The Baltic Sea

  Tuesday, June 7, 2022 Åhus, Hanö Bay, Sweden We are in far south Sweden, at Hanö Bay, docked in the small town of Åhus:   The beaches here are called the Swedish Riviera.   They won’t threaten the French Riviera, for sure.   The town is known best as a beach resort, with lovely homes along the waterfront, and also it is well known as the home of Absolut vodka.   We entered town on the Zodiacs:   And we walked through the medieval portion of the town:   The Church of St. Mary dates to the late 11 th century:   It has a fascinating buttress which looks like it might have been added later: The entrance is imposing:   There is an ornate and complex altar telling many bible stories:   At the very top of the altar is a statue of St. Bridget, standing on a skeleton and exposing her leg.   Christ on the wall behind her has swords pointed at his mouth.   This all requires some research: After visiting the town and the churc...

  Monday, June 6, 2022 Visby, Gotland, Sweden   We are on the large island of Gotland, strategically located in the middle of the Baltic Sea.   The Swedes believe this is where Russia would attack first, as you can see from the map the naval importance:   We are in the town of Visby, and the naval presence here is significant, and from multiple countries, especially Britain.   We were asked not to take photos of the military ships.   Gotland has been of trade and military importance throughout European history, and there is a well-preserved medieval inner town of Visby, surrounded by a wall two miles in length dating to the 13 th century.   There is also a well-preserved watchtower:   Our first stop was the Fornsall Museum where there is a display of “picture stones” from the late Iron Age.   This one is remarkable: in the center is a tree on a horizontal line dividing the heavens from the underworld.   There are two suns, sunrise o...

  Sunday, June 5, 2022 Stockholm, Sweden This morning we visited the Vasa Museum to see the resurrected ship of that name, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was salvaged in 1956.   Because of the low salinity of the Baltic Sea and the absence of a shipworm called Teredo Navalis, the ship was very much intact, and has been further preserved by the museum.   It is astonishing!   Built by Gustav II Adolf, it was a state-of-the-art warship, but beyond that, it was fabulously decorated. Lots of information is here:   https://www.vasamuseet.se/en/vasa-history .   We had a museum docent show us around; here are a few photos:     After visiting the museum, our Zodiacs ferried us across the harbor where all the ships are decked out with flags celebrating the 500 th anniversary of the Swedish navy.   Here are two naval training sailboats:   Our destination was the island of Skeppsholmen, where our ethnomusicologist had arranged a...

  Saturday, June 4, 2022 The Stockholm Archipelago   One more example of the Finnish language before starting this day’s blog.   This was found by a fellow traveler in a men’s room in Finland, on a package of paper towels:   That last word in the black lettering is remarkable, no?   Translation by Google:   “Wash the cadets with soap and water and dry with a disposable towel.”   I hope you’ve washed your cadets today. We’ve traveled overnight towards Stockholm, Sweden, and on Saturday morning after breakfast, we had a remarkable lecture by the historian traveling with us on the boats of the Baltic Sea.   He was full of information, and it was quite interesting.   In the late morning we picked up a pilot and began the intricate maneuvering through the many islands of the Stockholm Archipelago.   The area is reminiscent of the Thousand Islands, with loads of small islets, many of which have vacation homes on them:   We had lunch...

Thursday, June 2, 2022 Helsinki, Finland A word about saunas.  Using a sauna is an integral part of Finnish life, we are told.  In a country of 6 million people, there are 3 million saunas, and every residential unit, be it home or apartment or condo, has a sauna as part of it, and Finns use their saunas multiple times a week.  Babies as young as two weeks are taken into a somewhat cooler sauna than the 80-90 degree C. usual temperature.  Bathing suits are not used; public saunas are separated into men’s and women’s, but home saunas are commonly used as a family.  In a talk about why Finland is perennially noted to be the happiest country on earth, our guide gave the sauna some credit, but gave the social structure the greatest credit.  Paid maternity leave is a year, and at five months of age, the leave can switch from the mother to the father if the family wishes.  Taxes are very high, but services are very high, and the Finns love it. Today’s ac...