Great Scandinavian Road Trip: Day 16

This was the last day in Finlamd. Because I had to catch the ferry to Stockholm from Helsinki, instead of from Turku as originally planned, I had only a short amount of time to see Turku. The castle was quite good, the best I've seen during the trip so far.


Next was the ferry ride to Stockholm, all 17 hours of it. These are not ferries like the little ferries that take your car across a river. These are giant cruise ships that you happen to take your car on. Inside, they had made a sort of "Main Street" with duty free shops and restaurants lining it. There are also bars, clubs, and a casino. My ncabin, while small, was adequate and quiet enough. That said, it turned out to be a 4 person cabin and the other three berths were folded away, so who knows how it would be when full. I'd heard from others who have been on these ferries that they are really more like excuses for the locals to party and get really drunk while going from one city to the next. I was told to be prepared for wildness. Maybe that set my expectations to high, or maybe it was just because it was a Monday, but I didn't find it too exciting. I went to the pub where it was quiet (except for an awful guitar player). I went to the lounge where they had a live band and found it sedate. I went to the nightclub, but turned away before I got there because of the terrible singing comign from there. So, in short, I observed no kinds of craziness and went back to my cabin to watch videos and sleep.

One thing that was nice about the ferry, there was a good view of Helsinki as you left. I was able to see some of the islands and harbor forts that I didn't get a chance to see while there. In retrospect, I should have done the islands in the harbor rather than some of the more outlying things I did there.