As they say “we travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us” . This part of our travel takes us in the Baltic sea, in one of the largest cruise ship in the world.

Have you cruised before ? How did you like it ? For others, it’s one of those love hate feeling . On one hand it’s great. Think of one stop shop. No packing and unpacking on different port, bottomless indulgences, world class entertainment, most spectacular view of the ocean , sunrise , sunset , stars brightly twinkling at night, view of nature undoubtedly at its best . On the other hand , it’s quite limiting and being confined at sea may be claustrophobic. Not to mention , being timed every time you are in ports plus the risk of gluttony from food, alcohol or gambling, are some reasons why it could be a show stopper to others.

Being my 5th cruise and counting, I would say Baltic cruise was quite remarkable. It adds a different twist to this part of the world that I frankly don’t know much about prior to this adventure , nor was it on my radar to visit. As part of our company incentive package, I went along with it and boy was I glad. I would say more flabbergasted. Here’s how the journey unfolded one exotic country at a time:

1st stop Sweden

Stockholm is situated in one of Sweden’s 20 islands . It’s often called the ” Venice of the north ” or “city that floats”

If I rank my least to ultimate favorite I would have to say that Stockholm surprisingly would be at a the bottom of my list among the 5 ports. It’s our first port so though it was a bit of a bummer, the thought of 4 other ports ahead of us pacified my anxious and wandering taste ..

Just take this ranking with a grain of salt considering we were only there for more or less 48 hours.. I’m sure others in my tour group would disagree . It’s important to note that despite this rather unfair abrupt conclusion , the city is charming and very much a worthwhile place to visit. The highlights are the following :

Old town and Royal palace- Oldest and most enchanting part of Stockholm. The narrow streets showcasing living historical structures and statues spread thoughout alleys and walk ways are quite mesmerizing. We did a self guided walk tour of the city. One can opt to do a canal tour, surely that would offer a different perspective. We also took advantage of the tried and tested “hop on hop off “tour buses circling the town. It’s economical, reliable, educational and quite entertaining. The audio of trivia and historical facts narrated on every conceivable major languages to correspond to places we see as we drive by is a treat to any tourist who want to learn and accomplish as much in a limited amount of time. Besides, one can always go down to a specific drop off points and pick up the next bus to get to another must see sites. Just remember to hang on to your ticket to show the next driver as you hop back on.
Cathedral- ( Storkylan) build in 1279 . Its regal structure is the favorite venue for royal baptisms, coronations and weddings.
Royal palace-at the foot of Norrbro bridge rests one of the largest palaces in Europe with some 608 rooms . We were fortunate to see the changing of the guards which takes place in the outer courtyard daily at noon and at 1pm on Sunday’s .
City hall- (Stadhuset) this is the address for their municipal council and each winter their magnificent Golden hall which boasts 19 million mosaic tiles as part of its interior , is the venue that hosts the prestigious Nobel prize banquet .
On a side note , but an important one.. When taking a cruise , every time you disembark to tour an outlying port , be extra mindful of “boarding time” and “sailing time” . We made the rookie error of looking at “sail time”. Big mistake. A minimum of at least an hour before sail time to board is needed, otherwise if you’re late, kiss the ship goodbye cause ship won’t wait for anyone. Needless to say, we almost missed the ship from our first stop.

While we were clueless and merrily taking our time strolling around city hall, we got a panic text from our travel coordinator. The text goes “where are you? Boat leaving in 20 minutes!” . Frantically, we hurriedly hailed a cab and our cab driver wasn’t about to promise us we would get there on time despite my repeated coaxing to step on it. Luckily, we got there almost missing the ship by hairline of a second or so it seems, and the usual smile with a sweet “welcome aboard ” greeting was replaced with disappointing and piercing look from the crew especially from, Irene, our usually sweet and accommodating travel coordinator . Big Oops ! Well, since we missed the mandatory safety drill on the first day they had to do a one on one make up session just for us .. At least, we learned early on to be extra prompt on the next stops.. Also, one thing to consider is the time change. Like from one port to the next we had to put our clocks one hour ahead and on the way back reset to put clock one step behind. If you miss this step, particularly the part you have to adjust one step ahead then you can get easily get screwed with time orientation and miss the sail time by an hour. You would not want that, would you?

So why is Stockholm at the bottom of my list :

– Baroque styles and rococo interiors which are the common motif of architecture in the area didn’t tickle my fancy that much..

– Most of the buildings with its graphite monotone color and plain looking facade also didn’t cut it visually for me. Nothing much really to make me jump and down with excitement during my limited time there.

– Lastly, didn’t really experience the taste of their culinary master pieces . Not their fault we didn’t get to explore much of the highly rated places to eat . We were so engrossed with starting our adventure that eating was placed in the back burner.. Though before leaving for the airport we got to try several Swedish chocolates and native pastries .They were absolutely delish but not exactly to die for .. Also, liked their cafe lattes with oat milk and green smoothies with same base ..

2nd stop Helsinki, Finland :

Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland . It is located on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by water , its natural seaport is called ” city of the sea”

Market Square- More than any landmark, it is the cosmopolitan overall vibes of the place that appealed to me. Ornate fountain in the middle of the square, quaint bistros and cafes, ferris wheel similar to the London eye but smaller in scale, colorful bikes everywhere, yachts and other water vessels parade the surroundings. The chaotic and festive central market place by South harbor promote their native products, handicrafts, souvenirs, local treats and delicacies from moose burger, moose meat balls, white fish fillet, pulled moose, reindeer meat, salmon soup, pork belly etc.
We lucked out by scoring a seat at this favorite Finnish restaurant that display most of their popular cuisine. I tried their goose meat with arugula salad. It tasted like duck but meat was more chewy. Also, had a bite of their sautéed shredded reindeer meet with potatoes. This one tasted very much like lamb meat but with less potent after taste.

Helsinki Cathedral- on the northern square of the Senate square is Helsinki’s most popular tourist site. It has become the symbol of the whole city.
Helsinki City museum – located next to the Senate square which is the oldest block of the city. Entrance is free of charge. The place documents and showcase normal everyday life, history and architectural heritage of Helsinki with about 1M photographs and some 450,000 artifacts.

3rd stop St. Petersburg, Russia

Considered the most European of all cities in Russia .It features 66 Rivers’s and canals and considered most important maritime center in Russia . This stop is considered the spotlight of the cruise which in my book is my 3rd favorite .. Highlights are :

Battle ship Aurora-lots of history behind this metal beast .. its guns signaled the assault by the revolutionaries on the Winter Palace in 1917
St Isaac’s cathedral – largest orthodox basilica and fourth largest in the world. Situated on the side of Decemberist square . Built in 1818 and 1858 . The interior which is decorated by minerals and semi precious stones surrounded by mosaic paintings are scattered in each wall . 3D life-like statues in mostly gold , adorn the ceilings, columns and other elevated areas of the church. The whole effect is dramatic , surreal and simply jaw dropping.
After all the pastries and cappuccinos devoured from the previous days, I committed to climb the winding steps to reach the very top of the church tower to see the breathtaking view of the city. Exhausted but relieved to be rewarded the spectacular view of the city.

Beside the church is a quaint cafe . There we sat outside to enjoy the view of the facade of the cathedral while savoring some honey cake and raspberry flavored chia seed parfait. Service was so-so but the food and coffee were a treat to our scrutinizing palette.

Spilled Blood Church – main site to visit in St Petersburg. While the city is predominantly baroque and neoclassical, this church differs by boasting medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of romantic nationalism. Ever since, every time I hear St Petersburg, first thing that comes to my mind is the image of this iconic church . It didn’t disappoint . Seeing it first hand was certainly dreamlike. It’s a pity we weren’t able to visit inside and explore more its history and beauty.
Nevsky Prospekt- majority of the city’s shopping and nightlife are located on or right off this main road. It exhibit rows of retail stores , 18th century shopping mall, Russian National library and my favorite is the Kupetz Eliseev specialty store. This is the oldest Russian epicurean shop. Remember Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory? This place had that vibe. Its interior is whimsical and vibrant, but caution, prices are steep. Here you can find fish and meat delicacies, exquisite alcohol, handcrafted chocolates and freshly baked in-house pastry. In retrospect, I should’ve just bought a few items there and just waited to go back to Stockholm to get more chocolates to bring back home. Prices in St. Petersburg is unnecessarily obscene. Case in point is this Christmas ornament to add to my latest collection. Would you believe I paid 84 Euros for 2 hand made ornaments ? Obviously, I could easily just dropped it and say “forget it”, but ship was boarding soon and wasn’t in the mood to argue or bargain or look for another replacement ..At least it’ll be a conversational piece and a memory of the day I got suckered in Russia.
Nice to know:

Most establishments won’t accept US Dollar or Euro .. so exchange some of your dollars to Russian Rubles.
Major retail stores accept Visa or Master card but most of the people in my group wouldn’t dare for fear of possible identity theft, etc. Call it part of American paranoia in this part of the world.
Get a private car to tour you for the day . Paying over 500 Euros was still reasonable considering you have a chauffeur, a personal fluent English speaking tour guide and cruising in a relatively new shiny E class didn’t hurt at all . Also, keep in mind each tour cost around $128 per person. So with at least 5 stops with 2 people, we still easily came out ahead.
Had to get caviar to bring home. Who would think that the choices could be overwhelming from which specie of sturgeon to choose from ( beluga, osetra, sevruga) to the grading of the size and texture of its beads and flavor, to how fish was raised, treated and matured.. Yeah, so wasn’t really prepared for that caviar 101 crash course in 10 minutes.
Matryoshka dolls- are signature set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. This collection pieces which average over $100, is the ultimate souvenir to scream to everyone back home you’ve actually been to Russia. Those dolls are as Russians as much like Barbie dolls are to Americans . Tempted to buy but contradicts my new found minimalist life style … after you buy it .. question always is .. “then what? ”

4th stop : Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn , capital of Estonia is one of the oldest cities in the Baltic Sea , established in 1154. Its Old town is preserved and unaltered for the last 600 years making this city my top choice among all the ports . The enchanting medieval structures seemed like time stood still in this part of the world. Not to mention, it gave me the feel of stepping in one of those fairy tale books from my childhood.

Authentic Estonian medieval cuisine – They have lots of unusual dishes that could titillate those with daring taste buds from blood sausages with sauerkraut, stewed elk, stewed bear, stewed wild boar to name a few. Lots of potatoes and various meats and sea food in their menu.
On the dessert side, their freshly baked sweet cheese cake is something I will miss. Wanted to check out the oldest cafe in town but we arrived too early and it was still closed. In various street corners, there are local colorful kiosks featuring roasted almonds coated with different flavors, from chocolates, pistachio, cherry, sugar, garlic, etc. The vendors happily gave out free samples and this will entice you to try it out and enjoy the various flavors. I didn’t find the flavors too mouth watering but part of the joy of travel is the sensory tasting experience of local delicacies.

What I wanted to try but missed was the “Palmeenid” which is the famous dumpling with savory sauces that originated in Russia. Perhaps next time?

Stroll the narrow streets of Old town-the ancient medieval structures with waiters and vendors dressed in their old medieval costume created the make-believe ambiance. This extra touch succeeded in elevating the tourist experience on an exciting level.
Kadriorg Palace- a baroque palace built for Catherine I of Russia, currently houses the Kadriorg art museum.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral- Tallin’s largest and grandest orthodox cathedral.

Last stop : Riga. Latvia

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is situated at the mouth of the River Daugava. It is the biggest metropolis in the Baltics. The pedestrian only Old Town has quaint cafes, retail shops and restaurants, bars and night clubs.

Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage site with fantastic river views and fascinating facades of one of the world’s richest collection of Art Nouveau on the grand boulevards.

Latvian Cuisine= Tried their salmon on baked pancake potato. As a self professed foodie, the blend surprised my often times discriminating palate . The restaurant “Key to Riga” is smack right in the middle of old town center and the ambiance with ancient candles on each antique-like wooden tables evoked a warm historic medieval feel. This place was a smashing hit among those in my group.
The vast central market exhibited various earthy sausage, cheese, black bread, smoked fish and more.

Their cafes and bistros boast of tasty cappuccinos, lattes and pastries that are fresh baked and made from recipes passed down from generations. I particularly enjoyed their traditional poppy seed pastry twist. Sipping and munching with the view of the local parks with vibrant colorful collections of flowers adds a new layer of pleasure to the experience.

Art Nouveau architecture – Hop on hop off for 15 Euros is the best and economical way to see the city. Enjoy the unique wooden buildings, cathedrals, and hop off to roam around the streets that are adorned with art nouveau architectural structures.
In closing, as we dock to a new port from the next country each morning and not knowing what each port looks like adds to the mystery and heightened excitement. Springing out of bed as soon as the alarm sets off to take a first glimpse of the new port…like a kid sticking out her neck to get a sneak peek of what each shore has to offer…looking outside our cabin balcony to be welcomed by the unique smell of each port.. all these magically elevates living life, one cruise at a time.

Experiencing this during the summer solstice where sun sets around 10pm and rises at 3am, particularly having 360 degree view from the Observatory Deck of the ship is certainly a bonus treat.

It’s been 3 days since we left the ship but the beauty of the burning sun in the horizon as it sets, then burst of orange and pink sky flickering for hours, alongside the memory of all the grandeur and unique charm of each port, till now linger in me.

Its a matter of time that the allure of the next adventure will certainly be calling anytime soon. Till then, I will be relishing and savoring the memory of the fun-filled, drama free and fabulous experience in the Baltic sea.