Saturday 20th July 2019
This morning I was up on deck by 8 a.m. to watch us approach Gothenburg. The ship notified passengers that today was the 50th Anniversary of the moon landing; I remember watching that event on television with my late husband, and being astonished with what we were seeing. It was all very exciting at the time.
We disembarked as soon as the ship was cleared by the Port officials about 10 a.m. and headed for the tall-masted VIKING ship which is now permanently moored at the waterside.
VIKING is a delight on board and we enjoyed seeing a little of her as we decided to have a rather unnecessary cup of coffee.
I think one of the attractions was all the woodwork in the long bar, plus the sight of a huge television screen showing a picture of a wonderful fire in a grate. I had to laugh at the sound of the fire apparently crackling as the logs burned slowly - well, that was authentic...
This morning we are booked on the little ship ST. ERIK for a lunch cruise whilst sailing around the Gothenburg southern archipelago. She was built in 1881 and has obviously been altered over the years but is fascinating on board. We boarded at 11 a.m. and lunch was served once we sailed, seated at allocated tables in the restaurant. As expected there were always people around and so I chose not to take photographs in the Restaurant, but the decor was lovely, the furniture comfortable and the food very enjoyable.
This is a lovely picture of ST. ERIK, with thanks to Michael at http://liners.gmxhome.de for bringing it to my attention
https://www.stromma.com/globalassets/sweden/groups_charter/gothenburg/fleet/our-boats/photos/ms-st-erik/01_St-Erik-stromma-kanalbolaget-goteborg?w=623
Here is the history of the ST ERIK: http://www.skargardsbatar.se/sterik_1881/
and the GÖTEBORG: http://www.skargardsbatar.se/nyaskargarden_1915/
with thanks to Alistair D.
Out on deck afterwards we could enjoy the archipelago and other vessels around, including FROJA, YLVA, TRUBADUREN, and the aged GOTEBORG. It was warm and sunny, and earlier I had enjoyed being able to look across the water at VASCO DA GAMA.
We finally returned to the quayside and had to disembark, after a lovely sunny sail around the local Gothenburg waters. Then it was back to our ship VASCO DA GAMA on the shuttle bus and then up on deck. We watched as STENA DANICA approached but didn't enter the harbour, but went back and turned round. We didn't know why that happened but she then turned and entered the harbour.
On a staircase where I hadn't been before, I noticed an interesting sight.
There was time for a coffee before relaxing and then preparing for drinks in the Ocean Bar, followed by dinner this evening in the Waterfront Restaurant in Deck 7's stern, with wonderful views from the picture windows. The Show this evening was called Rock Around the World.
Ships seen: Viking, St. Erik, City of Rotterdam, Stena Danica, Stena Carisma laid up, Stjarno, Stena Scandinavica, Goteborg, Trubaduren, Ylva, Froja, Vasco da Gama
To be continued...