Day 12 of our Baltic Cities cruise. Unexpectedly Aarhus

Well, yesterday we were supposed to be in Nynashamm, but we didn't make it.  The captain came on the tannoy system at about 10.30 on Monday night to tell us the weather was too bad and we wouldn't get into port.  So that's the second time we've come this way and that's happened - Nynashamm doesn't seem to want us to visit does it?




So we waited until yesterday lunchtime to find out where we were going, and the Captain announced "Aarhus" in Denmark. Every time I hear the name, I want to break out into the Madness song "Our house..... in the middle of the street..."

The write up of the city sort of gave us the impression that it's a new modern hip and happening place, and once we'd got off the ship (sporting my new woolly hat with giant pom pom), and had a look around, we realised we were exactly right.

We found the cathedral - which is the longest one in the world I think.  Very impressive.

It's a lovely place, with plenty of opportunities to part with your money.  It seemed full of designer shops and wares to us.  Very nice, but way out of our price range to be honest.   I think I remember our tour guide in Copenhagen explaining that VAT here is at 25% - whatever the reason, Denmark is an expensive country.

We did find the Modern Art Museum, but (perhaps down to bad maths), didn't think it worth spending the money for the short time we had, so we sat and enjoyed a cup of tea and a cookie instead.



Other highlights of the day included this awesome sculpture.  It has three joints and moves in the wind.  You could watch it for hours.



We also had a look around the small viking museum near the cathedral.  For such a small place, it was interesting, and we even learnt a few things.

And then it was back to the ship at the end of our last port for afternoon tea (we had missed lunch, and I don't count the giant cookies in the art museum as a substitute).  It is formal night tonight.  It's not compulsory, but Peter and I do make an effort.  I let him off black tie though, and he wore his blue suit and his sheep tie.  (I must take a photo of it sometime).

There was a little bit of drama in the evening as one of the passengers became quite ill and had to be airlifted off the ship.  The noise of the helicopter above the rear deck was interesting.  I was torn because I wanted to go and watch the airlift, but then felt that I would be intruding on the privacy of the guy who was ill.  (I wouldn't want everyone watching if I was in that situation).  We didn't stand and watch, we chose to eat dinner with the noise of the rotors going on for what seemed to be a very long time behind us.

Tomorrow is a sea day.  Peter will be running his two classes and then there will be a exhibition on deck 9 outside Sinatra's Bar.  Everyone has seemed to really enjoy his classes, which is good.

I've enjoyed this cruise.  The ship seems to handle the bad weather better than the others I've been on, perhaps because it is quite a lot bigger.  I really like the spaciousness of the ship and the food has been pretty good.  The deck space is good as is the lounge space and the ship has never felt crowded or been subjected to any real queuing.  The Magellan does not have all the facilities of some of the bigger ships (climbing walls, wave machines, multiple restaurants etc), but it does what it does very well.  I'll be very glad to come back next October when we are due to join it for a Fjords cruise.

So that's it for the Baltic.  Next we are due a bit of a climate change as we head for Sri Lanka and India in November.  So that'll be the next series of blog entries then.............

Monday 10th October 2016 - Helsinki

I think everyone is still worn out from the overwhelming sights of St Petersburg, so it's nice that the tours to Helsinki are not going to be as packed.

In comparison to our last stop, Helsinki seems relatively unexciting, but that is unfair to the city - it has a lot to offer.  The people are friendly and just a little bit off the wall if their art is anything to go by. (See our last visit here)

Peter and I are escorting again, but thankfully we are on the "City of Helsinki" tour, which is basically a bus trip to the best bits for photo stops, with a guide explain the sights right and left as the bus travels along.  It particularly suits older and less able passengers, and us today, because we are zapped from all the walking yesterday.

Suffice to say I enjoyed the trip.  The Sibelius monument is still being overrun by Japanese tourists. (Again, see our last visit)

This monument is designed to look like organ pipes in recognition of the music produced by Sibelius.  It's quite an awseome sculpture and Peter and I really like it.  Trouble is, Sibelious never played the organ, and when it was unveiled, the locals complained that it didn't reflect the music of the composer at all

So this face of Sibelius was added after the pipes, to show who the monument was dedicated to

And the Rock Church really is quite brilliant.


<< This is the altar

Inside of  the Temppeliaukio Rock Church - impressively carved out of solid rock. 

Our final stop was at Senate Square

Amazingly, I managed to get a photo of the central structure without anyone posing against it.  That takes timing - I should also point out that a few seconds after this picture was taken, a gull decided to land on his head, and stayed there.

The statue is Alexander II by the way, a Russian Emperor who was also the Grand Duke of Finland.  Apparently he encouraged Finnish nationalism and is considered "the Good Tsar" by the Finns.  (You didn't know that did you!)

I didn't climb the steps into the cathedral, because I was short of time and feeling lazy and knew that Peter would do it anyway.

Then it was time to get back on the bus and head back to the ship.  A "Tat" shop on the dockside caught my interest, and then my money.  I'd lost my woolly hat in St Petersburg, so I ended up buying another. It's got a ridiculously large pom pom, and every time I put it on, Peter bursts out laughing, so it serves as a cheerer upper too.

So that was Helsinki.  It was nice to have a quiet day and tomorrow we are in Nynashamn.  Last time we did this cruise we didn't get into port because of bad weather, so it will be nice to see it this time.  No tours though, me n Peter get to have a walk out by ourselves.

St Petersburg Day 2

Day two in this fantastic city and we are out tour escorting again. (Hopefully my passengers will be better able to keep up with the guide today.  Our day trip includes a panoramic tour on the coach where the guide will explain the history and point out structures of interest. We also get to visit the Church on the Spilt Blood and the Hermitage, both of which are outstanding places to visit, and a must for any tourist.

St Isaacs Cathedral in the centre of St Petersburg.  The granite columns show damage from siege bombing in World War II

So, what have learnt about St Petersburg?  Well, it was Peter the Great's idea,  it was born in 1703 and originally called  Petrograd.  It was the capital of Russia from 1712 until 1918, (just after the revolution) and became Leningrad.  It is now known as the nothern and cultural capital of Russia. It has been built on the estuary of the River Neva as it runs into the Gulf of Finland and the city used to spread across an area of 105 islands.

This blue and white church is quite beautiful inside.  Built for one of the princesses of Russia

The city is still divided by numerous rivers and canals, giving it the name of the Venice of the North, but the number of islands has been reduced to 45. The underground rail system is extensive with 65 stations and 5 Iines, the deepest is 102 metres down apparently. We've not seen them, but the underground stations have a reputation for being quite beautiful, with sculptured and painted ceilings etc.

The Aurora.  This little battleship fired the blank round that was the signal for the start of the revolution in 1917.

St Petersburghas an extraordinary selection of museums, including a museum of toys, a museum of cats and a museum of water suppy.  It also has the only museum that you can enter sober and come out drunk......... the museum of vodka.

The river Neva is still the largest watercourse running through the city, and it is still navigable by ship as the many bridges are drawbridges which are raised at night.

During the second World War the city was surrounded by the Germans in 1941. The Siege of Leningrad lasted 900 days. In the first winter, temperatures dropped to -40°C, there was no water, no power and no food and 650000 Russians died. It's no surprise that the people of St Petersburg are proud of the fact that they never surrendered.  The city is surrounded by the so called 'Ring of Glory', 35 War Memorials dedicated to the bravery of the soldiers that defended the city during the siege. The Germans eventually retreated in 1945, but not before they tried to destroy anything of beauty or value, Catherines Palace included which is why most of what we saw yesterday was restored copies.

Church on the Spilt Blood

After the bus tour, we were taken to see the Church on the Spilt Blood. Dedicated to an assinated prince, this church is extraordinary. The decoration is breathtaking and you could stand and stare for months and not be able to take it all in.  There is no way photographs do it justice, but here are the attempts anyway.

Our tour included lunch and a souvenier shop, both of which were thoroughly taken advantage of, before we were taken to our last stop, the Hermitage.

Stunning, amazing, beautiful, astounding, gorgeous, incredible, breathtaking and awesome. I could go on, but it would get boring.

All I can says that if you are go to St Petersburg. You HAVE to go to see the Hermitage. (Be prepared for a lot of walking and standing though,  the place is massive and very busy.) Here are the pictures.

This clock was designed by a British Clockmaker - the mechanism is brilliant - the peacocks feathers open, the cock crows, and there are loads of little moving details.  There is one other version, which can be find in the museum in Barnard Castle

I have so many more pictures - I may add them later I have a desk and stronger wi-fi.

So that was St Petersburg.  We've left it still wanting more.  Looks like Peter is going to have to get himself on another Baltic Cities cruise dunnit?

Tomorrow we are in Helsinki, and we will be escorting again. Somehow, I don't think we'll be able to match these last two days.  We'll just have to wait and see. 

Saturday 8th October 2016 - St Petersburg

Today we berthed in St Petersburg.  It's the port everyone has been waiting for and many of the passengers only booked this cruise in order to tick St Petersburg off their respective Bucket lists.

Peter and I are due to act as escorts on the St Petersburg "2 day Package", today is the first day, and we are due to visit Catherine's Palace and the Peterhof Gardens, we've not been before and are really looking forward to it.  So it was up and to breakfast early, although a lot of passengers were a lot earlier than us!  Considering the fact that as escorts, we have to be the first off the ship, passengers wrapped up and queuing on the stairs ready to go were in for a long wait!

We breakfasted as usual in the Bistro, and couldn't help being caught up in the actions of the woman on the table next to us.  We are quite used to the fact that many passengers will take a couple of danish pastries, or bananas, or both from the restaurant to eat later whilst they are ashore.  Understandable really.  However the woman on the table next to us was either trying to feed about 10 people, or was expecting a famine.  She started with a plate of rolls and cold meat, which she made into sandwiches, wrapped, and put into her shopping bag.  Then she went back for another plateful, then another, then another.  Me n Peter were quite dumbfounded.  What was she going to do with all that food?  We know that the tours are either half day and bring you back at mealtimes, or are full day with a lunch included.  And what about the Russian immigration people.  What would they make of her if they found all them rolls in her shopping bag?

Sadly, we didn't see her again, so we never did find out what she was up to. Anyway, moving on, we finished breakfast, got our stuff and then sidled past all the queues to be the first off the ship cos we were the escorts.  Oh the priviledge!

There were 6 bus loads of passengers on this tour and I was number 5.  My 33 passengers loaded up and we were off, first stop, Catherine's Palace for what proved to be quite an awesome walk through the spectacular rooms of the palace.  It really is a fantastic place to look around, my only problem were the passengers.

Catherine's Palace - St Petersburg.  Beautifully restored after the germans tried to destroy and burn it down during the 2nd World War. 

I had couple of problem couples.  In the palace, couple number one caused all sorts of problems with security because they didn't hand in their rucksack to the cloakroom staff as instructed, and were subsequently called out of the queue and sent back to swap it for a cloakroom ticket.  Not a worry, but they didn't hand their coats in either, and had to take them off and carry them around the building.  They were constantly dropping things or stopping to find something stashed somewhere in one their pockets. And then they complained that they had forgotten the camera because it was in the rucksack.  I didn't know it at the time, but that was a bit of a godsend.

Inside one of the rooms of Catherine's Palace

Gold guilding every where

And then there was couple number two.  The husband seemed to be on a little planet of his own, looking for all the world like a walking washing line, with his shoe laces undone, his coat flying open and his trousers falling down. He was oblivious of the need to keep up with the guide, didn't listen to or follow any instructions and insisted on reading great swathes of information when we were already well behind the rest of the group. He happily dawdled, whilst I sort of forced him along and his wife disappeared in all directions looking at the shops and the stalls!  I daren't tell him to tie his shoelaces fearing that would slow him down even further. I finally got him to the end, but even though I had got him to the cloakroom to collect his things, I had to go back for him  to get him to go out of the exit.

Such an opulent lifestyle. 

After the palace we were taken for lunch, where we enjoyed traditional Russian Borscht (as well as a main meal and icecream for afters), before boarding the bus to our next stop, Peterhof Gardens.

By this time, the weather had deteriorated, and we were stood just inside the entrance of the gardens shivering in the cold wind and blustery rain.  It was at this point that couple number two elected to go explore the market stalls rather than follow the guide on the tour of the gardens, much to my relief.

But....Couple number one now came back into their own.  They now had their camera and insisted on taking pictures of themselves at every fountain we came to, and if you know the Peterhof Gardens, then you'll know how many flamin' pictures they wanted to take. Good job I'm a patient lady innit!

It's a shame we didn't get to see the gardens in the summer.  They are probably quite stunning.  The fountains were still awesome though

No matter, the fountains, despite the cold and the rain, were quite wonderful.  It's a shame the weather wasn't better because we could have enjoyed them more, but maybe another day?

The main fountain cascade.  The photo doesn't do it justice. 

So then we were back on bus to return to St Petersburg with just a souvenier shop between us and the ship.  We were treated to vodka liqueur and coffee whilst we were there.  Lovely.

So that was our 1st day in St Petersburg.  I've not said much about the city although I learnt quite a few bits and pieces from the guide.  Maybe on my next blog post, cos we escorting Day 2 of the 2 Day Package tomorrow.  The sites we'll be visiting really are something special, and I'm really looking forward to it. 

Day 7 of our Baltic Cruise - Tallinn, Estonia

So we've been to Tallinn in Estonia before and we like the place, so knowing we didn't have any tours and could spend the morning pottering  around by ourselves was good news.

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, and seems to have missed several hundred years of history.  It's a "beautifully preserved medieval city of castles, moats, red-capped towers, bastions and gabled, tile-roofed houses".  To be honest, I'm not sure we've seen a castle, or a moat.  But it wouldn't be hard to imagine a knight in armour with a lance in his hand, galloping down the streets on a horse decked out in the knight's colours.

Tallinn has 18 towers (from an original 25), each with different names.  My favourite is Fat Margaret, although we didn't see that tower on this visit.  (Look at my blog entry from a couple of years ago if you want to see pictures).

The old town of Tallin has been designated a World Heritage Site, we've designated it charming.  Here are the pictures.

These are the Viru Gates at the south west of the old town.   The 14th century round towers are only a small part of the old gate system here.  These towers are now a symbol of the town.

St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.  It seems a little out of place, but the Russion Orthodox chuch is stunning both inside and out

A view over the old town from Toompea  Hill

This is Town Hall Square.  The Gothic Town Hall to the right dates back to 1404

OK, so we didn't walk as much around the old town as much as we have in the past, and we failed spend time investigating the old walls, as we planned.  All was not lost though, we did spend some time in the tat shops, which were overflowing with Russian Dolls and Amber. I didn't buy any, but I did get these beautiful hand made candles.  (I have someone in mind re Christmas pressies)


So that was our day in Tallinn.  Tomorrow we reach the highlight of the cruise, St Petersburg.  We'll be acting as escorts and it looks like we have a couple of full days ahead.  Awesome.

Wednesday 5th October - Warnemunde

So we've arrived in the old East German port of Warnemunde and todays tour is "Molli and the Minster", but that's not until the afternoon, so this morning we could have a little bit of a potter around the town.

Warnemunde is actually the port part of Rostock.  Rostock, an industrial city, "bought" the town of Warnemunde (I don't quite know what that means or how it was done) to ensure access to the sea. For us though, it is a very charming little town.  As I understand it, it's the German equivalent to Whitby, and they regularly come for a day out.

Sculpture depicting one of the festivals in Warnemunde

So in the morning we had a wander and found the ibruprofen I'd been looking for yesterday, and in the afternoon we escorted the tour.

I have to say our tour was really quite good.  My german guide spoke good english, was really enthusiastic about the minster that we visited and cracked a good few jokes that had the the whole bus laughing.

Our first stop was at the Bad Doberan Gothic Minster.  It is was of the few surviving Cistercian Minsters left in old East Germany.  It had closed as a minster during the communist reign, and most of it's fixtures had been put into storage before Russian rule stepped in and destroyed or removed anything to do with religion.

Those fixtures and fittings have now been re instated, and the minster is quite something to look at.

From the minster, it was a 5 minute bus ride to board "The Molli", a single gauge 900mm steam tram railway that has been use since 1886.  It was originally built to take the wealthy from their holiday homes in Bad Doberan to Heiligendamm. The little steam trains and carriages have been in use since the 1930s and were delightfully original.

It was quite an experience.  Peter and I were able to stand on the platforms outside the carriages and enjoy the smell of coal smoke and steam as the little train made it's way to the coastline.

What I found amazing was how the train travelled along the streets of the villages we passed through in a similar way to a tram.  Quite extraordinary.

Then we reached the coast and the seaside.  It was much like a typical seaside day at home I should imagine, freezing cold and blowing a gale.  But the tea and cake provided in a hotel was very nice.

So that was our German port.  Once again, we've enjoyed our day here.  It's a classical night in the show lounge tonight, something we didn't really fancy, so we retired early, to catch up on photographs and blogs.  The captain has warned of rough seas tonight and tomorrow.  It's been OK so far tonight, let's hope it's not too bad tomorrow, I'd really rather not be lying in bed feeling seasick. 

Tuesday 4th October - Copenhagen

So - Copenhagen today. We are tour escorting in the morning - Copenhagen Walk and Cruise, but we don't have to be on the pier until 9.15, so it wasn't too early a start.

Peter and I did a lot of walking last time we visited, so we've already seen many of the sights we were shown on tour.  But with the guide explaining everything via our little audio boxes (each person is given a little reciever and a set of ear phones and the guide can talk to us via a little radion microphone), at least we had a better idea of what we were looking at.

This carved stone can be found on the sea front.  It depicts a group of Danish explorers who all died on a trip to Greenland.  On the back of the stone the last entry of the diary of the last explorer is carved.

This tower belongs to an old church.  The church was closed and subsequently turned into a fire station in the 1900s.  The tower was used as a lookout, and fire engines could be shown which direction they needed to take to reach a fire with a flame in the window.

Our tour included a coffee and a danish pastry before we were to all to climb aboard one of the boats for a 50 minute ride through the city's canals.  Unfortunately, one of the passengers in my group became ill, so I had to return with her in a taxi to the ship and miss the ride.

Peter came back a little later, saying the canal boat road wasn't that special anyway (bless him), and we went out again after lunch, mostly to see a few things at our own pace, tour groups can be hurried sometimes.

Our favourite is the fountain depicting the goddess Gefjun who was promised the land she could plough in a night, so she turned her four sons into bulls to assist her in the task.   The detail of the fountain is awesome, I've mentioned the "steam" coming out of the bulls noses before.

The Gefion Fountain

I also wanted to have a proper look at a sculpture I'd seen on our tour in the morning

and we were  looking for some ibruprofen, as I was having a bit of a problem with my knee.  We failed to find the ibrufen, but we did walk back following the fort wall and stumble across this war memorial.

The most poignant thing about it was that on the section showing the list on names of those that had died, space had been deliberately left for more.

The ship sailed at 5 o'clock, and we enjoyed the usual routine of dinner in the Bistro followed by the show. Tonight we were entertained by The Stage Door Jonnies, a couple of ladies who were well into their pension years but who had us in tears of laughter. We look forward to seeing them again.

So that was Copenhagen.  Tomorrow we are in Warnemunde, we are on the "Molli and the Minster" tour in the afternoon, so we get a lie in and the chance for a walk around the town in the morning.  I enjoyed our last visit, so I'm looking forward to seeing the place again in the morning.

And Finally. No trip to Copenhagen can be complete without a picture of the Little Mermaid.

Day three of our Baltic Cities Cruise - A sea day

Sea day on the Magellan.

The hatches were battened down last night, cos of the bad weather, so it was pretty dark in the cabin this morning and Peter's alarm was the only indication that it was time to get up.  The sea was calm and I felt fine this morning so we took our time and joined the masses for a leisurely breakfast in the Bistro.  I've decided to have a go at the 10.30 craft class and made a little gift basket. Lunch was eaten in the Bistro and at 13.30 we were all set up for Peter's 2nd Watercolour class, we'd even got an extra table into the room to cope with the 3 or 4 we'd turned away yesterday, so we were all ready and raring to go.

Except that this time, twice as many people turned up. I became bouncer, turning people away and telling them to come back at 3.30.  I did so much apologising, I almost became hoarse.  So it seems Peter will be doing two classes of 25 a day then.

It's formal night tonight, so we got all togged up.  In a (probably wasted) effort to look slimmer I donned my "Oh my god I can't breathe!" knickers.  I think they may be called 'magic knickers' because of the intended effect, but we've decided that's slightly wrong. They should be called 'magicians knickers' ......... Because they cut you in half!

Dinner in the Bistro was very nice, the food on this ship is much better than on the Marco Polo, (I wonder why that is?), and we ended the day with the show in the show lounge.

Tomorrow we're going to visit the little mermaid in Copenhagen, and unlike our last visit, it's going to be a dry day.  Awesome!

Day 2 - Amsterdam

So, last night we met our cabin stewardess who seems to be a bit of a nervous wreck. It seems she's only on a new one month contract and is worried that she will be sent home. Poor girl.

She asked us if we liked our room, to which of course we replied that we were made up. She said that the last occupant didn't want to sleep in the double bed, and she, (Olena, our cabin stewardess), had made up the sofa bed for her. We thought that sounded a bit odd, but then, there's nowt so queer as folk, eh?

Anyway, last night we found out why this cabin isn't allocated to passengers, and why the last occupant decided to sleep in the second room. (Not that it helped, I checked!)

In the early hours of this morning, a noise filled the cabin that can nearest be described as a foghorn.  Maybe not quite as loud, but loud enough and persistent. Neverendingly persistent. It just went on, and on, and on, and on. It must have been a good 1/2 hour before it stopped And then it started again and went on for another hour. Peter managed to get back to sleep as it went on. I didn't.

So it was bleary eyes that greeted Amsterdam this morning.  We didn't have a tour because we had to be back in time for Peter's class at 13:30, so we had a nice lazy morning. Breakfast was followed by an amble around Amsterdam.

Bicycle parking in Amsterdam

I've never been, and we headed for the canals and followed the signs to the old church.  As we stood looking up at the church, a very loud tapping noise behind me made me jump and look around. I don't know if the nearly naked woman was tapping to tell me to move and stop blocking people from seeing her, or to grab the attention of some guy behind me. Anyway, I now knew I was in the red light district.

After a little more walking we reached the main square and time for a 5 minute sit down. A guy appeared with a carrier bag of grain to feed the pigeons, making me think of Mary Poppins. Except he didn't ask for a tuppence a bag and freely gave handfuls to passers by.  The pigeons were happy to feed from the hands of the tourists, including mine.

Odder 'tourist attractions' in the square included Darth Vader, Punch and Judy and a guy playing bagpipes?

As we left the square, it started to rain, prompting a reasonably hurried return to the ship.  We had to get back to get the conference room ready for Peter's class anyway.

We loved these wonky houses at the sides of the canal. 

Back on board ship and in the conference room, it took us a while to work out how to make maximum use of the space, but we were ready in time and the room quickly filled up. I had to stand outside and keep count of the numbers that had to be turned away, but there were only a few and we were pleased as this meant that Peter would only have to run one class per sea day.  Bonus!

So his class went well, we cleaned up and then went to sit in 'The Garden' at the back of the ship.  We were surprised more people haven't found yet, it was so pleasant sitting there as the ship sailed downriver towards the last lock before open sea.

The deck steward turning up to remove all the cushions from the loungers warned us of the forthcoming bad weather. That, and the Captains voice over the tannoy system warning of force 7 and 8 winds.  As usual, my stomach rebelled, and I ended up going for a lie down until the weather calmed.

So Peter enjoyed dinner and the evening show by himself and I slept through the rock and roll cabaret provided by the ship.  (Actually, it wasn't too bad, just enough to make me feel queasy.)

So that was our second day on board.  Tomorrow in a sea day, so let's see what that brings.