Cruise to the Baltic 2025 on board Arcadia

Skagen

First stop Skagen and a trip to the Renaissance castle at Voergaard.

Built originally in 1481, Voergaard sits behind its moat.

The renaissance expansion completed in 1591 took place under the guidance of Ingeborg Skeel.

Voergaard is a two-winged, L-shaped castle built in red brick in the Renaissance style. The east wing is flanked by two octagonal corner towers and penetrated by a gateway.

Its sandstone portal was a gift from King Frederick II and originally created for Frederiksborg Castle.

All castles must have a dungeon and Voergaard is no exception.

Inside, the castle is an eclectic mix of art and furnishings.

The chandeliers are from Murano.

This is a portrait of the last owner Ejnar Oberbech-Clausen.

"The idiot" by Reubens. It was one of two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens and Goya that were stolen in 2008 and were returned safely to their walls in Denmark’s Voergaard Castle.

The thieves were caught and have already served their sentence for breaking into the castle in northern Jutland at night and stealing the paintings, but they never gave up the location of the artworks. The paintings reappeared in 2015.

"That’s when we were contacted by (Danish security and intelligence service) PET who told us the paintings might have showed up in Copenhagen," chairman of Voergaard Castle Hans Jorgen Kaptain told news agency Ritzau.

"We were sent a picture of the two paintings, leaning against a mattress. They looked so authentic that we dared to believed they were the real ones," he said.

The Goya is bottom right.

Hand painted wall coverings and the large object to the right of the fireplace is a cast iron heater.

Ejnar Oberbech-Clausen, a Dane who had lived in France since 1906 where he had become a count through his marriage with Marie Henriette Chenu-Lafitte, the widow of his employer.

Lafitte as in Chateau Lafitte, hence all of the very French décor.

The bust in the centre is of course Napoleon.

More Murano glass.

Everyone should hang their plate collection on the wall.

Especially when some of them used to belong to Napoleon.

The older sections of the castle are lacking the ornate wall coverings

But who cares when you have Napoleon's soup tureen and silver bowls.

Quite a small incense burner.

The dining room is also in the early part of the castle which was built by a bishop far from his Cee so that he could spend part of the year with his mistress without his parishioners finding out.

The chapel is small but perfectly formed.

Ejnar Oberbech-Clausen's bedroom with the blood stain on the floor.

When Ingeborg Skeel lived here she was concerned by her husband's supposed infidelity and accused a servant of being pregnant. The conversation is said to have become heated and legend has it that to prove the pregnancy Ingeborg cut open the belly of the serving girl only to find out that she was telling the truth and was not pregnant.

The blood stain is still there!

A little more about Ejnar Oberbech-Clausen.

Ejnar Oberbech-Clausen, a Dane who had moved to France in 1906 to work for Paul Auguste Roger Chenu-Lafitte as a business manager. His employer died in 1908 and Ejnar becomes a count with his marriage with Marie Henriette Chenu-Lafitte, the widow of his former employer. He later became an Imperial Count in the Holy Roman Empire.

Just to point out its Lafitte as in Chateau Lafitte. Napoleon stayed with the family during the hundred days and donated some of his porcelain.

Chenu-Lafitte was the daughter of Jules-Émile Péan, one of the great French surgeons of the 19th century, and owned an extensive art collection which originated both from her father and deceased husband which all passed to Ejnar.

The couple owned several châteaux in the area around Bordeaux but after his wife's death, in an air raid in 1941, Oberbech-Clausen moved to Paris and later decided to return to his native Denmark. He acquired Voergaard and, with approval from the French state, brought 12 train cars of art with him back to Denmark. He undertook a comprehensive and costly restoration of the castle which went on for several years. After his death in 1963, the castle and collections were passed to a foundation and opened to the public.

On the journey back ...

...we visited a local troll.

Fredericia

The second port of call was Fredericia where we wandered about.

Our first stop was a church with an amazing graveyard.

The neat and immaculately kept graveyards seems to be common in Denmark as we saw quite a few all equally beautifully maintained.

Front gardens though seem to be the crack in the paving.

The architecture is quite pretty.

Although some of the street names might need a little work?

This is the view from the ship and the green area is dockside; its an adventure playground really.

The bijou harbour would not be quite big enough for Arcadia.

This is the same view looking the other way.

We walked through the town to the coast to see the impressive Lido ...

... and we saw a sailing ship.

The statue of "The Brave Soldier".

Fredericia is famous for its fortifications

The Prince's Gate.

An interesting sculpture.

A curious adornment to the corner of a building.

At sea on the way to Klaipeda, the Øresund Bridge.

Klaipeda

Our next port of call was to be Klaipeda

Sadly our visit to Klaipeda in Latvia was cancelled due to operational reasons. The conspiracy theorists had a field day at the dining table and in the lifts. A fellow passenger at breakfast liked to keep track of the location of the ship on its travels and noted that for a period of time the GPs location had been altered, suggesting that someone was interfering with the navigation of the ship.

Still, we got an extra day in Stockholm instead.

Stockholm

A city of statues and museums as well as Gamla Stan the island in the middle of the city with all of the major policitcal buildings. We got tickets for the hop-on-hop-off bus that ended up being valid for three days which was nice. We set off to have a look at Stockholm, a city Gill and I last visited in 2013.

The first of three days, wandering Stockholm.

Charles XIV statue in front of the Skattkammaren (part of the Royal palace) that is under repair.

Gustav III's obelisk in front of Stockholm's Medieval Museum.

We had met a lovely family from Bury in Lancashire and purely by chance bumped into them in the crowd waiting for the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace.

You either have to get there early or be a child, pushed to the front or be very tall. I was none of these.

Searching the back streets of Gamla Stan for a coffee.

Gustav Eric stands proudly outside the Riddarhuset, the House of Nobility.

The Riddarhuset, the House of Nobility again.

Impressive buildings alongside roadworks and renovation.

Speaks for itself.

This is the back of the "Riksdagshuset" or Parliament building.

A little statue by the lake.

Although it looks as if Stockholm is built by a river it is actually a group of islands in the lake.

The "Central Bridge" looking towards the Riddarhuset, the House of Nobility with the Riddarholmen Church spire on the right.

The waterfront.

Gustavus Adolphus or given the pigeon on his head, Cliff.

Its a lake but it still has a strong current.

Cliff poses for a picture.

The parliament building as we waited for the ho-ho back to the ship.

The second day, the Vasa Museum.

The Vasa Museum is fascinating and well worth a visit.

A curious fountain with its own almost permanent rainbow.

The Lion of the North, Gustav II Adolf, is building Sweden into one of the most feared powers in Europe. His most powerful ship, Vasa, is launched in the spring of 1627 and hundreds of craftsmen work through the summer to finish the hull and rigging.

The ship weighs over 1200 tonnes once outfitted with ten sails, 64 cannons, 120 tonnes of ballast and hundreds of sculptures. A giant of a ship of its time is born.

The shortest maiden voyage in history?

On the 10th August 1628 the Vasa sailed 1,300 metres and no farther. Still within sight of the shipyard where it was built, Vasa heels to port under a gust and water gushes in through the open gun-ports. Within minutes, the ship is lying on the sea bed 32 metres below. Thousands of Stockholm´s inhabitants witness the tragic scene, together with several foreign ambassadors. What began in hope and ambition ends in tragedy.

Perhaps "over-snapping" might be an issue.

A fascinating museum showing a 17th Century warship beautifully preserved and presented, all kept in climate controlled conditions to preserve the ship.

The Nordic Museum

Karl X Gustavus.

The third day, wandering Gamla Stan.

The last day and a return to the back streets of Gamla Stan.

At the far end of the semi-circular park stands Carl Milles' sculpture Solsångaren, which was erected in 1926 in memory of Esaias Tegnér. The statue depicts Tegnér's poem Sång till solen (Song to the Sun).

On the Strömparterren there is another sculpture, Dimman, a female figure in bronze by Gusten Lindberg, erected in 1910.

The parliament building.

The arches that connect the parliament buildings.

The back streets of Gamla Stan

The statue of a man drawing a bow on the square, often misinterpreted as depicting William Tell, was inaugurated in 1916 as an homage to Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, leader of the Engelbrekt rebellion (1434–1436) against the German-dominated government of Eric of Pomerania.

"Pasta La Vista Baby" indeed.

Some of the decoration is marvellous.

A visit to "The German Church" with many stained glass windows, paintings and carvings.

Bridge of Sighs anyone?

A waterfront statue.

The view of the Admiral's House from the other side of Gamla Stan, its behind the yacht. The round building slightly to the left is the Eric Ericson Concert Hall.

A clearer view of the Eric Ericson Concert Hall.

An interesting traffic bollard on the waterfront.

We came across the guards marching on their way to the ceremony.

A cormorant on a rock.

A different view of Gustavus Adolphus without Cliff.

The lion detail on the parliament building.

The spire of the German Church

The piers that support the railway bridge...

...that was fun to edit.

Blekholmsgatan, an interesting modern building constructed over the railway station.

Stockholm City Hall where Nobel Prizes are awarded.

Birger Jarl's Cenotaph in honour of the man who is reputed to have founded Stockholm.

Legend has it that his body was meant to be moved here but it never was.

The City Hall park and views across the water.

More of the City Hall roof line.

I thought that this was a semi-professional photo shoot in the City Hall Park until I saw that he was using the camera on his phone.

The parliament buildings looking from main pedestrianised shopping street in Stockholm.

The Royal Palace Again,

The Opera House.

Sailing to Visby

Visby

The Hanseatic city of Visby on Gotland is arguably the best-preserved medieval city in Scandinavia, and, since 1995, it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Among the most notable historical remains are the 2.1 mile long town wall that encircles the town centre, and a number of church ruins.

Our first visit was to the remnants of the railway on Gotland starting at Hesselby.

The town of Roma got a railway connection to Visby in 1878 and was from 1902 was the island's main railway hub as a junction for its two main railways Both lines used the Swedish three-foot narrow gauge. The railways were closed in 1953 and 1960 respectively. In 2015, however, the heritage railway Gotlands Hesselby Jernväg was extended as far as Roma, which thus regained access to rail traffic. The railway is maintained by the Gotland Train Association.

Interesting pancakes with jam and cream before we set off.

A bit of a bone rattling ride but we arrive in Roma and meet the coach for the trip to the next stop.

Follingbo kyrka or Follingbo Church.

The church's Romanesque nave and tower are noteworthy and they date from circa 1200 and together form an unusually accomplished example of Romanesque architecture on Gotland.

An organ recital.

Back to Visby.

A distant view of the Visby City Wall.

There were poppies everywhere, fields of red.

Another bollard of curiously ovine design.

This marks the start of the most unfortunate walk round Visby. Every church we were taken to either was holding a service or a wedding or was closed.

A small dwelling apparently worth a fortune.

A rather pugnacious cat that was rendered in bronze by the townsfolk after he died.

The walk concluded in the botanical garden where the Midsummer festivities were taking place.

Riga

Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture.

There is always a souvenir shop but only a few have a mannequin quite like this.

Riga's centre is full of churches of differing denominations.

Firstly St John's, a 13th-century Lutheran church with a dramatic Gothic ceiling, massive pipe organ.

St. John's Church was first mentioned in written sources in 1297. After several reconstructions, around 1500 the church acquired its present appearance – a high Gothic stepped gable, a span roof and a small tower.

Until 1523, St. John's Church belonged to the Dominican Order. The Latvian congregation acquired it in 1582. However, it turned out to be too small for the Latvian Lutheran congregation in Riga, as a result in 1587–1588 the church was enlarged with a new altar extension.

The present church tower was built in 1849 according to a project by architect Johann Daniel Felsko.

There is a legend connected with St. John's Church. In the 15th century, two Dominican order monks wished to become canonised, so they were immured alive in the church wall. While the two monks were still alive, Riga residents fed them through a special hole left in the wall. However, at the end they were not consecrated. To commemorate the monks a cross-shaped hole was made in the outer wall of the church.

On the other side of a small square, St. Peter's Church.

From the back.

Although it is very difficult to see, there is a cockerel at the top of the spire; it is the seventh cockerel in the church's history.

From the front.

The Heir of Slytherin is laid to rest in the church.

On the other side of a small square, St. Peter's Church built in 1209 is the highest church in Riga and one of the oldest and most notable sacred buildings of medieval monumental architecture in the Baltic States. Visitors are also offered the possibility of climbing its tower to enjoy panoramic views of the city which as you will see, we did.

St. Peter's Church offers breath-taking views of the city from the church tower at the height of 57 metres – medieval and modern Riga, the Daugava River with its harbour and the Gulf of Riga.

Monument/tomb of the "Blue Burgher Company" (Blauen Bürger-Compagnie), a volunteer military unit of the burghers of Riga,

Having set off to climb the stairs we were delighted to find out that access to the top of the tower was via a lift. The views were astounding.

Some of the buildings were visited later in the day.

Contrasting building styles.

Medieval re-enacting barman.

A curious little street ornament.

Riga's Cathedral.

Zither playing street performer.

The City walls, although the round tower is a museum.

A strange statue.

Another little character.

The cathedral again.

The next church was Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church.

Riga Castle.

Vanšu Bridge

The Freedom Monument

The final church, Riga Nativity of Christ Orthodox Cathedral

The Nativity of Christ Cathedral was built to a design by Nikolai Chagin and Robert Pflug in a Neo-Byzantine style between 1876 and 1883, with decorations made by the firm of August Volz, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire. It is the largest Orthodox cathedral in the Baltic provinces built with the blessing of the Russian Tsar Alexander II on the initiative of local governor-general Pyotr Bagration and bishop Veniamin Karelin. In the early 1960s, Soviet authorities closed down the cathedral and converted its building into a planetarium. The cathedral has been restored since Latvia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

A wine bar sculpture.

Riga is famous for its "Art Nouveaux" Quarter.

Oooh a cat!!

Copenhagen

The first day included a shuttle bus trip to near to Nyhavn and a boat trip.

The Royal Playhouse where the shuttle bus stopped and where we later queued for the return journey.

Nyhaven is delightful even in the rain! It was the only day the weather wasn't splendid.

A downpour for a few minutes sent tourists from all parts scurrying for shelter under trees.

The kissing bridge, so called because one side slides out to kiss the other when the bridge is closing.

Despite the rain the trip on the boat was fun with lots to see and different views of the sights of Copenhagen.

For unknown reasons the Danish guided missile frigate Peder Skram accidentally launched an SSM missile, fortunately, no one was killed in the incident, but 4 weekend cottages were completely destroyed and another 130 received large or minor damages.

Allegedly,one of the cottages was the property of the Captains mother-in-law.

The Royal Yacht.

Student accommodation on the waterfront in re-purposed containers.

The tower provides the height for a bungy jump. Being entrepreneurs the owners offered free jumps to those who were wearing a suit; a birthday suit.

Being Danish and far from shy there were queues so the offer was soon ended.

Pavilions in which the Royal family and their guests wait for transport out to the Royal Yacht. The one with the crown for the Royals and the spike for their guests.

New offices for Maersk made to look like stacked containers.

The Royal Warehouses for the three regions from which the Danes imported goods. The right hand one is now an art gallery and the other two are apartments.

Church of Our Saviour with the unique spiral tower.

A brilliant statue that I bet most people on the boat trip missed.

The Royal Library. with the War Museum on the left.

The War Museum

Blox, no really this building is called Blox.

The bridges are very low and the boats are designed to pass underneath provided the passengers are all sitting down. Of course the Americans have to be told and told and told...

As the guide said, "Neanderthal Art".

The building under canvas is the Stock Exchange that burnt down and is being re-built.

The Playhouse near Nyhavn, not the Royal one.

Hans Christian Anderson lived here.

The narrowest house in Nyhavn.

The second day was a visit to three sites in Copenhagen preceded by an obligatory visit to the little mermaid.

The usual view of the Little Mermaid.

HDMS Absolon happened to be in port.

The Marble Church.

Frederik's Church, the "Marble Church", is a church with a long and distinctive history. Under Frederik the Fifth and the architect Nicolai Eigtved, extensive and distinguished urban planning took shape, most of which was never actually completed. Eigtved designed the church around 1740, although he died 5 years later.

In 1749, Frederick the Fifth laid the foundation stone for the church. The construction was not completed until the end of the 19th century and finally consecrated on 19 August 1894.

Cliff is back!

Sitting on the head of Christian the tenth.

Next stop was Strøget, famous for its shops and shopping.

The Stork Fountain where students gather after graduation having been driven round on buses drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

The final stop was to the Church of Our Lady, famous for its statues.

Our guide told us of the calm and beauty that characterizes the church space that CF Hansen created in Vor Frue Kirke and she was right.

There has been a church on the site since about 1200, the penultimate one burned down during the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807. The current one was consecrated in 1829. Many of the great figures of the Golden Age have been associated with the church, which is decorated by sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.