Sigtuna

On this rainy, blustery day we took a variety of public transportation north to the small town of Sigtuna. It is Sweden's oldest town with relics dating it to 980 AD. It is situated on a pretty lake and has ruins and runes all around. After strolling around, we went to the museum. It housed many artifacts and gave detailed information about early minting of coins. Fika was very welcome mid afternoon in a cozy cafe!

Stockholm Metro Art

A good number of the metro stations have been transformed into works of art. We hopped on and off the red line last night on a metro museum tour.

Sauna...yet again!

October 8

We have been told repeatedly that Finland is origin of the sauna. Yesterday, we were given the fact that there are more saunas in Finland than cars. Not sure if that is true or not, but the other Nordic countries definitely are making their entry into the sauna tradition. Today's experience in Stockholm was of the self-serve variety. We needed to arrive early to light the fire and get it warmed up. It took awhile, but we got it there. We admired the compact uet inviting design. This sauna only had a dunk pool and it seems like the water has gotten colder with each experience! Brrr!

In the afternoon, we stopped for the Fika experience. We paused our day for coffee and a treat. We learned about this tradition and the popularity of plockgodis, the pick your own candy culture. Grocery stores and candy stores both have the bins to choose your own mix. 

Our afternoon was a mix of the curious and the underwhelming. Curious: we found the bank (now a hotel and clothing store) where the 1973 bank robbery took place in which the hostages began to sympathize with their captors, later termed the Stockholm Syndrome. The concierge at Nobis Hotel was very generous with his time. He showed us the place where gas holes were drilled to potentially gas the vault (now in the fitness room). He showed us the board room where the strategy meetings were held (now the conference room)and pointed out the buildings where snipers were placed. He also sent us in the direction of the adjoining store where the marble floors are original to the bank teller area. The actual vault is now a staff room, so we couldn't see that. Too bad! He said that every now and again people come in to ask about this event. We were very excited he gave us the time. Underwhelming: Nobel Prize Museum. It was mostly personal effects and anecdotes about various winners. Rooftop bar: Le Hibou. A rooftop bar where you see all the other rooftops. Nice atmosphere and creative presentation of drinks though.

Tyresta National Park

October 7

Metro, commuter rail, and bus! That's how to get to a National Park from Stockholm! At least for us and it was relatively easy once we understood the connections. 

We hiked nine miles on the purple loop through the park. It is known for having a "primeval" forest. We debated the meaning of primeval and related terms for awhile. Long and short, it is an untouched forest of mixed canopy---coniferous and deciduous. There were gorgeous views of long lakes that invited us to sit and be still. We had look carefully for the next blaze on many a granite outcropping (and sometimes backtrack a bit). We were awed by beaver work turning wetlands into small ponds. The landscape reminded us a lot of New England. One key difference was the absolute quiet. No road noise, very few planes overhead. We stopped several times to marvel at hearing just the birds and insects.

Welcome to Stockholm!

October 6, 2026

"We're here!" Those were the first words of the morning as we looked out the cabin windows to find we were surrounded by islands in the heart of the Swedish archipelago. We were still a few hours away from Stockholm. Nevertheless,  we hurried to the upper deck and there we remained until we came into port. We passed through narrow channels (some we shared with other ferries!)! We are so happy we chose to travel this way.

Upon arrival, we were thrust into the public transportation. There are a lot of options, transfers etc,  but it is easy enough to navigate using the SL app and prepaid ticket. Our day was spent in Djurgården, or Museum Island. The area is park-like with many walking trails leading to the numerous museums. Our primary interest was the Vasa Museum. https://www.vasamuseet.se/en/visit/exhibitions/audioguide-listen The Vasa is the best preserved warships in the world. It launched in August 1628 and promptly sank on its maiden voyage! It is HUGE and has so many detailed carvings! This was a great Museum to start off our visit. We walked by the Spritmuseum (Spirit Museum) and decided to explore.  We got tickets for samples which was interesting. First we read about the process (fermentation, distillation) and got to try them! 

Our hotel, Collector's Victory Hotel, is very curated in the nautical theme---down to the smallest detail! There are unique displays on each level and the rooms even reflect the feel. Our room is the Kapten Lundgren room complete with family portraits.

Atelgee Rooftop Bar at Hotel Horni

This gives a fascinating history: https://www.hdf.fi/en/articles/hotel-torni-history

Libraries and Other Fun Finds

October 5

Today was departure day, but our ferry to Stockholm didn't depart until late afternoon. That meant more exploring! We decided to collect a couple more libraries. Rickhardinkatu Library was located near our hotel. The cool staircase shown above rose through the central section with wings out from that. It had great little nooks to read in and an inviting selection (mostly in Finnish I guess, but some in English). 

After dropping our luggage at the terminal, we headed out to the western center of the city. We walked there along the harbour and were amazed by the number of boats still in the water. We have seen photos of the water freezing over and wondered if this still happens, will the boats come out soon, or do they just stay in. Hmm. Over in this part of the city, we walked through a more permanent, and less touristy market hall. Kauppahalli Library was busy and featured some nice design work, but it was not as inspiring as the others we had seen. We poked in the church here, but unfortunately the tower was closed. In our library perusal today, John learned about a hotel that had a dirigible landing on it! This is reminiscent of the Industrial National Bank Building in Providence! Anyway, the story goes that only one dirigible attempted to land there (emphasis on attempted). It failed and no other attempts were made. There is now a rooftop bar there! We took the elevator to the top floor where we had to climb another level on an old spiral staircase which opened to this great little bar with big views. The hatch is still evident for where passengers would have disembarked. Very cool. We sat outside marveling at the view and also how much we walked around this big city!

We departed Helsinki on the Silja Symphony around 4:30. It was crazy how tight it was going through the surrounding islands. We explored all the nooks and crannies of the ship. We, like everyone else, are a captive audience. So we enjoyed a couple of drinks, sampled lots of different foods from the buffet, walked through the superstore, and caught a bit of entertainment. Ferry seems like a misnomer. It really seems more like an overnight cruise.

A Day of Walking! Saturday, October 3, Helsinki

In the morning, we ferried over to Suomenlinna, about a 15 minute ride. This island has a permanent settlement, but has a long history of being a fort and a prison through wars with Sweden, Russia, and a civil war. It was a drizzly day so a cup of fish stew and hot veggies at the open market when we returned to the city was welcome. 

From there we headed to a different part of Helsinki to see Temppeliaukio Kirk or the Stone Church. This church, which opened in 1969, is built in the ground and is made of stone. It has a street level entry but it was carved into a granite hill. The domed roof allows light to shine through skylights. Another architectural marvel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temppeliaukio_Church

Next stop was the Sibellius Monument. The sculptor wanted to accent Sibellius' connection to nature. See the above photo. We crossed the street to Cafe Regatta, a tiny place next to a brewing race area. We ordered veggie sausage (a stretch...soy skinny hot dog) and were able to roast it outside on a fire pit. Drizzly day...fire and hot food hit the spot. We followed the shoreline for quite some time until we came to the sandy beach of the city. That is pretty unusual here. We cut in to a beautiful cemetery and finally made our way back to the city center. We went to Half Moon Game Cafe to get off our feet and enjoy some new and familiar games.

Park Day! Nuuksio and Suerresauri

We spent the first half of the day outside of the city hiking in Nuuksio National Park. The landscape is both moss covered and rocky. There were a lot of birches as well as some aspen, maples, and pine. We skirted three pretty lakes while our guide educated us about various types of mushrooms and berries. We even had homemade soup with chantrelles as an end of hike.

Seurasaari was recommended to us as another interesting place to visit, so we caught the tram to the northwest corner of the city to check it out. It is an open air museum with many historic buildings representing the different time periods. Although the museum was closed and the buildings were inaccessible, we could still walk along the trails and read the plaques about them. This was a popular spot for locals. The sun had  finally made an appearance this afternoon. Lots of people were out enjoying--wandering like us, strolling, or jogging.

National Library of Finland

This library is also located in Senate Square. It is the oldest library in Helsinki. Compared to Oodi, it felt intimate and scholarly, but also as beautiful in its own right. 

Playing catch with Helios

Helsinki Cathedral

Helsinki Cathedral dominates Senate Square even though there are colorful neoclassical buildings all around it. As we climbed the steps, John made the fitting joke about Sophie and the dog from Howl's Moving Castle. There was so much to take in from the top. The trams going by in addition to the architecture gives it a retro feel, but Helsinki is far from that! Inside the cathedral, everyone's attention was riveted by Helios an artistic rendering of the sun which has a diameter of  ~23 feet. https://my-helios.org/about/

Sauna! Helsinki October 2

A ride on the skywheel in the morning really helped to orient us. Helsinki is a big city! We saw areas we wanted to visit, but first, it was time for sauna!

We could get used to this! The Loyly is set right on the water and has (surprise!) stunning architecture. It is all curved wood and multi-leveled decks. This was a very different from the floating sauna in Bergen. There were multiple saunas to choose from with dry heat or steam. In the common space was a fire where people would order a refreshment. The sea water was a lot colder than Bergen and the dip from the waist down was quick! We did try the cold bucket rinse...a shock, but good.

Helsinki, Finland October 1

We caught the Tallink Silja MyStar ferry for a quick two hour crossing from Tallinn to Helsinki. We quickly set to getting our bearings and went off to explore. From the start, we noted the very interesting and varied architecture. The train station immediately caught our attention. It was designed by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen and features a clock tower and a domed entry.  

We were especially blown away by the Oodi, the Helsinki Central Library. Not only is it a architectural modern masterpiece, but it is also a state of the art library! We could not get over the spaces it had to offer...design spaces, music studios, textiles, gaming (both classic and video) and rooms upon rooms of people having meetings, book club meetings, studying! Everywhere people were engaged: reading, socializing, collaborating. We watched the sun set on the upper deck. https://oodihelsinki.fi/en/what-is-oodi/

Across the street, a sculpture caught our eye and we wanted into  Musiikkitalo (Helsinki Music Center). The main hall featured staggered wood seating. It also had five other smaller venues. Apparently, it is also home to three different Finnish orchestras. https://reveel.now/c/zxbk?returnTo=%2Fc%2Fcvgj

Tallinn TV Tower

Wednesday, Sept.30

We hopped a bus to the Tallinn TV Tower, the tallest building in Estonia. It has quite a history. It was built originally for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics to be used for telecommunications. It was barely completed in time. But the bigger part of history happened during the 1991 Soviet coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev. Troops were sent into countries like Estonia in an attempt to reassert control over them and quash ideas of breaking away from the Soviet bloc. Protesters surrounded the base and four individuals kept the tower broadcasting on August 21, 1991. This event directly led to the proclamation of independence for Estonia. https://www.dark-tourism.com/index.php/1433-teletorn

The rest of the day was walking around The Rottermann Quarter and a few less traveled areas in Old Town. We ended with decadent dessert from Pierre Chocolaterie and a drink from the Sigmund Freud Bar. 

Tallinn, Tuesday, September 29

History and Art Day! Our day began with the kindness of strangers. Since nothing seems to open before 10 am, we were strolling around Old Town. A woman who was setting up the display at a bakery saw us admiring the huge two-tone chocolate megachip cookies. As we turned to leave, she called out to us with a bag in her hand! A freebie to take with us on our day! We were so touched! We snacked on it later and it was as good as it looked!

We arrived for opening at the Estonian History Museum at the Great Guild Hall. The building itself, built in the early 1400s, was originally a club for merchants. We were particularly interested in the exhibit about the Hanseatic League, having learned a bit about this in Bergen. We were not disappointed! There was so much to learn about the German influence, particularly from Lübeck, as well as about the specific cargos (such as wax, timber, salt etc) and the trade routes. We also learned about the everyday life of merchant families. The Hanseatic League functioned as the major trading consortium for 500 years from the mid 1100s to the mid 1600s!  https://www.hanse.org/en/the-medieval-hanseatic-league

A treat of a beautiful handpainted marzipan butterfly from the Kalev Marzipan Museum Room gave us energy to continue deepening our knowledge at our next stop!

The Estonian Maritime Museum is cleverly located in the Fat Margaret Tower. Visitors make their way round each level and fittingly use the spiral staircase to ascend to the next level. We were very purposeful in our mission though. We wanted to see a Hanseatic cog—a single-mast, square-sailed cargo workhorse. This ship wrecked off the coast of Tallinn in the 1300s! It was unearthed in 2015 during a construction project. It was in remarkably good condition and included ~700 artifacts! We learned that since then, an even larger one has been found and is being conserved while another has been left buried for future exploration. https://meremuuseum.ee/paksmargareeta/en/for-history-and-maritime-buffs/the-cog/

We left Old Town in the afternoon to explore the Tallinn coast and walk through the neighborhood of Kalamaja. We stopped by another craft brewery, Põhjala Tap Room, where we had a nice selection to taste.

The last part of our day was spent at Fotografiska Museum. https://tallinn.fotografiska.com/en There were two exhibits. Level one featured work by Vivian Maier. During her life, she was a nanny who traveled the world. Her work was discovered after her death and she is now considered one of the greatest street photographers of the 20th century. https://tallinn.fotografiska.com/en/exhibitions/vivian-maier The second floor was devoted to Latvian photographer, Inta Ruka. This display captivated both of us. The series, My Country People, focused on a small Latvian village bordering Russia in the Balvi region. She returned to this canvas repeatedly for 20 years. It felt like a scavenger hunt once we realized that we were seeing the same people in later or earlier years. In Amalijas Street 5 a, her focus was on the residents of an apartment building in Riga..Her portraits showed hardship, determination, and small moments of joy. They were like an unfinished story for which you were yearning to know the end. Very powerful work. We watched this great documentary about her work: https://youtu.be/bG9IATOpptE?is=kXML4UiEtP44dJSS. Just as we were about to leave, John realized that Inta Ruka was speaking in one of the galleries! Even though we only heard the end of her talk, we felt like we had won a prize!

Tallinn Old Town, Estonia

We stayed at the Cru Hotel which is a 14th century building. To get to our room, it is like wandering through a rabbit warren--up stairs around corners, down halls, up stairs again! Tallinn Old Town is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one the largest and best preserved medieval walled cities. There are several opportunities to walk the walls or ascend various towers, complete with spiral staircases. They seem to all have memorable names, some of the most famous being Tall Hermann, Fat Margaret, or Kiek in de kök. There is a lively town square and intriguing alleyways and courtyards. We took a guided walking tour on Monday, September 28. Our guide was so passionate about the history of Tallinn and Estonia that not only did our tour go over the two hours, she clearly had not shared all that she would have liked. Similar to our previous guide, she referenced the complex, multilayered history of Estonia. After a very nice lunch at Rataskava 16, we left the walled city and explored Telliskivi, a former industrial area that is being reimagined and revived. We stopped by Humalakoda Pub for local craft brew and ended our day by seeing the sunset and the Estonian flag lowered from Tall Hermann.

Lahemaa National Park, Estonia and more!

Today was AMAZING! Little did we know when we signed up for this Travelers Tour day what a packed full, incredible day it would be! The tour lasted nine hours and included multiple stops. 

The first was at the Jägala waterfall, the widest and largest natural fall in Estonia. The area has lots of fossils in the surrounding limestone from the prehistoric era when this area was a sea. Our guide was quite proud of the falls, given that Estonia is relatively flat. https://www.jagalawaterfall.com/en

Next stop: 

Lahemaa National Park. The Viru Bog Boardwalk wound through this primordial landscape. We experienced spongy earth, and mirror-like ponds reflecting the rare blue skies along this 2 mile walk. A tower mid way gave us a sweeping view of the area. The walk ended in a forest of tall trees with an open forest floor and dappled sunlight shining through. Magical. https://visitlahemaa.com/en/

Lunch was at Altja Kortz in the tiny seaside village of Kortz. We had some interesting conversations about how connected the world is, despite us all being from different places. After lunch, John and I tried out a giant wooden standing swing! It could hold multiple people, but no one else was game to join. We got it going pretty high! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_swing  We walked through a museum area with older homes and a well on the way to the beach. We had lovely walk on the shore which led into the otherworldly forests we have seen all day.

Last stop: Sagadi Manor

Wait! There's more! We couldn't believe we had one more stop. The Sagadi Manor is a rococo style manor house which was last owned by the Von Fock family. We had a crash course in Estonia history and the influence of German Baltic nobility as well as the changing rule of Estonia through the centuries. The grounds featured manicured gardens as well an orchard. There was also a fascinating exhibit about forestry...both cutting and preservation.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagadi 

Fantoft Stave Church

It's raining today (surprise!). I dropped off our laundry at Absolute Cleaning, a drop and go service. There are not many choices for laundry in Bergen. This choice was price competitive and gives me the freedom of time.

I took the light rail to the Fantoft station. The public transportation has worked out well. We purchased 7 day tickets and it has been well worth it. That is even in combination with all the walking I have been doing. The church was a ten minute stroll from the platform. It has an interesting history. It was originally built in - 1200 in Sogn. As religion and churches changed, it was moved to Bergen in 1883. In 1992, it was a victim of arson. It was rebuilt using traditional medieval methods and 400 year old pine trees from an area near Sogn. Sadly, it now has a chain link fence surrounding it for safety. Still, it is an impressive sight. The exterior is covered black tar and has a svalgang (external covered walkway) to protect it from the elements. This svalgang was also used as a place to drop weapons before the service, socialize out of the rain, and for people with leprosy to listen to the service. For the latter, there was also a small hatch to receive a blessing. The dragons carved at the top were to keep evil forces away, a unique crossover from earlier Norse religion and Christianity. https://fantoftstavkirke.no/historie-2/

https://www.stavechurch.com/

Fjord Boat Trip

Today we had sun in Bergen! So many people were out enjoying it! My day featured a cruise through the Mostraumen Fjord. Norway has some rugged, beautiful spots!

Rainy Day (for real) in Bergen

This was Museum Day! The Bryggen Museum was the morning visit. The experience begins with a backward timeline, and there have been A LOT of fires in Bergen over the centuries, mostly the Bryggen area. In 1955, the area was so dilapidated that when there was yet another fire, many people reportedly wanted the area razed. Archeologists came in and found layers upon layer of artifacts. I was stunned to see items from the 1100s! The museum houses a large collection of over 650 message runes carved on wood and bone. The messages range from showing ownership to love notes. One amusing one says, "Gyda says that you are to go home." There was also a weaving exhibition featuring work by Ragna Breivik. She is known for her professioanl association with Gerhard Munthe, an illustrator, and the Åsmund Frægdagjeva tapestry series. https://viewer.pandasuite.com/83af0tfu?wid=2c4b30903c870f780004f6 

Afternoon: After circumnavigating the buildings (in the pouring rain!), I finally found the entrance to the Kode Museum. I learned about Norwegian art and artists through the years. The photo is from a series by Harriet Backer who spent six years painting scenes from this stave church. The Kode also has the third largest collection of Edvard Munch. It was fascinating to see his style change through his lifetime.

We went to Heit sauna in the early evening! What fun! It was perfect weather for it. After being wet and cold all day, the sauna was a welcome change. We learned from the locals in there with us that saunas are new to Norway and have gained popularity in the past five years. 

Mount Ulriken

The high point of today was our hike up the 1333 sherpa steps to the summit of Ulriken. It was rainy and misty the entire time, but every so often we caught a fleeting glimpse of the city below. https://ulriken643.no/en/activities/oppstemten 

Oh and we had unique flavored ice cream! Brown Cheese and Bergen Cinnamon Bun

The Appollon

Such a great experience at the Apollen bar last night! Half bar, half record store! There was music trivia going on. Since we don't understand Norwegian, we just guessed what the questions might be. The draft list was super impressive and we tried some different offerings from our usual go to brews. Great!  https://apollon.no/om-oss/ 

Bergen, Norway

If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes! I learned firsthand the truth of this local joke! Clouds, sun, rain, and through the cycle again! Today I took a walking tour of Bergen…a fantastic way to learn the history of a place as well as get the local recommendations! The tour began at the Bergenhus Fortress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergenhus_Fortress The photo in the collage is of the Rosencrantz Tower. Notice the cut-outs for the cannons which were pointing at the city! The governor at the time wanted to keep the merchants of the Hanseatic League in line! The only other action the fortress saw was in the Battle of Vågen. They defended a Dutch ship from the British (from the cannons facing the sea!), but learned after the fact that they shouldn't have…oops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_V%C3%A5gen  Some other interesting facts are the cobblestone streets were made from churches which were demolished during the Reformation. Bryggen, the historical section, is an UNESCO world heritage site. Because of this, the buildings can only be restored using the types of tools and techniques from the original time period. Each one can take up to five or more years, according to our guide. Because Bryggen burned so often (wooden buildings and all), they would just build on top of the damage. Archeologists have found layers from multiple time periods.

Lunch was the “World's Best Hot Dog.” The #7 featured reindeer, lingonberries, and mustard! Surprisingly, it worked!

Mount Fløyen is easy to hike right from the city center. I began in the rain with some gorgeous views. By the time I reached the summit, it began to drizzle. Goats were roaming around there! The rain began in earnest soon after and the entire viewpoint was enveloped in fog! Thankfully it was short-lived and the sun was found again at the bottom.