Copenhagen to Stockholm
July 8-26, 2022
Mike and Judy Henderson
I'll leave this map on each page so you know where we are.
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July 23, 2022 (Saturday) The ship arrived in Helsinki, Finland about 7am.
A bit of recent Finnish history - The land was first inhabited about 9000BC, but I'm not going to go back that far:-).
Finland was under Swedish control from about the 13th century, but was ceded to the Russian Empire in 1809. Finland declared its independence in 1917, after the collapse of Russia in WWI, but a civil war ensued between those who wanted to remain a part of the Russian Empire and those who wanted independence. Russia supported the "Reds" and Germany supported the "Whites". The Whites eventually triumphed and Finland became a democratic state.
Although Finland was not occupied by the Soviet Union in World War II, it was not unaffected by the war. Shortly after the start of World War II, on November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, probably with the intent of occupying all of Finland and setting up a puppet government.
However, the Finns fought back in what is known as the Winter War, and initially defeated the Soviet army, even though Finland had a much smaller army and significantly less military resources. What the Finns did have was knowledge of how to live and fight in very cold weather. 1939 was an exceptionally cold winter and the Russian soldiers were not prepared for living and fighting in that environment.
Stalin sacked the General leading the Soviet forces and replaced him. That general brought in more soldiers and equipment and renewed the attack. The Finns fought back but eventually had to agree to a peace treaty which ceded a significant amount of their land.
Finland requested aid from Sweden and the UK, but the conditions of the war at that time made it impossible. When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, Finland received military supplies from Germany and also had German troops in some of the country. This was the beginning of the Continuation War against the Soviet Union which lasted until 1944.
Although the Nazis were in Finland, the Jewish population was protected by the Finns. Another link here.
Upon conclusion of WWII, Finland was forced to accept the boundaries of 1939 (shown in the map) and pay reparations to the Soviet Union of $300 million (equivalent to almost $6 billion today, a huge amount for such a small country). The reparations were paid by 1952 and actually boosted the Finnish economy because the reparations were paid mainly in manufactured goods.
The Finnish people live with the constant fear of what Russia might do, and this fear was heightened by the invasion of Ukraine. There are relatively few Finnish citizens who speak Russian, but one of our guides commented that they are treated very well. Finland wants to make sure that Russia cannot claim they are invading Finland to protect these Russian speakers.
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Our first tour this morning was a walking tour of Helsinki, and our first stop was Senate Square. Around Senate Square is the Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace, and the main building of the University of Helsinki. It was raining a bit at the start of our tour, but soon stopped.
Here's a picture of the Helsinki Cathedral - it's Lutheran.
The Government Palace.
The main building of the University of Helsinki.
In the center of the square is a statue of Alexander II of Russia. Alexander II is honored in Finland because he encouraged Finland Independence.
A closer look at Alexander II.
We had a very good tour guide, Joseann, on this excursion. She was very animated and knowledgeable.
Then we walked down to an open market area. Adjacent to the market is a fountain with a female nude statue, called Havas Amanda. The statue was installed in 1908 and was considered very daring for the time, showing a nude female figure.
A closer view of Ms. Amanda.
The fountain also had four sea lion statues spraying water toward the central pedestal.
We walked down the esplanade and came to this statue of Johan Ludvig Runeberg, who is considered the national poet of Finland, even though he wrote exclusively in Swedish. He wrote the words that became the unofficial Finnish national anthem.
We next walked to the Helsinki railway station, or Helsingin päärautatieasema in Finnish (if you can pronounce that:-).
There are four statues on the front of the railway station, and the Finns decorate them based on current events. Right now, they appear to be celebrating something relating to soccer. Our guide said that for two years the statues wore masks. She also felt that they represented the stoic nature of the Finnish male.
A view of the track area.
Then we walked through the commercial center Sanomatalo, a very modern office building. Here's a picture of the atrium with the exposed elevator tracks.
And a view of the exterior.
The Santomalo building was located on Kansalaistori Square, and we walked out onto the square.
The importance of Kansalaistori Square is that the Helsinki Central Library Oodi is located there. It's quite a facility. The front facade is all wood strips. We were told that there were rooms dedicated to different hobby crafts, although I didn't ask if there was a woodworking shop in the building:-)
Across the square is the Parliament of Finland.
On another side was the Helsinki Music Center.
In front of the Music Center is a sculpture known as "Singing Pike" or Laulupuut. It was installed in 2012.
Here's a different view of the sculpture, (from the web) taken on a bright, clear day.
We stopped in the Music Center for coffee and Finnish cinnamon rolls. It was nice to sit and rest for a few minutes.
Then we walked across the square and entered the library.
We went to the top floor where we could view the square and the surrounding buildings. A view of the square.
A better view of the Parliament Building.
The Music Center seen from the Library.
When we left the library, we walked to the National Museum of Finland, but we did not go in.
When we left the area of the National Museum, we walked by a bar with this sign on it. The sign refers to Urho Kekkonen, who was president of Finland from 1956 to 1982.
There's a story about him and Leonid Brezhnev, the head of the Soviet Union. He was hosting Brezhnev and, after a long meal with a lot of vodka, they went to a sauna. Brezhnev said, "We have such good relations that we should dissolve the border between our countries. Urho thought for a minute and replied, "Mr. Secretary, I think that's an excellent idea. But I have my hands full running the little country of Finland. I would not have time to take on the job of running the Soviet Union."
From here, we went to the Temppeliaukio Church, nicknamed the Rock Church. There was a lot of opposition to the building of a large, high church in this location, so the architects built the church into the ground. It's a Lutheran church.
In my opinion, it's not a very attractive church. Here's the entrance - it looks like a military bunker.
A view toward the altar.
A closer view of the altar area.
There's a small organ in the church.
The ceiling is a dome decorated with a spiral of copper wire.
The dome roof, seen from the outside. (picture from Wikipedia)
From here, we took the bus to the Sibelius Monument, which is dedicated to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Another part of the Monument, with a bust of Sibelius.
Judy in front of the Monument.
And the two of us in front of the other part of the monument.
After that, we went back to the ship for lunch.
We had another tour in the afternoon, boarding a tour boat to view the harbor. There were a lot of people on the boat but it was a comfortable ride.
There really wasn't much of interest on the ride, except for this bungee jump. A long boom truck raised a caged platform to carry up the jumper. I'll include a sequence of pictures of one of the jumps. Here's an overview shot of what they were using.
Judy wanted to try this jump when we got back to the port, but I wouldn't let her. (Right... )
We left the tour boat on the fortress island of Suomenlinna, to visit the old fort. The Swedish king commenced construction of the fort in 1748 as protection against Russia (Finland was under the control of Sweden at that time). Here's a map of the fort, as it exists today.
We entered at Kuninkaanportti (the King's Gate). After you climb the steps, there's a drawbridge between the top of the steps and the gate, itself. (Wikipedia photo). There were a lot of people on this tour so it was difficult for me to get pictures - someone was always in the way.
You can see the drawbridge in this picture.
Inside there were storage caves for ammunition and powder.
This was an old gun - probably late 1800's - on the top of the wall.
We walked around the island, but I couldn't hear the tour guide so I don't have a lot to tell you.
Here's Augustin Ehrensvärd's grave. He founded the fortress. (Wikipedia photo)
There is a dry dock on the island that was used quite a bit after World War II, and is still used today.
When we completed the tour of the island, we took a ferry back to the port and then a bus to the ship.
Later in the evening, we received a text from Jean and Janet that they had the first ship-administered Covid test and had tested NEGATIVE. The ship requires two consecutive negative tests before their quarantine will be lifted. They will also be tested in the morning by the nurse, and if that test is negative, they will be free.
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July 24, 2022 (Sunday) We're still in Helsinki. This morning we have a bus tour around Helsinki and then a trip to Porvoo.
Janet and Jean received the "official" Covid test and tested negative. They were released from quarantine and will accompany us on the tour.
Our guide for this tour, Tim, was nice, but a bit strange.
Parvoo is 52km from Helsinki (about 45 minutes on a Sunday) and as soon as the bus headed out on the road, the guide took his shoes off.
We entered the old town of Porvoo by crossing a bridge on foot. Here's a map. We arrived where the red dot is.
A view of the river from the bridge into town.
The girls on the bridge. Jean and Janet celebrating their new freedom.
The Porvoo Cathedral is located on a high hill, but we didn't go to visit it. Being a Sunday, tourists were not allowed to disturb the services. It was built in the 15th Century and became a Cathedral in 1723. It was seriously damaged by arson in 2006, but the fire destroyed the roof and the inner roof protected the interior. The roof was rebuilt.
We walked into town. Here's the Porvoo Town Hall.
We walked the streets looking at the Old Town, but there wasn't that much to see. There were a lot of shops and a few people did some shopping. Janet and I gave up first and went to a coffee shop on the square by the town hall. You can see Janet seated to the left in this picture. Jean and Judy joined us shortly after.
Before we knew it, our time was up and we walked back towards the bus. I took this picture just before we left.
It's a long bus ride to Porvoo and there's not that much to see. I wouldn't recommend this tour.
When we arrived in Helsinki, the bus stopped at the square by the Helsinki Cathedral. The open air shopping market was only about 100 meters away, so we all skipped the visit to the square and went shopping. Jean and Judy found something at a jewelry stall.
Then it was back to the ship.
That evening, we had the Captain's Farewell Reception. The Captain came and talked to us, thanking us for taking the cruise.
Then it was the Crew Follies, where the crew members entertained us. Here are some dancers.
This crew member sang Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline".
This was a Philippine dance. The two guys one the ends of the poles would clack the poles together in a rhythm. The dancers would step between the poles while the poles were apart, getting their feet out before the two poles were clacked together. A type of "pole dancing" I suppose:-)
There were other performers but I have to limit the number of photos. After all the performers and finished, many of the staff came out on the stage and received a warm reception from the guests.
Each staff group was recognized as well as the individual performers.
Then we went to the Compass Rose for dinner. Jorge had asked about Jean and Janet during their quarantine and when they arrived, he insisted on escorting them to the table.
We departed for Stockholm that evening.
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July 25, 2022 (Monday) The ship arrived in the Stockholm channel early, about 5am. There are many, many islands (more than 20,000, we were told) in this approach to Stockholm, and we got up to watch the scenery as the ship navigated the channel.
There were only a few islands at first but gradually there were more and more. This picture was taken as we first entered the island area.
There were other cruise ships following us in.
Gradually, we saw more and more islands and they got longer and bigger.
Closer to Stockholm, the islands were quite large and inhabited.
One of the islands really caught my attention. It's a very small island and there's a house built on it. Your own private island!
Here we are coming in to dock. As we docked on the left hand side of that dock channel, the captain took us in very slowly. You can see the narrow opening between the Aida ship and the dock.
We had a tour of Stockholm scheduled, but it didn't start until 10:45 so we had some time in the morning to relax.
The tour went first to the Stockholm City Hall. (Web photo)
It's a huge building. We entered the building through the arches you can see on the left in the picture above. Here's a shot looking back on the arches. There's a palazzo just inside the arches. The King ordered that the building be in the Italian style.
From there, we entered the building itself.
The first room was an enormous hall where Nobel Prize events take place, among others. We walked through a hallway and several rooms, but eventually came to the room where the representatives of the city government meet.
The ceiling was elaborate, impressive and quite high, and was intended to resemble the old Nordic style. Blue panels overhead give the look of "sky".
Here's a view to show how high the ceiling is.
Then we went to the Golden Hall, named for the 18.6 million pieces of Murano mosaic glass and gold used to create the mosaics on the walls. The images are of the history of Stockholm and of important people in its history. The mosaics were put together, in reverse image, by the firm of Puhl and Wagner in Berlin, onto large sheets of cardboard, which were then shipped to Stockholm. The panels were attached to the walls by pushing the panel, with the cardboard to the outside, into a plaster material. When the plaster cured, the cardboard was removed. It was commissioned in 1908, but money was only available in 1917-1918, and the installation was completed in 1923.
I encourage you to follow the link to the Golden Hall to see more pictures of the mosaic images.
At the end of the hall is the Mälard Queen, or Mälardrottningen. She is the symbol of Stockholm.
A closer view of Mälardrottningen.
And one even closer.
A view of some detail.
As we were leaving the City Hall, I took another picture of the palazzo area.
We next went to the area of the Royal Palace but we didn't go in at this time. We went into the old town and as we were walking, came upon this statue of St. George and the Dragon. It's a replica, in bronze, of the wooden statue by Bernt Notke which is in the Storkyrkan Church. This bronze is located in Kopmantorget square, a short distance from the church.
From here, we went to Stortorget, a famous square in Stockholm. One reason for its fame is that it was the site of the Stockholm Massacre in 1520. You can read more details in the link, but the short story is that King Christian II invited aristocrats of the area to his coronation. After several days of parties, he arrested and executed all of them in this square, thus eliminating any challenge to his rule. The number of people executed is not clear but is reported to be between 82 and 90. (Wikipedia photo)
We had a break for lunch in the square. We had brought sandwiches from the ship and shared them while sitting on a bench. For dessert, we had some ice cream from the vendor in the small structure at the far right of the above picture.
Here's Janet, Judy and Jean in the square.
Then we walked back to the Royal Palace and entered. This visit was much too long. There's a lot to the Royal Palace, but it's mainly just going from room to room, and the rooms are not that interesting. Many of the people on the tour were wanting to hurry things along but our guide was determined to give us our money's worth.
Here's a view of the Palace (to the right) and Parliament House (to the left). Wikipedia photo.
The palace was undergoing renovation and was covered with plastic sheeting. You can see some of it in this picture of the guard at the entrance.
Entering the Palace.
The Throne Room, also known as the Hall of State.
A closer view of the throne area.
The Silver Throne of Queen Christina, made in 1650.
A statue in the palace. At first, I thought it was a statue of Judy and me:-)
I believe this is the Charles XI Gallery.
The Vita Havet Assembly Room.
Coronation Throne made in 1751.
A view of the interior courtyard as we were exiting the palace.
That was the end of our (long and hot) tour of the Royal Palace.
From here, we went to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a Swedish warship that sank in 1628 on her maiden voyage, after having sailed less than a mile into the bay of Stockholm. She was located in the late 1950's and raised in 1961, largely intact. Wooden ships are usually destroyed by woodworms after being submerged for years, but the Stockholm harbor has water that is not very salty, and woodworms do not live there.
The Vasa was poorly designed and poorly handled. The first time she heeled over, she took water through her lower cannon doors and sank upright.
A view of the port side of the Vasa.
The rear of the Vasa as seen today. All of the color put on the wood was gone when the ship was recovered.
Based on analysis of paint fragments, this is what the rear of the ship probably looked like.
Reproductions of some of the figures on the ship.
A model of what the ship looked like on its maiden voyage.
A view of part of the upper deck. This part has been reconstructed since the ship was recovered.
That was the end of our long day of touring, but we did get a good look at some of Stockholm.
When we got to the ship, we had a quick dinner and then packed our suitcases to put them outside our door by 10pm.
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July 26, 2022 (Tuesday) All good things must come to an end, and today we leave the ship. Judy and I were up early. We had put our suitcases out the previous night and only had to finish packing our carry-ons. We had our last ship breakfast and went to the Theater to wait for the bus to take us to the Radisson Blu Hotel at the Stockholm Airport.
Eventually, we were called for the bus. There weren't many people going to the hotel so the bus was not crowded. Jean and Judy together on the bus.
When we got to the hotel, we were pleasently surprised - the hotel was in the airport terminal. When you walk out of the hotel, you're in the terminal and can easily walk to the airline counters and your departure gate (although it's quite a walk).
We can watch planes taking off from our hotel room window. The rooms were wonderfully soundproofed, and we heard nothing.
A view down to the terminal floor from the entrance to the hotel.
We mostly relaxed during the day. Our flight doesn't leave until tomorrow. Judy and I took a couple of naps and I worked on this blog.
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July 27, 2022 (Wednesday) Our flight doesn't leave until 2:50pm today so we had an easy morning and leisurely breakfast. About 11am we went to the Finnair counter to check our bags and get our boarding passes - no problems. Then we went to the Finnair lounge and had some snacks for lunch.
We went to the gate a bit early. We had to clear Swedish passport control and then enter a separate isolation area. In the isolation area we found a long line - there was an additional passport check by the Americans before they would let us into the gate.
Our plane, an Airbus A330, was waiting at the gate and we went aboard the aircraft.
Soon after we got settled, the plane departed on time. Our travel time to JFK is a bit over 8 hours. It's going to be a long day for us.
The flight was uneventful. The seating and service on the Finnair flight was very nice. I watched two movies, one of which - The Outfit - I'd recommend, but Judy got some sleep. Finnair offers closed captioning on all of their moves, which I really appreciate.
When we arrived at JFK, we had to clear customs (thank you, Global Entry), collect our bags, go through the "Nothing to Declare" door and then turn our bag back in to the airline.
We were able to use the American Airlines lounge to wait until our next flight was ready. A bit before 8pm, we went to the gate.
The flight to LAX was uneventful and all of us slept for several hours. About midnight we arrived at LAX and collected all of our luggage (none missing!) and the driver was waiting for us.
There was very little traffic at this time of night, but it was about 2am before we got to bed.
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July 28, 2022 (Thursday) Jean has a flight to Bend, OR that leaves from John Wayne Airport about 8am, so we were all up at 5:30am to get ready.
Here we are saying "Goodbye" to Jean at the airport. I think we look pretty good considering how little sleep we've had.
Later, Judy took Janet to the airport, but didn't take a picture.
No trip is over until we pick up Annie and Lizzie. That's Lizzie giving me a kiss and Annie wants my attention. They were very excited dogs.
That was the end of this trip. Our next trip is a cruise from Istanbul to Dubai in the fall. We're looking forward to it.
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