LFL AT SEA

Friday, 9 pm

It’s Friday evening and I’m quite a few days behind again, primarily because I have been posting long narratives and lots of photos. I’m happy to be able to do this because the internet is working so well in this part of the world—there is even free wifi on the streets and in the parks of most of the cities we have visited. But I am going to be briefer so that I can get closer to the end as we get closer to the end of the cruise on Sunday.

Tuesday, 2 September 2014

Tallinn, Estonia

It’s a good thing we are visiting Tallinn today, because President Obama arrives at midnight and I imagine the security in the city will be quite tight tomorrow. Today we are free to wander with our local guide as she takes us through the old walled city center. We begin just outside the city walls where we learn a little about the history of Estonia and the remarkable economic progress it has made in the past 20 years—and how much they hate Putin and the Russians. Forced to speak and read Cyrillic Russian during the long period of oppression after WWI, today they have wiped away almost all reminders of the former occupants.

We walk to Town Hall Square where our guide points out the major sights and gives us some good ideas about shopping and eating—after all, this tour is called “Walk and Shop in Tallinn’s Old Town.” In fact, this is the only place where we actually buy anything—a new battery for my camera and a beautiful handmade leather notebook. We are pretty much left on our own to wander the city and admire the craft and other shops. We could climb up the ramparts to the city walls, but decide to forego all the steps. Just outside the wall is the modern center of Tallinn, with high-rise hotels, shopping malls, and good public transportation. This is a fairly short tour and we are back on the Prinsendam well before our 3pm sailing time.

Before dinner we have our usual martinis in the Ocean Bar and find out that we have finished the last bottle of Beefeater Gin and will have to settle for something else tomorrow (bummer!). Tonight’s dinner is an international menu from which we can pick and choose from four different world cuisines. Will enjoys guiso (a beef soup from Argentina), bourbon-glazed beef (from the American South), and Morh im Hemd (a chocolate sponge cake from Germany). I have Latin-America style gravalax (pisco—the national liqueur of Peru—flavored), sautéed shrimp Provencal (French, naturally), and baked Alaska.

Wednesday, 3 September 2014

Stockholm

The sun rises early today as we are in the final section of the Stockholm Archipelago as it approaches the city. The views on both shores are quite stunning as the water narrows as we reach the pier, which is within walking distance (a long walking distance) to the city center. We will see much more of the Archipelago as we leave the city later today. Our tour today begins with a panoramic drive around the modern sections of the city and concludes with one of the highlights of the whole trip—a visit to the Vasa Museum which houses the almost-intact remains of a large ship that sank in Stockholm harbor on its maiden voyage in 1628. It remained preserved under water for 300 years when it was raised and placed in the museum dedicated to it. Not only is the centerpiece of the museum, the ship itself, magnificent, but the rest of the museum, which tells the story of the building and sailing of the ship, its rescue from the bottom of the harbor, and the attempts at conservation, beautifully presented. We spend 90 minutes here, but could have easily spent more.

On the way back to the Prinsendam, our bus makes a brief stop at the entrance to the Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s restored old city, where I decide to get off and spend the afternoon on my own. Will heads back to the ship with the rest of the group. I have lunch at an outdoor café on a lovely old square and then wander through the shops and colorful restored buildings. The walk back to the Prinsendam is longer than I expected—it takes about 90 minutes—and I am ready to get out of shoes and socks as soon as I return.

Our 5pm sail away takes us through the three sections of the archipelago, each with its own distinct vegetation. But what all the islands have in common are beautiful summer homes and estates, many yachts and sailboats (1 out of 5 Stockholmers owns a boat), and gorgeous scenery. The ship’s tour guide provides narration as we stand on the upper deck watching the parade of islands and ships.