My first ferry ride across the Baltic Sea was very uneventful. It was a long ride (7 am to 7 pm) to get from Stockholm to Turku (longer to Helsinki), so I booked myself a cot in a cabin for 4. It was the cheapest of all options, so it was not surprising that the cabin was situated in the bowel of the ship, below the barn animals and the criminals. But as luck would have it, I got the cabin all to myself, a little lonely but no snoring noises!!! If we were to hit an iceburg, I just hope someone would remember that I was down there and to come down and rescue me (of course, after distributing all the life jackets to the cows and sheep first).
2010 08 11 - Crossing the Baltic Sea on the Viking Line - my cabin was on deck 2, only the sea is below that!
After a nap and a shower, I was refreshed and I got to explore the ship a bit more. It had the typical restaurants and bars but not much of an observation deck. Some people parked themselves on the floor, in the hallway, etc. I was very glad to have a cabin to crawl back to now.
When the ship arrived an hour early according to my watch, I was quite surprised until I realized Finland was a time zone ahead of Sweden. I barely got time to packed my stuff out of the cabin. Turku was a small coastal city, once the capital of Finland. There were many Swedish and Russian influences as the Swedes lost Finland to the Russians back in the days. Anne, the Finnish friend I met in Manchester, UK, gave me a tour of the city. We also took a bus out to the country side to check out the seacoast. The highlight of the visit had to be when Anne invited me to attend a free rehearsal of Les Miserables with her and her roommates (all music majors) that night. Apparently there was a music festival in town that week, shocking, and the musical director opened the rehearsal to the public for that night only!! They rehearsed four scenes, all sung in Swedish but the music of Jean Valjaen, Fauntine, Cosette and Mario was universal. We ended the evening at another open concert in the park with traditional Finnish acappella sisters singing about a hunky plumber.
2010 08 12 - Turku, Finland - awaiting for the Les Miserables rehearsal
2010 08 12 - Turku, Finland - Music Festival
The next day I took the train to Helsinki. The city was buzzing with people, cars, music, and the smell of food, quite a contrast from Turku. I found the hotel I reserved (no rooms at any hostels) and it was actually quite a fine, quaint little place. Unfortunately, it was there where I experienced my first blue screen of death. I know I know, it probably had nothing to do with the hotel, with Helsinki, etc. but the thought of being disconnected to the world frightened me. Funny how one can place so much reliance and be so attached to a routine on such short time frame.
Helsinki was very walkable, and I set out to explore the same route using the hop on hop off city bus tour map as my guide. Some of the buildings or sights listed on the brochure were very sketchy where I wouldn't not have consider them as tourist stops. Hopefully the those who paid for the bus tour got more from the audio tour guide. Anyways, I did make it to the Olympic stadium and went up the tower (worth the 2 EUR).
2010 08 14 - Helsinki, Finland - Olympic Stadium
It was there I found out why all the hostels were booked, the Helsinki Marathon was happening that weekend and the finishing line (or maybe starting line) was at the Olympic stadium.
2010 08 14 - Helsinki, Finland - setting up for the Helsinki Marathon
Following more on the route, I came across the odd sculpture Classico Musicae by Sebellious. The main stretch and the waterfront were also quite enjoyable, with lots of music and food stalls (had a roadside paella and a yummy ice cream). The true highlight though was definitely the Carl Engel’s dome church Tuomiokirkko at the Snaatin Tori (senate square), where locals hung out on the steps having a picnic while tourists snapped away with their digital devices.
2010 08 14 - Helsinki, Finland - the Classico Musicale by Sebellious
2010 08 14 - Helsinki, Finland - waterfront market
2010 08 14 - Helsinki Finland - Tuomiokirkko at Snaatin Tori
It was then the city streets were barricaded and cheers were heard loudly when the first marathon runner appeared around the corner. I stood along with hundreds of people lining the route and supported every runner that came by. The next loud ovation came when the first female competitor ran by, adding to the excitement of the city and a great Finnish to my Scandinavia leg.
2010 08 14 - Helsinki, Finland - the first male runner at the Helsinki Marathon
2010 08 14 - Helsinki, Finland - the first female runner at the Helsinki Marathon
1. On the ferry to Tallinn
2. Tallinn, Estonia
3. I took pictures of every meal for this leg, including the ice-cream cone....
4. Maybe Suomenlinna, the military fortification, now an UNESCO Heritage Site.
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