A Day of Diversity

A fascinating day today. Early, before breakfast or, way before an ordinary sunrise, we sailed into another Nordfjord through a narrow channel of towering, glacier capped cliffs. The entrance into this magical fjord was further blocked by a large rock pinnacle several meters below the surface. Due to the narrowness of the fjord and the submerged rocks no commercial ships or boats attempt an entrance. The fjord is stunning with 1,500' sheer cliffs to the north and 3,000' cliffs to the south. Massive waterfalls cascading to the sea from irredescent blue glaciers capping the tops of the cliffs. We continued sailing up this vertical channel for miles before beaching on a boulder strewn gravel beach. Our captain ran the bow up on the gravel and held the ship pinned against the glacial moraine with the main engines while we disembarked ashore. After our fatiguing hikes over the past week, Paula and I decided to have a quiet day ashore. We climbed a short distance up a recent slide to a comfortable position in a thick moss bed under young beach trees for a relaxing morning of bird watching. We re boarded the Explorer for lunch and began the winding route out of the fjord to the open ocean. For our trip along the coastline and fjords we have taken on two Norwegian pilots. One of the pilots mentioned that the most remote community, a fishing village, was a short detour. The pilot and our Swedish captain radio'd the manager of the village. An amazing sight. The captain sailed past the small fishing wharf and then backed in an paralleled parked. The island is small and the village smaller - a fishing company town. As we were maneuvering to dock the locals were sweeping fish from the wharf. We disembarked several able bodied seaman (AB's) with a fire hose from the ship to help clean the wharf of fish before we put the gang plank out. While clean, the wharf was still a bit odiferous.

We all marched ashore through the small village and visited the local Lutheran church. Very different than North Prairie. A sailboat hung from the ceiling and the pulpit was raised to the right as in a Catholic cathedral. The church was smaller than North Prairie. While we wandered about the small, isolated village, the ships crew ferried, by zodiac, pickled herring and beer to the small harbor for all to enjoy. We are now well north of the Arctic circle and have seen our last sunset until we return to Oslo on June 16th.



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Location:Treava

Nordfjord

We entered Nordfjord and sailed east for 110 kilometers in the narrow fjord before reaching the village of Olden. The trip up the fjord was a treat, towering snow capped ridges and mountains rising vertically from the sea: waterfalls plunging into the sea.


We were off the ship by 7:30 and drove inland for an hour. The road is more lane the road, only one lane. We were escorted up the valley beside calm lakes interconnected with a white water stream. The mountains grew larger with more snow as we traveled inland.


We arrived at the trail head to the Briksdal glacier and began the long hike uphill follow a meltwater creek higher and higher. The creek is more waterfall than creek.


As we climbed higher we began to see glimpses of the glacier.


The clouds would warp up like the lifting of a curtain to give us a peek at our destination.


We continued up until we reached the glacial lake at the toe of the glacier.


To understand the scale, there are several people standing next to the lake.

The trip down offered even more spectacular views. The sun cleared the glacier and illuminated the mountains and waterfalls.





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Location:Nordfjord: Olden, Norway

Bergen

We picked up a pilot early in the day and entered the port city of Bergen.


We disembarked and explored the city before lunch. After lunch, we road a funicular to the hills above the city.


The weather was wonderful and the dark woods full of trolls and splashing small water falls so we decided to hike back to town in lieu of riding the funicular back to the port. The shady walk down the steep trail winding through moss covered boulders and ferns took us on a long and circuitous route back into the center of Bergen.





We spent the rest of the day walking through town, the fish market and the old Hanseatic neighborhood.


The buildings all lean one way or the other. The door frames are so cantered that I doubt the doors can be shut..

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Location:Bergen, Norway

Hidra

We sailed overnight out of Copenhagen and were off the southern Coast of Norway by morning. We continued north to the small fishing village of Hidra and anchored amid rocky, granite islands and road zodiacs ashore. The village is beautiful with a small Lutheran church set among well kept cottages.






From the village we hiked to the top of the headland overlooking the North Sea and the village of Hidra.



The Explorer is just visible in the right center of the photo above.

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Location:Skagerrak, Southern Norway

Copenhagen

The first of June delivered us to the capital city of Copenhagen. We left the fogs and mists of the Baltic Sea and Swedish coast behind. The view from the ship promised another beautiful day of sightseeing. This was the end of our first trip so we bid farewell to our friends returning home and looked forward to meeting our new traveling companions. While the rest of the passengers boarded buses and taxis for the airport or hotels, Paula and I set out on foot to explore Copenhagen.


Like most the cities on the Baltic, Copenhagen is bisected by a number of cafe lined canals.


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Location:Copenhagen, Denmark

Sweden

Sweden is a beautiful country: from the fast pace of Stockholm






to the peace and tranquility of the many small islands


Visby on the island of Gotland.



The nature preserve on Stora Karlso






Ales Stenar (Viking ruins) near the village of Kaseberga.





The road to Kaseberga.

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Location:Stockholm, Sweden

Finland

We sailed through hundreds of small rocky islands - some only a few acres or less. The passage between these granite rocks in the Finish archipelago is fascinating but not easy. We took a Finish pilot aboard and we wound through the rocks with little clearance between the outcrops at times. We anchored off one of the larger Alande Islands and made a Zodiac landing in a small rocky cove.








There are a number of small huts on the island that Finish artist sometimes use for the solitude of the islands.


This particular building is perched over a cove and is a boat house. The small boats actually tie up under the building. We had a peaceful, pleasant walk across the island before re boarding the Explorer.

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Location:At Sea - Coastal Finland

St. Petersburg

Our first day in St. Petersburg was dominated by Catherine's Winter Palace, the Hermitage. This was our first glimpse of the tremendous excess of the Russian rulers. Never in our life have we witnessed the acres of gold that adorned every molding, door, chandelier and frame. Combined with the magnificent parquet floors, huge pieces of art everywhere, and gilded statues. We were surprised that the great works of art were hung in front of large windows and not protected from the sun.







That evening we attended a ballet, Swan Lake, in the Winter Palace. The ballet was performed in Catherine the Great's private theater. The theater holds only 250 people and is as ornate and gilded as the rest of the palace.

The next day were up early and drove out of St. Petersburg to Catherine's Summer Palace. The Summer Palace dwarfs the Winter Palace. The palace extends three quarters of a mile and is more gilded, ornate and decorated.



We saved the best for last, Peterhoff; one of Peter the Great's palaces. The palace was beautiful but were most taken by the beautiful gardens and endless fountains.





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Location:St. Petersburg, Russia

Estonia

We arrived in the capital of Estonia mid morning with bright sunshine.


The city of Tallinn is a gorgeous city in a tiny, Baltic country. We had spent the previous week traveling with Trivimi Velliste and his wife Anne. Trivimi was one of the architects of the Singing Revolution, the first foreign minister, and Estonia's ambassador to the United Nations. A fascinating man with an incredible life story. The old town of Tallinn is built on a steep hill and split into two parts, the upper town and lower.





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Location:Tallinn, Estonia

Latvia

We had a fun visit in the beautiful city of Riga. Riga was a major center of the Hanseatic League and became very prosperous in the 13th - 15th centuries. A renewed prosperity within the urban middle class at the turn of the last century led to a burst of modern architecture in the suburbs surrounding the old town. The boulevard city that grew up in the 1900's is Art Nouveau.













While the new, turn of the century, part of the city boasted wide boulevards the old city was made up of large squares with medieval churches accessed by narrow cobblestone streets.



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Location:Riga, Latvia

Lithuania

Klaipeda is the third largest city in the tiny country of Lithuania. Lithuania has a population of only 1.2 million people.

We took a short ferry ride across the Dane River lagoon to the Curonian Spit. The Curonian Spit is home to Lithuania's national park. We traveled through a beautiful forest following the lagoon. The forest is home to many nesting cormorants and herons in addition to wild boar, elk, and deer. We visited a fantastic area called the Witches Hill. The hill is the highest point on the peninsula, some 42 meters above the lagoon. We followed a trail winding through the forest. Wood carvers and sculptors had been invited to make wood carvings depicting the myths, legends, and stories of the Lithuania. The carvings are fantastic but the stories are even better.











I wish I could share more of these fun, whimsical carvings.

The pettiness and cruelty of the current Russian government can be witnessed in this tiny country. The National Park is the pride of the Lithuanians - they have spent years planting trees and in restoration projects. Now the Russians have threatened to build a nuclear power plant on the portion of the spit within Russia. Further, Lithuania was forced to close their Chernobyl style nuclear plant in order to gain admission to the European Union. They are now dependent on Russia for electricity and natural gas. Russia has raised the prices in an attempt to control the country. For every positive step Lithuania makes, Russia attempts to knock them back.

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Location:Klaipeda, Lithuania

Poland

We started our day in Gdansk with a visit with Lech Walsea. He is a fascinating, charismatic man. An electrician who went on to organize the Solidarity movement into a political party and to become the first freely elected president of Poland since 1947. Lech spoke through an interpreter but had a great sense of humor and is a very approachable person.




The drive from the Gdansk shipyards to the old, medieval city took us through the former soviet sections of town. The streets were lined with run down drab concrete buildings with no distinguishing features other than their ugliness and graffiti. All this changed as we walked through the Green Gate, the entrance to the Old Town.


The effect of the Soviet occupation has left lasting problems for all of the Baltic States that were occupied. Much is evident in the depressing rows of concrete housing blocks but, more insidious is the damage done to the population. Two generations that have never known freedom, that struggled to make it through one more day - a day spent waiting in line for hours for even the simplest of necessities. The countries all suffer from a lack of work ethic. Entering the European Union has greatly helped the Baltic countries by opening access to aid but, the shoddy workmanship that is a holdover from Soviet days makes it impossible for them to compete.

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Location:Gdansk, Poland

Bornholm, Denmark

We sailed the short distance from Christianso to Bornholm, Denmark. Bornholm is a much larger island with about 45,000 residents. We landed on the eastern shore at the town of Allinge. Compared to Christianso, Bornholm felt like a bustling metropolis.

We took a beautiful hike along the shoreline in a light mist and heavy fog. It reminded many of Scotland or Wales. We ended our trek at the ruins of the medieval castle, Hammershus. The ruins and collapsed towers emerging from the mist made for an amazing experience.





After the long hike we returned to the village for a traditional Baltic meal:



Smoked herring and a local beer. The herring is good but boney. I learned after the fact how to pull the backbone from the flesh and remove most the bones.


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Location:Riga, Latvia