Through the Baltic Sea

Sailing out of Stockholm

From Stockholm, our next destination was Helsinki, Finland. Flying is easy, quick, and relatively cheap around here, but it was summer and thought we'd take advantage of the proximity and weather, so we booked at night on an overnight ferry through the Baltic Sea. Now, I was pretty hesitant at this proposal in the beginning because our last experience wasn't the best. I will say, this was 90% better as the waters were much calmer and the on-board entertainment was better.

 

I am now realizing that I didn't take many photos on-board with an exception for the views because, well just see below... We tried to spend as much time outside as possible before it got too cold or dark.

HELSINKI, FINLAND

Helsinki, as a city, is a little underwhelming (compared to a city such as Berlin). It's beautiful and small (we like that), but I'll just say that I don't think I could last in a long, dark, winter there. 

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Central Station

To some, this might not be that exciting, but I feel like central stations can often times be some of the most interesting buildings in a city. They often have history and a lot of original design. This was one of the more interesting ones.

Helsinki Cathedral

From the inside this cathedral reminded us a little of the Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik. It was plainly decorated, well, not really decorated at all as that is in line with most Lutheran churches. The walls are mostly just white, with little to no embellishments, or any kind of wall decorations. The Gothic style architecture from the outside were much more interesting to look at..

Temppeliaukion

Sitting in this church, one couldn't help but feel like you are inside a space ship.

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Löyly
A tradition of the Finnish people is taking a sauna. And is typically done nude. There is a part of me that thinks I don't think I will every be 100% comfortable walking around in my birthday suit with a bunch of strangers. Luckily, after a little research, we found a sauna that is a little more tourist friendly and allows you to get the full sauna experience WITH a bathing suit, but WITHOUT the unfamiliar awkwardness of walking around nude like it aint no thing.

A beginners guide to taking a Finnish sauna:
1. before entering the sauna, take a shower/rinse
2. find your seat in the sauna and get comfortable
3. remain in the sauna until the steam (produced by pouring water over the hot rocks) gets too uncomfortable
4. Jump into the nearest body of water: pool, lake, (in our case) the Baltic Sea, or take a cold shower
5. Repeat steps

When in Finland, do as the Finnish do. Yes, reader, we went into the freezing cold sea water. I could NOT breath no matter how much I tried to calm myself down. As jarring as it was to not be able to catch my breath, the feeling that follows is absolutely fantastic. If you ever get the chance to take a sauna, do it properly with both extremes!

Enjoying a drink on the terrace at the sauna after our 2 hour session

TALLINN, ESTONIA

We had 2.5 days in Helsinki, which is more than enough since there aren't too many sights to see. A popular way to use a day in Helsinki is to, well, leave it, and take a round trip ferry day trip to Tallinn. We had about 7 hours which was perfect. It was enough time to explore the old town, enjoy a meal, buy, write, and send postcards, and find a Christmas ornament.

       

         

Stockholm, Sweden

The past 2 summers in Berlin have felt like the inside of an oven. As we were planning somewhere to go for a long weekend, we had the mindset of "where it is cool in the summer because we need a breather from these 90 degree days." So, to the north we went!

Going to the nordic cities, we knew it wasn't going to feel totally new or exotic, but for us that was kind of the point. We enjoyed the city when we lived in Oslo, so to us this was getting that same feeling, but getting to also see a new city.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

I have a German acquaintance here in Berlin that lived in Stockholm for a year, so before we left, she sent us on our way with the must do's, see's and eats. We knew we wouldn't be bored or hungry.

When in Sweden,  fika, or just partake in the local treats.

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Cafe Saturnus (Vasastan)
All I can and will say is (I'll let the picture do the talking) this kanelbullar was without a doubt the best I have EVER consumed.  I didn't know my cinnamon roll standards would ever be high. We also had sandwiches where about the length of my forearm which fueled us for the rest of the day (sorry, was too excited to eat it before I could snap a picture. Just google it if you're curious).

Cafe Schweizer (Gamla Stan)
Coming to this cafe was purely for one reason. Case and I follow a couple that travels the world full time (@karaandnate) and they came here and wrote their names on the wall. I had to come see it and take a picture aaaaaand have some coffee too. Refills were included which is an exciting bargain since everything in the nordic countries is not always friendly for the budget traveler.

The K+N with a heart around is theirs :D

Vete-Katten (Norrmalm)

This cafe has been in Stockholm 
since the 1920's and, according to my local expert friend, makes the best Prinsesstårta. Standing in line by the display case, the cake sells itself. So we caved and also ordered a piece of the Classic Budapest. 

Prinsesstårta

Classic Budapest cake (with mandarin oranges)

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Vasa Museum

Case and I aren't real museum-goers, but the Vasa Museum is a must-see for anyone visiting Stockholm.  The Vasa ship was built between 1626-1628 by orders from the Swedish King and was one of the worlds most powerfully armed ships.  Despite the unstable structure (was too tall in proportion to the narrow base), the ship sailed out of port...for a few minutes. Wind slightly stronger than a breeze caught the sails (that were too tall) and the voyage of the Vasa was over. It sat underwater for nearly 300 years. In 1961, it was brought back to the surface. It was preserved remarkably while submerged and the ship that sits in the museum today is 95% original.

Stockholm Metro Art

We didn't even scratch the surface of the loads of art there are in the metro stations throughout the city. The blue/white flowers at Central Station and rainbow station at Stadion Station were the ones I wanted to make a priority. So beautiful!

Stadion Station

Central Station

Tekniska Högskolan Station

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GAMLA STAN (the old town)

We have mixed feelings about this area of the city. Since this is the historic part of Stockholm, therefore looking different than the rest of it, naturally it's going to attract a lot of visitors (us included). Aside from the heavy foot traffic slugging through the tiny streets, it's quintessential and picturesque in every way. 

After 2 days in Stockholm, we sailed deeper into the Baltic Sea on an overnight ferry to our 23rd country, Helsinki, Finland! (stay tuned for blog post)