This is the final post of the trip - hopefully it won't be quite as long!
May 14 - Stockholm, Sweden (ABBA and sunken ships)
We had two events booked for Stockholm - neither purchased through the cruise ship. We docked right in the middle of the city and had to make our way to our destinations, but they were very close by. Unfortunately, Stockholm is a bit like Venice and has a lot of waterways in the way.
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| Our first stop is literally beside the amusement park on the left |
After wandering around trying to find a way to get to the city, we took an expensive taxi through the messy construction traffic near the port. First stop was the
ABBA museum! This museum provides an experience of everything to do with ABBA - their history, their music, and their costumes. It was a lot of fun, but by the end of the tour, it was difficult to not hear ABBA music in your head. Incessantly.
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| Hologram ABBA (like their recent tour) that you can sing and dance with |
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| Classic album cover! |
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| The life-size wax figures were very well done! |
We next headed by foot to the
Vasa museum. This museum is home to the Vasa, a huge wooden sailing ship that was launched on its maiden voyage on August 10, 1628. The ship made it only 1300 metres into Stockholm harbour before it was hit with a light breeze, capsized, and sank. After 333 years on the bottom of the harbour, the Vasa was raised on April 24, 1961 and eventually placed in this dedicated museum. About 98% of the ship is intact, and it is both gorgeous and huge!
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| This massive ship could hold over 400 people! |
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| Ornate decorations |
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| 98% original wood, with only a few pieces that were replaced |
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| These decorations may partly be the reason for it being top-heavy and capsizing |
After touring the museum, we had lunch at the cafe (Swedish meatballs and traditional Swedish cinnamon buns). Next stop was the
Vrak museum of wrecks. After the Vasa museum, this one felt a bit dull.
We eventually tracked down a ferry rather than a taxi, and it took us directly back to the dock right next to our ship!
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| Downtown Stockholm |
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| An amusement park in Stockholm |
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| Even the cranes are decorated! |
May 15 - Visby (Gotland island), Sweden
We were waitlisted for a shore excursion in the town of Visby and it became available a few days ago. We all took the "Town of Roses and Ruins" tour. Due to the season, there were no roses, but lots of ruins in this picturesque town. We started the tour by visiting the gallows (where criminals were executed) then the bus too us around to the top of the city.
On foot for the rest of the tour, we entered the wall of the city and walked downwards all the way to the water. We saw several church ruins, one cathedral, and the beautiful botanical garden.
For those old enough, Visby is one of the locations where the 1969 TV show Pippi Longstocking was filmed.
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| Typical Visby street scene |
We took the bus back and went for lunch at the Grand Dutch Cafe on board. Later in the afternoon, we went back to the Grand Dutch Cafe to sample their afternoon daily special of bitterballen. Wendy enjoyed the view from the Crowsnest on deck 12.
In the evening, we got together in the Crowsnest again to play Mexican Train.
May 16 - Ronne (Bornholm Island), Denmark
Wendy wasn't interested in any of the shore excursions and there wasn't much to do on Bornholm Island, so she stayed at the Crowsnest while Eric went to town on his own to wander around for about an hour.
The free shuttle (a rare thing for a cruise ship!) dropped people off at the main church in Ronne.
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| The maritime heritage can be seen by the sailing ship in the church. |
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| Typical street scene on Bornholm island |
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| Danish is an odd, but somehow recognizable, language. |
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| Main square |
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| Main post office |
There were only a few sights to check out, then he headed back to the ship for lunch and time in the thermal spa.
May 17 - Kiel, Germany
Kiel was our second stop in Germany, a busy port city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. We had a bus tour scheduled that would show us some of the sights.
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| Kiel, from our cabin |
The tour bus driver clearly had not been on the route before and had to detour and turn around several times - there was some tension between him and the tour guide. We went to the Kiel locks to watch how they worked.
We then took a slow route to the
Laboe Naval Memorial. Went up the tower, views the exhibitions, then went across the road to tour U995, a WW2 Nazi U-boat.
The winds off the Baltic were chilly and they had the pool roof open while in the port.
We went to the thermal spa to warm up. Here are some of the heated chairs. We didn't get a picture of the thermal pool.
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| Thermal chairs |
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| Main dining room |
May 18 - Copenhagen, Denmark (debarkation day)
We exited ship with relative ease but there was some horribly confusing transit awaiting us. A bus was very close to the ship and took us to the M4 subway transit area, but that subway line was closed for construction of a new line. We eventually found a bus and got close to the hotel. Transit was a nightmare because of the closed metro, and because it is also the Royal run and the Pentecost holiday! Another example of the special holiday theme every time we get to a port.
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| Interior courtyard of our hotel |
Once Mel and Murray arrived, we all made the trek (via bus and train) 20 km north of the city to
Bakken, the world's oldest Amusement park. On the way, we checked out the royal palace and the Nyhavn tourist area a few blocks away.
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| Nyhavn - notice the crowds... |
Bakken itself was founded as an amusement park in 1583. It was crazy but fun! We had a few beers, rode a few rides - including the world's oldest wooden rollercoaster (called the
Rutschebanen). The rollercoaster was suggested to be kind of tame - it was NOT tame at all. It was, however, far smoother than other rollercoasters we have been on.
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| Another ride that looked tame - but was not. |
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| Main square near our hotel |
We took the train/Metro back to the main square near Nyhavn and eventually had dinner at the Union Cafe (tapas) not far from our hotel.
May 19 - Copenhagen, Denmark, flight to Dublin
Today was our travel day, so we picked up some food from some nearby stores, ate breakfast on a park bench near the hotel, then checked out.
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| Park across from hotel |
Sami the taxi driver very efficiently took us the airport. It was smooth getting through security, but we had a long time to wait as no gate was assigned for our very easy SAS flight to Dublin. On arrival in Dublin we got on an airport bus and got close enough to our hotel to walk. We checked in (it was check in yourself!), got our wooden keys, and went to check out the room. Efficient, but tight (especially with a King bed).
Apparently the city was full of people who were here for the Bruce Springsteen concert tonight, and more to arrive for the UEFC championship soccer game tomorrow!
We went out to wander and were able to walk by the Temple Bar just to take a look and hit a few souvenir stores.
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| Temple bar - not much to see here! |
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| Ha'ppeny Bridge |
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| Dinner at an Irish pub |
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| The Hairy Lemon, across from the pub where we had dinner |
We were tired, so we went to a local grocery store and got some food for the next two breakfasts, then went to bed.
May 20 - Dublin, Ireland touring
At breakfast in room then had coffee and hot chocolate in lobby. Walked to St. Patrick's cathedral (Anglican) and did our tour. There was a large contingent of Italian dignitaries and police while at the cathedral - they seemed to be getting a separate tour.
Walked up to Christ Church then over to Dublin Castle. The Italians arrived there with their police escort as well. We kept walking...
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| Dublinia museum on left, Christ Church on right |
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| Christ Church |
We walked up to Jameson's distillery and went through their gift shop.
The main event for the rest of the day was the Guinness Brewery experience that we had pre-purchased. We had lunch at a bakery along the way then went for the tour of the brewery. It was a great tour and Eric had enough beer that he had to give away an extra token to someone in the bar (who had relatives in Burlington, Ontario!).
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| The brewery building is amazing! |
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| The tasting room |
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| Old ad campaigns for Guinness |
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| At the Gravity Bar |
After the brewery, we walked through various areas of the city (Grafton Street, George St. Arcade, etc.) before finding a place for dinner and calling it an early night for the final evening of our vacation.
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| George St Arcade |
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| More beer... |
May 21 - time to head home with another upgrade!
We were ready early and decided to catch the earlier bus to the airport. Unfortunately, we were at the stop for over an hour, but the earlier bus arrived very late and was already full. Eventually we got on the and were able to get to the airport quite smoothly. It was very busy but check in was a breeze since we had a separate line. We had bid on another upgrade and got it!!! The flight was late leaving, but we got champagne to keep us occupied. The seats were extra comfy for the transatlantic flight. We arrived to a chaotic Toronto airport with huge crowds in the luggage area. Adam picked us up and we headed home to crash after an exceptionally long day.
All tallied up, on this trip we were in 8 countries, 14 different cities, and did it all in 22 days!
Where to next...?
