Travel and Leisure
Part two of our European trip took us on a Princess cruise through the Scandinavian countries as well as stops at other Baltic countries. This won't be a review of the cruise (might do that later), but rather a photo memory-minder for me of where we went and what we did.
Malmö: While technically not part of our cruise itinerary, we had an extra day on the front end due to the rail issue in Hamburg, so we added on a night in Malmö (Sweden), only about a 1/2 hour train from Copenhagen airport. It has a charming old town area, with enough to see and do to fill a day. We stayed at the Hotel Mayfair Tunneln, which is one of the oldest buildings in town; the breakfast buffet is in the basement from the 1300s!
Copenhagen: Back across the Øresund bridge, we parked at the Hotel Bethel for three nights, right in the heart of the action in Nyhavn. I'm glad we stayed there for a while, because there is a lot to see and do in Copenhagen, but wow is it ever expensive there! That's one of the primary reasons for doing a cruise, as the Scandinavian countries have a very high cost of living. We met up with our other cruisers over the next two nights, enjoying cold beers on the canal and people-watching in Nyhavn. The Danish royalty participate in an annual event called the Royal Run, where they and over a hundred thousand of their countrymen run around town.
Visby: The "Medieval Gem of Gotland" as it is referred to by ChatGPT, was our first port of call after embarkation. I had done some research on this one, as Rick Steves had not described it in his guidebook. With dozens of ruined churches and a perimeter wall with guard tower and gates, it was easy to see why this was on our list of stops. We followed a rough loop around town to check out the most picturesque church ruins, towers and gates, and then had lunch on Stora Torget across from the ruins of St. Karins Church.
Stockholm: Another large city with a well preserved old town area, we were able to tour around with Rick Steves' walking tour, but still managed to get lost. After exploring historic Gamla Stan, we used our hop-on hop-off boat cruise to get over to the Vasa Museum, where the immaculately restored, 400-yr old ship was on display. It sank almost 400 years ago as it was on it's maiden voyage, due to poor design, and sat undisturbed for over 350 years. And yes, there was another marathon in taking place in town.
Helsinki: The weather for our only stop in Finland drew our Rick Steves walking tour to an early close (I've artificially brightened up the shots below). It is a big city, and doesn't have a charming old town area like almost every other port on our cruise. There is some neat architecture, and that's primarily what Rick's walk highlights, but we stopped when we took refuge in a shopping mall.
Tallinn: Probably the most idyllic old town area of the cruise, Tallinn offered a blend of architecture, history and hilltop views. Located on the Gulf of Finland, its UNESCO-listed Old Town is famed for its intact medieval walls, cobblestone streets, and lively Town Hall Square. With plenty to see, it was one of the stops where we barely made it back to the ship in time for departure.
Riga: Not to be outdone by Tallinn, Riga had it's own charm, albeit on a bit more subdued level. Just when you thought you couldn't find a main town square more interesting than the last, we arrived in Rīgas Rātslaukums, with the House of the Blackheads' ornate façade overlooking it. The town was filled with neat old medieval streets and interesting sights... until we got kicked out of the Russian Orthodox church for wearing shorts!
Gdańsk: When I used to think of Poland, I'd conjure up an image of boring, communist-era architecture and bland surroundings. Boy was I wrong! The Royal Way and "Long Market" were amazing, as were the adjacent streets and historical structures. We had lunch on the Esplanade, a bustling, pedestrian-only promenade stretching along the western shore of the Motława River. Despite being Corpus Christi Day (stat holiday) we barely had enough time to tour the main sights before we to grab our train back to the ship's port in Gdynia.
Klaipėda: This small port city in Lithuania didn't have as much to see as other stops, but we still made the best of it, by using a ChatGPT walking tour to take us to the notable sights around town. As you can see, this was one of the stops where the ship docked within a few hundred metres of the town centre.
Oslo: After a day at sea, we arrived in our last big port city, our only one in Norway. Wayne and I went to Akershus Fortress and the Resistance Museum there, followed by the Rick Steves walking tour of the Karl Johans Gate. There was yet another celebration taking place, and there were marching bands parading down the street. We stopped at the 1930s City Hall, which was very interesting, with the huge murals inside the main hall and outside carvings.
Skagen: Our last port was certainly the least exciting of all our stops, as Skagen is simply a sleepy fishing town. We did what pretty much everyone else did, and rented bikes to ride out to the sandy point in Grenen, where the North sea meets the Baltic Sea. After a tractor ride out and back on the sandy beach (it's a long way, and not bike friendly), we rode back to the ship for the free lunch. Then we went back into town when the sun came out so that the girls could do some shopping on the cute main street that runs through Skagen.
We woke up in Copenhagen the next morning, and after some difficulty trying to get our Uber to the airport, were on our way home after two weeks in Germany and another two in Scandinavia and the Baltics.
