Baltic Sea
Today we are at sea. After so many busy days on shore, it’s nice to have a change of pace to catch up on sleep, to read, listen to a few presentations, and work on journals and pictures. I climbed up into the crow’s nest to get a different perspective on this unique body of water. The Baltic has had a long schizophrenic geologic history…first, it was a freshwater lake created by glacial melt waters, then an opening to the North Sea brought in salt water, then uplift closed that connection, and the Baltic became fresh again, followed by yet another breach by the North Sea. Today the Baltic is this curious, layered pool with mostly freshwater near its surface and denser, salty water along its bottom.
From my high perch, I pondered what David Barnes had taught us about the history of this area, in particular, how the Baltic’s great resources had brought about the creation of the Hanseatic League. I tried to picture wooden sailing vessels plying these waters from Viking through medieval and later times. I imagined, too, the endless forests that millions of years ago covered the land and whose resin would slowly harden into the beautiful amber that Sharon Grainger has delighted us with.
Rain began to spit out of the overcast sky. I climbed down from my high perch, went inside, and discovered Bob Krist talking about some of his adventures and misadventures while on assignments for National Geographic. What a wonderful little ship the National Geographic Endeavour is, where one can learn about so many aspects while traveling through a faraway land.
Today we are at sea. After so many busy days on shore, it’s nice to have a change of pace to catch up on sleep, to read, listen to a few presentations, and work on journals and pictures. I climbed up into the crow’s nest to get a different perspective on this unique body of water. The Baltic has had a long schizophrenic geologic history…first, it was a freshwater lake created by glacial melt waters, then an opening to the North Sea brought in salt water, then uplift closed that connection, and the Baltic became fresh again, followed by yet another breach by the North Sea. Today the Baltic is this curious, layered pool with mostly freshwater near its surface and denser, salty water along its bottom.
From my high perch, I pondered what David Barnes had taught us about the history of this area, in particular, how the Baltic’s great resources had brought about the creation of the Hanseatic League. I tried to picture wooden sailing vessels plying these waters from Viking through medieval and later times. I imagined, too, the endless forests that millions of years ago covered the land and whose resin would slowly harden into the beautiful amber that Sharon Grainger has delighted us with.
Rain began to spit out of the overcast sky. I climbed down from my high perch, went inside, and discovered Bob Krist talking about some of his adventures and misadventures while on assignments for National Geographic. What a wonderful little ship the National Geographic Endeavour is, where one can learn about so many aspects while traveling through a faraway land.
