Stockholm

Leaving Estonia on an overnight ferry/cruise ship

My cabin.

I have now left Estonia (temporarily) and am now in Stockholm staying with friends. The trip here was very enjoyable. I had my own cabin with a view, toilet and shower. Beer available upstairs. Expensive (the beer) but less than you pay at an airport. It was a combination ferry/cruise ship and very nice. The trip was smooth because the sea was calm. Just before I left Estonia, my friend Liina, reminded me of the terrible accidental (?) sinking of the same kind of ship in the 90’s. Thank you Liina!

I haven’t mentioned the lack of darkness here yet, so I will now, or you could say the amount of daylight that is here at the moment. At about 10:00 pm twilight sort of starts. By 11:00 pm it is sorta dark. Midnight is dark. Then it starts to get light at 3:00 am and is light by 4:00!. And I understand that the farther north one goes, the more pronounced this effect is. Of course in the winter they don’t see the sun for 9 months! Time to head south!!! So everyone looks forward to this time of year. This year has been unusual because it has been hotter than normal. And some people have started to complain. And when the sun goes away soon for 9 months, they will complain that they miss the sun.

This photo was taken at 4 in the morning as we got closer to Stockholm. Now by closer I mean on the map. Time wise we were still 6 hours away because from here on the ship had to navigate around and  in-between islands and go slower. It wasn’t going fast to begin with but now it was going half as fast.

If the island is big enough, the Swedes will build a house on it. Or even a city!

My ferry docked in Stockholm.

Permanent amusement park on one of the many harbors in Stockholm.

One of the many harbors in Stockholm.

“Stock” means connecting, as in bridges and ferries. And “holm” means islands. And Stockholm is built on many islands connected by bridges and many ferries. Very clever these Swedes.

A real steam boat. One of many different kinds of boats that are constantly ferrying passengers from island to island.

Time lapse of one of the many busy harbors here. This was taken over a 20 minute period of time.

We are taking a ferry to a unique and exclusive island restaurant tomorrow. Not really sure what that means but don’t worry, I will let you know. And maybe I will take some photos.