We’re home again.
I’m just in the process of going through and sorting out my photos, and uploading them to “flickr”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/leewalton/.
My MacBook’s power adaptor has just decided to go up in smoke, so I’m using the old PowerBook at the moment. Apple have promised to send out a new adaptor on Monday.
I’ll edit up some of the previous blog posts made while we were away, and add in a few pictures where relevant.
Back to work tomorrow…
Today is a sea day, our last full day on board before arriving back at Dover tomorrow morning. The weather has decided to revert to the usual BSW (British Summertime Weather)… cold, grey, and trying to be wet.
We spent the day dozing, walking around the decks in an attempt to walk some off some of the excess pounds we have gained over the holiday, and packing.
The ship seems quite quiet too. In the North Sea, the ship seems to roll a bit more, and no doubt that has encouraged some of those who are not packing to stay tucked up in a corner somewhere.
Whilst I am looking forward to heading home, I will really miss the Baltic, and the wonderful crew of the Constellation.
Having arrived in Oslo previously in the middle of the night, we were quite excited today, as we were scheduled to arrive in Oslo at around midday. Coming into Oslo along the Oslo Fjord must be one of the most picturesque vistas that can be experienced on a cruise ship. The weather decided to behave, so we enjoyed a lovely couple of hours as we made our way along the fjord. We moored up right near the center of town, just outside Akershus Castle.
On arriving in Oslo, given that we had already explored oslo on our previous visit, we decided to spend the day on the ship, swimming, relaxing in the jacuzi, and sunbathing. By the end of the day, we were thoroughly roasted & relaxed.
We had a lovely evening, saying good bye to our waiter Stan, his assistant Alejandro, and the assistant maitre’d, Krzysztof, just in case we dont make it down tomorrow. They really made our holiday. Of course, I should also mention our wonderful someliers, Adrian & Rolando.
Copenhagen is as lovely as we remember. The ship moored up about 10 minutes away from the sculpture of The Little Mermaid, so we walked in to the city passing the statue on our way. It was funny to see groups arriving from our ship by coach! It probably took them longer to get there, and would have cost them considerably more. After walking past the palace, and wandering up and down the Nyhavn, we stopped in one of the restaurants on the Nyhavn water-front advertising the “best salad in town”. We had seen them on our previous visit to Copenhagen, and decided to have one… wow! Massive, delicious, and yes, probably the best salad in town! Mind you, two salads and four beers came to a 59 Euros. Not cheap. Mind you, it was worth it.
After our dinner, we relaxed by taking one of the scenic tours of the river and canals. It was lovely, but the weather, which had started gloriously, clouded over and we were very glad to have brought our jumpers with us.
In a very happy state of mind, we made our way back to the ship. The salad we had at lunch time was so substantial that we decided not to bother with dinner, and just had a snack, and a doze until it was time to watch the ship set sail at midnight.
We were not entirely sure where we going to land today. We knew it was going to be either Rostock or Warnemund, but the ship’s information was a little vague about exactly which. As it was, we were closer to Rostock, but still about a 20 min bus ride away, and that is where the ship’s shuttle service took us.
Rostock is a lovely town, again, very Hanseatic in style, with some great architecture. We wandered around the town a little, had a beer at a nice little bar, before finally deciding to have a bite to eat in the Ratskeller, in the Rathaus. It was blisteringly hot, so we decided to eat inside. We had the whole place to ourselves! Being in Germany, we of course had to have bratwurst and saurkraut, with another beer. It was probably the best meal we have had so far. Very full, and very content, we made our way back to the shuttle to take us back to the ship.
Of all the ports we have visited so far, Rostock is joint favourite with Klaipeda.
For the rest of the afternoon, we dozed, sunbathed, and listened to the Rostock Brass Band, who came on to the ship to entertain us. When we finally set sail, we passed through Warnemund, and the town gave us the best send off we have received yet. All in all, a marvellous day!
We visited the tri-cities of Gdynia, Sopot, & Gdansk in Poland today. We decided to take a tour, as the shuttle service would only have dropped us in Gdynia, and we fancied seeing a bit of Gdansk too. Rather than changing a few Euros, we decided that one of the tours would be better.
Gdansk was very pretty, with a lovely waterfront full of Hanseatic architecture. We stopped in one of the little bars on the waterfront and ordered a couple of Polish beers. The beer was very welcome given that the temperature was about 28 deg Celcius. The bar was happy to accept Euros… 4.1666E for the two beers. 
Tonight is our last formal night, so we’ll be getting ready soon. The last night tends to be a bit aof a spectacle, with even more lavish dinners than usual, as well as the “baked alaska parade”.
We’re in Klaipeda, Lithuania today. It is the first time we have visited, unlike the other destinations so far. It is lovely too! The people are so welcoming, and genuinely happy to meet us. It makes it an absolute joy to be here. And once again, the weather is gorgeous! Bright and sunny, with a breeze to keep us cool while we wander around the town.
There is not a reat deal to see here, but there was a little craft show on with people carving, weaving, and potting, dancers and singers, and other local skills being displayed.
There is a ferry which you can catch to take over to the spit of land where the maritime museum and dolphinarium are. Unfortunately it costs next to nothing, but wont accept Euros, unlike our other purchases in the town. It just didnt seem worth changing a Euro or two to get across. Maybe next time.
We spent a relaxing afternoon sunbathing. This evening looks as though it is going to be packed, as there are quite a few bits of the onboard entertainment that we want to see.
Tallinn is a beautiful, picture postcard town. Over the last two years the town really seems to have come on, and feels far more European than when we last visited. The central square of the old town seems to be full of young people, and has a vibrant, vital feel to it. Mind you, I cant quite understand the attraction for Brits visiting on their hen/stag parties.
We found some lovely half deserted streets to wander around, and in one such street, found a little glass shop, where the owner still blows the glass on site while his assistant mans the shop. We bought a couple of little shot glasses, which just need some vodka in them now!
Tonight was another formal night, so we once again dressed in our finest. It was also the captain’s cocktail party, so had the opportunity to meet the master of the vessel, and sip a cocktail or two, before heading down for dinner.
Our second day in St Petersberg started off nice and leisurely, with a late breakfast followed by a bit of sunbathing on deck, prior to our afternoon excursion.
In the afternoon our excursion took us on a tour by boat of the rvers and canals of St Petersberg, which is often called the Venice of the North. The excursion also took us to the Peter & Paul Fortress, which is a marvellous place to visit when it is quiet, but today there seemed to be a multitude of tour groups from different cruise shps, all viying to see the inside of the fortress. We took so long queuing that we had little time to see much else at all. A pity, as St Petersberg is really begining to grow on us.
I felt sorry for our tour guide, Larisa, as it was her very first day at work, and seemed to be struggling, both with keeping count of us, and making herself heard and understood. When she announced at the end of the excursion that it was her first day on the job, attitudes immediately warmed to her, where before some people had been a little unsatisfied.
The trip back to the ship was also interesting, as we saw many brides and grooms, all being photographed at the various historic locations. This is a common custom amongst newly weds in St Petersberg.
The city is really beautiful in the sun, and it is definitely somewhere where we would like to visit again.
We had to rise early this morning, so that we might participate in an organised tour. 06:45 local time, that being 03:45 if we had been at home. Having in arrived in St Petersberg, the destination of the morning’s tour was the “Tsar’s Village”, Pushkin. Pushkin is home to a fabulous restored palace, and it was here we were bound. Whilst the restoration of this palace was a sight to see, I found that the most interesting part of our tour was the trip through the suberbs of St Petersberg, where we could but get a glimpse of the daily life of a Russian. The suberbs are a grey, dreary place, scarred by the poverty which once existed. The older buildings that pre date the Communist revolution look as though they may be wonderous, but they are hidden underneath decades of grime. Perhaps living in a city where the number of cloudless days a year generally numbers twenty or there abouts gives no great incentive.
Tonight, we watch my favourire film in the ship’s theatre… Dr Zhivago. Extremely topical.
