What do you think of when you hear the word
"ferry"? I would have answered that question with a slow, flat boat that
smells of diesel and can carry a few cars over a river. I wouldn't have
thought first of glass elevators, circus performers and a conference
center with wireless networking. This is our ferry from Stockholm to
Helsinki.
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I just can't get over the scale. I feel like
there is no need to for me to go on a cruise vacation now. I know just
what it will be like.
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The view as we leave Stockholm is filled with
little fishing villages and scenic lighthouses.
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Our cabin isn't so scenic.
There are 14 decks on the ferry. The fancy cabins are on decks 8 through
12. The cars and trucks are on decks 3 and 4. Our cabin is on deck 2. We
can hear the engines all night. But that is nothing to the roar that
wakes us up as we aproach Helsinki about three quarters of the way
through our 17 hour crossing.
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The sound of being inside an industrial
strength washing machine, complete with the thunderous roar and jolts,
turns out to be ice that we are plowing through. The scene is amazing:
all flat and white as far as the horizon in all directions, except for a
few freighters on this same route.
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We don't stay in Helsinki for long. We go to
the train station and catch the first train north through snowy birch
forests and farms.
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We get to Rovaniemi just before midnight. We
wake up the next day on the edge of the Arctic Circle and walk around
the town that was rebuilt after WWII to incorporate the shape of
reindeer antlers. The walking and cycling paths are incredibly
well-maintained and marked.
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Rovaniemi is also home to the Arktikum
Museum. Julie's tongue gets stuck on the pretty ice sculptures out
front. You just can't take her anywhere.
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