Part 1
Our Baltic cruise was 12
nights and 7 port calls on the Celebrity Constellation: Amsterdam, Holland; Warnemunde, Germany;
Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia;
and Copenhagen, Denmark. We dined,
toured, worked out, swam, and dined some more.
We met some lovely people and saw some amazing sites, with long, long
summer days and sun!
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| A road in lovely Rostock |
Our first port of call was
Warnemunde, Germany. Upon our arrival,
we hopped on the train to the nearby town of Rostock.
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| A former guild house |
Rostock bought Warnemunde in 1323 to protect
itself from sea-worthy Baltic invaders.
Rostock was active in the Hanseatic League, an economic alliance of
trading cities and merchant guilds that dominated trade on the Northern
European coast from the 13th to the 17th century. Rostock also boasts one of the oldest
universities in Northern Europe, the University of Rostock that was founded in
1419.
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| I love the signs found all over Europe |
Due to its strategic
location, Rostock was invaded by the Danes, Swedes, and occupied by
Napoleon. It was heavily bombed by the
Allies during WWII and became a major industrial center under the German
Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Following German reunification, Rostock lost population as many Germans
sought work in the Western part of the country.
Today Rostock celebrates its Hanseatic tradition and Warnemunde is a
favorite beachside resort.
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| Sunset on Warnemunde beach |
And in Rostock, I found OZ.
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| OZ, need I say more? |
Our next stop was Stockholm,
Sweden.
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| Stockholm |
The city is located on a series
of islands and is beautiful as my photos only begin to suggest. We visited the Palace and a few of its
museums, but next time, I will forgo the museums and spend more time walking
around the Old Town.
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| A Stockholm garden |
I was delighted to
visit Skansen Island but disappointed that our time in Stockholm was so
limited.
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| Skansen gate ornament |
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| Leaving Stockholm |
On the way to Helsinski,
Finland, I found Santa. I was looking
over the balcony of the ship and there he was.
Rumors abound as to what Santa does on the off-season. Now I know for sure—he cruises!
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| Here's the proof: Santa cruises! |
Helsinki, Finland has many
English speakers and an accessible public transportation system; both made our
life easier as we explored the city. We
were impressed by Temppeliaukio Church that was quarried out of natural
bedrock.
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| Temppeliaukio Church |
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| Fantastic church! |
We walked through the park by
Lake Toolonlaki Toloviken, and past the Olympic stadium. Then we hopped on the streetcar and got off
at the train station. From there we
walked through the shopping district and took a ferry to Suomenlinna, an island
off the coast of Helsinki and a World Heritage site.
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| Suomenlinna Island |
Founded in 1748 when Finland
was part of the Kingdom of Sweden, a sea fortress was constructed on
Suomenlinna and an adjacent island to protect Helsinki from the Russians. However, after 20 years of war between the
Swedes and the Russians, Suomenlinna finally surrendered to the Russian army in
1808.
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| Suomenlinna tunnel |
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| Gustav III |
In 1809, Finland became part of
Russia and the fortress housed Russian troops for 108 years. It wasn’t until the Russian Revolution in
1917 that Finland declared its independence.
Finland became a member of the EU in 1995.
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| Finish girl with a dandelion crown |
After we returned from
Suomenlinna, we had a little time left to visit Esplande Park. A Marimeko fashion show had just ended and
the park was filled with people enjoying the sunny day. Once again, our time in port was way too
short.
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| Esplande park |
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| Across from Esplande park |
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