Thank you to Lola for taking us on a cruise of Scandinavia. We spent almost 3 weeks in Amsterdam, Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Berlin (Germany), Gdansk (Poland), Visby (Sweden), Tallinn (Estonia), Stockholm (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark).
What did we do in Amsterdam? I set up a few tours and visits – a general city tour, a pancake boat breakfast, Anne Frank museum, Riecht museum, Van Gogh museum… We saw the Dam Square, Royal Palace, Central Station, a hidden church, Red Light District, coffeeshops, Dutch East India Headquarters, Jewish Quarter, canals, and the Dutch bike culture.
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These are paintings by Matthew Wong.
We also met our friend, Patricia, who we got to know in Nicaragua’s La Mariposa Spanish School. We had a yummy pancake breakfast on the boat.
A little more off-the-beaten-path - a horror tour and a Red Light District tour.
For Berlin, we did a tour of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp as well as the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie.
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For Gdansk, Poland, we visited the Old Town, St Mary’s Church, Fahrenheit’s home, and beautiful old streets.
For Visby, Sweden, we visited the beautiful medieval castles, forts, walls, and church ruins. We also saw the botanical garden.
We walked along the outside of Visby's medieval town wall, stopping to read plaques and take photos before heading into one of the gated towers. Visby is full of tiny little alleyways, old houses, church ruins, and roses, plus armies of stone sheep everywhere,
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A little history… The Danish conquest of Estonia in 1219 that marked the beginning of Tallinn’s history as a town (Taani linn means Danish town from the old Estonian name). From the 13th to the 16th century Tallinn grew very wealthy. It was part of the Hanseatic League, a medieval trade network, trading in commodities such as grains, salt and furs (squirrel pelts!). The Swedes ruled from the mid-16th century until the early 18th century. In 1710 the Imperial Russians took charge until 1918 when Estonia was briefly an independent country.
In 1940 the Soviets annexed the country and it was only in 1991 that Estonia finally regained its independence.
We visited the Kadriorg Park, learned about the KGB, walked along the City Hall,
For Stockholm, we visited the ABBA museum, Vasa museum, and the Parliament. We also visited the Iron Boy, St George and the Dragon, the Royal Palace, German church and German square, and the Burned Square.
We visited Gamla Stan (Old Town with lots of cobblestone streets with a super narrow street where they used to throw out their poop), Riddarholm Church, House of Nobility, Stortorget, Stockholm Cathedral, The Royal Palace, The Royal Armory, Stockholm City Hall, Vasa Museum
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The Vasa is an impeccably restored 17th-century warship, which sank only 100 m off the southernmost point of Djurgården on her maiden voyage in 1628. The Vasa’s fatal design flaws (it was too heavy and its hull was too slender to endure even the slightest swell) led to the sinking. It lay preserved in mud for over 300 years, the ship was pulled up along with 12,000 objects in 1961, and now forms the core of the museum. The brackish water of the Baltic Sea insulated the ship’s oak timber from attacks by shipworms. The decorations are incredible and include 500 sculptures and 200 ornaments. They include grotesque replicas of human faces, lion masks, naked cherubs, sea monsters, and other carvings. There are also many sculptures of Biblical figures and figures from Greek mythology.
We also visited the Christiansborg Palace, Rosenborg Garden and Palace, City Hall…
Overall, it was a beautiful bonding vacation. Thanks again Lola!
