Baltic Cruise – Day 9
Today is the day our Baltic cruise begins! We couldn’t board our cruise ship the Norwegian Breakaway until 4 PM, so we had half a day more to explore Copenhagen. After some research, we decided to tour the Round Tower.
THE BUZZ KAFFEBAR (breakfast)
On our walk to the Round Tower, we happened upon the Buzz Kaffe. What a treat!
It was a small cafe at an intersection with a quaint seating area inside and some limited seating out on the street. The servers were friendly too.
We ordered a couple of sandwiches, some crepes, and coffee. The crepes were awesome!
THE ROUND TOWER
After breakfast, we continued past the University of Copenhagen to the Round Tower, a tower built with a circular walkway that leads to the top where there is an observatory. The Round Tower was constructed in 1642 along with the attached church and university library. The complete structure is called the Trinitatis Complex.
After entering the tower, you walk up a circular road that leads to the top. In 1716, Peter the Great rode to the top of the tower on horseback and his wife Catherine the Great in a carriage.
TRINITATIS CHURCH
There is also an entrance to the Trinitatis Church from the Round Tower. We were not allowed to go in that way, but we could look into the church.
Further up the tower, there is an open room above the Trinitatis Church at the Round Tower church that is being used as an exhibit hall, currently with kids paintings. This room initially held the entire University library.
When you reach the top, you can go out for views of the city.
OBSERVATORY AT THE TOP
There is also an observatory that can be accessed by another door and a narrow and steep flight of stairs.
After we took pics at the top, we walked back down, and I sat in the shade in an archway and journaled while listening to a street musician. The rest of the family went shopping. It was nice to relax and go at a slow pace today!
ORSTEDSPARKEN
After visiting the Round Tower, we needed to get to our Baltic cruise ship, so we started walking back to our hotel to pick up our luggage. This time we took a different route through Orstedsparken. It was a lovely park with people sitting the grass and strolling along. Not too many people, though. I enjoyed the walk and taking pictures along the way.
The ponds in the park were originally part of the old fortifications for Copenhagen. Construction of the park began in 1876.
TO THE BALTIC CRUISE SHIP
After the park, we walked back to the hotel and picked up our bags at the Steel House. The hotel offered lockers to buy out bags in for 20 Danish Krona (about $3) we could fit three carry-on suitcases and some backpacks in a locker. We needed two to fit all our baggage. Then we headed for the Copenhagen Cruise Port.
We used Google Maps to help us find the route to our Baltic cruise port, which told us to take a train part of the way and then a bus. At the bus stop, we ran into an Asian couple from Pennsylvania that was also heading to the cruise terminal, but they were on a different cruise line. They had been waiting for the bus for some time and were worried. We waited with them, and finally, the bus came.
CRAZY BUS TRIP TO THE TERMINAL
Lots of people were boarding the bus with luggage. It was a mad scene! I never thought Baltic cruises would be so popular! We scurried to get on board and stood in the front of the bus. It was super crowded, and we even made two other stops to take on more passengers.
We finally got to the Baltic cruise terminal, and the Asian man we saw earlier told me someone tried to pickpocket him on the bus. We then went into the terminal to check in. There was a long line, and I asked a lady standing near the premier line of we needed to stand in the long line. She let us go in the premier line, which was extremely short! THANK YOU!!!
It took us about 15 minutes to check in and walk aboard with our ID cards that linked to our account. They took pictures of us as we went on board.
OUR CABIN (room 5158)
Our cabin was room 5158. It is a rare room because it sleeps five people where most sleep four. It also has a window view, which is nice.
It has a large bed for two and a couch that folds out to another double bed and a bunk on top of that as well. It is very comfortable. We unpacked our bags as opposed to living out of our suitcases, which helped a lot with space.
It also has a decent sized bathroom with a tub/shower and a long sink. I think this room is an excellent value for a family of five.
BALTIC CRUISE DEPARTURE
Our departure on the cruise went off without much fanfare. We walked up to deck 15 as the cruise ship left the dock, to join a party where there were line dancing and loud music. Ricardo, the cruise director, pulled Stephanie onto the dance floor to participate. I took pics. Lol!
BALTIC CRUISE WELCOME PARTY
The welcome party continued at night in one of the lounges. Steph and the girls danced some, but this wasn’t for me, so I headed back to the room and called it a night.
LESSONS FROM THE DAY
- Luggage Storage – When traveling Many hotels have large lockers for luggage storage. You can still use these lockers to lighten your load for sightseeing after you check out. Another good option is Luggage Hero that partners with local stores for storage. They have an app as well.
- Use Google for transportation options – Google is a good source of information for train and bus schedules.
- Walk through the parks! – Parks are a great place to see locals. Look for opportunities to walk through the parks, especially in the evening as that is when the locals walk.
- Using public transportation to cruise ports – When taking a cruise, keep in mind that there are thousands of people heading to the same location. Overcrowded Public bus lines heading to the terminals can cause delays. Also, watch out for pickpockets as they thrive in that kind of environment.
- Families of five look for cruise ships with family rooms – Most cruise ships only offer rooms that can sleep four people. So families of five have to book two rooms. In our research, we found some cruise lines with rooms that can sleep five. This saved us quite a bit on our cruise!
