Babymooning in the Baltic - Part I

It seems a long time ago that I was sprawled out on the sheets day after day, with all the windows open and the fan blowing on me, taking cold showers every few hours and hoping for some relief from the heat and the sick of early pregnancy.  Now that fall is in full swing, the weather has cooled, and my energy levels have returned, it's hard to believe we had a summer around here at all.  I really did sleep for almost two months solid.  But in July, I would have given anything for it to be cold outside; I have literally been anticipating Christmas since Bastille Day.  Well try as I might, I couldn't convince winter and cold weather to come any sooner, but I could get us out of the heat and to chilly locales.  And that is how we ended up on a two week cruise through the Baltic and North Seas, braving rough waters and storms every day, drinking hot chocolate every afternoon and marveling at a new set of mountains and fjords with every sunrise.

Our journey started in Copenhagen, Denmark, a magical city full of entertainment and fun, and according to the 2013 World Happiness Report, home to the world's happiest people.  Not to diverge to too much, but I found this article on the report particularly interesting:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/denmark-happiest-country_n_4070761.html 

Come on America!  Let's learn a few things!!

Aside from happiness-inducing governing policies, Copenhagen is also famous for the world's second oldest amusement park, Tivoli Gardens.  The park itself isn't huge, but considering it is located right in the middle of the city, it's pretty decent sized.  The rides themselves were off limits for us, or at least for me with my growing baby bump, but we had a nice evening stroll around the gardens and played a few carnival games.  They also offer shows every hour or so and have plenty of themed restaurants for fueling up - we chose the Danish one for dinner.

While Copenhagen has a number of interesting sites and landmarks to see, their most famous is probably the statue of The Little Mermaid.  Given to the city of Copenhagen in 1913, the statue honors Copenhagen's role in producing of some of the world's most well-know fairy tales.  The city was home to author H.C. Anderson for many years, and you can still see today some of the houses where he lived and penned tales such as The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Princess and The Pea.  We only had about 24 hours in Copenhagen, but with smiling faces at every corner, palaces and castles every few blocks, and streets lined with beautifully maintained colorful buildings and interesting shops, it is easy to see how the city could inspire such creative and lively stories.                

From Copenhagen we boarded our ship, the Norwegian Star, a very tired looking cruise ship that is clearly approaching retirement.  But that's what you get when you choose a cruise that heads up to the middle of nowhere, instead of of the more popular Mediterranean destinations.  Our first stop along our route was Bergen, Norway.  Never heard of it?  Us either.  In fact, we hadn't heard of most of the ports of call on this cruise.  The itinerary was very unique for a major cruise line (Norwegian Cruise Line) and was lacking in major tourist cities, but for us it was a fantastic opportunity to see some places we would otherwise have never thought to visit.  The city of Bergen is often titled the "gateway to the fjords", as Bergen makes a great launching point for fjord exploration trips.  However, to dive that far into nature, you need more than the 8 hours allowed by a cruise ship.  Instead, we rode the Floibanen Funicular to the top of Mount Floyen to take in the views of the city and sea.

Cold, cloudy day at the top of Mt. Floyen

I should also mention that Bergen receives about 300 days of rain each year.  So while it might seem unlucky that our views were masked by fog, it's not actually all that uncommon.  And it was kind of neat to feel like we were on the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere.        

They also really love trolls in Norway

Next up was Alesund, Norway.  Alesund was recently voted the most beautiful city in Norway.  But they have a slight advantage.  In 1904, there was a huge fire and a large portion of the city burned down.  Thus, what you see today is almost all newly built - of course it looks great!  Although the look of Alesund is not the traditional wooden homes you might imagine Norway to be; after the fire they outlawed the building of wooden homes within the city limits, and today everything is made from stone and concrete.

In Alesund we visited an old Norwegian church from the *** and a lighthouse that overlooks the Norwegian Sea.  While the church itself is very historically significant, what I found the most interesting was the simple style of the church.  Many historic European churches are known for intricate details and ornate fixings, but the Norwegian style was much more plain.  The sun came out for our lighthouse visit, and it presented a perfect, crisp, clear day for us (one of the only ones we had).  A bit removed the from the city, the red and white lighthouse standing in the midst of green fields, dark mountains, sparkling deep blue waters and bright blue sky made for a very scenic seaside afternoon.

From Alesund we headed west through the North Sea to The Shetland Islands, Scotland.  We anchored outside the town of Lerwick and headed in for a rainy afternoon of shopping and exploring the town center.  We stopped for a hot chocolate break at a darling little cafe that reminded us very much of home.

French cafes have a unique look and feel to them, and are quite different from your neighborhood American / Anglophone coffee shop.  Drinks are served in petite mugs with no fancy fixings, and rarely will you find a coffee shop with a couch for relaxing; it's all bistro tables around here.  After our cozy coffee shop break, we boarded a bus to the country side for visit with a few of the island's most famous inhabitants - Shetland Ponies!            

They nuzzle each other for warmth, how sweet :)

Snack time!

The day's icky weather made these short-legged, round-bellied creatures look even more weighted down and dumpy than usual, but the ponies didn't seem to mind.  As the owners told us, their main concern at all times is food, food, and more food - they even said to watch our fingers when petting them in case the ponies think we have food in our hands!  Not to worry though, everyone left with all 10 fingers in tact.  It's hard to imagine living in a place as small and secluded as the Shetland islands.  Sure they have everything they need, and mainland Scotland isn't all that far away, but the options for entertainment are so limited (I bet they don't even have a bowling alley) and there is almost no trace of a bustling city life.  But it's not like any other small town atmosphere, because it's surrounded by bright green rolling hills and deep blue ocean waters.  Yet these folks are perfectly content with their scenic island home, and take pride in the island's unique beauty and history.  For those of raised within the luxuries and limitless options of city life, the quaintness of Shetland seems almost archaic, and yet you can feel the island's peace and joy as soon as you step foot off the dock.        

All of that, and we are only halfway through this cruise!