Stockholm, Sweden
Half the fun is getting there! You might have to get up early to find a nice place on the deck and watch the ship progress through the archipelago surrounding Stockholm, Sweden but it will be well worth the effort! Small islands dot the waterscape as you wind your way towards the pier. The pier is situated away from the city center so walking to town on your own can be done but it will take 30 to 40 minutes each way. Our tour takes in the main points of interest in the Stockholm area so you won't miss much in the full day trip. First up we have the City Hall - a nice looking building built along the water. It's main claim to fame is the Nobel Peace Prize banquet.
Our inside visit to this beautiful hall with the sweeping marble staircases conjures up the image of the world's brightest and most promising people dining on elegant tables placed throughout the large expanse. We will ascend the staircases and move into the Gold Room, aptly named for the thousands of mosaic tiles gilded in gold. The entire room shimmers and showcases the artwork, all done in mosaics.
Don't miss the gold sarcophagus at the back of the building! Once we have taken in all this opulence we move on to the Old Town, the Gamla Stam. Here we determine a meeting place and time and then turn you loose for some independent exploring and maybe a bit of lunch on your own. The city was founded between 1300 and 1500 and features narrow cobbled-stone little streets filled with shops of every kind. The main street is punctuated every once in a while by open plazas with water fountains and benches, a perfect place to relax after eating or shopping.
Also in the area and of interest is the Royal Palace with a changing of the guards and several old churches and bell towers. It doesn't matter if you are a history buff, a shopper or gourmet eater you'll find it all in the Gamla Stam. Final stop is a visit to the Vasa Museum which houses the 64- gun warship, the Vasa. The ship was built in 1628 but promptly sank on her maiden voyage! The museum has the distinction of being the most visited museum in all of Scandinavia. It is a visit sure to please. Interspersed with these 3 major stops is local sightseeing and a few photo stops with great views of the city. Keep in mind the city is built on a series of 14 different islands. Watch as you travel along and see if you can determine when you move from one island to another. It isn't always easy but if you watch closely you will see it happen. I am sure you will enjoy this beautiful city and will be charmed by the local people.
Helsinki, Finland
You will find Helsinki to be a comfortable town, one easily seen by walking. Our tour first stops by the Senate Square for some free time to visit inside the beautiful Helsinki Cathedral. The white gleaming walls and green onion domes dominate the skyline in this area as the Lutheran Church sits majestically on a hill overlooking the harbor and Senate Square. There are a great number of steps from the square to reach the Cathedral so start early and take your time.
There are also a number of shops on the square for a few minutes of shopping. After this visit we load up and travel to the Temppeliaukio Kirkko in a residential district. Ok, most people know this by the more common name, the Rock Church. This edifice is built underground in a small rock hill and has some interesting architecture. We take a few minutes to explore inside the church and while there please be respectful and quiet. It is after all a church.
Two small convenience stores are on each corner of the road outside the church so if you need an ice cream or snack to hold you over to lunch this is the place to get them. As we board the bus sit back and enjoy the scenery as we now travel outside the city limits to the small town of Espoo for lunch. Our destination is a country manor house located in the woods near a lake. We never know what will be on the buffet menu but we have enjoyed moose and caribou on several occasions along with a Finnish version of home-made rootbeer.
We can take a few minutes to walk along the paths in the forest or walk down to the lake. After a satisfying lunch we depart Espoo and travel to the LDS Temple for a quick picture taking moment. We usually end the tour with an hour or two of free time for shopping back in Helsinki for those that would like to participate. Our tour bus will drop us at the cruise line shuttle station where we can begin to explore the city and shops. If not, you are welcome to travel back to the ship on the bus. If you do decide to stay, walk along the Esplande street, either in the park place in the center or along the sidewalk near the shops. It is enjoyable either way. At the end of the street you will find Market Square in the harbor area. During the morning hours it has vendors selling food and fresh produce. In the afternoon it all changes over to vendors selling handicrafts and souvenirs. Return back the way you came to the shuttle station but don't miss Stockman's Department Store. On an upper floor there are souvenirs and on the bottom floor interesting foods can be found. I always have to buy a bottle of Cloud Berry jam while I am there but you are sure to find something unique as you browse around. Once you reach the drop off point you will find the cruise line shuttle buses running to the ship. The cost is $5 per person to ride and that is at your own expense. Keep an eye on the time, you don't want to miss the ship.
St. Petersburg, Russia
This is the stop most of you have come for! A chance to enter Russia and learn about the people, the history and the tsars. You will do all of that and more with our exclusive private tours. We divide up in groups of 10 or 12 with a driver and English speaking guide as we begin our adventure in this beautiful city. Over the next 2 days and 1 night we will wear you out but you will be oh so glad you went. The order of visting the sites can change from trip to trip so I will tell you about the places we visit during the stay, not in any particular order. Let's start our tour by leaving the city of St. Petersburg and traveling to the countryside enroute to the summer palace of the Tsars, Peterhof. The palace is , well, just that, a palace.
The inside visit will include a trip into the Amber Room, certainly one of the highlights and one of the most impressive rooms you will see on the trip. Amber, in all types and sizes and colors, awaits you. It is hard to imagine the wealth in just that room let alone the gold gilded statues and artifacts throughout the palace. I think you will agree, gold was the Tsar's favorite color. The expansive grounds outside the palace will be visited with the enormous fountains and once again the gold statues.
We return to St. Petersburg via a high speed hydro-foil boat just in case you have been missing the water! In the city we will visit the world renowned Hermitage Museum. We couldn't see all the exhibits in days let alone a few hours but we'll try to see as much as we can. This is where we will most appreciate the private guides leading the tour. They have some kind of magical power as they whisk us to the front of the long line of people with no waiting time at all. And when we see the Masters' paintings inside we will be able to hear the guide talk and actually see the paintings unlike the 40 plus passenger bus tours that won't hear or see a thing. Another favorite stop in the city is the Church of the Spilled Blood. The church has classic architectural style with colorful onion domes topping the building and the almost hard to believe mosaics inside.
The entire interior is covered in small mosaic tiles, it makes me tired just thinking of the painstaking time it must have taken to complete the work. Next door is an open market for shopping.
Here we will barter and we will also pay in cash. The dollar or the euro work just fine and the vendors understand enough English to give you a good go for the money. Russian stacking dolls, lacquer finished boxes, etc. can be found here at very good prices. Look carefully at the quality, this is more for a souvenir than a keepsake. Sometime in the tour we will stop at the Red October store for shopping. This store has better quality items which are a little more expensive but still good prices. On one of the days we make another excursion to the countryside, to Puskin, for a visit to Katheryn's Palace. The palace itself is a mile long! And the grounds too!
Once again we get a glimpse into the world of the mighty tsars. During the tour we visit too many places to list in this brief description but be assured you will see as much as possible. And finally I want to tell you about something extra special. We provide for our groups a lunch in a Russian family's home. We get to go into an actual dwelling, usually an apartment in a large building and meet the owners and have them cook lunch for us featuring local specialties. Often they don't speak English so the guide will translate for us but we can usually make known what we are asking for with sign language and smiles. Maybe the most important thing about this visit is understanding these are people just like you and me. All they want is a good life for their children and a comfortable living. I think the world would be a better place if we all came to this understanding and this is our chance to shine and let them know what Americans are all about.
In addition to the day tours above we throw in an evening performance at the local theater for a Folkloric Festival. Tap your feet and sing along (if you knowRussian) with the high energy singers and dancers as they portray local dance and song thoughout the evening. I know, you will be tired by the time these two days are over but think of all the memories you will have for a lifetime.
Tallin, Estonia
This small Baltic country was once part of the communist bloc but oh how it has changed. Outshining even the medieval Old Town are the people of Estonia.
They are friendly and genuine and we will see this first-hand as the wonderful guides lead us on a walking tour through the historic area of town. The tour begins in the upper old town for a bird's eye view over the red tile roofs and the ancient walls surrounding the city. As we work our way down to the lower town we will see churches, government buildings and cobblestone streets.
In the lower town the tour crosses the town square which is filled with picture perfect outdoor cafes that ring the area. We conclude the tour with a lively folkloric show where once again the people are the highlight. We may be invited to join in with the dancers during our private show so you can show us your stuff. This lively event is the culmination of our tour and you can't help but come away with an upbeat attitude. Some free time will be given after the show for shopping and exploring. Sweaters are a popular buy from the many stalls in the lower town and the flower market is always a pleasant visit. Oh and don't forget to get a picture of the tiny golden arches as you depart through the main city gate. Look to the right just before you get there for a little slice of America in Estonia.
Gdynia, Poland
Get ready for a nice suprise, Poland is a fun country to visit. We will see some of the sites of Gdynia and Gdansk Poland as we leave the ship and travel out in the country. Our destination is the Teutonic Knight castle of Malbork. This old castle still has a moat around it, still has drawbridges and still has holes above the entrances for hot oil to be dumped on unwanted visitors. Good thing we are invited guests! The exterior of the castle has more to offer than the inside rooms.
Although it is interesting to tour, the rooms are bare, not much for furniture or elegance but interesting none the less. Of more interest inside the castle is the restaurant where we have lunch. The restaurant is right out of the movies with large wooden tables, rock pillars throughout holding up the ceiling and a few old glass windows. The meal is unique and delicious and most important of all we can count ourselves among just a few people who ever had lunch in a medieval Teutonic Knight castle.
After lunch and the castle tour we return to Gdansk to explore the large market square with bustling shops and eateries. Throw in a church or two and you have a perfect place to spend an hour before returning to the ship. I hear amber is a great buy here so if you want a piece of jewelry this might be the place to shop. Ask the guide to recommend a shop. Enjoy.
Oslo, Norway
The 60 mile long fjord entering the city of Norway is a good start to this beautiful city. It maybe isn't what you picture in your mind when you think fjord, it doesn't have high granite walls that tower over us, more like gentle hills dotted with small summer cottages or an old fortress here and there. The ship moves slowly along the narrow section of water and at times we are close enough to the homes to hear the children laughing and playing. If you don't see it early in the morning as you enter Oslo be sure and spend some time as you leave in the afternoon. As we enter the harbor area it is dominated by the fortress on the hill. The ship will most often port right below the imposing fortress giving us a good view of the rugged buildings and cannons. The tour here is usually 5 hours long and full of history. We start by taking a walk through a park. Not any park, this is Vigiland Park and it is full of sculptures by one of Norway's most gifted artists, ...Vigiland. The park setting is beautiful and outside of a few steps at the end of the journey it is easy to do.
One word of caution, all of the sculptures are nudes. The fountain is especially worth a few minutes of our time, it is the cycle of life. Begin at one corner with a baby being born and walk around the entire fountain to observe the different stages of life including childhood, teen years, falling in love, getting married and finally death.
Along with the sculptures are beautiful flowers and gardens. At the end of the park where we reboard the bus is a granite monolith depicting life from the artist's point of view.
Our next stop is the Viking Ship Museum. Several ships are on display in all their splendor. Recovered from peat bogs or muddy river bottoms these authentic ships give us a glimpse into the life of a Viking. Notice the intricate carving on the ship, these were not made in a day. There is even a ship used in a funeral and be sure and climb the stairs to view the inside of the ship.
There are several staircases around so venture up and take a look. Our final stop is the Kon-tiki Museum to see Thor Heyerdahl's famous rafts. Of special interest to the LDS audience are the rafts that were used to float without power from Africa to Central America proving you can travel by ship across the Atlantic.
As we return to the city of Oslo we can ask to be dropped off in the shopping area for those last minute gifts. It is a nice leasurely walk from the shopping area to the ship. We can also choose to continue on with the bus to the ship. If you choose this option you will have enough time to walk up to the castle and tour the grounds. There is no cost to enter but the several museums located within the walls do charge a fee. There are also a couple of buildings next to the ship for shopping and usually some beautiful flower pots next to the benches around the harbor area.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Our Russia / Baltic cruises usually begin and end in Copenhagen. Many of you may have Danish heritage in your family tree. I know I do and it feels like home whenever I am in town. If you join our pre or post cruise tour in this stately city, here is what you can look forward to. No visit is complete without seeing the Vor Frue Kirke just off the Strodet pedestrian shopping area. The original Christus statue can be viewed here as well as sculptures depicting the twelve apostles. This is the same statue that inspired the statue in the Salt Lake Vistor's Center found in Temple Square. It is most exquisite and the artistry is magnificent. You almost want to touch the robes to be certain they are of stone and not cloth. Throughout the day we will see not-to-be missed sites, those like the Little Mermaid (and she is little), the government buildings, churches and castles. We have an inside visit to Rosburg Castle hosting the crown jewels of Denmark. We will see the jewels and visit many other rooms as we tour the castle. My favorite room is the one with the ceiling paintings suddenly sprouting an arm or leg that actually projects out of the painting and into the room, but then what do I know about paintings. Lunch today is in a restaurant garden served Scandinavian style. Interesting to be sure and very enjoyable. Last stop for the day tour is the LDS Temple. We can usually get a matron to come outside and tell us about the church in Denmark and if time allows we can even visit the chapel in the highrise apartment building behind the chapel. We will return to our hotel by early afternoon allowing time for dinner and maybe a quick peek at Tivoli Gardens. These gardens were the inspiration for Walt Disney as he developed Disneyland. Go late afternoon to evening and enjoy the various free concerts and shows as well as the beautiful gardens. Hey, you may even want to ride the carnival rides if the inner kid in you escapes.
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