Sailing Through Scandinavia: Baltic Sea Cruise Part Three

So far, we started this long trip in Berlin, where we learned about the Berlin Wall and the divided city during the Cold War. Then we hopped on a cruise, where we visited Poland and the three Baltic countries: Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Now it's time to head north to the land of the Vikings in Scandinavia!

September 12: Helsinki, Finland

We woke up aboard the MSC Poesia in Finland- the home of Christmas and Santa! While we want to eventually visit Lapland (also known as the North Pole), today we are sticking to the port town of Helsinki.

Cruise Terminal Helsinki: Risteilyterminaali

After boarding our bus, we made our way inland while our guide explained a little about the country. Did you know:

• Finnish children don't start school until they are seven years old. Then they are required to attend 9 years of formal education (equivalent to 8th grade in the United States), but have the option to attend another 4 years for high school. If kids choose to attend high school and place high enough on their entrance exams, then they can attend all Finnish public universities for free.

• Like most of Europe, Finland offers free healthcare to all. I was also shocked to learn that childcare is 100% guaranteed by the Finnish government and averages only €300 a child/month. After hearing what our friends stateside have to pay for daycare, it sounds like moving abroad may be worth it for those with kids!

Nuuksio Reindeer Park: Nuuksio Rentierpark

Eventually, we arrived at the day's highlight: Nuuksio Rentierpark. That's right: we may not get to visit Santa's village here in Finland, but we are at least feeding his reindeer today! After some introductory directions, the staff gave us lichen (a type of mushroom) to feed the seven reindeer at the conservation park.

We learned that the herd consists of one male, Usva (meaning 'Midst'), and his mother, Lumi (Star), alongside five other females. Most notable is Helmi (Pearl), the all white reindeer. While she has a rare genetic disorder causing her albinism, Pearl was the prettiest and the most aggressive in the herd! She uses her looks to get the most treats and to pose for the most photos!

I thought they were the cutest little eaters!

I am always wary of animal touristy encounters while traveling, but these beautiful reindeer are part of the National Park services in southern Finland and are well-loved by the park rangers. I felt immediate ease seeing the two signs below as we entered the park- one with all of the reindeer pictures and names listed, and another mentioning animal welfare and the safety procedures this park has in place for their herd.

Visiting with these beautiful animals was a great experience! While it only lasted an hour, I wish we could have spent the entire day just sitting and watching these guys wander, snack, and pose for photos!

Senate Square: Senaatintori

Our tour dropped us in the center of Helsinki for free time to explore the capital. We began in the Senate Square and enjoyed exploring the busy town center, even as it began to rain.

Suomalainen Kirjakauppa Helsinki Aleksi 15

We popped into the first bookstore Bryan had pinned and lucked out with a new Harry Potter cover in Finnish! This was a great find, and we were happy to find a paperback, considering the prices were significantly higher than the Baltic countries we visited in the days prior.

Academic Bookstore: Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

As the rains came down in sheets, drenching us, we sought cover in another nearby bookstore to pass some time. Earlier in the day, we learned that Finland has two National languages: Finnish AND Swedish. Considering the massive size of this second bookstore, I figured they may have a Swedish children's book section, and we lucked out! Here, we located a Swedish copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with an even more bizarre cover. The weirder, the better for our collection!

Bryan even had me snap a photo of the whole Swedish series because all of the covers were so different compared to any of the other cover art we have seen. While the rains plummeled the glass ceiling, we enjoyed some dry time in the bookstore and were happy to pick up our Swedish copy a day early here in Finland!

Once the rains let up, we hopped on the cruise ship's shuttle bus back to our port. Another night of good food and rest prepared us for an overnight in Stockholm!

September 13: Stockholm, Sweden

With an overnight port call in Stockholm, I was sure to fill this day to the fullest! We started our morning with a Viking-themed walking tour of the Gamla Stan island.

Stortorgsbrunnen

We met our guide in the Stortorgsbrunnen plaza, which was filled with colorful houses painted like a rainbow. Our guide, Alex, was decked out in full Viking apparel and led our tour with a focus on Viking history. For instance, we learned that the Viking Age ended in 1066 with the establishment of formal cities in Scandinavia, but the city of Stockholm wasn't formally recognized until almost 250 years later, in 1252, when Birger Jarl sent a letter to the king of Prussia mentioning Stockholm. 

We also learned that the word "viking" was originally only a verb, meaning "to go on a raid, to trade, or to explore." It wasn't until more modern times that historians began referring to these nomadic people as Vikings because of all the raiding, trading, and exploring they did!

St. George & The Dragon Statue: Sankt Göran och draken

A little commercial break from all the Viking talk: we passed by the famous statue of King George of Sweden defeating a dragon, representing the Danish King Christian. We learned during our two-day port call that the Swedes and the Danish have a friendly competition that began thousands of years back over land, expansion, and ruling.

But back to the Viking tour: Alex played the Viking role to the fullest!

Storkyrkan

Stockholm's main city square on Gamla Stan contains a pink church with an Egyptian obelisk on display. I guess the Swedes are like the British when it comes to taking Egyptian artifacts to display in their very white-centered cities!

Upplands runinskrifter 53

Our next Viking stop was outside a little toy store. Alex explained that Stockholm is built on islands that were originally home to Vikings. When the city was built, Viking rune stones were reused as foundational stones for the city's buildings. Right here on the corner of the toy shop was one such rune. This one was made over 1000 years ago by a farming family. Rune stones were originally placed on main roads leading up to family lands as a way for people to "claim" ownership of said area.

Alex took this a step further and explained that we are all familiar with at least two runic letters. The Bluetooth symbol is a combination of the “h” and “b” runes!

Towards the end of the tour, Alex demonstrated the Viking mouth harp (pictured above in my hand) and taught us that Vikings really weren't the bloodthirsty criminals pictured in our minds. Instead, they were brave men and women who spent the majority of their lifetime living regular lives as farmers and townsfolk in medieval villages along the Scandinavian coastline.

La Neta Söder

After our walking tour, we headed south towards another island of Stockholm, known as Södermalm. The city of Stockholm lies on 14 individual islands, while more than 266,000 islands make up all of Sweden. 

As we crossed into Södermalm, Bryan and I were distracted by the delicious smells of Mexican food, so we followed our noses to La Neta Söder, where we shared a plate of tacos and a quesadilla.

Mikkeller Stockholm (Södermalm)

With food in our bellies, it was time for the most important stop of the day: Mikkeller! That's right, Stockholm has their own Mikkeller location and we weren't missing the opportunity to add another stamp to our Mikkeller passport!

As you can see below, Bryan couldn't help himself. He saw another Mikkeller shirt for sale and just had to add it to his collection!

Södermalm Ghost Walking Tour 

As the day began to turn to evening, we met up with our final walking tour of the day: this time, a Ghost tour of Södermalm Island.

Solrosparken utsiktsplats

As our guide arrived with a top hat and a cane, we knew we were in for a treat! He started his grim tales at Solrosparken utsiktsplats, a great viewpoint overlooking the Gammla Stan island we toured earlier in the day.

Mäster Mikaels Gata

Our next spot led us down Executioner Street, where I was chosen to be the group's criminal and paraded down Executioner Street towards the beheading square. Lucky for me, the tour wasn't a reenactment, so I was set free!

Back in the day, people could pay the town's executioner 25 kroon to run someone out of town, 250 to hang a criminal, or 400 kroon to behead them. Back in the olden times, the death of criminals was performed in the town's center square as a form of entertainment (and to deter future criminals from committing those same crimes!) Pretty brutal!

Katarina Kyrka

Our final stop of the ghost tour was at Katarina Kyrka, a yellow church with a massive graveyard that is famous for burning to the ground several times over the centuries.

Mikkeller Stockholm (Södermalm)

Our ghost tour ended right around the corner from Mikkeller, so we HAD to stop by for one final drink before heading back to the ship for the evening!

September 14: Stockholm, Sweden

Our time in Stockholm wasn't over yet, though! With an overnight port in this famous city, we were back at it Sunday morning with a final adventure in Stockholm, Sweden!

Rib Stockholm - Archipelago Adventures

At 9:30 am we met our morning boat driver at Archipelago Adventures! After donning our gear and storing our belongings, we were off on a RHIB (rigid hull inflatable boat) for a morning of fast seafaring through the Stockholm Archipelago!

Fjäderholmarna

After seeing the city from the water, we sped ahead towards Fjäderholmarna island, one of the many small islands of Stockholm that don't allow (or need) cars! Instead, people park on the larger nearby islands and ferry across to their homes. In the winter, some people even venture across the frozen water and just walk across to their homes!

Vaxholm

The next island we passed was Vaxholm, known as the capital of the Archipelago Islands. This island is closer than Stockholm for locals to restock on necessities from the grocery stores, bars, and restaurants.

I have to admit, this was our first-ever RHIB ride and we both LOVED it! The fast ride along a gorgeous coastline made this morning's adventure one to remember! I love looking over and seeing Bryan smiling and giggling as we jet across the waterways and spin in quick donuts on the water! Memories were definitely made!

Vaxholm Fortress: Vaxholms Kastell

As we made our way back from the farther archipelago islands, we passed by Vaxholm Fortress. Today it stands as a museum, but it was originally built to defend Stockholm from invaders in the 16th century!

Lilla Sjötullsbron

On the way back to port, we passed by Lilla Sjötullsbron, a large park on the edge of Stockholm that was packed with people sunbathing, walking dogs, and pushing strollers. I love how even Europe's largest cities have large green spaces nearby!

We had to be back on the ship by mid-afternoon, so our afternoon was filled with lunch on board and then enjoying the scenery as we left Stockholm behind for a day at sea!

September 15: Day at Sea

Monday passed in a daze! Since we booked this cruise through VacationsToGo, we received a $200 on-board credit. Bryan surprised me by cashing in our credit for a couple's massage during our day at sea! Our last couples massage was in Cambodia back in 2022, so we were definitely overdue! This couple's massage was perfect- you can see how sleepy I was post-massage!

The rest of the day was spent in the hot tub on the upper deck and reading a book in one of the many bars around the ship! Bryan even made friends in the sports bar while watching the Manchester United soccer game! This day at sea gave us the downtime needed for the final leg of our trip in Denmark!

September 16: Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen was the port call we were most eager to experience on this cruise. The fact that it was towards the end of the cruise kept our spirits high and reminded us that a Mikkeller Beer Tour was ahead of us! That's right, Mikkeller started here in Copenhagen!

Politikens Boghal

Of course, before we could spend the afternoon drinking at our favorite brewery, we had to start with a walking tour and find a Danish Harry Potter book! Lucky for us, there was a bookstore near our walking tour meeting point.

The store technically opened at 9:30 am, but since their coffee shop was open before then, we were able to sneak in and find just the book we needed (and a new cover for our collection!) The bookstore worker was kind enough to check us out before the clock struck, and we made it to our walking tour on time at 9:30 am!

Copenhagen City Hall: Københavns Rådhus

Our tour started at Copenhagen City Hall, where we were able to enter and walk around for a few minutes. Our guide explained that Copenhagen's architect was "inspired" to create an exact replica of Siena’s city hall...so this building has an OG twin in Italy!

We also walked by the birthplace of Jacob Jacobson, the founder of Carlsberg Brewery. You may be familiar with the famous green beer bottle- and it was founded right here in Copenhagen!

Christiansborg Palace

Next was the Christiansborg Palace, the first castle built in Copenhagen. Back in 1100-1400, it housed monks and bishops, until the King of Denmark conquered Copenhagen and tore down the Copenhagen Castle and rebuilt it "in his manor." The current form of the castle was built in 1928 and is under renovation to turn it into a museum.

Nyhavn

One of the better-known areas of Copenhagen is the harbor area of Nyhavn. Back in the 1600s, this harbor was filled with sailors and merchants when they weren't at sea. Along the tight alleyways were tattoo parlors, restaurants, and small lodgings that were notorious for prostitution.

In modern times, this neighborhood wanted to better their image, so they invited local fisherman to "park" their boats in the harbor for a festival...then the bridge broke and the boats couldn't get out of the tiny harbor. Eventually, the bridge was repaired, but the neighborhood had adopted the lovely boats, and they never left! Now these fishing boats are part of the neighborhood's lure!

Amalienborg Palace

You may be wondering why the royal family doesn't live in the Christiansborg Palace, and that is because they prefer Amalienborg Palace on the outskirts of the city's hoppin' center. The Amalienborg Palace is a circular roundabout containing four villas for the royal family. The current king lives in one, his son lives in one, his mom (previous queen) lives in one, and the final residence is a museum! Just a little royal family neighborhood!

Ramen to Bíiru Vesterbro

After our walking tour, we were ready for some good food! Lucky for us, Mikkeller has branched out and opened a few ramen restaurants in Copenhagen to go along with all their breweries! We visited one in the Vesterbro neighborhood in the southern part of Copenhagen.

Bryan devoured his spicy ramen, and I loved my miso ramen- the flavors were really good, and this ramen was some of the most authentic stuff we have had outside of Japan! Of course, we paired it with a Mikkeller bev!

Mikkeller HQ

Then it was time to start our Mikkeller visits! During our trip planning, we found the Mikkeller HQ office building that Google says had a bar inside.... We tried to visit it, but the building was locked and required a key card entry...so maybe that bar is only for the employees! (I obviously need a job change! A bar in your office?!?!)

Mikkeller Warpigs Brewpub

So when the first stop was a miss, we headed to the next closest Mikkeller location, WarPigs! In the past, we have found WarPig collaboration beers on tap at other Mikkeller locations, and this time we got to visit the place itself! This brewery not only makes beer (in collaboration with Mikkeller), but they also make BBQ! The whole place smelled amazing for just 3 pm!

Once we ordered our drinks and had our passport stamped, the bartender asked if we were here for "the official Mikkeller Beer Crawl." Having no clue what he was talking about, it was explained:

1. Visit a select five Mikkeller locations within 24 hours, located all over the city.

2. Drink a beer at each and keep the receipts.

3. Return to WarPigs and receive an official, not-for-sale, Mikkeller Beer Crawl t-shirt!

When Bryan found out this was even an option, the man was heartbroken! With only a few hours before we had to be back on board the ship to depart Denmark, we knew we didn't have enough time to visit all five locations... so while we enjoyed our first of the five crawl locations, we started brainstorming when we could come back to the city of Mikkeller and actually complete the entire thing!

Mikkeller Bar Viktoriagade

Trying not to get down about not enough time in the city, we made our way to the Mikkeller Viktoriagade location. This bar was tiny and located in the basement of a housing complex, and it is the original Mikkeller site that started it all! This location opened in 2006 and has since grown into a massive brewery franchise!

I loved seeing all the original art sketches hanging in this OG location. While the bar and seating area were the smallest of any Mikkeller we have visited to date, it was so fun visiting the FIRST Mikkeller Bar! Of course, we got the passport stamp and kept our receipt as a fun little memento!

Mikkeller & Friends

At this point in the day, we had close to two hours left before we had to be back on our cruise ship. I challenged Bryan's navigation skills by cramming in one final Mikkeller location into our trip! While Mikkeller & Friends was farther west, and in the complete opposite direction of where we needed to go towards the ship, we had to fit in JUST ONE MORE BEER!

The Mikkeller & Friends bar had the largest selection of Mikkellers on tap and had the biggest selection of gear for sale. We own almost everything they had, so this time around, we stuck to just beer before rushing back to the ship for our 5:30 pm all aboard time!

Now that last photo...that would be what our rushing got us... as we boarded the train back to the ship, and while Bryan purchased our train tickets in the Danish public transit app, we were stopped and asked for our train tickets by one of the train police. Apparently, your tickets have to be bought on the platform BEFORE stepping foot on the train, even though they only offer ticket sales online. The train police gave us a $250 fine- even though we showed him proof of our tickets!?!

It was a WILD experience and definitely put a damper on our walk back to the boat. Bryan ended up emailing the city's transit authority, providing them with proof of our ticket purchase and an explanation of what happened, with the hopes of getting that fee waived. I mean, we DID pay for our tickets- we just happened to deal with a pretty peevish patrolman with questionable morals.

We made it back to the ship with less than 10 minutes to spare! After dropping our backpacks in the room, we headed to the main lobby to listen to some peaceful piano music as we departed Denmark.

And then the captain came over the loudspeaker: rough waters have led to unsafe conditions for our departure. We are staying overnight in Copenhagen and have an all aboard time of 1 pm tomorrow afternoon!

If I could have filmed Bryan's face as he realized what this meant: We have visited three of the five Mikkeller Beer Crawl locations AND we have receipts. We can actually do this thing!!!!!!

Mikkeller Baghaven

So we sprinted back to the room, emptied our backpacks, and tore off that ship like a bat out of hell while giggling and skipping back to the public transit stop! It was time to complete the Mikkeller gauntlet, and nothing was standing in our way!!!

Well, one thing was stopping us...and that was the lack of public transit. Since the city thought the ship was leaving, the bus was no longer coming out to the cruise port, so we had to call an Uber to take us to the next Mikkeller location! Worth it!

Mikkeller Baghaven was located across the harbor from our cruise ship and was an inconvenient 20-minute car ride away. We arrived at this shipyard area to a grungy-vibe Mikkeller location, where we enjoyed a drink while watching the sun set on the water! Bryan and I both were giddy with excitement as we finished this last drink and tore off towards the final Mikkeller!

Mikkeller Færgekroen

Upon arrival at the last Mikkeller location, we learned the German-themed Mikkeller location was located inside a Danish theme park...and required us to buy $20 entry tickets to reach our final spot. By now, money didn't matter- Bryan was completing this bar crawl! We paid the entry ticket price and rushed through the theme park to Mikkeller Færgekroen.

Along the way, we realized this theme park was more of a garden with permanent fair rides. It was lit up nicely for the evening, but we were focused on our mission! Mikkeller Færgekroen was an open-air restaurant that served German bratwursts and, more importantly, the final beer we needed for our bar crawl! Bryan spotted Mikkeller glasses that resembled beer steins from Germany and decided we had to own one for our collection. (Again, money wasn't real at this point in our day. Mikkeller could have bought Bryan's soul for all he cared!)

Mikkeller Warpigs Brewpub

Then it was back to our starting point- WarPigs BrewPub! Bryan proudly turned in our receipts and earned that coveted Beer Crawl t-shirt! Just look at his smile- there's nothing better!

Since we spent the majority of our day drinking, it was about time to eat some food! Lucky for us, WarPigs had some good-smelling BBQ calling our names! Together we split a plate of some of the best BBQ I have ever eaten! The food was so good, Bryan ordered us an extra side of their baked beans for dessert! We are living the carb-heavy diet for the day, and I couldn't be happier!

Late into the evening, we made our way back to the ship to sleep off our wonderful day in Denmark! I can honestly say, the wait was worth it! Denmark delivered!

September 17: Copenhagen, Denmark

Since we got back to the ship super late last night, we decided to sleep in instead of going back into town. By 1 pm, the ship was headed back to sea- so it's almost like we had an extra "day at sea!"

September 18: Homeward Bound

Then it was back to Germany, where we disembarked the ship around 8 am to make our way back to the Berlin Airport for our flight home!

This trip lasted two weeks and took us to SIX new countries along the Baltic Sea! I would say, booking this cruise almost two years ago was well worth the wait! I love traveling with my best friend and exploring the world with him at my side. The only thing that could make it better? Having our two fur-children with us while we do it all!

But they were happily enjoying the Spanish sun while we were away. We do live the best lives! Oh, and as I publish this blog post, I am sitting next to our TEN-YEAR-OLD! That's right, Hugo turned TEN shortly after our cruise, so he really is living his best Spanish life! Happy Birthday, Hugs!

That's all for now folks! Two weeks of travel condensed down into three blog posts- whew! That's got to be a record for us!

--Katie