All Those Candles

Sunday, August 9, 2026

There really weren’t any candles (they are a no-no on board), but today is my birthday, and there would have been a LOT of candles. Thanks to all who sent birthday wishes.

Yesterday was a sea day, and I have nothing to report. Today we visited a country we haven’t been to before - Poland. We took a Princess tour that brought us to three cities: Gdynia, Sopot, and Gdansk. Together, the three cities are called the Tricity, and their total population is about 1 million. We had a guide who spoke excellent English and a comfortable motorcoach plus driver.

Gdynia is a relatively new city and does not have a medieval “old town”. It is known for its Modernist architecture, its quality of life, and its access to the Baltic. It is a major port for Poland, and the headquarters of the Polish Navy is located here. We made a brief stop in Gdynia to see a tall ship built in 1909 used to train naval cadets in sailing.

Sopot, lying between Gdynia and Gdansk, is a resort town. People go there for vacations, but also for medical treatments and recuperation. We walked around in an area by the beach.

Gdansk was our final stop. Previously known as Danzig, Gdansk is older and larger than the other cities we visited today. It is a major port for shipping and has been since the days of the Hanseatic Laegue.

The Olivia Star building is a modern skyscraper on the outskirts of Gdansk. We stopped there to go up to the top floor for the view and some coffee with a piece of delicious apple cake.

From the top we could see a great many stark Soviet-style apartment buildings, as well as a small neighborhood of single-family homes.

Before we reached the Old Town section of Gdansk, we saw many Soviet-era buildings. They were genrally blocky, ugly, and grim-looking. As we proceeded to Old Town, passing an ancient church.

Old Town was heavily damaged during World War II. Much of it has been restored to the way it looked before the 20th century. In Old Town, the buildings are a delightful mix of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Dutch Mannerist. We were enchanted by the many graceful steeples that dominated the townscape. 

The Gothic and rather bulky Basilica of St. Mary, one of the largest brick churches in the world

The Old Town Hall clock tower 

The Old Town Hall

Artus Court with the Neptune Fountain in the foreground

The Green Gate

The Gdansk Crane was built in 1444 and was the largest crane in Europe. It continued to be used until the end of the 19th century.

 

After our walking tour of the Old Town, we had some free time. We couldn’t resist a snack of pierogis at one of the cafés on the main street.

As our bus headed out of Gdansk, our guide talked about Lech Wałęsa, who hailed from Gdansk. The Solidarity labor union movement was founded in Gdansk by Wałęsa and others in 1980 and became a mass movement that ultimately contributed to the end of Communist rule in Poland. Wałęsa Went on to become the president of Poland and to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Near the Gdansk shipyards there is now a monument to freedom and to Wałęsa. Behind the monument is a rusty-looking modern building which holds a museum and library devoted to the history of Solidarity.

Poland now has one of the strongest economies in Europe, one which continues to expand. Many refugees from Ukraine have settled in Poland and they are helping the economy to grow.

I liked Gdansk the most of the three cities. Overall, I was impressed by how prosperous Poland seemed to be, at least in the region we visited. Gdansk is a bustling modern city. It is clean and well-maintained. It did seem crowded, especially in the Old Town, but the vibe was very upbeat. I would guess that the crowds were due to a booming tourism industry.

Today’s fabric is Polish Stork Wycinanki, by Poltex, for Spoonflower. Wycinanki is the Polish art of paper-cutting. Wycinanki designs can be printed on fabric, like this example.

All Aboard

 Friday August 7, 2026

After another delicious breakfast at our hotel, we walked around Vesterbro, the neighborhood the hotel is in. After you get a block or two away from the main streets, you are in a fairly residential neighborhood. There are lots of small ethnic restaurants and bars. It was quiet in the morning when we were there, but we could imagine a bustling scene in the evening. 

All in all, I loved our time in Copenhagen, even with the crowded shopping street. The city is beautiful, the food is wonderful, and the culture is an interesting mix of egalitarianism, social trust, a bicycle-oriented lifestyle, and a design aesthetic that emphasizes functional minimalism. 

There is a lot to see and do in and around Copenhagen, so I think a first time visit should be at least 4 or 5 days. I haven’t spent a lot of time in my blog talking about all the things Copenhagen has to offer, but at the top of the list is quality of life. This is our third visit and we have seen some of the city’s museums, castles, palaces, churches, markets, parks, and more during our previous visits. You don’t want to miss the chance to soak up as much of the rich culture of Copenhagen as possible.

We saw a lot of 4- and 5-story apartment buildings. Usually there was some kind of commercial use on the ground floor - a restaurant, a café, a little bodega, or a boutique. It occurred to me that urban spaces can be much more livable when you have this type of mixed use. Residents are able to walk to most places they need to go and the number of cars on the street is reduced accordingly.

Visitors who stay in hotels also benefit from the availability of restaurants, parks, and shopping in the city center. They are able to walk everywhere and don’t need to use taxis or compete with local commuters for space on buses.

I live in a city that has embraced the car culture, and almost nobody lives downtown. Instead of playgrounds, pharmacies and grocery stores, our downtown has parking lots, empty storefronts, and office buildings that empty out at 5:00 pm every evening. I would love to see more folks living there.

Soon enough it was time to check out of our room and find a taxi (which was easy to do). We were dropped off at Oceankaj terminal, which is newer, and in an isolated area about 30-40 minutes from our central location. We were able to board our ship, the Sapphire Princess, within about 40 minutes, and our room was ready by the time we got there.

We ate dinner at Sabatini’s, an Italian specialty restaurant on the ship. They have tweaked their menu since our last Princess cruise and the service and the food are top notch.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Tortello di Ricotta

Burrata (a soft cheese)

Ossobuco Milanese

Cannoli

Torta Caprese

Shabbat Shalom!

Today’s fabric is “Hygge in Blue” by Cindi Magi Design for Spoonflower.

All the Bikes, All the Boats

Thursday, August 6, 2026

The number of bikes here in Copenhagen is astonishing. All the streets seem to have dedicated bike lanes. You really have to watch out for bikes when you cross the street.  Many hotels have loaner bikes for their guests.  Some bikes have big wooden boxes on the front, called “Christiania boxes,” named for the neighborhood where they were invented and where they are made. In such a box, you might find pets, groceries, or one or two children. 

Copenhagen also has numerous canals, which means there are a lot of boats. What kinds of boats? Houseboats, kayaks, small electric boats, large tour boats, sailboats, barges, and boat buses. 

This morning we took a canal tour on a small electric boat, with a company called Go Boat. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and our tour was exhilarating. There were about 8 of us on the boat, plus a guide. Our guide talked to us as she steered us through canals, big and small.

Our guide in the tour boat

We went under several bridges, and our guide pointed out the houses on some of the bridges, where the bridge-keepers lived. Many bridges were drawbridges and needed someone around at all times to open and close the bridges. Many of the bridges were designated for bikes and pedestrians only, and they were heavily used. There were drawbridges, sliding bridges, fixed bridges, low bridges, old bridges, and new bridges. It seemed like each bridge had an interesting story. 

The center of this sliding bridge moves to let ships tthrough

Along the larger canals we saw some outstanding modern architecture, including the opera house, the national theater, and the Royal Library, each with a unique story and each with a statement to make. The larger and smaller canals also showed off fabulous buildings from earlier periods. There were curious looking churches, palaces, statues and stables.

The Royal Danish Theater

The Opera House

Not sure if I heard this right, but I think the guide said you can ski on top of this building all year long.

The Royal Library

The elegant buildings from earlier centuries were also very beautiful from the water.

The National Museum

Amalienborg Palace frames a view of theMarble Church

Sections of the largest canal were cordoned off to serve as public swimming areas, and we did, indeed, see people swimming. I asked the guide if the water wasn’t a bit cold for swimming, and she assured me that it was quite cold, esecally for the first three or four minutes. It’s not for everyone, but it is definitely a”thing” here to go swimming in the canals.

Several large tour boats with loud motors passed us, but our quiet little boat was perfect for seeing everything from the level of the water. The smaller canals were interesting and accessible for us, too. There we could see everyday life - the apartments with balconies containing outdoor furniture or laundry or plants. The private sailboats and motor boats in slips next to the apartments. The people coming and going on shore. 

This Lego pirate sometimes squirts water at passing boats

Our Go Boat tour was so enjoyable, and I strongly recommend it. Thank you, Claude, for suggesting it. Go Boat also rents boats that you can operate yourself, if you are so inclined, but I think our guide’s input added a lot to the experience

On one of the islands just across a canal from Zealand lies the community of Christiania, founded by hippies in the 1960’s and still self-governing. After the boat tour ended, we walked back to Christiana Island for lunch. It was an interesting and pleasant walk. There were people around, but it wasn’t crowded. 

I think this was a bakery

We went to a cozy restaurant on Christiania called the Færgecafé, which means the Ferry Café. Here we feasted on smørrebrød and snaps. Smørrebrød are generous open-faced sandwiches, and they are challenging to eat. Danes traditionally drink shots of “snaps” (schnapps or aquavit) with the smørrebrød. In this case there were about 50 different flavors of snaps, made on the premises by the restaurant staff.

Eventually, we crossed a bridge back to Zealand, to walk along a smaller canal known as Nyhavn, intending to end up at the Design Museum. Nyhavn is a short, colorful canal, old and full of character, and a magnet for tourists, hipsters, hucksters, buskers, pickpockets and drunken sailors.

Nyhavn

As it turned out, Nyhavn, while entertaining place, was fairly crowded. On top of the jet lag, the big meal, and all the walking we had done already, walking to the Design Museum seemed like too much. And did I mention that it was hot?

We decided, instead, to walk back to our hotel along a pedestrianized shopping street. Big mistake. The cobblestones were hard enough to walk on, but that was not the problem. The street was so crowded that it was frustrating and very difficult to walk. I had expected the pedestrian street to be easier to navigate than the busy road that paralleled it on the next block, but I had not expected it to be that crowded. We kept going because we thought we were near the end, but it just got more crowded. Finally, we reached a square where the shopping street ended. By that time our feet and legs were aching from walking on cobblestones so much. I started to fall out of love with beautiful Copenhagen a little. It was so perfect on the other side of the big canal and on our canal boat tour, but where did all these noisy, rude people come from?

Here’s what I think. For several years, we have not gone to Europe in the summer because it is too crowded and too hot. This year we made an exception because we wanted to go on a specific cruise that starts tomorrow. We didn’t think Denmark would be as crowded and as hot as other parts of Europe, but it was hotter and more crowded than we bargained for.

My advice: Do go to Denmark - it’s really beautiful and interesting. Don’t go in the summer. Try to stay away from the busiest tourist areas at the busiest times of day. That includes the Strøget (shopping street), Nytorv, Tivoli Gardens in the evening and on weekends. Things tend to get busier as the day goes by, so start early. Maintain physical distance by avoiding the central area entirely and going to one of the other islands, such as Christiania, or one of the lovely cities elsewhere in Denmark. Wear comfortable walking shoes when you go.

Copenhagen’s magnificent City Hall

Today’s fabric is Copenhagen, by Gaia Marfurt for Spoonflower.