Inaugural Baltic Cruise told in Photos

[iluvwdw4ever]

Amazing pictures!!!!

 

[TheLionKing]

We arrive in Helsinki, Finland. We took the excuriosn to Porvoo which is a small town outside Helsinki. It gave us a chance to see some countryside.

The Helsinki Opera as we leave the city.

Into the countryside. The lupines bloom a little alter here than in California.

A church amongst the green fields.

Inside a different church that was nearby.

More green countryside.

 

[TheLionKing]

Porvoo is one of the oldest towns in Finland.

Next we head to a country farm for lunch.

 

[Tink rules]

Inside a different church that was nearby.

You've got a few hidden mickeys going on there...

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Hi TLK!!! Great to see you.

Thanks for sharing the photos! They're fantastic (as usual )

mj

 

[TheLionKing]

Hey Mary Jo

We had lunch at a large country estate outside of Helsinki.

We ate by electric light and candlelight in the cellar.

The Main House

The road leading to the farm.

A wider view of the Main House.

 

[TheLionKing]

We returned to Helsinki to see some of the highlights of the city.

A stadium with a sculpture of Finland's famous long distance runner.

A famous Finnish sculpture. You are supposed to be able to hear the sounds rushing through these stainless steel pipes.

Next we visit the Rock Church.

 

[eeyore321]

Great pics! just curios, what kind of camera do yo have? brand? I am planning to get a new camera and these pics are amazing.

 

[Feebs]

Me and DD were on that cruise - thanks for the wonderful pic`s

 

[TheLionKing]

Me and DD were on that cruise - thanks for the wonderful pic`s

Glad you like them. I hope it brings back fond memories like it does for me.....

 

[TheLionKing]

The Rock Church is a church literally built down into the stone in the city of Helsinki. Locals were worried that building a tall church would ruin their views, so the architects built the church into the rock.

The roof of the church

A wider view

Another church in a large square that celebrates Alexander II who was a russian czar who was going to give Finland independence but was assassinated before he could accomplish it. The Finns had to wait for Stalin and the Russian Revolution to gain their independence.

 

[TheLionKing]

I walked down to see more of the city by the harbor.

Found another church sitting high on a rock foundation.

Donald bids farewell to Helsinki.

Another ship leaves the harbor ahead of us.

Next stop the archipelago that takes us to Stockholm. It was the most interesting photographic part of my trip as the light and clouds created very interesting photo opportunities.

 

[blackbird890]

Stunning Photos!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

And the amazing pics just keep coming! The Rock Church looks very interesting.

 

[Tink rules]

when you get the chance.... can you list which excursions you took? They all look wonderful!!!

 

[TheLionKing]

If you want a brief synopsis of the Stockholm Archipelago, you can read a little about it on Wikipedia. Go to this link in Wikipedia.

I didn't make a mental plan to be up this early in the morning on this part of the cruise, but Captain John did make an announcement giving us the recommendation to get up really early to see the cruise into Stockholm. I can't really remember but I think I was up at 3:30 AM which was about 45 minutes before sunrise. We were sailing mostly west, so I took a position at the aft of the ship to capture the sunrise.

Needless to say, it was well worth it.

It was still pretty dark, but there was a glow on the eastern horizon. We will see this area in brighter light on our way out in the afternoon.

It was a bit of a traffic jam as many ships want to arrive in the morning including the ferries and other cruise ships.

The Viking Line out of Helsinki was behind us and managed to pass us in what I thought was a pretty narrow channel.

Ships ahead of us.

Many citizens of Stockholm have summer residences along the channel.

There are a lot of channel markers to help navigate this channel.

 

[TheLionKing]

The Isabella of the Viking Line passing us on the port side. You can see what little room they have to the shore.

The sun rises over the tree lined land.

A vertical photo of the sunrise with the clouds

The wake behind the Isabella

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Those sunrise shots are gorgeous!

 

[Tink rules]

Gorgeous shots!!!

And that Viking ship... they just wanted to admire what a DISNEY ship looks like!!!

 

[TheLionKing]

The wakes made an interesting pattern.

Being followed by two more ships.

More little cabins along the shore