Stockholm day 2:
We started the day with a very yummy breakfast buffet, which gave us plenty of energy for all the walking we had planned to do.
Since the National Museum was closed, we walked along the Strandvägen and crossed the Djurgårdsbron bridge into Djurgården to go to the Vasa Muséet.
The Vasa museum is quite an amazing place, a lot more interesting than it seems at first: it displays the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628.
After the wonderful cruise, we disembarked in Stockholm and took a taxi to our hotel: the Nobis . It is a cool design hotel, with a particular claim to history: in their building is where the Stockholm Syndrome effect first happened. It is located in a square where they are installing heated floors!
After storing our luggage in the hotel (too early to checking-in), we went off to explore the city.
Friday, May 20, we arrived in Helsinki quite early and docked by Kauppatori (Market Square) where they sell a ton of berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc), which we have been eating a ton during the cruise.
So, after breakfast we disembarked, and walked the Senate Square, got a map in the City Hall, where we also took the opportunity to check our email thanks to the free wifi, and went on, passing by the Helsinki Cathedral, the Palace of the Council of the State, the main building of the University of Helsinki, and the National Library.
Thursday, May 19 we had an early breakfast again and were met by Slava who drove us to Peterhof, as Marina told us stories of Soviet era daily life.
Peterhof is another one of those tourist destinations that can get unbearably packed, so I truly appreciated that my wife and Marina arranged for a special visit before they officially opened their doors.
It is amazing the excruciatingly detailed job the Soviets did to document, preserve, and restore the palace, including using original equipment to weave the tapestries and silk.
Wednesday, May 18 we asked Marina to start the day visiting the subway (Metro), which gave us an opportunity to have an interesting political and historical discussion. I still remember the monumental Moscow’s Metro. While Saint Petersburg’s Metro is not as spectacular, there are many examples of Soviet era art and decoration. The Metro itself is old but impeccably clean and maintained.
Marina insisted in inviting us to a cup of tea at the famous Yeliseevskiy Gastronom at 56 Nevskiy Prospekt.
Tuesday May 17 we docked at 4:00am so downtown Saint Petersburg that people walking on the sidewalk could see into our suite. We were a few minutes walk from the Hermitage Museum.
After clearing immigration (you need a visa to enter Russia, unless you have arranged private escorted tours like we had), we were met by Slava, our driver, who for the next three days would take us everywhere in a large white Mercedes Benz.
We arrived in Tallinn, Estonia, at 08:00h. Before disembarking, we ordered a hearty breakfast in the suite, so we would have energy to walk all day. It was a delight having breakfast in the room while enjoying the view of St. Olav’s church from our balcony.
Right after breakfast we took the shuttle to go downtown (although it is so close that it was quite unnecessary). Tallinn is a small city, being Estonia the smallest of all Baltic states.
