A Quickie in Helsinki

One of the perks of living in Sweden is the ease and affordability of traveling to other countries. For 95 SEK, about $12, I took a boat trip to Helsinki, Finland with a couple of friends from Ekeby. We left Stockholm on Wednesday and boarded the Silja Line cruise ship around 5pm, spent the night on the boat and arrived in Helsinki around 10am on Thursday. We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon touring Helsinki, reboarded the boat around 5pm, and made it back to Stockholm Friday morning. Though we spent little time in Helsinki, the whole trip, including the boat, was a mini-vacation well worth it!



The Silja Line boat! For 95 SEK, we had to sleep on the lowest deck. It was so far down in the bottom of the boat that we actually slept below the deck where the cars are stowed. It was cramped quarters, with 2 sets of bunk beds and not much walking space, but it was clean, we had a shower, and the beds were surprisingly comfortable. The downside was hearing strange sounds and Swedish voices throughout the night. And, if there had been a Titanic-like emergency, we would have been trapped! Above deck, the boat was much nicer. It is fully stocked with bars, all you can eat and drink buffets, dance floors, multi-language karaoke, pools, saunas, casinos, restaurants, and duty-free shops!

Stockholm's archipelago

Sunset in the Baltic

Helsinki's Church in the Rock

Ateneum Art Museum

Stockmann - the largest department store in the Nordic countries!

Helsinki's Lutheran Cathedral
Johanna, Karoline, Nefeli, Sam and Me posing near the Lutheran cathedral

Helsinki's Russian Orthodox Chuch

Port of Helsinki - the water looked like marshmallows and meringue

Helsinki from the tower at the Atelier Bar
View of Helsinki from the top deck of the boat as we headed back to Sweden