25th Anniversary Cruise - Helsinki, Finland

 We did a 3-hour waling tour in Helsinki starting at the beautiful Senate square and along the streets of the capital, past gorgeous libraries, through illustrious churches and through beautiful streets. Traditionally the literacy rate was low, so they put animals on the buildings for residents to reference their location - here's the unicorn block! Every day we were in port we were blessed with sunshine and highs of about 20 degrees. It was the perfect weather to explore every country we visited. 

We had arranged to meet up with one of your former international students, Emmi, who lived with us 18 years ago!  We met up near the end of the tour and walked & talked until we went to a beautiful patio restaurant for some spectacular salmon soup. It was good to get caught up on her life, chat about our boys and share where things are at for all of us. She pointed out that she's older now then we were when we hosted her! 

25th Anniversary Cruise - Tallinn, Estonia

 Tallinn is the port where we had the most intimate tour booked. It turned out to just the two of us and our tour guide who picked us up from the port terminal. We made 4 stops on what happened to be the 35th Anniversary of Estonia from the Soviets;

First, we went to Maarjamae Palace where the Estonians have preserved about a dozen statues from time when leaders such as Stalin and Lenin were prominent in Russia and had erected these statues throughout Estonia. Our guide shared not only the national story, but her own story as well as the events took place with her and our lifetimes. 

Second, we went to the Estonian Memorial to the Victims of Communism (aka  'The Journey and the Garden' ) were the names of more than 22 000 Estonians who were killed in Soviet prisons or exile during World War II are inscribed. It was a moving and impactful memorial.

Third, we went to the Tallinn TV tower where in 1991 the broadcasters and local farmers & citizens protected the tower from the Soviets to maintain their ability to communicate and inform the Estonian population. The views were stunning and apparently it's so close to the border that you can see Russia from where we were on the 21st floor observation deck.

Last, were driven out beyond a small town and hiked for about 1.5km to a Soviet missile bunker. We also made out way to the abandoned control centre behind it and the truck depot, all of this are starting to become overgrown as nature takes back the land. 

25th Anniversary Cruise - Stockholm, Sweden

 The night before we sailed into Stockholm there was a card on our bed inviting us to the Helipad as early as 6am to take in the sail in to port. 

The views were stunning in the early morning sunrise as we sailed through the archipelago past buildings and fortifications that aged back to the 1600s. 

In Stockholm we had a canal and island cruise pre-booked. It turned out to the wittiest, sharpest and sassiest tour guide we've ever had - and were HERE for it! She told the history of Swedish royalty, politics and history, as well as pointing out where a bootlegger spawned the Absolut vodka company, while cutting up people from around the globe and her own story as well. It was a highlight for sure.

We noted that they had their retirees volunteering to guide tourists on nearly every street corner. It's fascinating to see how other countries about socialization, wellness, care for those experiencing homelessness and a variety of other issues. We can see why Scandinavian countries commonly rank so highly in overall happiness.

25th Anniversay Cruise - Aarhus and Copenhagen, Denmark

 We had our 2nd stop in Aarhus and did a self-guided walking tour since nearly all of the tours were shut down for the day. We took in historic churches, government buildings and walked through the beautiful cobblestone streets. We were sure to take in Den Gamle By - a street that has been maintained for centuries with different colours for every house and very simplistic decorating. We certainly got a sense as to why Scandinavians have minimalist furniture and organization systems - the ceilings are high, but the footprints are quite compact.

Our last stop was also in Denmark, however this time we spent a day and a half in Copenhagen. We wandered the town on the first day and grabbed some delicious Smørrebrød from the person who literally wrote the book on this traditional danish dish featuring rye bread, herring and shrimp salad - it was phenomenal. On the 2nd we had a bike tour to get around town. We visited Rosenborg and Amalienborg palaces, Frederik's church, Kastlellet base and the Little Mermaid statue. Since we had a few hours before we needed to be back to the ship we went and visited the Danish Resistance Museum. The self-guided audio and video tour was a moving series of the stories of 4 Danish residents and explained the nature of Resistance during the Nazi occupation. We left with a new understanding of what occupation and resistance were all about. 

After leaving Copenhagen we had our actual anniversary at sea, sharing the bottle of champagne with friends we had met and dined with on board. It was a \lovely celebration and farewell to the ship. 

25th Anniversary Cruise - Oslo, Norway

 Oslo was the first city that we docked at - the first of many featuring a beautiful mixture of buildings from the 1300-1700s and modern, Scandinavian buildings constructed on new ground that they were dropping into the harbour. The new buildings feature access to modern transit and affordable housing for their citizens. 

In Oslo we had a fjord tour where we spent a few hours in a wooden boat going our to the archipelago while our hosts outlined the rich history of the region. We walked back to the ship to board with plenty of time to spare, anxious of missing the ship if we didn't make it back in time. 

25th Anniversary Cruise - August 2026 - Amsterdam - August 11-14

The two of us departed Ottawa and connected in Toronto for the overnight flight to Amsterdam. We were greeted with warm (30 degrees!) sunny skies and some efficient public trains to get us to our hotel. We took some leisurely strolls along the canals, grabbed some dinner and settled in for a peaceful night's rest. 

Day 2 took us to meet up with our food tour at the edge of the tulip market. We met up with our small group and enjoyed amazing cheeses at a small shop called Henry Willig, Bitterballen, phenomenal triple-decker grilled cheese, Stroopwaffle (for Dave since they hall have cinnamon), fresh herring, deep fried cod, fresh Dutch fries, chocolate chip cookie / croissant and a slice of Dutch apple pie. The food and the guide were both fantastic!

On day 3 we took in the Anne Frank museum. It was powerful and moving. The audio tour told the story of Anne and her family, while original artifacts such as the original bookcase which created the barrier between the workshop and the loft where the family spent their time were very impactful. We both learned a great deal and made our way through the streets and shops of Amsterdam to round out our day.

On day 4 we boarded the ship at the port very nearby to our hotel. While boarding a gentleman in uniform felt he bumped into Sarah-Jane while backing up to let staff go past us on the passerelle. After finding out it was out first cruise and our 25th anniversary he sent the anniversary package to be arranged in our room. The rose petals on the bed, swans & elephant made from towels and bottle of authentic champagne made us feel quite special. The level of service throughout our cruise was exceptional.