Lands End and Cornish Cream Tea

It's like a dream. On the starboard side we can see the coast of Cornwall in beautiful sunlight. Ahead of us the the city of Penzance. The captain anchored the ship on 10 meters water. With the tender boats we sail our guests safely from the ship to shore. Busses are waiting for the excursions.
We are in the romantic world of Rosamunde Pilcher. The populaer
author was born here. Her stories take place in this beautiful area.
Many of her novels have been filmed by the German TV. The series are so successful that the
author got the German award "Golden Camera" in 1998. And now there is even a new variety
of roses, called "Rosemarie Pilcher".
We strongly feel the fascination of this unique landscape and are overwhelmed of the sharp
contrast of the green meadows, yellow rapefields, spectacular granite cliffs.
Subtropical vegetation with palm trees and the Common Gorse in magnificent gardens and hedges. At this time of the year it is there are not many tourists in the streets. But in summertime it used to be very busy. There is a direct connection with the railway from London to Penzance.
Time for a break with Cornish Cream Tea and delicious cones. A traditional speciality of Cornwall.
From the old town we have a nice overview to the pitourescque St.Ives Bay.

One of the highlights is a tender trip to St.Michael's Mount which is a small island with a castle on the top.

A lot of history is known about this island which is now owend by the National Trust and
opened for all visitores.
All passengers got dry and happy back to the ship in the late afternoon. What a wonderful day in the southwest tip of England.

Portsmouth

Today we have been in Portsmouth. We had sunny weather and that means that we had the best conditions for our planned excursions. Our experiences have been so wonderful, that we would like to share these with you. And here you can see, that picuteres can say somtimes more than words!

Exbury Gardens & New Forest   

Historical Winchester & Cathedral

Stonehenge & Salisbury  

 

                   

Water, Waves and Waffles

Anjas soft voice is the signal to get up. An amazing morning with bright sun shine. A beautiful start for our historical trip around England, Ireland and Scotland. The daily program is filled up with informations about our route. Interesting lectures were given by Klaus (viking discoveries to the West), Friederike (geology of the Atlantic Ocean) and Katja (the English Gotik). There is also time for sun bathing on the deck chairs. A lot of trafic is around us. All types of ships from many nations are passing in a constantly stream on our way to the English Channel. At 3 pm we could smell the delicious waffles in the observation lounge. Later on Anja presents the destination and excursions on the following day. Portsmouth was in focus. Everyone is looking forward  to tomorrow. It will be our first landing. What a wonderful sun set. The cliffs of Dover are ahead of us but still too far to catch a closer look.
After a day with information it is too early to go to bed. A special event, a "song-contest" is waiting for us in the observation lounge. Some of our crew members are excellent  artists, they will sing with heart and soul.

Passenger exchange in Hamburg

We always talk about passenger exchange days. One trip is coming to an end, the next one is starting immediately. And how often do we, that work here on board hear "oh, so you are going on holiday again?" when going onboard for work.

So today it is time for a little clarification. And this is a rather typical work day...
06:00 hours- wake up, check mails, any last minute changes? (after going to bed at 2am- I am a night "owl")
07:30 hours- announcement for guests, information about wind speed/ temperature/ arrival time
08:00 hours- arrival at Hamburg harbor. Ship is cleared but... luggage is still on board as it is taken from deck 7 out to the pier and from there to the terminal building.
08:45 hours- luggage is out, guests are leaving the vessel and the shuttle busses are leaving...
09:30 hours- nobody is in the terminal building anymore... Good bye to you! And hope to see you again soon!
10:00hours- meetings, meetings, meetings... Everyone wants something at the same time... Port guests are arriving, there is a press conference going on etc etc etc
The stewards are busy preparing the cabins for the afternoon, everyone settles accounts from the last trip, getting ready for the new arrivals. Daily programmes are printed for tomorrow and suddenly there are a 100 things in ones head.

14:00 hours- Just came in from a quick walk around Hamburg. The terminal is already full of new passengers. Oh, it will be a great trip! Everyone looks excited- and something flashes up my head- I mixed up the lecture halls in the daily programme for tomorrow! So- back on board, printing again, team meetings...

15:00 hours- The new guests can not wait to get on board! The luggage is brought in by crane again. Klaus, Benno and the crew are checking luggage tags, bags and suitcases are handled all around the ship...

And then: announcements, announcements, announcements "Welcome on board MV Fram and to the voyage to England, Ireland and Scotland...." I promise you- I can say it in my dreams...

16:30 hours- everyone is settled in... and then finally at 17:00hours we are leaving the pier.  Other people are waving to the ship, Benno gives narrations to Hamburg from the bridge... and it is time for dinner... and more meetings... and the passenger drill.... and the Welcome by our Captain Rune Andreassen... and more paper work... and ...  Good thing that today the clocks are set one hour back!

We love our jobs here on board! It gives us the chance to see the world, meet interesting people, built quite a few friendships- and have a home far away from home here on board MV Fram! So it is work- but you bet: we do not want to trade to any other job! When I look out of my expedition leader`s office, one day I can see the bridges of St Petersburg opening in the middle of the night. Soon there will be the glaciars of Svalbard, the icebergs in Greenland, the maple trees of Nova Scotia and the penguins in Antarctica. One thing is for sure- it is a dream job!

Last seaday and the Kiel Channel

We ended our "Baltic Sea" cruise with nice weather. After two days with stronger winds and waves everybody enjoyed the calm sea on our way to the Kiel Channel. Most of the passengers were sleeping a little bit longer because last evening Klaus told in the Panorama lounge stories out of his own life as a lecturer on the "Seven Seas". It was already very late when most passengers left the lounge to go to bed.
But after breakfast we had again a full program for the whole day. Those passengers, they haven't been on the bridge before had now the chance to visit our Captain Rune Andreassen and to enjoy the nice view from his working place. At 10.30 a new lecture series started. Klaus gave us the last informations about the Kiel Channel and Friederike gave us an informative lecture about seabirds. During lunchtime we had the possibility to see the slideshow from our onboard photographer Cyndie. The slideshow was so well done and it was nice to remember all our stops we had on our cruise. After lunch Katja abducted us into the world of the vikings. And than it was "waffle time" again. After all this good food we need a diet when we are at home again. At 16.30 Friederike told us about Greenland, Antarctica and Spitzbergen. After we had seen all these wonderful pictures we are thinking already about a new cruise onbord MV FRAM.

Just after dinner we reached the Kiel Channel. Nearly everybody stood at the open decks or sit in the Panorama lounge with a nice drink. Green trees (they haven't been green in Russia or in Scandinavia) and yellow rapefields were passing by. And of course the locks have been very interesting for all of us. We nearly had no time for packing. The last evening onbord is not the nicest evening at all. You want to do everything at the same time, packing, relaxing in the bar, a last talk with the expedition team etc. But perhaps it is not the last day onboard. There is always a chance to come back. There are so many different destinations waiting for us. The knowledge about this will make it a littele bit easier to say good bye.

Roses. Ruins and History

St. Mary's Cathedral was greeting from a distance at the entrance to the old
Hanseatic-Town of Visby-also known as the "City of Roses and Ruins".
During the summer time the smell of roses wipes through the streets. Today, we can only sense the

Middle Ages,with the gates, towers,churches, warehouses and narrow streets.

It provides an excellent example of a typical North-Hanseatic town.

But the rich merchants in the hanseatic period also had many enemies.

There were the pirates who raided ships and robbed and terrorized Visby.

But the days are gone- now tourists come to spent their summer holidays

and experience the "Pearl of Baltic Sea".

On our trip around the island, we were accompanied by a grey sky and a cold east wind that swept over the trees und our heads. The beauty of the scenery is unique.We passed the picturesque old fishing village, Gnisvärd, dating back to the 1700's. And from the massive cliffs of Högklint, we admired  the stunning view over the coastline of Gotland and Visby. Unfortunately, we are not able to spent a very long on the island as the ship is waiting for us to continue our voyage. 

In the afternoon we enjoyed interesting lectures and especially the famous waffles in our observation lounge.

But last not least, our Captain invites for the great Farewell Dinner and the crew says farewell. Even though it is not our last night on board, we had our farewell dinner tonight as tomorrow in the evening we go through the Kiel Channel! Read about that later!

Stockholm - the Capital of Sweden

Unbelievably nice, exciting... the skerries, the entrance to Stockholm. Six o clock in the morning, too early for many passengers we were passing the outer lighthouse. A fresh breeze from northeast brought the ship a little bit out of balance. Small islands with needle trees and colored wooden houses on starboard and portside. What a wonderful site. Breakfast started 7.30 am. Each and everyone was on his feet and joined the passage through the narrows. 10 o`clock arrival in the centre of Old Stockholm, Gamle Stan how it is called. Only a few minutes walk to the small shopping streets with lots of cute restaurants and coffee bars. An area which looked liked a middle age city. The Kings Palace not very far and the famous island of Djurgarden on the opposite side of our ship. The whole day excursion went after a walking tour in the old city to the Vasa museum on Djurholm. It is impressing to see the proud war ship from the17th century which was lying under sea level for 333 years. The old picturesque Viking trading town "Sigtuna" was the next destination on the trip. The Swedish guide explained how Christianity started at this place and identified rune inscriptions on big stones. A wonderful trip! A half day excursion brought passengers on a ship around the Swedish capital. In the afternoon some of the guests went to the fabulous ice bar and enjoyed a vodka drink in an ice glass.

Everyone loved the stay in "the Beauty on Water" of the north. Stockholm is built upon 14 different islands and the mainland all linked together by over 50 bridges.

An excellent Philippino buffet was served in the evening as the ship found his way out of the lovely skerries.

The buffet was followed in the observation lounge by a superb entertaining by the Philippino crew with songs, dance and acrobatic performances.

Hyvää huomenta Helsinki

It was a great morning in Finlands capital. As the city awakes slowly, we were nearly on our way for the first excursion, experiencing the uniqueness and beauty of the sights and architectural diversity. Helsinki is a rather young city, only 200 years old and the cathedral dates back to 1852. Finns are proud of their independence, the only bilingual street signs are reminders of the component parts of Sweden.

The metropolis has undergone a gentle, but constant change during the years: in the old factory district you find today lofts and businiess building. It is a lively city, shops, cafes invite to sit outside in the sun. Suomenlinna Sea Fortress is only a ferry ride away. It is one of Finland`s cultural treasures and was built in the 1700s. Today, Suomenlinna is a city district with approximately 900 residents.

And already we hear music in our ears: half an hour from Helsinki at Tuusula Lake, one finds the villa of the countrys greatest composers, Jean Sibelius. His work is well known all around the globe- and when you see the surroundings you know what gave the inspiration for this great artist.
We still had time for a short stroll over the marketplace with many fruits, vegetables, flowers and fresh fish. And be aware: one can not resist the charm of the old Market Hall and taste a delicious rolls!

Right on time we set off, but I am sure that many guests would like to return to Helsinki! 

Back on board there is a full programme once again: lectures are given and in the evening there will be a great surprise: a very skilled carving show with ice, fruits and vegetables!

Good morning St Petersburg

Like the early birds we started into the morning on our second day. But our night enhusiasts had still rather small eyes- and that for a good reason: each night the bridges of St Petersburg open at a set time and are beautifully lightened. A wonderful scenery over the old capital of Tsar Peter.

One excursion stared with a city tour towards the Peter and Paul Fortress, the birthplace of the city and place of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Here you also find the Aurora- from here came the signal of the start of the revolution in 1917 by firing a single blank shot from the bow gun. But the hightlight of this excursion was definately the visit of the world famous Hermitage Museum- the "Crown Jewel" of the museums of St Petersburg. Founded in 1764 as a private museum of Catherine the Great it is now displaying an unbelievable selection of about three millon pieces of art. To see all of them you would spent an estimated 17 years!

The Neva river cruise gave us a great sense why the city is called "Venice of the North". St Petersburg is situated on 42 islands with more than 60 small rivers and canals crisscrossing the city. Our open boat went past the magnificant palaces facing the Neva, beautiful parks and garden and the onion-shaped domes of the Smolny Cathedral. This tour also brought us to the Yusupov Palace, an outstanding historic and architectural monument of the late 19th, early 20th century. It presents a fine example of the Russian classicism. The Yusupovs resembled a rich family and they were great collectors of art as well. The palace is in addition one of the most mysterious places of the city, full of occult memories. It was here that Grigory Rasputin, a peasant monk (also the "Lover of the Russian Queen",) who had gained control over the Tsar`s family through his alleged supernatural powers, was murdered by the young prince Felix Yusupov. And in the cellar of the palace there is a display of wax figures re-enacting the whole event (a bit like "Madame Tussauds").
In the early afternoon it was time to say "farewell" to this great place and we sail out the river and passed Kronstadt.

And Helsinki- here we come!

St. Petersburg

Oh what a day, we are in St. Petersburg, this wonderful russian city, also well known as the "Venedig of the North". Everybody was looking forward to this day and we have been very happy, when we could see the first golden roofs very early in the morning. But, and there is always a but, we were a little bit disappointed, that the sunny sky we have had for the last days was gone. Instead of the sun we had grey clouds and rain, but even when it was raining cats and dogs we staid optimistic and that was good because the weather became better during the day.

All of us had a more or less busy daily schedule. The excursions started already very early and we really needed the time to get a good first impression of St. Petersburg. Very soon we recognized, that we would need weeks or months to learn all about the town, but our guides did their best to provide a good overview. A big group started the bus tour in the direction of  Pushkin to visit the Catherine Palace and of course the reconstruction of the Amber Room. We nearly got a "gold and amber rush" and too soon it was time to drive back to St. Peterburg where a typical russian lunch was waiting for us. Champagne and balalaica music set us in a good mood. After the visit of the magnificent St. Isaac Cathedral we had a little bus ride through the city and than we went back to the ship.

Another group conquered the town on foot and had the possibility for shopping in the famous Nevskiy Prospekt. Those, who could't walk very well had of course the chance to explore St. Petersburg by bus. After a long day full of new impressions we were all happy to sit down in our ships restaurant to enjoy the Norwegian Buffet.
Dinner gave us new power for a classic concert given by a russian orchestra on board MV Fram. In front of the panorame of St. Petersburg it was an unforgettable event.
After the concert everybody went to bed early because another day is waiting for us in St. Petersburg. At 7.15 the first excursions will start, but this city is really worth to get up early!

The old Hanse city of Tallinn

A beautiful morning has broken over Tallinn.  After a wonderful Norwegian breakfast with lovely Gejte Ost and fresh smooked salmon we started to conquer the historical city of Tallinn.On the pier bicycles were waiting for a ride with the group of our sporty guests. Everyone enjoyed the 12 km cycling outside and inside the mysterial city walls. The other guests went by foot through the narrow streets, passed hundreds of restaurants and coffee shops and some of them bought souvenirs from the people dressed in mideveal clothes. Excursions brought the rest of us to the churches and the ruins of the Brigitta monestry, passing the beach entered the upper city. At the market place a lot of people were gathered. It looked like a campus in the Mediterian area.
We set sail early in the afternoon in the direction of St. Petersburg. Lectures about the Hanse trade organisation,  the fish of the Baltic Sea and the preparing of immigration for the next day were offered in the lecture halls.