Baltic Bliss

As we stood on our balcony waiting for the sunset, Holland America Line’sWesterdam was charting a course for Tallinn, capital of Estonia. Not long ago, The Economist cited Estonia “as the biggest, most complicated, and most promising piece of the new Europe.”

I’m not sure what we expected of Tallinn, but we were awed by what we saw. Although the ancient architecture could have fooled us into thinking our ship had arrived in the Middle Ages, the exuberance of the local people and the bustle of tourist activity suggested that we had arrived on the threshold of the city’s epoch. And we probably had.

Soviet occupation ended in 1991, but it was only in 2004 that Estonia — along with neighboring Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — joined the European Union.

Long before that, however, in 1154, an Arabian geographer marked Tallinn on the world map. The town quickly became an important trade town.

In Hanseatic times, luxury furs, wax and honey from Russia were delivered through Tallinn’s port, while salt from Portugal and woolen fabrics from England and Flanders came through on their eastward route.

Our ship approached a cityscape that might have been familiar to those seafarers of long ago: red-tiled rooftops, church spires and the onion domes of Russian Orthodox churches.

We docked within walking distance of the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With its miles of winding cobblestone streets and quaint medieval houses, Tallinn is the best-preserved Old Town in Northern Europe.

We climbed the vertigo-inducing circular stairs at St. Olav’s church for a view that was worth the challenge. Only 50 miles across the sea (18 minutes by helicopter from city center to city center) we could see Helsinki. We would be there soon, after our next stop: Peter the Great’s city.

Unless you are booked on a cruise line shore excursion, you need to obtain a visa before leaving home to visit St. Petersburg. To clarify, cruise passengers who book cruise line shore excursions do not need visas. Everyone else does.

No matter how you arrive, however, be prepared to wait in line because of the slow churn of Russian bureaucracy.

Two forlorn customs officials stamped passports for nearly 2,000 passengers disembarking our ship. We stood for nearly 45 minutes before it was our turn. The wait, of course, was worthwhile.

Founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and shortly thereafter becoming the capital of Russia, St. Petersburg accumulated all the grandeur of the Russian Imperial Court, and in two days, we saw quite a lot of it with our private car and guide. We began our tour at Peterhof palace, about an hour’s drive from the pier.

There, we wandered the formal gardens and grounds, with 62 cascading fountains and 142 water jets that shower gilded statues.

We were glad we had our camera — not only for the grounds but also for actors in period costumes who posed for photographs.

Tour guides recommend combining Peterhof with the lavishly baroque Catherine Palace, where the Amber Room opened in 2003. The 18th-century hall’s amber panels vanished in WWII and took decades to replicate using six tons of amber.

St. Petersburg’s museums are among the world’s most famous. The Hermitage boasts some 400 rooms containing more than 3 million exhibits Catherine began the collection in 1764 with only 225 pieces.

“If you spent one second looking at each exhibit, you would spend seven years seeing it all,” our tour guide told us. “So we just do the masterpieces of the masterpieces: artworks by da Vinci, Michelangelo and Rembrant.”

Of course, you’ll want to walk inside several churches, the most interesting for us being the ornate neo-Byzantine Church on Spilled Blood, constructed on the very spot where tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881.

The next morning while walking around Helsinki, we were surprised to see a train announcing its arrival from “St. Petersburg.”

The train trip took about the same amount of time as our cruise. It’s an overnight trip by train between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. Traveling in the other direction, Stockholm is an overnight ferry away, which is why Helsinki is a gate between East and West.

Finland’s capital city embodies much of the Finnish spirit but also is unlike any other Finnish city, because of the combined Swedish and Russian influences.

Founded in 1550 by Sweden’s King Gustav, Helsinki was developed as a harbor town to compete for Baltic trade with Tallinn. The Finnish capital developed around the port.

Situated in the city center, South Harbor is the cruise passenger traffic hub. Cruise ships dock within walking distance of the city center and Helsinki’s famous Kauppatori Market Square, a colorful way to begin exploration of Helsinki. We dined on fresh berries, tried on fur hats and browsed such specialties as reindeer and canned bear meat.

The largest cruise ships dock at Hernesaari in West Harbor, 10 minutes by shuttle bus to the city center. We walked to the city center from Hernesaari, however, in 30 minutes.

Once there, we purchased a one-day City Card, which gave us free access to sights, museums and public transport, including the Tourist Tram 3T, which makes a 60-minute roundtrip from Market Square and passes most of the city’s “must-see” sights, including the Senate Square and its beautiful cathedral.

Helsinki is a pocket-size metropolis, so you can see a lot in a short time. Someone suggested we try “Nordic Walking.” We weren’t aware that people here walked any differently from us, but apparently those who do Nordic Walking do.

The activity developed because a ski pole manufacturer wanted to increase the market for its poles. Thus, ski poles were modified for walking. It’s easy going but takes coordination. Gripping the poles, you lightly push off with each step forward so that the activity provides a slight upper-body workout.

We pushed our poles around one of Helsinki’s most popular parks on paths skirting Toolonlahti Bay. It was certainly a memorable activity but one that takes practice, although you’re likely to be the only one practicing if you return home with Nordic Walking sticks.

For something more practical that we could return home with, we walked the Esplanade to find Helsinki’s best shopping. A typical souvenir: wooden butter knives. “Everyone in Finland uses them,” a Finnish friend told us before our trip. And so we purchased a couple to bring home.

With our City Card, we hopped the ferry to Suomenlinna Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site founded in 1748 and built on six islands off the coast of Helsinki. Aside from the garrison and museums, we found charming cafes and cozy restaurants.

With too little time to see more of the “pocket-size” metropolis, we hopped the ferry back after only a couple of hours and boarded the Westerdam, departing for Stockholm.

A Swedish friend met us as we disembarked in Stockholm. She had come only to say hello and to share a taxi with us for the five-minute ride in to the city center where she would report for work.

On the way, she suggested that we begin our tour in Djurgarden, the lush island park that is home to the city’s most popular museums.

Because our kids were with us, our friend also suggested that we visit Junibacken, the Pippi Longstocking-inspired amusement and children’s museum. She said something in Swedish to the taxi driver and then to us,

“I’ll join you. I can be a little late for work.” And so we spent an hour enjoying childhood stories and exhibits, which we adults seemed to enjoy as much as the kids.

We stepped outside to a gorgeous summer day. Our friend looked at her watch, shrugged, and suggested we walk next door to the Vasa Museum, which houses a warship that in 1628 sank in the harbor on its maiden voyage and was brought up from the depths in 1961. We were awed by the scale of what we saw in the city’s most popular museum. We had expected a model, not the ship itself.

Afterward, our friend decided to push on a little longer before returning to work. After all, why report for work before lunch on such a beautiful day? She walked with us to Skansen, an open-air museum and exhibit that features five centuries of Swedish history.

We had an outdoor lunch, then boarded a ferry to make our way back to Gamla Stan, the city’s old town.
Founded in 1200, Sweden’s capital city boasts a wealth of cultural treasures, including medieval walking streets, magnificent cathedrals, parks, theaters and open-air and indoor markets. Proud of her city, our friend wanted us to see it all.

It was mid-afternoon when she finally called to tell her colleagues that she just wasn’t going to be able to make it in at all today. She was busy playing tourist: visiting souvenir shops, stopping for ice cream cones and sightseeing under sunny skies.

At the end of the day, we said goodbye to her. She nearly boarded the ship with us for the 50-mile journey along the beautiful archipelago of 24,000 islands. We wished she had.

Situated on the Baltic Sea’s largest island — with gorgeous fine sand beaches and a temperate climate — Visby and its environs are a playground for Scandinavians. Squint your eyes on a hot summer day and you could be in the Mediterranean.

Known as “The Town of Roses and Ruins,” Visby has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. To see the sights, we tendered ashore and rented bikes near the tourist information center.

We pedaled along an impressive 3.4-mile stone wall that surrounds the well preserved and thoroughly charming old town. Along cobblestone streets, we rode past majestic merchants houses from 17th and 18th century and stone buildings – some of them dating back to the 12th century. We passed ruins and roses and discovered that the old town isn’t only historical. It is lively, with trendy shops, cafés and restaurants.

We were in no hurry to leave Visby, but our ship pulled anchor at 2 p.m. On the tender, another cruise passenger said what we were thinking as the island retreated into the distance. Visby and Tallinn had been her two favorite ports of call. Visby certainly represents the best of the Baltic — from the historical to the contemporary — contained in a compact city center on an island of spectacular beauty.

The city’s Mediterranean milieu combined with Swedish style makes for a match made in heaven.

Founded in 1218 and one of the three original Hanseatic cities, Rostock, Germany, is only 10 miles from the seaside resort Warnemunde, where cruise ships dock. And while many cruise passengers skip these two former East German destinations for trips to Berlin, we decided to stay put and see what we could find. Besides, the rail trip to Berlin was nearly three hours each way, and with kids, we didn’t think we could endure such a long day of travel.

Our first order of business was to pick up a Rostock Card (in nearly all Baltic Sea destinations, you can purchase city cards good for transport and sightseeing). Getting into Rostock was easy. The train departs near the cruise terminal in Warnemunde.

Once in Rostock city center, we transferred to a tram to get to the central square, Neuer Markt. From the ship to the central square took only about 30 minutes.

A tourist information center is located on the square, so we walked in to get our bearings. We learned the city features a town wall, gothic churches, charming shops and cafes. Rostock is also home to one of Europe’s oldest universities, founded in 1419.

We were advised to begin at St. Peters Church, where we would take the elevator up nearly 12 stories for a view of the city. Afterward, we walked the city squares and wide pedestrian streets, stopping for bratwurst before heading back to Warnemunde by boat.

The trip back was exceptionally pleasant, and we toasted the skyline with a large frothy glass of Rostocker Pils.

Warnemunde was famed for its baths and spas in the 20th century. Today, it’s a bit as if Miami were to meet the Baltic. Beaches are wide and sandy; hotels and bars line the streets across from the beach.
We rented bikes near the train station and rode for a couple of hours along the promenade skirting the beach.

Westerdam did not depart until 10 p.m., so after dinner on the ship, we walked back into Warnemunde. The trains were just returning with passengers who had opted for Berlin. As we watched them disembark, tired from the long journey but enthused about what they had seen, we were glad we stayed.

We would have enjoyed seeing the Danish town Arhus, but for the last day of our cruise we chose to visit Legoland, about an hour away from the port by motorcoach.

The Danish toy company operates only four Legolands worldwide. Our kids had been to Legoland near San Diego. The Danish park, however, was superior, in their expert opinion, and in fact, our day there was fun for the adults as well.

Legoland seemed an appropriate end to our cruise. Our kids were wide-eyed, just as they had been back at the Royal Palace in Copenhagen. Indeed, we had experienced Baltic bliss during those 10 long days when it seemed the sun would never set and our summer would never end.