Baltic Bulletin Days 10 & 11 at sea and Copenhagen

We spent a leisurely day at sea between Stockholm and Copenhagen, although it was bright and blue the wind was chilly so after a quick dip in the hot tub we spent the rest of the day indoors.
Our task of the day was to acquire a travel together rail card for our next trip to Shetland. Strange to think of doing this while at sea but we were on a tight schedule to catch the newly released cheap train tickets. Mid Baltic the web reception was intermittent and we had to improvise photo id but we managed and our shore side travel companion sorted out the tickets - thank you David!
Our second formal night but obviously our cabin steward is not the best photographer but his skills with towel sculpture are great.

We woke the next morning in Copenhagen and opted to be independent and walk into town, passing the little mermaid along with a multitude of Asian tourists.
We took a canal ride as the best way to see the sights but stupidly I was wearing shorts and got really chilly so caught a bicycle rickshaw back to our ship.

Tonight we set sail for our last day crossing the North Sea, due into North Shields on Thursday morning.

Baltic Bulletin Day 9 - Stockholm

Poor weather greeted us as we woke in Stockholm but we packed our waterproofs and set out on our trip. For the first time we were not moored at a quayside so had to take the tender. Luckily this day was planned around a panoramic coach tour of Stockholm with a couple of photo stops then a visit to the Vasa museum, so mostly indoors.

The Vasa is celebrated by the Swedes despite the fact that it was a huge embarrassment at the time. It was an innovative warship commissioned by the King to overcome their seafaring enemies but it was so top heavy that a mere breeze toppled it 20 minutes into its maiden voyage. It lay in the harbour for over 300 years until it was raised in the 1960s and restored.

Our short stay in Sweden is over and now we are steaming through the islands towards our next port, Copenhagen. Tomorrow is a day at sea but the forecast is good!

Baltic Bulletin Day 8 - Helsinki

On our day in Helsinki we decided to 'go it alone' and started to walk into the town but luckily we found the local tram service was just at hand so we added another experience to our trip by riding the tram.

The city was quiet and the weather was very pleasant for our stroll down a shopping boulevard and around the local market on the quayside, followed by coffee in a pavement cafe.

We followed the quayside all the way back to the Marco Polo and took advantage of the warm sunshine by having more time in the whirlpool.

Baltic Bulletin Day 7, St Petersburg continued

Our morning began with a drive out of the city along Moscow Road, block after block of concrete flats stretching out on each side, as we traveled towards Catherine's Palace.

Overshoes to protect the parquet flooring

After lunch we drove on to Peterhof gardens and fountains

Baltic Bulletin, Days 6 - St Petersburg

We woke up on the 6th day in St Petersburg, old capital of Russia. We knew this would be two busy days of sightseeing but the sights exceeded our expectations. We left the ship and passed old soviet era blocks of flats to reach the city where we saw the older imperial architecture.
The first morning was a quick tour of the city with a few stops to grab some photos.

Then we visited the Church of the spilled blood

After lunch we began a marathon tour of the Hermitage and its vast array of international art,

Baltic Bulletin Days 4 & 5

Day 4 spent at sea but we amused ourselves with a visit to the bridge and a talk from the 1st officer. I bumped into an old colleague, Peter Wylie, small world! Later in the afternoon we tested the hot tubs and lazed on sunbeds topping up the tan. This was one of the formal nights so we got dressed up to the nines for a gala, 7 course dinner. The beautiful sunshine and flat seas lasted well into the evening with sunset at nearly 11.30.

Day 5 we woke up in Tallin and had a planned trip into the city, although we could have easily hopped on a shuttle bus, we'll know the next time! Quick whiz around to see the sights and grab some lunch. We should be sailing soon for St Petersburg.

Baltic Bulletin, Day 3

After stop, start, engine trouble (John heard, not me) and a quick dash into port, we woke up this morning docked at Warnemunde in Germany (photos later, I'm having technical trouble, aka no internet connectivity)

Our trip was booked for 2 o'clock so we took a short stroll into the town, passing a much larger cruise ship docked next to us.
After lunch we met our bus for the trip - Molli and the Minster. We had a really informative and humorous guide and it was only a short journey to a very old monastery church which, being built of brick, didn't really look ol
The next stop was to board the Molli a narrow gauge railway for a 15 minute trip to a lovely seaside town, Kühlungsborn where we had cake and coffee.

Baltic Bulletin Days 1 & 2

After the easiest ever start to a holiday (left home at 1pm, sailed at 3pm!) we set out across the North Sea. Despite blustery conditions outside and views changing from full sky to full sea it felt calm inside.

After an early breakfast on Sunday morning we were first on the sunbeds and delighted to find wall to wall blue sky and sunshine :) We spent a lazy day in the sun and are now anchored in the Elbe waiting for our slot to enter the Kiel Canal.