Day 7 September 14th At sea

We had quite an active day on board the boat today but it also included some relaxation time.  No photos I'm afraid as we made our way from Copenhagen towards Riga, Estonia. It was a day of looking at the shops (Christine), going to a photography workshop (Chris),  attending future port introductory lectures (both of us),  reading and knitting.  Our meals were leisurely, making new friends across the globe and particularly enjoying other people's travel experiences.  A good day finished off by the boat evening entertainment which was a rock 'n' roll band belting out a lot of 50s and 60s songs so that went down well.

Day 6 September 13th Copenhagen



The little mermaid

the marble church

When we woke up we had turned round the north of Denmark and were approaching Copenhagen.  When we arrived I tried for internet access but it seems that Vodafone do not 



Tivoli Gardens

provide a signal in Copenhagen.  We eventually docked at about 9:30 by which time we had breakfasted and we were ready to disembark by 1000.  It was overcast but the sky looked threatening.  We had a street plan of the city and decided to follow a self-guiding walk of the main 



Christine with guards

highlights.  We found the mermaid statue which was surrounded

Nyhavn

by Japanese tourists and so we didn’t linger. We carried on to the old city and were impressed by the character and buildings to view.  We saw palaces and the multi-coloured houses of Nyhavn where Hans Christian Anderson once lived.  At about this time it began to rain and it rained steadily for the remainder of our walk.  We got lost a bit due to some large roadworks taking place but everyone speaks English and a hotel receptionist soon put us right.  As it was raining heavily we stopped at a Mcdonalds for a coffee but it was still raining when we had to leave.  We walked down the main shopping street and eventually ended up at Tivoli Gardens.

We later went on an evening canal cruise round the city and after that watched some local folk singing in the ship theatre before having supper.  I have found the internet connection for Copenhagen and will post this now with editing/additions of photographs later.



Part of the fort in Churchill Park



the bank of woodcock!



low bridge on canal tour

house where Hans Christian Anderson lived

We now have an internet connection in Riga and I am posting the pictures of the evening canal cruise.  The views from the canal gave a very different perspective of the city.  Our overall impression of Copenhagen was very positive - beautiful, well maintained and clean.  It was a pity that the weather was not drier!  Still there is plenty to consider for a return visit.



Nyhavn from canal

our home for 14 nights

Our time on the boat has so far been good although it has been a bit rocky at times but nowhere near as bad as the Scillonian gets. 















Day 5 September 12th On our way to Copenhagen



This was our first complete day at sea with no port calls as we were making our way from Dover to Copenhagen.  The weather was blustery with occasional showers and so we stayed mostly indoors on the boat and finally sorted all our things out.  We did not get up too early as we had lost an hour 

approaching Copenhagen



approaching Copenhagen

overnight but made it in time for breakfast.  Not many picture opportunities but I did get a couple at different times looking from our cabin – the scenes look remarkably similar!  In the afternoon we attended a couple of port lectures on the impending visits to Riga, Latvia and Tallin, Estonia and both looked interesting places.  We sorted out a street map for Copenhagen which we will visit tomorrow.  In the evening we had a formal dinner which meant putting on our glad rags and enjoying craic with the fellow sailors on our table – 2 from England and 2 from the US.  I am hoping to post this tomorrow when we arrive in Copenhagen.

Day 4 September 11th Stratford to Dover and leave England

Dover Castle

We were at the Westfield shopping mall (about the size of Cribbs Causeway near Bristol) and so Christine had to go and find M&S and several other shops while she had the opportunity.  After breakfast we spent about 90 minutes shopping - me some of that time and then I posted yesterday's blog.  We caught the 1144 fast train which took us to Dover in about an hour.  We taxied to the Pacific Princess and then booked in and found our nice room which has a balcony.  We were advised that our luggage would shortly follow but there was a buffet lunch available in one of the restaurants.  We had some lunch, toured the boat a bit and made our way back to the cabin.  A short while later our luggage arrived, we have unpacked and settled in to our home for the next 14 days.

Christine as we sail out

We pass the white cliffs

 We then went on deck as we left port.  It was pretty blustery but dry.  The boat is big enough so that we don't feel much motion.  There was a very good view of the white cliffs.  We will go for dinner a little later.  My future postings will depend on wifi availability - I am using my mobile at the moment as a wifi hotspot in the middle of the lower North Sea.

Day 3 September 10th A foray into Essex from Stratford

view from window

The view from bedroom when we woke up included the London stadium, once the Olympic stadium but now the home of West Ham United football club.  Before we moved to Scilly one of the places where I used to work was bulldozed and is now I believe the aquadrome.  We chose to stay at Stratford for 3 reasons.  It is easy to get to from Paddington (it will be even easier once crossrail is completed), it is on a direct rail route to Dover from where our cruise boat is sailing and thirdly it is convenient to travel into Essex if we could meet up with family and friends.  Today we used the third benefit to visit our very good friends, Ian & Ruth, whom we had missed seeing earlier in the year.

muntjacs at South Weald

 We left Stratford and Shenfield was just one stop along the line.  Ian met us at the station and we were soon at Silver Birches.  We had some coffee, a good catchup and met Charlottes's boyfriend.  We had a snack lunch and then decided to go to the nearby South Weald Country Park.  We fed some of the muntjac deer that live there and some ducks on the pond.   We walked round the lake and had a quick look at the Country Fayre which was on that day.  We said our farewells to Charlotte at the carpark as they headed back to Lancaster.



Ruth, Ian, Charlotte and boyfriend

We returned to the house more chatting, a lovely meal and caught the train back to Stratford at about 9pm.  A very enjoyable day catching up with very good friends.

Day 2 September 9th Penzance to London

Truro Methodist Church

Our second day of our holiday was spent mainly in Truro and on a train.  We left Penzance fairly early and as were passing through we went to a Cornwall Methodist District synod in Truro.  We met in Truro Methodist church, the front of which is used as Warleggan Bank in the Poldark television programme.  The meetings were quite challenging and we were glad that we went, we learnt some things and came away with plenty to ponder!  We then caught the 1630 train to London and eventually arrived at the Premier Inn near the Olympic Park at 2230.  We were weary by this time and were glad to settle in.

September 8th Day 1 of Baltic Holiday

Leaving Scilly for Penzance

Button wanted to stowaway!

Our house from the Scillonian

It has been quite a tumultuous week for us but we are finally going on holiday.  A family death and a family birth have brought very mixed feelings and emotions but today we packed the last of our luggage when the cat Button allowed and left St Martin's first on the Voyageur and then the Scillonian for our initial stopping point of Penzance.  All went well although the crossing was a bit choppy for a short time and we could not get a taxi after collecting our luggage in the rain 0n Penzance quay.  We had a meal with Alison before she caught the night train to London and we retired to Heather and Alan's flat.


We leave behind the iconic Daymark