Our official tour of Helsinki finished when we dropped the courier off by an open-air craft market near the harbour. We then had a little bit of free time to look around, buy a few souvenirs – and get ourselves some much-needed refreshments before moving on to our next stop.
While we were enjoying our cake, Mum told me a little bit more about Helsinki, including the fact that there were 318 islands of all shapes and sizes within the city limits.
She also told me that Helsinki is a popular port-of-call for cruise ships from all around the world, with around 300 of them visiting each year.
As well as the cruise ships, Helsinki also has regular ferry services, with Stockholm in Sweden, Tallinn in Estonia and St Petersburg in Russia being the main destinations. And, because powerful ice-breaking ships can now make sure the shipping-lanes are always open, the ferries can operate all year round, making Helsinki one of the busiest passenger ports in the world.
And, as we made our way back to the coach, Mum told me why we’d been told to pack an overnight bag with our essentials before we left our hotel in Jyvaskyla that morning and take it with us on the coach, rather than putting in the luggage compartment with the suitcases. It was because we weren’t going to spend that night in a hotel. Instead we were going on another ferry – this time on the 250 miles/400 kms journey from Helsinki to Stockholm in Sweden, and we’d be sleeping on board the ship.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that as I packed my pyjamas and toothbrush into a corner of Mum’s bag – and to be honest I don’t think Mum was overly enthusiastic either, as she’s not a good sailor and last time she’d travelled overnight on a ship she’d got some very green cheeks. Her friend was a bit wary as well, as she’d never ever spent a night on board a ship and so she didn’t know what to expect.
But, by the time we’d got on board, found our cabin and settled ourselves in, we were feeling much better. Though our cabin certainly wasn’t luxurious, it was clean and comfortable, and – as it was designed for four people – we had plenty of room. We also had our own loo, shower and wash-basin – and a big window between the beds with a good view out to sea.
It was late afternoon by then and, as the sun was still shining, we went up on deck to wave goodbye to Helsinki and then explore what we could of the ship.
It didn’t take us long then to find the dining-room – and a couple of hours later we were in there enjoying our evening meal and watching the sun slide into the sea. Then, as darkness fell, we went for another walk on deck, thinking we’d see lots of stars now that we were so far away from any light pollution on land.
We were out of luck, however, as what had been a beautifully clear sky when we’d left Helsinki had now clouded over and there wasn’t a star to be seen. But it was still pleasant out there and so we sat out and talked for a while, before going back in for a glass of wine and an early night.
When we woke up again, it was daylight and we were sailing among lots of little islands, some hardly bigger than a family car and others big enough to have a holiday home built on them. Mum and I sat up and watched them for a while – and marvelled at whoever was steering the ship and managing not to run into any of them.
Then it was time to get up and dressed and go for breakfast, ready for our tour of Stockholm, my fourth capital city in 10 days.
Unfortunately, having had lovely weather for most of our holiday, our luck changed that day. Instead of the blue sky and sunshine we’d enjoyed in Helsinki, we were greeted in Stockholm with low cloud and heavy rain. And, although our courier did his best to show us the sights – which I’m sure were lovely and well worth seeing – the coach windows were steaming up so quickly that we hardly saw a thing.
Even our stop at the Stockholm City Hall, an amazing brick building dating from 1923, overlooking the northern shore of Riddarfjarden, which is a branch of Lake Malaren, and home to the annual Nobel Prize banquet, was hurried and, as the check-outs in the gift shop were so crowded, we had to leave our souvenirs behind as we didn’t have time to stand in the queue to pay for them.
So, because of the weather and the short time available to us, our visit to Stockholm was a bit disappointing – though, as often happens, the rain stopped and the sun came out as we got back on the coach to go to the airport for our flight back to London.
Our Arctic adventure was nearly over, but on the plane I got Mum to tell me a bit more about Stockholm and about the Nobel Prize banquet – and I also worked out how far we would have travelled by the time we got back home.
I’ll have to tell you about that next week, however, as I’ve run out of space for today. So, take care, stay safe – and look out for more tales from me soon.
Follow my next blog: 232. MY MUM THE STORY-TELLER – PART ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE
24/11/2022
Wilf the bear-faced blogger 