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While we enjoyed our stay in Bucharest, we wanted to more of Romania particularly the Transylvania area. We decided to take the train up to Brosov and spend the night there. The train ride was about three hours following roughly a route along the Prahova River. About two thirds of the way we passed thru the Rodna Mountain with cloud covered peaks. We were pleasantly surprised by the small city of Brasov with its wonderful architecture and lively street life.
We hired a car and driver to take us back to Bucharest as we wanted to make stops at several of the area highlights. We ended up with a terrific driver with great knowledge of the country under both Soviet and independent rule. First stop was Bran castle (home of the fabled story of Dracula). Dating back to the late 1300, the castle was primarily a customs house taking tolls from travelers thru the Bran Gorge. High on a bluff it was a maze of rooms with lots of visitors.
Next stop was Peles Castle in Sinaia. This was the Royal Castle built by King Carol between 1873 and 1914. It was beautiful and had the most impressive woodwork we have ever seen in any building anywhere we have traveled. Make sure you see look at the pictures of this place. Back to a Hilton Inn at the Bucharest Airport for our morning flight to Sofia, Romania.
Sofia is a city atop Roman ruins that appear everywhere. While taking a stroll down the main shopping street, we happen to turn down a side street. ‘Look, there is a tuxedo store and you need a new one’. An hour later Dan had been fitted with a new tux and a couple of shirts to be ready in a couple of days.
We wanted to see a little more of Bulgaria, so we got a car and drive to take us to Plovid. This is a charming town with lots of arts and crafts, historic homes and a wonderfully preserved Roman amphitheater. After an enjoyable lunch it was back to Sophie to pick up the new tux and prepare for our departure.
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Our original plan was to truck True East from the Baltic, around Belin, to the Danube, then down the Danube thru the Black Sea into the Aegean in Turkey. This should have been 2020; however, Covid caused a two year delay and then Putin decided in 2022 the Black Sea was his lake. Additionally, having done the Tennessee, Cumberland, Columbia, Rhone, Rhine, Seine, etc. we have had enough of rivers on True East. OK, new plan.
The new plan for the boat is to ship it from the Netherlands to Turkey in the spring of 2023. We decided that instead of our boat, we would finally breakdown an take a river boat cruise on the lower Danube and do a few side trips.
Graham and Beatrix Bolton decided to join us so we booked passage from Budapest to Bucharest. As the summer progressed an we watched the reports of low water levels in the rivers of world and sunken Germany navy ships from WW11 surfacing on the Danube, we had our doubts. As it turned out, there was enough water for our 180 passenger boat, about half full.
We arrived a few days early in Budapest so we could look around again, Marcia and Dan had been there ten years earlier and looked forward to seeing the progress. We were not disappointed. The market, the Dohany, the Basilica, the Opera House, the shoes along the river, Mathias Church and the Palace at night….all wonderful. But so was the condition of the infrastructure that they were working so hard on during our last visit.
Our ship was the Emerald Star…..not 5 star. The cabins were fine, the lounge was fine, the dining room was noisy and had terrible lighting. The passengers were all english speakers, mostly English, Canadian and Australian. We are simply not ‘group’ people being led around at the pace of the slowest person, riding on busses for hours and captured by on board dining. So, as soon as we dock we asked ‘when to we have to be back, good bye’. The lower Danube is not very exciting and we are certainly glad we did not try it on True East as there are essentially no recreational boat facilities for docking, fuel, water, etc. Our first stop was Kalocsa, our last stop in Hungary…we missed the Paprika Festival.
Our next stop was Vokovar in Serbia, home to one of the best marinas on the Danube….no way would we have fit and no services. From there we were bussed about ten miles to Osijek and it’s Fortress. Next stop, Belgrade a city of mixed character with a couple of main street with majestic buildings, but much of the city was very run down. We did visit lots of museums, including the Nikola Tesla Museum that Dan had to see. There is a huge fortress, but it’s just another fortress. It does have an office tower that looked line an upside down milk bottle.
Down river from Belgrade we stopped at Golubac in Serbia for an overnight so that we could passed thru the impressive Iron Gate in daylight. The Iron Gate is actually a narrow stretch of the river separating the Carpathian Mountains from the European Alps, it formed the edge of the Roman Empire. At this point the Danube is the boarder between Serbia and Romania.
Thankfully, we did have a nice day where we could be on deck for a change. Dan had liberal access to the wheelhouse and spent many happy hours there, including going thru the locks below the Iron Gate. This dam houses an enormous hydro electric facility.
In Vidin we explored the city with its fortress, museums and churches. We also enjoyed a wonderful lunch in a local restaurant. On to Rousse in Bulgaria, population about 150,000, where we again explored the city including the dreadful railway museum. Our journey ended at the Port of Giurgiu, about 50 miles from Bucharest.
After a group tour of the Ceausescu Mansion, we left the group and checked into our beautiful Marmorosch Hotel, this was 5 star. The Boltons had to leave after a day; however, Dan and Marcia were able to explore this beautiful city for several days. Bucharest was certainly one the finest cities in Eastern Europe.
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This was the last cruise of the 2022 season and it was fitting that it took us back to where we started the Baltic adventure in the spring of 2019.
Our plan was to meet our friends Jesse and Samantha at the Kiel Canal; however, the weather forecast made a very strong suggestion this was not a good idea as we would get pinned in there for a week. Alternatively, we decided it would be best get across the open section along the German coast on the North Sea before the front came thru. With an early start, we stopped in Cuxhaven to fuel up then made a 112 mile dash from the mouth of the Elbe to the island of Borkum.
Once inside at Borkum we were pretty well protected all the way down to Amsterdam. Jess and Sam were in Ireland attending to boat they sailed from Alaska to Greenland thru the Inside Passage a number of years ago. For them it was a 4 hour drive to Dublin, a plane to Hamburg, then a 5 hour train ride to meet us in Groningen, Netherlands…hell of a day. We enjoyed a few days in this charming city climbing bell towers, visiting museum and enjoying the food and catching up on each others adventures. Marcia had accidentally fed the built-in vacuum on the boat a sock and clogged the system. Naturally, Jess took this on as a project and within a short time recovered the sock much to Marcia’s joy.
Leaving Groningen, we were in the canals of Holland which was a completely new experience for our Blue Water friends. They quickly learned the routine of locks and drawbridges. We made a stop in Sneek and encounter a fleet of turn of the century sailing rigs that have become popular racing boats. From there, it was on to the picturesque city of Lemmer with its narrow canals thru the city.
On to Amsterdam crossing what we used to call the Ziderzee, it’s actually the IJsselmeer. We docked at a new marina in the North End, an industrial area being converted to a new community. This is the city of canals, ferries and bicycles. We enjoyed several days of wandering around visiting museums, shop and just strolling the street sharing the experience.
After a week, Jess and Sam had to leave to get aboard s/v MickMak in Mexico and head off to round South America. Dan and Marcia got back on True East for the last cruising of the season as we headed back to Sneek where our boat will spend the winter.
In the spring, True East will be loaded on a freighter and shipped off to Fethiye, Turkey where we start another adventure on the Aegean Sea.
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Leaving Gdansk we headed to the port city of Gdynia for lunch then on to Hel, the first of the Polish resort towns on the Baltic. The north coast is literally 100 miles of sandy beach with a few ports at the mouth of rivers. Our destination was Szczecin on the German boarder. While the city was heavily damaged in WWII, the Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle is in wonderful condition.
Our first stop in Germany was Lauterback were we encountered our first rain storm in quite a while and German Customs officers. After checking our papers, they inquired about our last fuel purchase and asked for the receipt. While Dan had entered the purchase in the ship’s log, he did not have the receipt. They asked to take fuel samples…in Europe commercial and recreational diesel have different prices and color…they suspected we bought commercial diesel in Poland for cash illegally, we did not. Stralsund, Rostock, and Wismar are all charming port and resort cities.
Lubeck still has much of the original city wall and a wonderful old gate house. The city also has a spectacular city hall. From Lubeck we took a train to Hamburg and revisited the Museum of Miniatures, one of our favorites. In Fehmarn we encountered an unusual docking situation whereby the boat was held about 3′ from the dock due to the pilings. Dan managed to get our passerelle off the roof and for the first time attach it to the side of the boat. Our new friends Lies and Sjaak helped us secure some lines to make for safe boarding.
We then headed over to Denmark with our first stop in Bagenkop where we had met Per and Sherri back in 2019. Svendborg became our base for four days as we explored the city with its sailing and costume museums. Odense was a short train ride away and hosts the wonderful and charming Hans Christian Anderson museum as well at the Kunst Museum of Art. All in all aterrific city to visit. Our last Danish stop was on the island of Aeroskobing as we tried to get our travels in sync with the weather.
From Aero we headed straight thru the Kiel Canal to Brusbuttel on the North Sea. The Kiel is a very major waterway connecting the North Sea to the Baltic. On the north end the recreational boat lock was being repaired so we had about 25 recreational boats in the lock with four monster freighters. After exiting the lock we encountered a steading stream of freighter, many cross canal ferries and one that hangs from a bridge. We exited the canal at Bunsbuttle on the mouth of the Elbe River.
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Entering Gdańsk (do not pronounce the G) is about a five mile run up the very industrial Martwa River. We were lucky to dock in the city center with the ability to leave the boat while we took a week long road trip. We arrived on Aug 1 when all of country celebrates the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. Our dock was directly across from the Zuraw (Crane) dating back to 1367, sadly being rebuilt for the umtinth time.
Gdansk was very heavily destroyed in WWII, it has been tastefully rebuilt with both restoration and contemporary architecture, often on opposite sides of the street or canal. After a few days of strolling the city, its churches, markets and palaces Dan went to pick up our rental car. Poland was the first EU country we encountered that required an international drivers license. After year of getting on at AAA and never using it, Dan did not have one. After a hour of reciting the contract language and talking up the line of supervisors, Dan got the car.
On route to Pozan, we stopped for lunch in Pita and enjoyed a Polish stuffed cabbage that reminded Marcia of her grandmothers preparation. We thought we picked a fine hotel in Poznan, near the main square. The road in front of the hotel was closed for construction and the main square was completely torn up….on to Krakow about 250 miles away thru mostly farmland with a lunch stop in Wroclaw. We also made a stop in Rude that we believed was the Kisielnicki ancestral home. It turned out to be a poor mining region that one would find reason to migrate to America.
Krakow was our favorite Polish city filled with universities and english speakers. One of the highlights of this ride trip was a tour of the Wielicsa Salt Mine, established in 13th century this mine operated until 2007. Unlike most salt deposits that are horizontal as seas evaporated, the deposits here are in huge balls due to techtonics. Over the centuries, as each cavity was mined, statues, cathedrals and the like were carved from the salt….it’s amazing. we passed on Auschwitz but did visit the Schindler Factory.
It was then on to the capital of Warsaw. Along the way, we were within 100 miles of the Ukraine boarder but were amazed that we did not feel the war or the refuges…kind of stunning. Our favorite in Warsaw was the ultra green University Library with its botanical roof. The fortress here was very badly damaged during the war but has undergone a magnificent restoration. We were really surprised in Warsaw how few English speakers we encountered and disappointed in the food.
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Lithuania is tucked between Latvia and the Russian province of Kaliningrad on the Baltic. Klaipeda is the only port city of any significance and became our base during our visit to Lithuania. Due to our size, we could not fit in the marina and were directed to a spot along the canalized river wall behind a naval destroyer. The following day we relocated to a quieter spot that also had power.
We were very fortunate to have a friend in Lithuania, Algimantas Bublys. Algimas was a neighbor of ours in Coconut Grove who summers in his native Lithuania. We kept in touch after he moved to Arizona and he offer to be our guide when we visited Lithuania.
After a couple of days of site seeing in Klaipeda, Algimas joined us for one night on the boat. We then set off for resort town of Palanga with its Amber Museum and great beaches. Then on to Kretinga, where we visited the local castle with it’s amazing greenhouse and had lunch in the restored village.
On route to Plunge where we stayed overnight, we stopped to visit Algimas’s friends restored mill house in Zemaitija National Park. Also in another part of the part was the Cold War museum with its extensive underground missile set up…spooky.
Plunge is a city of about 25,000 and hosts the beautiful Oginskio Rumai (Castle) and its grounds. In the winter, this town is a ski resort. On route the next day to Siaullai, we stopped at the Hill of Crosses. During the Russian occupation, locals would plant a cross on this hill, then more crosses would come, then the Russian bulldozers would come, then a new cross would come….resistance. In Siaullai we were able to visit one of the many arenas that Algimas designed over his architectural career, both in the US and the Baltics. This arena featured a very unusual glass that changed color depending on the angle of the sun.
We made one more stop in Kedainai on our route to Kaunas. The old town of Kedainai dates to the 17th century and is one of oldest in Lithuania. This town was in remarkably good condition with it’s beautiful cathedral.
Kaunas is one of those places few Americans will ever see as it is inland without a major airport, port or river cruise. Aside from being very charming it houses the larges Art Deco church in the world, an extremely ornate Basillica and spires that reflect it’s role as a Hanseatic City. Over the entire summer we tried to visit as many of the Hanseatic League (a trading block in the middle ages) as possible….we stopped at a least 25.
On route to Vilnius, we stopped at the Trakai Historical National Park, home of the Island Fortress dating from the 14th century in Gothic style. Mostly restored, this was a half day visit to tour the half that remains today.
When we got to Vilnius, we could immediately sense this was Algimas’s home city. Fortresses, churches, museums, public sculptures, medical streets, fashion shopping districts and many restaurants. Gediminas Castle Tower being a favorite as one can tell from the pictures.
Leaving Algimas, we headed straight back to Klaipeda, naturally with a couple of stops along the way to see a castle, fort, church or have lunch. Arriving back in Klaipeda, we discovered all the roads into the city were closed off….another festival. After explaining our situation, we finally got back to the boat. We were now surrounded by an amusement park, concert set up, vendors tents lining both sides of the river and Fleet Week for the Baltic navies.
Dan ended up with three Polish sailors on the boat taking pictures with the flag and drinking a lot of beer. The following morning we were headed for Poland, having to skirt around the Russian province of Kaliningrad…by skirt I mean 25 miles off shore. Turns out our new sailor friends where on Polish warship 241 and returning to Poland also tomorrow…now we had an escort.
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Latvia is one of the former Soviet Baltic countries that got its freedom in 1991. With a population of about two million, it is about the size of New Jersey. Like Estonia, it also borders Russia. It’s capital is the lovely city of Riga, a port city on the Baltic on the north side of the country.
We walked our typical 10 miles a day in Riga thru it’s parks, into its churches and museums with a stop now an again for a beer or a meal. The Design Museum was very special.
In Riga we rented a car for a couple of day road trip. First stop was Cesis to view the castle, turns out it was the weekend of the music festival. Europeans LOVE festivals. Then on to Jelgava along the Lielupe River. Great new waterfront with athletic facilities and an amazing sculpture garden. The tourist office was in the former tower of the church, the only remains of the church after the war.
Next stop was Bauska with its medieval castle that has recently been restored at great expense, again. We learned that many of these castles and entire cities were raided, sieged, burned, rebuilt, burned……over and over. This one was built in the 1500’s for the Teutonic Knights. Nearby was Rundale Palace built 1736-68. This is on par with Versailles with its gardens and art works. Two more stops on this road trip took us to Durbes Pils and Turadia Castle. Before returning to Riga, we stopped at the resort area of Jermala and enjoyed a walk on the beach.
Back on the boat, our next stop was Ventspils on the east coast. This had been an important Russian Baltic Naval port city, now undergoing a complete rejuvenation. The waterfront area was beautiful, but still an emerging area. On to Liepaja, another major port city undergoing a rebirth.
We were struck time and again with the energy we felt in the Baltic countries and their fear of falling under the Russian influence once again. We were also impressed with the big fleets of Latvian built electric buses in most every city we visited.
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Leaving Helsinki it was a quick 35 mile run over to Tallin, the capital of Estonia, where we docked at their in city marina. Estonia is one of our favorite countries and Tallin a favorite city. The medival wall still surrounds the old city with its wonderful architecture. We could walk for days.
We took the train over to Narva on the Russian boarder to see it we could poke the bear in the nose. Here are fortresses on either bank of the Narva River with a single bridge across the border. One would never guess there was a war going in the region.
Next day, another train to Tartu in the center of the country. Here was the Museum of Estonia, one the very best museums we have ever visited, wonderful vignettes of people over time. Back on the boat, we headed to Dirhami on the eastern side of the country. While there was not much there, we were very pleasantly surprised by the marina facility. Next day it was on to Haapsula adjacent to the Estonian Baltic islands. The Bishops Castle restoration was a highlight of the city.
The Estonian Islands are very recreational oriented with great hikes, bike trails and beaches. As the island marinas are small and crowed, we decided to rent a car and explore the area. We worked our way down to Virtsu where the ferry crosses to the islands….except in the winter where they drive across the ice about 20 miles. We stumbled into lunch at the Padeste Yacht Club, smallest in the world and enjoyed a wonderful conversation with the manager. Then on to Kuressaare Castle in Arensburg , what an incredible amount of earth moving.
While we had hoped to get over to Parnu, the weather would not cooperative, so it was a straight run down to Riga.
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Having explored the Stockholm archipelago with Wes and Alexis, we decided to make a direct run to Marieholm, the capital of the Aland Islands. Following what we refer to as our ‘stumble in’ policy, we arrive in the Islands on the 100th anniversary of their independence, quite a celebration.
Arriving on the west side, after a night we decided to more around to the east side that was closer to the center of town and a friendlier marina. Before moving, we visited the wonderful Maritime Museum and four masted 1903 300’ four masted s/v Pommern built in 1903. Over 10% of the workforce on the island are skippers or crews on ships today.
Instead of trying to boat around the entire main island, we rented a car and did a full island tour including Kastelholm Castle dating from the 14th century. Returning to the marina, Marcia got word of the passing of her friend Carla’s husband, Don. It was important Marcia return to the states for the services and a good visit with Carla. The marina was most accommodating in extending our stay for a week.
Dockside we had met local residents and boaters Marie and Edgar. They had offered any assistance we might need, Dan took Edgar up on the offer and the two of them changed out the failed alternator that charged the engine batteries.
Marcia was back on board the evening of the 22nd after four flights from Valdosta, GA to Marieholm, Finland. The next morning we off the dock and headed thru the island toward Helsinki. By islands, I mean thousands of all sizes with many of the larger ones connected by ferries. At Degerby we met Merit and William who were kind enough to invite us for a glass of wine at their home under construction on nearby island. What a great set up they have and are wonderful hosts.
We also met Gustav who was swimming from Stockholm to Helsinki, 350 miles as a fundraiser to Baltic Swim. We would meet again the next day in Kokar where Gustav and his crew helped us get tied to the dock in very stiff winds. Imagine needing 6,000 calories a day to swim 10 miles in 50-60 degree water.
Weaving our way thru the rocks and islands, next stop was Borsto. Again, they would accommodate us dockside in the Guesthamen. Any boat over 15 meters, 49 feet is considered oversized. Borsto was a farming island with four families and a small guest house and restaurant.
Hanko was our first stop on the mainland. This is beautiful resort community with many homes built by Russians in the mid to late 1800’s. We enjoyed a few days of wandering the island and enjoying the restaurants.
Ekenas was a bit of a diversion up a river where the water actually got up into the 70’s. The harbormaster was nice enough to tie us up to the major restaurant dock for the night. Last stop before Helsinki was Porkkala where we anchored up in a small bay for the night and slept on the foredeck.
We found very accommodating dockage at Marina Bay in downtown Helsinki. Returning to the city, we were reminded of how much we enjoy this city.
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Arriving back Wasa Yachts, we found True East floating at the dock as scheduled. After a few hours of checking all systems we headed to the marina at Södertälje were we could easily provision and get the boat ready for our first, and perhaps only, guests of the season. Wes and Alexis arrived right on schedule; however, their luggage was still in Zurich. The luggage was promised to be delivered by noon the following day.
Noon arrived with no luggage, so we set out with new instructions to deliver the luggage to our first stop at Mariefred on Lake Maleren, home of the marvelous Grisholm Castle. Great visit there, still no luggage. Ok, we will head into Stockholm as scheduled and perhaps will be able to take a quick side trip to the airport for the luggage. This time we knew enough to make dockage reservations at the Glashuest in downtown Stockholm. Luggage was secured as Wes was smart enough to put Air tag’s in each piece and found them at the airport.
A day of sightseeing in Stockholm took us to the Wasa Museum and the Princ Eugens Museum together with a long walk along the park. This turned out to be National Day in Sweden with a Marathon, Auto and Boat Show, Military exhibits and the Nato Fleet for maneuvers led by an American Assault Carrier, the city was crazy.
We then headed out to Vaxholm with its Fortress. Sure glad we were docked before the season really got underway, it was the 5th of June. Dan and Marcia really wanted to sea trial a new boat built in Sweden, the Candela C8. This is an electric foiling boat. Alexander from Candela picked us up the dock in a C7 and after a 15 minute ride, we toured the factory and inspected the C8s under construction. No C8 available, will have to wait for Ft Lauderdale boat show.
Later that day we headed north up the Archipelago to the resort at Marholmen. We enjoyed a wonder dinner, hikes around the property and a round of miniature golf. One more stop on this trip was the inland of Grinda to the east, primarily a natural preserve. Again, we enjoyed off season dockage. The ‘high’ season here is July 1 – Aug 15….how in the world do you make a living or get a return on investment in 45 days?
Wes and Alexis had to leave us on the 9th to travel to Scotland and Dan had some concern over the engine batteries so we returned to Stockholm for another day of great food and sightseeing. Having slow cruised the Archipelago, we all got a taste for life in this area of thousands of island. We also got a chance to introduce Wes and Alexis to our cruising life and hope they will join us again for another adventure.
