Signs of the Baltic

I am fascinated by small signs that Irene and I see as walk the streets in the countries we visit.

 Here is a collection I made during "shore leave" on our Baltic cruise.

The most frequent signs are those of the purveyors of food and drink.

 

The next two signs are from a brew pub in Wismar, where we sampled three of their beers.

This brief interlude eased the pain in our legs from the old cobblestones, in more ways than one.

Irish pubs are almost as common as chinese restaurants around the world.  Their abundance is directly proportional to the amount of beer consumed in the country.

Wherever we went, we were preceded by the golden arches.

Souvenir shops often displayed neat signs.

This sign was the inside of a door opened wide.

Other tourist oriented businesses had signs that were attractive or clever . . . or both.

This sign is supplemented by the mannikin, which falls into the category of "kuriosa."

This sign is the symbol for apotheka (apothecary) in Germany.

Some beauticians are creative.

Some other services also have "enticing" signs.

"Fereinwohnung" are foreign residences, i.e., holiday homes.

Larger businesses may also use small signs.  SIA Glass is a brand of packaged foods.

This is a sign for a wine and beer wholesaler.  

Unfortunately, whoever made the sign left off the company name.

The next two explain themselves.

Organizations also display signs.

Is this a club or a business organization?

We had a great day on these "hop-on hop-off" tourist boats in Stockholm. 

In port cities, harbor rides cane be both fun and truly educational.

I am taking the liberty of including one very large sign.

This is the Holland America logo on one of the smokestacks of our ship, the Eurodam.

As long as I am taking liberties, this is the symbol of the Swedish Palace Guards Unit on the saddle blanket of one of the horses in the noon parade.

The Livrustkammaren is the Swedish Royal Armory.

I honestly don't know what you might find if you follow the arrow, but the sign and saddle are great.

These three signs on the same street demonstrate the history of Helsinki.

The first sign was under Russian rule in the early 19th century.  The order of the languages is Russian, Finnish, and Swedish.

Under Swedish rule in the late 19th century, it is Swedish, Finnish, and Russian.

Now, in an independent Finland, Russian is gone. 

 The inclusion of Swedish is recognition that 6% of Finland's population is Swedish.

Traffic signs can be fascinating.

These two are for pedestrian malls.

This one is designed to control bird traffic.

Do you really need a translation?

This is one of my favorites.

What amazing bike paths in Denmark and Sweden!

 

Okay, so they are not all street signs!

Sometimes, I can't help loving graffiti!

These last three, I haven't got a clue; but I like them.