We left Stockholm just a little before dinner and entered the Gulf of Finland the next morning and were docked outside Helsinki around 10AM. Finland was first occupied just after the Ice Age based on stone tools and pottery that has since been discovered. In the 13th Century, Finland became part of Sweden and in the 1800s, part of the Russian Empire. Finland declared its independence in 1917. Helsinki is its capital. Officially the Republic of Finland, the country has…
Our first port of call after boarding the Star Princess was Stockholm, Sweden. Its history extends back seven centuries when it was inhabited by the Vikings. Sweden has not been at war since 1814. It remained neutral during both world wars, although helped many refuges during World War II including Jewish people fleeing Hitler’s regime. Sweden was also neutral throughout the cold war and did not join NATO. Sweden is a member of the United Nations. Stockholm is the capital…
After exploring Copenhagen and Bornholm, it was time to board our cruise ship, Star Princess, and begin our Baltic Cruise. But first I am going to tell you about something we did on board the ship that we found very interesting. So this will be a bit of a different blog entry, because I will not be sharing information about a particular place, but rather our “behind the scenes” tour of our cruise ship that would give us insight into…
Bornholm is an island in the Baltic Sea and is part of Denmark, but geographically, it is closer to Sweden. We wanted to go to Bornholm because my paternal grandmother’s ancestors hailed from there. We flew from Copenhagen to Bornholm where we met a private guide who would show us the sites of Bornholm. We were very lucky because we had e-mailed back and forth several times before the trip and she was able to include places where my ancestors…
In 2010, we took a Baltic and Scandinavian cruise through Princess Cruises. We arrived in Copenhagen three days before our cruise. We had time to explore Copenhagen and also visited the island of Bornholm. In this post, I will focus on Copenhagen. The first pictures below are of the City Hall, located in City Hall Square in the central part of Copenhagen. It serves as the headquarters for the Municipal Council and also houses the offices of the Lord Mayor…