Day 5: on the boat to Helsinki
Out of my porthole (I paid 10 Euro to upgrade to an outside cabin and I am so glad I did) I am watching the many Islands of Sweden go past as we navigate out into open sea. So many summer houses by the sea that I can imagine dramas in Bergman films. I am watching our progress too on Google maps.
The boat docks somewhere at 9pm – I hadn't realised. At Mariehamn I think, an island in the middle of nowhere - in the Baltic Sea to be more precise. I wonder why you would live there.
This is my first experience of Viking Line. I liked being offered the upgrade – I presume they had empty cabins to fill but I didn't like having to wait nearly two hours in the rain sitting on my bike waiting to be called on to board. Boarding seemed – I was going to say disorganised as one moment a truck rolled on (carefully I noted the drivers slowing down as they boarded with a huge thud for each wheel moving from the dry land to the ramp of the boat) but actually they wanted to fill up the space carefully with a particular combination of shapes so it was not disorganised from their point of view – just frustrating for me sitting in the rain. Actually it was motorbikes – me and one more BMW GS being ridden by a couple of Finns in bright yellow rainwear went on last – sideways behind a trailer. It took a bit of working out how best to lash it down. There was a big bucket of straps but nowhere obvious to fix the bikes. But I did myself proud and I think set an example to my fellow bikers.
;
The wind and rain on the quayside made me anticipate a not so smooth crossing so I wanted to get this right. With all my care and unpacking exactly everything I needed for the crossing I was the last off the car deck. They were already starting to turn off the deck lights while I was there. My cabin is fine. It has one sofa and the beds are still folded up – sleeper train style. Everything is unpacked and all the wet things are hanging out to dry and the things that need charging are plugged in (one by one). I'm showered and munching the roll I made at breakfast – German guest style (I've noticed Germas really going for this in hotels, even bringing a roll of plast food bags to breakfast and shamelessly loading up with rols and boiled eggs).
Today's ride was fine – two and a half, nearly three hours riding in the rain. But I had exactly the right clothes on so felt completely sorted along with extra layers underneath, waterproof on top and high vis and finally worked out how to turn the extra fog lamps on (there is something tricky about the daytime running lights and the dipped beam).
We have been sailing for over an hour and we are still passing beautiful old summer houses by the sea front or hidden by trees. Most are painted a deep orange but some are a grey-blue. They are actual islands that you have to get to by ferry. I wonder who lives here or owns them. I imagine established old Swedish families who have owned them for year. We are travelling north at the moment between two of them. Today was a motorway day. I don't think there was any other route from where I was staying to Stockholm. Getting in to the city was also fine with completely accurate instructions from the GPS that took me exactly to the ferry check-in.
I had an hour or so to spare so perched in a bicycle shelter by the car park with my carton of Oatley and some of my stashed food supplies.
There is a car alarm going off on the deck below. I will venture out on the boat to see what is on offer for dinner. This view is astonishing – to think that I would be completely ignorant of it if I had been inside the boat. So now we are travelling northwest. We go north for quite a way before finally turning east toward Finland.
Today was 136 miles riding and it took 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Here is my rainy video on Youtube
One Viking Line buffet dinner later. A mass of humanity. So many people have odd walks of one kind. Helsinki time is another hour ahead. Why are all these people going to Helsinki?
Later still... Oh dear, this is a rough crossing. We are heaving and banging - I wondered, before I left home, what sailing in the Baltic in September would be like. We dock at Mariehamn in a while.
Click here for arriving in Finland