and we were close to port). It took about 40 mins. to deal with that. In that time, my older son, stayed plastered to his phone, and available WiFi, b/c he was anxious to read about the results of the NBA Draft. He was hoping the bar on the ship that showed sports would cover the draft. (Not surprisingly, it didn’t!)
Town Hall
My son situated himself next to the Town Hall, where I discovered they had a temporary art exhibit featuring Dutch and Flemish art from private collections! This is some of my favorite art, so I was thrilled. It was a good exhibit (bonus!) and it was also interesting to see the interior decor in the town hall.
Old Pharmacy
This was so interesting – it featured remedies from earlier days. On display were (and I’m not making these up): dried deer penises, dried toad, infusion of wood louse and sun-bleached dog feces. I don’t even want to know what conditions they were supposed to treat. (I suspect the cure might be worse than the disease! Lol)
Toompea
Just walking around Tallinn’s narrow streets and quaint buildings is a highlight. We walked up to the upper area, where were there several great viewpoints of the Old Town. We stopped in several of Tallinn’s churches, including the one this area, the Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral.
St. Catherine’s Passage
This is an attractive narrow street, lined with many shops.
We enjoyed just wandering all around Tallinn, and since it started to rain (and I because I wanted to check up on my younger son), we headed back to the ship.
(BTW, my son's fever went away that day, and he started to feel a lot better. He had a lingering cough, but his energy and spirits were back to normal. I took him to our doctor when we got home, and he was diagnosed with Walking Pneumonia! We had our follow up visit today, and younger son received a clean bill of health. He rarely gets sick, so this was uncommon for us to deal with for him).
TALLINN, ESTONIA
First, I will tell you about our family drama. We are no strangers to drama on family vacations – we’ve dealt with throwing-up in Florida, stitches in Yellowstone and being on a plane that got diverted to Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Usually we have minor drama that involves navigation. We didn’t have to worry about 95% of how we would get around on this trip, so we replaced that with illness.
My younger son developed a fever that lasted for 3 days. He’s older so I wasn’t frantic, but it was worrisome not having contact with him when he stayed behind for the day (in his interior cabin, he didn’t get cell phone coverage). His fever took a while to go away, but on the day we arrived in Tallinn he woke up feeling better. His temperature went up slightly after breakfast, and I was outvoted 3:1 that he should remain on the ship.
We get to the main square in Old Town Tallinn, and were there about 5 mins. when younger son breaks out into a sweat. I look at my husband and he already knows he is the one who will escort son back to the ship. (It was easy; the ship had a shuttle and we were close to port). It took about 40 mins. to deal with that. In that time, my older son, stayed plastered to his phone, and available WiFi, b/c he was anxious to read about the results of the NBA Draft. He was hoping the bar on the ship that showed sports would cover the draft. (Not surprisingly, it didn’t!)
Town Hall
My son situated himself next to the Town Hall, where I discovered they had a temporary art exhibit featuring Dutch and Flemish art from private collections! This is some of my favorite art, so I was thrilled. It was a good exhibit (bonus!) and it was also interesting to see the interior decor in the town hall.
Old Pharmacy
This was so interesting – it featured remedies from earlier days. On display were (and I’m not making these up): dried deer penises, dried toad, infusion of wood louse and sun-bleached dog feces. I don’t even want to know what conditions they were supposed to treat. (I suspect the cure might be worse than the disease! Lol)
Toompea
Just walking around Tallinn’s narrow streets and quaint buildings is a highlight. We walked up to the upper area, where were there several great viewpoints of the Old Town. We stopped in several of Tallinn’s churches, including the one this area, the Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral.
St. Catherine’s Passage
This is an attractive narrow street, lined with many shops.
We enjoyed just wandering all around Tallinn, and since it started to rain (and I because I wanted to check up on my younger son), we headed back to the ship.
(BTW, my son's fever went away that day, and he started to feel a lot better. He had a lingering cough, but his energy and spirits were back to normal. I took him to our doctor when we got home, and he was diagnosed with Walking Pneumonia! We had our follow up visit today, and younger son received a clean bill of health. He rarely gets sick, so this was uncommon for us to deal with for him).
Jul 9th, 2015, 02:34 PM
#19
Thanks for the Tallinn posting.
I am enjoying your trip.
I am enjoying your trip.
Jul 9th, 2015, 02:50 PM
#20
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Stockholm
This was our last stop, and the end of our cruise. Our ship spent an overnight here.
By the time we arrived here, my husband and son declared that they were “palace’d out”, so we did not visit the Royal Palace. (We did wander around the garden area of the Palace). I could have stopped in by myself, but I was enjoying walking around. Stockholm is a very attractive city and we were told that we were there on the first summer day that they had. (The weather here was much cooler than I prepared for – I anticipated temps closer to 70, but most days featured a high between 60-62. I packed too many sleeveless items and not enough warmer ones).
Vasa Museum
Wow – what an amazing ship! The Vasa sank on its maiden voyage and spent centuries under the sea before being faithfully restored. The museum had exhibits showing how brightly colored they believed the statues and decorations on the ship were – paint samples were analyzed to determine how they might have originally appeared. The museum is set up so that you can access several levels, seeing the ship from down below and on deck level.
Gamla Stan
I think we walked down every street in this old town area – we loved the medieval alleyways and interesting architecture. We walked past Storykran Church, through lovely Stortorget Square and down Marten Trotzigs Grand, the narrowest street in Gamla Stan. Then we walked along the waterfront area – it was such a nice sunny day and we really enjoyed being outside.
My son met several friends his age in the nightclub and casino on the ship, and they made plans to go out in Stockholm that evening. They found a rooftop bar and met several Swedes, who they said were great people. He had a blast and he said that was one of the funnest things about the cruise!
Logistics of getting from the port to Stockholm: we were going to take the Hop on/Hop off bus, but there was a fairly long line that wasn’t moving quickly at all. It was going to cost us 25 Euros each. Instead, I asked a cab driver about fares, and we ended up taking a cab from the port to Vasa, from Vasa to Gamla Stan and then from Gamla Stan/Royal Palace area back to the ship, all for less money than what the HOHO bus would have cost for all 4 of us.
Next...about our Ship....
This was our last stop, and the end of our cruise. Our ship spent an overnight here.
By the time we arrived here, my husband and son declared that they were “palace’d out”, so we did not visit the Royal Palace. (We did wander around the garden area of the Palace). I could have stopped in by myself, but I was enjoying walking around. Stockholm is a very attractive city and we were told that we were there on the first summer day that they had. (The weather here was much cooler than I prepared for – I anticipated temps closer to 70, but most days featured a high between 60-62. I packed too many sleeveless items and not enough warmer ones).
Vasa Museum
Wow – what an amazing ship! The Vasa sank on its maiden voyage and spent centuries under the sea before being faithfully restored. The museum had exhibits showing how brightly colored they believed the statues and decorations on the ship were – paint samples were analyzed to determine how they might have originally appeared. The museum is set up so that you can access several levels, seeing the ship from down below and on deck level.
Gamla Stan
I think we walked down every street in this old town area – we loved the medieval alleyways and interesting architecture. We walked past Storykran Church, through lovely Stortorget Square and down Marten Trotzigs Grand, the narrowest street in Gamla Stan. Then we walked along the waterfront area – it was such a nice sunny day and we really enjoyed being outside.
My son met several friends his age in the nightclub and casino on the ship, and they made plans to go out in Stockholm that evening. They found a rooftop bar and met several Swedes, who they said were great people. He had a blast and he said that was one of the funnest things about the cruise!
Logistics of getting from the port to Stockholm: we were going to take the Hop on/Hop off bus, but there was a fairly long line that wasn’t moving quickly at all. It was going to cost us 25 Euros each. Instead, I asked a cab driver about fares, and we ended up taking a cab from the port to Vasa, from Vasa to Gamla Stan and then from Gamla Stan/Royal Palace area back to the ship, all for less money than what the HOHO bus would have cost for all 4 of us.
Next...about our Ship....
