Books and films

[Norwegianlatvian]

Greetings from Latvia! We are celebrating the 95th Anniversary of the Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia today.

 

I would suggest two films about/from Latvia:

 

The Soviet Story

 

and

 

Rigas sargi (Defenders of Riga)

[milolii]

I know this thread is several years old, but another thread was started on this topic referring to this thread. It seems like a great idea to continue this awesome established list and invite others to add to it.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Alaskanb]

I know that I originally posted prior to our trip. Everything that I read really enhanced our visit to St. Petersburg. "The Madonnas of Leningrad" by Debra Dean really enhanced our tour of the Hermitage --so much so that I sent my copy to our tour guide.

I am getting ready for Norway this year and will post my reading list when I have a little more time.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Alaskanb

[Cornishpastyman1]

It's a bit left-field, and not really what you asked for, but if it's any interest here are the short videos, with some history, that I made from my Baltic cruise in 2010 :

 

Copenhagen

 

Tallinn

 

St Petersburg

 

The Fountains of Peterhof

 

The Catherine Palace at Pushkin

 

Peter and Paul Fortress/Cathedral

 

St Isaac's Cathedral

 

Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood

 

The Winter Palace/Hermitage State Museum

 

Helsinki

 

Suomenlinna (Fortress of Finland) at Helsinki

 

Stockholm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NweRnGqZ1k

 

Royal Warship Vasa & the Vasa Museum at Stockholm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x45l1WMZOXA

 

Berlin - general sights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCdvsq9lJJ8

 

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wgke23Hfuw

 

The Berlin Wall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZCwlKiiZrs

 

On the roof of the Reichstag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o57Fb88tVTM

While in St Petersburg I didn't get to go to the Yusupov Palace and always regretted it. When my friend went 2 years ago I asked him to take some footage, from which I made this

which tells the (improbable) story of Rasputin's demise.

[DanL]

If you have Amazon Prime there are videos of Helsinki, Stockholm Copenhagen & St Petersburg. There are also individual videos of the Hermitage, Catherine's Palace & Peterhof.

Worth watching before you leave IMO.

[Desdichado62]

a 4 part documentary about the past 100 years of Gothenburg, how the city looked back then and how it has changed during these 100 years.

 

Obviously this is with Swedish narration so you probably won't understand much of it.

These clips will only be available until July 27th.

 

http://www.svtplay.se/video/1361256/del-1-av-4

[Desdichado62]

A nice 9 min long documentary about Stockholm from 1955:http://www.filmarkivet.se/sv/Film/?movieid=368&returnurl=http://www.filmarkivet.se/sv/Sok/?q%3d%2b%26provinceid%3d26%26page%3d3

[Desdichado62]

"Im Schärengarten von Stockholm" a German documentary about Stockholm's archipelago.

http://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/mare_tv/Im-Schaerengarten-von-Stockholm,maretv594.html

[Desdichado62]

This is a new Swedish "Infotainment" tv mini series called "Bye Bye Sverige".

It is about Sweden 160-100 years go during the emigration era where many Swedes emigrated to America.

It should by available to view outside Sweden but it's entirely in Swedish (with Swedish subtitles).

 

https://www.svtplay.se/video/16218290/bye-bye-sverige/bye-bye-sverige-dog-det-at-far-min-duger-det-at-mig?start=auto

 

It will only be available for 1 month from today.

[GeezerCouple]

This is a new Swedish "Infotainment" tv mini series called "Bye Bye Sverige".

It is about Sweden 160-100 years go during the emigration era where many Swedes emigrated to America.

It should by available to view outside Sweden but it's entirely in Swedish (with Swedish subtitles).

 

https://www.svtplay.se/video/16218290/bye-bye-sverige/bye-bye-sverige-dog-det-at-far-min-duger-det-at-mig?start=auto

 

It will only be available for 1 month from today.

 

Thanks for reviving this thread.

 

There are several good ideas.

 

However, any additional ideas that are specific for Norway would be appreciated.

(Note: Yes, there were some excellent suggestions on the thread I started, and we've already starting to dig in - thanks! :) )

 

I'm adding more here in case there are a few of you who might not have read a query that specified "Norway", but might have some additional suggestions that are relevant.

 

Somehow, I missed the Stockholm/Nobel film "The Prize" (and with Paul Newman - how could I possibly have missed that back then!?? ;) ), so it's next to view.

 

[For movies, we'd need English, or at least English subtitles.]

 

Thanks.

 

GC

[Campbell soup]

Thanks for sharing thes videos. Katren

 

2

Many have strongly recommended the film 'The Singing Revolution' for Tallinn.

 

It's a bit left-field, and not really what you asked for, but if it's any interest here are the short videos, with some history, that I made from my Baltic cruise in 2010 :

 

Copenhagen

 

Tallinn

 

St Petersburg

 

The Fountains of Peterhof

 

The Catherine Palace at Pushkin

 

Peter and Paul Fortress/Cathedral

 

St Isaac's Cathedral

 

Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood

 

The Winter Palace/Hermitage State Museum

 

Helsinki

 

Suomenlinna (Fortress of Finland) at Helsinki

 

Stockholm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NweRnGqZ1k

 

Royal Warship Vasa & the Vasa Museum at Stockholm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x45l1WMZOXA

 

Berlin - general sights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCdvsq9lJJ8

 

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wgke23Hfuw

 

The Berlin Wall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZCwlKiiZrs

 

On the roof of the Reichstag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o57Fb88tVTM

[Campbell soup]

Thank you. I wanted to watch this but couldn't find it.

 

 

 

 

 

The Singing Revolution is available online at YOUTUBE. After watching the movie, I have decided to take a bus out to the TV TOWER (Teletorn) to see the place where the bloodless stand-off with Russian tanks took place. plus it is supposed to have a fantastic view.

 

One of the HOHO buses ( the one with 3 routes- 3 colors) will take you there. Or you can take Bus 34A at Viru Square.

 

http://www.teletorn.ee/en

 

 

 

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DG0C3SKovw

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3rNYUIm1is

Part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tLmVGIqVDU

Part 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF4ZZH5UNUw

Part 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfv5XkeSN-g

Part 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n70n4k33Pk8

Part 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fHF6BZr4q0

[Desdichado62]

For younger books, the detective stories of Tam Sventon (Ture Sventon) are mostly based in Stockholm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tam_Sventon

 

The grown ups might prefer the Sjöwall and Wahlöö Martin Beck series.

 

Sjöwall and Wahlöö, during the 1960s and 1970s, conceived and wrote a series of ten novels (police procedurals)

about the exploits of detectives from the special homicide commission of the Swedish national police in which the

character of Martin Beck was the protagonist. Both authors also wrote novels separately. For the Martin Beck series,

they plotted and researched each book together and then wrote alternate chapters.The books cover ten years and are

renowned for extensive character and setting development throughout the series. This is in part due to careful planning

by Sjöwall and Wahlöö.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Beck#Series

 

There are also movies based on the books and characters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Beck#Films_based_on_the_novels

Personally I enjoy the Gösta Ekman Beck movies. The newer ones with Peter Haber are mostly mass produced rubbish.

[Chocolate Teapot]

Not quite what was asked for, but if you have a spare 3 hours, I recommend Lucy Worsley's series "Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia"

 

As the title suggests, it is a crash course on the Romanov dynasty and features a lot of the places you are likely to visit whilst in St Petersburg.

[jklc123]

I just finished "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles, a tale of a Russian count who in 1922 was sentenced by the Bolsheviks to house arrest in a grand hotel near the Kremlin. It reflects Russia up to the early '50's in an intriguing, engaging, gently humorous way.

[Campbell soup]

I just finished "Madonnas in Leningrad" by Debra Dean. It is the best book ever on Russia in the early 1940's, the Hermitage, and the secret art that was sold off from the Hermitage to get money needed to fund the war. It's a novel and so fascinating. I can't wait to see the art in the Hermitage after reading this book.

[Eartha Kitten]

For those bound for Norway, The unforgettable historical trilogy:by Sigrid Undset: Kristin Lavransdatter, set in fourteenth-century Norway. Beautiful books and you don't have to read all three, though you will want to. The first is called The Bridal Wreath.

[GlennaRoseGoes]

Just finished watching season 1 of Ekaterina on Amazon Prime. So good! It’s a Russian series with subtitles, so you really have to pay attention! 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0721VJ13R/ref=atv_tv_hom_1_c_Nw77I8_2_10

[shudie]

I have a goodreads Baltic & Transatlantic bookshelf. Look forward to adding some of the books from this thread! https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/8734415?shelf=2020-baltic-transatlantic&sort=date_added&order=d