The land of tons of daylight

By John Olesky
BJ 1969-96
I saw the light on my sixth cruise in 40 months with Paula. Plenty of it. During our July 15-28 Baltic Sea vacation sunrise was as early as 4 a.m. and sunset was as late as 11 p.m. Up to 19 hours of daylight in Scandinavia.

Holland America’s MS Rotterdam took us to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Germany, Estonia and Holland.

I got to test my 5-month-old right knee replacement on cobblestone streets, hills and church steps. We walked as long as five hours on some days. The knee worked fine. Thanks, Dr. Raymond Acus III of Falls Orthopedic Surgeons.

I loved the Old Town section of Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, where the Town Wall and fortresses were built in the 15th through 17th centuries – and cobblestone streets. Old Town even survived World War II.

Obviously, when you visit St. Petersburg you go to Russia’s Hermitage, where we spent three hours looking at some of the three million works of art. And marveled at the Church on the Spilled Blood, built on the spot where Czar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. The building has perhaps more mosaic pieces inside and out than any church in the world. A football field away near the Griboedov Canal we observed five wedding parties. Russian newlyweds go to various famous, popular sites for their wedding photos. Instead of “cheese,” the photographer and the guests yelled “Vodka!” before the pictures were taken.

We were fascinated by the Vasa, a 226-foot long, 62-foot high wooden Swedish warship that capsized and sank 10 minutes into its 1628 maiden voyage. It remained under the Baltic Sea for 333 years before being brought up. The Baltic’s brackish water kept the Vasa 95% intact. A Stockholm museum was built to house it.

Helsinki’s Lutheran Cathedral, with its 56 steep steps, gave my knee another successful test. It is a 1852 replacement for a 1727 church.

Oslo’s 80-acre Vigeland Park, with 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland, beginning in 1924, was astounding. We also entered Oslo’s City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded.

Also amazing was the astronomical clock in St. Mary’s Church in Rostock, Germany. It was built in 1472 and will keep track of the minute, hour, day, month and year till 2017.

Paula visited the 1,200-seat Arhus Theater in Arhus, Denmark, without me while I upchucked and spent the entire day in our cabin.

We prefer to explore on our own and stumbled upon the World Lifeguard Championships off the beaches of Warnemunde, Germany. The Australians seemed to be dominating the events, which included jumping into a motorized rubber rescue boat, racing out to buoys and bringing the “victim” back to the sand.

Since we were in Germany, the land of beermakers, Paula and I hoisted pilsners and emptied our cups. A fitting toast to another marvelous vacation, I’d say.

To see the photos, click on the headline.