No worries, this is not breaking news, but a minor event which even adds spice to our trip from Oslo to Hamburg, you'll see.
After a sunset of major beauty we started the long crossing towards Hamburg. The sea was flat calm, also during the day, so lingering on deck was a sheer pleasure. Late during the night we reached Kiel-Holtenau and entered the Kiel Kanal (Nord-Ostseekanal), this event witnessed only by the night owls among us. The QE2, who was supposed to be somewhere near, must have slipped our course. Well, she is just so tiny…
Everyone else had only one thing in mind: the famous harbour festival, hosting the most beautiful traditional big ships right downtown Hamburg. A fantastic event, this year spoilt with warm, sunny pre-summer weather.
But, please: Why aren't we moving? What are these walls, so close on either side??
Simple answer: It's the lock, the Brunsbüttel Sluice, that is the westernmost end of the channel. And it was locked, the lock. And locked. Aaaand locked. Due to the very high traffic on the river Elbe we had to stay put for more than two hours until finally the gate opened and dismissed us into the wide river mouth.
Sharp left turn, and off we go! Captain puts another coal on the fire (so to speak), in order to gain a little speed.
But the trip upstream River Elbe is full of attractions, some of them grim as the nuclear power plant of Brokdorf, other simply pretty like the passage along lush green pastures and farms.
And then the skyline of Hamburg is drawing near, heralded by an increasing amount of vessels. We are here! Captain Arild Hårvik blows the horn, certainly one of the loudest heard by the crowd. FRAM is in town!
...of things is what we should look at rather than to frown and moan about the shadows.
It is mostly on departure days that this kind of thinking springs to mind, there is simply no reason to ponder philosophically on a bright blue sea day or during a fine landing in a beautiful place. But when it's over… different story. A noticeable reluctance in walking down the gangway for the last time on this trip, the melancholy of saying good-bye, climbing into the busses and waving back to the orange jackets that are gathered on the pier. It'll pass, for certain! There is something to look forward to, there is home and family and garden and springtime and dogs and friends and whatnot. And there is also the prospect of coming back. Wouldn't that be nice?
Meanwhile, another load of provisions and blue jackets and engine oil and parts and paint gets delivered and stored in the bowels of FRAM, crew and staff members are going and arriving, Hurtigruten officials come aboard for meetings and information and material. That also is changeover day, a logistical pitstop for all who work on the ship. But all with the nice backdrop of the pittoresque fortress of Akershus, whose turrets are pointing into a - no surprise here - blue sky. Pretty, pretty.
And not long until the busses appear, full with those who are going to take a ride with us to Hamburg. A lift rather, it is only one and a half day. So, folks, settle in quickly, not time to loose. Best to start right away, with a little leisure in the afternoon light.
Well, that's the sunny side, isn't it?
One more day of sunshine, nobody expects otherwise…
However, there is a mood of melancholy wafting around, especially when pictures are shown, or during the stroll on the ship. It is the feel of departure, of a very nice episode ending. How colourful this trip has been!
This time in Oslo there will be a big changeover: Not only will a new group of guests be arriving, also all the expedition team will be replaced by the one that is assigned for this year's Greenland season.
So it is safe to call this a turning point, although there will be another Baltic Cruise following, although some of us carry on two more days until Hamburg. For this reason we would like to say good-bye here, thank you very much indeed for being such good sports on board. We hope that you carry a lot home from this, and maybe one day have the urge to come back. You will be more than welcome, you know that!
Please follow MS FRAM on the Blog (http://www.mvfram.blogspot.com), where you will find all the news about the current whereabouts and adventures, see nice pictures that might stir up a little sigh, perhaps, but remind you of a wonderful time.
This is the day without pier, so let's dispense with the comfort of walking on and walking off a gangway. At least for once, please!
The tiny little port of Gudhjem expects us - do I have to mention it? - with sunshine and blue skies that serve as canvas for the yellow houses and green fields and trees. Colours only the very daring would wear together, mother nature can do.
The tendering is a new experience for many, but all manage the biiiig step very well. The most active ones are the bikers who disappear first in all directions. Four big busses follow for a grand tour across the island, which is not as small as some think: from cap to cap it spans 50 kilometers.
If you decide to make your own pace and take a walk, you will not help noticing the almost striking cosiness that Denmark is famous for. The beauty seems to origin in some nearness to life that we see in the houses, gardens, decorations. Honest care for the detail, never kitsch, never looking just arranged. Uncomplicated, but not simple. The natural decor equivalent of a smile.
Smiles also on the kid's faces who got themselves a biiiig "softis" from the candy shop. Looking at our boat drivers you can't help the question: Is it kids who like ice cream, or is it the ice cream that makes us kids…?
In no time you notice: This island is a peaceful one. Walking seems just appropriate, bike is fine, too. Cars will not race, not honk, not push you. People sit and talk, they have time. Everything fast and noisy does not belong here.
This is also the reason why there are so many handicraft shops here; glass art is everywhere, even showing the process of making.
And then maybe you start walking, you round the port, cross the outskirts of the village and then join the narrow footpath that takes you along the coast of the island, which soon starts to rise and build steep cliffs (of very aged rocks, if the geologist might add: It is here that the extremely old Baltic Shield dives under the younger stuff towards the South. Bornholm is a open-air museum of geology).
And now the peace is even more profound. Songbirds are chirping to your left, from your right the cries of gulls and the sloshing of the surf merges with the soundscape. Everything is green, except the countless flowers that tell us: Spring has reached the island, with a two months delay to the mainland, but in exchange the fine weather normally stays until beginning of October.
That's how roaming should be: Breath freely and give the world a smile. It smiles back at you.
After some hours of intense recreation, Gudhjem comes back into sight. After a holiday within a holiday, you hop on the tenderboat and ride back. What an appropriate last landing day for a splendid trip.
Tomorrow the sea has us back, and then it is Oslo, where it started.
You don't, dear reader? Don't you worry, not your fault. It's because we haven't mentioned it yet. When we were moving towards St. Petersburg, there were so many things to talk about, so many pictures to show you that I decided to skip the approach and keep it for later. And what is more suitable to take you back in time than a sea day? So, instead of giving you todays account of people lying out on deck in the sunshine or sitting in the lecture halls, let me tell you what happened only three and a half days ago:
It all began at five in the morning, when we were woken up by a new noise. For the seasoned polar travellers among our guests this slow, crunching sound that seems to come from all sides was pretty familiar - ice! And indeed, FRAM was pushing through a closed sheet of ice. The morning light reflecting on the bright white surface, the chill of the frozen air brought back reminiscences of the Arctic to quite a few on board.
While FRAM left a clear trail of open water in her wake, other ships around us seemed not to be as suitably equipped; the big hulls enshrouded in the icy grip of the Gulf of Finland, motionless, like giant steely animals on a white pasture.
Even without ice it is an interesting, history-loaded passage into St. Petersburg. Kronstadt passes slowly by, site of the famous rebellion. A little later the waters are framed by old WW II warships and submarines that lay idly in a marina next to rusty remains of long-gone heavy industry. It is not a pretty ride, all this rotten machinery, all these wrecks that seem be on no-ones schedule to be ever removed, all the fallen-in buildings with collapsed roofs, decorated with forgotten anchors, cranes and train rails. But it keeps everybody outside, interested, and faszinated by the morbid atmosphere that lies on it.
Finally we turn into the Neva River, and the golden rooftops of the Czars city are to be seen in the distance. On portside a famous ice-breaker, the Krassin, the world's strongest ship of its time, used by Otto Sverdrup and later on to rescue Umberto Nobile after his failed attempt to reach the North Pole with his airship.
And then we make fast on the England Embankment. From now on it's going to be pretty, but this you have already seen here...
So, now you know what happened only three-and-a-half days ago. Next stop Gudhjem.
The city of Tallinn is guarded by a big cruise ship and ferry terminal, the amount of ships moving in and out is impressive, Tallink, Viking Lines, St. Peter Line - they are bringing and taking many thousands of people a day. FRAM is only a small ship with only very few passengers, compared to this. After our guests have started their excursions, we receive some 100 port guests from the Hurtigruten Tallinn office, who eagerly get an update on the latest destination info, that Karin and the staff have to offer, first hand pictures and impressions. Meanwhile, the ship traffic outside goes on, incessably. And this is only the beginning of the season. Not all of the many many people travelling via Tallinn will have the time to explore the old town, using the place just as the Baltic hub it presently is.
And here is the dilemma: Everybody who does not go for the sights of Tallinn misses a lot, makes a clear mistake. Then again, we can be grateful that not the full load of people shoves through the narrow gates and cobblestone alleys. Of course there are folks in the streets but somehow you never have the impression of being beyond the critical mass(es).
So you can engage in the place, let yourself flow back in time, marvel at the thick old walls and studded doors from the medieval age or take in the well-preserved beauty of the Hanse League era houses (when the city still was named Reval), still here in all their detail. And suddenly you get the feel. The feel. The outside world with its tall buildings and shiny facades is - well, outside.
In here is the mystic atmosphere that overcomes you when you find an old wooden chest in the attic and open it for the first time. And it is not empty. The sound of flutes and song is carried through the streets and in the squares. the bells tolling the time start to be the only clock you want, the thick meat soup in the tavern the only meal you desire. Yep, here you are, captured by the atmosphere.
And all of a sudden - much too early - time's up. We are short visitors only, but we had our sneak peak backwards. And this is a warm, good memory. An old one.
After a sunset of major beauty we started the long crossing towards Hamburg. The sea was flat calm, also during the day, so lingering on deck was a sheer pleasure. Late during the night we reached Kiel-Holtenau and entered the Kiel Kanal (Nord-Ostseekanal), this event witnessed only by the night owls among us. The QE2, who was supposed to be somewhere near, must have slipped our course. Well, she is just so tiny…
Simple answer: It's the lock, the Brunsbüttel Sluice, that is the westernmost end of the channel. And it was locked, the lock. And locked. Aaaand locked. Due to the very high traffic on the river Elbe we had to stay put for more than two hours until finally the gate opened and dismissed us into the wide river mouth. 
But the trip upstream River Elbe is full of attractions, some of them grim as the nuclear power plant of Brokdorf, other simply pretty like the passage along lush green pastures and farms.
