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Miles of blooming rape seed in England.
Farewell to the white cliffs of Dover.
Brussels's Pissing Boy is a tourist attraction not to be missed!
Holding your position waiting for the bridge to open in the narrow canals
with a
strong cross wind is a challenge.
Windmills in Holland are a rare sight.
New power generating windmills are everywhere.
A major Amsterdam tourist attraction.
The Red Light District is the main attraction at night in Amsterdam where
hundreds of young women stand in their store front windows encircled in red neon
light trying to drum up business.
Hoorn, Holland
What a special place! Four and a half hours north of Amsterdam on the
Ijsselmeer, we found this quaint old village filled with antique sailboats.
A nice quiet mooring in Leeuwarden... except we were almost killed by the
debris that fell from the tree when the mast hit it.
Welcome to the Baltic Sea... a German sub crosses our bow just in front of
us!
Lonely Planet rates Copenhagen's Little Mermaid as one of the ten worst
tourist destination sights...
Karlskrona, Sweden
An unexpected surprise... Karskrona was the center of the Swedish navy until
a few years ago... today it has one of the finest naval museums that we have
ever seen!
While exiting the Karlskrona harbor, we passed an incoming submarine with only
its periscope up... another nifty experience.
At Nynashamn, Sweden, we entered the vast archipelago which we followed
for 638 miles to the Russian border.
"Back Door Route" to Stockholm
The cruising guide said this route was difficult, however we found it well
marked. At this one choke point however, only one boat at a time could pass.
Perhaps they are a little harsh on their junior sailors at this yacht
club.
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Destination...
St Petersburg, Russia
Peter the Great's Summer Palace... Peterhof
In the
summer of 2005, Polaris cruised over 2,600 miles around the Baltic Sea.
Starting from Dover, England, we passed thru the canals of Holland and the Kiel
Canal to reach the Baltic.
We then circumnavigated the Baltic
clockwise visiting Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg and
Tallinn...plus 42 other harbors.
In addition we made 10 inland excursions to visit the Arctic
Circle, castles, Viking sites and medieval cities.
Brugge, Belgium was originally a Viking raiding base which plundered England
then evolved into a major wool trading center. We departed Dover, England
on May 6th for Dunkirk, France for a 37 mile motor crossing of the English
Channel in a confused sea and immediately became very sea sick.The first thing that we noticed on our arrival on the continent
was a major improvement in the food.... Goodbye English fish and chips; hello
pastries, chocolates and excellent cuisine.
Medieval Antwerp
Antwerp's diamond center... blocks and blocks of jewelry stores.
The original
plan was to cruise up the North Sea coast along France and Belgium to Ijmuiden,
Holland and then on to Amsterdam. However a severe gale was forecast, so we
changed plans and headed into the canals of Holland at the Westerschelde River
for five days of meandering around Holland.
Convoys tend to form waiting for bridges to open thru the many towns in
Holland.
Not to worry... they stuffed the kids!
Just another quaint little town in Holland.
Amsterdam, Holland
The best way to see Amsterdam is to take the "Busman's Holiday"... a ride on a
canal tour boat.
Amsterdam has very limited marina facilities. The preferred
marina is called Six Haven and is actually on the other side of the river from
the city. Free ferry service nearby shuttles you to and from the city. The
cramped space is caused by a subway tunnel being built next to the marina and in
fact has cut the marina to one half of the original size.
Peter the Great admired Amsterdam so much that he modeled St Petersburg in the
same fashion with canals.
Leeuwarden, Holland
Many towns collect tolls as you pass thru the narrow opening... hanging
a wooden shoe from a pole.
Careful attention is required for ships approaching from the stern to make
certain that you are out of the way. Their propeller wash can drive your boat up
onto the bank if you are not paying attention. It took 9 hours to transit the 55
mile canal.
One of the last transporter bridges in the world... on the Kiel Canal.
Copenhagen, Demark
We docked at Brondby Havn just south of Copenhagen and rode the train in for
our daily sightseeing excursions.
From Brondby, we visited the wonderful old medieval city of Koge and the
Viking town of Roskilde which has an excellent museum as well as a Viking boat
yard with the tools and methods originally used... a very worthwhile visit. You
can also visit the Roskilde Cathedral... a UNESCO World Heritage site.
These massive ship figureheads at the Karlskrona naval museum suggest the
size the ships.
This maze of rocks required white knuckle navigation.
The city of Stockholm is located on a group of islands creating a very scenic
setting... but requiring much walking to get from place to place. We docked at
the Wasahammen Marina next to the Wasa museum... a convenient location but very
cramped for space.
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The Kalmar Slott (castle) in Sweden... was the center of Baltic power in 1397.
Visby, Gotland, Sweden... a World Heritage Site...more than 40 ruins of great
churches attest to the town's former power and glory.
The well preserved walled medieval city of Tallinn, Estonia is
on the World Heritage List.
A penny for her thoughts...
Passing thru locks was a daily way of life in Holland.
Willemstad, Holland
Surprisingly working windmills in Holland are rather rare. We found this one in
the little village of Williemstad... one our favorite stops in Holland.
We arrived a few weeks late to see the fields of tulips but were not
disappointed in the Amsterdam flower market.
Bridge delays are a way of life on the Dutch canals...railway bridges only
open a few hours a day, bridge tenders take an hour lunch break and towns
restrict openings during rush hour.
Once out of the Dutch canals at Lauwersoog, Holland, it was a 125 mile run to
reach the Elbe River and the entrance to the Kiel Canal.
At last we were back on the North Sea for a two day run to the Kiel Canal...
open water was a relief.
The Kiel Canal was a very pleasant experience in a park like setting...
despite a constant parade of ships passing within a few feet.
And we think that we had problems maneuvering in the narrow harbors!
From Copenhagen we had two options to cruise the Baltic... go north to the Gota
Canal and from there cut across Sweden or alternatively go south around the
coast of Sweden. We opted for the southern route because of the interesting
towns to visit along the way... we were not disappointed.
Kalmar, Sweden
As far as castles go... the Kalmar Slott rates a 10!
Bow to mooring provided a major challenge for getting on and off the boat!
Cruise ships and ferry boats were a constant threat in the narrow channels
of the archipelago.
Stockholm, Sweden
The "Wasa" sunk in the 1600's within a few minutes of being launched...
another lesson learned about management by committee.
Click here
to continue our cruise to Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland &
Germany.
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