Eclipsing Northern Europe by cruise : Basic black , and Baltic blues

[scubacruiserx2]

I'm assuming that this was an April Fools joke. I can't imagine the amount of pats and pee would be good for the grass.

 

Pull the udder one!:D

 

Fresh milk is udderly delicious !! :) :D

[BigJH]

Fresh milk is udderly delicious !! :) :D

 

 

Another great pic...out of interest, do you know what the contraption on the far right is? I've looked at it for some time now and can't work out what it is?

[Tom Baker]

Another great pic...out of interest, do you know what the contraption on the far right is? I've looked at it for some time now and can't work out what it is?

 

Isn't it obvious? It's the milking machine ;)

[scubacruiserx2]

Another great pic...out of interest, do you know what the contraption on the far right is? I've looked at it for some time now and can't work out what it is?

 

It's an aerial work platform .

 

 

 

 

Isn't it obvious? It's the milking machine ;)

 

 

If the cow is large enough ! Perhaps the UK equivalent of Bessie the yeller cow .

[scubacruiserx2]

We were told that we would be sailing under the Orsund Bridge just after midnight and that it was something to see .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund_Bridge

 

 

It's a bridge which connects Copenhagen , Denmark and Malmo , Sweden .

 

 

 

 

We went to bed early and I slept restlessly . After looking at the clock I saw that it was time and jumped up in time to see the bridge right in front of us through our window ! And after throwing on my clothes and grabbing my camera , I ran up forward and up to the Solstice Deck . It was packed ! and there was no place to take a good photo . Plan B was our balcony and as I was entering our cabin door I heard a very loud , audible Oooooh , from above as we slid beneath the bridge . Drat , I missed it !

 

And by the time I reached our balcony , this was the best that I could manage . Not my best photo , but something to see !

 

 

Edited July 11, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[ighten]

Ah.. "The Bridge" (One of the best Nordic noirs) . I can just see Saga crossing it in her porsche.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/apr/05/the-bridge-creator-fourth-series-last-murder-mystery-kim-bodnia

[Spike11]

We were told that we would be sailing under the Orsund Bridge just after midnight and that it was something to see .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund_Bridge

 

 

It's a bridge which connects Copenhagen , Denmark and Malmo , Sweden .

 

 

 

 

We went to bed early and I slept restlessly . After looking at the clock I saw that it was time and jumped up in time to see the bridge right in front of us through our window ! And after throwing on my clothes and grabbing my camera , I ran up forward and up to the Solstice Deck . It was packed ! and there was no place to take a good photo . Plan B was our balcony and as I was entering our cabin door I heard a very loud , audible Oooooh , from above as we slid beneath the bridge . Drat , I missed it !

 

And by the time I reached our balcony , this was the best that I could manage . Not my best photo , but something to see !

 

 

Not sure how to tell you this, but I don't think you went under the Orsund bridge!! Your picture is actually of the great belt bridge which is the other side of the Island that Copenhagen is on. If you google pictures of the two bridges you will see that the bit at the end of the suspension is different. I believe that there isn't sufficient clearance for large cruise ships to go under the Orsund bridge! This means that if you are coming back from the Baltic and calling at Copenhagen, you have to go all the way round the west and north of the island to get to Copenhagen. Sorry!

[scubacruiserx2]

Not sure how to tell you this, but I don't think you went under the Orsund bridge!! Your picture is actually of the great belt bridge which is the other side of the Island that Copenhagen is on. If you google pictures of the two bridges you will see that the bit at the end of the suspension is different. I believe that there isn't sufficient clearance for large cruise ships to go under the Orsund bridge! This means that if you are coming back from the Baltic and calling at Copenhagen, you have to go all the way round the west and north of the island to get to Copenhagen. Sorry!

 

Oops ! :o

 

Thank you for the clarification as we had not used this route before .

 

 

On our last trip to the Baltic in 2006 , we used the Kiel Canal both ways . And the NCL Dream had to flip it's funnel , to clear the bridge , while the band played on ! :) :D

 

 

[Spike11]

Oops ! :o

 

Thank you for the clarification as we had not used this route before .

 

 

On our last trip to the Baltic in 2006 , we used the Kiel Canal both ways . And the NCL Dream had to flip it's funnel , to clear the bridge , while the band played on ! :) :D

 

 

Wow - that must have been amazing!

[scubacruiserx2]

Wow - that must have been amazing!

 

It was ! After entering it we stopped and picked up the band . The land along the canal was flat , mostly farmland and people would ride along with the ship on bicycles and horse drawn carriages on the road next to the canal . They would wave different flags and hands and yell greetings to us as we went along . All of the photos that I have from that trip were film and so the photo , is a photo , of a photo . :confused:

[scubacruiserx2]

As we were going to sleep on the night before Stockholm , an announcement on the PA informed us that due to the high wind , a ship of our size may not be able to sail through the Swedish Archipelago !

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_archipelago

 

 

I was up about 4 am and it was already light outside . And as I looked through our front window , our ship slowed almost to a stop , just outside of the entrance of the archipelago where there was another ship .

 

 

 

Would they (and we ) go in ?

 

 

 

A video clip :

 

 

 

I headed out on to the balcony ( It was COLD and windy )for some more photos .

 

 

 

And we were in !!

 

 

 

 

The first structure on shore

 

 

 

 

Back inside , where it was warm !

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Our pilot soon bailed out

 

 

 

Leaving us to follow the other ship(s) ahead of us

 

 

 

 

We headed down for a different angle and some liquid stimulation

 

 

 

 

 

 

However , at 6:40 Cafe Al Bacio was still asleep .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

As soon as Cafe al Bacio was opened we and a couple of other Americans from CC were there for our fix

 

 

 

 

And with a 10:00 arrival , we could sit and enjoy it there while chatting with the fellowship of the coffee ring

 

 

 

 

 

This is where we prefer the Princess International Cafe to the Celebrity version . The Princess IC is open 24 hours a day !!

 

 

 

Time for some photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

We passed very close by this island

 

 

 

 

And here's the video clip :

 

 

 

I wish that I knew how deep the water was at this point .

[scubacruiserx2]

Earlier we reviewed the Beatles Celebration tribute band on the Eclipse . I saw on the www today another band who has an absolutely spot - on John impersonator.

 

 

 

His version of You've got to hide your love away :

 

 

 

I thought that I was watching the real John Lennon !!

 

 

[Little Nell]

My goodness this is a long thread! I have really enjoyed you super photographs and reading about your experiences on your cruise. We are going on 31st July sailing, having done the same itinerary on the same ship last year and reading this thread has raised the excitement levels considerably. Thank you for taking the time to do it.

[scubacruiserx2]

It took almost 5 hours from the time we entered the archipelago until we left the ship .

 

 

 

And we weren't alone

 

 

 

We spent some of the time reviewing Rick Steves popular Northern European Cruise Ports .

 

 

 

 

 

 

And enjoying Eggs Benedict in the big room before Tyler woke up .

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

As we approached the Stockholm harbor , Pat woke Tyler and took him to the buffet breakfast .

 

 

 

Our plan was simple :

 

1 .Berth at point E

 

2. Rapidly exit the ship

 

3. Use our pre - purchased HoHo boat tickets , following the blue route and after exiting the HoHo , walk to our points of interest .

 

 

 

As we were approaching our berth it , it didn't look quite right :

 

 

 

Recognizing the problem , I hurried down to buy shuttle tickets , just in case . We had been told on the ship that we could walk to the city by following a blue line painted on the ground after we exited the terminal area .

We were some of the first people to leave the ship and walked quickly to see if we were near the HoHo boat , and I stopped to take a photo quickly .

 

 

 

Tyler came running up to me and explained that Pat's card wouldn't allow her to exit the boat . We backtracked and talked to security to find out what was going on . After about 15 minutes she exited and is seen waving in the center of the photo .

 

 

 

By the time that we arrived at the pick up point , there we several hundred people in line and no buses on the horizon . We thought that we would cross the street and see if we were in the right place for the HoHo , or walk the 20 minutes to town , which we had been told on ship . After 20 minutes we stopped and recognized our demise . A man standing nearby asked us , in English , if he could help . After we explained , he told us that it was a 20 minute ride from there !

He asked where we were from and after telling him , he explained that his sister was married to an American and now lives in the US . He then asked if we would like a ride to the city ! As we chatted along the way , we found out that he had visited Florida and liked to SCUBA dive ! What a fortunate meeting !! Before he dropped us off at the Opera House , he also told us that he is partner in a catering service and gave us each a bottle of water .

 

 

 

And so we want to say thank you to Plurre - our Guardian Angel in Stockholm !!!

 

Edited July 12, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[upwarduk]

From the video, it looks as a very late change of plan, as so few buses were waiting.

Were you told the reason for the change of port?

[scubacruiserx2]

From the video, it looks as a very late change of plan, as so few buses were waiting.

Were you told the reason for the change of port?

 

I'm not sure if it was a change of port , but I'll tell what we did see and hear . Where we thought that we would berth is Stadsgarden # 167 , seen here with the NCL ship . It is about a 30 minute walk to Gamla Stan , the old town , which is seen in the distance .

 

 

Closer to old town , in berth 160 , was a Viking ship . Old town is a 15 minute walk from there .

 

 

 

This photo has old town to the right , out of the photo .

 

 

In between is a brick building , Fotografiska , a photo museum . Just above is an flat overlook with 4 flags where I wanted to climb and take a photo from ( which I didn't get to take ) . And so in this map below , the ships should be closer to old town with the museum between them .

 

 

 

On the Hoho boat that I took the photos from were some people from the Emerald Princess . Their ship could not enter the archipelago and so they went to a port more distant than ours , requiring about an hours bus ride ! :(

Edited July 12, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[funnel]

Fantastic review scubacruiserx2!

It feels like we are there cruising with you!

It's very interesting to read, even though this is my neck of the woods.

 

 

This is one of the Stockholm-Helsinki ferries. It departs in the evening and arrives the morning after, stays in port during the day and then back again the next night. You can bring your car onboard if you want. For being a ferry it's rather nice.

Here are some photos from one of my trips with this ferry:

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/threads/photos-from-a-baltic-ferry-cruise.241790/

 

Looking forward to the rest of your cruise review!

 

/Erik

[Gracie115]

Your photos, as always, are wonderful....enjoying tagging along with you!!:)

[scubacruiserx2]

Fantastic review scubacruiserx2!

It feels like we are there cruising with you!

It's very interesting to read, even though this is my neck of the woods.

 

 

 

This is one of the Stockholm-Helsinki ferries. It departs in the evening and arrives the morning after, stays in port during the day and then back again the next night. You can bring your car onboard if you want. For being a ferry it's rather nice.

Here are some photos from one of my trips with this ferry:

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/threads/photos-from-a-baltic-ferry-cruise.241790/

 

Looking forward to the rest of your cruise review!

 

/Erik

 

Hello Erik , thank you for writing and your encouraging words . I would also like to commend you and excellent review : Photos from a Baltic ferry cruise ! You did a great job and have some excellent photos !! I especially like the night photos . Did you use a tripod ? Also may I share a couple of your photos here , so the readers can see what we're talking about ?

 

Thank you for taking us inside of the ferry , and what a great idea to be able to take your automobile along ! I hope that the readers will look at it when they have some time , and I hope that you will share some photo reviews and photos for future visitors to Stockholm , here on CC ! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Your photos, as always, are wonderful....enjoying tagging along with you!!:)

 

Super Gracie ! You can see why we wanted to do a TA/Baltic B2B .And thanks for saying hello . :cool:

[scubacruiserx2]

Plurre dropped us off near the return meeting point for the shuttle bus to the Eclipse - The Royal Swedish Opera House .

 

 

 

It's a beautiful area , just across from Gustav Adolfs Square

 

 

 

 

We wanted to walk to the Stockholm City Hall for a tour with a few photo stops along the way

 

 

 

The city hall is the tall building behind Pat and Tyler

 

 

 

 

There is a pedestrian friendly walkway which passes safely beneath the motorway .

 

 

 

And across the street from the city hall is the stunning , modern Stockholm Waterfront Conference Center .

 

 

[funnel]

Hello Erik , thank you for writing and your encouraging words . I would also like to commend you and excellent review : Photos from a Baltic ferry cruise ! You did a great job and have some excellent photos !! I especially like the night photos . Did you use a tripod ? Also may I share a couple of your photos here , so the readers can see what we're talking about ?

 

Thank you for taking us inside of the ferry , and what a great idea to be able to take your automobile along ! I hope that the readers will look at it when they have some time , and I hope that you will share some photo reviews and photos for future visitors to Stockholm , here on CC ! :) :D

 

Thank you!

 

I didn’t use a tripod for the night shots. In some of the photos I took I tried to use the railing as a support for the camera, but as I was in the stern of the ferry there were a lot of vibrations from the propellers while we were docking so I had to use it without any support. I used my P&S camera, a Sony RX100 III, which I like a lot but it’s not that good if you go above ISO800 as it will be rather much noise. I think the shutter speed was about 0,5 sec so not all photos were sharp, but at least some.

I’m planning on buying a faster lens for my mirrorless camera for use when it’s darker outside. I think the photos will be a bit better than with the Sony camera.

 

Of course you can share some of the photos if you want!

 

Now I see that you have added some more photos. I’m off to look at them... :)

 

/Erik