And once again back from Stockholm and the cruise. Here is how we left Hki.

[cerealjoe]

Bid good-bye to Helsinki and the White Church, said hello to Stockholm and its beautiful buildings and perfect weather, spent most of the time on the boat in between... I did enjoy it but boy, am I glad we only do the CS cruise once a year! 47 other peeps came along this time around, big groups are fun, but only for a limited time.

See there is the White Church in the background! Yes, most people go on the cruise not so much to visit Stockholm (the boat arrives there at 9:30am and you're supposed to be back on before 5pm on the same day) but for the atmosphere on board, especially if it's a cruise leaving on Friday evening.

We had one side of a whole corridor to us but that means we couldn't be really loud as the peeps across the hall often included small children.

There is a new marking system on the boat with whole and dashed lines... I didn't waste time reading up on it, in case of panic we were right next door the escape boat route. It's bad, I know.

I have a thing of always going on the sun deck when the boat is leaving. I'm not very often in the city center anymore, during daylight hours at least, and it's good to see the landmarks once in a while.

Well, hello there!

We were on the Silja boat, this is the Viking boat that goes to Stockholm. It leaves half an hour or so after the Silja one and you can spot it behind most of the time if the weather is clear.

Having a cold glass of beer or cider might be nice in warmer weather on this deck.

Restaurants and other things on the islands close to Helsinki.

Of course the boat passes Suomenlinna eventually.

Doors with such technical details sure feel safe, don't they?

Ah. Buffet dinner. Is it really worth 35 euros? Probably if you're going to drink lots of the special cruise wine and beer, both are unlimited... and both are hard to stomach. I mainly go there for the company.

We moved away from the corridor for the late night merriment and to the stairs in front of the elevators.

Nothing says "fun!" like a glowing fake ice cube. Sunny, no really the weather was wonderful, Stockholm in the second and final part... now it's time for some sleep.