Baltic Cruise Notes, Day 4: Stockholm and Setting Sail

On our last day in Stockholm, we mainly got ready to head for the ship. After a nice breakfast in the hotel and packing, we shopped for a while. I was impressed by the extensive shopping mall that was all around us, in almost every direction. After walking around in some of the stores, we returned to the hotel by way of the farmers' market that was in the square by the hotel. Apparently, they have an open-air market there every day, with all sorts of fruits vegetables, nuts, and various other edibles, all displayed in boxes facing out from the proprietors in the centers of the booths. It was very esthetic--you must see some pictures. Denise has been posting them on her Facebook page, and I'll try to figure out how to share them on mine. By 11:00, we were in the taxi on the way to our port, Frihamnen. Our documentation was confusing, as the first set of travel documents listed Vartahamnen, a couple of kilometers away from Frihamnen. Fortunately, the taxi driver was knowledgeable about all that, and I also found the newer set of documents. We arrived on time and stood in line for maybe half an hour to go through security and get on the ship. We're on the Marina, an Oceania line ship that was built in 2011. It is simply beautiful, in every way. There was Lalique crystal in the stairway at the main entrance, and there is wood and marble everywhere. Our room is huge, and we have an open veranda outside with chairs and a small table. After boarding, we went to the Terrace cafe and had lunch. I can't remember much about the lunch, other than the ice cream at the end of the meal, vanilla and banana, covered with handmade caramel syrup. If I had to pick a last meal, that might be what I would choose. We repaired to our room for a nap, then went to the mandatory safety "muster," where we learned about getting off the ship in an emergency. I'm pretty sure the life vests are largely for decoration, because if you went into the drink in the Baltic, you'd have maybe ten or fifteen minutes before succumbing to hypothermia. On that happy note.... Following the demonstration, we went out on deck to watch the "sail away" from Stockholm. It is only from the water that you can understand the vast number of islands in the inlets and bays. There are apparently 24,000 islands in the archipelago off the Swedish shore. I'd like to meet the guy who counted them. Talk about compulsive! We were scheduled for dinner at 8:30 in the Polo Grill, one of the specialty restaurants on board. It is located aft on the 14th deck. (Note how quickly I picked up the lingo, with my extensive sailing background.) Now, this meal was the stuff of legend. We started with an appetizer, shrimp cocktail for me and heart of palm for Denise. Next was soup, oxtail for me and lobster bisque for her. Then Caesar salad for both, followed by surf and turf--lobster tail and filet mignon. Last was creme brule for Denise, and a brownie with ice cream and chocolate and raspberry sauces for me. I just revised that last meal remark from above. One more thing about the meal: We were sitting right next to a large window, watching the Swedish shoreline go by. There were are large number of summer houses on the shore, and people actually waved to the ship as we went by. The channel isn't all that wide, and much of the time I think we were less than 200 yards from the shore. Well, off to bed now. We can feel only the slightest roll of the ship. I expect to be rocked to sleep tonight. Good night.