Helsinki and Stockholm

---

Date of Travel:15-17 May, 2008
Duration of Travel: 3days
Main Cities Visited: Karlstad, Stockholm, Helsinki

We had 3 days left on our Scandinavian adventure with 2 major cities left to cover - Stockholm and Helsinki. Having left from Oslo, we headed for Karlstad in the early morning driving past the bank of Lake Vanern which is supposedly Sweden's biggest lake. Did not get much time for a photo stop as we continued to head eastwards passing by the town of Orebro and arriving in Stockholm, the city of bridges and islands just in time for dinner!With much of the shops already closed, there was only 1 place left that we could go - the PUB! and yes, we spent the evening watching the Ice Hockey World championships while soaking in the atmosphere of passionate Swedish fans cheering on their team over broadcast.

The next morning, we did a city tour of Stockholm. Stockholm is really very pretty and its a pity we only had half a day in it. A modern city of great elegance surrounded by waterways, the tour begun with the visit of Sergei Square and the market place. I honestly cant remember much having moved so quickly form 1 point to another. haha. But I remember quite clearly visiting City Hall where apparently the Nobel Prize banquet is celebrated each year. Headed uphill afterwards for a panoramic view of Stockholm's "bay of islands". the view was really quite magnificent. Bad bad planning on our part. Would really have loved to at least get another day in Stockholm. Think we really did miss out on quite a bit. Should learn to be less ambitious next time round. haha.

After lunch, we had to board the Silja Line for an overnight cruise to Helsinki. Sigh, cruises are really boring and this one didn't have as fantastic a buffet spread as the other one did. Ended up buying many kinder surprises to keep myself pre-occupied in the cabins. haha.

We arrived in Helsinki at around 9am and the panic rush of seeing Helsinki begun the moment the cruise docked at the harbour. (okay maybe it wasn't that dramatic but point taken) If we thought that Stockholm was rush, this was worse. Within the space of 3 hrs, we covered the Senate Square, Market place, the Sibelius Monument and even visited the impressive Church in the Rock. The Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral and the Helsinki Cathedral were really quite awesome. The former is situated on slightly hill grounds and I believe is a Lutheran church. We weren't allowed to take any photos inside which was a pity because I think, if memory serves me right there's quite a lot of relics inside that church. But if given a choice, I prefer the Helsinki Cathedral over Uspenski anytime. haha. Couch just slightly on higher ground, it virtually dominates the entire Senate square (or was it the market square). Its design isnt too intricate, but somehow it does still give tourists the vibe of its majesty. From the Helsinki harbour, I believe this Cathedral is also visible.

And so after lunch at a Chinese place, it was time to say goodbye to Helsinki as we boarded the train for St. Petersburg for the next half of our adventure in Russia.

A big thanks to Scandinavia for being ubber fantastic these past 10 days or so. I think we tried to see too much and plan for too much, so much so that we rushed and rushed and often missed out on a lot of things. Would definitely try to focus on the individual cities more closely the next time round. Truly enjoy Scandinavia, everything except its cost of living! haha.

---