stockholm & helsinki

In the absence of summer.... a wee look back to a watery Nordic trip from this time last year. Never quite got round to blogging about it before. We had a few days in Stockholm before taking the ferry over to Helsinki for a few more. Before we left the weather was dismal (here & there) so we packed accordingly, but on arrival we hit a bit of a heatwave. It was hot!!

For anyone who has been to Stockholm (or Helsinki) you'll know that it's not cheap, so it was a diet of bread, cheese & water for us for most of the time (I won't embarass myself by listing all the food items I managed to pack into my suitcase beforehand!), and it was probably the most sober holiday for a long time (my husband is a brewer so beer usually features high up on the agenda) but we definately made the most of eating outside.   
   

One of the best things we did in Stockholm was to hire some bikes and get out and about around the many islands. It's such a joy to cycle there as there are cycle-lanes absolutely everywhere. It feels extremely safe - even in the middle of the city. And it was a perfect way to get about in the heat. I couldn't recommend it more.

  

We decided to book the overnight ferry to Helsinki after being told by a friend that it would be just as cheap or cheaper than a night's accomodation elsewhere. It wasn't. At least not compared to the places we usually stay! Oh well, we all have our different budgets (perhaps he's not quite a bread & cheese kind of guy). Having said that we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Our cabin on the ferry! (complete with faux view)  

This was our first time in Helsinki (I've been to Stockholm once before, K a couple of times) so would have liked to spend a bit more time here to get our bearings. Would have been great to get out and about on bikes here too. It was extremely hot (you don't quite get that from the photos) so we spent a lot of time lurking in the shadows.  

   

more stockholm

If you've never been to Stockholm here are a few pics to show some of it's watery lovliness.

' "Fika" in Södermalm; Eating our pieces (sandwiches if your not in Scotland) outside The Grand Hotel.

There's some great shops in Stockholm for the design/retro/secondhand lover. Above is the fabulous Retro etc. A dream of a shop. Other great shops we came across whilst wandering in the Södermalm area were Oma Vintage & Retro , Design Torget, Södra Skattkammaren, Wigerdals Värld (only gazed on through large windows on our last night). There were a number of well stocked charity shops such as Myrorna (run by the Salvation army), Stadsmissionen and Emmaus.

We travelled with hand-luggage only so there was no room to take advantage of the fabulous light shades and lamps on offer without incurring a rather hefty penalty. Plus Stockholm is a bit pricey on all fronts and if we were to continue to feed ourselves and have the odd £7.50 pint of beer then sacrifices had to be made.