Baltic Bliss

The Baltic Cruising Region is rich with castles and royal palaces. Visitors can still see the changing of the guard in Copenhagen’s Amalienborg Palace, residence of Queen (changing of the guard daily at noon); and in Stockholm, where the main guard has been at Kungliga Slottet since 1523. Today, military units and bands from all over the Sweden participate.
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During the past few decades the number of St. Petersburg shops, supermarkets and commercial centers increased dramatically. Shops tend to gravitate to Nevski Prospect, including Gostiny Dvor, a department store; Passage, across the street from Gostiny Dvor, for clothing, footwear, utensils, electronics and perfumes.

When in St. Petersburg, be sure to take time to walk along Nevsky Prospect. The famed street is to St. Petersburg what the Champs Elysses is to Paris, or Broadway to New York. Ask your guide to take you to a cafe for a coffee, Russian beer or Soviet champagne (technically, sparkling wine). “Walk along Nevsky Prospect, have a cup of coffee, watch people pass by, and you understand all of Russia,” says Timophey Beliaev, of the Corinthia Nevaskij Palace Hotel, situated on Nevsky Prospect. Continue Reading »

Stockholm has endless shopping possibilities with several areas in the city of interest to shoppers. Gamla Stan features gift shops, including the inviting Slottsboden in Kungliga Slottet, specializing in genuine handicrafts and antiques.

City center is the place to go for big department stores and shopping malls. NK and Gallerian are located on Hamngatan; Åhléns City, PUB and Debenhams on Drottninggatan; and Sturegallerian at Stureplan.

Small boutiques are scattered throughout the city; however, the greatest concentration is in the area between Norrmalmstorg and Stureplan. Södermalm is filled with shops and galleries, where shoppers can buy everything from exquisite ceramics at Blås & Knåda to jewelry at Efva Attling’s atelier. Both Madonna and Jennifer Aniston wear her creations.

Tallinn’s Old Town is lined with dozens of souvenir, antique and specialty stores, not to mention clothing and footwear. Within Old Town, the main shopping streets are Viru, Müürivahe, Suur-Karja, Vaike-Karja and Kullassepa.

Kalmar’s picturesque 17th and 18th century stone buildings offer a wide range of shopping. Almost all streets in the shopping area are walking streets, with Storgatan and Kaggensgatan being the main ones.

Find Swedish handicraft such as woodwork, pottery, jewelry and textile craft as well as Swedish and international delicacies at Gerdas Te & Kaffehandel. Souvenirs from Kalmar can be found at the Tourist Information Center, Kalmar Castle and Kalmar County Museum.

While in Riga, take time to browse the antique shops that sell Latvian paintings ranging from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Also look for bronze, silver, furniture, books, coins and china, and a genuine old Russian icon or two.

In the heart of Copenhagen, on Amager Torv, visitors will find Georg Jensen Antiques with an impressive range of porcelain, silver and crystal. Just a minute’s walk from the bustle of Strøget is peaceful Kompagnistræde, home of another cluster of antique shops.

Also, summer flea and antique markets are held throughout the city. Here junk rubs shoulders with the odd unrecognized gem, and you may be lucky enough to find a real bargain. Frederiksberg and Israels Plads flea markets are less pricy than the market at Gammel Strand, but Gammel Strand’s ambience is unbeatable with its canalside setting and outdoor cafés.

In the Baltic Sea Region, visitors will find refined city lifestyles and rural country charm. From opera and ballet in St. Petersburg to open-air museums presenting farm and peasant life, the Baltics spans the gamut of cultural offerings.

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In Tallinn’s Old Town find St. Catherine’s Passage for craft workshops in a medieval atmosphere. Also, at Master’s Courtyard visitors can shop for jewelry and handicrafts, view art exhibitions, and sample confections made in the popular Café-Chocolaterie.

Find it all at Finland’s Stockmann, the Nordic region’s largest department store. In Helsinki, shoppers will find Stockmann along the main shopping streets running north and south: Pohjoisesplanadi and Eteläesplanadi.

Stockmann also houses the Academic Bookstore, situated in a separate block and connected to the department store by a tunnel. Helsinki’s Design District offers a variety of shops selling Finnish design classics and fresh and innovative ideas produced by younger generation.

In Turku, visit Hansa Shopping Center, situated in the center of Turku and featuring nearly 200 boutiques, cafés, restaurants and the department store Stockmann.

With a history that dates back many millennia, the Baltic Sea Region is awash in museums. In fact, some of the cities, contained within well-preserved medieval town walls, could be considered to be museums themselves.

Museum-seekers will find no better place to begin than in Stockholm. With more than 100 museums, Stockholm boasts the world’s highest concentration of museums. Visitors with time to see only a few will not want to miss the Vasa Museum (pictured), which houses a warship (the actual ship, not a model) that in 1628 sank in the harbor on its maiden voyage and was brought up from the depths in 1961. Nothing can prepare visitors for the scale of what they will see in the city’s most popular museum, built in 1990.

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Within walking distance of Stockholm’s Vasa Museum is the world’s oldest open-air museum, Skansen, featuring a zoo with wild and domestic Nordic animals, and 150 cultural and historic buildings from throughout Sweden. Skansen, more than 100 years old, is a large living heritage exhibit well worth a visit.

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