COPENHAGEN -- Through the window I saw what I assumed to be
a tough-looking hooker in a white sundress standing on the crowded sidewalk in the
city’s historic district. Her attention seemed to be focused on
something in the street in front of my stalled taxi cab where my traveling
partner and I impatiently sat watching the meter tick off the time.
Anxious to get to my hotel so I could relax for an evening
before boarding the Emerald Princess the next day for a Baltic Sea cruise, I
asked the taxi driver about the delay. ” It’s a parade.” he said, just about
the same time I noticed a rainbow flag banner in the distance.
I couldn’t believe it. I had arrived in Copenhagen not only
at the exact time of the city’s annual Pride parade, but I had inadvertently
become a part of it. I wasn’t staring at a hooker, but instead a drag queen. My
taxi cab literally had pulled into the parade’s line-up from a side street as
we crawled toward the Imperial Hotel.
It was to be my second cruise of the summer. I had toured
the Mediterranean on an RSVP gay cruise off the coast of Spain in July and now
in late August I was about to see Norway, Germany, Russia, Finland and Sweden
on a straight cruise that ironically had turned out to have a gay kick off for
me.
Later, my longtime friend and I sat at a table in the
hotel’s sidewalk café watching the rest of the parade, which included a counter
protest by a small group of Neo Nazis protected by numerous police officers
with dogs. The waiter told me the presence of the counter protesters surprised
him because Denmark along with the other Scandinavian countries tend to be
tolerant of LGBT people, a statement which was confirmed to me by guides during
the rest of my trip.
The next day before we boarded the ship I realized the people
of Copenhagen indeed did seem to welcome same-sex couples as we toured Tivoli
Gardens, admiring its beauty and
thrilling to the carnival rides at the historic amusement park.
When it was time to head for the cruise ship where we were
to meet another gay couple, I wondered if a straight cruise would be as much
fun as the gay cruise – my first ever – that I had enjoyed six weeks earlier.
My answer to that question came quickly as the ship blew its horn announcing
our departure from port.
Whereas earlier in the summer when we cruised out of
Barcelona enjoying a loud, colorful cocktail party with music blaring and
dancing on the top deck, the departure from Copenhagen was decidedly sedate. It
was to be that way for the rest of the cruise. We definitely were not on a
party boat this time.
Still, it was an incredible experience, and I will never
forget the awe I felt at the beauty of St. Petersburg’s cathedrals and the
palaces where the czars once lived. Berlin was a masterpiece under restoration
to the period before World War II bombing left it almost destroyed. The natural
beauty of Norway, Finland and Sweden will remain vivid in my mind to my last
days, and I certainly will always consider my visit to the Russian ballet one
of the highlights of my life.
The atmosphere on the ship was friendly and welcoming by the
staff and other passengers so there were no complaints to be found in that
regard. There were a few other gay passengers and gay crew members. On the gay
cruise, it was just a lot more fun during meals, at cocktail time and during
the evenings at the gay-themed shows.
On the Mediterranean cruise we missed one of our ports of
calls because Moroccan officials decided not to allow our ship to dock because
of safety concerns about an all-gay cruise visiting the country for the first
time. It was a surprise because Morocco has long been known for an “anything
goes” type of culture, but it happened, even though the country’s tourism
officials later denied they banned the ship.
The only port raising any concern on the Baltic Sea cruise
would have been St. Petersburg, but I learned from our guide there that an
all-gay cruised had docked several weeks earlier and he had escorted a group
from the ship around the city. No one paid any of the gay tourists any mind
at all, he said.
After I returned I decided to ask the Atlantis Events
organizer about the two-day stop in St. Petersburg, and he confirmed that it
went without a hitch.
“We had a fantastic two days in St. Petersburg and our 2,000
guests said it was the highlight of their cruise,” said Rich Campbell,
president of Atlantis Events, in a message via Facebook. “We’ve been going
there for years and have never received anything less than a warm welcome from
the locals, officials and otherwise.”
It was a possible concern because St. Petersburg officials
have made the gay news in a negative way in the past year because of a law they
passed to ban public pro-gay demonstrations. Attempts to hold Pride parades
have resulted in arrests. Some groups have urged gay cruises not to visit
countries where there are anti-gay laws on the books.
Our guide told me the law has caused many LGBT Russian
people to exercise more caution, but that it is well known there is a large gay
community in St. Petersburg. Some people
have “gone underground” because of it, he said.
Campbell, who described the St. Petersburg gay community as
“significant and thriving,” said his all-gay cruises, which include both RSVP and
Atlantis Events, would continue to visit countries where there are anti-gay laws
on the books as long as local officials welcome gay tourists. A visit to
Dominica by Atlantis Events in the Caribbean earlier in the year resulted in a
gay couple being arrested by local authorities because they allegedly were
viewed engaged in sex on their stateroom balcony by some people on the island.
“Yes, they have a very unfortunate law on their books, but
so do a lot of states in the USA, as well as our federal government,” Campbell
said. “None of those are a reason not to enjoy the treasure these places have
to offer.”
As far as I’m concerned, I feel fortunate to get to travel
and see the world’s fabulous sights however I can, but in the future I’m going
to choose the gay route whenever it is available. It’s just more fun to me and
like everybody else, I prefer to be with my own kind on vacations.
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