This trip, including the day spent flying, was 16 days, Sept 27th – Oct 12th. Not including Rotterdam, Netherlands where the cruise started and ended, we visited 9 different cities across 6 countries in Northern Europe.
Itinerary:
27-Sep Depart Houston
28-Sep Arrive Amsterdam (board ship in Rotterdam)
29-Sep Sea Day
30-Sep Oslo, Norway
1-Oct Aarhus, Denmark
2-Oct Warnemunde, Germany (train to Berlin)
3-Oct Sea Day
4-Oct Tallinn, Estonia
5-Oct Helsinki, Finland
6-Oct Stockholm, Sweden
7-Oct Stockholm, Sweden
8-Oct Ronne, Denmark
9-Oct Kiel, Germany (bus to Lubeck)
10-Oct Copenhagen, Denmark (bus to Roskilde)
11-Oct Sea Day
12-Oct Leave ship in Rotterdam, depart Amsterdam, arrive Houston
Oslo, Norway
We didn’t get to spend a lot of time Oslo, so to make sure we got to see as much of the city as possible, I led us on a self-guided tour of the city. We started with a quick walk through of the city center: from the pier where the ship was docked near the Opera House, to the Central Station, and then through town up to the Royal Palace. Then we walked back down the hill to catch the subway out to Holmenkollen to see the ski jump. Then we rode the subway back to town, walked past city hall to get to the pier where we could catch a ferry to take us to Bygdoy, where there were several museums. We practically ran through the streets (really just speed walking) to get to the outdoor museum, where they’ve moved buildings from around the country so you could experience Nordic history in one spot. This is where we got to see the stave church, built around 1200 and then moved to its current location in 1884, and lots of farm buildings from different time periods and locations around the country. Unfortunately the Viking Ship Museum was closed for construction, but we ran over to the Maritime Museum and got to see boats from the 20th century representing different parts of Norway and even a Viking ship and dugout canoe from much further back in Norway’s history. Then we hurried back to the pier to catch the ferry back to the center center and hurry back to the ship before it left us behind. We took a “short cut” through the fort and my dad was worried we wouldn’t make it, but we did.
Aarhus, Denmark
The theme of this trip was too much to see and not enough time to see it all. So once again, I led us on a tour to visit as much as we could. We started out by walking along the waterfront and out to the Aarhus Docklands, a mixed-use development on the site of an old container port with some very interesting modern architecture. Word of caution: it was very windy, so be careful with your hat! My mom had her sunglass covers blown off onto the bike path but was thankfully able to recover them. We then walked back to town to visit the Aarhus Cathedral. From there we walked further into town along the canal to go visit Den Gamle By, another open air museum. We took a detour along the way to visit a street called Mollestien, which is lined with houses from the 1870-80s though the street itself dates back to at least the 1200s. After visiting the open air museum, we had just enough to stop by the City Hall before returning to the ship.
Berlin, Germany
The first stop where we actually did a tour through the cruise ship, as we had to take a train to get to Berlin (I think it was around a 2 hour ride one-way) and we didn’t want to run the risk of missing it to get back to the ship (so we didn’t do an “on your own” in Berlin tour). In hindsight, we definitely could have, as we probably could’ve seen more places and taken a little longer at some spots. But our tour guide was excellent. We got to visit several sites related to WW II and the Cold War, including the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, a couple of memorials dedicated to the Jews, and a church that was nearly completed destroyed during the war and left in its ruined state as a reminder. We also got to see the Victory Column, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Reichstag (albeit from a good distance away). We even drove out to visit the Allied Museum, passing by the first drive-through McDonald’s in the city, which opened in 1984. Even though we spent several hours in the city, not to mention the long train ride to and from the port city of Warnemunde, it still felt very rushed and there was many more sights I would have liked to see. I also wish I had gotten a good picture of the Berlin Central Station, because that building is stunning, inside and out. It ended up drizzling a lot of time we were in Berlin and we got hit with a good rain shower when we got back off the train, which made for a miserable wait to get on the ship since it was also cold.
Tallinn, Estonia
A contender for my favorite stop of the trip, we spent all day walking around the city. In fact my dad went back to the ship before my mom and I because his feet were hurting him (although we had really just begun the marathon that this “vacation” turned into). The great thing about Tallinn was the short distance between the cruise ship and the old town, no vehicle required. Instead of heading straight for the heart of the city, we first went to Telliskivi Creative City, an area focused off town highlighting art venues, with many buildings decorated with murals. The rest of the day was spent walking around the beautiful old town, where we even ate lunch at the Olde Hansa, a restaurant with a Medieval atmosphere.
Helsinki, Finland
Directly across the Gulf of Finland from Tallinn was our next stop, Helsinki. Unlike Tallinn, the ship was not docked near town, and while you could’ve walked there, it would have drastically cut down our available time. Instead, we bought tickets to a “Hop On/Hop Off” bus and rode it out to the furthest point, then walked back into the heart of the city, and caught a bus back to the ship. We started our tour at a park to see a monument dedicated to composer Jean Sibelius. A few blocks away we got to the Olympic Stadium, built in the 1938 for the 1940 games, it wasn’t used until 1952 due to the war. Walking further into the city center, we stopped at the Rock Church (which we did not enter because you were only allowed in at certain times and it would be a long wait) and passed the Parliament House before coming to the Central Station, perhaps the most beautiful building of the trip. We continued walking through the city before visiting Uspenski Cathedral, an ornate building with a lavishly decorated interior. Before returning to the ship, we walked around the harborside market and visited the Old Market Hall, which reminded me of the Central Market Hall in Budapest, only on a smaller scale.
Stockholm, Sweden
Our only stop with an overnight stay, there was so much to see in Stockholm that we needed a longer second day. Part of the problem stems from the fact that pretty nothing is open before 10 AM and things close by 5 PM, so there is a very limited window to see things. However, I tried my best and it nearly killed my dad (he refused to get off the ship the second day). To start the first day, we rushed off the ship and made our way across the central island where the historic old town is located to reach a ferry (which we got to just in time) that would take us over to Drottningholm Palace, where the Swedish royal family still resides. We spent a big part of the day walking around the grounds of the palace and then rushing through the rooms inside the main building. We managed to get back to the ferry just before it left (I think it was about a 30 minute wait between ferries), and once we got back to the city, we hoofed it over to the Vasa Museum to see 17th century warship. We didn’t get to spend a lot of time there, and I think it’s the only time I’ve been at a museum when they called the closing time, but it was worth every minute. Then when had a much more leisurely walk back along the waterfront to see some other buildings before heading back to the ship (we caught the end of a changing of the guard at the Royal Palace). That night was actually the first night we got to see the aurora, though it was fairly faint. The next morning, my mom and I headed out to the old town to visit the Royal Palace and the Great Church, which houses a beautiful wooden sculpture depicting St. George and the Dragon (completed in 1489). Unfortunately, we were unable to see the Royal Armory, as it was closed that day. That night we again saw the northern lights while on the way to Ronne.
Ronne, Denmark
On the small island of Bornholm, we took a tour around the island. We drove up the west coast to the ruins of Hammershus Castle, a rather imposing castle set on a hill that was built by the church in 1200. We made a short stop in the small town of Gudhjem, on the eastern side of the island, where you could see the influence fishing has had on the island in the number of fish smoking houses that lined the streets. We also had a short stop to a glass blowing workshop on the way to visit one of the island’s round churches before heading back to the ship.
Lubeck, Germany
One of the primary cities in the Hanseatic League, Lubeck was a major trading city. When I found out that we could take a tour to the city from Kiel, I knew we had to go. The first thing I noticed when we got to the city was the number of towers visible (finding out later that it is the city with the highest number of tall church towers and nicknamed the City of Seven Towers). We started our guided tour by visiting the Holsten Gate followed by a stop at St. Peter’s Church, the town hall, St. James’ Church and the Hospital of the Holy Spirit. Our guide also took us to visit some of the tiny alley way’s in the city, which have smaller houses along a narrow lane in what would have been a larger courtyard between the main buildings. After the guided tour, we visited the Burgtor, the gate on the northside of the city, and St. Mary’s Church, before stopping to get some marzipan.
Roskilde, Denmark
For the last stop on this trip, we didn’t stay in Copenhagen, but instead took a tour out to the city of Roskilde. The city was the capital of Denmark for about 400 years, from the 11th century until 1443, but dates back to the Viking era. The two main places we visited were the Roskilde Cathedral, where many of the Danish monarchs are buried, and the Viking Ship Museum, where five Viking ships from the 11th century are on display (they were found in the fjord leading to the city and were purposefully sunk). Very early the next morning, we were able to see the northern lights one more time, in what was the best show so far. The only downside was the cold and wind as you could not hold a camera still and the ship was rocking fairly good. Later that morning when we were eating breakfast, we were treated to a parade of rainbows, literally one after another, with some even being double rainbows. It was a very nice end to an amazing trip.
