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Stockholm is built on 14 islands linked by 54 bridges
The island in the centre is the Parliament building and the road in the foreground is where we got lost looking for the Shuttle Bus back to the ship
Tuesday 9th August Helsinki Finland
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| Helsinki Cathedral |
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The Rock Church
or
Tempelpatsens Kyrka - in Swedish
It opened in 1969 after an a competition for a design on this site
It is carved out of solid granite, has wonderful natural light and acoustics |
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In the afternoon we went to the ice bar
Tables, bar, glasses all made of ice and filled with delicious berry flavoured vodka |
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Next a husky sled run |
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| I look pretty scared ! |
A great experience
Wednesday and Thursday 10th and 11th August
St Petersburg
Our first view of the Hermitage from the other side of the river
I am going there tomorrow, so I am excited about that
Paul is acting tour guide while our official guide organises a loo stop
The Church of St Peter and St Paul
Not much to look at from outside .....
But what a glorious gilded interior holding treasures
The tomb of Peter the Great
The tomb where the remains of Nicholas 11, his wife Alexandra and three of their children were laid to rest on 17th July 1998
This is a picture of the funeral ceremony
Although the two remaining children were not buried with them until 11th September 2015
We also saw the Church of the Spilled Blood
It was built where Alexander 11 was fatally wounded in March 1881
The church was built between 1883 and 1907
No time to go inside but we saw many lovely sights in St Petersburg
Paul spotted this Wedding car
We saw at least three weddings on our tour
The Hermitage
The square on the land side of the Hermitage was amazingly spacious
The entrance gates
The building itself was just amazing
This ceiling was painted to look as though it was plaster relief, but was in fact flat.
The inlaid floors were also amazing
I was surprised that we were allowed to walk on them
But they have been treated with a protective layer
This just looks like a garden, but Catherine had it built on the second floor, a marvel at the time
This is the Peacock Clock
It was made in England and when it chimes it spreads it's tail feathers - amazing again
I could not keep my mouth closed as i walked round !
An early painting by Leonardo da Vinci
However fantastic the exhibits i just loved the building
Like this fantastic ceiling
And these pictures of the Grand Staircase
Tallin Estonia
Tallinn is a Medieval walled town
There are many towers along the walls but this is the most important
The flag flying from this tower tells the world who rules the city
When Estonia split from the USSR it was a bloodless revolution
They just hoisted their flag
The Cathedral of St Mary. A Beautiful building but by this time we were having our fill of churches !
A good vantage point for an overview of the city
I loved this restaurant where all the flower boxes were filled with herbs
More lovely flowers set in what seemed to be an old staircase
Life on board
The seafood section of the buffet was especially good for Paul
We tried the Italian and French Restaurants, wonderful also
But if you just wanted to pig out on Seafood or even lovely fresh French bread and cheese
This was the place
Paul looking happy after lunch
Not surprising !
However I came back not having put a pound on ...
Good healthy food, even if there was an amazing lot of it
Plenty of walking too
The onboard entertainment was mixed, but mostly good
We enjoyed this tribute to The Beatles
Also a show celebrating the Rat Pack
Every day there were interesting talks, I especially enjoyed the Viking History lectures
Thank you Toby. He was from Birmingham University
And also a daily preview of what we could expect from the port the next day
The Long and Winding Road show.
Sunday 14th August Gdansk Poland
This was the only port of call where I felt disappointed with the tour
Gdansk meant to me the Shipyard rebellion in 1981 and Lech Walesa, when 17,000 shipyard workers went on strike and began organised resistance to the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Europe
This is a picture of the famous Gate No 2 which is celebrated in Solidarity Square
Solidarity Square today
The three cross memorial and the building designed to look like a ship under construction
There is also a part of the Berlin Wall on display
Which reminds me, whatever happened to the fragment that my Mother had ?
Anyway, that is another story.
I was amazed that we did not stop here
Gdansk itself was very pleasant with a beautiful waterfront
Interesting market (I bought myself some earrings)
Wonderful Gargoyles everywhere
A picturesque fountain
This is the Birthplace of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit who was born in Gdansk in 1686
A monument was built to remember him
A reproduction of his Thermometer, Barometer and clock
On a lighter note, I had a couple Zlote left after buying an ice cream so I had my fortune told by a budgerigar.
He selected a card out of the rack for me.
I think that I will live happily ever after !
Monday 15th August Warnemunde Germay
This was the port for a visit to Berlin
A scheduled train arrived early, a view from our cabin
However, we decided that a twelve hour trip for four hours in Berlin did not make sense.
We will go another time. I suppose it was ok for the majority of passengers (American)
It is a long way for them to come back
So we opted for a visit to a microbrewery instead
We had a good explanation about how the beer was made
Then samples of Beer and Pretzels
Not too sure at 9.30 am ! But we made the best of it ...
This was the beer we were tasting
The Brewery had a nice little beer garden behind it
Easy access from train station to Brewery to Football Stadium, and reverse
Popular place I would imagine
We carried on to the old Hanseatic town of Rostock
Locally this fountain is nicknamed the pornographic fountain
I chose this view carefully
Personally I preferred the wart hog !
No one could doubt that this was a shoe shop
Quite delightful
We took a leisurely boat ride back to the ship
It looks huge but only carries around 900 passengers so it is able to get into the smaller ports
Tuesday 16th August Copenhagen Denmark
There is no doubt that we are in Copenhagen
Here is the Little Mermaid
We are enjoying the weather and the lovely views
Until is starts raining !
It is the first wet day that we have had so not too much to complain about
It was worth getting wet to see the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace
Although Paul did no think so ...
Me .... drowned rat in a very fetching poncho bought from the souvenir shop
Paul stayed comfy and dry on the coach
Wednesday 17th August Aalborg Denmark
As soon as we arrive in Aalborg we learn about the Danish way of life
Denmark is said to be the happiest country in Europe and Aalborg the happiest city in Denmark
This is not a very pretty picture taken from our cabin, but this plant burns the rubbish from the city (no nasty smells) and 80% of the city is heated from this plant
This is Alborg 'Castle'
Pretty and not fortified as you would expect from the happiest city in Europe
Paul, as you would expect, was more interested in the classic Chrysler car
Alborg is a small port and not much visited by cruise ships. The 'Costas' etc are just too big. So we were given a wonderful welcome everywhere. This Viking 'village' was set up for us, with displays of fighting and handicrafts
We were also given a special welcome at the church where volunteers served coffee and cookies
This was everyone's favourite guy as he served Schnaaps with pork crackling and rye bread, and taught us how to drink in the Danish way.
OK, touristy but fun
This was Alborg's main post office, now a bank as it was hardly used any more
Another view of the Post Office, where you can see the pigeon lofts. How technology has moved on.
This was a newspaper kiosk in Copenhagen, but Danish people rarely read newspapers any more.
Aalborg bought it from Copenhagen and made it a tourist information centre.
Then Copenhagen wanted to buy it back. "No way" said Aalborg.
Typical streets in old town Aalborg
Thursday 18th August Stavanger Norway
A typical street view in old town Stavanger
It is required that the houses are painted white and kept in good condition
At the top of the hill there was a lovely little park complete with Children's sand pit
The Cunard Queen Elizabeth in the background
We had a stroll round the market while the tour went into yet another church.
Unfortunately we never found them again !
We probably enjoyed ourselves more exploring by ourselves
By the lake was this enchanting statue of a boy feeding the ducks
The ducks are considered important in Stavanger as they come ashore every year to breed in the lake
So the city built little steps for them to make it easier to come ashore
There is great excitement when the first ducks arrive and they are guided through the traffic for a long (by duck standards) walk
So, all the houses have to be painted white
Many years ago one resident would not paint his house white as white paint was much more expensive
Blue it has stayed
As we walk back to there is a fantastic reflection of the ship in the building on the quay
By 5.30 pm we were on our way again followed by seagulls
They were taking food from Paul's hand
Friday 19th August Flaam Norway - My favorite place
We needed a pilot boat to enter the narrow and spectacular Aurlandsfjord
The small town of Flaam sits eight hours inland at the heard of the fjord
We took an early morning stroll - this really is the Land of the Trolls
On impulse we jumped on the Flaam railway train for the 9.45 am departure
Leaving just enough time for us to get back for the afternoon trip that we had booked
The little train was comfortable and traditional
The views were spectacular in the morning mist
We made a stop at the Kjosfossen Waterfall
Oh ... Just to prove we were there !
Then we heard strange music and the Spirits that we had been told about appeared
They are renowned for singing and luring men into the mountain
An amusing touch - no Trolls though
In the afternoon I took a scenic coach ride in the opposite direction
Paul decided that he had done enough for one day !
Back along the fjord and then up into the mountains where we visited a mountain lodge
The lodges are traditional resting places for travellers, walking cycling etc in the mountains
Some of them are privately owned and can be very picturesque
Sadly it was time to leave Flaam at 6.00pm
But that seemed an ideal time to enjoy a drink on our balcony
and watch the beautiful scenery go by
Saturday 20th August Bergen Norway - our final port of call
We wandered round the now familiar Scandinavian style of the old town
One house was proudly displaying it's date of build
1790
Next we visited the Archaeological Museum
This contained exhibits from an area that had been destroyed by fire
(Not unusual with so many wooden buildings)
And later excavated
These remains are very notable because of the state of their teeth
As a result of an excellent diet of fish and vegetables - and NO sugar
Next we visited the area of the Merchants Warehouses by the Quay
Narrow streets with cranes jutting from the top of the buildings
Next the covered fish market
There is also an open air market but this has become a touristy restaurant area
Much to the disgust of our guide !
One shop was proudly displaying a small shark
Dried cod was hanging everywhere from the roof
The dark packets are smoked whale meat.
Our guide, who had strong opinions about fish said
"It is like biting into steak until a moment later the oily fishy taste hits you"
There were prawn by the bucket load
and these are Spider Crabs which Paul ate virtually every evening
Walking back to the ship we saw an old steam ship pass by
And Bergen Marina which was amazingly full
It may have been because of the outdoor concert that was being held in Bergen that night
Our last night on board and we crack the bottle of Champagne that had been put in our fridge when we boarded. A happy end to a wonderful holiday.
