Copenhagen, episode 6. In which I deal with great unexpectations.

As I have shared with you over the years, my trip planning process usually starts with some tiny kernel of a craving, some quick glimpse of a location in a movie or on a television show. From there, it makes it into my travel journal and eventually onto its own page for the beginning of one of my famous lists. That's when the research and (over)planning begins.

Copenhagen made it onto our travel radar because of our relatively recent love affair with cruising.

Mari and I celebrated our 20th anniversary with a cruise around the Hawaiian islands.

We had been aching to return to Hawaii (and the amazing Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, of course) since our first visit about five years prior and we decided to take advantage of Norwegian Cruise Line's seven-day cruise (departing 50 sunny Sundays per year from Honolulu) that visits four Hawaiian islands.

After that first cruise, Mari and I were absolutely hooked and began looking for more cruises we could experience with NCL during our summer vacations from teaching and that's how Copenhagen blipped upon our travel radar.

You can learn more about the wide range of NCL cruises by visiting their easy-to-navigate site. The site includes loads of helpful travel information about NCL port cities including links to port hotels.

ncl.com

We have learned from experience that you will want to plan at least a full night's stay in port the day prior to sailing in case unexpected delays and/or seemingly intentionally unhelpful Delta Air Lines agents reroute you from Dallas to Seattle via Atlanta (!!!) after you are bumped from your original direct (overbooked) flight because you were flying with bonus miles.

Just remember, ain't no cruise ship waitin' for nobody except the captain

(and we will never fly Delta again).

That photo of us on Maui was taken in June of 2010 by a couple from Georgia with whom we exchanged cameras throughout a day tour of the Hana coast, along a precariously scenic route whose navigation I was happy to entrust to the tour company's expert van driver. It is one of the most scenic overlooks we have ever chosen not to overlook but fully embrace instead.

But I digress (again). We were in Copenhagen last summer and excited to finally set sail on our Baltic cruise after an excitingly full fleamarket foodie weekend. First stop, Warnemünde, Germany, with a scheduled day trip to Berlin where I would finally have my moment with the border-bashing but historic remnants of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately, like last year's delayed-delayed-denied NYC Spring Break trip to see Hamilton, Mother Nature had other plans for my congested agenda. A storm's resulting rough waters prevented our ship from safely approaching the harbor of the charmingly small seaside resort village and we instead spent our first full day "at sea" exploring the ship and enjoying its amenities. A further delayed entry into port the following day kept us grounded in Warnemünde, with all excursions to Berlin cancelled.

Now, you know I like cancelled about as much as I like delayed which is indeed not very much at all. I was further disappointed that the next day's scheduled stop in Tallinn, Estonia would also necessarily be cancelled so that we could arrive in Saint Petersburg on schedule.

When you cruise, you are at the mercy of unpredictable weather as much as you are blessed by nature's infinite majesty. Although disappointed, we were thankful to be in the safe hands of NCL's expert crew and in the comfort and care of the ship's wonderfully dedicated and supportive staff.

Our unexpected and unplanned visit to Warnemünde turned out to be anything but unpleasant as Mari and I enjoyed sightseeing the picturesque village as we explored its historic buildings and visited local merchants. With the provincial population doubled for the day with two cruise ships in port and no out-of-town excursions planned, Mari and I tried our best to carve out our own special moments to remember. It wasn't too difficult.



Click on my YouTube video above to watch some of my video footage from that morning. It's about three and a half minutes long and includes some beautiful scenery from the very scenic seaside village of Warnemünde, Germany.

Lest I forget, here are two purchases we made from a very temptingly chock-a-block antiques shop.

Mari's little friend (you'll see them sitting together on the bench in the video) was standing guard out front.

It was only the first stop on our cruise (and we still had Iceland and London beyond) so I had to carefully limit myself. There were five other beautifully and uniquely patterned Bavarian bone china snack sets (teacup, saucer, dessert plate) that I sadly left behind for five other Warnemünde Besucher (visitors) to recollect for all of eight euros per set.

Mari was drawn to this expertly embossed petite pewter vase (just over four inches tall) which I've photographed from its three different angles so you could appreciate the delicate detail surrounding the beautifully crafted vessel.

A colorfully full two days with little to no unexpectations in St. Petersburg are next on our itinerary.