Sailing through Scandinavia - A Long Review with Lots of Pictures!

[jstducky]

From the Church of the Holy Ghost, we wandered through small alleyways and the back streets of lower Old Town until we came upon St. Nicholas Church. Much larger than the Church of the Holy Ghost, it was massive and cavernous inside (free entrance into the church). St. Nicholas has a beautiful spire atop a tall tower that can also be climbed (for a fee), but since we’d already climbed the Town Hall tower, and our feet were killing us, we skipped climbing this tower. But we did see the entrance to the stairway, and it looked like the same kind of medieval, uneven stone steps as the Town Hall tower.

 

 

 

 

 

St. Nicholas Cathedral

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interior of St. Nicholas Cathedral

[jstducky]

The rest of our time in lower Town Hall was spent wandering along the perimeter of the wall and taking photos of the various guard towers we came to. We followed the wall until it began to lead uphill to Toompea (upper Old Town). Following the road, and the crowds, we came right upon Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (no photos allowed inside) and the pink Parliament building. Like the other Orthodox cathedrals we had seen, Alexander Nevksy is decorated on the inside with gold plated icons and painted onion dome ceilings and heavy with the smell of burning candles and incense.

 

Coming out of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, we were looking for the view platform that allows you an unobstructed view of Lower Old Town when we came upon St. Mary’s Cathedral. Inside, the cathedral is decorated with centuries old coat of arms along the wall. As soon as you walked into the cathedral, you just got the sense that this cathedral was really old and had a lot of history behind it.

 

Finding the view platform was easy, all you have to do is follow the crowd. And there was quite a crowd that it makes getting to the front and being able to take pictures difficult. But, the view is spectacular. You can look upon the red rooftops of Lower Old Town, look out and see the Town Hall Tower, the tower from St. Nicholas Cathedral, and the spire of the Church of the Holy Ghost. On a beautiful, and clear day, as this one was turning out to be now that the rain had stopped, the view is spectacular.

 

 

 

 

 

A look at the wall and watch towers that surround Old Town

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

 

 

 

 

 

St. Mary's Cathedral

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viewpoint from Toompea looking down at Lower Old Town

[jstducky]

As we were approaching our reserved time for the Bastion Passages, we made our way down towards the Kiek in de Kok Museum. Kiek in de Kok is actually a guard tower whose name translates to “peek in the kitchen.” It gained this name because the tower was so large that the guards could literally peek into the kitchens of the residences. The tower is a museum that details the history of guard towers and protection of the city. However, in addition to the museum, a few years ago, the museum excavated a number of Bastion Passages for which they now do guided tours in English. I had mistakenly understood that this was a tour of the underground tunnels that run through Tallinn, but during the tour, I learned that a Bastion Passage is not actually an underground tunnel, but it is a tunnel that is constructed and then covered by earth, dirt, and soil. As Tallinn, and especially Upper Old Town sits high above ground level, when the tunnels were constructed, and earth dropped over the top of the tunnels, the existence of the tunnels is all but concealed as the earthen hill that grows around the tunnel essentially becomes part of the landscape. And when you step into the Bastion Passages, you certainly feel like you are headed underground. So far, only a few hundred meters of the full extent of the passages has been dug out and cleared for tourists to traverse through. The museum expects another 150 meters to be opened to the public next year. The tour starts off with a video that explains the history of Tallinn and how it came to be. Then you step into the Passages where you go back in time to the 13th century to learn of the history of the tunnels, the uses for the tunnels through the centuries, which included being used as a bomb shelter during the war, and a homeless encampment until just a few decades ago. Then you ride a “time machine” where you are taken to the future to see their vision of what the future may be like. It was a neat little interactive activity and something different to do in Tallinn.

 

Once done with our tour of the Bastion Passages, we wandered back down to Town Hall Square and then back out towards the shuttle bus for the quick ride back to the cruise ship terminal. Again, we watched from our aft balcony as we sailed away from Tallinn and said goodbye to our last port of call.

 

 

 

 

 

Kiek in de Kok Museum and Bastion Passages

 

 

 

 

 

 

A look inside the Bastion Passages (sorry, taking pictures inside in dim light was difficult)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A memorial outside not too far from the Kiek in de Kok

 

 

 

 

 

 

One final look at Town Hall Square as we walk back through it towards the shuttle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the pier, the Norwegian Sun (left) and Brilliance of the Seas (right) docked side-by-side

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One last look as we sail away from Tallinn

[jstducky]

Fancy table setting tonight at dinner

 

 

 

 

 

Vitality and Alternative Selections Menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starters Menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entree Menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

With every meal, there was a selection of breads including sourdough. But there were always 2 specialty breads each day. Tonight was one I was excited about, banana muffins

[jstducky]

Roasted Peach Soup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creamed Wild Mushrooms in Puff Pastry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

House salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double Duck Consomme

[jstducky]

Pan-Fried Giant Shrimp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Thai Herb-Crusted Chicken Breast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dessert Sampler (chocolate cake, savarin, cheesecake)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strawberry Ice cream

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snail towel animal in our room tonight

[TLCOhio]

Fun seeing the nice shots from wonderful Tallinn. Haven't had lunch, yet, and your food shots remind me that it's time to eat!!

 

THANKS for the posts and reporting! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 102,454 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Still Dreaming]

Wow love your review

[RLK33853]

Thanks for taking the time to help everyone plan their trip - we are next year.

[jstducky]

Cruise Day 7 - last day

 

 

 

 

 

Brasserie 30 Menu - lunch in the main dining room

 

 

 

 

 

Tutti Salad station

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corn chowder

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slow roasted beef strip loin

[jstducky]

Caramelized banana mille-feuille

 

 

 

 

Warm cherry custard crepes

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner - Vitality and alternative selections menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starters menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entree menu

[jstducky]

Hellesylt Salmon Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russian Egg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spinach and arugula salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Borscht

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Kiev

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Shrimp Linguine

[jstducky]

Post-cruise: Copenhagen

 

We ended our cruise by spending one night post-cruise in Copenhagen. Unlike the good fortune we had on bidding for a hotel room in Amsterdam pre-cruise, no matter what we bid it was never accepted for our post-cruise stay in Copenhagen. Knowing that Copenhagen is already an expensive hotel, and that we had a 6:00 am flight the next morning which really meant we wouldn’t be using the hotel all that much, we decided to save some dollars and book a room at a place called the Hotel Danmark. Essentially, the hotel was located half a block down the street from City Hall and the beginning of the Stroget, and a block behind Tivoli Gardens. The location was perfect. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much all that was good about the hotel. For starters, the hotel didn’t have air conditioning (which we knew in advance), so we needed to keep the window open at night in order to get some air movement (it wasn’t that hot, so that wasn’t really a problem). However, our room faced what turned out to be a busy street, and must have been just down the road from a police/fire station because between the honking of the car horns and the police/fire sirens that was enough to keep us from sleeping. Couple that with the fact that the building next door to the hotel (on the side where our room was) was a nightclub with bass pounding music all night, and half the clubgoers standing outside on the steps chatting, laughing, and smoking, that pretty much guaranteed that we wouldn’t be sleeping at night! Also, the rooms were small and cramped (though that’s to be expected in a European hotel) and the bathroom was a wet bathroom (which means that there is no delineated shower, you just shower right there in the room, and there’s a drain on the floor where the water flows) which translates to the bathroom floor and everything in the bathroom being wet. If we were to go back to Copenhagen again, we would definitely just fork over the extra dollars and find a nicer hotel to stay at. Lesson learned.

 

 

 

 

 

Hotel Danmark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotel Danmark exterior

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the view of the backside of City Hall from the window of our room at the Hotel Danmark

[jstducky]

Our ship docked in Copenhagen around 6:00 am. We were the first of the 3 big cruise ships to arrive in to Copenhagen that morning. It had previously been announced that Express Departure guests (those who carry their own luggage off the ship) could expect to be cleared off the ship starting at 7:15 am. But since we had arrived so early and the ship had been cleared quickly, the announcement was made at 6:45 am for those guests to depart the ship. In the questionnaire that had come to our room, we had filled it out indicating that we would like to disembark between 8:00 – 8:30 am. When we were given our luggage tags, we received number 17, which according to the accompanying letter meant that we could expect to be allowed to disembark at 8:15 am. Sure enough, waiting in the Colony Club, our number was called at 8: 15 am. As soon as we were let off the ship, we found our bags easily enough inside the tent.

 

We had decided that we were going to take a taxi from the pier to the hotel. Originally, we had planned on walking to the train station with our bags, taking the train to Central Station, and then walking to the hotel. But after having lugged our luggage from the train station to the pier when we embarked on the cruise, and seeing how long and torturous the journey was, we said that we weren’t going to do it again. We’d splurge on the taxi. Once we had our bags, we followed the signs that led to the taxis. There were 2 clearly marked lines; one for a small taxi and 3 passengers or less; and one for a large taxi, or van with 4 passengers or more. As there were just the 2 of us, we went into the line for the small taxi. There were only a few other parties in front of us. Within 5 minutes we were directed to a taxi and loaded in. We arrived at our hotel just before 9:00 am. The whole process was quick, seamless and smooth.

 

Unfortunately, having arrived at our hotel early, we were unable to check in as there were no available rooms. We were told that our rooms wouldn’t be available until at least 2:30 pm. At least, we were able to keep our luggage at the hotel in their secured luggage room. With no other choice, we set off to explore the city.

 

First order of business was to walk from the hotel to the Central Train Station so that we could check out the route we would walk early the next morning to catch the train from town to the airport. It seemed easy enough. We then wandered back (essentially doing a full loop of Tivoli Gardens) back towards our hotel looking for the stop for bus 26 so we could head towards the Little Mermaid.

 

The bus was easy and efficient to use, and soon enough we were getting of the bus at Indiakaj. From there, we followed our map, our instincts, and the direction all the tour buses were headed to find the famous statue of The Little Mermaid, made famous by the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen, and then later by Disney animation. Just before we arrived at the statue, my husband and looked up and commented about the fact that it looked like rain clouds were rolling in over our heads. I had said it couldn’t be so because on the ship they had said it would be a nice day in Copenhagen and hadn’t mentioned anything about rain. Besides the fact that neither my husband nor I were wearing jackets, and we had left our umbrellas our luggage at the hotel. Sure enough, with The Little Mermaid statue in sight, the sky started to open up and it started raining. We took shelter under some trees we found and hoped that a) the rain wouldn’t be too bad, and b) the trees would protect us. Luckily, though the rain came down hard, it only last 5-10 minutes and we weren’t any worse for wear. However, if the rain were to continue, we might be in trouble!

 

The Little Mermaid was packed with tourists. There must have been at least 20 large tour buses that passed through there in the 30 minutes we were in the area. It was so packed that it was hard to even get photos of the iconic statue. When I visited Copenhagen 5 years ago and went out to see The Little Mermaid, I couldn’t even find another soul besides my mom and I that were out there. And now, 5 years later, she’s become so popular it’s impossible to even get a photograph. Unfortunately, it kind of takes away from the whole experience.

 

 

 

 

First look at the main entrance to Tivoli

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

City Hall, half a block away from our hotel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Mermaid statue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some sort of memorial statue near the Little Mermaid

[jstducky]

When we were done with Little Mermaid, we headed back to the Indiakaj bus stop and boarded bus 26 again headed back in the direction we originally came from. This time, we were headed to Rosenborg Castle. The bus drops you around the corner and about a block from one of the many entrances to Rosenborg Castle.

 

Rosenborg Castle was constructed at the beginning of the 17th century by King Christian IV as a country summerhouse. It was expanded upon and finally completed to the structure it is today by the mid-17th century and then used a royal residence until the beginning of the 18th century. Today, Rosenborg Castle’s Long Hall is still used by the Queen for official royal receptions and the Danish Crown Jewels are housed in the basement of the castle. The lovely, and spacious renaissance-style manicured gardens are lovey, especially during warm, sunny days. In fact, the gardens were established before the castle was even constructed. Today, a statue of Denmark’s beloved son, Hans Christian Andersen, occupies one end of the gardens.

 

Visitors have 2 different options when visiting Rosenborg Castle, you can tour the castle itself, or you can go down to the basement and see the Royal Treasury. For us, our Copenhagen Cards covered admission into both. However, there was a separate cost to purchase a photo pass if you are interested in taking pictures inside both the castle and the treasury (and we were told the photo pass also covers photos at Amalienborg Palace as well). Another item to note is that no bags of any kind are allowed inside Rosenborg Castle – no backpacks, no purses, no camera bags, nothing. The ticket office for Rosenborg Castle has self-service lockers to hold your bags. You drop a 20 DKK coin into the locker, turn the key and take the key with you. When you’re done, come back, insert the key, open the door and your 20 DKK coin is returned to you.

 

The Castle and the artifacts inside, that are centuries old, are remarkable. It appears that King Christian IV had a fascination with clocks, so there are numerous clocks big and small, whimsical and fancy that you can see throughout the 3-story structure. Pay close attention to the ceilings in some of the rooms as the ceiling is made out of carved stucco so that it is 3D and it looks like objects and figures are coming out at you from the ceiling. And step into some of the smaller side rooms as there is a fascinating and amazing Porcelain Room and a Glass Room. The third floor of the Castle is the Long Hall, the highlight of the Castle. Completed in the 17th century, it was originally intended to be a ballroom. However, in the 18th century, it was turned into a Royal Reception Room to be used for official functions. The amazing stucco ceiling features the Danish coat of arms in color, with the rest of the reliefs carved in white which depict historical events in Danish history. The stucco ceiling dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. On one end of the Long Hall sits the coronation chair of the kings, and on the other end of the hall sits the throne of the queens which is guarded by 3 large silver lions. This is the royal reception hall that is still used by the queen today to greet official guests.

 

 

 

 

Hans Christian Andersen statue on the grounds of Rosenborg Castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosenborg Castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the amazingly carved ceiling of one of the rooms at Rosenborg Castle - breathtaking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosenborg Castle - Long Hall. This is the coronation chair of the Kings

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danish coat of arms carved into the ceiling of the Long Hall

 

 

 

 

 

Throne of Queens at the Long Hall inside Rosenborg Castle

[jstducky]

In the basement of Rosenborg Castle sits the Royal Treasury which houses what many believe to be the finest example of royal crown jewels in Europe. You start first by visiting the Royal wine and beer cellar with wine barrels and hundreds of bottles of beer dating back to the 16th century. You then step into the breathtaking porcelain and amber room that is filled with hundreds of beautiful large and small, intricate and fancy pieces of porcelain and amber pieces; some pieces so intricate that it’s amazing that someone was able to carve something that amazing out of such delicate material, and the fact that it’s survived all these centuries! Amazing. The highlight of the Treasury is when you step into the vault containing the crown jewels. Your senses are just bombarded by all the fantastic and jaw-dropping jewels contained in the vault. The crowns on display are just gorgeous. There’s just so much to see – the royal staff topped with the crown, a huge rose colored diamond that’s the size of my hand, jewels made of every precious metal you can conceive of in every size imaginable, it goes on and on. Many of these royal jewels are still worn today by various members of the royal family when they make public appearances, and the crown jewels themselves are still worn for official functions by the Queen. My husband and I found Rosenborg Castle to be a delightful side trip, even if it is a little out of the way.

 

 

 

 

Royal staff and jewels

 

 

 

 

 

 

A set of crowns - look at the huge precious stones

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely gorgeous crown with some amazing detail

[jstducky]

From Rosenborg Castle, we exited the south side gate of the grounds, and walked the 2 to 3 blocks to the Round Tower. The Round Tower was constructed in the mid-17th century and funded by King Christian IV. The King, who gained his interest in astronomy from his father King Frederick II, wanted to build an observatory in the Latin Quarter of Copenhagen close to Rosenborg Castle to provide a place for astrological students from Copenhagen University to study. Unlike most towers, this one was built without steps, but rather a 200+ meter ramp that could accommodate a chariot as the King demanded that he be able to go to the top of the observatory in his chariot. Today, the observatory is Europe’s longest active observatory and the viewing platform on the top level of the Round Tower provides terrific views for tourists of the surrounding area, including a bird’s eye view of the Stroget. Having a ramp rather than a set of spiral stairs certainly makes the Round Tower easier to climb than any other tower we visited in Scandinavia! And the views, especially on a clear day, are beautiful.

 

Once back down to ground level, we made our way from the Round Tower over to the Stroget. The Stroget is Europe’s first pedestrian street. Instead of being one long street, as its name would imply, it’s actually 4 interconnecting streets that basically lead from City Hall (at the beginning of the Stroget) to Kongens Nytorv (at the end of the Stroget). It’s a delightful stroll filled with shops, people, sidewalk cafes and street entertainers. We wandered the Stroget, stopping to pick up lunch at a local bakery, and then stopping for an ice cream treat at a Ben & Jerry’s, until we got to Kongens Nytorv.

 

 

 

 

Beautiful view from the top of the Round Tower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another view from the top of the Round Tower looking out towards City Hall and Tivoli further beyond that

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strolling the Stroget

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stopped for lunch at Holm's Bager - yummy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything in the display cases looked so good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I could finish about 5 of those!

[jstducky]

We settled for some flatbread pizzas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closer to Kongens Nytorv we stopped for ice cream at a Ben & Jerry's

 

We ordered the Nordic Water Peace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nordic Water Peace ice cream - it was sooo good!

[Desdichado62]

jstducky, i believe that the angel statue is called "Angel of peace" and that it is a memorial statue for those who died in WWII.

[jstducky]

jstducky, i believe that the angel statue is called "Angel of peace" and that it is a memorial statue for those who died in WWII.

 

Thank you! I tried to do a search on Google, but didn't find anything.

 

I figured it was some sort of statue honoring a war, but I couldn't figure it out.

 

I appreciate the help.

[jstducky]

On the other side of Kongens Nytorv is the Nyhavn district of Copenhagen. Nyhavn is Danish for “New Harbor,” although the harbor is over 300 years old. The area used to be the rambunctious sailor’s quarters in the city where the bars co-existed with the red light district. But today, it’s become gentrified and is now a popular tourist site filled with pastry shops, harbor-side cafes and various boutique hotels. The colorful buildings that line the harbor draw tourists, artists and photographers from all over. Nyhavn is also the embarkation point for both canal tours and the water taxi system. There are various companies that run canal boat tours, but tours run by the Netto-Badene company that has departure points from Nyhavn are included with the Copenhagen Card. So, naturally, that’s the one we decided to take.

 

Unfortunately for us, as we boarded the boat, the rain started coming down again. At first, it was a light sprinkle, so we thought we’d be ok. Of course, the boat we were on did not have a top. The guide indicated that, if needed, rain ponchos were being sold. As the boat departed the dock and the tour began, the rain started to fall harder, and the temperatures dropped. Again, here are me and my husband, each with no jacket and no umbrella. So, we gave in and purchased 2 rain ponchos. It seemed that by the end of the trip, practically everyone else on the boat had purchased a rain poncho as well. The canal tour lasts about 1 hour long and there is a live guide who provides narration in both Danish and English. On the canal boat tour, you go by the Little Mermaid, Amalienborg Palace and the Marble Church, the Opera, through the Christianborg Palace area and the Old Stock Exchange, a sail through Christianhavn’s canal where you can see Our Savior’s Church and Fredericksholm’s canal to see the Old Fishmarket. If not for the rain and the cold temperatures, which finally abated halfway through the tour, the canal cruise is relaxing and a delightful way to see the city.

 

 

 

 

Colorful Nyhavn district

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of Nyhavn from the water

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amalienborg and the Marble Church from the harbor

[jstducky]

Of course, once back on dry land again, the rain stopped. Just our luck! Every time we were outside, it rained. And when we were inside, it never rained. Oh well. We wandered back the entire length of the Stroget from Kongens Nytorv to City Hall and eventually back to the hotel so that we could retrieve our luggage and check in!

 

In the early evening hours, before the sunset, we left the hotel and walked the block or so to get to Tivoli Gardens. The amusement park was hopping and lively. Luckily, the cost of admission into the park was included with our Copenhagen Cards. However, tickets to ride the rides are sold separately. But, we weren’t intending to ride any rides anyway, so it didn’t matter. And guess what? As soon as we arrived at Tivoli Gardens, it started raining. Again! This time, we were smart and retrieved our umbrellas before we left the hotel. But the rain came down pretty good for 20 minutes or so. We figured this would be a good time for dinner, so we found a stand selling Danish hot dogs and pommes frites so went with that. By the time we finished our food, the rain stopped and we went out and explored Tivoli. We walked through the entire park, admiring the gardens and the flowers, the lake, the midway-style games, and some of the outrageous rides inside the park. We absolutely found Tivoli to be delightful and whimsical and fun. It was old-fashioned, but yet charming. As night fell and the lights illuminated the lake and the buildings and the park, we found it to be quite magical! We both though that this was a definite “must” when visiting Copenhagen. And you don’t even need to ride any of the rides to have a fantastic time.

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching City Hall (and our hotel)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Two Hornblowers statue next to City Hall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cute soldier statue as we enter Tivoli Gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing on a platform looking down and out at Tivoli Gardens as we enter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese Pavillion at Tivoli Gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lake Tivoli

[jstducky]

Chinese Pagoda lit up at night at Tivoli Gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tivoli Gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's some insane rides at Tivoli Gardens

[jstducky]

It was early to bed for us that night as our flight home departed from Kastrup Airport at 6:00 am. Since our Copenhagen Cards would still be valid, we decided to walk from our hotel to Central Train Station and take the train to the airport. Considering we needed to be at the airport at 5:00 am to check in, and out of an abundance of caution, we departed our hotel at 3:45 am to walk to the train station to catch the 4:12 am train. Note to self: BIG MISTAKE! Luckily, for me, I had my husband with me, because with each of us lugging one large piece of luggage, and one carryon, as well as each carrying a backpack mixed with the combination of a bunch of wandering party-goers and drunks on the streets of Copenhagen at 4 am, it wasn’t a pretty sight. At one point, I was walking behind a drunk man who was stumbling along with his eyes closed while another drunk man was trying to ask my husband and I if we wanted him to take our picture. It didn’t get any better when we got to the train station as I saw a man try to rob a female traveler of her purse while she was sleeping on the floor with her bags surrounding her (luckily she woke up just as he put his hands around the handle of her purse; she cried out when she saw this man looming over her so he dropped the bag and then proceeded to kick her before scampering away). Luckily, we easily found the track for our train and waited patiently for the train to arrive. However, the train itself was also filled with a bunch of drunk party-going kids who were riding the train back to Sweden after a night of partying in Copenhagen. Next time I do this trip, I’ll take a taxi from the hotel to the airport when it’s still dark outside rather than trying to take the train! Lesson learned.

 

All in all, we had a great time in Copenhagen. We may not have seen everything the city has to offer, but we saw and did all that we wanted to do. The city is easy to get around and so compact that it’s easy to get from point A to point B. However, if I find myself in Copenhagen again for another cruise, I’ll probably try to get out of the city and perhaps go and explore Malmo.

 

As mentioned, we had purchased Copenhagen Cards for our day in the city. Since I purchased them at the airport when we arrived (prior to the cruise), I didn’t have to pay the shipping costs to have them delivered to my home. As with the Stockholm Card, I had debated as to whether or not we our use of the card would make up for the cost. In the end, the Copenhagen Card paid for itself.

 

The Copenhagen Card cost: 249 DKK

 

Items we saw covered by the Copenhagen Card, and their admission prices had we not had the card:

 

Rosenborg Castle -80 DKK (this does not count the 20 DKK we paid for the photo pass)

Round Tower – 25 DKK

Canal Tour – 40 DKK

Tivoli Gardens – 95 DKK

Bus ride (2 separate trips) – 72 DKK

Train ride to airport – 36 DKK

------------------------------------

TOTAL: 348 DKK

 

One thing I didn’t mention about using both the Stockholm Card and the Copenhagen Card is the convenience factor. To be able to just carry around a card that essentially gives you access to every major attraction is priceless. Not having to hassle with having local currency, or trying to figure out if I could use my American “swipe” credit card, trying to use all my local currency, etc. in order to get into different attractions was really convenient and time-saving. Just show up at the cashier, hand them your card, they scan it, and you’re in. It was simple, hassle-free and I never had a problem with it no matter where I went, different museums, different sights, different tours, and on all forms of public transportation. It was simple, easy, and didn’t require too much thought behind it. And that’s convenience that you can’t pay for, especially when there’s already so much else to worry about when you’re rushed for time and traveling in a foreign country.

[jstducky]

Travel notes:

 

On the night of our last day of the cruise, the Captain had said that we would be sailing under the Great Belt Bridge around 10 pm. It actually turned out to be 10:30 pm, and the bridge was spectacular! My husband and I had rushed back to our cabin on the last night just past 10 pm and immediately hurried out on our aft balcony to see the bridge. But we stepped in to darkness. I could see land in the distance, and it looked like we must be sailing through a shipping lane as there was a lighted red and green pathway we were sailing through, but no bridge anywhere in sight. I had assumed that perhaps I was just too late and we had already missed the bridge. Around 10:30 pm, as we were finishing packing our last bag, my husband decided to step out onto the balcony to look at the moon when he started yelling for me to come out on to the balcony right away and to bring the camera. We were sailing under the bridge right at that moment. I go some neat video as we passed right under the bridge. And then I got some pictures of this big, massive, beautiful bridge all lit up at night. When I came home, I looked on the internet to learn that the Great Belt Bridge spans the Great Belt which geographically splits Denmark in half and is the second largest suspension bridge in the world. Pretty neat.

 

Like the majority of Europe, public transportation (train, tram, bus, metro) in Scandinavia is easy to use. And it’s aided by the fact that the majority of Scandinavians, especially in large tourist towns, speak English. Don’t be afraid to ask locals questions about which bus to take, where the bus stops are located, directions, etc. most of them are more than happy to help you out. While tours can be expensive, wandering through the Scandinavian port cities using just the power of your feet and public transportation can be fun, easy and affordable.

 

As I mentioned, Scandinavia is just expensive. Remember, you are visiting areas that have some of the highest standards of living in the world. So, as a tourist, you’re going to pay for it. But don’t sweat it. If you research and plan in advance, you can DIY most of the ports on your own and save money and gain adventure that way. Also, most of the Scandinavian ports offer 24-hour cards which can be a cost savings, and a convenience with the right planning.

 

You can never discount the power of pre-planning for everything! Ok, so I may be a neurotic and go overboard on the planning. But it’s impossible to be over-prepared, but very possible to be under-prepared. When you’re in a foreign city and are planning to DIY, have back up plans in place so that you don’t panic if things don’t go according to plan. The one thing you can always count on is that things never go according to plan when you’re traveling. So, have a plan A, B and C. When we were in Stockholm, after we had decided what we wanted to see in our day there, I laid out a route as to what would make the most sense, taking into account distance, route and travel time, then I laid out a rough plan as to how long it would take to travel from one place to another and how long we should spend at each place. This was rough diagram for me to go by so that I would know that we would make it back to the ship in time. For each stop that required travel by bus, tram or Metro, I had back up plans based on time. I mapped out every possible bus/tram/Metro route for an hour within the timeframe we thought we’d be somewhere. For instance, I knew we should be docking at Stadsgarden at 8:30 am, so I mapped out every single bus that stopped at Londonviadukten and went to Slussen from 8:15 am all the way through 9:30 am, that way, no matter what time I arrived at Londonviadukten, I could feel comfortable that I knew what I was doing. In the end, when I got stuck at the Nybroplan bus stop and couldn’t find bus 62, it turned out to be a fantastic thing that I had bus routes and backup plans because I was able to figure out where I was, re-route us and get us to where we needed to go. Also, because I had back up plans, I was able to adjust our schedule and cut out things we had planned on doing and add in things we hadn’t planned on doing, and was still able to get us back to the ship. So, you can never discount the power of planning and research!

 

Get involved in your Cruise Critic roll call. Use your fellow ship mates for advice, ideas, and help in planning. They can be a great resource and you can all learn together. Also, use your roll call to help form groups for private tours. This is especially useful for St. Petersburg. Don’t be drawn in by the cruise ships scare tactics. Taking a private tour is safe, easy, and there is no concern about not making it back to the ship on time. Remember, these companies have reputations to uphold so they will do everything humanly possible to make sure you aren’t late back to the ship. Find a tour company that works for you, plan an itinerary, and get a group together. You see and do a whole lot more with a private tour than you do taking a tour through the ship, and you get to meet some really neat people who you’ll not only spend a great day with in St. Petersburg, but will be able to chat with while on the cruise.

 

Finally, seek out information. Be active on your roll call, in the ports of call boards and look for information and ask questions about things you are uncertain about. Chances are, there someone else out there who can benefit from your questions. Also, reach out to the local tourism offices for the ports/cities you are visiting. Send them an email and tell them you will be visiting their city and would like to request some information. Often times, they are more than happy to send you maps, guides, and other materials regarding their city.