Silversea
Cruises' Silver Shadow
Cruise
Diva's Cruise Diary
A Swedish Sojourn
 |
| Kvarken
Archipelago Shoreside Cottages |
Vaasa, Finland, July
12, 2007
Known as one of the sunniest cities in Finland, unfortunately our
visit was punctuated by clouds and a brief shower. We decided the
best way to see the region was a cruise of the archipelago and,
thankfully, the weather cooperated enough so that our tour wasn't
cancelled.
As we saw from our bus, Vaasa
itself is a very green city, with numerous parks and esplanades.
Depending on whether residents speak Finnish or Swedish, the city is
referred to as Vaasa or Vasa. This part of Finland has a large
Swedish-speaking population and nearly everyone is bi-lingual.
After crossing the longest bridge
in Finland, we boarded our boat for a cruise through the Kvarken
Archipelago, designated a World Nature Heritage Site by virtue of
its unique geology. Studded with huge boulders left behind in the
last ice age, the land is rising to form islands and redefine
coastal boundaries. We cruised past many examples of the young land
forms and cottages along the coast. Our guide pointed out the main
houses and smaller buildings enclosing the owners' saunas--it
wouldn't be much of a summer home without a sauna as she explained.
Back at sea in the early afternoon,
we attended Dr. Atkins' second lecture--a look at Scandinavia, the
Nazis, and World War II. We're fascinated by his insights into the
relationships between European governments and war.
Our cruise has three formal nights
planned and tonight was the first. Captain Marco Sangiacomo hosted
his welcome aboard cocktail party, which was followed by dinner,
highlighted by delicious lobster tail. We changed our clocks to reflect
the loss of an hour the night before so we retired early after a
concert performance by Judy Carmichael, a Grammy-nominated pianist.
Turku, Finland, July
13, 2007
Perhaps I should have taken a pass on the open air cruise yesterday
as the sinus infection I felt coming on has gotten worse--now I have
a persistent cough. After keeping both of us awake for most of the
night, instead of going ashore, I visited the ship's infirmary. Dr.
Riedel recognized my problem immediately and prescribed medication,
including instructions to rest. Since I'd slept so little the
previous night, I
went back to bed and never did make it into Turku.
Mel caught the complimentary
shuttle into town and I'll get an idea of what he saw when I look
over the photos he took. Our photo-taking has become a bit
challenging because it was immediately apparent that my camera was
broken when I first tried to use it. Then Mel's camera
malfunctioned. Fortunately, we have a spare--a small pocket Canon
that is a little champ. Also fortunately, Mel found a camera store
in Turku where he was able to purchase a reconditioned Nikon camera body
at a bargain price and he's back in business (and in much better spirits).
By dinnertime, I still didn't feel like
going out so we ordered items from the Restaurant menu to be served
in our suite. I love lasagna and was pleased to see it on the menu.
Like all the pasta we've tried so far on Silver Shadow, it was
excellent.
At Sea, July 14, 2007
With a good night's sleep,
regaining the hour we lost, and an invigorating shower, I felt much
better today. There aren't a lot of activities on the schedule that
we plan to participate in, but a culinary demonstration with the
Executive Chef sounds appealing and, of course, the third
installment of Dr. Atkins' lecture series.
The rhythm of several
port calls followed by a sea day and then more port calls before
another sea day seems just right for this unique itinerary. We plan to kick back and relax for
the rest of the day before preparing for another formal night.
Back to the Swedish
Sojourn Index
Back to Arrival & Embarkation in
Stockholm
Back to Ornskoldsvik,
& Lulea,
Sweden
Forward to Oslo,
Norway; Gothenburg, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Lubeck, Germany
Forward to A
Day At Sea & Exploring Stockholm
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