Hello folks - we left you last at the end of our time in the grand streets of Copenhagen and a feeling that our Oddyssey was really starting in earnest. Well we haven't been disappointed, as the journey on to St Petersburg has been quite eventful if not a little tiring.
The 5 hour train journey from Copenhagen to Stockholm was more peaceful than the last with no screaming kids and we watched the gently undulating scenery of woodland and lakes trundling past as we read and collected our thoughts for the days ahead. We only had a matter of hours in Sweden and, laden down with our packs, we made it not much further than O'Leary's sports bar in the station. This was unremarkable, other than for a signed photograph of Anders Limpar scoring for Arsenal!
We made it remarkably easily to the ferry terminal and the journey started serenely on the balmiest of evenings and we sailed eastwards past the islands of Stockholm with the most gorgeous of sunsets.
Little did we know what a fun evening lay in store for us. Any fans of kitsch out there? Well we can tell you that you haven't seen kitsch until you have spent 2 nights on a Russian cruise ship! The main entertainment for the evening was a Cabaret, which seemed to consist of a troupe of young women (plus a token man) prancing about a stage in spandex leotards to Russian language versions of 70s disco classics. It would be great to say that they were synchronised, but we were taking bets on who would get elbowed off the stage first, or whether any of the leotards would split!
We searched for alternative forms of entertainment and were faced with the choice of Belarus versus France live from Minsk, or a truly dreadful Russian Karaoke bar, delivered at ear shattering volumes! Sue beat a hasty retreat to the luxury of our cabin (you've guessed it - bunk beds again!) and drifted gently off to sleep to the rhythm of the cabaret dancers (whose stage turned out to be directly above) and the ships engines (directly below). Andy chose the relative serenity of the Casino, where he at least won sufficient money to pay for the next day's lunch.
The morning after the night before found us sailing into the Estonian port of Tallinn and what a little gem this turned out to be. We had about 5 hours before we had to be back on ship - and obviously we didn't want miss the night's Cabaret, when we were promised 'Show Tunes' and a 'Karaoke Talent Contest'. So we spent the time wandering around the unspoilt medieval streets and found a wonderful restaurant looking down over the city walls, that served us rabbit braised in calvados and mustard and a wild boar casserole, washed down with a cold bottle of white. The sun shone and life felt good!
After this peaceful interlude we rejoined the bedlam of the boat and found a quiet(ish) corner to pass the evening. The following morning, the sun rose on Russian waters and we climbed to the upper decks to witness our arrival into St Petersburg.
We will hold back the story of St Petersburg for the next episode, but suffice to say that we made it safely to our 'hotel' with only minor intrigues along the way. In the meantime, here are some photographs taken on this leg of our journey.
Andy listens intently to a potential job offer, but decides it's rather too seasonal! Copenhagen railway station - 8th September.
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Wow, lovely pics guys and your meal in Tallinn is making my mouth water. Can't wait to hear about the Trans Mongolian. Hope you're having fun, screaming kids aside! Holly x
ReplyDeleteloving the blog and wishing I'd stowed away with you guys. Pics are brilliant xxx
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