We arrived to a beautiful sunny morning in Copenhagen.  The nicest surprise was that the large group of men all waiting to help with luggage were tall, blonde and very handsome.  They all spoke perfect English and were polite and charming.  We managed to find a taxi driver to drive us round as much of the city as it was possible to see in the short time we had before our flight.  We were fortunate enough to find a really helpful guy who pointed out as much as he could to us.  We arrived during the rush hour traffic but that in itself was amazing to see as more than half the working population of the city arrive by bicycle.  They are fully prepared for this with wide cycling lanes and rows and rows of bars where people leave their bicycles parked.  The road structure is amazing with tram tracks down the middle, cycle tracks, taxi tracks and still plenty of room for cars.  The city is spotless with lots of older apartment buildings beautifully kept and gardens everywhere for people to enjoy walking.  I suppose the most surprising sight was seeing the thousands of apartments on the river which have been built over the last couple of years and almost all vacant as people cannot afford to buy them.  It seemed like such a crazy thing to do but then I had to remember almost the same thing is happening in our own city.  The boom came with no preparation and no notice and so the property dealers were caught unaware.  The taxi driver informed us he lived in Sweden and worked in Copenhagen.  Seems strange but then he showed us that the last turning off the motorway in Denmark is the airport and immediately after that is the border and Sweden.  It's cheaper, apparently, to buy a house there and commute to Copenhagen.

The people are beautiful - the men tall and athletic and the girls blonde and lovely.  I honestly don't think I have seen so many handsome people, male and female on our entire trip. I certainly didn't see any in Russia, Poland, Estonia or Latvia but Stockholm and Helsinki came a pretty good second.  So, girls, consider a weekend in Copenhagen as it's a sight for sore eyes!

The airport worked beautifully with everyone polite, everyone speaking English and doing their best to be helpful.  What a contrast with dark, dismal, horrible Heathrow heaving with people and the staff rarely raising a smile.  I think they should all be flown out to Denmark and shown how it is possible to do the same job but be pleasant. 

It's great to be home.  My first stop was to see my darling Paddy Jack.  He put his wee chubby arms up for me to lift him and it was glorious to smell his lovely baby smell.  He's off to Barcelona with his mum and dad in the morning so I won't see him again until Monday.  Right now I'm waiting for the return of my 3 dogs and I can't wait to see them.  My garden looks so beautiful with lots of new flowers in bloom.  It's warmer than Russia and the Baltic so that has made our return even nicer.  I just want to say a big thank you to all of you who kept me company on my trip.  It was lovely to read your comments and I hope I have given you just a taste of Northern Europe.  I don't know that I would go back too soon but I have good memories and I wouldn't have missed it.  Cruising is a wonderful way to get a glimpse into other cultures without having to commit to a week or two staying in them.  Silver Seas is a great cruise line but in a way it's a strange world on board and has no touch with reality.  We did enjoy the concerts on board - the violinist was world class as was the baritone and the amazing American opera singer.  They were awesome and the final night's concert was enchanting and brought tears to my eyes.  Now it's back to bread and cheese, washing, ironing and all the rest which makes home life so special.  Bliss!