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Baltic Cruise July - August 2009

2:59pm on 5th September 2009

We set sail from Dover on the Spirit of Adventure on 23rd July and spent the next two weeks sailing through the Kiel canal and the surprisingly smooth Baltic Sea. We stopped to visit many exciting cities; Travemunde, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Klaipeda. The Saga cruise was specifically a National Trust Musical Cruise. We played many concerts on the ship, and each programme demanded varying combinations of instruments. We were very fortunate to be on board with an amazing group of musicians; Simon Rowland-Jones, Ian Brown, Morgan Szymanski, Jonathan Beattie, Katherine Broderick and Adam Walker. Susan Sharpe (established presenter on Radio 3) introduced each of the concerts, and often the programmes related to the cruise destinations. I'd never spent so much time at sea before, and was surprised at how enjoyable cruising can be! I think we were all slightly dreading the possibility of sea-sickness, (our last cruise around the British Isles had its fair share of green-looking musicians!) but we glided through the Baltic Sea with ease. It was lovely to spend the day with a very good friend of ours from the RCM and Kent Youth Orchestra, Jon Cowell, who now lives in Stockholm. We also managed to meet our old teacher, the Finnish violinist Paavo Pohjola, in Helsinki. Simon Rowland-Jones introduced us to Paavo when we were a newly formed group, so it was very special to spend the day with both Paavo and Simon. Of all the destinations, St Petersburg was the most exciting place to wake up in. We moored up in the Neva River, right in the centre of the city, and were surrounded by glistening golden domes and grand bridges. In the daytime we visited the Peterhov (Peter the Great's Palace) and the incredibly vast and awe-inspiring Hermitage. By night we were taken to the Russian Ballet to see Swan Lake and also watched a traditional Russian Folk Evening. One of the advantages of doing cruise concerts is that you really get to know your audience. It was lovely to make new friends, but also to see some friends that we met on our last cruise, and others that had come especially to support us. Looking forward to more cruises in the future!