Category: Port of Call
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Baltic Port Roundup
Below are some brief comments about all the ports on our recent fourteen day Holland America cruise on the Rotterdam. All of the ports were new experiences for us with the exception of Copenhagen. Kalundborg, Denmark The crew explained that this was an unusual port of call for the ship. …
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A Return to Copenhagen
Our last port of call on this adventure was Copenhagen. We spent a few days here a number of years ago prior to leaving on our first transatlantic cruise. Between that and it being the end of a busy trip, we kept a low profile today. Most large ships dock…
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Kiel: The Sailing City
This morning we sailed down the Kiel Fjord from the Baltic Sea. Kiel is the capital of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein and has a significant maritime ship building industry. Located in what was the former West Germany near Denmark, it was largely destroyed in WWII and rebuilt in a…
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Glorious Gdansk Poland
Visiting Poland represents two things: first, it’s a country that holds a piece of my family heritage and second, it is the fiftieth country we have visited in our travels. Our ship docked in Gdynia one of the Tri-Cities of this Baltic region (Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk). Outside of docking…
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Visby, Sweden: City of Roses and Ruins
While known for both its roses and its ruins, being mid-May it was ruins not roses. This UNESCO World Heritage City on Gotland Island is a well preserved Hanseatic city. Visby and Tallinn are both known for maintaining their original medieval city grid planning. Here in Visby there are over…
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Stockholm: A Scandinavian Jewel
The ship’s arrival into Stockholm this morning was a slow sail through the archipelago that lends itself to its magic. If I am being honest, seeing this city has been “on this list” for a quite some time and I could not hide my excitement. As I saw the main…
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Helsinki: the City on the Sea
Today’s port of call is Helsinki, Finland. A drizzly morning turned warm and sunny which is always welcome. The ship docks a ways away from the City Center. We had some Shore Excursion credit so we did a ship sponsored tour. It was a Helsinki Highlights and Finnish Food Tastings…
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Timeless Tallinn
There are many ports of call throughout the Baltics. One that has always lured me is Tallinn, Estonia. The preserved Old Town with its towers, walls, red roofs and colorful buildings. How can you resist? It lies on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, 50 miles south of…
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Warnemunde & Rostock: North Coast of Germany
Our second port of call and first of two in Germany (Kiel is next week). We ported in Warnemunde at the mouth of the Warnow River, hence the name. Described as a seaside resort town, for us it resembled both British resort towns and those we are very familiar with…
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Kalundborg, Denmark
Out first port of call on this cruise is Kalundborg Denmark on Zealand’s northwestern coast. We were informed that this is an unusual stop for Holland America and that the city was prepared to welcome us! We docked 6km from town which necessitated a shuttle bus service although some folks…
Four Good Travels 