Baltic

As I write overlooking the handrail in a sunny spot, I am looking at the North Sea. This sea is calm at the moment which is more than I can say for the Atlantic. Hurricane Dorian was forming just a week earlier. When we boarded in Southampton, England on August 31, 2019 for our 14 day cruise, Dorian was a category 4. On our third day at sea, she was a cat 5 tearing up the Bahamas.

We are headed to Copenhagen, Denmark from Zeebrugge, Belgium. When we left England, our first stop was Begium. Zeebrugge is about two hours from Brussels. It has been over 40 years since I spent any time in Belgium and spent most of my days in an office in Brussels. This was my first time actually seeing the country. It is not that big but full of history and object of many conflicts. We focused our day on an excursion to the medieval city of Ghent. Amazingly, this city was spared bombment during World War II, thus sparing the magnificent ancient buildings from destruction. The city was and still is predominately Catholic. The city is home of a 14th century belfry, St Michael’s Bridge, St Bavo’s Cathedral and the 15th century artwork called the “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”. We traveled by canal boat through the city and spent some time in the center of the old town. My father in law spent some time in Ghent during WWII. He met a family who became long friends. I can imagine him walking those same cobble paths along the ancient center. We then headed back through the region of Flanders made famous from 1915 publication of poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae during World War I. We drove through the small Flemish town of Ypres where modern day wind turbines contrast with an ancient church boasting a huge bell tower symbolizing past meeting present. This first stop was awesome. Next stop Denmark.

We had a great day at sea traveling up to the Oresund Strait separating Denmark from Sweden into the Baltic sea. The storm back home now reduced to cat 3, Dorian slowly turning northward. We remain vigilant for the people impacted who may never forget. We can only watch from our stop in Copenhagen. The city is like many hustle and bustle towns. Except this one is surrounded by water. We had a nice drive through Copenhagen before heading away from the city to a nice fishing village called Dragor. We had coffee and pastries before walking through the village. As you may imagine the village gets its name from Viking days. They believed in dragons, many gods and goddesses. Vikings were good tradesmen as well as seafaring warriors. They were in control so to speak. Viking King, Sweyn I Forkbeard, was king over England and Norway when Copenhagen started in the 12th century. By 1160, King Valdermar I, established the stronghold with the building of the fortress where Christiansborg Palace sits today built from ruins of bygone times. We were lucky to see the changing of the guards at the Amalienborg Palace, home of Danish Royalty since 1794. Today it is the winter home of Queen Margrethe II. The Palace is made of four French style mansions placed around an octagon shaped courtyard. Our last stop was to see the “The Little Mermaid” statue made famous in 1837 by Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tail and erected 70 years later by Carl Jacobson son of founder of Carlsburg beer. Now that is a beer story for sure!

Day 5 we were at sea headed to Stockholm. The next four days we are in port at the top of the Baltic Sea. Stockholm, Sweden is another very scenic city full of bicycles, motor scooters and fewer cars. They share much of the Viking heritage with Copenhagen. These Vikings spent more time conquering the east like Russia and beyond. Stockholm is made up of 14 islands and the view traversing by the various islands to its main island of Gamla Stan is spectacular. The old town of Gamla Stan is so picturesque. Our first stop was the Viking museum where the myths are validated as true or false. Yes, they did have names such as Ragnar and Loki as in the popular TV series but not all at the same historical time. Yes, they believed a true worthwhile life was a good death in battle. We continued on our tour to view an old ship that sank twenty minutes after setting sail on its madan voygue. Why? King Gutav II wanted to add another roll of cannons against the advice of its designer. Some things do not change. Bosses always think they are smarter than the experts. This was in 1628 and the ship was the Vasa. In the 1950’s they restored the Vasa which is now a museum located in the Green island of Djurgarden not too far from the Viking museum. Note, the Viking era span from about 800 to 1100 so the Vasa sinking is unrelated. Stockholm is also home of the band called Abba. Anyone heard of them?

Our next stop was Tallin, Estonia where we saw the beginnings of Communism or at least its reminants. Our tour began through the town and one of the first signs of freedom was a UMC church. The tour guide spoke of her mission trip outside of Estonia where she learned English better and Christianity even more so. She said the population is under 20 percent Christian with the majority atheist from the years of Soviet influence. This was apparent to see old buildings not old because of age but in need of repair. Many buildings were void of any color dingy brown, dirty white or black. Contrast that with the new modern buildings of the post Soviet era. It is interesting to note the guide referred to the Nazis not the Germans and the Soviets not the Russians.

We continued our drive to the monument of the victims of communism. This was very profound as our guide described how the memorial started with the victims of WWI and II. When the Soviets took over, they destroyed any symbolism of faith replaced with the ugly facade of communist oppression. When Estonia regained her independence, instead of destroying, they built upon the history. Now the memorial consists of two black walls built in parallel showing all the names of those who died under the regime of Communism. Many were sent to Siberia never to return. As you climb the stairs up the hill, the names seem to speak out saying never again. It reminds me of the Vietnam war memorial. In the top of the hill stands a beautiful garden with three crosses. I believe Estonia is in a place in history where they are growing in faith. They are certainly at the top on technology as originators of many industies like Skype and Ecitizenry. They have made “E”stonia a forward thinking country while remembering the past. Finally, the open theater has been the focal point of many talented artist from Michael Jackson to just last month Andre Poccelli. Here is where they sang triumphantly while the Soviets tried to oppress the people in a revolution of songs.

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Next, we sailed to St Petersburg, Russia for a two day stop. Our first day started watching the news and seeing the devastation in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian made a direct hit. Our prayers go out to the people. So glad it headed up the eastern coast line delivering just glancing blows. Now, we saw the blows of Communism as we saw the oppressed conditions of a controlled society. They say socialism is just the pathway to communism. I believe it. Anyway, we started with passport control. No other country required that scrutiny as we were already on a cruise ship already cleared. The Russians do not trust anyone. I felt they were always watching. The guide through the city was dry but had a sense of humor so that made the excursion worthwhile. I got a better understanding of the difference between Russions and Soviets. Stalin was not Russian and neither was Lennan for example. We traveled through the city learning how St Petersburg was under siege during WWII. The Nazis did not want to destroy the city because of their German heritage so tried to starve them into surrender. It did not work. Many buildings were destroyed but much survived. We visited Catherine Palace that was severely damaged now restored to its original war glory. Only one original panel in the Amber Room was found. The rest were stolen by the Nazis. Who knows where they are now?All the interior of the Palace is now restored and the beauty is breathtaking. It is said that Catherine I had over 15,000 dresses never wearing them more than once and hosted elaborate balls nearly every day. No wander the people rebelled! We continued our tour with a stop at a restaurant for traditional Russian food, folk dancers and songs. We finished our first day with a drive by the Hermatage Museum, Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood, and St Isaac’s Square. We stopped at a beautiful chuch once used by the Soviets as an ice rink during communists oppression. It is now restored to its original purpose of worshipping God. Yes, even Russia is growing in faith again. Not bad for first day.

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Our second day was much easier but had to go through passport control yet again. This day we spent most of time driving through the city. The big stop was at the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood. The spilled blood was that of Tsar Alexander II who was assassinated in 1881. The church is now a museum but site of many bride and groom photo shots. We drove by the Admirlty Tower very prominate both day and night. We boarded our ship again for our next day’s adventure to Hellsinki, Finland.

We started our day with a much more friendly disembakation without passport control. Finland is independent of Russia but remain in constant fear of attack. They have under ground housing for every man, woman and child in Hellsinki just in case. The land is mostly granite rock so the whole city is built on rock. During WWII, the people saved their city by building fires on unihabited land away from the city so 95 percent of the bombs fell destroying only barren rock. Another ingenious measure was to remove all metal roofs from housing and replace with sod and sand which they placed vegetation to disguise their homes and churches. It worked! One thing I understood from this tour is that the Fins are very innovative and protective of their environment. Maybe we should learn from them as I saw no litter anywhere. Hellsinski was founded in 1550 as a way to compete with Tallin who was controlled by the Russians. Finland was ruled by the Swedes until 1808 then by the Russians until just before WWI. They are a new country but always under the fear of Russian dominance. There are a lot of old buildings but like Swedan and Estonia have a growing outlook to a brighter future. The Temppeliaukio Church, known as the Church in the Rock is awesome. It is built inside a huge block of granite rock. It has a man made roof that allows natural light in but the walls are sold rock. Very nice! We made our way back to the ship ready for a little down time as we traveled through the Baltic Sea for Poland.

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On day 12, we experienced our first stormy night at sea. Hurricane Dorian continued her journey being downgraded to a bad storm up through Nova Scotia and across the Atlantic over Scotland to the North Sea finally passes over us. Finland and Russia were targets but luckily we were at sea. By the time we docked at Gdynia, the sun was out and remained very pleasant all day. The try city of Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk make up new, untouched and rebuilt from the devastation of war. It is hard to believe that it was not the Nazis who destroyed but the liberators, so called, Soviets. The hatred between the two were evident. First the new. Gydnia is a new very busy port. We saw huge cranes, cargo ships, cruise ships and even a submarine. The port was built after the War and is the entrance to Poland’s import/export trade. Second, the untouched city of Sopot boast of beaches and some old buildings spared by the Russians. It is amazing to imagine that Hitler used the Grand Hotel overlooking the beaches as his retreat. The liberators did not touch it. Third, city of Gdansk represents the rebuilt city. Yes, there were some old buildings spared but much were destroyed. WWII started here and at one time was mostly German habitants. When the War ended, the Germans wanted to claim it but since they had no voice was put under Soviet rule. At one point, Gdansk was actually a city with no country. The Soviets were no rebuilders of peace back then and even now it seems. After the fall of the Soviet dominance, Poland was once again an indepedent country. Rebuilding of the city has been a mavelous effort to keep the appearance of ancient times. The Old Town has a Golden Gate archway building on one end and a Green Gate on the other end. In between is the 13th century merchant road lined with shops, restaraunts and chuches. In its beginning was the site of many executions. Gdansk may have been the birthplace of WWII but more important to me was the birthplace of the Solirarity Movement which played an important role in the end of the Iron Curtain. We traveled by the home of Lech Walsea who was one of the founders to the movement and became Poland’s first president. As we traveled back to our ship, the history of the past cannot be ignored. Freedom comes with a price. Thank God that he uses brave souls to pay the price. May they RIP.

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It took two more days through the Baltic and North Seas to reach Southhanpton. We passed under an enormous bridge that connects Denmark to Sweden then clear sailing to Southampton.

Every journey must come to an end. This experience will not be forgotten. We got a chance to see beautiful sights and learn a little history. Hope you have enjoyed our little glimpse of this world.

T