Baltic Sea, Part 1.

On July 24, Marjo and I boarded the Clio, a ship that holds 88 passengers and a crew of 50 and could anchor close to port city centers. We were on the Clio during our trip down the Nile River in 2018. This time our cabin was on the Sun Deck and we enjoyed stepping out on our balcony to watch Pilot Ships pull up and crews dock.

Our Baltic Sea cruise began in Copenhagen, Denmark on July 25; we disembarked in Stockholm, Sweden on August 3. Visiting 7 countries in 10 days was an ambitioius assignment, but Overseas Adventure Travel was well-prepared. Come along as we learn about an organic farm in Denmark; the Solidarity Movement in Poland; folk sculptures in a Lithuanian forest; a castle in Latvia; a memorial to victims of Communism in Estonia; and more in Finland and Sweden!

Bornholm, Denmark.  Like all Overseas Adventure trips, this one included “a day in the life” at a cooperative organic farm, where we toured the fields and lunched on delicious vegetables those fields had raised. It was run by a charming young couple, whom I doubt will last very long–strenuous work for a pregnant wife. Earlier we had visited one of the round churches on the island and learned about life in previous centuries. Be sure to see how the length of sermons were measured in this Bornhelm photo album.

Gdansk, Poland. Among Poland’s many advantages are level land and access to the sea, two factors that make it attractive to agressive neighbors. The German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, marked the beginning of World War II. About 85% of Gdansk was destroyed during the war. We started our visit in Stare Miasto, the Old City, that showed times of great prosperity. On Saturday, July 26, Gdansk was full of activity–markets, trumpets, music!

In my Gdansk album, you can see more. Also check out this St. Mary’s Church album.

After delicious Polish sausages for lunch, we went on to the European Solidarity Center, which tells the story of the dockworkers’ strike Lech Walęsa began in 1980 eventually contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union. This album on Solidarity explains the steps it took and the people involved. Lech Walesa is currently on a tour of the United States. I hope to hear him in Miami in October.

Curonian Spit, Lithuania. After the excitement of Gdansk’s Old City and Solidarity Center, it was lovely for our ship to take us to peaceful Klaipeda. From there it was but a short ferry ride to the Curonian Spit, a narrow strip of land separating the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea.

On a beautiful morning we hiked up the heavily wooded Witches’ Hill on the Spit. What fun it was to hear the stories our local guide told and to interact with the wooden sculptures ourselves, as you will see in this Witches’ Hill album. I bought a small book of those Withces stories and would be glad to share it. I shall long remember what a lovely, fun morning it was.

Next we explored more of the spit and actually looked WEST across the border to see Kaliningrad, a Russian province separated from the rest of Russia by Lithuania–wow! After WW II, Russia expelled the Prussians from the capital of Kōnigsberg and moved in Russian speakers who have now lived there almost eight decades. More explanations are in this photo album of Neringa, which concentrates on the beautiful Lithuanian side of the border.

Visby Gotland Island, Sweden, Our fourth stop was on Monday, July 28. Here are my Visby photos, which include this lovely park above. For narration, I’ll copy the daily text Marjo sent to some friends:  “Greetings from Visby, Gotland Island, Sweden, a lovely medieval town with its wall mostly intact. Cobblestone streets, houses from 1200-1600, roses in bloom everywhere. We visited the historical museum full of Viking treasures and information. Some coins are from Iraq and Afghanistan! Viking sails were not of one large piece of cloth, but interwoven strips of cloth about a foot wide–who knew?”

This concludes the first part of our cruise. We still have a week and four countries to go. I hope you have enjoyed our adventure so far. Look for Part 2 soon.