The Baltic Sea
In August 2014 Shirley and I took a cruise on the Baltic Sea with friends from Houston. Our itinerary included Stockholm, Sweden, Copenhagen, Denmark, Helsinki, Finland, St. Petersburg, Russia, Tallin, Estonia, Klaipeda, Lithuania, Gdansk, Poland, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. As with all such cruises, we usually traveled at night and spent our days touring the cities we visited. We had at least one full day at sea, however, which gave me the opportunity to photograph the ship itself.
Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm
East of mainland Sweden is a large area containing numerous islands. Another cruise ship follows ours as we thread our way through the islands at sundown.
As we reach our next port at dawn, a tug arrives to assist our ship in docking.
Helsinki
Helsinki. This is the cathedral of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Our stay in Helsinki was brief. Returning to the ship.
Klaipeda, Lithuania
Klaipeda has a wonderful outdoor market.
Traditional Lithuanian architecture.
Klaipeda is small but has a busy harbor.
Gdansk, Poland. This is the Town Hall.
Gdansk has a wonderful section of traditional buildings called Main Town that was rebuilt after World War II and that draws many tourists. That is where we spent the day.
The center of Main Town is a pedestrian street called the Long Market.
Gdansk has installed a large, modern Ferris wheel near Main Town.
Main Town from the Ferris wheel.
Back to the lovely Long Market.
A local resident looks down on the crowd of tourists.
Copenhagen. We took a harbor tour in an open boat on a morning with intermittent rain.
Copenhagen’s opera house overlooks the harbor.
Canals branch off of the main harbor. This one held a charming marina.
Others were lined with residences and boat docks. The Danes must love their boats.
While in Copenhagen we attended the famous Tivoli Gardens.
The gardens have many kinds of attractions, including performing arts. This was a dance troup.
Exotic buildings and locales.
Shops and restaurants.
Midway games.
Lagoon, sailing vessel, amusement park rides.
And, especially, beautiful gardens.
Amsterdam is a lovely city, with attractive buildings set beside tree lined canals.
A houseboat for a home. No yard, but plenty of pot plants to satisfy a green thumb.
We hired a driver and guide to show us the countryside around Amsterdam. It takes a lot of cows to make all that cheese.
Small villages dot the countryside.
The Dutch towns are so pretty, it makes you want to move there.
The big windmill was a wind powered sawmill.
Back in Amsterdam. In the golden light of sunset, a double rainbow.
The Vasa is a seventeenth century Swedish warship that capsized and sank on her maiden voyage. She was raised and restored in the mid-twentieth century and now resides in a Stockholm museum built especially for her.
Detail of gun ports and rigging.
The stern and the bow are decorated with numerous small, carved statues of figures from the Roman empire, classical mythology and the Old Testament.
The Peter Pan, a large Baltic Sea ferry, arrives in Rostock, Germany from Telleborg, Sweden.
The schooner Albert Johannes sails into Rostock harbor.
The black, red and yellow German flag flies proudly from a vessel in Rostock harbor.
Waiting for the next passing vessel in Rostock.
We weren’t the only cruise ship on the Baltic.
I wonder how many thousands of passengers that big ship can accommodate.
Gilded cupolas atop a building on the grounds of the Tsar’s Summer Palace near St. Petersburg.
The Summer Palace.
Fig leaves protect the modesty of golden male statues at the Summer Palace.
St. Petersburg.
A full day at sea. Might as well get some exercise.
It was a long day. I was glad I had a camera as I roamed the ship.
Enjoying the Baltic sun.
The sea was calm and smooth.
Looking aft.
Lines and shadows.
It’s not a real smokestack any more. These days it’s called a funnel or just “the stack”.
Fifteen is a lot of decks!
Our wake is long and straight
The afternoon sun indicates our southwest heading.
You know you’re bored when you resort to self portraiture.
The Baltic in an angrier mood.
We pass a lightship as we approach harbor.
At sea on a beautiful day.
The sky lights up at sunset.
Watching the Earth turn from the sun, the day turn to night. This world is so beautiful.