Beyond the Med: Northern Europe offers lasting memories
Cities like Helsinki and Tallinn offer wonderful experiences for independent travellers
Ihad hoped with this column to be telling you all about the launch of a brand new cruise line, Emerald Waterways in Amsterdam. However, it missed our deadline for this week, but I will have the full story for you next week as well as blog posts at Portsandbows. com.
I’ll also let you know how Twiggy, fashion icon and godmother to the Emerald Waterways Sky and Star, is doing.
In general, I am an independent traveller. I work hard before I leave on each cruise to find something that takes me off the familiar trails and I pass those experiences on to you. That is probably why cruises in Europe’s Baltic, Scandinavia and North Seas rank among my favourites.
St. Petersburg, Russia; Stockholm; Warnemunde, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; Helsinki; Oslo, Norway; and Tallinn, Estonia, are just some of the ports that could be part of your cruise north.
While there is so much to choose from on these cruises, Copenhagen and Helsinki rank among my favourite cities.
I quite simply love the people who seem to go out of their way to make sure you are having a good time. Most of them seem to have gone through tour guide training. As soon as you open a map they are there to help. I once had a lady grab my arm with a “Come, I will show you exactly how to get there.”
You can actually wear yourself out with amazement as each step in St. Petersburg’s Hermitage brings you up close with one historical moment after another. No wonder many refer to it as the Louvre of the North. All of the great artists are there, including Rembrandt. It took me days after arriving home to realize what I had witnessed.
Most cruises overnight in St. Petersburg so make sure you see the Tsarist- era palaces like Peter the Great’s Peterhof, and the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo ( Pushkin), 25 kilometres outside the city.
7 more things to know about Northern Europe cruises:
1. Pickpockets thrive in St. Petersburg, so carry your valuables in front of you. Even your Russian guides will tell you this.
2. No need to buy a tour in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Helsinki or Tallinn. You can walk or take public transportation ( make sure you try the tiny street cars in Tallinn).
3. In Copenhagen, the home of Hans Christian Andersen, public transportation is available from where the ship docks to the Tivoli Gardens, Stoget — one of Europe’s longest pedestrianized shopping streets — and Rosenborg Castle, home of the Danish crown jewels. A statue of The Little Mermaid awaits you on your walk into town.
4. The port of Warnemunde is a regular stop on many of these cruises. It is three hours away from Berlin, so leave the ship early. A public train station is only a short walk from the ship, but there are also private trains and buses. While you’re in Berlin take a hop- on- hop- off bus to visit all the sites.
5. Stockholm is a gorgeous harbour, however, if the winds are blowing strong you will anchor about an hour away by train. See the Vasa Museum and Gamla Stan, one of Europe’s best preserved medieval city centres and where Stockholm was originally founded.
6. If it’s summer and you’re sailing in the Gulf of Finland try to get a picture of the sun going down late at night. It’s a spectacular sunset.
7. The Market Square is near the heart of Helsinki and within walking distance if you dock at the South Terminal. Other attractions are a short ferry ride away, including the Suomenlinna Fortress. Also visit Temppeliaukio, a church excavated directly out of solid rock.
When it comes to sheer numbers, cruises in the Mediterranean win. However, for my money the north holds more memories.