I truly believe the best way to visit Stockholm is by boat in the morning. There cannot be a better way to prepare yourself to say hello and to introduce yourself to the city than by having breakfast by a window, watching the islands and summer homes pass you by as you draw nearer and nearer. Our entire trip, excepting a couple of downpours in St. Petersburg have been rain free and this morning was no exception.
Our friend Kata had a voucher for a free cabin for two on the Viking cruise line. The trip included transportation to and from Stockholm with a 6+ hour layover in Stockholm - about the right amount of time if you are more of a walker\viewer instead of a serious shopper. Anyway, we took the Metro downtown Helsinki and walked to the ferry terminal. The boats that surround the South harbor were building what looked like vendor stalls to the back of their boats - we found out later that they were preparing for the week long Baltick Herring festival which began on Sunday and will run through the weekend. Hmm. Yummy!
So we arrive at the terminal and are issued our room cards, shown the way to the boarding ramp and upon entry I scratched my nose just as the photographer took our picture; it looks like I'm enjoying a little preboarding snack! We were located on the fith floor below the Tax Free shopping and two levels above the parking area. It was a central room with easy access to the main passage areas and the sun deck. Our room, number 5606, was actually a four person room on an interior hall, so there was no window, however, it did include a lovely picture of a lighthouse that made the room seem a tad bigger. To be honest, I don't recall whether it was smaller or larger than the room I shared with Etan and Ben on the Hawaii trip - it was cozy and the bathroom even cozier. The shower had a curtain that prevented the mirror from getting splattered but pretty much filled the floor with water, which after a few shifting moments would drain with the rocking of the boat. We each claimed our bunk, then set off for the upper deck to wave and throw streamers at the little people like they do on the Love Boat - Frank opted to hum a few bars from Titanic which considering the darn boat sunk should have been chastised.
The view of the city of Helsinki from the upper deck of a ship is gorgeous. There are the spires from the Orthodox and Lutheran churches, the marketplace and as we left the harbor the view of the islands and the different fortresses. We had our picture taken and assisted some of the single folk with theirs. It was a night of adventure!
The Viking Line
The boat probably qualifies as a ferry instead of a cruise ship - though since the majority of the passengers do have cabins it feels more like a cruise than a ferry. The Tax Free shop got a lot of attention for the luxury items that could be purchased. Poor Frank and I were the only folks not dragging carts of beer around. We felt bad, since we didn't get any requests from the boys and we're not in to high-end parfumes and such. It was fun to walk around and translate what things would cost in dollars. Add to the experience the short dark haired woman who wandered around with here "Madonna" microphone hawking items in Finnish, Swedish and in English, it was a good time. We made our rounds past the pub, the fun club and the main dance floor. Settiling in for aisle seating we had a few drinks a watched the people parade by in their Saturday best.
Not that I'm bitter about losing my hair (yes, it is still there ... just thinning), there was some crazy hair going on. One woman looked like Elizabeth Taylor on the Flintstone's movie - huge ratty black hair, yellow top that displayed her MORE than ample assets. The outfit was completed with a jean mini-skirt and hooker boots. HOT. Her boyfriend looked like a drowned a rat, tossed it on his head, then teased it upright. Then there were they Gypsies - who we thought were going to be part of the floor show later, but turned out that they always dress like that ... oops. Anyway, it was a parade of colors, people, drunks, children, babies barely able to walk who fell down as the boat rocked and we had ring-side seats until it was time to go to the Viking Buffet.
We opted to attend the second seating of the Viking Buffet, figuring there would be less of the little ones running around spreading joy on the squeels of their high-pitched little angelic voices. We made our reservations and found we would be next to the window at the front of the boat - excellent. We shared a table with a Russian couple (no, I did not break into my new found language skills, nor did I share with them that we had just come back from Russia). It was pleasant but we did not break new ground on the East\West relations thing. Culturally speaking it was interesting to see how they piled their plates with fish and we went for the meat courses. The buffet was impressive and I tried some caviar but could interpret the various herring signs so opted for red meat, salads, and beer.
Since our tablemates were so talkative (niet) we conversed and made observations of the behaviour in the room. The table next to ours had appeared to be English speaking in the hallway prior to dinner but were Finnish speaking during dinner. Odd. I found it interesting that at a table of eight (8) people two (2) were dominating the entire conversation. The one guy looked like and acted like a miniature Jim Carrey. He sang. He looked shocked. He made funny faces. His partner in crime was a Cameran Diaz look alike and she kept up with the boy. Shots were had. Songs were sung and they made for great entertainment over our somewhat stolic meal with the Russians.
Following the meal everyone was located on the entertainment deck- some were singing Karaoke, while others were gambling in the Casino while still others were on the dance floor swaying to the tunes of Americana circa 1970. Frank's theory is that the oldies reach a broader cross-section of people. He's probably correct. Anyway, the dance floor was a mixture of people who obviously couldn't get away from their babies and infants (so they brought them with them), older couples and the professional danciong couple who looked like they eaten two carrots over the last year and spent the rest of their time perfecting their dance moves.
The rocking of the ship was not that drastic but it was hard to get comfortable on the narrow beds. We survived and enjoyed a gorgeous breakfast buffet and got a table next to a window and watched islands and small ships pass by as we cruised through the Archipelogo.
Stockholm by Foot
We tried to figure out how to use public transportation from the terminal to the old city, but ended up deciding to walk. It was only 1.5 km and took us less than 20 minutes. The old city is a quaint warren of shops and streets interspersed on an island in the heart of the city. We were early and during the first hour or so of our walk pretty much alone. We were able to window shop, find St. George and the Dragon, and have coffee and cinamon rolls at a family shop. The coffee shop was cozy and gave us just the rest we needed before heading up to the palace to witness the changing of the guard.
I have to mention that I love my new camera. Some of the shots seem really distant but with he zoom lense, we should be able to crop and zoom and have some pretty amazing shots. From the guards we went across the bridges and took pictures of canal art, which consisted of a nose and mouth floating on the surface of the water and a giant hand that would point different directions. Very amusing. Frank suggested that instead of doing another "palace" tour we try something slightly different. We visited a former private home that had been shut down upon the death of the Duchess and turned into a museum. All I can say is that I want to have a lot of money and go crazy on my family by cataloging everything. The woman had great taste but was cataloging bobby pins.
Now I'm not one to critize a lot of things but there are times when certain etiquette should be followed. We arrived, appropriately, for the 1:00 tour which was also the only English tour for the week. Our group was made up of three Danes, two Germans and ourselves. We had a little blonde woman who ensured that were were indeed English speakers on the tour (apparently there are times when the Swedish Tour is full so they join the other). Anyway, we are going through the different rooms and are upstairs in the nonpublic rooms when there is a massive clumping up the stairs. This Swedish Family of five comes in and during their stay with the tour did not stop talking, text messaging, and touching stuff (which our lovely guide requested that we do not touch anything). The parents just looked the other way or chatted themselves. RUDE. Maybe it is a good thing I live in SF where the adult to child ratio is fairly low.
Following the tour, we had about 90 minutes to get back to the boat. We found another family cafe and enjoyed live music in one of the many town squares. The weather, while sunny has that hint of fall, the crisp feel that makes you worry whether you've packed the right clothes. So having finished our beers, we had one more task to complete - procurring a tour poster for a friend.
I have to admit many of my posters were procurred from around Europe. Friends procurred many of them for me and I've done my fair share of procurring items myself. As most of you know, a friend of mine is a "fan" of the Backstreet Boys - actually Nick Carter, so when I saw the poster advertising a concert that took place a week ago, I knew that the poster would be in my bags, heading to America. The problem with procurring art depends on how the item was attached to the wall - in this case a garbage dumpster. The second problem is the guilt factor- the longer it takes to procure, the more guilty one might feel, especially if more people witness the procurement. My last procurement was a "Sex and the City" poster with was hung up with scotch tape - an easy job that took basically a tug and a roll. The BSB poster was more of a challenge. First, it had ripped at an earlier time and was taped across the rip. Additionally, the four edges were masking taped down to weather the elements. I also felt the pressure of the walkers and Frank's "Just do it!" I was able to remove the top of the poster but tore some of the side and bottom - then discovered that there was a brown chunk in the middle of the poster. I assume it was mud but since I was also standing in what smelled like a pool of dried urine, I couldn't be sure. I made the best effort possible and ripped and rolled and jumped back to the sidewalk. It is now folded neatly and my friend will have to determine what the substance was, since the remaining remenants will also be mailed.
Back on the Boat
We spent the day in the city (more on the later) and decided that after being on our feet for 6 hours a little time in the Sauna would be worthwhile. It was a good choice and a good time to go. There were few children at this point and we were able to rent swim suits - yes, we had to ask for the German Tourist size but they fit. Anyway, it was a pleasant space though I have to admit being a bit prudish when it comes to the staff. A woman came bouncing through the locker room and then the actual sauna where everyone was naked. Now, they had little paper towels for use in the sauna, which was fine. However, this man comes in with his 3 year old daughter, pulls her up on the bench. This is slightly disturbing already, but the child does something that is probably very natural ... she passes this huge long fart and it does not sound like the light and airy "oops-I-Have-Gas!" kind of fart but the scary chunky kind of fart that lasts a tad too long and makes everyone uncomfortable. I don't know what happened, but the father whisks his daughter out of the sauna and into the shower. He disappears for five minutes and then returns with a different child. The girl is no where to be seen ...
We ate ala carte the second night enjoying steaks and beer. Afterwards, we headed to the party deck and it was 180 degrees different than the night before. It could have been my imagination but the age range doubled in 24 hours. This was proven the next morning when at the buffet there were walker and cane check-in stands. We arrived in Helsinki and were surprised by Antti and a ride home. It was an excellent trip!
