Monthly Archives: September 2026
Aarhus
Aarhus, on the Jutland Peninsula, is Denmark’s second largest city. It’s a university town where one in every four locals is a student, and it has that vibe. It’s very pleasant, clean and green, with lots of pedestrianised areas, recycling facilities, and a mix of cool new buildings and nice historic ones. As is often […]
Sea Day
We have left eastern Europe behind and are sailing towards Rotterdam, via Aarhus. The sea is serene. The stairways and lift lobbies of our ship contain some eye catching and creative art pieces, so today I took a close look at all of them. Here are some of my favourites. You might even spot some […]
How The Other Half Lives
Riga left me with slightly mixed feelings. It is definitely a city in transition, with two distinct parts at opposite ends of the scale, and multiple facets in between. I got up early this morning. I wanted to see the famous Art Nouveau district. Ian was less interested, so I left him on board. Just […]
Klaipeda
You may not have heard of Klaipeda. It’s the third largest city in Lithuania, with a population of less than 200,000. It has been occupied by the Germans and the Russians, and still has influences of both. It was Russia’s only ice-free sea port. You may have heard of Kaliningrad. This is a Russian exclave, […]
Solidarność
If you were around in the late 1970s/early 1980s, you will know that this was a period of huge change in Europe, which affected the entire world. Solidarnosc, of course, means Solidarity in Polish. In 1980, the shipyard workers of Gdansk locked the gates and went on strike. The strike lasted 18 days. During that […]
German Precision
We were advised that the bow would be opened for the scenic cruise into the Kiel Fjord, from 6am. I happened to be awake so I threw a coat on over my PJs, grabbed the camera, and headed to Deck 5. It was pitch dark and clearly we weren’t going to see anything, so I […]
Double Header
I am writing this whilst sitting on a large lounging sofa, on the deck above the pool. We are listening to a very jaunty Bavarian brass band. Pretzels and beer abound. I have spotted a couple of dirndls and some lederhosen. People must pack them specially. I struggle to squeeze a nice dress in amongst […]
Colourful Copenhagen
Copenhagen is another port that we’ve been to before, albeit 10 years ago. We saw most of the main sights back then, so we wanted to spend today going a little off the beaten path, and not being too fixed in our plans. We caught a bus from the cruise terminal to the closest metro […]
Never Waste The Sunshine
Last night, after a dinner where we had a great conversation with a mother and daughter from the US West Coast, Ian went for a night time walk. Here is what he saw: Never waste the sunshine is an old Norwegian saying (along with “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes”). […]
Gimme Shelter
We woke up to gloomy but dry skies in Oslo. This is my third time here, and its unfailingly rained each time. We were well prepared, having brought our Hurtigruten jackets (which came from Norway originally, although we were given them in Ushuaia, about as far from Oslo as you can get) and Helly Hansen […]
