Saturday, August 31, 2013

Cruising the Baltic 2013

Approaching Stockholm harbour
This is our retirement treat. I for one have always wanted to see the Scandinavian capitals.

The complete album is at this LINK

We had one night in Copenhagen before boarding the Vision of the Seas the next day. We visited Tallinn, Estonia, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm returning to Copenhagen. There were two extra nights back in Denmark.

The weather was poor as we arrived and for the first day at sea. The remainder was above average for the time of year at +20C.

I had not appreciated that there was 3 time zones involved in the tour which meant reducing days until Russia and then a more relaxing schedule as the shipped sailed back west.

The Scandinavian's look to have a great, if expensive, life style. Whole families on bikes. Every size and design of 2 wheeled transport. Expensive bikes which have minimum security. Left in the open obviously with no risk of theft. All the streets are litter free and buildings well maintained. Painted in bright uplifting colours. The only drawn back was the eye watering price of beer!!!

I read recently that Scotland has the most obese population in Europe and I could well believe that watching the typical Swede or Finn.

The stop at Tallinn in Estonia was enlightening.  I knew nothing about the country. The tour guide was the one of best. She showed passion and enthusiasm for her country. Using references to her life and here grandmothers during the German and Russian occupation of the country. How Estonia secured independence. 40% of the population have a university degree and the company which invented Skype is Estonian.

First Formal Dinner on Board



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