We arrived in Helsinki at the Port of Helsinki at 11:30 at night. I am really glad that we had Cormac there with us. We got off the boat and headed to the only bus that was lined up and hoped it would take us in somewhat of the direction we needed to go. It sort of did.
When I got off the bus and saw the people walking around at 12:30 at night. I didn’t really know what to think. People there had piercings in places I didn’t think you could get pierced. However, those Scandinavian girls pulled through as stereotype would say.
We got on another bus and twenty minutes later we were outside of the main city and in the area where Cormac lives. It was too dark to tell if it was nice or not. We just carried our bags in, made our cots, and made some pasta before going to bed. I was pretty hungry. After eating, lights out.
After traveling for two weeks and staying here and there, the weather being rainey and gloomy, and having piles of laundry to be done, we didn’t do anything. We had grand plans of going out and seeing Helsinki, but we didn’t. We woke up early, went across the street to the grocery store, bought food there, came back and just hung out. We did heaps of laundry and by that time, it was already 4 or so. It was a very welcomed break from our traveling. Just a full day to relax. Interestingly enough, Cormac’s roommates never left their rooms. It was an interesting set-up. You had to get into the main room where there are eight people sharing that, then unlock another small room with two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom and then unlock another room which is one of the two bedrooms in there. From the outside, you need to use your key four times to get to your bedroom. Anyway, I never really saw them.
It seemed like everyone sharing his flat, or anyone from overseas was from Michigan. However, Michigan does have some strong environmental programs. That is what Cormac is studying, eventually getting a dual masters degree from NC State and a University in Sweden.
So, like I said, we just hung out and made food. Tacos… Then, before we knew it, it was already after midnight.
The next morning we woke up early and got ready. We were determined to at least see some of Helsinki. We took the bus in and got some really expensive coffee (3.50 to me is now expensive) and then went to the tourist information booth. That place was really funny because we kept asking one girl questions. Another lady kept coming up and saying “Sorry, she doesn’t know, its her first day.” We asked several questions and I am not lying when I say that she said this statement to every question we had as though we had left for three days to come back and ask different questions. It was borderline comical. Eventually I told the lady that I wanted the rookie girl to answer my question because that was the only way she was going to learn, and sure enough, with some browsing on the internet, she was able to help me.
Cormac was pretty impressive with the amount of knowledge he knew about Helsinki after having lived there for only a week. We saw three churches and that was about it. That was enough. We ate by the pier. There, Mike looked up and said “that ship has the same name as the one we are taking.” My reaction: that is the ship we are taking but its not in the port we thought it was going to be in. We walked over to the port and found out that the ship was indeed the ship we would be taking. So, it was very fortunate that Mike was looking around.
We didn’t have too much time after that, so we went back to Cormac’s and grabbed our bags. We also went to the Grocery store and bought food for the 16 hour ship ride. Mike and I waited at the port for about an hour before boarding.
Finland was nice, but to me 36 hours there was enough. Granted, I probably didn’t see that much but it was a nice stopover, resting place. Glad I went and maybe will go back again. I didn’t spend enough time there to really recommend it or not. Lots of Russians though…
On the boat…
The boat to take us from Finland to Sweden was one a bit smaller than a standard cruise boat. We saw our ticket, we then saw the map of the boat. Traveling around for five weeks after you have been volunteering is no money making endeavor. We had to save some money but decided that it would be nice to take a 16 hour boat ride between the two cities. Our room was under the cars. Probably under the water as well. We had no windows. However, it was nice. It would have been twice the size of first class on an airplane. We had our own toilet, shower, and sink. The bunked bed appeared out of thin air (or from the wall).
We walked around the boat from one end to the other end. We did this several times not knowing exactly what we were expecting would change. Regardless, you are on a boat, where else are you going to go. The water was a bit choppy but I think two years riding in a marshutni really prepared my stomach. Everything was fine. We ate our turkey sandwiches and decided we would treat ourselves to a beer in the bar, listening to a Scandinavian lady belt out some tunes. A very operatic voice for songs that should not be sung in that manner. Entertaining nonetheless.
We went to bed early by the rocking of the sea waves.
Since the room was pitch black, we had no way of telling what time it was, so Mike kept getting up every two hours because he didn’t think that anyone would let us know if we docked. (It turns out that they didn’t give any kind of announcement, but only played some screeching noises around 7:50pm (or what was about 6:50 because Mike didn’t know there was a one hour time difference.
Walking around outside was one of the more beautiful things I have ever done. Islands everywhere with these nice little red painted homes and clear water lapping up on the shores. The sky was clear and trees as far as the eye could see. Really an amazing sight. It was a bit chilly and now, being in Stockholm, I wish I didn’t send all my fleeces back to the US. Oh well. We got some coffee on the boat and kept staring outside. A couple hours later, we were already getting ready to disembark. We got our things and got off the boat. Definitely a memorable experience.
As we got off, we got to the arrivals area and met Rasmus. He was standing there with a sign which had our names written on it.
Now we were in Stockholm Sweden.
Until next time…
Photos of the islands please...
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