FLASHBACK #46: Scandinavian Extravaganza (Pt.1)

Introduction

The plan was to get the girls, Judy & Sweetpea (who I had met in China, see Flashback 14), over to Finland, spend a few days in Helsinki, a few days in Estonia, then over to Stockholm in Sweden for two days. From there, the hard work of travelling and moving on daily would begin as we toured the Norwegian Fjords, driving to Sweden via Oslo to go to Gothenburg and, from there, to catch the ferry to Copenhagen in Denmark, our final destination.

There were many highs and lows, but Norway met all my expectations and was exactly how I imagined it so no disappointments there. In fact, I've already decided that I am going to visit one or two of my favourite places again someday. Stockholm was fabulous, Tallinn (the capital of Estonia) was very low-key, but nevertheless had a beautiful old town. With regards to Oslo, I can't really comment on because we were only there as day-trippers, but Copenhagen was cool.

We didn't quite get to Gothenburg nor did we get to Denmark the way we planned, but I will explain these as the story unfolds.

Day 1-2 – In Helsinki

Officially, I didn't live in Tampere anymore and, straight after my last day at work, I headed to the airport and waited for the the girls to arrive. Upon their arrival, I transportred them to Bree's. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, but a huge cake made especially for the girls greeted us! The girls had been won over and they hadn't yet even met him for the first time! Before long, Bree joined us and the four of us relaxed for the evening, catching up and getting to know Bree.

The next day was spent getting to know Helsinki. The morning weather was fantastic so, after a breakfast, we headed to Hiertaniemi beach for a spot of sunbathing. In the afternoon, we went for a driv, taking in the Lutheran Cathedral in Senate Square and the Sebelius monument (a tribute composer, Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) see picture above).

In the evening, it was time to introduce Sweetpea to Salmiaki koskenkorva, a liquorice-like schnapps. There really is nothing better to warm you up when it's -25 in the winter and, from then on, it would be known as Gee's Linctus!

Days 4-6 – Estonia

I had been to Estonia before, but the trip would start with a difference; we would be flying their with Copertline, making the trip across the Baltic Sea in just 18 minutes! I had never flown on a helicopter before and it was a great experience.

In the old town, the girls were clowning around with the hats on sale in the market square. We ascended the steep, cobbled streets of the old town to reach the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, an Orthodox church and Tallinn’s largest and grandest cupola cathedral. This was built when Estonia was part of the Russian tsarist empire.

Below, you can see a panoramic view from the observation point. Tallinn’s Town Hall is said to be the best-preserved Medieval town hall in Northern Europe.

Our trip to Estonia was particularly full of funny moments, the first one being an idea of Judy's. Over a coffee in a cafe, she suggest that I wear my underpants outside my shorts and walk around the market place to see if anybody noticed. Game for a laugh, Judy got her video camera rigged up while I got changed in the toilets. The results were hilarious.

Another incident was when we got ready to go out one night. After a few drinks in an Irish Pub in the Market Place, we headed to Hotel Viro just outside the old town. There, in a nightclub of a sort, we were whisked back in time some twenty years. The music they were playing old and corny, stuff we had grown out of years ago. It was quite amusing.

We stayed at the Domina City hotel and there's actually another not-so-funny story here too... Having made the hotel booking by telephone, a misunderstanding had materialised. For two nights in Tallinn, I understood the price to be €180 for the room. Upon checking out, it materialised that the cost of the hotel was €180 PER night. After much complaining, we managed to get the second night for just €7! It was a great hotel. Remember the fab elevators, girls?!

Days 7-8 – Helsinki

On our last night in Helsinki, we visited Hotel Torni. Although it's a hotel, it has free access to the public whereby you can travel up to the 12th floor by elevator, scale a winding, spiral staircase and enjoy views of the city from the bar. This is a great place to be on a Summer evening… Before turning in, we visited DTM where we watched a drag show.

Days 9-10 – Stockolm

For a moment, I thought we would miss our boat from Helsinki Harbour. a 6pm departure, the traffic in Eteläesplanadi was horrendous. I called Bree and, in her sports car, she guided us through a shortcut to the harbour. Thanks, babe!

We boarded the huge Silja Line cruise liner and settled down for the evening, enjoying a nice slap up buffet dinner and drinking in the bar onboard.

The ship arrived in Stockholm at 9am the following morning. Fortunately, it was a Sunday so there was very little traffic about on the first part of our driving. It took us less than half an hour to get from the harbour to the hotel (thanks, Sweetpea, for the brilliant map-reading!). The hotel was great, in a lovely location. I had been to Stockholm before too, but I had never stayed overnight so the first thing I wanted to show the girls was Gamla Stan, the old town (see photos below).

There is something about Stockholm that really appeals to me; you can sense the majesty in its buildings as it's very grand, clean and very well laid-out. It also has an amazing history which was being re-enacted on the very Sunday we were there with Changing of the Guards ceremonies.

"The lovely, lively Stockholm, with its maritime bent and international flavour, is a magnet for tourists. It is ideally situated for trade connections, and the 24,000 islands of the archipelago protect the urban islands from the open seas. In fact, the capital city is best seen from the water, but once on land you won't want to miss out on the parklands of Djurgården, the alleys of Gamla Stan or the 50-plus museums bursting with world-class treasures."

"Almost two million people live in greater Stockholm, and over 15% of them are immigrants. Just stroll through the quaint streets, and you'll hear everything from Polish to Japanese. The city's royal residences include the largest palace in the world still in use, and the World Heritage-listed Drottninghom. And if that's not enough to win you over, Stockholm also has the best selection of budget accommodation in Northern Europe. Rooms are generally clean and comfy, although not very cheap - after all, it is still Scandinavia" (LonelyPlanet.com)

Day 11 – Drive to Åre

The weather on this day was quite dramatic; within an hour of leaving Stockholm, I had to stop to capture the sky on my digital camera and, an hour later, we saw this (see picture of right). What a contrast!

Now I could 'feel' that Finland and Sweden were neighbours; this looks remarkably like a typical Finnish lake-side settlement. Day 11 was the longest as far as driving was concerned. We must have driven for at least seven hours that day up the west coast of Sweden to Sundsvall, then heading east to Åre, our overnight stop.

We found a really cheap hostel about four kilometres from Åre. The cold, wet night resulted in a night indoors, eating fajita wraps with tuna and sweetcorn and discussing politics.