Inaugural Baltic Cruise told in Photos

[Tink rules]

I'm loving these pictures...

 

[TheLionKing]

Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo. The statues depict stages in life from childhood to old age. Some are cast in bronze and some are sculpted in granite.

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Wonderful pictures! The boat carving details are amazing.

Keep 'em coming!

 

[disneyjunkie]

 

[Bellecruiser]

Thanks so much for sharing these pictures! I'm really enjoying fantasizing about this trip...in color!

 

[TheLionKing]

Examples of sculptures from Vigeland Statue Park

The Disney Magic from a hill overlooking the harbor where we had lunch.

The Oslo Opera House where one can walk on the roof.

 

[TheLionKing]

Sailing from Oslo, I took advantage of the clouds and weather to take some long exposure photos of the ship.

 

[ll_california]

Wonderful pictures!

 

[TotallyAngelic]

WOW ... those sunset sky shots are stunning !!

 

[figment52]

These are spectacular. I'll keep coming back for more. Thanks for posting.

 

[tigger2on]

Your leaving Oslo photos on the boat are PHENOMENAL!!!

 

[TheLionKing]

Thanks everyone. The cloud photos were my favorite from the trip as I have a small side business selling fine art photographic prints.

 

[TheLionKing]

We arrive in Copenhagen and saw two delights on the dock. The first was the Tivoli band greeting the ship and my father was waiting for us on the dock. He couldn't make the departure from Dover due to a commitment at home and he met us in Copenhagen.

This is the home of the Danish Queen.

This is Nyhavn which is now a tourist location but used to be where all the drunken sailors in port would hang out. It is known for its colorful building and Hans Christian Andersen lived here for part of his life.

 

[TheLionKing]

Copenhagen was a bit overcast and we even experienced a brief hail storm. We lived in Copenhagen for a year in the 70's and had friends, so we went around the city trying to find olf familiar landmarks like the school I attended and the famous hot dog carts.

We also went on the canal boat tour which was something we have never done and was quite enjoyable. Here are some photos from that canal tour.

This is the new opera house built by Maersk who owns that large shipping line that can be seen all over the world.

The Magic with a service ship tied up along her.

I believe this is the place where the Danish royals board their yacht when they feel the need to go by ship.

More of the buildings lining the many canals.

The skies started to break for a brief period of time.

After the brief hail storm. This is City Hall.

The entrance to Tivoli, which helped inspire Walt Disney to create Disneyland.

An absttract of the Magic reflected in some passing windows.

Passing another ship as we sail north to round the northern tip of the isalnd on or way to Germany. I thought the ship lit by the golden light was interesting.

 

[TheLionKing]

We arrived in Warnemunde and were greeted with a sunny and delightful day.

We didn't want to take a long train ride into Berlin, and my father flew the previous day into Copenhagen, so we left him to catch p on his sleep and walked around the city.


It is a very busy port as you can see from the photo taken from our verandah.

We continue to see this trend of lovely canals in the cities we visit.

More of a light tower rather than a light house.

A walk through the town with colorful buildings and European architecture.

Pulled out the wide angle and fisheye lens for some different takes on the ship and dock.

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Keep those amazing pictures coming! I really liked the latest Copenhagen and ship shots.

 

[TheLionKing]

Leaving Warnemude

 

[TheLionKing]

We arrive at St. Petersburg. The photos are grouped more by subject than by chronology. We visited the Hermitage twice on different days so they are lumped all together.

The harbor at St Petersburg. There is a lot of construction to handle the growing traffic.

Hydrofoil boats leave the inner city to take people to other parts of this large harbor.

Driving through the city on the way to the Hermitage, we get views of the interesting architecture.

and the traffic...... which wasn't too bad considering the warnings we have read.

The Bronze Horseman is a statue commemorating Peter the Great who founded St. Petersburg.

The back entrance to the Hermitage.

and a slightly closer view to appreciate the ornate architecture.

Next post, we go inside.......

 

[Tink rules]

Lovin it!!! & I wish I could go...

 

[TheLionKing]

Into the Hermitage we go. It was a palace so not only is the artwork impressive, but the rooms themselves are incredible. It is a crowded museum and being on a tour, one doesn't really get the chance to wander around. it is a museum that certainly deserves days to visit rather than hours.

They have Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

Greek and roman sculptures

Ornate ceilings and decorative arts.

Beautiful chandeliers and marble

and painted ceilings

More to come.......