Cruising The Baltic Sea, Scandinavia: Where you'll find some of the world's best ports - Copenhagen, Stockholm

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Cruising The Baltic Sea, Scandinavia: Where you'll find some of the world's best ports - Copenhagen, Stockholm

By Brian Johnston
Old Town (Gamla Stan) in Stockholm, Sweden.

Old Town (Gamla Stan) in Stockholm, Sweden.Credit: Shutterstock

I grew up on fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, and always imagined Copenhagen would be a town of half-timbered houses encrusted in snow like iced cakes. But it's early summer as Celebrity Silhouette docks in front of glass-encased office blocks. I can look straight out from my cabin balcony and see blonde people hunkered over desks. The air is filled with the scent of lilacs blossoming along harbour-side promenades. I breathe it in and feel that cruise-arrival tingle that promises a new adventure.

I'm off to a great start on this cruise around the Baltic, my fairy-tale expectations quickly fulfilled as I leap off the ship and head along the waterfront. There on a rock is the Little Mermaid. In all honesty, she looks a bit ordinary and surprisingly small, and maybe a bit blue with cold, but I still can't help smiling. Gaggles of Spanish and Chinese tourists pose for photos with the sultry siren. What's not to like?

Just a skip away is Amalienborg, main residence of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Four delightful, mini-palaces face off across a square. The only palace with a clock on its facade is the home of Princess Mary, who is living proof that fairy tales actually do come true. At midday, bands play for the changing of the guard. The Royal Danish Life Guards in blue uniforms and bearskins march past, children's toy soldiers come to life.

Nyhavn Canal, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Nyhavn Canal, Copenhagen, Denmark.Credit: Shutterstock

Another short stroll and I find myself in Nyhavn, the "new harbour" that resembles a fishing village and reflects Copenhagen's beginnings as a city that grew rich on Baltic trade. The 300-year-old stretch of restored houses in jaunty in reds, blues and yellows now houses restaurants and cafes. I pause for a beer, but then my fairy-tale visions start to warp. Across the water, the Copenhagen Opera House squats like an alien spaceship. Around the corner, I find the national library, a minimalist black diamond of irregular polished granite.

I head up Stroget – which means "stroll" in Danish – a pedestrian shopping street (actually five interconnecting streets, all with difference names) that meanders through the old town. Stroget is lined with galleries, antiques stores and the elegant shops of Danish designers. At its top end, I emerge at Radhuspladsen, a huge square with a gigantic red-brick town hall and a statue of Hans Christian Andersen. On the far side lies Tivoli Gardens, the famous, old-fashioned amusement park that also lures visitors with restaurants and live shows.

I'm back in fairy-tale land, but only temporarily. Soon I'm into the adjacent districts Vesterbro and Norrebro. These once-rundown areas have stepped out in newly trendy style, revitalised by an influx of new immigrants and hipster Danish students and artists. I don't find any particular sights, but Vesterbro features great cafes and ethnic restaurants around the main square Halmtorvet, and lots of street markets, delis and interesting boutiques. The area around Ravnsborggade in Norrebro is a bargain-hunters' heaven for flea markets, antique stores and bric-a-brac emporiums. I find the final resting place of Hans Christian Andersen in Assistens Kirkegard, Norrebro's rather lovely historic cemetery where locals sunbathe among the graves.

The Opera House in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Opera House in Copenhagen, Denmark.Credit: Shutterstock

Copenhagen, I'm grateful to see, does have its cobbles and cuteness, but that's only one part of its personality. Despite the city's long history, it has a youthful vibe and experimental edge. Copenhagen has a fine reputation for cutting-edge design and top-class art, while restaurants such as Noma (often said to be the world's best) reinvent and reinterpret Nordic cuisine for the contemporary age. It also has noted underground music and jazz scenes.

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What I discover during my 15-day Celebrity cruise is that this is the pattern of most Baltic port cities. They're large enough to be interesting, small enough to mostly walk or cycle around. They have big-city assets without big-city stress, and plenty of small-town historical charm. They have a lot of Nordic style, and have supplied the world with agreeable things such as Lego, Bang & Olufsen stereos and Volvos. In that respect, I'm on an appropriate ship for this cruise. Celebrity Silhouette is sophisticated and upmarket, with chic contemporary decor and artworks, appealing to trendy couples looking for big-ship amenities and impressive service levels.

Baltic ports are also invariably easy to get around. Celebrity has plenty of shore-excursion options, well-run and interesting, but the rest of the time you can walk straight off the ship, or hop on a tram, and be downtown in no time. And all its cities have water – no surprise, considering I'm on a cruise ship. The Baltic isn't a cruise destination for lovers of big landscapes but, as harbour cities go, its port of calls are hard to beat, linked together through centuries of Baltic trade and shared culture.

Approaches are invariably pretty, and Celebrity Silhouette's high decks provide a grand outlook, as do the soaring windows of Oceanview Cafe, the ship's buffet venue. High above the ship's wake, the wicker armchairs of the open-air Sunset Bar are a grand spot for departures, too. Copenhagen is bisected by canals and sprawls over numerous islands, with water views at almost every turn. Later, Helsinki is approached through an archipelago topped by red cabins and a crew-cut of scented pines. Tallinn, the little capital of Estonia, appears in a tier of medieval fortifications and pepper-pot towers, much as traders of the Hanseatic league must have seen it centuries ago, though now with added modern skirts of port warehouses and cranes.

Stockholm takes the crown though. Celebrity Silhouette sails sedately through the 22,000 islands said to guard the approach. Fishermen wave and yachts skim past. Then, almost without warning, the city unfolds elegant Renaissance towers and spires, backed by slender glass office towers. Stockholm sits on 14 islands, a city of glimmering reflections, salty air, shrieking seagulls and invigorating, cloud-scudded skies. You're never far from water, with islands and canals sewn together by bridges offering wonderful vistas wherever you look. The palace is pink and the Great Church, where Sweden's monarchs are married and crowned, is faded orange.

St Petersburg is the exception to every rule on this cruise. Peter the Great's defiant city, built on low-lying marshland, is unimpressive from the sea. It doesn't have outrider islands or an impressive harbour. It's big and a bit of a hassle, though you can avoid that by booking Celebrity's three-day shore-excursion package, which lets you off the hook of an expensive visa, too. Yet never mind the unassuming setting. The former Russian capital is the highlight of the Baltic, making up for its dreary sea approach with a mad fantasy of golden spires, parks, cathedrals and waving statues.

The slender gilded spire of the cathedral inside Peter and Paul Fortress marks the burial place of czars. The murdered Nicholas II and his family have been re-interred here in a solemn side chapel, though the cathedral itself is surprisingly jaunty in pink and pistachio green. Across the Neva River is former imperial residence the Winter Palace, with its shimmering jasper walls and swooning cherubs. It's good to have a Celebrity guide here, since the palace now houses the Hermitage, one of the world's great art collections, and you could get lost or overwhelmed amid its Rembrandts and classical statuary.

Another top sight lies beyond the city on the forested Baltic coast. Imperial summer residence Peterhof is a tribute to Peter the Great's love of water. The gleaming, gilded baroque palace is surrounded by gardens filled with canals, cascades and fountains, some of which spray out unexpectedly when hidden levers are pressed, much to the delight of the fun-loving emperor and modern-day children. It would make you think of fairy tales again, but Peterhof's imperial owners didn't turn out to have a happy ending. Our journey ends well, though. The Baltic is a chilly but cheerful place, and well worth a cruise.

TRIP NOTES

Brian Johnston travelled as a guest of Celebrity Cruises.

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traveller.com.au/cruises

celebritycruises.com.au

CRUISE

Celebrity Cruises' Baltic Sea itineraries operate between May and August, departing Southampton on Celebrity Silhouette and Amsterdam on Celebrity Eclipse. Itineraries may vary from the one described here. An example is the 14-night Scandinavia and Russia cruise on Celebrity Silhouette departing June 2, 2019 from $3199 a person, twin share. Phone 1800 754 500. See celebritycruises.com.au

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