| KRISTINA REGINA BALTIC CRUISE, JUNE 2000 |
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| HENRY NOWICKI 23 JUNE 2000 |
The Kristina Regina is a medium-sized Finnish cruise ship (Ref 1) that generally services the Baltic area but sometimes in summer will venture to the Arctic. I had sailed on her in the summer of 1999 (Ref 2) and found her so enjoyable as to prompt my wanting to cruise with her again but this time in the Baltic Sea. Summertime is at its best in northern Europe. The Baltic (Ref 2a) has nine countries abutting it, starting with Sweden and going clockwise to Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark. Depending on where you might start the Baltic Sea, it would be possible to include a bit of Norway and I have seen that country included in studies of the Baltic States. No matter, we will be visiting just about all the coastal countries of this sinuous and strategic waterway. June 7 - Helsinki, Finland (Ref 3) departure 1700. A large and modern city, Helsinki has much to offer and I decided to come early and spend three days there investigating the out of the way areas. I stayed the first night at the Bonus Inn near the Vantaa Airport and found it so convenient that I remained another two nights. I particularly liked their sauna and the great breakfasts. The Kristina Regina arrived at her Market Square mooring just as we happened by on a tour bus and it was interesting to witness her arrival. The market area is very near the center of actvity in the city and a great place to depart by ship as there are islands a plenty and much water traffic. I had taken a small boat out to a cluster of the islands along this route earlier to the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress which is now a World Heritage Cultural Site and noted for its sea fortifications architecture. Their museum features a multimedia presentation of the history of its construction by Sweden. An exhibition of the wares and handicrafts of each of the twenty regions of Finland was constructed in Senate Square while we were there and it served as a good introduction to the varied offerings of this large country. The warm weather does something special for the Nordic countries as their inhabitants seem to blossom after all the dull dark days of winter. The Kristina Regina departed at 1700 right on schedule. The course to St. Petersburg is almost due east and has innumerable islands to contemplate during the rather short journey. June 8 - St. Petersburg, Russia (Ref 4) arrival 0830. Fortunately, visas for American citizens are not required for this visit to Russia as the ship secures a blanket visa. It does mean, however, that one has to stay with the shore excursion group as the authorities check the passports and tour tickets before one is permitted off the ship. A few others had secured visas on their own and they were free to come and go but most people agreed that the shore tours covered just about everything one wanted to do. After all, three outings in a day does not allow for much more unless one likes to operate throughout the white night which lengthens to nineteen hours of daylight in June at the 60* latitudinal location of St. Petersburg. I took all the ship's tours which, incidentally, costs about half of what one expects for similar excursions on the typical cruise ship. I did very much enjoy the Cossack show at a rather modern exhibition hall in town. Others attended and enjoyed the Swan Lake ballet offering. St. Petersburg is noted for its architecture and its buildings situated along the many waterways of the city. Its Hermitage Museum is world class and, fortuntely for us, they opened the buildings in the morning when they are closed to the general public which allowed moving about without the crowds that normalliy accumulate in the choicest areas. Also, Petrodvorets the extraordinary summer palace located some fifteen miles west of the city was very enjoyable for the gardens as well as the elaborate rooms. June 9 - St. Petersburg departure 1800. With long days and good visibility, departure from the port city was of much interest and especially the passing of Kronshtadt on Kotlin Island, about 25 miles west of St. Petersburg, which still exhibits its naval base and old fortifications. A Soviet plan to construct dikes connecting the island north and south to the mainland had been abandoned in 1991 with construction halted in midstream. The cranes that were used to start heavy construction of a series of locks are rusting in place and the uncompleted bridges and breakwaters, that were to protect St. Petersburg from flooding, are a pathetic reminder of the breakup of a country and the poor transition of a planned economy to a market oriented one. June 10 - Tallinn, Estonia (Ref 5) 0900-1700. The port and capital city of Taillinn became an instant favorite of passengers aboard the Kristina Regina. It is a very lively place with great amounts of sea traffic, principally ferries headed across the 50-mile wide Gulf of Finland to Helsinki but also servicing St. Petersburg and especially Stockholm, Sweden. Taillinn shopping, with prices much lower than the Scandinavian countries is, of course, a big attraction but the city can hold its own as far as architectural sites are concerned and it has its share of museums, art galleries, and varied entertainment. June 11 - Riga, Latvia (Ref 6) arrival 1500. The sea entrance to Riga is exceptionally long and replete with all the facilities that one expects in a well developed port. The city is another example of a medieval town that has ripened into a modern city of some 850,000 inhabitants, fully one-third of the Latvian total population of 2.5 million. To facilitate the group going to Vilnius, an overnight was scheduled for Riga so the visitors could start fresh early on the second day. June 12 - Riga departure 1800. An optional 150-mile side trip to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania was offered that entailed an overnight stay in the city of churches. With good weather and a green rolling countryside, the overland bus route from Riga to Vilnius and Kaunas and eventually west to Klaipeda on the coast, where the ship was rejoined, was very enjoyable. Vilnius is a remarkable city with an eclectic architectural treatment and many attractions. I stayed at the Lietuva (the local name for Lithuania) Hotel and enjoyed the 16th floor view. Dinner at the Boar Restaurant with our shipmates was a particularly enjoyable event. June 13 - Klaipeda, Lithuania (Ref 7) 1300-2000. The commercial port of Klaipeda has its own personality and a city tour pretty much provides an appreciation of its highlights. Inasmuch as the overland trip to Vilnius took almost the whole day, there was no opportunity to investigate Palanga the resort area about ten miles north of Klaipeda along the coast. Apparently, the passengers who remained on board experienced the only rough sea conditions on the entire trip during their voyage from Riga to Klaipeda. June 14 - Gdynia, Poland (Ref 8) 0800-1300. The port of Gdynia, with its large pier or mole, provided an excellent entry to Poland. A busride of about ten miles through the resort town of Sopot provided a pretty route to Gdansk where the extensive old town (four times the size of the old town in Warsaw) is the center of attraction. The entirely rebuilt area, which was the scene of the beginning of World War II, is most attractive and that includes the interesting waterfront. Amber was the big shopping purchase but good prices on many other items attracted attention. After reboarding the ship, an informal survey revealed that Gdansk had been the favorite shore excursion to date. Gdansk, as with so many of the cities in the Baltic Region, has magfificent churches many with outstanding organs. We were permitted to hear these organs with a number in actual recital. Organs with 6,000 or 7,000 or even more than 8,000 pipes in the Baltic Region were awesome. It is something one doesn't find everywhere. June 15 - Warnemunde, Germany (Ref 9) 0900-2200. Warnemunde is the outport for Rostock which is approximately 10 miles to the south. An S-bahn station was a block away from the ship and Rostock by train or bus was no more than a half-hour away. The city tour dwelt a lot at the highly-regarded Rostocker brewery and of course its tasteful conclusion in the colorful tasting room. Rostock is a hanseatic city with quite a few attractions but I must say I enjoyed Warnemunde a bit more as the resort town has a broad beach (only three kids swimming in the 50* temperature water which I wisely decided not to attempt), a most colorful marina where a European laser class international sailing competition was being conducted, a busy channel with constant water traffic to include large ferries on the their way to other Baltic ports, a cute town center and a feeling of summer vacation life on the streets. June 16 - Lubeck, Germany (Ref 10) 0800-1800. Lubeck, or the local spelling Luebeck, is a most pleasant city and retains the flavor of its important role in hanseatic times. Its architecture is a visitor delight and the waterways of the Traves River are attractive. Travemunde (munde refers to flowing so the word describes the location at the mouth of the river where it empties into the Baltic) about ten miles from Lubeck is a very popular resort town that is analagous in its disposition and function to Warnermunde near Rostock. The Passat, a still usable tall sailing ship, is homeported across from Travemunde and is a nice sight to behold for those who enjoy the sea. A day trip to Hamburg could be easily accomplished although there is certainly enough in Lubeck to take up a whole day. Of course, the single brewery might be visited as it is easy to find and has a cute drinking hall. It turns out that the city was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Lubeck-Elbe canal and a variety of vessels were on display with flags flying and open for visits. Departure down the Traves was interesting due to the variety of landscapes from urbanized areas to undeveloped wetlands. June 17 - Copenhagen, Denmark (Ref 11) arrival 0800. The ship was right on time as it has been throughout the voyage. The entrance to the pier near the little mermaid was quickly achieved and debarkation was almost immediate. I took a little extra time in the city to reaquaint myself with the waterfront, citadel, parks, Tivoli, town and museums. High school graduates were touring all over the city in open trucks accompanied with singing, shouting and general hi-jinks. I watched the changing of the guard and walked my legs off doing my usual urban reconnaissance. There is a so-called Copenhagen card that permits unlimited city transport and access to many attractions but I wanted the touring on foot. The brand new Oresund tunnel and bridge connection to Malmo, Sweden had just been completed and was awaiting its formal opening at the end of the month. It costs over four billion dollars and will speed the ten-mile water crossing to approximately fifteen minutes. There has not yet been agreement on how much to charge traffic as the higher rates are necessary to pay off the outstanding bills but users want something more reasonable. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. In any event, both Copenhagen and Malmo are hard at work to create a new region that will complement each other and currently there are many special events being provided by both ends of the international connection to celebrate the occasion and underscore the new synergies. Overall, I thought the Kristina Regina Cruise was very successful. It had excellent weather, a variety of nine ports and eight countries in quick succession, good shipmates, good food and fine service. It doesn't get much better than that. Click here to see additional short travel/cruise accounts. Copyright 2000, All rights reserved. |
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