I’ve spent a fair amount of time on ferries. I talked about some but here’s the overall low down… from Tallinn to Helsinki to Stockholm.

There’s the huge ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki that I already mentioned. I’ve heard that the two hour one is not only faster but also smaller and perhaps more like the Cape May-Lewes one I was expecting. Idk. But I’ve seen them and they still seem like a big boat! Meantime mine had entertainment… 

I mean they played Toto. Was “Hold the Line” funny on purpose? And then I was really tempted to dance to “Easy Lover” (the two Phils). They had quite the dance floor and encouraged people to dance — a few handfuls did. A guy who I think was part of a conference kindly asked me (and I think everyone else—in a non- creepy way) to take a whirl. I restrained myself. Seriously they also did Flashdance “maniac”but I think people ran away for that one. I guess you have to be a committed dancer to try maniac! 

Anyway funny side comment that I’ve heard from several sources. Since Estonian booze is so much cheaper than Finnish, many Finns take the ferry over in the morning with huge empty suitcases, fill them with booze from duty free or maybe even from stores in Tallinn, then bring them back and still save significant money despite the 25-50 euro RT fare. I even saw a sale on what we used to call a suitcase cart (before roller bags), advertised as a beer cart. I mean it’s hard to carry all those cases of Heineken back without wheels! Plus the ferry ports involve an extraordinarily lot of walking on very long ramps. Oh and I swear everyone I saw all over that boat was drinking. Like EVERYONE. Quite the party boat. 

I didn’t buy anything. I almost felt like I should grab a bottle of something but I’m not drinking much since I’m usually alone (though coincidentally I’m having a Guinness right now but that’s another story — and I finished the black balsam in the Baltics! But it was cold in Latvia and Estonia)… prices seemed ok especially on things like whisky and brandy but that’s a commitment I was not going for. 

Leaving Tallinn, it was beautifully sunny and the warmest day (like 60s), so I was sitting on the upper outdoor deck. Cracked me up but a group of young people sat next to me and started playing GunsNRoses — seemed somehow appropriate to hear Axl Rose on my way to the Nordics. Although the dude is totally American and I think not at all of Nordic heritage!? Axl is just such a Scandinavian sounding name. That said, they shut him off before letting the song finish and were talking about what an old song it was. Sigh. I’m old!!! 

Btw the minute the ship started moving, the wind whipped up and scared everyone inside. I thought my phone was going to blow out of my hands as I tried to take farewell Estonia photos!

In Helsinki I mentioned that I went to Suomenlinna, also of course via a small ferry that’s a 15 min ride and included in their public transportation.

In the ferry line, an elderly Asian dude (crap he’s probably not that much older than me?) asked (in English) if I knew if his ticket was valid. And I answered (I had the unlimited pass but hey I read up about public transport in foreign countries)… and then he asks me if I know “where he (and his wife) came from.” Nothing like being put on the spot and of course he could tell I was American-Asian. I was like, dude it’s not like WE can tell the difference — I can tell usually if they’re speaking their native tongue or I see their name. But just face?  Uhuh. I mean can anyone tell a Dutch from a German from any of these Nordics or even British? I don’t think so! Or Italians from Greeks or Spaniards without anyone talking (or gesturing)!  Anyway I guessed Korean — had just seen a young Korean couple buying an ENTIRE shopping cart full of a specific chocolate in the Stockmann’s basement.

Anyway the couple was oddly tan. But quite short. I was like — don’t tell me you’re Chinese because then I’m utterly failing (even if there are 1.4B of us) … so he finally put me out of my misery and said they’re from Japan. Meantime of course everyone in line is hearing our interchange (yes I AM loud) and cracking up because admitting that even WE cannot tell each other apart is hysterical to them. Including a dude from Singapore (currently — he’s retired and originally from Mississippi — a white guy). And a Canadian-Finnish family. I sat next to these people (tho not the Japanese couple—they went elsewhere) and chatted with them on the ferry. Anyway cutting forward — the Singaporean dude and Japanese couple were on my Helsinki – Stockholm boat, actually on my same cabin level and aisle (?). We literally ran into each other as we were preparing for deboarding. The Japanese man recognized me, we chatted, then a door whips open and it is the Singapore guy who says (of course) — I thought I heard your voice!  So back to, I AM loud! Anyway funny coincidences. I have NOT seen them in Stockholm, even on other ferries, so at least I don’t feel like I’m being stalked. 

Back to the 5 pm – 10 am Helsinki – Stockholm ferry. It’s a thing. I got the all you can eat (and drink — wine or beer?) dinner reservations … at an additional cost of about 50% of my ferry ticket. I didn’t think I’d eat or drink that much but of course I went crazy and then had a whole political convo with my Finnish table-mates. We’re all stunned about the world situation but what can you do? Apparently they take the trip 2/3x a year so good for them! 

After dinner they were airing the semifinals of the Eurovision contest in one of the major lounges — it’s being held in Malmö Sweden this year (finals are coincidentally on as I write this). Thank god it’s Malmö, not Stockholm! I hate crowds. (If by any chance you don’t know what the Eurovision contest is, google it – and hint, ABBA won a zillion years ago and it launched their careers). But before they aired the semifinals, it was karaoke time (you can choose the song but when I was there it was all in Finnish).  Funny regardless.   

I got so wrapped up in the Eurovision show and watching the sunset from that deck, I totally missed the live drag show!! And I was also finishing a blog. Anyway by the time I checked out the show, it was ending — a bit of a disappointment but it was about midnight by then and time to go to my cabin. I had booked a cabin for one — but you could actually make up four beds in there (they just did the one for me so there’s more room), which is an amazing deal frankly. I mean it’s the same price for one or 2, 3, or 4!! I think? Maybe it’s a tiny bit more for more towels and sheets but idk. The bathroom was tiny but for just me it was clean and adequate and I’ve had worse showers! 

When I woke up I assumed we were already on Swedish time (an hour behind) so thought I had to get myself together but of course it turned out it’s not Swedish time until we got almost to Stockholm? So I had an extra hour. No big deal. I was still full from the AYCE dinner so I got myself some caffeinated tea and packed up. And aside from running into the folks from Helsinki, and taking a few photos, nothing noteworthy.

Unlike when I deboarded in Helsinki, I was fast off the ferry, found my bus almost immediately, and got to my second bus and to my airbnb (actually a hostel — my first) in record time. But more on that when I talk about Stockholm. 

As far as other ferries, in Stockholm I got an unlimited 72-hour pass and it included several ferries. So before it ran out, I decided to check out some of the archipelago that makes up Stockholm. I didn’t get a proper map of it until today, when leaving, so I can see I definitely missed a lot but also saw a lot.

I took two. One in the morning, above, and it headed back up to where my Helsinki ferry came in, near Ropsten. It was cold but very sunny!

Following an afternoon tour, I took a second ferry — a 5:30 one over Lake Mälaren. It was one of the last ferries out and there were no more returns from out there that evening. Instead this one took 45 min on the water but almost 1.5 hours via several buses and metro lines to get back. The ferries are clearly set up for locals to get around Stockholm, not for tourists to take joy rides!

I realized that if I got off about halfway through the trip, in Ekensberg— about 25 mins on the ferry — I could get back via land with only one bus and 2 metro lines to my airbnb (or one to the center) .. also in about 25 minutes. If it’d been during the day I would’ve gone the whole way and had an adventure coming back — but I’d also heard that there are dangerous areas of Stockholm in the outer suburbs and I didn’t want to be standing around waiting for buses and trains at night in areas I had no familiarity with!

Nice commute and not even cold in winter once you’re on the boat as the cabins are warm, sell snacks and drinks, and usually have WiFi. Though I imagine waiting on the pier gets chilly.

There were actually even more public ferries but I took longer ones that covered both sides. If I’d had more time I would’ve gotten off more to check out the islands and maybe rented a bike, but I was busy taking tours and tracking down food! More on that in a later blog.

I’m currently on the train from Stockholm to Oslo — this has taken awhile!— I had to wake up at 6 to get to the station. So I’m ready for a nap now that this is finished! Also the Swedish countryside looks cute.

Finally for the record this is the map I picked up at the end of my Stockholm trip showing just a few of the literally thousands of islands.