Cruise day: 148/163
Ports days: 78
Sea days: 70
Countries: 25
Continents: 5
Ports: 58COVID update
Arlona is still in isolation - day #6. She still feels like she has a bit of a cold - nothing much more than that. On the upside, I did get to see her in person, sort of. Since we were docked on the port side today, before my tour, I could walk down and see her. So far, she is still testing positive, so for now, that means she stays until day #10 unless two negatives show up between now and then.
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| It was wonderful to see that face! |
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| For reference, I really wasn't that close - but still closer than I can get any other time - you can see her standing just above and to the left of the "V" |
Bornholm - what is that? A city? A country? No and no. It's an island and that's where we find the Viking Star today.
Specifically, it is an island in the Baltic Sea that is considerably closer to Sweden than Denmark. In fact, mainland Denmark is the fourth closest country. Distances from Bornholm to:
- Sweden - 22 miles
- Germany - 55 miles
- Poland - 58 miles
- Denmark - 85 miles
So why is it part of Denmark? Well, it wasn't. It's flipped between Sweden and Denmark in times of war. In the last transfer from Sweden to Denmark, the locals asked that they always remain part of Denmark from now on and that's how it is today.
The included Scenic Bornholm bus tour today took a panoramic drive around the island. This more or less shows our route.
Rønne is an industrial port.
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| A tight squeeze as we backed into Rønne |
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| What are these? |
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| Whole bunches of wind turbine towers - three are stacked together to make the entire tower - are manufactured right here on Bornholm |
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| We had some nice accordion music for our arrival |
The temperature was about 30 degrees cooler than yesterday and it was a bit windy, but it wasn't raining and that made for a good day. We headed north from Rønne.
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| Our tour company names all their buses - I was on Lone |
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| A row of typical summer homes on the water |
Our only stop today was in Hammeren at the Hammershus Castle Ruins. It is the largest castle ruin in Northern Europe. Constructed in 1200 by the archbishop of Lund and the Danish church, Hammershus played an important part in the struggles and wars in the middle ages in Europe. It was deserted in 1745 and allowed to fall into decay. The people of Bornholm were free to gather building materials from the site until 1822 when the ruins were put on the national historic register
We continued our tour north to Sandvig before heading to the southeast, following the coast. Along the way, we passed field after field of rapeseed that is used to produce canola oil.
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I thought this one was cool as I happened to also capture a small yellow bird zooming along just above the blooms
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| Our guide explained that this fence was assembled by hand over three generations from all the different granite that is found on Bornholm |
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| The library in Allinge |
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| The town of Gudhjem on the east coast |
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| Gudhjem Mølle - a dutch windmill from 1893 |
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| Another windmill |
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| This is Melstedgaard - an agriculture museum |
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| Some of the thatched roofs were amazing |
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| Yet another windmill - most are no longer operational and are kept for historic value |
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| Østermarie Church |
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| Østermarie Church |
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| St. Canute's Church -possibly the smallest church on Bornholm |
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| Like the art in yesterday's post - don't ask me to explain it |
After our tour around Bornholm, we returned to the ship. The shuttle bus to downtown Rønne was waiting, so I hopped on with some friends and we zipped over to the city.
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| St. Nicolas' Church - our landmark for finding the return bus |
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| We made a wrong turn and wound up in a residential area |
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| That red house on the left is as crooked as it looks |
We found our way to the commercial area.
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| It appears that Doc Brown has made some unusual modifications to the Delorean |
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| The commercial area is quaint and walkable |
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| Genuine Texas - except they serve Carlsberg, not Lone Star |
After many more wrong turns, I found my way back to the shuttle and returned to the ship. Then, it was time for lunch, laundry, and writing this fine piece of literature.
Our sail away from Bornholm was uneventful and happened right on time at 4PM. I met some folks for drinks in the Explorers' Bar at 5:30PM and then met friends in the World Cafe for dinner at 6:30PM. You know it's a good night when the conversation lasts and lasts and you don't get back to your room until 9:15PM. That's a great thing.
We have about 200 miles to cover tonight before tomorrow morning's arrival at Gdańsk, Poland. The weather is looking iffy tomorrow. If the potential rain and wind show up, I will consider canceling my walking tour and wait until Arlona & I come back to Gdańsk on May 29. But, if the weather cooperates, I'll be out and about tomorrow in Poland.
It was good to "see" Arlona again!
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