#68 Stockholm - The Gateway to Scandinavia

Today marks my last week in Sweden. This got me thinking - not only am I leaving Stockholm - I'm leaving behind a great gateway to Europe, or Scandinavia at the very least.

For the 5 months I was in Sweden, I visited six other countries - Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Poland. And not only did I visit these countries, I visited their capital cities and saw the famous landmarks of Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Tallin, Riga and Warsaw. And I visited Gothenburg and Malmo here in Sweden too.

I'm from Ireland, so these countries aren't very far away. But Ireland is an island to the far West of Europe, and it's not as cheap or easy to get to these places as some of you (especially Americans!) might think.

It cost me only €10 (or €40 for a cabin of 4 people) to get to Finland, Estonia and Latvia using the amazing cruise services from Stockholm. €45 for train tickets to Gothenburg, Oslo and Malmo/Copenhagen. €10 flights to Poland. Now if that isn't cheap, I can't tell you what is.

Some people were visiting places like Spain or Italy, but for me, I could go another time from Ireland and it wouldn't be so much in price difference. But there are plenty of countries you can get to from Sweden so cheaply!

So if you come to Stockholm, you're also getting the opportunity to travel to some great places. They say Stockholm is the Capital of Scandinavia, and although I'm still not sure if I agree, it is definitely the gateway to Scandinavia, and a stepping stone to Europe.

Happy travels my friends!

#44 Tallinn, Estonia

Last weekend I took some time out from my studies (haha!) to visit Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.

This was on one of the famous cheap cruises from Stockholm, so again I spent about twice as much time on the boat as opposed to seeing any of Estonia. However, in the few hours I was there, I really enjoyed it!

View from the ferry terminal

Like Stockholm, the highlight of Tallinn is the Old Town. There's lots of old winding streets and churches, and of course tourist shops! Across the road from the old town is also a big shopping centre, for those of you who crave the more modern! I think it would be a great place to explore some more, and I am disappointed I didn't have more time there.

Here are my picture highlights of Tallinn:

Church in the old town (there are many!)

Church

Another church

Winding street

I think this was a souvenir shop!

The main square in the old town

The main square

View of Tallinn

This cruise was almost identical to the one I got a few weeks ago to Helsinki. The price was cheap (320kr for a 4 person cabin) and while the boat was nice the cabin was tiny and without a window. We didn't get to see so much of Estonia, so again if you are really interested in going you probably should pick a different trip. But, if you just want to buy a fridge magnet and take some pictures to say you were there, it's great value!

Silhouette of Tallinn from the boat