Travel

[World Traveler]

I am traveling to seven countries whose capitals are by the Baltic. Having just finished visiting England, Scotland, and Wales, flying in to Sweden I was happy to see the same beautiful green landscape I had in the prior countries.

The flight from Great Britain tried my patience a bit because I was surrounded by babies crying, three of whom were in my immediate vicinity. I did ask to be moved, but my only choice would have been in the very back row by the toilets, so I stayed put!

The temperature is between 66-72 in Stockholm, with nights in the 50's. Really nice! Evidently this is hot for the Swedes, because I saw so many locals wearing shorts and T-shirts.

I am staying at the Grand Central Hotel, located downtown and close to so many things. I was a little dismayed to see the old familiar USA fast food places so close to the hotel (Burger King, 7-Eleven, Subway, etc.). I don't want to have what I can get at home, except Starbucks, which, I might add, did not taste as good as at home while in Britain. Really believe the difference must be in the milk they use, because I always ask for the same thing as I have at home. Will see how it is in Sweden if I come across one.

I am in Stockholm for five nights before going on the cruise and will spend additional days in Denmark after the cruise. 

Wednesday - July 12 - Stockholm

The first thing that I notice in Sweden is, of course, the fair skin and lots more blonde-headed people than I see back home. The people appear to be so healthy and keep up a good clip when walking down the streets. I also see a lot of bicycle riders, so far mainly females.

The change from the Scottish accent I had become accustomed to, to the Swedish accent is quite jarring. I don't know any other way to explain it. It is at a faster clip and nothing I have heard so far sounds remotely close to an American word. I've been asking where is this and where is that, and unless they point in a direction, I am totally lost in what they are saying.

My first breakfast in Sweden this morning was quite a contrast from the British food I was getting used to. Many more choices of breads here and a big variety of cheeses to personally cut from the cheese blocks supplied. More choices in yogurts were provided and pancakes seem to rule around here, so far! The pancakes are thin and very good with various choices of fresh berries to top it off.

As many of you probably already know, Sweden is not the cheapest place to visit. I picked up a few snacks this morning and found it quickly came to more than I thought it should.

Which reminds me.....the currency for this trip involves five different types of money. Sweden has the Krona, Russia has its Rubles, Poland has the Zloty, Denmark has the Krone (different from the Krona), and Latvia, Estonia, and Finland deal with the Euro. And I needed to exchange my British Sterling to something usable on this leg of my trip. That is probably the only thing I am not too excited about, because it is much easier to get used to the rates if you are only going to one country.

When I get to the cruise part of this trip, all meals will be on board the ship, if I choose to not eat at ports. Since I have paid for it in the cruise price, I will most likely arrange to be on board for the meals if I can.

The ship is not one of the big cruise ships, which I am glad of. It can handle around 90 passengers, and any land excursions I participate in will be broken up into no more than 25 travelers to a bus. So there are several group leaders.

I have already met my group leader. She is Russian and I had a pleasant chat with her. Her accent is very thick and she reminds me of the very stoic Russians I met while in their country many years ago. She did not crack a smile and she is very cut and dry, very matter of fact.

When I told her that one of the things I remember about the Russians is that they did not smile much, and when I had asked them why they did not smile more, they said: "We have had hard times. We save our smiles for our families." The guide said: "That is true," without smiling. Ha!

I also mentioned that the locals I talked with in Russia said that they feared the USA, and I told them that the people in the USA feared Russia. But they agreed that what they believe is what they are told by the government. When I repeated that conversation to the guide, she said that was the way it used to be, but she said now Russia mostly reports the news as it happens and not that much editorializing. I find that hard to believe, but maybe that is because our news in the USA is usually followed by people giving their opinions instead of just telling the facts and letting us decide what it all means.

At any rate, I believe being on time for all activities I want to be involved in is going to be strictly adhered to! She appears to be a tough cookie! It will be my goal to get her to smile, or maybe laugh! If so, I hope I get a picture of it!

Of the possible 90 people on the ship, the final count is 86. Of that 86, only 22 are coming in early like me for extra days in Stockholm. And for the extra time in Denmark, only 16 of us will be staying after the cruise.

I like the smaller size because you can get to know people better, but this should be interesting. I have been on big cruise ships of around 2,000 people, so this will be much nicer, I think. @Alter Ego you would not like this! You are such an independent person when it comes to traveling, preferring to make your own arrangements for where you stay and where you eat.

Tonight we meet for the first time. I am glad I came in a day early. The rest of the people are going to look and feel jet lagged. I'll be the only perky one! Ha!

Here is a photo of the ship I will be on. I didn't take it with my camera, it is from the Internet. Hopefully, I will be able to post photos of this trip, unlike the prior trip to Great Britain, where I kept getting the error message that the photo files were too big. I am trying to check the settings and see what I can do to make it work with my camera and to make it more interesting for all of you when I post daily.

[Alter Ego]

Omigosh - you are too funny! After reading how you go off on your own from the tour group and eat with locals (you ate haggis!), I wouldn't call me the independent person! I'm actually quite timid. I've also never done these northern cruises, but do cruise and may eventually find myself on one to these areas at some point - I believe they are very popular and sell out often. So much to see - do you overnight in Russia?

I can't imagine what small ship does this itinerary? That is strange to me because I am so used to (very) large ships - Empress with 1,600 passengers was tiny. I do wonder what the percent is of Americans on your boat. Was this also done through OAT?

edited to add - I wonder if there is anyone on board you can ask about your photo size issue?  I imagine there will be some serious photographers on board - although they may be too serious too, if that makes sense!  Since you've been on safari, you may know the people I'm talking about!  Ha ha.

[World Traveler]

@Alter Ego LOL! Yea, well, I really do like to be independent like you, but the older I get the more I am tending to let everyone else do stuff for me and just pay them, and then I just show up.

Used to be like you and check all over the place for the best price for flights, places to go see and not book ahead, just winging it! Was fun to do it that way. Very carefree. But I have gotten very comfortable with a couple of tour companies who reward me for sticking with them. And they have no problem me going off and doing my own thing while with them. Although, that will not be as easy to do while on a ship!

So, for now I am quite content with how I am doing things. This cruise may not work for me. Am eager to see how it works and whether I would want to do another one.

It is GCT I am going with and I edited the post to include a photo of the ship I will be on.

Good idea about checking with someone about my camera. I have had it for years and never had problems; and as you know, I was able to post ONE photo of the Royal Guard Horses while in London. So, something is amiss and I probably clicked or hit some button I shouldn't have.

What I have done, though, is set everything to default and maybe that resetting will fix the problem. I also changed the setting to a quality level that is not so many pixels. Hate to do that because I always make Apple online books of my trips and I like the highest possible pixel count for the best resolution. I'll take some photos tomorrow and try to post them with the lower pixel count. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[World Traveler]

@Alter Ego Forgot to answer your question about Russia. I will be there two days, but not sure if the ship gets in at night or during the day, I plan to see St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Hermitage museum (which I thoroughly enjoyed the last time I went), and of course I want to see Peterhof again because I just love the grounds.

[Meowingkitty]

We did the same cruise a few years ago except we went to Germany instead of Poland. Loved Estonia but didn't get to stay long enough. The Hermitage in Russia is very very crowded and the tour operators push you along pretty quickly. If you can see the Russian ballet. 

[World Traveler]

@Meowingkitty You are so right! I remember being at the Hermitage and all I could see were these long poles that the tour directors were holding up so their people could see them and figure out where to go. It is a shame that it is so busy, but understandable. Last time I was shoved into a room I had already seen, just because the crowds overtake you and you just try the best you can to shuffle along with the throngs! Hopefully in the direction you want to go!

But what a showcase that place is!

[lulu2]

@World Traveler

You know how much I enjoy your (detailed) travel diaries. 

A few years ago we did a Baltic with St. Petersburg, Globus Tour.  We began in Copenhagen and ended in Helsinki.  In Stockhohm we boarded a ship, not unlike the one pictured, for an overnight cruise to Finland.  It was remarkable to see passengers sun bathing in the middle of the night.

In St. Petersburg we stayed at a hotel (Angleterre) across from St. Issac's.  Our local guide told us, during Communism, the Cathedral was used as a military horse stable.  Whether this is true , who knows. The most ornate church we visted was the Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood. The colorful domes and spires are beautiful.

Enjoy your journey; I'll enjoy reading about it.

Our Globus guide was an extremely tall middle aged Russian lady named Anya.  It was days before any expression on her face, but by the end of the trip she was hugging and kissing all of us. (hope it had nothing to do with her tips)  She gave each of us stacking dolls, signing her name on the bottom

[CHIP62]

Spoiler

Dear World Traveler,

What a journey! If you have time I would do the cruise in the Nieva River it is in Russian however they give you a map with all the landmarcs and with some imagination...you will see St. Petersburg from a digferent perspective. We were very lucky and went twice to the Hermitage before it was open to the public, that was some 5 years ago, the guide was very nice and even let us free to wonder around the museum for a while. Everything was super controlled very few people spoke English but we loved it. All Northern Europe is very homogeneous and yes Sweden is pricey 25% tax is a lot of tax🌻

[World Traveler]

@lulu2 Hi! That is very interesting about the cathedral being used as a horse stable. I did not know that.

And the spilled blood church.......the last time I was in Russia I saw that and walked all around the outside to see from which angle was the best way to get a photo. It is so very colorful and I loved just sitting across the street from it and looking at it. Hard to get a photo without a whole bunch of people in front of it. Have to go early in the morning.

The other one that is very famous in photos is over by the Kremlin. I would love to see that one in person when it has snowed. Saw a photo of it that a friend took when it had just snowed and it was gorgeous! Think it is called St. Basil's Cathedral. 

[World Traveler]

@CHIP62 Thanks for the suggestion. I will not know if I have time until I am there. Right now the itinerary does not say what time the ship gets into each port. Hopefully, the daily news while on the ship will mention port docking times in advance so I can do some planning.