Talking Art & Travel

I am planning to give a talk entitled, "Art of the Baltic Countries", at local senior centers in March and April of this year. My presentation includes the content of the seven posts about the Baltics and lasts 90 minutes.

"Travel to over seven cities in seven countries – Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Warnemünde (Rostock and Berlin), Germany; and Oslo, Norway – and discover art along the Baltic Sea. This presentation is a visual journey through art museums, churches, quaint villages, and historic architecture and landmarks."

While touring these countries you will find Art in all sorts of places. The architecture is often older than what you may find touring North American cities and amazingly well-preserved. The buildings themselves are quite ornate and are interesting on the outside when viewed from a tour bus or on a guided boat ride. Hidden treasures are found inside buildings, such as castles and palaces, churches, courthouses, theaters, and of course museums. This double portrait depicts Frederik IV and his sister, Sophie Hedevig, in a room at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark.




I enjoyed seeing the colorful buildings of Denmark and the statues and sculptures scattered around the cities we visited. The Hop-On-Hop-Off buses were an amazing convenience as were the guided water tours. Many of the cities we visited are made up of several islands with bridges and waterways meandering through them. It was much easier to photograph the scenery from an open watercraft than from inside a fast-moving bus. And through a window! The tour buses make several stops, though, in a place like St. Petersburg, you need to stay close and with your group.

While on a Princess cruise that covers an 11-day trip stopping at seven ports, you are encouraged to spend your time wisely. The excursions are totally worthwhile and the guided tours a fascinating way to soak up all the history and important not-to-be-missed sights. One could spend weeks visiting the 5 buildings comprising St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum in order to see its 3 million works.






It's also fun to explore on foot and absorb the local culture up close. In order to see this bronze statue of "The Little Mermaid", by Edvard Eriksen, you need to take an early morning walk to avoid the masses of tourists flowing off the buses. Even from the water, your view of the statue may be obstructed by the swarms of people.

We got to visit Copenhagen for three days prior to our cruise and made use of our time quite wisely. The 3-day bus pass was affordable and perfect for getting around the city without taxis. Even if we repeated some of the routes to enable getting to a specific area again, we had the option of listening to the guide or simply catching a glimpse of something we may not have seen on a previous trip. We were often on the upper level (weather permitting) which afforded yet another perspective.