Ahhhh Sweden

Technically, my first taste of Sweden was on board the Viking Line, overnight ferry which took us from Helsinki to Stockholm. We crossed into Swedish waters at around midnight. The term ‘ferry’ doesn’t really give this boat justice. It’s more like a big cruise ship, which on the weekend trips the local Fins and Swedes call the ‘Party Boat’ or the SS Chlamydia. Don’t ask me why…….! Luckily we were booked for the Thursday night. It was an interesting journey to say the least.

Checked into the cabin and headed straight to the poop deck for some departing views of Helsinki. Nice!!!!

We then enjoyed a quick snack and than sat sown on the open deck bar to enjoy a couple of slow beers. Interestingly enough, the rocking motion of the ship made you feel like you had drunk 10 times what you really had.

Sleeping on a boat wasn’t too easy so we arrived in Stockholm a bit worse for wear.
I guess Sweden had a very similar social set up to Finland except the administration of the public services ran a bit smoother and the average person seemed a bit better off and better looking. For example, we used a couple of the free city bikes one day and they were nice bikes. 3 speed gears, hand brakes and generally in decent shape.

We were fortunate enough to have a couple of days of beautiful weather. So we made the most of it and rode around the harbors and islands most of the time. I’ve never seen so many boats in my life. Stockholm has the most amount of boats per ca pita in the world and it was well and truly on display.

The nightlife in Stockholm was awesome. We had a few great meals and went out one night to a bar which could be best summed up as a big version of the Austral with hotter chicks and friendlier people in general. Whilst there we got talking to quite a few groups of people. We were talking to one guy from the USA who had met a Swedish girl in the states, had been dating her for 2 months and was able on that basis to get a residential Visa to stay in Sweden. Lucky bastard.

Whilst at this place we also got offered and had some snus (pronounced snootz). Nothing dodgy. Snoots is like a tiny little tea bag of strong tobacco which you put in your upper lip. It basically effects you the same way that 3 cigarettes at one would.

It was sad to leave Stockholm and Sweden. It had been my favorite country so far. Next stop Oslo, Norway.