there's nowhere a weary man can lay him down

Country 1 revisited: Norway
I actally started my trip with Norway (well, Belgium actually, but I only spent about 5 hours in Antwerpen, so I'll just count Norway as Country 1), cruising the fjords with my parents. It was a beautiful, mountainousness cleaving through the blinding sunlight, nothing but gold for a week, and little diamonds or maybe just tears flowing down from the sun.



yes, maybe even a 7 layer sky, Lauren.
But Oslo, I didn't like Oslo. Maybe because it was grey, maybe because it was expensive. Probably. So after only a few museums, I moved on.

Country 3: Sweden
Stockholm was... boring. I slept on a ship the second night because the hostel building was full. That was a hassle since I had to set my bed again, and the cool factor wasn't even there since I had just spent two weeks on a boat with my parents.
Mostly we just wandered around Gamle Stan (Old Town) and various other bits. It's actually quite small, so we saw most of it in just an evening.



The next day we went to the Vasamuseet, which houses this incredible ship - that sank on its maiden voyage. This ancient craft, this beautiful and soaring vessel meant for the sea, yet now locked in a dark and dry building, having never fulfilled it's purpose. It's odd that its so celebrated, for failing so thoroughly at it's intended purpose. Of course, historians prize it because it's remarkably well preserved, probably the best from that time period. But still. The lesson is: Fail and you will get a museum built for you.

We went out later that night, but it was a little dull. Everyone looked the same - blonde and blue eyed.
Tired of the gloom and of the Scandic uniformity, I headed south for Tallinn in the morning...

Country 4: Estonia
Tallinn is also small, but there is a contented feel to it. There's a sort of peacefulness, all ġreen and castly. Actually, that's only Old Town, the rest of it is a lot more cosmopolitan, like any other city. They've even got a 24 hour mall. That is one up on even Los Angeles!
I think though, perhaps part of the charm of Tallinn was that I got to stay below a strip joint. Odder yet than staying on a boat, though I can't say that I really noticed it much, other than the whispered gossip in my room that first night.
It was definitely a nice rambling exploratory type of a town.



The next leg of my journey was a ferry to Helsinki. Of course I've been on boats before, but this ferry was not quite what I expected. I had mostly chosen the ferry because it was quicker than flying. I had expected it to be fairly similar to perhaps the ferry to Catalina: a long seated wait, with the possibility of seasickness. I suppose though, that it was a lot more like a cruise than I had been expecting. It was like I wasn't even travelling. There were restaurants and entertainment and cafes! It was even more pleasant than taking a train. I just wish they had ferries from Helsinki to Riga, but I already had my plane tickets.

Country 5: Finland
I finally got into my groove in Helsinki. From Copenhagen onwards, I had been feeling a bit at odds with the travelling lifestyle. But whether it was acclimation time, or simply disinterest in Scandinavia, I couldn't immerse myself in the experience. However, Helsinki got me. I even got to skate there, because it wasn't rainy, and it wasn't cobbled. The storm drains, these diveted 1½ half-pipes, crosswise to traffic in the sidewalk to keep the rain going the right way off the sidewalk, were a pain, but manageable in the end.
By the way: Aaron from Stockhom (who probably isn't reading this anyway, but just in case) you're so so wrong about that hostel! Sodexho was absolutely fantastic! Of course, I was going to listen to your advice and go somewhere else, but it was the closest to the port I ferried into, and plus, it was close to the bus station where I had to go to pick up the shuttle to the airport. Convenience will beat out advice from someone whose taste I don't fully trust every time. Well. Actually, so will many things.
But this hostel was probably one of the top ones at which I've stayed. The bed wasn't fantastic (they rarely are) and the elevator was cramped (I mostly took the stairs anyway). But there was a beautiful balcony in my room and the breakfast buffet was HUGE! I'm used to maybe 2 pieces of bread and coffee or tea. Maybe juice if you're lucky. But this place had a large variety of food, different types of juice, different types of coffee from one of those machines, hell it even had amaretto syrup!! How much better can you get?!


I promise I'll catch up eventually, but for now I'm out of time...