Finland to Stockholm ferry

Friday, June 07, 2013
Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Somewhere along the line, I changed 20 Euros into Swedish currency and got 143.89 SEK. I knew we probably wouldn't need it, but .... (maybe I'd need to use a loo!) I think we changed it in Trondheim so we'd have some for Ostersund to Haparanda if we needed it. [We didn't use all of the Swedish money - so easy to just use our Visa card.]

Our ferry was the Viking Cinderella . There were a LOT of people getting on. We'd planned on doing this ferry as an overnighter (and spending a day in Helsinki, and no night in Stockholm). However the available cabins were either quite expensive or down below the water line. Then I read about the Viking Lunch Buffet - and found out the daytime fare - so I rethought the plans. I'd also had a hiccup in my planning regarding the train from Scandinavia to Germany. My original plan was to catch the overnight train from Malmo to Berlin - the train goes on a ferry and hey presto you're in Germany. This train was only on Wed, Fri and Sun nights. The day time Turku-Stockholm ferry came through a clear winner!

The Viking Buffet cost 22 Euro each - 90 minutes of food and drink from an incredible array of choices. The passage itself with our Eurail Pass (from 8.45 Finnish time to 18.55 Swedish time) cost 6,60 Euro for both of us. That's correct - only 6,60!! We'd paid in Oz before we left - 54 Euro but then got a credit of 3,40 . After boarding, we were lucky enough to find a table next to a forward facing window. Had a cappuccino each, and shared a skinkbaguette, soon after the cafe opened and the queue up was over, for a total cost of 10.80 Euro/95SEK/$15. Couldn't have too much to eat, as we'd paid for the Viking Buffet for lunch! I did go back for water a couple of times - free and serve yourself.

The crossing was smooth and the views were interesting. Not just an expanse of water - there were always islands and other ferries. There were the wind generators too - won't annoy anyone with the noise out here. We were entertained by a band at different times during the day and lunch was superb. We docked at Mariehamn just after we finished lunch. (Mariehamn is the capital of Åland, an archipelago which apparently is Swedish speaking, but an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty.) Coming into Mariehamn was amazing - so many different ferries in the one stretch of water! Quite a few passengers got off our ferry here - but then, quite a few got on as well . It was a Friday, so maybe a lot of the passengers were going to Stockholm for the weekend? There was certainly plenty of duty free grog purchased - there didn't seem to be a limit, as one guy had a trolley with 6 cartons on it.

When we arrived in Stockholm there were two different signs for Customs - but around the corner everyone merged! We'd walked back about 500 metres (on the boat and then through the arrival building), so we got to walk past the Cinderella on our way to the city proper. It didn't look too far on the map. However, it took us 80 minutes - so a fair hike!

Bryan set off at a smart pace - I had to change from the hiking boots to my running shoes before we even got to Gamla Stan! The pace then slowed a little and we walked along the water front on Gamla Stan and then over the Norrbro bridge. From the bridge, we went down a few stairs to Stromparterren - which appears to be a public park that has been refurbished and was called Parterre when it was originally laid out in 1832 . Took a photo which shows a statue by Carl Milles called Solsangaren, the Sun Singer, which was erected in 1926.

This is where we saw the men fishing in the water - looking towards the Strombron bridge. Strömbron is a 140 metres long viaduct in central Stockholm. Then we did a left on Strombatan, just a short way, then right along Malmtorgsg, and then we came to the Kulturhuset. And then we ended up on the Malmskillnadsgatan - instead of on Sveavagen! As we learned later, the Sveavagen is not up hill and down dale like the back streets we walked - it would have been just a stroll, not a hike. But we finally made it to The Rex Petit.

We'd booked the hotel back in Oz. We weren't expecting much from the comments on Trip Adviser - but we only needed a bed. There'd been a lot of comments about how small the rooms were, so we were expecting something the size of a sleeper on the train. We'd read the rooms were 6 square metres - more like 6m x 6m (36 square metres)! We spread our stuff all over the place - bliss! We shared a bathroom and toilet with a couple of other rooms - never had a problem . Admittedly the stairs down to the basement weren't easy to negotiate, but I was fine even with my dodgy knees. The Rex Petit cost 695 SEK ($116.32) and included breakfast.

We really didn't need anything to eat, after the Viking Buffet, but a drink wouldn't go astray. That's when we found Sveavagen - a broad street (without any hills). Much easier walking and interesting. Spotted "The Flying Horse" on the other side of the road, and went there for a couple of drinks. We sat outside. We weren't the only ones amazed by all the leaves on the pavement - it's not autumn! Some Japanese girls took photos of themselves throwing the leaves like snow ( or confetti - whatever). The trees seemed to have two types of leaves.

Then the old cars started passing by! I thought it was a Parade again - a parade of 1950s cars. One of them was adapted so it went on two wheels on one side. But later lots of them came back; then back again! So, acting like the 1950s show-offs as well . Made a good show anyway. [I just googled and found this - "Sweden is a hub for restored 1950s American cars. By some accounts there are now more of them in Sweden than in the entire US." The craze is called raggare. Another site has "For many raggare, that means picking up chicks, chugging cheap beer, and riding around in a classic American car crammed with friends."]

Had to move tables - the pub put the outdoor heaters on, and it wasn't cold at all. The Flying Horse cost 176 SEK ($29.45) for 2 beers and 2 different ciders. Spent 90 minutes watching the world go by - back at the hotel just before 11pm (22.55 actually).

The weather had warmed up enough for me to leave my jeans and a jumper in the rubbish bin at the hotel. This was part of my strategy - throw it out instead of washing it! And lighten the load.

We didn't have to cross the road for the Rex Petit breakfast after all - they must've refurbished, as we sat in a courtyard in the Rex. The breakfast buffet (selection of cereals, breads, cold meats, cheese and fruits, yoghurt, coffee, juice etc) set us up for the day - and the setting was very companionable.
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