A perfect start

Our first day aboard MV FRAM on our way to Leith in Scotland was a sea day. But it was not a normal  day for this region. The North Sea can be so unbelievable rough but we had  nice and calm water under a blue and sunny sky. What a first day for our trip to the high Arctic! We can be sure, that the temperature will change soon; but hopefully the sun will stay with us for a long time!

For those of you, reading the blog anywhere in the world, please do not believe that a sea day like today is a relaxing day. No, no and another time no. Our lecturers used the opportunity to have us all aboard for teaching us in different lessons. So we became nearly perfect Biologists for fish, marine mammals and seabirds. In the evening we had a briefing for tomorrow and so we feel very well prepared for our landing in Leith/Edinburgh.

But to say the truth – we had of course free time too. It was wonderful to rest in the sun, to read a book, have a drink in the bar or talk to other guest. There was also time for little nap after lunch. Let´s say it in a short way: we had a perfect day!

THE END OF A BEAUTIFUL VOYAGE

Today we reached Hamburg, the end of our fantastic trip through the Baltic Sea. There is no words to describe the beauty of all the towns we visited under a warm sun. Last night we passed the Kiel Channel connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, and in the early morning sunshine we sailed on the Elbe.
We had three different pilots on board, the first one for the Channel, the second one for the Elbe and finally a third one for the harbour, those guys know how to share a business.

All of us enjoyed the scenery: lots of trees, yacht clubs, nice mansions, the five stars hotel « Louis Jacob » on one side, and the industrial zone with shipyards and among other companies the aircraft builder Airbus on the other side. Benno felt really at home here and gave us lots of insider information about Hamburg and the life in town: art, culture, architecture, business, sports, transportation and more.

Later in the morning our passengers left the ship, and they told us that they were ready to come back again. For the crew, this was a day of hard work as the new passengers arrived in the afternoon.

After check in and a short discovery tour of the ship, our guests were invited to the mandatory safety drill on deck 5.

Fram left the harbour of Hamburg at 18.15, still under a beautiful sun. Hamburg gave us great impressions of modern architecture. After dinner, we all went to the observation lounge for the captains’ welcome cocktail. Captain Rune Andreasen introduced some of the officers and kept us updated about the weather forecast. Our expedition leader Anja Erdmann introduced her team of lecturers and all agreed that we are en route for a great sailing experience, en route to Greenland.

Time to say good bye!

Our last day: that means: a last time lectures, a last lunch, a last time waffles in the observation lounge, a “Captain´s Farewell Cocktail”, a last dinner in the restaurant and …. That sounds a little bit sad, but there are nice things too: meeting with passengers which became new friends during the trip, nice talking in the bar and perhaps the most important thing – nice memories of a sunny trip around the Baltic Sea.

To let everybody know how wonderful our trip has been we will show an abstract of pictures from the whole trip, starting in Stockholm. If anybody becomes jealous, you are welcome at any time aboard MV FRAM! 

Kalmar – Our last stop before Hamburg

In the early morning we reached Kalmar, one of the oldest cities in Sweden, in the historical Province Smȧland. We lay directly in the center of the city again and so it was easy to explore the city by ourselves. When we walked through the streets of Kalmar we recognized that the city must have been very important during the last centuries. Most of the historical buildings have been nicely restored. Nobody will ever know how many pictures we have done for example from the Cathedral, the city hall, the castle ……. How wonderful, that most of us use a digital camera now. It makes life so much easier.

But of course there have been excursions too and most passengers used the opportunity of the guided tours.

Smȧland is also called the “Kingdom of Crystal” as it is very famous for its glass factories at least since the 18^th century. Many companies - like Kosta-Boda - are well known in the whole world. So it is no wonder that we were offered an excursion that was focused on the art of glass. It was wonderful to see how the glassblowers created new models.

Another group made a longer excursion to Öland. Öland is 140 km long and with a maximum of 15km extent a very small but unbelievable nice island between the mainland and the Baltic Sea. The whole island consists of limestone which gives the area a very special impression. There are many flowers and animals which are specialized on this lime stone. The center of the island, called “Great Alvar”, is very scraggy and can only be used by the farmers for their cows, sheep or horses.

But in former times this Alvar had been a very important area. The so called “Gettlinge burial ground” showed that the island was settled since the Stone Age. 

In the fortress Eketorp, in the center of the Alvar, we learned a lot about the life from the Iron Time up to the Middle Age.

At the southern end of the island you can find the “Long Jan”, with 42 m Sweden´s tallest lighthouse.

Around 19.30h everybody has been back aboard – full of new impressions. 

After a nice Philipino Buffet the crew awaited us in the Panorama Lounge for the very, very well known MV FRAM Crew Show. 

Gotland in the sun!

The morning we spent aboard on our way to Visby, the main city on Gotland, Sweden. But there was no time for relaxation. Our lecturers had prepared very interesting topics for us, so that we used the morning to learn more about the region we are travelling through.

Approx. 12h we reached Visby, this wonderful historical city that also belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. During the middle ages the island belonged in different periods to the Gutes (the tribal name of the Gotlandic people), the Danes, the Victual Brothers, the Teutonic Order, the German Hanseatic – leagues and since the Treaty of Broemsebro in 1645, the island has remained under the Swedish rule.

The galley was so nice to start our lunch at 11.30h so that we have been ready for our excursion directly after we went alongside in the harbor. The busses waited already and the wonderful afternoon in Gotland could start. It was unbelievable warm. We had the feeling to be here in Sweden on a very special summer day; even it is still spring time. The passengers on the Gotland tour saw a lot of the countryside while others explored Visby on a guided tour by foot.

Imagine wondering around a small city, ancient houses on cobblestone coverd narrow roads, small boutiques! Visby is also called the "town of the roses" and it is a wonderful sight. As soon as you walk a bit away from the main road, it is calm and quiet, you get easily in touch with locals. Most passengers sooner or later met up in Swedens biggest ice cream place- which offers 160 different kind of ice creams!

 

Welcome to Riga

During the night we sailed through a very smooth Gulf of Riga. Early in the morning we reached the city Riga, lying at the mouth of the river Dougava. Riga is the capital of Latvia and with approx. 650.000 inhabitants the largest city of the Baltic States.

Directly after breakfast we started our excursion through Riga´s historical centre, which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its Art Nouveau architecture.

It was a little bit difficult to reach the centre as there was the well-known Riga Marathon with more than 12.000 numbers of participants going on. But the city of Riga was very impressive for everybody, especially with the sunshine we had again.

As we spent the whole day in Riga many passengers went out again in the afternoon. It was a good idea to have a nice cup of coffee in one of the cafés and watching people.

Other passengers went on a bus tour to the seaside resort Jurmala. It lies directly at the Gulf of Riga, 25 km west of Riga. In the Soviet time it was a main resort for important politicians, but today everybody is welcome. The 33 km stretch of the white sandy beach was especially nice to see in the sunshine.

The evening ended with the famous fashion show. All the wonderful models – presented by Corinna – belonged to the officers and the expedition team.   

A DAY AT SEA

Last night we left TALLIN, Estonia, en route for RIGA, Lettonia: a distance of 280 nautical miles, quite a long stretch through the Baltik Sea, and the gods of the seas were nice to us.

Today we began our program with lectures: Claus lectured on amber, a jewel of the Baltik Sea.

Jean-Louis had marine mammals on his programm: it was all about whales and seals in polar waters.

In the afternoon, Anja introduced passengers to other FRAM destinations like Spitsbergen, Greenland, Europe and Antarctica.

A good alternative for our guests was to just relax on the outer decks, where many enjoyed the smooth cruising under a warm sun.

In the evening, we were all confronted with a major dilemma: football championship Bayern/Chelsea live in Framheim hall or ice carving in the observation lounge? We will let you know tomorrow what attracted most of us.

Tallinn- here we come!

After 197 nautical miles our eyes were drawn to the sky line of Tallinn. From the original town wall and the 66 towers still many are standing and it is a city with absolute charme! Just imagine all the dimensions in this small place- just the building of the town wall took around 300 years- and in the end the wall was (after many modifications within the years) 2,35km long, up to 16m tall and 2-3m thick! You could definately feel safe here even in the olden days! But still you have somehow the "small village feeling" when walking around the city center.
From the distance, you already see the Toompea (Cathedral hill) and the tower of St Olai Church. Built in the 12th century, the later was between 1549 and 1625 the tallest building in the world with 159m! Being the highest building proofed not so good as lightening struck it over the years at least 8 times...

 

We spent the day walking around the city, exploring the narrow alleys, spent too much money in the small stalls selling among other things beautiful linnen, glass wear and local treats. Some of us were extremely active and biked with a local guide throughout the city while others discovered it by foot- and some had the pleasure of exploring the great nature of the Laheema National Park.