Norwegian Fjords & Denmark II

Iceland, Faroe Islands, Shetlands & Scandinavia

General Conditions

THE CZARS’ ROUTE TO

SAIMAA CANAL & LAKELAND 2009

on board M/S Kristina Brahe

4 days / 3 nights, Helsinki - Kotka - Lappeenranta - Savonlinna -

Puumala - (Lappeenranta) - (Kotka) - Helsinki
 

SHORE EXCURSIONS ARE INCLUDED!

Departures from Helsinki every Wednesday June 3, 10, 17, 24 /

July 1, 8 15, 22, 29 / August 5, 12, 19, 2009

 Kristina Brahe’s eastbound cruise, awarded with the Scandinavian Travel Award, enables you to experience two

 different insular worlds connected by the Saimaa Canal. The cruise passes several beautiful islands of the eastern

 Gulf of Finland. Words cannot describe this special summer feeling on the islands. The sea, the haze, the wind and

 the sounds must be experienced all together. Langinkoski and the Imperial Fishing Lodge are without doubt the

 most widely known destinations of the summer cruises. Czar Alexander III, being fond of fishing and simple life,

 found here the beauty of the surrounding nature and the river rich in salmon. In many books about Russian Czars

 there is a photo showing Empress Dagmar, her son and the captain of the imperial yacht Tsaverna peeling potatoes

 on the kitchen stairs of the Langinkoski Imperial Fishing Lodge. Today Kotka offers many more sights, among them

 Maritime Centre Vellamo and Sapokka Water Park.

 On the way to the canal you will sail past Virolahti. The last Russian Czar Nikolai II, the son of Alexander III, liked

 to spend his summer holidays here. Cruising along the Saimaa Canal will remind of not only the imperial summers,

 but also of the times of tar steams and rafting. The locks will take you to Lappeenranta, the lively capital of South

 Karelia with its unadulterated Karelian dialect. Kristina Brahe sails through the Saimaa Archipelago and the unique

 scenery of the Lake Saimaa, where characteristic features are seals, sour milk, fish pie and the smell of a lakeshore

 sauna. On your way back you will have a short stop at Puumala, which was chosen the most beautiful municipality

 in the Lake Saimaa District a couple of years ago. Come and enjoy this summer cruise!
 

 M/S Kristina Brahe