I have to admit I got a bit over-excited about all the snowy pictures and forgot to share the start of the journey to Finland!
So here it is. Flight to Stockholm (surprisingly smooth), arriving just after midnight, one hour searching the airport for missing half of our pram while carrying 12 kg child in your arms, finding it after spending 30 minutes filing a report, walk to the hotel, falling to bed by 2am (not before our little one jumped out of bed ninja-style head down first) and waking up for 6am to catch a taxi to the port.
Arriving at the boat, looking like a beaten pack of wolfs, all of the morning beauty captured by the onboard photographer.
Quick breakfast at the buffet followed by our hopes for a nap being crashed with a speed of light by a moody and face-slap generous 2-year-old.
To give him a bit of credit, he did have an ear inflammation in both ears which we only found out few days later (we’re the shining samples of parenthood).
The cruise ship is 12 floors high, with a few restaurants, bars and most importantly gorgeous views!
The cruise is a surprisingly affordable way to commute between Finland and Sweden with a stop-over in Aland.
Viking Lines run a regular schedule between Turku and Stockholm and also Helsinki – Stockholm. In the busy summer season, you will get plenty of action here with live concerts and bands onboard along with delicious food!
You can book a cabin from as little as 20 eur one way and enjoy a snooze on the way.
My favourite bit in addition to the views is the food of course! I do admit I had a bit of herring coma after lunch!
Luckily the wine comes with the buffet as a package, otherwise, you would be forking out around 10 eur per glass in a normal restaurant (welcome to Finland!)
Back to where we’re supposed to be from the start.
Turku is the old capital of Finland on the West coast. While it’s not as nearly cosmopolitan and swanky as Helsinki, it has plenty to offer! There are some amazing restaurants to choose from, museums and if you drive out of town a bit, you will see the famous archipelago! We took a stroll on the first day of holiday, and went to check out the old market first.
You can get anything from reindeer meat, homemade cinnamon buns, to sushi and the best sweets. There was a lot of buzz before Christmas with people stocking up the local delicacies for the festive season. We settled for a seat in an old train hosted in the market and a cup of mulled wine.
After warming up and getting our little one to sleep in pram, we ventured our and braced the cold while checking out the river banks and the Christmas markets.
Hope all that walking didn’t get you tired?
I will be back very soon with the last part of my winter adventures and a very special snow BBQ!
