April 11, 2003
Finland – country where I’d like to be… but won’t
Sean and I are making good headway on my itinerary. One of the things you learn as you go, is the importance of balancing time with route. Sure, I want to go everywhere I can – but I also have 4 months, and teleportation only exists in movies like The Fly, and we all know what happened there.
There are always tough decisions to make. Planning a trip, once again, reminds me editing a story: you write more than you need, because you can’t edit what isn’t there.
For my trip, that means dreaming big, and paring down. How many cities and countries would I like to see? Well, shagging all of them. How many can I feasibly see in 4 months? Far, far fewer, of course.
One of those somewhat difficult decisions just came up, on the Scandinavia leg. I’d love to see Finland; Helsinki would be a great city to include on my itinerary. However, the ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki alone is 17 hours—that’s a lot of travel time, for just one city that is a little out of the way. From Helsinki my thought was then to ferry to Warnemunde, Germany, to put me back on Europe mainland, a ferry ride that must be 3-4 times as long. It’s just not something that’s really feasible for this trip (sorry Carita!).
So this time around, Finland, Finland, is a country where I want to be—but it can’t make the cut this time. Maybe next year, and Carita I hope you’re back and with a cold glass of “black stuff” waiting for me.
Posted by Ant at 11:29 AM
Related: Finland, Itinerary, Planning My Eurail Summer Trip
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"Stockholm to Helsinki alone is 17 hours—that’s a lot of travel time, for just one city that is a little out of the way"
Ant,I quess you have made your decision, but I just have to let you know what you are missing, for future travel at least:
Most of that 17 hours travel time this hotel ferry is going trough one of the most beautiful archipelagos in the world. And in these huge ferries it is possible to wine, dine and relax like in any good hotel.
Even better (and cheaper) option is to take a ferry from Stockholm to Aland islands (Mariehamn), stay there a day or two and continue island hopping with tiny ferries/bus to Finland, Turku. This way you see the breathtaking island nature at its best and get in touch with the locals too. These islands and the lake districts are really the best southern Finland has to offer.
Helsinki, out of the way?!! No, no it is right on the way, if you travel to Europe mainland through St. Petersburg or Estonia. (for example with bus: Tallinn-Varzaw or Russian train Helsinki-St. Petersburg) This is far more interesting than taking a ferry from Helsinki to Germany (they are boring). This by-land route is ideal for budget traveler also and there are numerous interesting towns en route.
Hopefully you can come to Finland and Baltics some day and see for yourself, what I am talking about.
Virpi, thanks for giving me much to think about. Cutting out Finland and/or Helsinki is definitely something I don't want to do, and maybe there's still a way to fit that in.
Your suggestions really help though - that ferry ride alone might make things worthwhile.
Only trouble is getting from Finland back to the mainland. Since the trip is focusing on BritRail and Eurail countries, we have to nix out Russia and the Baltic states for this trip (maybe next year? - gads I hope so, because I'd love to see those countries and tell people more about them.)
Maybe Finland's not off the list...
If flying is an option: With last minute or stand-by you can get a ticket from Helsinki to Central Europe for about 150-200 eur.
Finnair sells last minute tickets only on their finnish webpage, which is updated every tuesday, if I remember correctly.
For "quick getaways" go to http://www.finnair.fi and choose "äkkilähdöt" from the menu. In the actual page there is an english version also.
The destinations change every week, but usually there is something like: Berlin, Praque, Copenhagen, Brussels, Frankfurt etc.
But anyway, if you do end up in Finland, you are not going to have any hurry to get away, I am sure :)
Comment by Virpi on April 15, 2003 11:06 AM
"Stockholm to Helsinki alone is 17 hours—that’s a lot of travel time, for just one city that is a little out of the way"
Ant,I quess you have made your decision, but I just have to let you know what you are missing, for future travel at least:
Most of that 17 hours travel time this hotel ferry is going trough one of the most beautiful archipelagos in the world. And in these huge ferries it is possible to wine, dine and relax like in any good hotel.
Even better (and cheaper) option is to take a ferry from Stockholm to Aland islands (Mariehamn), stay there a day or two and continue island hopping with tiny ferries/bus to Finland, Turku. This way you see the breathtaking island nature at its best and get in touch with the locals too. These islands and the lake districts are really the best southern Finland has to offer.
Helsinki, out of the way?!! No, no it is right on the way, if you travel to Europe mainland through St. Petersburg or Estonia. (for example with bus: Tallinn-Varzaw or Russian train Helsinki-St. Petersburg) This is far more interesting than taking a ferry from Helsinki to Germany (they are boring). This by-land route is ideal for budget traveler also and there are numerous interesting towns en route.
Hopefully you can come to Finland and Baltics some day and see for yourself, what I am talking about.
Comment by Ant on April 15, 2003 07:18 PM
Virpi, thanks for giving me much to think about. Cutting out Finland and/or Helsinki is definitely something I don't want to do, and maybe there's still a way to fit that in.
Your suggestions really help though - that ferry ride alone might make things worthwhile.
Only trouble is getting from Finland back to the mainland. Since the trip is focusing on BritRail and Eurail countries, we have to nix out Russia and the Baltic states for this trip (maybe next year? - gads I hope so, because I'd love to see those countries and tell people more about them.)
Maybe Finland's not off the list...
Comment by Virpi on April 17, 2003 10:19 AM
If flying is an option: With last minute or stand-by you can get a ticket from Helsinki to Central Europe for about 150-200 eur.
Finnair sells last minute tickets only on their finnish webpage, which is updated every tuesday, if I remember correctly.
For "quick getaways" go to http://www.finnair.fi and choose "äkkilähdöt" from the menu. In the actual page there is an english version also.
The destinations change every week, but usually there is something like: Berlin, Praque, Copenhagen, Brussels, Frankfurt etc.
But anyway, if you do end up in Finland, you are not going to have any hurry to get away, I am sure :)