At the end of June we took an 11 day Princess cruise through the Baltic with Alicesara and Brandon and two of their friends from Maryland, Rich and Morya. We left from Copenhagen, Denmark, and sailed to Warnemünde, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Arhus, Denmark; Oslo, Norway; and then back to Copenhagen.
Cold, rainy weather is not uncommon in Scandinavia, even in the summer, but we lucked out with plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the 70s and 80s. We ate dessert multiple times a day, feasted on four course dinners every night; attended two wine tastings, a culinary demonstration, and a galley tour; spent evenings at the piano bar; and lounged by the pool and in the hot tub. I was also lucky enough to spend a very memorable 31st birthday with great friends!
Our two favorite stops were St. Petersburg and Tallinn. We took a two day guided tour in Russia, where we visited lots of sites including Peterhof Palace and the very impressive Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. We also took a relaxing river cruise and ate traditional Russian food for lunch both days (which we do not recommend!) while watching performances by Russian dancers and singers.
In Tallinn, we took a walking tour with a local college student. We learned a lot about the city and happened to be there during the Estonian Song Festival (which happens every five years). The Old Town of Tallinn is really beautiful and well preserved, with old, uneven cobblestone lining the streets.
Warnemünde is a cute fishing town with a beach and lots of biergartens, and Copenhagen was full of colorful buildings, boats, and pretty canals. We really enjoyed the Vasa Museum in Stockholm and Frogner Park in Oslo.
Dan and I had a great time on our first cruise together and can’t wait to do another!
