Country: Finland
Distance travelled:
Weather: Sunny

I set an alarm for this morning. I wanted to ensure that a number of last minute chores were done and that we left for the ferry in good time. A pair of Mark’s trousers that were absolutely filthy from a hike in a wet, muddy forest in Norway needed attention while I had access to unlimited water. The fridge needed to be spring cleaned and switched to the full gas bottle so it wouldn’t run out while we were away. We finished packing and relocated the van to the storage carpark we had been allocated and set off for the train station.

A print shop had been located relatively close to the station where we had alighted from the train and once we found it, after walking around the building several times, we came away with several copies of the paperwork required for visiting Russia. Mark carried one set and I secreted the second in my bag. We walked toward the ferry terminal in the hot sun, pausing briefly at a supermarket cafe for some lunch and a drink.

We checked in at the ferry terminal, strolled through the immigration point (always good to be early) and surrendered our bags briefly for X-ray examination. Our cabin was in the bowels of the boat, almost central as we had opted for the cheapest available which meant no window but the air conditioning was good and the shower made up for any other shortcomings. We did a quick tour of the boat, two restaurants, at least two bars, a duty free shop not yet open, a casino, cinima, cigar lounge and on the very bottom deck of the ship, a sauna and swimming pool we didn’t bother to investigate. We went back to our cabin for an afternoon nap.

At 6pm we were back on deck to see how Helsinki looked from the sea. Not great as there seemed to be a good deal of construction work happening at the moment. We strolled around with the crowds, took a few uninspired shots and headed back to our room.

We paused to pickup something for dinner at the canteen style cafe which was apparently the cheap alternative to the main restaurant on board. A few minutes spent examining the menu board and trying to decipher everything and we attempted to buy two hamburgers. Apparently it wasn’t a good idea to interrupt the three girls chatting behind the counter because nothing on the menu seemed to be available. Mark settled for a prepackaged sandwich while I tried a prawn salad. Was this an example of the famed Russian customer service we had heard so much about? I doubled back to the duty free shop and bought some water and a can of coke at €1 each rather than pay those charming three lasses for anything else.

Unlike the rest of the passengers onboard who were sampling the many delights of the M/S Princess Maria, we spent rest of our evening watching some TV and then trying to sleep in anticipation of our first day in Saint Petersburg.

St Petersburg Ferry