Our 1998 ‘Wonders of Europe’ Cruise
Our 1998 ‘Wonders of Europe’ Cruise by Leonard W. Wilson
I laid our tickets on the counter of Seattle’s United Airlines ticket center, and looking into the big blue eyes of the attractive young clerk, I moaned “Help!” My wife just shook her head as I crossed my arms on the counter, rested my chin on my arms, and staring into the clerk’s eyes, I pleaded, “We have just arrived in Seattle from Athens, via London and Philadelphia only to discover that we have no transportation to Vancouver.”
The clerk was wonderful, and I am quite sure that her work day was supposed to be finished, but she listened patiently as I told her how we had wound up at SeaTac Airport at eleven at night instead of at YVR at three in the afternoon.
Our trip began eighteen days earlier on Wednesday, August 19, 1998 when we arrived at the Vancouver International Airport three hours before our scheduled flight time as per instructions, and waited patiently for the announcement to board. At about seven pm the voice over the inter-com announced that our flight would be delayed, but the time difference in our take-off seemed ludicrous. The announcement was, and I quote, “Departure of flight 84 will be delayed 5 or 10 minutes because the plane would arrive at Heathrow too early. There would be no available gate and they would have to keep the plane’s engines running.”
We watched out the window as airplanes of various sizes took off or landed, and we caught a glimpse of the British Airways Boeing 747 that would take us to London just before we were herded into a long hallway that brought us to the doors of the huge aircraft. It was our first time aboard a 747, and we were somewhat surprised because we expected to be ushered into the belly of this monstrous plane, but instead a flight attendant escorted us to a spiral staircase, and showed us to our seats. We felt quite privileged to be shown seats in such a private area, but in some ways it did remind us of being on a tour bus. But we were happy and excited to be on the first leg of our journey which would eventually lead us to our cruise ship. The attendants made every effort to see that we were comfortable, well fed, and well stocked with the tiny bottles of whatever type of alcohol drink we preferred.
We arrived at Heathrow Airport at one-fifteen pm on the twentieth where we realized how asinine the statement about the delay was because there was a big difference between touch-down and disembarking. But eventually they had us all off the plane and into a bus. The bus driver seemed in a hurry not giving us any time to sight-see, although we did not miss army personnel standing at strategic locations holding machine guns. We arrived at a building where we went through customs after which we were taken back to the bus. Again the driver did not waste any time, and soon we arrived at another gate for our scheduled two-thirty pm flight.
No time was wasted getting us on board the Boeing 757 for our much shorter flight to Copenhagen. It almost seemed that they had to get us on board as quick as possible because the meal was ready to be served. Like our earlier flight, we encountered no inclement weather, and we arrived at the Copenhagen Airport at about five thirty in the afternoon.
Much smaller than Heathrow, it was a much more pleasant experience where everything seemed straightforward with understandable signs telling you where to go, and everything linear and no machine guns.
Before boarding a shuttle bus to our hotel, we began to introduce ourselves to some of our fellow travellers destined for the cruise ship that we would board the next day.
The bus took us to the S.A.S. Radisson, a beautiful but very expensive hotel. We looked forward to an evening at Tivoli, in the very heart of the city of Copenhagen where as the brochure stated, when you enter it you enter another world, and Tivoli has everything ¾ a magical experience for young and old. However, before we knew it we were waking from a ten minute nap that had turned out to be two-hour sleep, and decided that perhaps we would be wise to just eat at the hotel and check out the casino. So in our relaxed traveling clothes we entered a very fancy very upscale dining room. Most of the other patrons seemed to be finishing their meal, and preparing to leave, but we could tell that we did not fit the mould of the average customer. The men were all dressed in suit and tie, and the ladies in fancy evening wear. And when we looked at the menu, we knew that we did not belong. After an expensive and quite disappointing meal we wandered over to the casino. Just as we stepped through the doorway, a big burly individual dressed in a tuxedo with black leather shoes polished to a dazzle came over to us and looking me up and down growled, “Sorry, sir you can not come in here wearing those shoes.”
My wife was decent enough to take my rejection as to mean both of us, and we returned to our rooms. The next morning our thoughts on the place were softened somewhat when we enjoyed their excellent buffet breakfast. All our expenses for the hotel and the breakfast were part of our cruise package so the price of our dinner did not seem so bad as the morning staff were so much more pleasant than the evening staff.
After breakfast our luggage was taken to a bus where we joined more of our future fellow cruise mates. We were part of the First Annual Cardiac Benefit Cruise, organized to allow past and present individuals going through Vancouver’s Hospital Healthy Heart Program to partake in a cruising experience at a reasonable price that would also donate funds to the Vancouver Hospital Foundation for the improvement of cardiac care facilities in Vancouver General and St Paul’s Hospital.
Aboard the coach we were introduced to our guide, and as we began a tour of the city, he explained that Copenhagen is built on two islands with much of it below sea level, so one is never far from water whether it is the sea or a canal. He also explained that in the 15th century Denmark ruled Norway and Sweden, and the city was the capital of all three countries, but although it is now just the capital of Denmark it is considered to be the liveliest of all the Scandinavian capitals.
As we drove around we quickly saw that the city is a wonderful blend of the very old with ultra modern. Our guide explained that over the centuries as new groups of immigrants came to Copenhagen they would build new communities in their familiar style of construction. He pointed out the difference and explained how these individual communities are easily recognizable making it quite easy to trace the city’s history.
We saw how beautiful Copenhagen is with its many canals, and rich in its historical background, but we also saw how much is being changed under new construction, and our guide explained that much of what is happening in Denmark today is part of an alliance with the other Scandinavian countries. For instance the airport belongs to the Scandinavian Air System and there are bridges being built that will connect Copenhagen with Norway.
A fine example of the old was Rosenborg Palace. This magnificent palace was built by King Christian IV in the early sixteen hundreds in the exquisite Dutch Renaissance style. Hours could be spent absorbing the wonderful history of this fine old structure, and all it has to offer. We were able to see the wonderful display of the crown jewels along with a collection of period costumes and royal memorabilia including the pearl studded saddle once used by King Christian IV, and the two silver lions that are represented on Denmark’s coat of arms.
Back in our coach, we drove to a round tower called the Runde tå rn, which was built as an observatory in 1642 by Christian IV where Peter the Great of Russia is alleged to have driven a horse and carriage up the six hundred feet of the inner staircase.
Passing Kø benhavns Synaggoe (Copenhagen Synagogue) an arc like structure designed by the famous architect Gustav Friedrich Hetsch and the Copenhagen Univ
ersity built in the 19th century on the site of a medieval bishop’s palace we wend our way up Langelinne to the promenade where we found the Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havrue). Like the multitude of tourists that had come before us we took numerous pictures of the 1913 statue commemorating Hans Christian Andersens’ lovelorn creation, which as can be seen by the construction cranes in the background is a fine example of the blending of the old with the new that is so prevalent in this city.
At Frihedsmuseet (Liberty Museum) we learned of the heroic Danish Resistance movement during WWII that managed to save 7, 000 Jews from the Nazis by hiding them in homes and hospitals, then smuggling them across to Sweden.
Our tour coach operator then took us down Amaliegrade where we entered a lovely treed area where we saw the beautiful relaxing fountains of Amaliehaven, and then on to Amalienborg, the queen’s fall and winter home, and the royal family’s principal residence since 1784.
Our tour then took us to Nyhavn. We didn’t have the time to take a canal tour, but our guide explained that if did we could we see how the city has taken the once run-down haunt of sailors, and rebuilt it into a lovely canal bordered by upscale restaurants and boutiques. He also explained that in spite of all this ‘gentrification’ some of the old tattoo shops and rundown bars are still there and the place can get quite rowdy on hot summer evenings.
We drove on to Kongens Nytorv (the King’s New Market) a lovely square at the end of the famous shopping area of Strø get where outside the posh displays of the fur and porcelain shops, the sidewalks had the festival aura of a street fair. Within walking distance we saw the Kiongelige Teater ( Danish Royal Theatre), the 18th century Helligå nds Kirken (Church of the Holy Ghost) and the much more modern Nikolaj Kirke (Nikolaj Church) with its towering green spires built on the fire destroyed site of its predecessor built in the 13th century.
Although our allotted time for our tour was rapidly winding down, our guide pointed out the old stock exchange Bø rsen. Built by King Christian IV, it is believed to be the oldest stock exchange still in use, although it is only used for special occasions. Christian IV was not only a great warrior he was brilliant scholar and is credited with being the architect of much of the city.
Before bringing us to the harbour and our cruise ship our guide made sure that we did not leave Copenhagen without visiting Christianborg Slot (Christianborg Castle). This massive gray complex contains not only the Folketinget (Parliament House) but also the Royal Reception Chambers. This present castle was built at the turn of the twentieth century, and is built on the site of the city’s first fortress, which was built by Bishop Absalon in 1167. Nearby the National Museum displays the thousands of artefacts discovered during the excavation for the new castle.
We had one last stop to make: Tivoli. Built in the 1840’s under King Christian VIII’s authorization as an amusement park in the belief that when the people amuse themselves they forget politics. Its fun-fair blends wonderfully with a pantomime theatre, and an open air theatre presenting classical, jazz and rock concerts. With its many eating establishments it made us all the more disappointed that we opted to spend our previous evening at the hotel.
The coach brought us to the harbour where we got our first glimpse of the Stella Oceanis, our new home for the next fourteen days. So with heavy hearts we said good-bye to our guide and coach operator. We thanked them for giving us a brief glimpse of their beautiful city, but expressed our disappointment at not having more time, because we could tell that there was so much more they wanted to show us.
Next time: From the Baltic Sea to the North Sea via the Kiel Canal aboard the Stella Oceanis
Leonard W. Wilson 