Destination North - Finland

Helsinki!

After getting immersed in Stockholm's spectacular scenery it was time to make our way to the docks to board the Silja Lines Serenade for an overnight Baltic "ferry" cruise to Helsinki.

Destination North

Finland

(Travel Poster by Finland's living treasure Eric Bruun)

I put quotes around the word "ferry" because when I think of a ferry boat the vessels that come to mind include the Washington State Ferry and Alaska Marine Highway System.

The Helsinki ferry, other than two levels of car decks, bore almost no comparison to any ferry I have ever sailed on. The Silja ship was the love child between a super jumbo car ferry and a cruise liner.

Upon boarding you enter at level 7 and find yourself in a five-story light-filled atrium called the Promenade Deck. A live band welcomed us.

The promenade deck contained an espresso bar, luxury boutiques and a variety of cafes. There were glass elevators at each end whisking passengers up to the 4 stories of cabins and the Sky Deck above. 

Above that was another level with a formal cocktail lounge. 

At one end of the promenade was a casino and showroom. At the other was the entrance to the ships massive grand buffet. There was an almost entire floor of duty free shopping below too. Elsewhere there was a kids club and health / fitness areas.  The Serenade was a floating resort.

The Serenade's Promenade Deck

Silja ships travel year-round connecting Stockholm - Riga, Stockholm - Tallinn and Stockholm - Helsinki. 

During summer the ships are filled with sun worshippers and tourists. During winter the ships carry more business people along with locals on holiday going to Christmas markets etc. As we left Stockholm two ships chased us past hundreds of spectacular islands and the Stockholm Archipelago.

Two Ships Chasing Us Into the Night

While everyone that booked through the tour provider had luxury cabins, I booked the closing portion of the trip myself and booked the least expensive cabin possible. Once I boarded the ship I realized that my cabin was the Di Caprio Suite in steerage (below even both the car decks). In fact, if the ships evacuation plan graphic was correct, my cabin was below the ship's water line. 

It was compact, immaculate and had a good bed fitted with great linen. I had figured "low in the boat" meant less sway and an easier time sleeping. Although I was worried a bit about claustrophobia, I took solace that Scandinavian's are world-class mariners. Despite that I laid out a flashlight and warm clothes "firefighter fashion" at the end of the bed before turning in. If the all hands signal clanged I was ready to get my ass in gear.

But before turning in I watched the sun dip into the Baltic Sea while working on my blog on the Sky Deck. Then about midnight I descended down to my little cabin and slept like a pup. When my alarm woke me at 6:00 am I returned to the grand buffet for an amazing breakfast and witnessed our ship glide into Helsinki past its vibrant waterfront market.

Helsinki's Art Nouveau Havis Amanda Fountain

(Ville Vallgren's once controversial sculpture has welcomed visitors since 1908)

We all disembarked and found our respective hotels. Mine was the Hilton Strand and it was really nice. My lovely room came with a view of one of Helsinki's canals. It was a parade of paddle boarders and kayakers.

I rejoined the group at the waterfront's outdoor market where you can't miss the Havis Amanda Fountain at the end of Esplanadi Park (that runs up the hill away from the waterfront). Today the fountain stands as one of the most beloved icons of the city (although it had been soap bubbled on our visit).

The artist meant the symbolism of the sculpture to symbolize the rebirth of Helsinki. But the women of Helsinki objected strongly to the nude "French Whore" imagery they felt served to objectify them with. Some further felt the sea lions (with their tongues out) surrounding the sculpture represented men's lust. Like the fury that can surround architecture (think I.M. Pei's now beloved Louvre Pyramid) good architecture and good art softens, then wins over, even the hardest hearts over time.

We then climbed aboard a local ferry to the former military island fortress of Suomenlinna. 

Suomenlinna is a Unesco heritage site that preserves repurposed buildings from its days as a maritime fortress in the mid 1800's. The fortress was intended to protect Finland's eastern territories. But at the start of the 19th century it was overrun run by the Russians who controlled Finland until Finnish Independence in 1917. 

Signs of Russian influence remain throughout Helsinki. Especially in the two prominent cathedrals placed atop hills overlooking the harbor. Even toys in Suomenlinna's Toy Museum featured highlights from the Soviet Era.

Canine Cosmonauts from Russia's Soviet Era

I loved the old metal toys (what we used to call Campbell's soup toys).

More Antique Toys

After a day spent visiting the island (and an amazing lunch at the Island's Brewery) I decided to hit my hotel's executive lounge for a drink and snackies and call it a day.

The following morning we visited the Design and Finnish Architecture museums. The Design Museum had a major exhibit entitled Secret Universe by COMPANY: the studio of Aamu Song and Johan Olin. This couple has traveled the world seeking inspiration from the "endangered skills of traditional craft". They turn this global inspiration into design ideas for all sorts of products. 

Some characters by COMPANY

The Museum of Finnish Architecture (MFA) featured two interesting exhibits. One was a retrospective showcasing the 1904 art nouveau masterwork Suur-Merijoki Manor. The other exhibit showcased the work of Eric Adlercreutz. The Adlercreutz exhibit highlights the the important role that drawing plays in the profession of architecture. 

Suur Merijoki Manor was a country home commissioned by a wealthy St. Petersburg businessman, Maximilian Neuscheller. He hired not one but a trio of promising young architects: Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen (father of Eero) to carry out the commission. He spared no expense having the art, textiles and all furniture custom designed. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1919 the house was sold to the Finnish government who allowed the Finnish air force to use it until 1939. After it was badly damaged during the Winter War it was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1944 and eventually razed.

Saarinen's Sketch - Suur Merijoki Manor

Sketch by Adlercreutz

From there we enjoyed lunch at Karl Fazer's art deco flagship cafe (Fazer is the Finland's chocolate emperor). We had salads and open faced sandwiches and (of course) deserts; all yummy!

Lunch Selections at Karl Fazer

After lunch we hiked up the hill to the iconic Uspenski Cathedral with its shining onion domes glistening in the summer sun.

Uspenski Cathedral
(The largest orthodox church in western Europe)

From the Uspenski you can see the even bigger Helsinki Cathedral on an adjacent hill.

Helsinki Cathedral

(Until Finnish Independence in 1917 Helsinki Cathedral was St. Nicholas Cathedral - named after Russian Tsar Nicholas the Grand Duke of Finland) 

At the end of the day I said my final goodbye to my traveling chums and checked into the airport Hilton rather than catch a crazy early shuttle. My hotel room came with an unexpected feature I truly loved; my own personal in-room sauna! I made good use of that after all the walking and cycling over the past couple of weeks.

Helsinki Airport Hilton's In-Room Sauna!

In the morning it was time for me to begin my journey home via London.

Scandinavia was a lovely place to spend a couple of weeks. Seemingly everyone spoke fluent English, the countries were immaculately clean, food was wholesome and fresh and we came to love Fika! 

We took some Finland, Sweden and Denmark home!

Roadboy's Travels © 2019

Stockholm!

The Gota Canal, Stockholm and Lovon Island

After two days cycling north and south from Helsingborg we took a shuttle north to cycle a few miles of the Gota Canal. 

Along the way we made a stop at a candy cane factory. The variety of hard candy was pretty amazing. Suddenly we all became 6 years old.

Endless Candy Canes

The Gota Canal was the largest engineering project in Sweden of its era. It created a 381 mile system linking 21 lakes through the use of 58 locks. The canal began in 1810 and took 22 years to complete. However, upon completion, it was rendered almost immediately obsolete for commerce due to the simultaneous development of an efficient rail network.

As a result the Gota has always been used primarily to provide pleasure craft access to the Baltic Sea. Sadly for us, Wednesday was filled with rain, so we were unable to ride and had to settle for viewing the canal in transit to Stockholm. 

One of the Gota's 58 Locks 

In Stockholm, after settling into our waterfront hotel, we learned about the myriad of transportation options available. The City is comprised of an archipelago and islands so it uses a complex transportation network of ferry's, subway, buses and trams.

City planners have incorporated a wonderful network of separated bike lanes throughout the city. Much like Copenhagen and Amsterdam, bikes and electric rideshare scooters travel in a lane set apart from pedestrian sidewalks and automobile roadways.

Cyclists Use Separate Lanes
(cycling past a magnificent collection of wooden boats)

Thursday morning the weather forecast called for a mixed bag of medium to heavy rain followed by clouds. Nonetheless, we stretched shower caps over our bike helmets and set out on an urban ride to explore the city. First stop was Long Island. This island is Stockholm's Alcatraz and served as a prison for 250 years. Now Langholman Prison has been repurposed into a unique (and ideally located) hotel and hostel. Hotel rooms were created from the old jail cells. 

Langholman "Prison" Hotel

After departing the island we crossed one of Stockholm's largest bridges into the central city. While crossing the forbidding clouds exploded in a massive thunder, lightning and rain storm. This prompted a quick detour to seek shelter in the courtyard of Stockholm's City Hall.

 

Setting out Just Before the Deluge

After waiting out the downpour we continued on to Stockholm's old town called Gamla Stan. Along the way we cycled to the Royal palace for the changing of the guards. 

After lunch we biked past the Grand Hotel where former president and Mrs. Obama, the president of South Korea, and a host of global dignitaries were assembled for Sweden's "Brilliant Minds" conference.

With the dignitaries present we had to zig zag through lots of security details on our way to cross the bridge to Kungliga Djurgarden. This is Stockholm's pleasure island. It houses an amusement park, museums (Nordic, Vasa, Viking and Abba), historical monuments and the Skansen open-air museum. Since the rain had stopped we went on to enjoy 40 minutes of riding and circumnavigated the island.

That evening we explored Stockholm's remarkable Fotografiska (photograph) museum. This is one of four Fotografiska's (others are located in London, New York and Talinn).

Stockholm's Fotografiska is famous for both its exhibits and its restaurant. It popularity keeps it open late (it was open until 1:00 am the night we visited). 

When we arrived at Fotografiska's restaurant we found it was booked for the entire evening so we tried its less formal cafe. It also turned out to be excellent. There were three major exhibits in place (which is about 1/2 of the museum. A new exhibit "Memoria" by James Nachtway was being set up and would open just a few days after we left. The balance of the museum featured three exhibits. The first we viewed was Mandy Baker's beautiful, yet terrifying, photo essay comprised of ocean artifacts from pollution. She said when she tried to garner interest in increasing pollution in our oceans, interest waned.  When she created visually appealing photos of the waste, people were drawn to them. Then they'd read the descriptions and come to appreciate the meaning behind the photos.

Beauty Followed by the Disturbing Reality of the Scene

(Sea Pollution) 

The next exhibit was the "Light Within" portraiture of Vincent Peters. I found it dazzling. Peter's photos felt like they allowed the viewer to see into the very soul of his famous subjects.   

Charlize Theron

David Beckham 

(2001 - before all of his skin art)

The last exhibit "Vanishing Traces" by the Dutch photographer Scarlett Hooft Graafland seemed to seamlessly blend fantasy with reality.  

Dunes Like You

After a day of tempestuous weather, the sunset was spectacular.

Sunset Over Djurgarden

Friday was our final day of riding and we began it with an early ferry ride to Lovon Island. The morning had a few lingering overcast skies, but those melted into brilliant sunshine which held for the rest of our visit in Stockholm. On Lovon Island we cycled a 30 mile loop through its villages, lush pastures and idyllic farmlands. We all agreed it was our best day of cycling and a picture perfect way to close the cycling part of our trip. 

A Village on Lovon Island

 Lovon's Fields Ablaze

 Wrapping up the Ride

On the Return Ferry to Stockholm

Friday night concluded with cyclists in our farewell dinner. Happily, we still had two additional free days to explore Stockholm before departing for Helsinki. And explore we did.

Saturday's highlights was Stockholm's amazing Vasa Museum. But first, it was off to the Medelhavet Antiquities museum where we had a great lunch (cherkessian chicken stirfry with walnuts - seated among the relics). We walked to Brod and Salt for a cardamon bun and a visit to see the (very ornate) royal coaches.

 Cardamon Buns

 Symbolic Masts Above the Roof of the Vasa

OK, The Vasa Museum. This museum dramatically chronicles the discovery, research and eventual raising of the Vasa. The ship was launched on its maiden voyage August 10, 1628. It sailed about 1300 m before sanking due to poor design (hill was too narrow and lacking in ballast).

The sunken ship remained in its brackish water grave until the 1950's when it was once again discovered. After an assessment the decision was made to raise it for research. Salvage and raising the ship produced a treasure trove of artifacts as well as the remains of 15 victims from its crew of 450.

This museum is not to be missed.

Inside the Vasa Museum         

Next we visited the royal coach display in the palace. We'd hoped to see the royal armoury too, but that was destined to reopen the following Monday after a multi-million dollar renovation.

The Crown Prince's Coach

 

After a return to the hotel we enjoyed a dinner at waters edge and came to realize our time in Stockholm was just about complete. Sunday, I caught an overnight ferry (enjoying the midnight sun) to Helsinki.

Roadboy's Travels © 2019

Helsingborg - Cycling Begins

South to Landskrona - North to the Skaret Peninnsula

After a short ferry ride to from Heslingor Denmark to Helsingborg Sweden on a really quiet and clean (electric power) commuter ferry, we were ready to get on our bicycles.

Like Cøpenhagen, Helsingborg respects bicycles. City streets are designed to separate drive lanes for bikes from cars and both away from the walk lanes for pedestrians. Woe be to a pedestrian that walks into the cycle lane without looking. The last thing they hear will be the ding ding's of a hundred bike bells.

We began with a warm-up ride to familiarize ourselves with our new bikes. Then ot was off for a  little teaser ride. The 12 miles ride offered wonderful views along Helsingborg's waterfront and up into surrounding hills. 

A Car Show at Sofiero Palace

Passing the summer palace built by Crown Prince Oscar for his wife Sophie we saw a vintage car show in progress. Later, when Oscar become king, Sophiero palace was renovated and upgraded.

Our day ended with a welcome drink and extensive smorgasbord dinner.

 Welcome Reception

 

Our Smorgasbod

First Cycle Day - Helsingborg to Landskrona

The first full day of cycling was almost completely along water. We ventured south making a first stop at the Raa Fishing Museum for a introduction toe the past fishing industry. From there we pedaled on to the Cittadellet stronghold where a lovely picnic lunch awaited us. After 31 miles we were back at the hotel.

Raa Fishing Museum

Cittadella

In the evening we gathered again for a visit to a artisan Swedish licorice factory. The rage in Sweden is (very) heavily salted designer licorice. I bought some passionfruit dusted chocolate covered licorice. 

Licorice Factory

An Evening Walking Back tot the Hotels After Dinner

From there we went for a lovely dinner in a relocated farmhouse. After a walk home, Roadboy was ready to crash into bed.

Second Cycle Day - Helsingborg to Skaret and on to Angelholm)

The second full day of riding is the epic ride of the trip. today we pdealed north to the Skaret Peninnsula. This ride took us from waters edge up into rich rolling fields of wheat, barley and (thanks to climate change) Sweden's newly emerging vineyards.

It Was This Big!

A Thatched Roof Farmhouse

Uphill, against the wind cycling, was rewarded with lunch at the Flickorna Lundgren hillside garden cafe. The cafe featured giant egg soufle's topped with thick sliced bacon. The souffle was washed down with homemade rhubarb, orange or strawberry lemonade.

Lunch at Flickorna Lundgren

After lunch we faced even more wind on a ride to wrap up in Angelholm. One rider characterized the windy ride as "like doing 5,000 squats and then getting hit by a truck". Everyone made the full ride though and we climbed on to a train for a return to our hotel in Angelholm.

Arriving at Mid-Point Lunch Stop

Lunch Stop

After a long ride and a huge lunch, everyone was still pretty full. So later in the evening many of us ventured off to find a light dinner in Helsingborg. 

After dinner I went to peruse a local grocery store (I really love perusing European grocery stores) and then walked around the city before crashing into bed.

Sunset Over Helsingborg

Tomorrow we are off for a 4-hour motorcoach ride to Stockholm (possibly with a short ride along the way along the Gota Canal).

Roadboy's Travels © 2019

Hamlets Castle and on to Sweden!

Final Days in Copenhagen - On to Sweden!

Our final days in Copenhagen scorecard:
1. canal tour, 3 castles, 1 war museum, 20,000 steps per day, 1 foodie tour and a bunch of headgear.

Team Roadboy Team was on a roll.

First off the headgear. The Dane's are big on stuff on their head. I guess cause it is cold much of the year. I resisted the purchase of a nice Viking helmet.

 "Headgear" - Treasury Rosenborg Castle

"Headgear" - Danish War Museum 

 Headgear - Kronborg (Hamlet's Castle)

Some other treasures included the modern tapestries at Christiansborg Castle. This first Chrisiansborg caught on fire when a fireplace exhaust pipe caught fire. The intrepid Dane's built a new one. only to watch it also burn to the ground. So they built a second Christiansborg only to have it burn down, This one stymied the firefightes  down (fire that was complicated to fight because the firefighters could not keep up with the fire as it spread rapdily thats to the Castles labyrinth of secret passages. 

One of the features I loved in the present palace is its modern tapestries.

 Wonderful Modern Tapestries
(Christiansborg Castle)

(Note: Mao, JFK, Gandhi the Moon Landing)

After lots of museum walking we opted for a canal boat trip as a welcome chance to sit while sightseeing. It is a great way to view Copenhagen's spectacular Opera house. We also passed the Queen's Royal Yacht, the backside of Little Mermaid statue (I spared you a photo of Copnhagen's  biggest cliche) and then ventured on to the lovely canals of Christianhavn. 

 

Copenhagen's Dazzling Opera House 

(designed by the firm I am collaborating with in Minneapolis presently)

The highlight of Saturday evening was a private evening foodie walking tour in the wonderfully diverse and hip Vesterbro neighborhood. In this tour our guide Fiew from Foods of Copenhagen curated some of Copenhagen's best emerging Scandinavian cuisine. Our guide selected five stops along the way.

First stop was Ancestrale to taste small plates where they offered us vegetarian and seafood first plates (I had a marvelous salmon with carrot reduction) paired with natural wines. Second stop was Copenhagen's first designer porridge purveyor Grød where we picked up a savory summer pea, ricotta and lemon oil porridge. DAMN! Who knew porridge could be so good!  Third stop was family operated Holm Cider to taste Lystig and Benene pa Nakken ciders. Fourth stop was John's Hot Dog Deli (next to Warpigs) in Vesterbro's old meatpacking district. Here we enjoyed a massive Danish dog with some strong beer followed by a liquor chaser. Skøl! Last stop was pure delight. We finished at the fine dining greenhouse cafe Gemyse in Tivoli where we  enjoyed a creamy puff of ice cream set in a clear buttermilk sauce.

 Dessert at Gemyse with Fie

Fie's walking route included some amazing street art and the Central Hotel.   

Vesterbro Street Art

Along the way we passsed the Central Hotel. A local noted that every major city needs/has a "Central" hotel.  So he created one (literally) in Vesterbro. This hotel has only one small but amazing room. If you can afford the $378 / night. Located directly over a coffee bar and complete with a free I-phone and two bicycles to use for your visit, this truly is the best place to stay in the city.

 The Central Hotel

(The adjacent artwork was created by a local artist in celebration of stay-at-home dads)

Sunday morning it was time to meet our cycling guides and depart Copenhagen. Laura came to assemble us for our tour and escort us to Kronborg (immortalized by Shakespeare as "Hamlets Castle") in Helsingor, Denmark. This castle is strategically located on an island to enable Denmark's Kings to tax all ships requiring passing to / from the Baltic Sea. His rule was simple tell me honestly what you have (for customs). The honor system was backed up with a simple rule.  The king reserved the right to "purchase" your cargo for the value you declared.

 

After our castle tour we met our guides, Milan and Bodhi for a ferry passage to the other across the channel from Helsingor Denmark to Heslingorg Sweden. There we had a bike fitting and clinic and officially began our cycling trip.

Bicycling Begins

(bicycles were presented as design icons at Copenhagen's Design Museum) 

Roadboy's Travels © 2019