From Vikings to Royalty

With the threat of rain in the afternoon, we hopped on a train and rode out to Roskilde (ROSS-killa) so we could enjoy the best part of the day outside. Roskilde is only 18 miles west of Copenhagen on a long narrow fiord that was once home to Danish royalty. In the mid-1000s, the people had to barricade the channel to prevent their enemies from entering the town, so they sank 5 Viking ships across one channel and left open a channel that only the locals could navigate. 900 years later, acting on a rumor that there were ships in the fiord, divers went searching and found them. It took 25 years to recover, preserve and assemble the remains of these ships. Boatbuilders then recreated each of the five boats using 11th century tools and techniques using the recovered Viking ships as models so that they can sail the seas today. 

I said the town was the home to royalty. We walked through the Roskilde Domkirke and got a history lessen while looking at the many tombs and crypts of Danish kings and queens.  The cathedral was first a wooden church built by Harold Bluetooth in 985.  It burned and another stone structure was put on the exact spot. Starting in 1170 the present church was started and has been added to many times  by successive kings to accommodate their burials. The most recent burial was of King Frederick IX in 1985. 

The organ dates back to 1425 with additions and changes in 1654. It was renovated in 1991. Each King and queen had their own room and some were ornate, some plain and some had marble sculptures.  There was even a room for the children who had died

Just as the train pulled into the station to take us back to Copenhagen it started raining - what timing! It stopped long enough for us to explore Tivoli Gardens - an amusement park in the middle of the city. Elton John performed there last Monday and Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga are there tonight. The rides were built over the restaurants. We counted 43 sit down eateries!!  The Boys Drum and Fife Youth Corps marched past as we tried some wine at one of the restaurants. 

Dinner in the Meat Packing District was fantastic!!

Kings and Churches

After having toured with a guide for over a week, I got to practice being a guide for John.  He didn't appreciated my efforts!!  How dare he! I worked so hard on reading the descriptions from my phone while walking and trying to look for myself.  

We toured Rosenborg Castle and Treasury, Christianshavn, Our Savior's Church and Christiansborg Palace.  We walked over 20,000 steps and climbed well over 500 stairs.  We feel we've seen Copenhagen from the inside to the outside today.

Rosenborg Castle was built in the early 1600's by King Christian IV, one of Denmark's greastest monarchs.  His name is evident almost everywhere we look in Copenhagen.  The palace as a whole is smaller than some we have toured and less grand but it has a very lived in feel to it.  A couple of unique features is the speaking tube that runs through the building to other rooms on the same level or to the kitchen or wine cellar.  There is also floor vents in the diningroom that can be opened so that the music being played one floor down could be heard while dining.  The castle contained many collectables such as china, porcelain, ivory carvings, gold  and silver knick knacks and much more.  We even saw 1640 wine in bottles.  Also the never ending paintings and tapestries.

A short walk away was the area of town called Christianshavn or Christiania where in 1971 squatters took over a military base and created a commune.  Today they are still there but instead of seeing it as a run down area full of junkies, it is a tourist attraction that is still run down.  They don't have hard drugs in the are but you can see and smell pot all over the place! We had a great lunch but turned down brownies for desert!

Not far from there is Our Savior Lutheran Church (Vor Frelsers Kirke) built in 1696.  It has had a recent restoration so it looks very clean and modern except for the ornately carved wood decorated pipe organ supported by two elephants (a royal symbol of the prestigious Order of the Elephant).  The building is topped by a bell tower that has spiral stair steps to the top that we hiked up.  398 steps for a magnificant view of Copenhagen.

Not tired yet (but close) we toured Christiansborg Palace.  The current palace was built in 1928 but it stands on top of the remains of 6 other palaces from 800 years ago.  These either crumpled or burned down.  The current palace has some items that were saved from the last fire.  This is where Queen Margrethe II impresses visitors from the library and dining room to the reception rooms and the thrown room.

Now we are tired and it is trying to rain. 

Copenhagen

Regent Cruises has disembarkation down to a science. We left one of our bags in the hall last night so by the time we were ready to leave, everyone's bags we're sorted in order of departure and the taxi cabs lined up, ready to go. We were lucky that our hotel had one room ready for us so we could head out to sightsee. 

We took a self-guided walk through the heart of Copenhagen.  We decided to not stop at any one site but to see what we could and go back another day to get a closer look. It is cooler today than yesterday and will be even cooler the rest of the week with slight chances of rain. This way we could go to the museums to stay dry. 

This is the home of Hans Christian Andersen so we had to see his statue.  There are many wonderful old buildings from City Hall to numerous churches, the University to fountains and from numerous small squares lined with cafe tables to the extremely busy pedestrian shopping street called "The Stroget" (STROY-et). 

We took a canal cruise and saw the Opera House, the Royal Danish Theatre, a palace, lots of boats, and the back of The Little Mermaid. 

Rostock, Germany

This is our last port-of-call on our cruise. Rostock has been an important port city for all of Germany but especially for East Germany before the re-unification. With a population of 200,000, the port is important for shipping wood and scrap metal.  This area is very popular as a holiday destination for the Germans with its forested land and blue ribbon beaches.

Rostock was established in the 11th century by the Slavics. St. Peter's Cathederal, the Convent of the Holy Cross and The University of Rostock are the oldest buildings in the Baltic region, built in the 11th, 13th and 16th century respectively.  The University is free to any German student, supported by the government. Outside of the Univ. and the church of the university is a statue of General Blucher who fought with Napoleon and is famous in this region.  We visited the Neuer Market (New Market) where many of the buildings had to be restored after the bombings during WWII.  In the middle of town is a lovely fountain called the Fountain of Joy but is refered to by the citizens as the Pornographic Fountain!!

St. Mary's church is on this square.  During WWII most of the art work and special artifacts in St. Mary's were moved to St. Peter's church with the thinking that St. Mary's may be damaged due to its location.  In fact it was St. Peter's which was bombed along with the artifacts from St. Mary's.  Luckily the items that could not be moved were saved, the 25 meter tall stained glass window and the 5,755 pipe organ among them. The main alter is also original and is 25 meters tall.  Also the Astronomical Clock installed in 1472 was saved.  This clock not only tells the time, date, year, season, moon, sun positions and astrological signs, but the best time to plant and to harest.  It runs out in 2017 so the mathematicians are working to reset it by that year.

Most of the original wall  surrounding the city are still standing but only 4 of the 21 gates.  We saw three of them. The town hall or Rathaus was improved by adding a faux front in front of the original brick walls.

We have to have our suitcases packed and in the hallway before we go to bed.  Goodnight!

SS Voyager

Today was a cruise day so I thought I'd tell about the actiities available to us on the Seven Seas Voyager Cruise ship.  We have a choice of 4 restaurants to dine in for dinner but only two are open for breakfast or lunch. There are 5 bars and a snack bar, a smoking room, library, observation lounge, and casino.  In the evenings they each have music of some sort.  There is a walking track above the pool area with a small tennis court, putting greens, golf chipping net, shuffle board and croquet court.  The spa has all the regular spa services plus a fitness center and personal trainer. The pool is 3.5 meters deep and has two hot tubs. Tea is offered every afternoon at 4 pm.

Most evenings there is entertainment in the theater.  Sometimes it is very good and others, well, lets just say neither John nor I even wanted to get near the theater.  They show movies, have lectures and educational information seminars.  If we get bored, its our own fault because there is never a lack of somethng to do.

Our stateroom has a balcony with chairs, the living area has a desk with TV and DVR, two chairs and a table and a couch, queen bed, walk-in closet and a full size bathroom.  The butler cleans twice a day so the bed is always made and we always have clean towels, and the refrigerator is stocked with beer, soda, water and a bucket of ice and fresh fruit. A small laundry is available to us on each level.  We are being spoiled in the lap of luxury.

Klaipeda

Pronounced 'clay-pah- DAH', this is the third largest city in Lithuania and the only port city for Lithuania so, of course, the industry here is ship building and transporting coal. Lithuania's history and the city's history are very similar to the other two Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia so I won't repeat it again.  As in Riga and Tallin, Klaipeda's old town is a UNESCO historical site as is the national park located across the lagoon from the city on the peninsula called Curonian Spit.

The Curonian Spit is 98 km long and has four small communities on it, the largest is Juodokranie or in English its called Black Shore because when seen from the lagoon, the forest and hills make it look very dark. The communities are connected by one road and lots of walking or bike trails.  It is a favorite place to spend a nice afternoon.

Before exploring the village of Black Shore we got to dabble our toes in the Baltic sea on the north side of the spit of land that seperates the sea from the lagoon.  In Blak Shore we stopped by a small Lutheran church that was built here in 1885.  During the war it was a Catholic church for the Germans, then the USSR used it to store wood.  When Lithuania gained its independence in 1991 it was again refurbished to become a Lutheran Church but because the conregation is so small, it is shared with the Catholic church so both kinds of services are held here.

We also stopped at a weather vane gallery to see weather vanes used on fishing boats.  These vanes are designed so that they tell the story of the fisherman like how many boys are in his family, what is home is like and his courage.

The highlight of this tour was Witches Hill.  Created by artists in 1975, the forest on the hill has pathes running through it with carved oak pieces that represent the tales, stories and fables of Lithuania.  Most of these stories use the devil or witches as the bad guys, hince the name "Witches Hill".  One story is about a girl names Naringa who growes to be a giant of a woman who can walk out into the lagoon and save ships and people from storms. The name 'Naringa' is synonomus with Curonia.  

We left the tour when it got back to town so we could explore it on our own and then stop for a beer and snack before getting back on the ship.

Riga, Latvia

Once upon a time, long, long ago there was a country call Livonia.  It bordered Germany, Russia and the Baltic Sea and was a place everyone wanted to control including Sweden and Poland. Eventually, after many wars, the land was divided into three states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  They were a part of the USSR until it fell apart and now they are their own independent republics, part of the European Union.  This is the very condensed version of their history!

Riga is the largest city in Latvia and the only state of the three that does not have direct access to the Baltic.  We traveled down a very long shipping lane that we later learned was the Gulf of Riga. From the ship we could see spires and skyscrapers, glass and stone modern buildings next to old brick churches and castles, and modern cable bridges and rock bridges across the River Daugava.  It looks to be a very cosmopolitan city. 

Old Town Riga still has a few of its original wood buildings but most were destroyed by fires or bombing.  In the late 1800's to early 1900's Art Nouveau was very popular in Europe and so it is in Latvia.  We saw building after building described as having the Art Nouveau architecture, some were Eclectic  Decorative, some National Romanticism and a few were Functional or Perpendicular style. All are very pretty. One feature of the Art Nouveau style is people or animals decorating the facade such asdogs, cats, lion heads and a young man perched on a roof top.

Riga still has some structures standing from its midevel era. The city wall with the Powder Tower is now a museum and the Swedish Gate was built between two towers.  The streets are mostly cobble stones.  It is said that peasants who wanted to sell their wares in the city had to pay a 'tax' of two rocks each day they were in the city.  That is what was used to pave its streets. The churches have very tall steeples topped with a rooster weather vane if its Lutheran and a cross if its Catholic. The Dome Cathederal or Riga Cathederal shows examples of Germanic, Roman, gothic, Baroque, Art Nouveau and classicism styles and boast a pipe organ with 6700 pipes.

After our tour we strolled through the old town then had a local beer. Once back on the ship we set sail aboaut 7 PM and we had a nice dinner with folks from the US.

Helsinki

As we were dressing for the day our ship passed through a very narrow passage into Helsinki Harbor.  We felt like we were about to touch land as we passed by an old fort structure guarding the entrance.  Then again as we left the harbor this afternoon, the other side of the fort was visible to us.  It is so narrow that a special pilot was used to drive the ship through and then a pilot boat picked him up off our ship to take him back.

Our walking tour of the city was very interesting as we walked past building that were 300 years old, some that were 150 years old and some very new ones that opened just two years ago.  Helsinki and Finland were ruled by Sweden and then Soviet Union until 1917 when they gained their independence. They have been under Soviet influence until the collapse of the Soviet Union and then join the EU in 2002. Finlands main economy is from forestry, steel and ship building, electronic (Nokia/Microsoft, Angry Birds video game, medical devices) and fuel refining. Helsinki is known for John Sebelius and the song "Finlandia" and for being coffee consumers - average 8 cups per day, all day long. 

Some of the most interesting buildings we saw were the Lutheran Cathedral, 1919 Central Train Station,  the Russian Orthodox Cathedral and the Lutheran Rock Church which was built into a holy consecrated rock hill so that the rock dug out of the hill was used as part of the walls of the church and the ceiling is no higher than the hill was before it was dug out.

Helsinki has over 3000 statues throughout the city.  We learned about a past President Kallio, a military General Mannerheim, and John Sebelius who wrote the music "Finlandia". His memorial is made of 800 stainless steele tubes.  We also saw a Pike fish in front of the Music theatre and a naked lady in front of a bank.