On Monday Stephen and I found an incredible deal to take us across the Baltic Sea to Finland. We sail at night, have the day in Helsinki, and then sail back. It was more of a cruise ship really, but we were below the car deck, beneath the water line, and it was cheaper than a hostel. This was quite the ordeal for me, for those of you who know, i have a fear of large bodies of water. ... and being rocked awake at 12:30 at night, in complete darkness, (there are no windows when your in 3rd class) with the sound of crashing waves and straining cars,...was kind of a big deal for me. luckily, steve-o is a super guy and walked me around the main deck so i could see that the weather wasnt that bad, just windy, and everything was rattling on the ship, not just the cars, there were enough life jackets for everyone on board and plenty of boats nearby in case we ran into an ice berg. which wouldnt happen in the middle of september, but i wouldnt be convinced otherwise. Fortunately we made it safe and sound to the harbor and started off for a fun filled day in Finlandia. It was, of course, raining constantly and mostly cold all the time, but fantastic nonetheless. we saw some churches and the presidents building, which isnt that impressive really, and when we went to the national history museum we found out why. did you know finland has only had its independence for not even 100 years? it was the property of Russia and Sweden bouncing back and forth for wars and various other reasons, and it wasnt until 1906 that they became a bonafied state.... or country i guess. We toured the city, and then got back on the boat, had a hearty meal of Heinikins and Chocolates, courtesy of the tax free shop and sailed back to Sweden.
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