Russian-Scandinavian Cruise
We left from Harwich, England aboard Royal Caribbean's,
beautiful new ship, Splendour Of The Seas, for
this
Russian - Scandinavian Cruise in May of 1996.
Our first port of call was OSLO, the capital
city of Norway.
It's situated at the head of the 60 mile long
Oslo Fjord.
Approaching this maritime city, we had a wonderful
opportunity to view beautiful ships, little villages
and
historic Oscarboug Fort. We walked the
broad streets
in the modern part of town which was filled with
beautiful
gardens and buildings.
STOCKHOLM, the capital of Sweden is the
Baltic's largest
port and filled with beautiful parks. It's
called the "Venice
of the North, since it occupies 14 islands which
are
connected by over 50 bridges. We went to
the Royal
Palace and viewed the changing of the guards,
who were
very colorful in their blue uniforms. The
telephone booths
were very unusual.
was going to Djurgarden to see the famous Vasa
ship, the
oldest preserved war vessel in the world.
She sank in
Stockholm harbor on her maiden voyage in 1628
and was
raised from the waters of the Baltic in 1956.
We were on
the 9th floor of the ship, when leaving this
port and were
amazed at the beautiful coast line filled with
luxurious
private homes and boats. Stockholm is the
home of
the Royal Theater where Greta Garbo and Ingrid
Bergman
were discovered.
HELSINKI, the capital of Finland overlooks
the Gulf of
Finland and the Baltic Sea. We were surprised
to see it
was a modern city. The first buildings
were made of wood
and over time they were destroyed by fire and
the war. We
walked the cobblestone streets to Senate Square
where
the beautiful domed Lutheran Cathedral, the University
and
State Council building is located. We went
into the Uspensky
Cathedral with its unique altars and red carpets.
A must see
here is the Temppeliaukia Church (the rock church).
The dome
spans 70 feet and is carved out of solid rock.
ST. PETERSBURG is considered the most European
of all the
great cities of Russia. The center city
is dominated by 18th
and 19th century baroque, neo-classical architecture.
We went
to the 18th century Somolny Convent, St. Isaac's
Cathedral,
built between 1818 and 1858. It's decorated
with many kinds
of minerals and semi-precious stones along with
mosaic
paintings. We saw the Bronze Horseman statue
that depicts
the city's founder, Peter the Great, on a rearing
horse. Peter
and Paul Fortress was built in 1703 to protect
the area from
Swedish invasion. Inside the Citadel is
the former Royal Mint
and Peter and Paul Cathedral, which has a tall
golden spire.
It is the burial place of all Russian Czars and
became a museum.
The Church of the Resurrection, known as the
Church of the
Spilled Blood is a magnificent sight to behold.
This ornate and
colorful church is built in the Old Russian style
and modeled
after the famous St. Basil's in Moscow.
It was built on the
spot where Alexander II was killed by a terrorist's
bomb.
Across from the Church was a large open market
filled with vendors selling Russian nesting dolls,
silk scarves,
jewelry, etc. My prized purchases was a Russian
egg pendent
that I put on my "travel charm bracelet" and
a magnificent
enamel pin with mother of pearl background of
a Russian
woman in traditional dress. Along the roads,
were rows of
vendors, were you could purchase souvenirs very
cheaply.
The Hermitage is an extension of the Winter Palace,
with it's priceless collection of art.
You would need weeks
to explore it's 12 miles of galleries, exhibits
and rooms.
One evening we went to a hotel to see a very
enjoyable
performance of music and folkloric dancing.
Moored on the Neva, off the Petrovskaya embankment
is
the Battleship Aurora. It was built in
1903 and it's guns
signaled the assault by Revolutionaries on the
Winter
Palace in 1917.
Most of the Russian people we encountered spoke
English
and were very pleasant to us. We may never
visit this city
again but have wonderful memories of this exciting
place,
rich with cultural and political history.
Estonia is the smallest of the Baltic States.
TALLINN
is it's capital and is situated on the southern
shore of the
Gulf of Finland. The old town is set on
a hill above the port.
We went into the Alexander Nevski Cathedral,
a Russian
Orthodox building with onion shaped domes, built
in 1894.
We strolled the cobblestone streets with it's
medieval old walls,
towers and buildings dating back to the Middle
Ages.
What a pleasant day we had in this pretty town!
COPENHAGEN, was our last port of call.
It's situated on
the east coast of the Danish island of Zealand,
the largest
of Denmark's islands. Copenhagen means
Merchant Harbor.
We saw Amalienborg Palace which has been the
residence
of the Danish Royal Family since 1749.
It consists of a large
square, encircled by four uniform rococco palaces.
We also
saw the beautiful changing of the guard ceremony
here.
We went to the lovely Gefron Fountain, the Stock
Exchange
with the Dragon Steeple and saw the very unique
gift from
Spain which was a sculpture made with many bicycles!
The port is breathtaking with it's different
colored houses
with fishing boats lining the piers. The Little
Mermaid Statue
is situated on the waterfront near the ship's
berth. This
bronze statue was erected in honor of Copenhagen's
famous
author, Hans Christian Andersen.
In the evening, we went to the Tivoli Amusement
Park, which
has the most enchanting grounds. It certainly
was a lovely
evening to end an exciting cruise.
