I liked to go up on deck to watch the bow break the cold waters of the Baltic as if the gigantic ferry took little effort.. that simple. Only a few curious people looked outside during the crossings. It was cold and the wind shook you in unexpected jolts as if putting you to the test. You often looked around and were left alone. But I liked having a good time there., bent over the last bow rail, lost in the waters of the great inland sea of ??northern Europe, of the old roman mare Suebicum, in those same waters that the Vikings sailed, scenario of naval strategies and refugee escapes in World War II.
It is easy to navigate the Baltic. Dozens of ferries ply its waters daily and it is easy to book tickets online with any company.. We had flown from Madrid to Stockholm and from there to Helsinki with Norwegian and we arrived at night in the Finnish capital. It was quite cold, no more than five degrees, While we waited for the Finnaie bus (They leave every twenty minutes next to the taxi stop), that left us in half an hour in the center of the city, Next to the train station (Railway market), And we walked to the apartment we had rented, A step away from the Uspensky cathedral, in front of the Viking Line Ferries Terminal.
It was cold and the wind shook you in unexpected jolts as if putting you to the test
The ferry to Tallin It came out early, But not from the docks we had in front, sino del west harbour (lansiterminal), where at that time (six in the morning) You had to arrive in taxi. Only online reservations had to be redeemed for tickets at the box office. Navigation to Estonia, somnolient, is impregnated with an ashen tone. It is an almost black and white sea, guarded by numerous clouds. It's cold on deck, but it is a cold that does not bother, but it accompanies.
The return is at night. The Baltic can only be sensed. And you can hear it if you go outside. It's the breathing of a sleeping giant. It rains when we arrive in Helsinki.
Less than 24 hours later we got on another ferry, this time with the right to a cabin. It's quick to get to Stockholm by air, but since I am one of those who think, like confucius, that the goal is on the road, we decided to go by boat. Fifteen hours of crossing that ended up being almost 18. I would definitely repeat it again.
It is an almost black and white sea, always watched by numerous clouds
I had seen the commemorative plaque in Tallinn, next to the Fat Margarete Tower, and now I remembered that tragedy, of the shipwreck of the ferry that made this same journey, a 29 September 1994, in which they died 852 of 989 passengers. What a time to evoke tragedies.
Despite those ominous thoughts, Viking Line's Mariella inspired me with all the confidence in the world. And the sunset over the bay, with Helsinki moving away from our wake little by little, did not admit even the slightest concession to fatalism.
For an hour consumed without clocks from the starboard deck, we see islets left behind that seem to be about to be swallowed by the Baltic, fortifications of yesteryear, lonely lighthouses. The ferry moves away from all that as the day sheds its last rays of sun and we soon plunge into the darkness of the sea., in the eerie silence of the nights far from the mainland.
Now I remembered the tragedy of 1994, when 989 Passengers died when a ferry that made this same route capsized
Within, everything is different. Tax free. Black Jack. Restaurants. Lights and action. A small town at the mercy of the sea. We escaped from all that crowd and had dinner in the cabin, a couple of salads from Stockmann's in Helsinki and some herring.. We even managed to get some sleep..
At nine in the morning we went on deck. You have to cover up. Stockholm begins to be drawn in front of us timidly. So close but still so far. the sun shines. I can think of few better ways to get to an unknown city. Nothing to do with the coldness of an airport. A cold is too small a price to pay to consider leaving the deck. Recovering solitude on a boat so full of people is a privilege. It is another magical hour that the Baltic gives us.
