March 21 - 23 _ Helsinki, Finland

Good Friday, March 21^st

We got up around 9:30 to finish packing and getting ready for the day. We decided to take our big backpacker’s bag that we got from the ice hotel as well as our smaller book bag. The ice hotel bag held all of our clothing, toiletries, and water bottles. The smaller book bag was filled with snacks, breakfast for Sunday and maps with travel information.

Packed and ready to go – we headed to the Uppsala train station to catch the 1:09 train to Stockholm. On the ride to Stockholm though, we found out that they were doing work on the tracks near Stockholm so we had to get off at Ulkriska and transfer to a bus. The bus would then take us to the Central Station in Stockholm. What should have been a 40 min. trip ended up being more of a 1.5 hour trip! We were glad that we left early. The next leg of our travel to the Silja Terminal (the cruise boat docking station) was to take the subway from Central Station to Gadet (3 stops north of Stockholm) and then walk 10 minutes to the Terminal. When we got near the Terminal we caught a glimpse of the boat. I think we were both surprised at how big the boat was.

After checking in – we waited in a long line for security to open up. We were surprised that all we needed to do was show our boarding ticket. We were never once asked for ID or for our passports.

The boat was called the Silja Serenade – it was built in 1990 and is 203 m in length; engine power: 32,000kW/44,000hv; passengers: 2,852; cabins: 986; car deck: 450 cars or 60 buses. On the top deck, level 13, was Club Bali. Here they had a playstation area where you had unlimited access to games, guitar hero, and at night it hosts karaoke and disco. Sunflower Oasis, level 12, had a sauna, bubble pool (hot tub), children’s water slide, sauana bar, solarium. They charged a fee to enter the pool area. Atlantis Palace, levels 7&8, had a dance floor where a live band played international music as well as a stage for the Bollywood performers (current entertainment). On the 7^th level, they had a casino, numerous restaurants, pubs, children’s play area, slot machines, arcade games, and shops among other things.

After exploring the boat a bit, we walked down to the 2^nd level to check out our room. We definitely got what we paid for – our room was UNDER THE CARS! Hahaha. But, the room was nice complete with a bathroom with shower. The beds were set up as bunk beds, but the top bunk bed was missing a pillow case – so we just squeezed together on the bottom bunk. We put our luggage down and headed up to the top of the boat to watch some of the many islands of Stockholm pass us by. We ended up going to the top level, 13, to sit in front of the window to watch the sunset and the islands inside where it was warmer. Everything was so beautiful – we were surprised more people weren’t enjoying the scenery. But, I guess the cruise ferry between Stockholm and Finland is a very common thing to do so they have all probably seen it before.

Once the sunset, we couldn’t see much, so we headed back downstairs to eat dinner at El Capitan. At this steak house type restaurant, you stand in line and wait for a table to open up. So after a short wait, we were seated. I ordered the lamb fillet, Jon ordered the sirlon and we both split a garden salad. Again, another delicious meal! The presentation, quality, taste of the food was amazing!

After dinner, we went down a level to the duty free store. We were surprised to find that prices on liquor are very comparable prices we have seen everywhere else. We had anticipated the prices to be more comparable to prices in the U.S. Quite a few people were pushing around carts filled with liquor and cigarettes. While making purchases you had to present your boarding pass and have the checker mark off what all you bought. Each person could purchase 2 strong alcohol (whiskey, vodka, sparkling wine or as we know it champagne), 2 beer, 2 tobacco, 2 wine.

We watched the Bollywood – A Love Story show in the Atlantis Palace. While there, we also listened to a band play Maumbo #5 and other American produced songs. The style of dancing is slightly different here than back at home. The steps are quicker, and they spin a lot. (This could just be unique to the people dancing though….)

Since we had seen everything on the boat and we didn’t feel like we really ‘fit’ anywhere, we headed to bed around midnight to get some sleep before our big day in Helsinki, Finland.

Saturday, March 22^nd _ Helsinki!

We both slept very soundly in the “dungeon” of the boat! We awoke 1.5 hours before our scheduled arrival to Helsinki, Finland. After quickly getting ready for the day and packing our bags, we headed up to the restaurant level to see what they offered for breakfast. Similar to the Ice Hotel, we thought we might save some money and time if we ate a large breakfast at a smorgasbord. Luckily, we got into the buffet just before the rush of people! They served scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, meatballs, hash browns with bacon bits inside, cold meats and cheeses, vegetables, fruit, yogurt, and breads. After multiple trips to the buffet we finished our meal off with a cup of strong coffee.

Shortly after we finished breakfast/lunch we were docking in Helsinki. So, we headed toward the exit on the boat.

Our first stop was to buy tickets for the ferry to Suomenlinna. However, the machine would only take European credit cards (w/ a chip in them) or Euros. Since we had neither, we had to exchange money first. It is very depressing changing money from the US $ to another currency because the exchange rate is so low right now. But, after we had euro’s we bought tickets for the ferry and were off for the island!

The Suomenlinna sea fortress is part of Finland’s national cultural heritage and a valuable monument. It is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List to be preserved for future generations. Its historical significance in the subsequent defence of three separate states – Sweden, Russia and Finland – gives the fortress its own special importance. The sea fortress island has a church, several restaurants, private residences, a library, Submarine Vesikko (used in WWII), and the tomb of Augustin Ehrensvard, Castle Courtyard. We could tell that this sea fortress would be very intimidating to other boats from the sea. On the island we walked through several tunnels – all were dead ends with only one exit/entrance. It was very windy while we were walking around, but the beautiful scenery was breath taking. There were quite a few cannons throughout the island – the ammunition was stored under the ground where it couldn’t be harmed or easily found by intruders. We only spent about an hour on the island before catching the ferry back to the main Helsinki Island. (When we were leaving Finland – Jon took pictures of the Suomenlinna sea fortress from the boat. These pictures definitely show what boats back then would see with all the cannons pointed in different directions and the tall stone walls with large hills.)

When we got off the ferry we walked north a couple blocks to the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral. This is the largest Orthodox church in Northern and Western Europe and has a Russian image with its ornate exterior. We were unable to go in side, we think maybe because it was the day before Easter. Nonetheless, the view from outside was spectacular.

Next, we had about a 20 min. walk to the Temppeliaukio Church. This church was amazing because it is hewn out of a hill of rock with only the domed roof visible from the outside. The view inside was spectacular – it is definitely the most unique church I think we will see in our travels.

A couple blocks south of the ‘rock church’ we saw the Parliament building. It was not very impressive from the side, but when we got to the front of the building due to the hill that it sits on it is massive!

After this, we weaved our way back to the Senate Square. We passed several McDonald’s and Pizza Hut’s. Also, we noticed that a lot of signs are both in Swedish and Finish. Other signs had Swedish/Finish and either Russian or English on them as well. We saw the Central Station of Helsinki. After warming up inside; we approached Senate Square or Senaatin Tori. The square is so vast that it makes the Tuomiokirkko (Dome Church) seem that much larger. The Tuomiokirkko showcases Carl Engel’s architecture and Finland’s 19^th century Russian period. The church’s interior was so elegant and magnificent. We were both very impressed with the gorgeous organ stretching across the back part of the wall in the church. The view from in the front of the church looking down on the square made us feel so high up in the air (symbolism…). There were religious statues on the top of the church, some were of Moses with a sword and another figure with a cowboy type hat on his back.

In the center of Senate Square there is a statue that conveys people as more contemporary images – but in the center was the image of Alexander II.

Just south of the square is the Helsinki City Museum. Unfortunately, due to Easter they were closed so we were unable to see the museum.

So, being left with another 1.5 hours before the boat was scheduled to depart we walked towards the water to go to Kauppatori, or Market Square. In this area they have a lot of booths, similar to a mini flea market, and sell baked goods, seafood, produce, t-shirts, scarves, etc. Jon bought a shot glass with all the places we saw displayed on it.

To warm up a bit we walked through the Makasilni-Terminaali. We assumed this was just a building – but inside it was a mini market with various adjoining kiosks where vendors were selling food, cooking products, tobacco, etc. We stopped and had a gyro. This was the best gyro we have had – the pita was much thinner and they added 5 types of sauces to the sandwich!

After this, we headed back to the boat though we still had 45 min. before the boat would be leaving. We decided to use the extra time at dock to take a quick nap.

We awoke to an announcement detailing that we would be leaving the harbor momentarily. Shocked that we actually fell asleep, we put or shoes on and ran up to the top deck to try to get pictures of Helsinki as we left the harbor. To our surprise, when we got upstairs we were just pulling out of the dock. While leaving the harbor, we took pictures of Helsinki, some of the small islands between Helsinki and Suomenlinna where people have their houses, and most of the Suomenlinna sea fortress.

We intended to watch the view as we were leaving Helsinki, similar to what we had done when we left Stockholm. However, there were not very many islands that we passed and all we could see was the water with foggy skies spitting snow. But, we sat upstairs in the area eating popcorn and listening to the music. Then, people came up to start to play guitar hero in the area we were sitting. We were surprised how many people tried to play the game on levels much too difficult for them.

Since the entertainment was the same as it had been the previous night, we knew what to expect everywhere we went. So, we went to the Atlantis and listened to the band play top hits. Then, we headed to the Old Porte Pub to play cards. We met a group there, one girl was excited that we were from the U.S. because her dad was from Chicago and her mother from Finland. She grew up in Sweden though. We thought that was neat.

Around midnight/one (?) we crashed!

Sunday March 23^rd

We arrived back to Stockholm around 9:30am. After finding out that there is a bus that runs from Silja Terminal to Uppsala, we tried to book a trip. However, the bus drivers didn’t seem like they were able to do that and the inside office told us that we could only get on if the bus driver would let us pay with cash. So, since each were telling us to talk to the other, we decided just to take the train back. But, we encountered the same issue as when we came down we had to take the subway to Central Station. Once there we had to buy train tickets and then run outside to catch the bus. The bus dropped us off at a stop several miles north of the city. Once on the train though, it was another hour ride north (due to the stops). At one point it said the train would stop at a destination (2 stops before we needed to get off). Confused with everyone else we got off thinking we needed to change trains, but when the train didn’t leave immediately, we got back on and hoped that it would continue north. Thankfully, it did leave and dropped us off in Uppsala. Two hours later we were in Uppsala.

When we got off the train, we walked to the grocery store to pick up several things for dinner before we headed home.

Hungry and a little frustrated with the drama from getting home – we ate leftovers for lunch and took a nap.

After waking up we started a Swedish Stew for our Easter dinner (it sounded good!). Then, we got ready to call our families. It was nice to be able to talk to everyone! It sounds like everyone was having a good/busy Easter!