Week one of the mammoth trip

So I've returned from a very busy few days in Stockholm. We seems to do quite a lot, which obviously makes for a lot of walking, and my feet were so sore! After my mum arrived and we'd checked into the hotel, we went for a tourist-type boat trip around some of the waters of Stockholm. Was very nice, even if I was falling asleep a bit...
Day two we ran round and saw the Palace, along with the changing of the guards, and the treasury. Then we had a quick sandwich and rushed off to the Vasa museum. We also saw a few churches along the way.
Day three, we took a steam boat to Drottingholm Palace. Much nicer than the one in the main square. The gardens looked beautiful in the sunshine. We then headed back and went up Katarina lift (near Slussen) to get a high up view of the old town. Well worth the trip. Kaknas tower was a taller alternative, but we decided it wasnt worth the bus trip.
Day four was our final day, so we did a tour of the city hall (not something high on our list, but actually surprisingly inetersting) and then we jumped on another boat tour, purely becuase it was raining, the ticket was free (included on the Stockholm card that we had purchased for the trip) and it was leaving from outside the city hall 15 minutes after our tour had finished. After that it was just time for some serious shopping. I bought 8 CDs (Mans, Danny, September, Molly Sanden, Sanna Neilsen, Jonathan Fagerlund x2, and Velvet) and we bought some nice souvenirs too. Back to the ferry, exhusted but happy.

Friday was my mothers first taste of Finland. Unfortunately I wasnt much of a guide, as I fell alseep for 4 hours, and then was a bit grumpy on the quick tour of the town I gave her before running of to my boyfriends. Not many brownie points there then. But today I took her to Naantali, which looked lovely in the sunshine and was a lot busier than the last time I went in the Autumn. We just strolled around, taking it all in, and then gave in a bought a Moomin souvenir (picture to follow... if I remember). We then headed back to the flat where I cooked shepherds pie for us both, so hoping that makes up for the lost brownie points of yesterday. Tomorrow, we're going for lunch with the boyfriend and then off to Ruissalo (weather permitting) before catching a night train to Rovaniemi! Busy busy busy.

Hello from Stockholm!

I'm currently sitting in the Centralen station of Stockholm, killing time while waiting for my mums train to arrive. Its been a weird morning. I arrived at 6:30 with the ferry (after only 5 hours sleep...) and spent the first few hours wandering from cafe to cafe waiting for the city to liven up. Then it was time to do a spot of Cd shopping and what not. Also had a trip to the Tourist information centre and then did a sweep of the old town and the area by the town hall. But my bag is very heavy (I refused to pay 50SEK to leave it in a locker in the station... bad move) and I am very tired, so decided to come and make use of the internet terminals here in the station and await my mothers arrival. Only another 30minutes!

July Plans

So I guess its about time I reveal to you the truely ambitious month of travel I have planned for July. My mother is coming to visit me here in Turku, but she doesnt like to fly (problems with her ears you see) so she is coming via 5 trains and a ferry! So since she was coming all that way. I foolishly suggested that I extend my lease on my student flat (assuming there was anyone wanting to move in as early as July) and she stay for a few weeks and we could really explore. Little did I know what a headache organising everything would be. We got a little carried away with where we want to go and what-not, but here is the final plan...

05/07: I leave for Stockholm on the night ferry.
06/07: Mother joins me and we spend a few days exploring the Swedish capital.
09/07: We head to Turku on the night ferry.
12/07: We get a night train to Rovaniemi.
15/07: Return from Rovaniemi.
17/07: Head to Helsinki.
18/07: We take an early ferry to Tallinn.
19/07: Return to Helsinki, and meet my brother from the airport.
20/07: Head to Turku for the week.
24/07: Head back to Helsinki to see my brother off. Spend the night.
25/07: Take a train to St Petersburg.
28/07: Return from St Petersburg.
31/07: Sat moi moi to Turku. Take the night ferry to Stockholm, and then 5 trains to home!

How crazy is all that?! Well, its been a bit tricky booking all the various hotels, trains and ferrys. Not to mention arranging for another visa to Russia. I know that for my mum it is the trip of a lifetime, and she is so excited to see everything. I am happy to be visiting Stockholm again, and for a longer stay this time. And then I'm always happy to go back to Tallinn. Can't say I was overly enthused about going to St Petersburg again so soon after I've just been, and all the extra complications of getting visa's a what-not didnt help, but luckily the Russian consulate is here in Turku. Anyway, nearly everything has been booked now. Well, all the things my mum was in charge of is at least. I only just started my end of the deal, but I'm slowly getting sorted. Although maybe I should stop being so slow, what with it being less than 2 weeks away!

I finish work on tuesday. I can't believe it. Especially since there are still many assays to be done. Will have to trust that someone takes over from me. So anyway, you might not hear that much from me in July other than the odd quick update here and there.

Stockholm Diary – Part 3

I woke stupidly early Saturday morning. Breakfast wasnt until 10am, but I was wide awake at 8:30. Especially after I saw the snow outside! Deciding not to waste the next hour in bed, I got up and dressed and went for a wonder in the snow. Felt like a blizzard at some points. Was cool though.

Went back to the Hostel, had breakfast, checked out, and discussed on how to get back to T-Centralen where we would get the bus. In the end we all went by metro.

We got the bus to Grona Lund on the island just east of the old town. Grona Lund is a theme park that closes for the winter season, but was opening its doors for its annual 'Christmas market'. Now I'm no expert, but normally a Christmas market should have, you know, market stalls of some sort.

Anyway, it was rather lovely all covered in snow (would have been truly rubbish otherwise) and me and my friend did have fun in the house of mirrors...

After Grona Lund, we decided to look for somewhere to eat and warm up before heading to The Vasa museum. In the end, we got to Vasa before we found somewhere selling food, so decided to eat in the restaurant there.

My friends tried the soup while I decided to go for the more traditional meatballs. This is possibly where it all went wrong. I'm convinced they are what made me sick, as they were the only things I ate that my friends didnt. However after contacting the restaurant, they insisted it couldnt have come from them. So who knows..?

Anyway, after that we got stuck into the museum. It was definitely the highlight of the trip. Numerous people recommended it, and I'm so glad we found time for it. The sight of this beautiful boat alone is worth the entrance money, but there are a ton of extra exhibitions for you to read through also.

In fact there was so much to look at that we were there for the last 2 hours before closing, and I was still left wanting to see more. So if ever I return I think this will still be worth a visit.

Briefly for those who want to know the story behind The Vasa;
- It was a ship commissioned by the King in the 1620s
- He demanded it have extra cannon decks without increasing the width at the bottom
- This meant there was not enough space for the required ballast
- 20 Minutes after leaving Stockholm, the boat began to tip, and water began to come in the low open cannon holes
- Unable to right itself, the boat sank just outside the harbour where it remained for over 300 years.
- Due to the lack of salt in Nordic waters the boat was well preserved, and has been painstakingly restored and set up in this museum.

And that is the story of Vasa in a nutshell. But honestly, if your in Stockholm, you should check it out. I'm not a very nautical person, but still found it fascinating. Unfortunately my photos really dont do it justice.

After that we rushed back to T-Centralen to get our stuff and head for the ferry port. At which point I began to feel ill. A 10 hour ferry ride later, I was back in Turku and went straight home to bed. The poor girls that were meant to be sharing the cabin with me left me alone for the night, and amused themselves at the disco. I'm sure they didnt mind too much.

Overall, the trip itself was really enjoyable, but way too short! Given how cheap it is to get there from here, I will definitely be going again in the spring - if I can find time that is!!

Stockholm Diary – Part 2

So as we returned to the palace there was some sort of ceremony with the guards going on. Not the official changing of the guard as this was supposed to happen on Sunday, but perhaps a smaller version. Guards were parading down the street with a Swedish flag out front. They then did some sort of song&dance out the front of the Palace. I found it interesting to watch. After it finished, the Palace was then open for guests. So we got our tickets and headed in to see the Royal Apartments. It was very grand. Lots of colour and the ceilings were painstakingly detailed in their design.


We also got to have a quick look round the treasury. Soooo many sparkly things. I’ve never seen so many diamonds. Although I found the crowns a bit disgusting up close, so much detail, so many stones, it just looked like too much for the eyes. But the overall effect was nice.

After spending quite a while in the palaces, we headed back to get our bags and check into out hostel. This was a bit of a mission, as some people wanted to walk, some were willing to pay for the metro. In the end though, we all made it to the right place at the right time-ish. So we checked in. The room was a good size and the TV was huge! Haha. I was excited to get out and do some Cd shopping. I hadn’t wanted to bore my travel buddies with it while we had such limited time in the city, so took this opportunity while the others were resting to go exploring. As you may have read, it was very successful.


Apon returning, I was told people were heading off to look for somewhere to eat. We ended up finding an Indian restaurant that looked relatively cheap. I’ve been craving a good Chicken Korma since I’ve been here, so was happy to finally have my wish granted! Twas a lovely meal, with great company. Although I did think it was a bit strange to come to Sweden for a curry! Vowed to try some Swedish food the next day…


We headed back to the hotel where some people had talks of going out to boogie in Stockholm. I liked this idea, but my feet didn’t seem to want to cooperate. So I stayed in with the girls I was sharing the room with and we watched some trashy Swedish telly. We mostly watched Singing Bee, a karaoke style programme where you had to guess the lyrics of the song. Get it right and you go through to the next round, get it wrong and you face elimination. It was a funny show actually, and although most of the songs were in Swedish, I did recognise a few (e.g. Det Gör Ont). In the end the guy we were rooting for won. I think he might have come from the Ålands, as they were waving flags that looked a little different to your usual Swedish flags for him in the audience.

After that I feel asleep.

Stockholm Diary - Part 1

We were getting the overnight ferry from Turku to Stockholm Thursday night. So I had the pleasure of a full day at work before heading to the harbour at 7. Once on the boat, we faffed about a bit and missed going up to see it leaving, so by the time we got on deck all you could see were islands of trees… and the odd bird.

So we had a wonder round the rest of the ship (quick look in the duty free) and then back to the cabin for food. Some people went to have a boogie, but I was so tired, I just headed to bed. In order to take up less room for when the other 3 girls returned, I took a top bunk. My god it was scary! I used to sleep in a bunk-bed as a kid, but it had a rail to stop you falling out – this didn’t! I was convinced the boat was gonna start tipping in the night and I would fall out. So I clung to the wall for the night. I survived.

We were woken by a Finnish man knocking on the doors, opening them to shout Huomenta in at you and then closing it again. On the third Huomenta he wanted to take the dirty sheets so we had to get up. On the fourth he seemed surprised we were still there “could you, slowly, erm, get out” Haha. So we left…

It was 6:30am Swedish time. The sun had barely risen. It was -2°C. So after dumping our bags, did we decide to go find a café to keep warm until the town woke up too? No, instead we wondered around the old town. On the way, we found the first of many churches, which we entered through a door that said “no entry for public” on the other side. But we were already through by then… oops.

The next church was closed (all winter!) but I love its church spire. It was hollow and metal, and I’d never seen anything like it before...

We then went further into the old town. I had completely lost my bearings by this point, so was just walking around taking it all in. We went through some narrow side-streets and saw some interesting buildings, but eventually we decided that nothing was open, and we were freezing, so we went and found a nice café.

After the café, we headed off in search of the Royal Palace. We had sort of walked past it earlier, but headed in the wrong direction. So we went back for a proper look and wondered all around the outside. It was beautiful. Although the guards were a little strange. They would talk to you if you stepped inside their little black line marked around their huts, and they were watching you and everything going on around them. Very different to the Beefeaters of London. The Palace opened at 12, so we wondered off for a little while until it was open but come back as we decided we would like to look inside.

So we went to a beautiful church next to it. My favourite church of the trip (I told you there were many). I don’t know what it was about it that I liked more than the others, but it was very charming. The interior was a bit bizarre in places. The most beautiful part though was the area where you could light a candle. Instead of just placing it on the side, you could place it in a giant spherical globe…

We then went to a few tourist shops, and headed back to the Palace….

Thanks Postergirl!

Before I get into the proper diary-type posts from Stockholm, I just want to post a quick one about my Cd shopping experience.

Postergirl recently wrote a guide to Cd shopping in Stockholm, which I read at the time, and came back to thursday just before setting off for Stockholm, noting down the best of her suggestions. As it turned out, my hostel was on St Eriksgatan, the same street as two of her suggestions. So after checking in, I headed off to do some serious bargain hunting. I was not disappointed.

I went in Record Hunter first (as it was the first one I came to) and decided this would suit me very well, but decided to check out the other shop just a few shops down the street. I didnt take to this shop so went back to record hunter.

In the basement they have many new and used CDs, with the Swedish artists separated out. Most of these were then in a buy 4 for the price of 3 offer (although when I ask the cashier if I was right in thinking that is what the Swedish meant, he jokingly said 'no no, it means these are double the price' - haha, very funny).

So anyway, I managed to find 4 Cds that I wanted - Måns Zelmerlöw, Stand By For... (been waiting for so long to get it), BWO, Prototype (the only BWO Cd they had in the basement), Danny, Heartbeats, and September (her self-titled debut). I also found Sara Bareilles tucked in next to BWO and decided for an extra 50kr it would be worth getting 5 for the price of 4.

Only disappointment was not finding E.M.D's album, which was quite high on my wish list. I found it upstairs for 129kr, but thought I only had another 75kr and therefore not enough even if I put one of the 50kr CDs back.

So I go to the cashier; 'Was there anything in particular you were looking for but didnt find, because we have lots more out back that we just dont have shelf-space for'. I explained that I wanted E.M.D's album, and found it here, but didnt have enough kroner on me. After a bit of bargaining, and finding another 20kr tucked in my purse, they let me have it for just 95kr!

So I walked away with 6 Cds for 295kr, and was a very happy girl. As it turned out, I didnt have time to do any shopping at all the next day, so was so glad to get everything I wanted in one shop!

Surprisingly I didnt find any Charlotte Perrelli, Sanna Neilsen or The Ark in the basement, but I found the ones I really really wanted and a few extra. I havent got round to listening to them all yet, but what I've heard so far makes me very happy :)

So in summary, if you only have a limited amount of time, and happen to be in the area, definitely check out Record Hunter at St Eriksgatan 70 for your cheap Swedish Cd needs.

On The Mend

Feeling much better today, although still not got much appetite yet. Managed some soup with my bread today, and bought some ice cream, but it was perhaps a bit too rich. Lots of lemonade too :)

So didnt get round to blogging much. Spent all day in bed watching Gossip Girl (my new obsession). And uploading my new Cds (see upcoming post). Mån's album is soooo good, I cant believe its taken me so long to get a copy! Anyway, hoping to head upstairs to do a bit more knitting soon, and see how that goes. Not sure if I'm strong enough to brave the snow for work tomorrow given I'm still not really on solid foods, but we'll see how it goes.

Oh, and got the pictures off my camera. just shy of 300! How is that possible in 2 days I have no idea. Will sort through and put the best in an album for your pleasure soon enough.

Back in Turku

So I return to Finland after an nice weekend in Stockholm. Far from perfect but on the whole very enjoyable. Stockholm was quite different to what I expected, but it was still very beautiful. We wondered around the old town, saw the royal palace, I went CD shopping, visited the christmas market at Grona Lund, and went to the Vasa Museum. Quite a lot for 2 days I guess. However, the christmas market was a bit of let down, and I ended up with food poisoning on the ferry ride back to Finland.... So not the best end to the weekend.

Still feeling a bit fragile, so might be a while before I get round to blogging about the weekend properly. But then again, I doubt I'll make it to work tomorrow, so maybe boredom will send me into a blogging frenzy.

Stockholm Tomorrow

Was planning to write a short update today, but got distracted by thanksgiving dinner... Story for another time. Anyway, I'm going to Stockholm tomorrow!!! Will be back sunday to tell you all about it, and hopefully have some pictures. Apparently the forecast saturday is for snow!

Stockholm on Thursday!!!

Seems like its been ages since I signed up for the trip, and it seems like ages since I've been anywhere other than Turku/Helsinki. But its finally here! On thursday we will be getting the overnight ferry to Stockholm (so after a full day at work :/) which gives us an early arrival on friday (6am!) and then a full day saturday (where we'll be going to a local christmas market) before getting the overnight ferry back again. So three nights, but only 2 days. Means I get all day sunday to recover,

I'm so excited!!!