From Helsinki, the boat to Stockholm, I had heard, was something of a party boat. With the price of alcohol being significantly padded by tax in both Sweden and Finland, a spot of tax-free shopping[1] can help people lose their inhibitions. There are two major companies that run these routes - Viking and Silja. The overnight from Stockholm to Helsinki leaves in the late afternoon from both cities with an approximately 18 hours in transit. This does not sound too appealing but it can be an enjoyable 18 hours and is incomparable to flights of similar length. The ticket has to include a cabin and so it can be quite cheap if you are sharing (rooms of up to four people) - my ticket was officially a return as I was on a two night mini-cruise as it was cheaper than a single (At €99 rather than €120). Apparently, Viking used to offer the crossing without a cabin and so it really attracted a "party crowd" and so they attract that kind of split even now.
The cruise element is quite well done, I think (although I have never been on a cruise) and we all had to wait before entering to have a photo taken (on sale later...) . Once through the doors, there was live music being played as you walked in to the "promenade". Running pretty much the length of the ferry was a full height (probably five or six storeys) atrium from which you could enter a number of shops and restaurants and there were other bars and a sauna on different floors. It would definitely be quite easy to pass time and, due to the relatively low prices of the alcohol and standard price of the restaurants, it would not be too expensive.
As I left Helsinki, it was bathed in a beautiful, golden light and so I headed to the deck as soon as I had put my bags in the cabin. It was not too cold and there was plenty of space to stand and take photos before we left. I stayed on the deck for a few hours as we left and also to wait for sunset and it got significantly colder over that time. I headed back down at about 7 get myself sorted and charge some stuff before I walked around and had dinner[2]. After eating in one of the many restaurants, I went back to my room quite early and was annoyed to hear a lot of terrible Eurodance style music. It is rare to have good music played loudly[3] and this was not one of those rare occasions. When I came out of the room later, there were a number of beer cans strewn along the corridors.
I got up relatively early to enjoy breakfast and the approach to Stockholm which was a great introduction to the city, especially as the front section of the deck was open for the morning.
Stockholm has two ferry terminals for Helsinki boats and I was, of course, the one that was further away from the city centre. But, even so, it was not so far from the centre and only three or four stops on the metro to the city terminal[4] so I headed there and then to my hotel to drop my bag off[5]. The Viking ferry terminal is near Gamla Stam which is the "old town" for Stockholm and is basically a small island[6] in the centre of the Stockholm conurbation that Stockholm was basically seeded from. This was where I headed for a "free walking tour". There were a few of us and the guide was Ukrainian doing the tour in English. It was nice to walk around and see the area (which I could easily do myself) but the tour itself was a little disappointing and lacking in truly interesting moments. I would say it is the worst tour I have been on and I can barely remember anything from it.
After this tour, I spent some more time in the area myself, checking out the parliament buildings and also the Nobel prize museum, and then went to the south. It was walking without purpose again.
The next day, I went to Skansen and the Vasa museum which are both on an island which appears to be a tourist haven with a number of museums (which in many ways is like the museum island in Berlin). The Vasa museum is about a Viking ship that was rescued from the sea a number of years ago and the museum details the rescue and some more aspects about the trade, generally, at the time. In all honesty, it was an OK museum but it did not grab me particularly and I was a little confused by the very strong reviews I had seen of it. I guess I just didn't find it evocative enough. Unlike Skansen which is an outdoor museum which seems to recreate aspects of Swedish history in a number of historical, or faux-historical buildings. There is also a zoo there although it is mainly Scandinavian animals kept as it is meant to be a museum of Scandinavia (there are a few others though).
After spending a bit longer in Skansen than I expected, I went off to Sodermalm to have a look and take in a few "viewpoints". I felt this was quite nice to walk through and also enjoyed the views as there are some high points and very steep paths, some supplanted by steps. I think Sodermalm is an area that is being regenerated and it seemed to have that feeling of being quite "hip" and post-industrial in some ways. The coast that faces Gamla Stam is quite a transport hub with a major metro station, and a relatively complicated road junction which must take away some of the potential grandeur of the place. There are also a number of boats moored up near here with accommodation for tourists and these are apparently some of the most fun (and cheap) hostels in the city. I can imagine that and they looked welcoming enough and maybe that is where I would return to.
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| Stockholm 2015 – click for photo album |
1. This is achieved with a stop at Mariehamn which is outside the EU VAT area and so this tax free shopping is allowed. I would imagine that this is a major boon for these ferry crossings.↩
2. Although early, some passengers had clearly spent some time in their rooms getting themselves ready for making a night of it and I rather awkwardly shared a lift with a bevy of glammed up beauties (they looked very young and excited) while wearing a big coat. They then awkwardly walked around as the only people dressed up.↩
3. When I moved to Kentish Town a few years ago, one of the first Friday nights, I went to sleep quite late at about 1am and I could hear some music - not too loud in my flat and only really noticeable when going to sleep. I was initially a little annoyed but after a second or so, I realised that it was Abbey Road by The Beatles and my annoyance faded away very quickly. I rather enjoyed it.↩
4. When I got there, I realised that I had left something quite important on the ferry and so rushed back to the ferry - I was very lucky here to have booked a round trip...↩
5. I was actually able to check in as a room was ready so this was a good service by Hotel Micro. Stockholm is fairly expensive so the Hotel Micro concept was very good. It is not quite capsule hotel style, but the rooms are small with space for little more than the bed and a small table. These kinds of places are ideal for someone like me and Micro is actually in the basement of another hotel so the services are the same as for that hotel.↩
6. Stockholm is made up of 14 islands.↩
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