before we forget.
Emme was an excellent tour guide during our time in Berlin.
She had been there for six months and definitely knew her way around!
Before she left on her European adventure, she kept asking if we weren't planning to come visit her while she was there.
I'm not sure she really expected us to...
but we decided it was as good an excuse as any to visit a city we had never been to.
Since we were going all that way...
we decided to book a Baltic cruise from Berlin's nearest port.
A 12-day cruise with only one sea-day sounded perfect...
and our long time friends and travel mates (Dave and Janet) thought so too!
Emme had reserved tickets for us to tour the Reichstag dome...
a large glass dome that sits at the very top of the government buildings.
The Reichstag is the historic government building...
built on the banks of the Spree River in 1894.
Brandenburg Gate...
one of Germany's best-known landmarks.
It was built in the 18th Century under orders of King Frederick William ll...
and has played a role in Germany's tumultuous past.
Emme's friend Katelyn joined us as we played tourist together.
Apparently one can not visit Berlin without having a doner kebab.
They are a flatbread sandwich of Turkish origin made famous in West Berlin in the 1970's.
I agree.
They were amazing!
We walked what remains of the Berlin wall..
a 1.3 kilometer section along the Spree River.
After the wall came down in 1989...
it was decided to keep one section as an art gallery.
Artists from around the world were commissioned to paint a section.
This is one of the iconic paintings...
depicting a Trabant (popular East German car) breaking through the East Side Wall.
So much recent history...
I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it all.
We took a sightseeing cruise on the River Spree...
...and then enjoyed coffee and a free concert on riverbank.
We learned to take the train without our trusty tour guide...
and visited the Berlin Zoo one day.
From kebabs to pretzels...
and all other things that remind us of Berlin...
it was time to say good-bye to Emme and set sail on the Baltic.
We boarded the MSC Poesia in Warnemunde and set sail for Visby, Sweden.
Visby is a town on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.
It has a well-preserved medieval town wall...
complete with towers.
Visby is a UNESCO world heritage site...
and has been dubbed 'the city of roses and ruins'.
We strolled the narrow cobblestone streets...
...and checked out the ruins of several old churches.
This 13th Century church is the site of weddings today.
Gdansk, Poland was one of our favorite stops on our cruise.
Our taxi-driver was the best tour guide...
a storehouse of information!
Gdansk is where World War 11 began...
and it was the worker's movement of Gdansk that brought about the end of the Cold War.
The Upland Gate...
built in the 16th century at the entrance to the old town.
Gdańsk has been a link to the waterways of Europe for centuries ...
it's where Poland's main river, the Vistula, meets the Baltic Sea.
Our well-informed taxi driver / tour guide also knew that the Mennonites once lived on the Vistula Delta.
Old world charm...
...we loved Gdansk.
And then we moved on to another historic old town...
Riga...
the capital of Latvia.
Beautiful old cathedrals...
with fresh live cut flowers.
Riga is the largest city in the Baltics…
…with cobblestone streets and beautiful old buildings.
The golden domed cathedral of Riga.
The Corner House is an historic building in the city centre that served as the headquarters of the KGB in Latvia until 1991. We toured the KGB museum housed here. Very sobering.
Our next port was Tallinn, Estonia...where we had a short walk from the pier to the old town.
The walls and towers were built in the 13th Century.
One of the best preserved medieval cities of Europe...
...it is a bit of a hidden gem.
We discovered that the people of Estonia are very wary of Putin / Russia...
with a makeshift wall of artwork along a cobblestone street expressing that sentiment.
The Town Hall Square has been the centre of the town since the Middle Ages.
Their bookstore had the most unique window boxes.
We checked out the coffee and pastries in every port.
We weren't ever disappointed.
Stockholm, Sweden.
We arrived in Stockholm along with the thousands who were there for the half-marathon taking place right then.
It also happened to be the week of the Golden Jubilee celebrations for King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden who is Sweden's longest reigning monarch.
We watched the changing of the guard ceremony at the King's Palace.
And after all the pomp and ceremony...
the band played a little ABBA for our enjoyment!
Sidewalk cafes...
...and afternoon coffee breaks.
Mårten Trotzigs Gränd is an alley in old town...
Stockholm's narrowest street.
Thirty-seven stairs and just 35" wide.
We walked everywhere.
Others scooted.
Strolling Gamla Stan...
...or the seawall on our way to the maritime museum.
After 333 years on the seabed the warship was salvaged. It is the world's only preserved 17th century ship.
Our next stop was the ABBA museum.
Farewell to Stockholm...
a city built on fourteen islands.
Our one and only sea day was September 11th...
as we sailed toward Denmark.
We sailed through the fog and the mist that day.
...and celebrated Elmer's birthday on the Baltic Sea.
and the colourful buildings of Ny Havn.
Christiansborg Palace...
Danish government building.
We took a boat tour on the canal...
and learned a lot about this city.
We saw the famous mermaid statue from the boat...
and found it rather disappointing.
Many of Copenhagen's most impressive buildings are visible from the water
...so a canal cruise was the perfect way to see and learn about them.
King's New Square.
We left Copenhagen...
...and awoke to rain in Karlskrona, Sweden.
It was our only rainy day on our entire trip.
We walked in the rain...
...and found a warm and cozy Swedish cafe.
Karlskrona is Sweden's only baroque city and has Sweden's largest naval base as well as the headquarters of the Coast Guard.
It is another UNESCO World Heritage city...with amazing old buildings.
And that was the last port of call on our Baltic cruise.
We woke up back in Warenmunde...