Sea voyages to Finland and Denmark (birthplace of his wife Marie Feodorovna) were significant events in the life of Alexander III. These voyages allowed the Emperor to escape the commotion of the capital, social obligations, and to a certain extent, state affairs. Almost every summer the royal family would spend a few weeks sailing along Finnish skerries. A small wooden estate was constructed at Langinkoski, where Alexander often spent time fishing. A “chronicle” of these voyages was made by artist Albert Benois, who accompanied the Emperor on these journeys a number of times and painted many watercolours conveying the atmosphere that predominated on the trips.
The family would also often sail to Copenhagen in the autumn, to visit Marie Feodorovna’s relatives. There Alexander Alexandrovich learned to prize the modesty of the Danish royal family and living, at least for a while, outside the constraints of court etiquette. Sometimes, however, visits to Denmark were connected with state obligations and were of a more formal nature, such as the celebration in August 1883 of the twentieth year of the reign of Christian IX, Marie Feodorovna’s father. As a rule, in such cases the Emperor would appear in the uniform of a Danish Royal Life-Guard.
The royal couple brought home with them from Denmark a number of works of art, which then served as mementos of their journeys. Among these were oil paintings and watercolours by Danish artists and porcelain items from the Danish Royal Porcelain Factory, whose pieces influenced many other European porcelain producers and cleared the way for a new style — art nouveau. Alexander III and Marie Feodorovna acquired Danish porcelain both for their personal collection and as models for the Imperial Porcelain Factory. With the help of the Empress, Danish experts arrived in St Petersburg in 1892 to introduce in Russia the production of porcelain items with decoration under the glaze — the “Danish method”.
