August 2016

 

We had a 17-hour layover in Stockholm, and we decided to make the most out of it. We checked into our hotel near the airport after arriving at Arlanda Airport in the afternoon and went right back out to get on the Airport Express train(540 SEK r/t). We were in downtown Stockholm in 20 minutes.

The Old Town, Gamla Stan, was an easy walk from the train station. The rain came down off and on, but we did not mind walking around and taking in the views of the palace, city hall, churches, and monuments. Cars are not allowed in this area.

After getting over the initial sticker shock that is expected in a Scandinavian country, we walked into one of the restaurants filled with a lively crowd. Luckily, they found a table for us. A warm meal felt so right, and we were relaxed enough so that we could order drinks without looking at the price tag.

Thanks to the long northern daylight, we could still see more of the city as we walked back to the train station. For a short visit, we felt we got enough glimpses of the place. $60 Express Train ticket was worth it, we concluded.

About a year later in June of 2018, we did a Nordic cruise that stopped in Stockholm for a day. This time a local friend, Michelle, greeted us at the cruise terminal and took us around the city. We only used the public transportation system on this private tour.

The bus from the cruise port dropped us off at the bridge to the Djurgården island in southern Stockholm. We crossed the bridge to reach the Vasa Museum where we met up with Michelle’s husband, Carl. They picked this place as the starting point of our tour because even though Vasa itself is just a 17th-century warship that sunk in Stockholm harbor on its maiden voyage, the stories surrounding it shows so much of Swedish history and culture that has a deep root in seafaring. And you can see that Vasa was such a beautiful ship!

From the dock by the amusement park next to the museum, we hopped on a free ferry for Slussen, a stop right next to the Old Town, Gamla Stan. This was an amazing way to see Stockholm in all its waterway glory.

Gamla Stan introduced by locals was much more interesting for sure. For instance, we found out that the gift shop at the Palace was much more interesting than the palace itself. We all had a great time browsing and buying gifts. We were also introduced to a rooftop cafe of a nonprofit organization in the square where the Nobel Museum is. Michelle assured us that the Swedish desserts sold there are one of the best in town.

We walked around Gamla Stan stopping in churches and checking out alleyways. Then we went to the Swedish History Museum. We thought we were there for history, but, actually, we were having lunch at the museum restaurant. Great food reasonably priced.

Michelle declared that a tea and cookie time will be at their home, which was filled with interesting things and artworks they picked up at various places they lived as diplomats.

After getting back on the ship, we all agreed that there could not have been a better way of seeing and experiencing this glorious city of 1 million people!

 

June 2017

 

Helsinki (population 640,000) was a stop in our Baltic Cruise itinerary, and the cruise port our ship used was in the West Harbor area. To get to the city center, we could have used the tram or the ferry or the bikes. We reserved the bikes online, and there was a bike station within a 5-minute walk from the cruise terminal exit. It cost 5 Euros for a day pass, and each ride up to 30 minutes was free.

Just by following the coastline, we could get to the Market Square area in 20-25 minutes. Right up the hill from the Square is Uspenski Cathedral, an onion-domed Russian Orthodox church you see in the pictures above. We returned our bikes at the bike station in the area and walked up to the church.

We got the bikes again and went to the Lutheran Cathedral in Senate Square. There was an outdoor stage getting set up for some kind of festival, and lots of people started pouring into this square. It turned out to be the Helsinki Samba Carnaval, the biggest samba event in Finland.

 

Much smaller but more memorable was what they call the Rock Church, Temppeliaukion Kirkko, a Lutheran church built into a solid rock. We struggled to find a bike station near this place and had to walk 10 minutes to find one. But all the trouble was worth it once we walked into the church. Even with a constant stream of people walking in and out, we managed to find a seat and sat down. For a few minutes, I was in a meditative state blocking out all the distractions.

We walked back to the bike station where we left our bikes, but all the bikes were taken. We had to search for another bike station and, eventually, we found two bikes. We rode along a park and reached the water, then turned north to get to this Sibelius Monument. which looks like organ pipes.

There was a restaurant by the water in this park, and we had our lunch there.

We returned to the Market Square and looked around the outdoor market stalls. We had a snack time at the public sea pool and restaurant complex next door. If we had more time, we would’ve tried the outdoor pool. Maybe next time.

We also wanted to check out the design district, but there was not enough time. We got back on the bikes and pedaled back toward the cruise terminal. This was a rather curious sport people were playing at the park along the water.

More Information about Helsinki: LINK

June 2017

Our second time in Copenhagen(population: 770,000) was a day stop on a Baltic cruise. The ship was docked at Ocean Quay Cruise Terminal, and there was a tourist information center right in the area. They handed out an excellent free city map, the best I’ve ever seen anywhere around the world, that showed all the streets, points of interest, public transportation stations/stops and even bike share stations! We were able to buy the City Pass for 24 hours(about $12) which gave us an unlimited access to all the public transportation. This was worthwhile if you needed to make more than 3 trips on buses and the metro.

From the cruise terminal, we took the city bus that connected us to the central area of Copenhagen at Norreport. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, thus, we considered using the city bike share program, but it did not seem as cost-efficient as the buses.

We decided to visit Christiana Free Town, a self-governing city within the city, that is on Christianshavn island.  We managed to get on the bus #9A from the Central Station and took a mini-tour of the island before getting off at the entrance to the Town.

As expected the vibe was the hippie, and it was very slowly waking up when we got there around 10:30 AM. Murals were everywhere, and people were friendly.

We checked out some of the galleries and shops, and we had our lunch at a restaurant in one of the gallery buildings.

After leaving this Town, we went to Nyhaven, an iconic waterfront area filled with restaurants and cafes. We walked around checking out some of the famous buildings. We did run into lots of other passengers from our ship in this area.

We barely made it back to our ship in time using the same bus from Norreport, but we did get back.

Our first trip to Copenhagen