Last week, a group of us decided to take an overnight cruise to Helsinki, Finland for the weekend. This was a pretty last-minute travel plan, as I did not know that taking a cruise to Finland was a possible travel option until that Wednesday. I was excited about the trip because this would be my first time traveling since arriving in Stockholm, and I only knew a few people in the 12-person group traveling, so this would be a good opportunity to get to know more people. This would also be my first time ever on a cruise, and how many people can say that they took a cruise in the Baltic Sea in the middle of the winter? So, following my class on Friday, I packed my bags (yes, I know I always procrastinate packing and need to fix that) and took the train down to the water to board the MS Viking Cinderella cruise ship bound for Helsinki, Finland.
After dropping our bags off in our room, which was fairly cramped I must add, the four guys on the trip, Adam, Mikael, Zach, and I, walked around and explored the ship. After a full-group dinner in which I admit we were quite rambunctious and annoying to all of the other passengers trying to enjoy a nice dinner, we headed to the three-story club. Because of Covid restrictions, we had to stay in a group and dance amongst ourselves and, because everyone else was sitting down, we essentially provided all of the entertainment. A main character moment for sure.
We arrived in Helsinki the next day mid-morning and the first thing I noticed was that the city was blanketed in snow. Walking the city streets with our shoes crunching in the snow (I definitely should have worn boots instead) and heavy snowflakes falling on our faces was a great representation of what a Scandinavian winter is truly like.
Because we only had five hours in Finland, we had to quickly pick and choose where we wanted to go. Our first stop was the Helsinki Cathedral, also known as St. Nicholas’ Church, arguably the city’s most famous and iconic attraction. We were not able to go inside, so we just spent our time taking pictures of the cathedral and climbing up the stairs in which a picturesque view of Helsinki awaited us. The walk down the icy steps was probably funny to see.
We eventually made our way to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet nearby for lunch. We wanted to go to a Finnish restaurant, but you can’t beat a buffet at a very reasonable price. After lunch, we wandered the streets of Helsinki and walked in and out of cafes and shops. An embarrassing moment came when Adam and I asked a worker for some Finnish cookies since Adam’s host mother said it was a must-eat in Finland and the worker replied that those did not exist and proceeded to make fun of us Americans, rightfully so, with her co-workers in Finnish.
Courtesy of Meghan’s (one of the girls on the trip), recommendation, we visited Ateneum, an art museum. Formerly the home of two art schools, Ateneum is now a renowned art museum in Finland and part of the Finnish National Gallery. My favorite painting was The Fighting Capercaillies by Ferdinand Von Wright. One of Finland’s most popular paintings, Von Wright contrasts the violent tension of two birds fighting with the serenity of nature in the background.
We capped off our time in Finland with a walk by the water and a quick stop at a cool dock that gave us a close-up view of the frozen harbor and another nice view of Helsinki. We were fortunate to have two passes for a buffet dinner and breakfast on the overnight trip back to Stockholm. After dinner and a trip back to the club, us four guys spent time at the arcade playing air hockey (I beat Mikael 7-5) and getting to know one another while watching the repetitive motion of waves crashing against the side of the boat and disappearing into the darkness of the Baltic Sea. The next morning, a beautiful view of Stockholm greeted us.
My weekend trip to Helsinki was a great first trip. I had a lot of fun exploring a new city while getting to know the other people in our group better. A shoutout to Belize’s host mother who bought us the tickets and buffet passes! Tack så mycket!
This week is Core Course Week, a week designated for workshops, field studies, and a trip to another Swedish city with my core course. I am excited for Gothenburg (Göteborg) and to announce that I will be taking over the DIS Stockholm Instagram (@disstockholm) this Friday, February 11th to bring you along for the day! Please follow along and feel free to ask any questions that you have, and I will be happy to answer them!
A Swedish Semester 