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Europe and Scandinavia 2025
  • Milligans on Tour
  • Milligans on Tour

Europe and Scandinavia 2025

A 66-day adventure by Milligans on Tour Read more
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  • Trip start
    April 24, 2025
  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Changi Airport

    April 27, 2025 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Time to get ready for the next stage of our journey - Singapore to Berlin via a 3-hour stopover in Frankfurt. Our flight is not until 11.30pm but we were fortunate to arrange a late checkout at the hotel until 1.00pm. We wanted to explore Changi Airport a bit more so organized a Grab taxi (like Uber) to take us out there mid-afternoon. The Jewel at the airport has to be seen if you are ever passing through.Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Singapore to Frankfurt

    April 28, 2025 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    It's been a long day/night hanging around airports. We managed to get a reasonable amount of sleep on our 12-hour flight from Singapore to Frankfurt and we're now waiting at Frankfurt Airport for our connecting flight to Berlin. This airport is HUGE and is extremely busy. Easy to navigate your way around though. It was a lovely clear morning as we were flying in and we managed to get a pretty good shot of the Rhine River from up above. Lots of river cruise ships sailing awayRead more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Frankfurt to Berlin

    April 28, 2025 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    The final leg of our journey from Singapore was a 1-hour flight from Frankfurt to Berlin and then a 1-hour train ride to the hotel. We opted to take the train rather than an Uber purely because of cost - €50+ for an Uber versus €9 for the train (for both of us). Not sure it was the right decision because the train was initially packed, with standing room only, and it was very uncomfortable; however, it cleared out after the first stop. We were on the road for more than 25 hours and were exhausted. Now resting up at our hotel in preparation for a busy day tomorrow 😊Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler
    2

    A Special Day

    April 29, 2025 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    This was such a special day because we caught up with Fabian (or Faberjan as we used to call him 😊), an international student who came to NZ to study English and lived with us for a year when he was 17. We haven't seen him for 14 years and it was so good to give him a big hug. The conversation flowed easily and it was as if we'd seen each other only yesterday. We have been to Berlin before but its rich history still fascinates and intrigues us. The green tower in one of the pics depicts the oldest traffic light in EuropeRead more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    We are sailing, we are sailing ...

    April 30, 2025 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Made it to the ship (MSC Poesia) for our 18-night cruise up the Baltic Sea departing from Warnemunde. Had our on-board emergency drill and set sail at 1700 hours. Making our way overnight to Gdansk in Poland. A much slower pace than what we have experienced over the past week.Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler
    2

    Gdansk, Poland

    May 2, 2025 in Lithuania ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    What a treat it was to visit this quaint little town in Poland. So vibrant and interesting. After docking at the port, we navigated our way among the throngs of taxi drivers until we came across the sweetest lady who offered us what we thought was a very good deal for a private tour driving through Gdynia, Sopot and into the old town of Gdansk, sharing the taxi with another couple. Her English was excellent so we were able to understand her commentary and converse easily with her. Our first stop was the Katedra Oliwska Catholic cathedral, just in time for the organ recital they have each morning. This church certainly has the wow factor and was simply magnificent. We then spent a couple of hours exploring the old town of Gdansk - so full of history. The modern bridges you can see in the pictures are raised/swung around every hour on the half hour to allow ships/boats through. They stay up for the entire half hour. The northern side of Gdansk/Gydnia is surrounded by a very long stretch of white sandy beach. It was a public holiday in Poland the day we visited so the town and beaches were really busy. Overall, well worth the visit.Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Klaipeda, Lithuania

    May 2, 2025 in Lithuania ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Another charming wee city where shipping is the main industry. The town is very small so we only spent a couple of hours exploring. We jumped on a mini tour of the city (around 40 minutes) and spent some time wandering around the many market stalls dotted throughout the area and trying to entice cruise ship passengers to buy their wares. The cobblestoned Theatre Square is the heart of the old town. The ever-resourceful Neil came across a couple of sheep in one of the gardens 🤭Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler
    22

    Love me a sea day

    May 3, 2025, Baltic Sea ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Woke up to an amazing sunrise as we cruised across the Baltic Sea to Stockholm. Started the day with a relaxing breakfast on our balcony and watched the world sail by, with nothing but ocean behind, in front of, and to the side of us. We met another fellow Kiwi today who just so happened to be sitting next to us at the bar and recognized our accents. Sea days usually mean Gala Night and that was certainly the case tonight as everyone came out for drinks and dinner in all their finery. A quiet day so used the opportunity to take a few photos of the interior of
    MSC Poesia.    Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Stockholm, Sweden

    May 4, 2025 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Oh my gosh, how the weather has changed. Luckily we came prepared with warm clothes, scarves, raincoats and puffer jackets - the whole shebang! However, despite the cooler temperatures, sailing into the archipelago of Stockholm at 7.00am in the morning was pure magic. We made sure we got up early to sit out on our balcony and watch the world go by - we weren't disappointed 🌟 We opted for the hop on, hop off bus to explore the city of Stockholm, which also included a short boat ride along the waterways. A few observations: Stockholm has 148,269 million statues and 83,572 million islands (not quite but you get the gist), it was Sunday the day we were there but the city was strangely quiet, Stockholm is pretty much built on a bed of rock, and the city architecture is stunning. The afternoon was spent at the VASA Museum, which is based around an old sailing ship that lay at the bottom of the ocean for more than 300 years before being salvaged. Google it, it's worth it! Unfortunately we didn't have time to go to the ABBA Museum, which was just down the road 🫢Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler
    2

    Tallin, Estonia

    May 5, 2025 in Estonia ⋅ 🌬 8 °C

    This cruise just keeps getting better. Tallin Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it's impossible not to see why. After leaving the port, we began to think we'd made a big mistake walking into the old town because there was graffiti everywhere, but you bypass that and reach a gorgeous medieval town where a lot of the original structures still remain, including parts of the wall that were built around the city back in the 13th century. We stopped for morning tea at one of the oldest cafes in Tallinn, Cafe Maiasmokk, which has been operating since 1864. We were in awe of this town and spent our entire time ashore just wandering around admiring as much as we could, despite the cold temperatures.Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler
    2

    Helsinki, Finland

    May 6, 2025 in Finland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Rain was forecast for the day today but we braved the elements and caught the tram into the heart of Helsinki. Probably not a wise decision because the rain continued throughout the day. We took refuge in Stockmans, the largest department store in the Nordic countries. It reminded us of Smith and Caugheys in Auckland but on a much larger scale. I scored myself a massive hot chocolate with all the trimmings - very decadent. The rain stopped briefly so we made a dash for Temppeliaukio, a church that has been built into solid rock. What an impressive piece of architecture. We then got caught in a hail storm so decided to call it quits and head back to the ship and get ready for 'White Night'. Hence we unfortunately didn't get to explore as much of Helsinki as we had hoped.Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Visby, Sweden

    May 7, 2025 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    Visby, a small town on the island of Gotland in Sweden, is known for its medieval town wall and many churches. Regrettably, Neil had to go solo to explore this intriguing town as I had a bit of a cold, confining me to our cabin for the last 24 hours. Looking forward to getting out and exploring Aarhus tomorrow though. Neil took some great photos but we can't get them off his phone at the moment so will need to upload them once we're off the ship. In the meantime, I'll leave you with some beautiful sunrise/sunset shots and a shot of a wind farm we cruised past in the middle of the oceanRead more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler
    2

    Aarhus, Denmark

    May 8, 2025 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    A few fun facts: (1) Denmark has more than twice the number of bicycles than cars; (2) no-one jaywalks in Denmark - even if the road is clear, people will always wait for the little green man; (3) Aarhus is home to the largest population of students in Denmark; (4) taxes are high but the country has a comprehensive health and welfare system and students over the age of 18 years receive a monthly grant of up to 6 years while they are studying. And that concludes your educational lesson for today 😂. Seriously though, you take your life into your own hands walking around this city - not because of the cars but because there are bikes everywhere. We just about got collected a couple of times! We took a wander through a Viking museum that is actually situated at the very site where the archaeological excavations took place. The skeleton of what was believed to be a murderer had been unearthed. The little cubicles in the second to last picture are actually parking spaces (pretty cool). Also, zoom in on the third to last pic to check out the name of the cafe. Hope the food doesn't live up to the name!Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler
    2

    Copenhagen, Denmark

    May 9, 2025 in Denmark ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Copenhagen, we love you. One full day did not really allow us enough time to explore this busy, thriving metropolis and all it has to offer. Fortunately we're back again in about a week's time for another full day. We spent the morning on the hop on, hop off bus (aren't they a great way to see a place when you have a limited amount of time), doing a tour of the city and familiarising ourselves with local landmarks/attractions. In the afternoon, we had the added advantage of having our own personalised tour guide who has extensive local knowledge despite living in the city for only about 6 years. Thank you Shaun, it was such a pleasure to catch up with you, Sarah, Marcus, Julian and Seb for lunch and then to have you show us around. We made it back to the ship with 10 minutes to spare (yikes)!! The video is a quick snapshot of the massive expanse that is the royal palace - it is HUGE. Can't wait to get back and explore more of this beautiful city.Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Karlskrona, Sweden

    May 10, 2025 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Karlskrona is a naval town and has the largest naval base of the Swedish Navy. The town centre is located on the island of Trosso, another UNESCO World Heritage site. The ship was not able to dock alongside and hence all passengers wanting to go ashore were taken in by tender boats. Sadly, Neil has come down with a bad case of man flu (🤭) so we didn't get ashore to seek out the sights of this little Swedish town. The best I could do is a very grainy pic taken from our balcony.Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Warnemunde, Germany

    May 11, 2025 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Sand sculptures, a white sandy beach, canals, lighthouse, 55-metre high Ferris wheel, boats, boats and more boats, the gorgeous seaside town of Warnemunde has it all. We started our cruise here 11 days ago and are about to embark on the second stage of the journey to the Norwegian fjords. Did we love exploring this stunning, resort-like town - yes we did! We conquered our fear of heights by firstly trekking up to the top of the lighthouse (123 very narrow steps, which were pretty scary to navigate when you met someone coming the other way) and then taking a ride on the massive Ferris wheel. Oh my gosh, we were ready to get off after the first rotation but holy hecka, it didn't stop so here we were bricking it with nowhere to go. Fortunately, we got a bit more comfortable once it didn't stop and it was an enjoyable ride with the most amazing views from the top (the photos honestly don't do it justice). We celebrated by stopping for coffee and cake at a cafe that had the biggest pieces of cake and pastries we have ever seen. One pastry would have been sufficient to feed 4 people, but that didn't stop us from buying not just one but two (one each 🤣). Oops!! The photo of all the people on the beach is young people playing a game similar to touch rugby but with a frisbee (maybe Ultimate Frisbee?). Looks pretty cool.Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler
    22

    Sea day, en route to Haugesund, Norway

    May 12, 2025, Skagerrak ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Let's talk about our dining options on board - we can pretty much eat 24/7. There are two main dining rooms, one on deck 5 and the other on deck 6. Each caters for a'la carte dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner (a much more relaxed dining experience and a good way to meet other people). For dinner, there are two sittings, 6.00pm and 8.30pm and you are allocated a designated table that you eat at for the duration of the cruise. Each day on the daily notices you are advised of the dress code for that particular evening. Tonight's dress code was 'elegant', aka gala night. The other options for dining are the specialty Japanese restaurant, which you have to make a reservation for, or the two buffet restaurants on deck 13, only one deck up from our cabin so very convenient 😄 (see pic for location of our cabin number 12124). The video shows a very, very small section of the buffet . As you can imagine, the buffets have a huge selection of everything you could possibly imagine, from fresh fruit salad, cooked breakfast, pancakes, pastries, salad bar, buns/rolls, pasta dishes, pizza, cheeses, ham and salami, selection of meat dishes, dessert bar, honestly the list is endless. Seriously, you will not go hungry 🤭Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Haugesund, Norway

    May 13, 2025 in Norway ⋅ 🌬 9 °C

    Our arrival into Haugesund was delayed by about an hour due to extensive fog, however all was not lost as the captain extended our stay at the opposite end of the day. We visited the local information centre and booked ourselves on a bus trip to the Langfossen Waterfall, about a 6-hour round trip that included a quick informative trip around the town of Haugesund, a visit to Norway's national monument Haraldshaugen, a half-hour lunch stop at a cafe near the waterfall, and passing many fjords along the way. Our guide was a lovely Singaporean lady who was married to a Norwegian man and had lived in Norway for the last 30 years. It was nice to have an actual living guide rather than an audio tour. Fun fact: in Haugesund the color of your house indicates your wealth status - white houses are a sign of prosperity. We were totally blown away by the picturesque scenery on the drive out to the waterfall, and even more blown away by the sheer scale of the waterfall. It seemed to be neverending but its actual height is about 622 meters. We were able to fill our water bottles with the fresh, clean water from the waterfall and gosh, did it taste good. Overall, an excellent day out with stunning scenery.Read more

  • Milligans on TourEurope and Scandinavia 2025Traveler

    Eidfjord, Norway

    May 14, 2025 in Norway ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    If Norway is not on your bucket then it certainly should be!! Cruising along the fjords from Haugesund to Eidfjord was nothing short of spectacular. We awoke early (4.30am; at this hour, it's already total daylight at this time of the year) to ensure we took full advantage of this possibly once in a lifetime opportunity and were we wowed by what we were seeing. The scenery, the landscape, the natural beauty ... everything ... although we were surprised by the amount of snow still on the mountain tops. It was a bit nerve-wracking watching the ship sail under the Hardanger Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in Norway, but hey, no sweat, we made it with inches to spare 🤭. Once ashore in Eidfjord, we booked a quick 2-hour trip to get taken out to the bridge and walk over it, mainly to appreciate the views from a different aspect. But it wasn't only the views that captured our attention, the tunnel we passed through on our walk had a couple of cute rainbow arches that enthralled us (well me at least; see pics). We spent the afternoon taking a walk out to the Eidfjord Sand Beach on the shores of Eidfjordvatnet Lake and then Neil went exploring a bit further to a high lookout while I had a wander around the town. Since being in Norway we have noticed a lot of motorhomes and Eidfjord was no exception. That evening as we were leaving Eidfjord, passengers were encouraged to go up to deck 13 for a 'sail away' party and to view the beauty of the fjords for one last time. A very memorable couple of days.Read more

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