Amber Beads and White Nights

As we approach the end of this memorable cruise, I would be remiss if I did not mention Norma's amber beads. She was very taken with our Lithuanian guide's stories of witches and the pagan beliefs of some of the Lithuanians to this day. At the end of our tour, our guide handed out to each of us a small package of amber stones taken from the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Our guide said that they would bring us good luck. Ever since then, Norma has made certain that her beads came with us on all of our shore excursions. I think there must be something to it as we have enjoyed spectacular weather at all of our scenic stops. Many of them are usually cloaked in fog, accompanied by cold, wind, and rain. This was especially true of our stops north of the Arctic Circle. We were blessed with warm, sunny, calm days so were able to have wonderful views of the gorgeous scenery. With only a couple of exceptions - before the amber beads - our shore excursions have been fabulous with fantastic guides. We chose well. There isn't one thing we would change. We even managed the Metro in Oslo and a hike on our own making it back to the ship before she sailed. And at our last tourist stop in Norway, our last visit to a souvenir shop, our last chance to buy one, we found the pony!
I cannot remember if I mentioned the Scandinavian term for the extremely long days they enjoy from late June through July. They refer to them as White Nights which are so appropriately named. We are still experiencing them and are at last far enough south to enjoy an after midnight sunset if we stay awake long enough.
Something else we found very remarkable was the lack of noise in the cities and towns we visited, unlike at home.  We did not hear music blaring from homes or apartments.  The Scandinavians, who live in much closer quarters than we do, were considerate of their neighbours.  Likewise, drivers did not have their stereos turned up full blast and we were not treated to that thunderous pounding from their cars.  Motorcycles purred - their mufflers were very powerful and we were not subject to a lot of revving noise.  It was Heaven!
Today we spent the sunny morning on calm seas on our balcony updating the blog, choosing the pictures to go with it and then packing for our debarkation tomorrow morning. We haven't made arrangement for our transfer to the hotel - we hope we can catch a cab outside the pier - but I'll make sure Norma has her beads with her. I went to card making and made arrangements to meet Anne for dinner. I am now trying to send the rest of the pictures from yesterday but internet seems sporadic today. There will be another post about our day on our own in Copenhagen then we will be on the plane home. Hard to believe.