Sweden and Finland in 8 days

The weeks leading up to the big trip, I spent planning and making reservations with hotels, trains, and ferry companies. I didn't have a whole lot of time for anything else. Learning how to use the InterRail system from country to country was challenging, but now that I have some experience, I think the next trip I plan for will be a breeze!


The public transportation in Europe is amazing. You can get just about anywhere you want to go by train and wherever the train ends due to oceans...you take a ferry! The ferries are like cruise ships, with cabins, restaurants, bars and even casinos. If you need to transport your vehicle, they go in one of the lower decks and you ride in the upper decks. They serve meals that are out of this world and the service is wonderful.


Day 1: Sunday, Feb. 12.
We caught an early morning train out of Kobenhaven H that took us to Stockholm Sweden. The train crossed the Øresund strait via a very long bridge that connects the 2 countries. The country side that we saw looked a lot like the country in NC with it's plowed fields and wide open spaces. There were many round bales of hay that had been shrink-wrapped, in what looked like the plastic that goes over boats in the winter months. Periodically, we would pass sections of forests and often caught a glimpse of deer. Our train ride was about 5 hours long. 


There wasn't a lot of time to explore Stokholm as we had to catch a bus to the port where we checked in and boarded the Viking Ferry, Mariella. We had a nice sleeping cabin for this leg of the journey that would last from 4:45pm util 10:00am the next day. 

We ate a fantastic dinner in the Viking Buffet restaurant. This gave the boys some experiences in tasting and trying different Swedish and Danish foods. There was beer and wine on tap and an endless buffet of desserts. I think the boys tried one of everything from the dessert bar.

Yes, this is a squid...

"I like it all, especially the meatballs!"

"Skål"

Our ship cut through the icy waters of the Baltic Sea all night long. We were amazed at the amount of ice! In the back of my mind, I kept hearing both the tune from the movie "Titanic" and the scene where Jack is yelling at Rose, "Get in the damn boat, Rose!" Despite this teenie-weenie concern, we all slept like babies!! 

Day 2: Monday, Feb. 13.
We had breakfast before leaving the ship to explore Helsinki Finland, at 10:00am. Departing the ship with bags in tow, we headed first to the Uspenski Cathedral. This church was built between 1862 and 1868. It was designed by Aleksei Gornostajev and based on a 16th-century church near Moscow. The bricks came from the Bomarsund fortress in Aland, which had been destroyed during the Crimean War in 1854. Uspenski Cathedral has 13 onion-shaped domes, representing Christ and the twelve apostles, each made of 22 carat gold. It’s the largest Orthodox church in western Europe and houses a rich display of icons and other typical Orthodox decorations, including an impressive array of chandeliers hanging from the vaulted ceiling. One of the icons is believed to work miracles.

We stopped right outside of the Viking port for a photo..."We're in Finland!!"

On our way to the next point of interest, we stopped off at the train station and stored our luggage in some lockers. It sure made traveling around the city a lot easier!


We walked on to see the Temppeliaukio Church, built in the 1960's and carved into solid rock, therefore, it is also known as the Church of the Rock. 

Doesn't look all that impressive from the outside....

Natural light brightens the inside through 180 glass panels between the dome and the rock walls. The dome is made of solid copper strips. An interesting look and apparently it provides great acoustics. While there, we lit a couple candles and remembered many in prayer and quiet meditation. It was very peaceful inside.

When we were finished, we headed outside where I found a letterbox (by Travel Fairy) hidden nearby and the boys had a snowball fight. There was a gift shop nearby where I stopped in to pick up a thimble for a friend of mine who collects.

Did I mention it had been snowing the whole time and now was coming down pretty heavy? It was beautiful and not bitter cold to be out in...or maybe we were just warm and snuggly in our coats!! Despite the snow, we continued our tour to Sibelius Park. There is a lovely monument dedicated to Jean Sibelius, a well-known Finnish composer (1865 –1957) at this park. The monument is GIANT!! It’s made up of more than 600 hollow steel pipes welded together in a wave-like pattern: the sound reverberating through the pipes is amazing.

Funny tid-bit: Not everyone in Helsinki was impressed by this monument, in particular because they deemed it too abstract – after much debating it was decided that it had to have a more traditional part. Thus an effigy of Sibelius was added nearby. This addition is what Randell titled "Man-Bear-Pig" and he explained, "The pig is to the left, the man in the center and I can't bear to look at it any longer!!" LOL!!

While I looked through the foot of snow for a letterbox planted nearby, Corey and Cameron worked on making an igloo and had a ball playing in the mounds of snow. They were covered from head to toe by the time we left.

Once we were back at the train station, we got our suitcases out of the lockers and everyone changed out of their wet clothes. We then started looking for a place where we could eat dinner.


Randell found one of his favorite American restaurants, Pizza Hut. I would have objected, but we had our fill of Finish, Swedish and Danish foods aboard the ship. So pizza and beer it was...the background music was Whitney Houston's greatest hits and we had seen her picture on all of the newspapers while traveling. Her passing was a sad shame and one that the world shared.


After supper we went back to the train station and waited about 2 hours for our train. It was due at 10:30pm and would provide us with sleeper cars to travel in. We did some "observing" while waiting and were entertained beyond our wildest expectations!! Let's see...there were many drunks, young and old, that would wander into the station looking for a place to drink and hang out. Several approached Corey to ask for a light for their cigarettes. Corey was taken aback and said, "Mom, I'm just a kid!" I reminded him that he was a very TALL kid and besides, they smoke at a young age in Europe. In any case, the Finnish police showed the intoxicated the door each time. They don't put up with public drunkenness, apparently. Some of them would stand outside and wait for the police to move to another area and then come back in, either they had already "forgotten" they were kicked out or they were playing a game of cat and mouse!! Things got a little rough at one point when one of the "mice" was caught inside after having been kicked out several times before. He was physically shoved out and there may have been a few fists flying...can't say for sure!!


Then, there was the prostitute...YEP! She solicited every man in the station and had I left mine alone for a few minutes, would have hit him up too. A few men paid their money and walked away with her, however, before she left with them, she would go to the police.....and.........wait for it.....give them a cut!!!!! Yes, they were getting some of her "earnings!!" It was all so obvious, nothing was ever really hidden, we saw money exchange hands and it was all allowed! Quite the night, I must say!! We were happy to get on our train!


Each sleeper cabin had an upper and lower bed and they had bathrooms. The boys were in the room next to us. We comfortably slumbered as we traveled from one end of Finland to the other. 


Day 3: Tuesday, Feb. 14.
We awoke on the train and were pleasantly surprised by the winter wonderland we saw from the windows. We arrived in Rovaniemi, Finland at 10:40am. Rovaniemi is the capital city of Lapland, which is very close to the Arctic Circle.

We checked into the Hotel Cumulus and after unpacking our luggage, we were ready to see Santa Claus!! We caught a bus to Santa Village, home of Santa, his reindeer, and wonderful Lapland craft shops, Lappish restaurants and winter wonderland fun. 

Santa lives in here and his post office is here as well.

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!!

We were all nice and warm in our winter coats!

Cameron in front of giant snowman

Eskimo Kisses!!

Cam on the snow-slide...weeee!!

Corey on his back, backwards. The boys had a great time here.

Santa's reindeer. Their noses are so soft and fuzzy

Petting Rudolph??

At the Arctic Circle!!

Back at the hotel, we warmed up by the fire and then went to eat at a Chinese Restaurant that looked very popular...great choice, it was delicious...Chinese food, Finish style :o)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Day 4: Wednesday, Feb. 15.

The hotel provided a lovely Finnish breakfast of breads, cheeses, meats, Viili, (a yogurt-like fermented milk product) with fruit and Mueslix on top, cinnamon porridge, and Karelian pasty which is a traditional Finnish dish made from a thin rye crust with a filling of rice and butter.

Karelian pasty

We spent the better part of our day exploring the town of Rovaniemi and doing some shopping for souvenirs made by the Sami people of Lapland. We found a nice Mexican restaurant called Amarillo's and ate a late lunch. While the food was Mexican, it was cooked and served Finnish style. It was a nice change and taste experience different from the traditional plates we've tried.

Afterwards, we headed down a block to Lapland Safaris, the company that we booked our snowmobile ride and Northern Lights excursion with. The first thing they had us do was to change out of our nice coats and boots into their jumpsuits and boots so that the snowmobile engine fumes didn't "stink up" our clothing.

Adding wool socks and boots

Aside from the gloves, Corey is all set

Cameron reminds me of Ralphie's little brother from "Christmas Story"

Ready, set, go!!!

Both Corey and Cameron were too young to drive the snow mobiles themselves, so Corey rode on the back with Randell and Cameron was pulled in a sled by the guide. I drove my own snowmobile (which I loved and now want one...LOL). Cameron later told us that he had the "best seat in the house", he rode with a reindeer fur covering his legs and got to enjoy all the scenery from the sled. We drove approximately 25 miles there and back to the station. 


Our guide, Jauni, led us across the wide open and frozen Kemijoki River and into the pine and hardwood forests. It was a fantastic ride, so exhilarating. We stopped midway at a log hut in the middle of the forest. Jauni went inside and lit a fire and put a kettle of berry juice over the fire. The warm juice is delicious and made up of blueberries, ligon berries, and raspberries. We each roasted a sausage over the open fire and  learned about the Sami people of long ago, the very first people that still inhabit Lapland.


The snow covered trees and landscape were magical, I know no other word to describe what we saw. Every tree, big and small, was covered by snow and often took on interesting shapes. It reminded me of lying on a grass covered hill making shapes and objects out of clouds. I saw the shape of a bunny, a bear, and even a flamingo! The snow mobile headlights hitting the snowy landscape created twinkles of light everywhere. It was magical and I fell in LOVE with Finland!

Our snow mobile guide-Jauni

Look at all of the SNOW!!

Sitting on reindeer fur covered benches and enjoying the fire

The kettle is heating up, full of warm berry juice...YUMMY!

Day 5: Thursday, Feb. 16.

After another wonderful and healthy Finnish breakfast, we checked out of our hotel, although, they allowed us to store our luggage until we were ready to leave town. 


We walked down the road to Lapland Safari's where we changed into their jumpsuits and boots again, less the helmet :o) Our guide shuttled us out to the dog sled farm, where we spent about 1/2 hour mingling and petting the pups while they got our dog sled teams ready for our rides. The dogs were beautiful and so well trained.

Notice the "wall" of snow behind us.

This was a 6 month old puppy

Cameron loves the puppy

Dusty liked Corey

We thought "Dusty" was so handsome

This pup liked being scratched on his head

The pups liked sitting on top of their houses

Then it was time for our dog sled rides. The dog teams were 6 dogs, paired up in 3 sets. I was first to ride and it was remarkable, like nothing I had ever experienced before. The dogs were anxious at first, barking and excited to get started. Once I gave them the signal to go, they got down to business, stopped barking and all was quiet. It was so peaceful and the ride was so smooth. I stood on the back of the sled and as we rounded curves, I leaned into them to help make the turns more smooth. It was so incredible to see all 6 dogs work together, it was a great ride. I think the life of a Musher would be quite special.


Corey and Cameron were too young to drive the sled so the mushers drove and the boys sat in the front of the sled covered by reindeer blankets. Here is a video of me finishing my ride.

After our dog sled rides we walked to the Reindeer Farm, about 1/4 mile away. We learned about the way of life in the North, the Sami reindeer herder culture and took a sleigh ride pulled by the reindeer! We also spent some time in the Lappish tepee, called a “kota” where we had warm berry juice and gingerbread cookies around an open fire.We each were awarded with the international reindeer driver’s licence and Arctic Circle Crossing Certificate.

This young man is Sami and is wearing traditional  clothing called Gakti

Corey and I get seated and ready to go

Randell and Cameron were in the sleigh behind us

Corey was an excellent driver! The smile says it all :o)

Corey is feeding the reindeer lichen, their favorite

This one ate right out of Cameron's hands

The Sami are the indigenous people inhabiting the Northern most of Finland and other Nordic countries. They have lived in these regions since prehistoric times, 5000 years ago. Unfortunately, the Sami culture has suffered from language and culture loss related to Sami generations taken to missionary and/or state-run boarding schools and the legacy of laws that were created to deny the Sami rights (e.g., to their beliefs, language, land and to the practice of traditional livelihoods). The Sami are also experiencing environmental threats including oil exploration, mining, dam building, logging, climate change, and commercial development.


The reindeer that we saw on the farm and all other reindeer have an owner, a Sami herdsman. No one else can own reindeer, or for that matter, hunt them. The culture and traditions of the Sami reindeer herder are protected by law. The reindeer are herded just like sheep, tagged like cattle, and their furs, antlers, and meat are used as a means of income. A reindeer is not killed for it's antlers, they lose their antlers each year like deer do.

We are licensed drivers :o)

Good for 5 years

Once we finished, we were shuttled back to the building where we changed into our own clothes and then went to lunch. We talked and talked over lunch about the experiences of the day and the boys both had a terrific time. We returned to the hotel, picked up our luggage, and walked to the train station. Our train departed at 6 pm, headed for Turku, Finland. This ride took us South, almost the length of Finland. We once again had sleeper cars and slept while we traveled. We awoke at 7 am and departed the train at 7:50 am.


Day 6: Friday, Feb. 17.
Our train arrived in Turku, Finland, a harbor town. Here, we caught our ferry to Mariehamn, Finland at 8:45 am. Since we weren't going to be aboard all night, we found a table with a view looking out of the front of the ship.

We played scrabble and enjoyed the view

At noon, we enjoyed a lunch buffet in the Viking dining room. There was a mixture of Swedish and Finnish dishes. Very delicious.

A view from the dining room of the icy water we went through

At 2 pm, we arrived in Mariehamn and checked into our hotel, the Hotel Pommern. Mariehamn is the capital of the Aland Islands and one of the 6,000 islands. The Aland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. Åland and Mariehamn have a reputable heritage in shipping. The Flying P-Liner Pommern museum ship is anchored in the Western Harbour. The Eastern Harbour features one of the largest marinas in Scandinavia. 

The Pommern

The statue and memorial outside of the mariner museum

The beautiful figurehead on the front of the Pommern

Statue of Maria Alexandrovna

The town was named after Maria Alexandrovna, the Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. Mariehamn was founded in 1861. We enjoyed a leisurely walk around the town, I searched for some letterboxes, and then we enjoyed a nice dinner at the hotel. This leg of the journey was quiet and a great time to relax and unwind from all the previous activities.


Day 7: Saturday, Feb. 18.
After breakfast and a bit more sightseeing, we caught the ferry at 2:30 pm to Stockholm, Sweden. We enjoyed a lovely 3-course meal on the ship.

Our crazy child Corey, excited about his roast duck

Mmmm...beef and potatoes

I am enjoying a lovely wine, brought a bottle home!

Some of the larger Aland islands are inhabited

When we arrived in Stockholm around 7 pm, my friend Emma was there to pick us up. Emma and I went to UNCG together from 1992-1996 and both graduated from the Biology program. We ended up working together at Lab Corp where she knew Randell as well. She has been in Europe for some time now and is married to a wonderful Swedish man named Pelle. They have a daughter Olivia, who is 15 months. We went back to her house in Uppsula, where Pelle had prepared a lovely Swedish meal, meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas, and ligon berries. My boys made sure there were no leftovers! We all stayed up late talking and catching up. The men struck up an instant friendship and we can't wait for them to come stay with us!! We stayed the night.


 Day 8: Sunday, Feb. 19
In the morning, after a yummy breakfast of homemade scones and jam, we walked to a nearby park. There were many people out on the lake skating and using ski poles. I had never seen skaters with poles or skiers with skates...so termed this new sport skoling!

Emma and Olivia

Skating with ski poles...

New term: Skoling....???

Long-time Buddies, Renee and Emma, and little Olivia

The Lind Family

We said "Good-bye" at the train station and were off and on our way home to Copenhagen, Denmark. What a lovely, fun, and exciting adventure it was!!