Aland Islands, Finland
Located between the Swedish and Finish main lands, this archipelago is
reportedly the densest group of islands in the world.
Helsinki, Finland
We spent the month of July in Helsinki... what a wonderful place. Nice people,
great marina location and all the conveniences close by.
We dressed ship for the 4th of July and received a lot of attention from
passers by.
We ate Rudolph! Smoked reindeer is a favorite in Finland... tastes like?
The Arctic Circle
For all those celestial navigators out there... what is the significance of
the polar circles? Hint... their position change... why? Capn Bob will buy you a
beer for the right answer.
Yes Patton, there is a McDonalds at the Arctic Circle. And even in July there
was almost 24 hours of sunlight.
Wherever we went, we tried to blend in with the locals!
Porvoo, Finland
The second oldest city in Finland was established in 1346. Today the old
wooden city is a major tourist attraction.
Haapasaari Island, Finland
This frontier outpost on the Russian border has a booming population of
200 in summer and 5 in winter. We re-entered this maze of rocks in the pitch
dark on our return from St Petersburg.
St Petersburg, Russia
The customs officials were very pleasant, efficient and courteous.
The decrepit facilities however were our first indication that we were in for a
cultural shock.
Finally arriving at the Central River Yacht Club at 2130 just as the sun
was setting... a group of Russian young men on the boat next to us brought over
shots of vodka and pickles to welcome us to Russia.
Much of what we read about St Petersburg now seems like it was written from a
bus window commuting from a cruise ship to the Hermitage. St Petersburg is a
land of startling contrasts from glittering palaces to a crumbling city.
The rooms in the Hermitage are constructed of marble, crystal chandeliers
and literally tons of gold leaf.
A bad hair day at the Hermitage!
The Church of the Spilled Blood... Russian Orthodox churches are very
elaborate.
Catherine the Great's Summer Palace
Catherine's palace is even larger than Peter's.
Tallinn, Estonia
The historic center of Tallinn is another World Heritage site.
Liepaja, Latvia
We were holed up in this small town for 6 days waiting out a gale... they could not remember
ever seeing an American boat before.
Our only overnighter was to bypass the Russian region of Kalingrad...
visa required to visit.
Swinoujscie, Poland
Unlike the western countries, the old eastern bloc requires you to
check in and out with customs on arrival and departure.
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These islands are an incredible maze of rocks and islands that would
challenge any navigator. It is absolutely critical to always know your exact
position because the buoys are unnumbered and all the rocks look the same.
A lifetime could be spent gunk holing here... conversely if you were
stranded on a island here, it would take an air search to find you.
The Lutheran Cathedral can best be described as plain vanilla... but also
very beautiful.
Our challenge each day was to pass thru the Central Market without buying
anything... smoked salmon was out favorite.
Whenever available, the first thing we did was the tour bus... it helped
us get oriented to a new city quickly and identify the highlights.
The Number 4 tram (trolley) stopped a block from the marina and connected us
with the entire city.
Not to miss a spot, we went to the nude beach which is really a giant rock
island... visualize a bunch of walruses sunning themselves on rocks.
Our favorite store was Stockman's... a huge department store with the best
selection of groceries that we have seen in Europe.
The Arktikum museum has an many interesting exhibits about the history and
culture of the Laplanders.
A short bus ride north of the Arctic Circle and we were hiking in this
national park.
Every culture has a few strange traditions... in Finland it is rug
washing! We saw many parks set up with elaborate rug washing equipment for the
locals to use.
Sommers Island, Russia
At 0600 we entered Russian waters... and a very different world
than we were used to.
Our hero and guide... Vladimir! Without him, we would have been totally
lost in this very strange world.
The Hermitage...Peter the Great's winter palace, now a museum with one of
the largest art collections in the world.
Da Vinci to Picasso fill rooms and rooms... all unprotected from the
public and the elements.
Alexander Square outside the Hermitage.
Peterhof
Peterhof...the summer palace. Only about 3-4 blocks long!
Peter the Great was determined to trump Versailles.
Lake and mansions surround the grounds of Catherine's palace to provide
"destinations".
Haapsalu, Estonia
This old wooden town was once a resort for the Russian
nobles.
Ventspils, Latvia
Ventspils is the cleanest city that we have ever seen. Even though
the wooden buildings haven't seen a paint brush for years, the town was
immaculate and charming.
The hitch hiker... almost tame.
Leba, Poland
Miles of fine white sand beaches are on the southern coast of the Baltic.
Called the Amber Coast, fossilized pine sap is regularly collected along the
shore here.
Polaris is now stored undercover on the hard in Travemunde, Germany. Next
year in 2006 we expect to motor up the Rhine and down the Danube to the Black
Sea and Istanbul.
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Docking in the Baltic is a variation of the Med moor. You tie bow onto the
dock with the stern attached to a mooring ball.
The Orthodox Cathedral with all of it's icons and glitter was quite a
contrast to the stark Lutheran Cathedral.
One of the most unusual churches that we have seen... carved into the rock
with concrete beams supporting the roof.
The marina had it's own laptop and high speed internet... reading the
desktop in Finish was another story. On top of the the keyboard layout in each
country was different!
Suomenlinna is another World Heritage site. The old fortress was called
the Gibraltar of the Baltic... but surrendered after only a few days pounding
from the Russians.
Seemed rather strange to be standing on the Arctic Circle in shirt
sleeves.
These purple wild flowers were everywhere.
The mosquitoes were fierce... the trick was to keep moving as quickly as
possible.
At 0630 we were already causing an international incident when this 100
foot plus Russian patrol boat fired a flare and came alongside within 25 feet
while we continued underway. With an icy stare from the bridge, we were reminded
that we were still flying the Finish courtesy flag.
The Central River Yacht Club...aka the Yacht Club from Hell. This place
set a new all time low for facilities... at the highest price that we paid in
the Baltic.
We struck out on our own via the subway system... a very daunting
experience. But soon we developed a code system for the signs written in
Cyrillic and were navigating the Metro.
The Russians have redefined the meaning of "Port-a-Potty"
We rode the hydrofoil out to visit Peterhof... Peter the Great's summer
palace.
The entrance canal from the Baltic to Peterhof.
The grounds of Peterhof are perhaps larger than Central Park with
fountains everywhere.
For entertainment the czar's children would fire their toy cannons in this
room.
Walking along the promenade in Haapsalu, we discovered a musical chair...
music was piped into the arms of the chair in the park.
Riga, Latvia
Here we met a U of Wisconsin professor who gave us a heart wrenching
account of life in Latvia under the Germans and Russians.
Klaipeda, Lithuania
Being towed in... plugged diesel injectors from a load of bad fuel. Six
days later and a $1000 lighter, we were on our way again.
Lubeck, Germany
This old Hanseatic trading town dates back to 1226.
Click here
for a
travelogue of the Baltic Sea cruise.
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