Two Ports in One Day

June 18, 2013 (Posted July 11)

The overnight trip from Warnemunde, Germany to Helsingborg, Sweden was short so the Silver Cloud arrived at Helsingborg early.  The seven-hour stay (about six actual hours shore time) was relatively brief: the stop had been programmed primarily to allow passengers to visit Elsinore (Helsingor) on the other side of the Oresund Narrows separating Sweden from Denmark.  Elsinore castle is, of course, the setting Shakespeare used for his play, Hamlet.  Even though he never visited the spot and his descriptions are purely from his own imagination, Shakespeare's use of the location has made it a lively tourist destination today.

Kronberg Castle, the actual name of the place, is in Denmark a twenty-minute ferry ride from Helsingborg.  Michael and I saw ferries leaving and arriving about every half hour.  Until a bridge from Malmo, Sweden to Denmark near Copenhagen was completed nearly fifteen years ago, the ferry between Helsingborg, Sweden and Helsingor, Denmark was the principal way of traveling between the two countries.  Michael had actually taken the ferry, before the bridge existed, while on a train trip around Scandinavia.  Aside from a new transit terminal, trains no longer go directly onto the ferry, Helsingborg had changed little in the past fifteen odd years.

We chose to explore Helsingborg on our own.  We were able to have a leisurely breakfast in the Terrazza Restaurant aboard ship before venturing out for a walk around the small Swedish town. We checked out the railway station/bus station/ferry station.  Michael found a small pharmacy where he bought some cough medicine to treat the lingering effects of his cold.  We had no Swedish Krona and no Swede will accept Norwegian Kroner or Danish Krone (they are all pronounced the same, look very similar and are worth similar amounts in U.S. dollars).  National pride is very strong in Scandinavia.  Fortunately, plastic credit cards are accepted everywhere and we were able to complete the sale.   Michael had brought Euros, Danish and Norwegian currency but since Helsingborg was our only stop in Sweden, he had not brought Swedish Krona.  He did not carry Russian rubles either, not expecting to buy anything in either Sweden or Russia.

We walked and took photographs for few hours and headed back to the Silver Cloud for lunch.  Following lunch, we went onshore again for another walk to take in the few sights we had missed.  We discovered an intriguing ancient church and many photogenic old buildings.  Walking on the principal shopping streets, we saw that Swedish prices are about 50% higher for merchandise equivalent to that available in the U.S.

Many small groups of little children clad in bright colored ponchos accompanied by adults seemed to be heading to the pier.  As we approached the Silver Cloud, we found that it had become a temporary tourist attraction for the local population.  The groups of children were being escorted to the pier to view the big white ship.  I speculated that our arrival was such an unusual event that the local kindergarteners were on field trips to see us.  Ship passengers were photographing the children like mad and photographed in turn.

Michael and I were fascinated to see how the Silver Cloud managed to leave the tight space in which she had docked. A local tugboat put a line to the stern of our ship and "tugged" us away from the pier carefully avoiding other vessels parked there.  We were pulled all the way to a nearby breakwater.  The schedules of the frequently arriving and departing ferries must have been severely disrupted as several of them had to wait outside the breakwater while the Silver Cloud maneuvered out of the tiny harbor.  It became clear to us why the arrival of a cruise ship, and a small one at that, is such an unusual event.

We remained on deck for the entire two and a half hour trip from Helsingborg to Copenhagen.  We were able to see the rows of wind turbines in the strait and one end of the bridge to Malmo, Sweden. Michael usually is up and on deck before dawn for early arrivals.  He sees and takes pictures of the whole process.  I take a little longer to get myself together in the morning and often arrive on deck only in time to watch the ship dock. During this late afternoon arrival I saw everything.  I really enjoyed it.

Michael and I had both been looking forward to our overnight stop in Copenhagen.  Our friend Jannik met us at the pier and took us to Tivoli to walk around, see a mime show and have dinner.  We had a wonderful evening. As we were leaving the amusement park after the 10 pm closing time, the lights were just coming on.  When we returned to our ship around 11 pm is was still twilight.  The days were definitely getting longer.  In just a few more, the sun would not set at all.  This marvelous experience ended the first leg of lour two part cruise.