Travel Diaries- Cruising through the Scandinavian nations

Flight AI 129 from Mumbai to Heathrow is ready for departure and we are on our way. After a long 9 hours, 30 minutes flight, our destination was just 106 kilometers away. A 2 hour bus journey later and we were at the ocean cruise terminal at Southampton where P&O Britannia awaited our arrival.

Our first pit stop, or like some people may like to call it, port- Kiel, an important Naval Port in Germany. Primarily a small town, with focus on shipping and fisheries. 

The rebuilt St. Nikolai Church in the old town is the center of attraction.  A painted blue line loops the old town over a 2km stretch. With cobbled stones and shops lined here, it's the typical European feel one has come to expect. More than the monuments etc., Germany's natural beauty has to be applauded. From cobbled streets, to lush green land, from beautiful trees to crystal clear lakes, one can spend hours on end simply walking around the streets and get mesmerized.

An expensive city, with free education and great medical facilities. Top of the charts on Happiness Index, welcome to Stockholm! Founded in 1252, is built on 14 islands. A small town with a population of approx. 10.4 million people (Sweden Population of 20.4 million, Mumbai population approx. 23 million). The South part of Sweden has a population density of 25 per sq km, while the north is at 1 per sq km. Sweden rarely uses and currency notes or coins (other than a few supermarkets and convenience stores). It's all digital including NFC enabled mobile phone payment systems.

Stockholm, known for its Vasa Museum was the opposite of what I expected it to be. Crowded yet clean, busy yet calm. The Vasa Museum has an interesting story. Quite ironically, the Vasa has been popularized due to the fact that the ship commissioned in Aug 1628 sank within 1000 meters of its 1st voyage. With 468 crew on board, 30 lost their lives. It was 333 years later in April 1961 that the ship was recovered from the ocean bed. The wood was treated to maintain, the ropes replaced and the ship today attracts tourists at the Vasa museum. So then why is a ship that sank within 1000 mtrs of sailing important? It isn't.  It's the recovery 333 years later that's the key attraction, and the fact that 98% of the ship is the original with many artifacts and items on display from the maiden voyage.

Ships, oceans and history are interesting no doubt, but of course the Ice Bar had most of our excitement. Maintained at -5°c, the tables, seats, bar counter,  glasses are all made of ice. The glasses come from the Nordic region, North of Sweden. Stockholm is also know for its café, Espresso Café. A cute dainty place tucked away at the junction of two perpendicular walls has the best pecan cinnamon bun to have graced the Earth.

No European city trip is ever complete without a visit to their Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace in the Old town (Gamla Stan) is one of the rare palaces that have parts of it occupied by governmental officials and parts of it that are open to visitors, From magnificent paintings to sculptures, the Europeans sure knew how to wow their people with their architectural and designing skills. That's not what makes it extremely special though, its the fact that the Royal Palace boasts many a banquet that the King and Queen host to this day....

Gamla Stan is a puzzle of small lanes with souvenir stores  café etc., maintaining the old world charm of cobbled streets, and some vibrant colors to the buildings. Gamla Stan is exactly what we would picture while reading any Enid Blyton book!

Cherry on top of the cake- The Skyview in Stockholm offers guests a 360 degree view of the beautiful city with the help of a globe shaped see through vehicle.

Christmas all year round? It's possible here? Welcome to Helsinki where the impossible is possible! Santa Claus in flesh & blood welcoming us at the port!

A population of 1.1 mn people in Helsinki and 5.5 mn people in Finland. A slightly aging population,  with a high percentage of alcohol related ailments. This has led to a Govt control on alcohol sales and a high tax structure on alcohol. Finland has a good social security system including support for child birth,  medical,  education,  but that means that the income taxes are high at 35 to 60%. VAT on sales of products and services is largely at 24%. Finland has 2 primary languages - Finnish and Swedish. Though a large population speaks Finnish, there is a strong Swedish influence and hence Swedish is a compulsive language. 73% land is forest with 41 national parks and 1.73 lac lakes! Finnish people are quiet and shy and have been voted as the Happiest people by the UN. The sea water here is Brackish with only 0.3% salt. 

Ship building, paper, paper pulp, forestry, precision engineering (chemical agents), mining, mining equipment are the primary industries. Gaming (angry birds) is a Finnish company. 

Finland had 400 years Swedish rule and 100 years Russian rule. Finland made a National Romantic Art Moreau as a sign of independence. 

There was a civil war in 1918 between the white people (business or city people) and the red people (country people). People don't like to talk about that and which faction their forefathers represented in that civil war. Apart from the great history that the Finnish have, they also had a musical genius amongst them who incorporated Finnish history and nature into his work- Sibellius. He was loved and respected to a point that a Finnish artist built a monument- a wave made out of 600 hollow steel pipes in his honor. The monument is surrounded by lush green land.

Good history, good social security systems, good music and of course outstanding and unique architecture. The Rock Church is built in complete rock with a roof made out of 2 kms of copper wire, the church allows the entry of natural light through the roof and windows and provides amazing acoustics. Once again we were reminded about the concept of all year round Christmas here with the sight of numerous Christmas decorations around the Church.

Our driver, Jouko Karielainen, is a 2 time Olympic silver medalist from the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympic games representing Finland in the Nordic Challenge. He also won 4 world championship medals. Talented and successful, yet extremely hardworking and humble- it says a lot about a person and their culture!

Estonia is a small country with a population of 1.3 mn. Majority of the people speak Estonian. The language is 30% Similar to Finnish language with a few common words. Tallinn is the Capital and largest city of Estonia with approximately a population of 5 lac

Estonia was an independent nation, ruled by the Swedish at one point of time, and then by USSR. They got independence in 1992 with the disintegration of USSR.

The Kadriorg Palace and Museum, founded by Peter the Great (Czar of Russia), Kadriorg Palace boasts some of northern Europe’s best-preserved baroque architecture and its ornate Palace Rooms house collections for the Art Museum of Estonia. Each room displays art collection from a different European country. The Palace is also used for small concerts, and for formal dinners hosted by the President for visiting dignitaries. 

When it comes to aesthetics and originality, the cobbled streets of the old towns are perfect!

The city’s medieval walls and watchtowers welcomed us, before taking the short walk up Toompea Hill into the Upper Old Town. Opposite colorful Toompea Castle in Palace Square, with mesmerizing ‘onion’ domes of St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral with its golden icons and mosaics. The small Parliament building stood right opposite this church. With a 200 seat Parliament,  it's a small cozy building. 

While architecture, history and aesthetics plan an important part in our travel, so does communication with the locals and our guide.

Gotland is a largest island of the Baltic Sea, and situated on the East coast of Sweden. This benefits the residents with better sunlight as compared to the rest of the country. The island has a population of just 61000 people, of these 5000 people live in Visby alone. The ram(sheep with horns) is the symbol of Gotland.

While European churches are loved by tourists, the medieval churches have a unique rusty tinge to them which makes the entire visit a lot more interesting. The Church had some beautiful paintings on the walls, something the inhabitants retained even though they are Protestants and not Catholic. Beautiful work on walls, a prayer room and a Baptism stone painted and carved were the highlight of the church. The concept of bar hopping is common, but we did island hopping.

Faro is separated from Gotland by the narrow Fårö-strait, and connected by two car ferries, operated by the Swedish Transport Administration. It has a total area of 111.35 square kilometres (42.99 square miles), of which 9.7 square kilometres (3.7 square miles) are water areas or islets.

Faro' is known as the home town of the famous movie maker, Ingred Bergman.

Ingred Bergman directed more than 60 films and documentaries, most of which he also wrote, for both cinema releases and television screenings. Most of his films were set in Sweden, and many of his films from 1961 onward were filmed on the island of Fårö. Whats surprising here is that while Faro has 2 fire stations, it has no school, no medical facilities and a population of only 500 people. Students take a ferry to nearby islands for their education.

On the islands of Fårö and Gotland are rock formations called rauk. They are a result of erosion during the Ice age and are unique to Gotland and Fårö.

Rock formations - 430 mn year ago, coral reefs south of equator. Land started rising, and drifiting, these rock formations were formed and deposited here. The largest/ tallest of these rock formations are upto 8 meters high. 

The inner town of visby is fortified by a 3.5 km Long wall around the town. This was built in the battle of farmers vs the others. The town is a quiet town with some brilliant architecture, small quaint lanes,  and a quiet neighborhood.

Best of Copenhagen turned out to be the Best shore excursion of the Cruise. Interestingly our your guide,  Tayo, worked for IBM for 32 years prior to retiring and playing guide to tourists in Copenhagen! 

People of Denmark seemed to have a good sense of humor - be it Tayo, be it our bus driver (a middle aged, but smartly turned out lady), or our canal cruise guide. People are also friendly, and crime rates are low - could be because of a small population (about 5.5 mn) and a strong social security system.

Copenhagen is well known for The Little Mermaid. The sculpture was inspired by ballerina Ellen Price, who in 1909 danced the lead role in the ballet The Little Mermaid at the Royal Theatre. It's a small statue by the river much like the Merlion in Singapore (which is much much bigger, though).

Another beautiful display of their good architectural knowledge is their Palace (Kariorborg). The Palace is now a Govt building with the PM office on the 3rd floor. The Palace was home to the Royal family, but after 3 fires and 3 renovations they now live a small walk from this building (since early 1920s). The Palace had some amazing architecture and interiors. The painted walls, the French carpets depicting multiple stories, the sculptures, it was royalty!

The Palace complex has the Dome Church, and 4 residential buildings, with a sculpture of the King on a Horse. Building 1 with 5 chimneys is home to the erstwhile queen. She is 84 years and was the Queen for 52 years. In January 2024 she handed over the baton to her son, while still in good health. The son lives in Building 2. The erstwhile Queen had 2 sisters - both married kings from other European countries. One of them who married the German lives in Building 3, while Building 4 is a hotel.

While shore excursions and port time made up a huge part of our trip, the time spent on the cruise liner during our 2 weeks was a memorable time as well! They had activities for all age groups ranging from arts and crafts for younger kids to ballroom and line dancing classes. The range of music was commendable as well, whether be a musical performance in their own theatre or a band performing in a bar or even buskers in the atrium, we could always find ourselves swaying to delightful melodies or singing our heart out at a silent disco. Apart from fine arts, there were also sporting activities like archery, table tennis and of course shuffle boarding. At the same time, there were a variety of quizzes that we could take part in with topics ranging form history to music to TV shows!

All good things come to an end, or as others say trips are just pitstops and we must return to the race. So after 2 weeks of absolute bliss and joy, we were back at home ready to get back to the grind. Its never a goodbye, just a simple see you later!