Saturday/Sunday

Saturday 13 January Part 2

Now, you should love this. We made it to the ferry terminal easily, had a cheeky little rose and boarded the “ferry.” Lady P told me we were taking a ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki.

Pretty common here abouts. But our boat is a ship. Big as the Queen Elizabeth, almost. 10 bloody stories high, a casino, restaurants, bars, shops. No swimming pool, but hey Flashy thought it was Christmas.

Cocktails in the forward deck saloon, beers in the pub and lobster in the restaurant. Then, get this, there is a duty free shop.

You buy all you need or want and the bloke on the till says, ‘it’s old fashioned and out of date I know, but you can drink all your purchases in your room!!’ My goodness, they don’t have many Australians here I reckon.

We did find a Longocello liqueur. Made from berries that Nordic bears have eaten and shitted out, then fermented with Arctic rain water and something. Not too bad, as I am drinking it as I type.

Sunday 14 January

After a pleasant sleep in our luxurious cabin, with a view of the lifeboat outside the window, we awake to find we are nearly in Finland. There is an hour time difference, so we hurry to the buffet breakfast, enjoy a long hot shower in our enormous bathroom and prepare for the Helsinki winter.

A fast and relaxed exit into the terminal and we sit for a coffee in the café. It’s here we discover that our apartment for tonight is ready early and our long stay hosts, just around the corner, can also meet us early.

We take a taxi to tonight’s stay with a pleasant Pakistani driver.  Boy, I bet his Finnish is crystal clear.  We did not talk about the cricket.

Grease ice leaving Stockholm
The shopping/restaurant mall on board

Our ship




A cute village







The beer garden. Not open yet





We're living here

The ensuite in our cabin












and we have a window




















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