April 2019
This adventure began in Stockholm, Sweden. Where I stayed on a boat hotel. This was the first of many boats I would sleep on. As all of these countries are on the Baltic Sea, ferries are a great way to get around.
This was the view from my cabin.
I met up with a friend from Paris and we road electric scooters to a local market. One of the highlights of this trip was riding along the water. It was a perfect day.
A ship was crawling with pirates.
Great voice.
Nice hangout along the water.
We went to the Royal Palace and saw some nice things. For a time Sweden was very much so a leading European Power and it shows here.
Something we liked a lot about this palace was that it seemed a bit more in-tune with nature. You certainly have the classical influences, but you also get a lot of green and see many animals.
Masterpiece in the making.
Everywhere we went there was water nearby. It makes the city feel calm and quiet.
Love the architecture of the Nordic Museum.
A rather imposing looking Swedish King.
The Vasa museum is awesome!
This is a model of what the Vasa looked like. More bright colors were applied liberally throughout history and across cultures than I previously realized.
This is how you make colors.
This reminded me of the map on Dragonstone.
This shows you a little on how they brought this ship up from the sea floor.
Nice view and seafood platter for Easter Dinner. I never would have guessed, but Sweden has the most islands of any country in the world with over 221,000 islands, Indonesia has around 17,500.
I took a 16 hour ferry from Stockholm, Sweden to Helsinki, Finland. This is a nice way to travel. Flying would have been less time and less money, but when you account for paying for one less night in a hotel you actually save money and have much more fun. Cruise ships are a good way to meet people. I made some Finnish friends on the cruise and was able to meet up with one while in Finland.
Helsinki, Finland is certainly a nice city, but the best aspects of Finland are in the beauty of its nature up north. Fact for you, with over 187,000 lakes, Finland has the most lakes of any country. While the state I am from, Maryland, actually has no natural lakes. Every lake in Maryland has been manmade.
The churches have a unique style here and were surprisingly casual.
The Helsinki Cathedral might be the most iconic symbol of Helsinki and I was surprised by the simplicity of the interior. It is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral, and one of Martin Luther’s key points was that the church should not be so extravagant.
I like this Weiner man.
I took a day trip up to a little old Finnish town called Porvoo. Thought this a clever use for an old bus.
Imagine walking home here everyday.
Charming little town.
I like going into toy stores when I travel and this one was fun.
Walked into a game shop and in on an intense game of Magic the Gathering. I like what these guys have done with the place.
One of the 187,888 beautiful lakes in Finland.
From Helsinki I took a 2 hour ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn was a wonderful surprise. I knew almost nothing about it before arriving, other than that it is a former Soviet Union country. Having now been there it is certainly one of my favorite cities. Old town Tallinn lies within medieval walls and on the outskirts are industrial buildings that have been remodeled and are now great restaurants and shops. It is also much less expensive than other European cities and still gives you a great history.
Wool is the big product here.
You can walk along the walls and go up many of the towers.
I think the shirtless guy really adds a lot to this picture.
They put holes in the tip of the executioners sword so it made a more dramatic sound when he cut off peoples heads.
Stretching table. No thanks.
History of Tallinn.
Beautiful old city on the water.
This was a nice place to meditate.
Ended up having a nice lunch with the Australian lady I asked to take this photo.
Glad I don’t have to fight in this.
They had a few of these creepy statues around. I think it has something to do with the Black Death.
Went up to one of these towers and found a nice pottery shop.
Walked a lot of staircases like this.
Was not expecting to find this at the top of the tower.
This is a really cool market they have made out of old industrial buildings.
Like I said, former Soviet Union country.
Really liked this street art from a Mexican artist.
They had some interesting modern architecture, I like the relation to nature.
From Tallinn I went back to Helsinki and immediately got onto another cruise ship to St. Petersburg, Russia. Normally you need a visa to go to Russia, but if you go by ferry you can get a 72hr visa for free and not have to do any of the paperwork.
This little girl is preparing for her Black Swan rendition. Throughout the cruise they have entertainment and the first to perform were the kids.
Made friends with an American guy and this is where we drank our White Russians.
This was my first impression of Russia, it got way better.
Saint Issac’s Cathedral
The Royal Palace, pretty regal.
This hallway was much longer and decorated with portraits of military leaders who helped defeat Napoleon.
The military is a very big deal in Russia. While most countries have an idea of peace time and war time, the Russian perspective is a constant state of war.
Love these chairs from the Asian part of the museum collection.
Incredible library.
Russian dolls everywhere.
He is a hard man with a soft side.
Putin, Trump, and Xi are very popular here.
This is called, Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. It is fun to look at.
The interior of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is incredible!
St. Petersburg is a beautiful city.
Walking back to the bus I came across a military parade. This was actually practice for the big parade that happens every year on May 9th to celebrate the end of WW2.
I asked these soldiers if I could take their picture. The guy in red said, “Hell yeah!”
I rode the cruise back to Helsinki and had a few hours before my flight left so I saw Avengers Endgame. They have great snacks.
While these are all great places, I most highly recommend Stockholm and Tallinn.