Bouncing around the Baltics

We’re perched on the Wal bar’s comfy chairs, but everywhere around us is beach seating far posher than any seen at Portobello. In 1882, local basket maker Wilhelm Bartelmann designed a prototype for a visitor suffering from rheumatism who wanted protection from the coastal wind and strong sun while resting by the Baltic Sea. Safe to say, they caught on - I may bid for a Scottish franchise.

We’ve passed through Warnemunde previously, but this is the first time Steve and I had a look around the pretty town and strolled down the glorious promenade, strewn with an inviting mix of posh shops - think Lacoste, Jack Wolfskin and Boss - and temples of tourist tat.

We eschewed the lighthouse and its famous teapot-shaped neighbour, the Teepott, for the house where Norwegian painter Edvard Munch stayed from 1907-1908, but it was shut - it’s enough to make you Scream.

I exaggerate. There was nothing to remotely annoy on our Hidden Gems of the Baltic Sea cruise, a 15-night sailing on the Ambassador Ambition. Getting on at Dundee certainly put us in a great mood - no airport hassle and speedy boarding - and from then on it was relaxation all the way as we visited 11 ports in seven countries. As well as Germany, there was Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Sweden and Denmark.

Being a smaller ship, the Ambition can call in at places the megaships can’t, allowing, for example, a very surreal day in Visby on Gotland, Sweden’s largest island.

We noticed a lady dressed in medieval clothing, ‘obviously’ someone working in a tourist attraction. Then we saw another woman, then a man, a baby, entire families - even the odd dog - looking like extras from Game of Thrones. We’d coincided with Medeltidsveckan, Scandinavia's largest historical festival.

For one week in August each year, Visby transforms into a living open-air stage. Thousands of attendees, performers and re-enactors dress in period attire - ranging from Vikings and knights to peasants, jesters, and merchants. They set up craft markets, encampments, take part in jousting - there’s even a ‘Game of Drones’.

And Visby is well worth a wander at any time, the Hanseatic city being built across a natural amphitheatre of limestone terraces, descending steeply from the high inland cliff top down to the medieval harbour and Baltic shore, where inviting hammocks are tied across trees (don’t be tempted to try them, I have a photo showing what a terrible idea that is).

Slightly less ancient but definitely nostalgia-inducing is the ABBA Museum, which we visited on a whistle stop tour of Stockholm. While the decor is a bit weird - think Disco meets Cold War bunker - the costumes, instruments and memorabilia of Benny, Agnetha, Bjorn and Anni-Frid make a visit well worth the Money, Money, Money.

Around the museum, the Swedish capital, set across 14 islands, was a revelation, from the Royal Palace to the tall, narrow 17th and 18th-century merchant houses on the waterfront.

While Stockholm was a lazy one, being mostly a coach tour, Sweden’s second city, Gothenburg - celebrated for its fresh shellfish, herring and lively café culture - gave us a good walk. Which meant we felt no guilt over trying one of the giant cinnamon buns that are the trademark of the city’s trendy HAGA district. Plate-sized, they take some getting through… but we managed.

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Let’s take a breath for some sea days - there were three and all were delightful, a chance to enjoy our roomy junior suite. As well as all the usual facilities, the double bed set-up featured pillows so comfy we bought a couple to take home - that’s the sort of thing you can do when luggage allowances don’t come into it.

Afternoon nibbles would magically appear… not that we needed extra feeding, with main dining rooms the Holyrood and Buckingham, buzzing Borough Market buffet and poolside snacks and gelatos keeping us well fed. Extra pay eateries Saffron and Lupino’s - offering Mediterranean fine dining and a delicious mezze-style menu respectively - equalled incredible tastes, and matching value at under £20 per person.

You’re never far from a drink, with bars throughout the ship and beverage packages for all pockets. The friendly waiters are even in the Palladium theatre for seat service before the West End-worthy shows, which took in Country, Rock and more. This year’s new productions include a Bob Fosse tribute and Venison, a black comedy by Edinburgh University student Huw Turnbull, winner of Ambassador’s Theatre@Sea Playwriting Challenge. Among the guest artists was Scots comic Erin McKinnie, whose voice is as sharp as her wit.

This is the first cruise we’ve been on which saw everyone board at Dundee, and the camaraderie was off the scale - everywhere we went there were friendly faces, whether it was in a hot tub, at the gym, library, craft classes, singing lessons, games room or flat out in the Green Sea Spa.

The latter features dedicated treatment rooms, a beauty salon, sauna and steam room, and masterful masseurs whose pampering prepares you to get back out on land.

And so it was we were landworthy for a wander around Tallinn, capital of Estonia, a Unesco-listed medieval Old Town and home to the chimney stack ice cream, a dessert so big and delicious - think massive cream horn pastry with Mr Whippy and fruit inside - I had to knock two courses off my four-course supper. (I made up for this later with a rather fabulous room service cheeseburger and fries.)

Next door, in Latvia, we visited the historic port city of Ventspils, a sedate spot enlivened by the Castle of the Livonian Order, a branch of the Teutonic Knights - a Catholic military order of German crusaders - that ruled over large parts of modern-day Latvia and Estonia from the 13th-16th century. Inside, there’s a museum and cafe, outside, instruments of punishment for all the family.

We also visited St Nicholas Orthodox Church which, with its onion domes, is a classic example of Russian Orthodox sacral architecture in coastal Latvia.

Helsinki, we’d been to previously, so we took it easy, with a gentle wander around the Finnish capital culminating in a return visit to the magnificent central railway station, where Art Nouveau and early Art Deco meet.

Having grown up in the 1980s, when I think of the Polish city of Gdansk I picture the struggles of Lech Walesa and Solidarity, and while there’s a monument to their struggles, next time I think of Gdansk I’ll also be picturing the beauty of a city that rose from the ashes.

In 1945, near the end of the Second World War, the city was heavily shelled and burned by Soviet forces, leaving 80-90 per cent of the Old Town in ruins. What stands today looks centuries old, but it’s largely a meticulously crafted modern reconstruction. You can get an especially great view with a trip on one of the many water taxis.

A stop-off at wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen offered a walk that took in the Little Mermaid statue (go early or you won’t see if for Chinese tourists, who don’t seem to get the idea that other people might want a pic), the Royal Palace, Tivoli Gardens and, er, McDonald’s (be kind, we’d done 15,000 steps by then).

Ronne, the main port and largest town situated on the Danish island of Bornholm, didn’t come with any must-sees, but it was pretty, clean and a great place to just stretch the old sea legs.

Aarhus, on the other hand, has a magnificent 12th-century Gothic cathedral. The city combines a rich Viking heritage with cutting-edge modern architecture and a vibrant cultural scene. As for drama, the Skywalk, a glass platform six stories above the streets off the roof garden of Salling’s department store, can’t be beat (read: I was terrified).

Another sea day took us back to Dundee where, after such a busy break, planning the next holiday seemed rather a good idea.

Martin Gray booked with Connoisseur Travel, Edinburgh The price of a junior suite was £5,959pp (inside cabins from £1,509pp). Ambassador Cruise Line has a selection of no-fly sailings from Dundee departing in 2027. With itineraries ranging from 9-19 nights long, these sailings – all onboard Ambition – visit destinations such as Norway, France, Iceland, Portugal, Belgium and Spain. For more details, visit this link.