Skål Stallhagen!

Does it matter that the Åland islands and their capital Mariehamn had disappeared in the fog? No! We spent a marvelous time in the small town. Ålands are very special, because they are an autonomy territory in Finland with their own laws and a different tax-system.

Although they belong to the EU they are a tax-free area. A good reason for all the travelers, nearly one million passengers arrive every day by ferry from Turku, Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn. That’s important for the economy besides agriculture. But we are talking about islands and therefor the sea and the navigation are the center of the life on Ålands. Close to the berth of Fram lies the famous museum ship “Pommern”. The most important ships owner of sailing merchant barques, Gustaf Erikson, bought the windjammer in 1923.

Ships are very important in Mariahamn also as a shipwreck. The brewer Christian Ekström found a 200 years old bottle of champagne in a shipwreck, today the highlight of his brewery, of course besides his tasteful beer. He brews four different kinds of the special Stallhagen beer and we could taste them all.

Although we started our other excursions by bus and by bike in the foggy morning, we could enjoy the beautiful landscape three hours later. Spring on the Ålands means a concert of the birds, colorful flowers in the meadows, the light green leaves and nesting birds on the lakes.

The summerhouses are close to the sea hidden by trees. The islands are flat and the highest point is just 104 m above sea level. Good for the bikers!

Looking back in the history we stopped on our historical trip at the open air museum Karlsgården with the Castle Kastelholm from the 14th century. After visiting the St. John’s church in Sund we finally drove to the ruins of Bomarsund, a former fortress built by the Russians in 1854.

We left the lovely town in the afternoon to Kalmar and Öland.

Link between East and West

After our Russian adventures we are now back to EU land!

Nonetheless, Helsinki had been for many years ruled by the Russian tsars and the influence of those times has been conserved since then. One example is the impressive Uspenski Cathedral which we could already observe from the ship. Like in St Petersburg, MV Fram moored directly in the centre, within a few minutes from the fish market. From there we could stroll along the Esplanade and absorb the atmosphere of a sunny Sunday morning while enjoying a view to the huge white Helsinki Cathedral, the symbol of the city.

A little further, the main railway station invited to discover the typical Art Nouveau architecture which is another characteristic of Helsinki.

On the excursions we had the opportunity to see other points of interest not so close by. Some of us also visited the ancient village Porvoo with its scenic wooden houses, the cozy coffee houses and little souvenir shops.

Reval or Tallinn?

Sailing in the Baltic Sea is a real summer holiday: a calm sea, bright sunshine and a blue sky. Arriving in time in the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, in the morning all of us looked forward to leave MV FRAM and went into the town; either on our own or on an excursion. Tallinn is a beautiful old town founded in the middle age. The most prosperous period was during the time, when the town was a member of the Hanseatic League. Tallinn, with a population of 8,000 during that time, was very well fortified with city walls and 40 defence towers. Still today there are 26 towers and 50% of the wall to see.

One group went on a walking tour from the Domberg, the former upper part of Tallinn, seat of the central authority and the Cathedral.

We visited the cathedral and the Russian orthodox church of Alexander Nevskij. On our way to the lower town we followed the longest mediaeval street which led us to the House of the Brotherhood of Blackheads. We had a short break and enjoyed the performance of a dance-group.

The market-place was shown to us with the town hall in gothic style and some of us used the time to visit the oldest pharmacy in Europe from 1422. But one of the best things was just to stroll around and have a closer look into the tiny, little shops and galleries.

One group went for a bike ride in the old town and also in the younger parts of the city. On the panoramic tour we visited also the Kadriorg Palace, originally planned by Tsar Peter the Great, today a lovely baroque castle with a beautiful park. On our way back we stopped at the ruins of the former Pirita Convent dedicated to St. Brigitta and founded around 1400.

Unfortunately we had to leave the wonderful old town of Tallinn in the afternoon. But there is still the question, Reval or Tallinn? Both names are known for the capital of Estonia, but Reval is the old name given by the German knights and Tallinn is the right and today only used name.

Later on board we listened to some more lectures or enjoyed the sunshine on the deck.

Relaxed busy day!

Today, we spend the entire day at sea. But if you think this might be boring, then you are totally mistaken! There is always something to do or to see. For example, early birds could enjoy an incredible sunrise as documented by our Chief Officer from the bridge (see photo).

For those who rather prefer a lie-in (we are on holidays!), there was chance to delay the first activities to around 10 am when we started with guided bridge visits. Captain Arild Hårvik gave detailed explanations on the equipment like the 3 compasses (two geographic, one magnetic), the radars, electronic sea charts and we also learned that steering with the Azimuth-thrusters allows a very fine and rapid-reaction navigation required for sailing in the ice. However, according to his own words, the most important instrument on the bridge is still the coffee machine!

The morning was also used by our Assistant Expedition Lead

er Friederike to give us an overview on the different excursions which we can book for our next destinations. Luckily the voyage has just started and there are still many ports ahead of us!

In the afternoon, a wonderful scent filled the ship and attracted us to the Panorama Lounge. Our bartenders Dennis, Caloy and Eric were preparing delicious fresh waffles! Afterwards we heard a lecture by Carolina. She is our specialist for history of art and fascinated us with explanations about some secret treasures to discover in Tallinn. This was later complemented by Sabine who gave a more general overview on the city, so that now we are fully prepared for tomorrow.

But before going to bed, the day’s highlight took place in the Panorama Lounge: the legendary, well-known, always popular and entertaining MS FRAM Fashion Show! With the internationally renowned high class models (who during daylight also work as expeditions staff, officer or even Captain) featuring the newest trendy bestsellers from our ship shop!

The three “FIRSTs”!

What a day! To start with, it was of course our FIRST day on board. And it couldn’t be better to get used to the sea: the water was calm as a lake and the sun was shining from a perfectly blue sky.

After midday we reached our first port of call: Stralsund. It was the FIRST time ever MS FRAM visited this former Hanseatic town. On the other hand, it was also the FIRST time that the city received a cruise ship of this size! No surprise that there was big excitement on both sides. We were welcomed by gunshots from historical canons and live brass instruments music. Our Captain and some of the officers were the first to leave the ship to be greeted and later escorted by the mayor to the city hall where the Captain had the honour to put his signature in the golden book.





In the meantime, to celebrate our arrival, we were generously treated with sparkling wine at the pier. Afterwards, a boat shuttle transferred us to the main pier. From here we could explore the ancient city centre – either by excursion or on our own. Due to a wealth of well-restored buildings, Stralsund earned the title of UNESCO world cultural heritage (in conjunction with Wismar). Of more than 800 listed buildings in Stralsund, more than 500 are designated as individual monuments in the Old Town.

In addition, the original Gorch Fock lays in the harbour, now hosting a museum. For those interested in biology, there is also a huge new museum for marine life, the “Ozeaneum”, which is also very worth visiting.





Nicole's dream comes true...!



From the North to the East (sea)

It was just a short stop in the harbour of Hamburg, unfortunately. This weekend is the port anniversary in Hamburg, hundreds of ships are in the harbour and one of the highlights is their parade. But FRAM had to leave quite early to hurry to Stralsund. In just three hours everyone was on board; it was probably the shortest lay-over time of FRAM in a habour.

We started the trip on the Elbe and got plenty of explanations about Hamburg, about some of the vessels, the beautiful part of the city: Blankenese, the shipyard Blohm & Voss and so on. In the afternoon was the first lecture about the “Nord-Ostsee-Kanal” (Kiel Canal) just in time before we approached the floodgate in Brunsbuettel, the entrance to Kiel Canal.

The whole Canal is around 100 km long and was built by the German Emperor Wilhelm I in 1896 and finished in 1914. It is a beautiful trip passing the “Marsch”, a green and fertile landscape in northern Germany. We enjoyed being outside on the decks in the sunshine, especially during the sunset. Indeed a marvelous start of our voyage in the Baltic Sea.

Captain Arild Hårvik and his crew gave us a warm welcome and nice ending of an exciting day.