Day 200: Setting sail

We had the luxury of a sleep-in this morning, and we definitely made the most of it, only just making it out of the room before the 10am check-out, after which we left our luggage at the hotel and headed out to explore Stockholm. With a wallet full of euros but no Swedish kronor, our first objective was to find a bank so we could buy some breakfast, but despite walking along a busy shopping street all the way down into the old town, all we saw was a single ATM (in fact, in the whole day we were in Stockholm, I'm not sure we saw a bank). What we did find was a little hot dog stall that took euros, so we broke our fast with frankfurters, rolls, ketchup and mustard. 

We spent the next few hours wandering around the old town, eventually ending up beside the water near the royal palace, where we were bemused to see a military marching band march by. After a fast food lunch, we made our way back towards the hotel, stopping off at a supermarket to buy some supplies for the ferry to St Petersburg. Then, after grabbing our bags again, we walked to a nearby metro station and caught the train to the ferry terminal (well, close-ish to the ferry terminal – the walk was long enough that we had to stop for a rest about halfway there) and boarded the Princess Anastasia, our home for the next two nights. 

 

As the ferry set sail, we went right up to the top deck, once again accompanied by a light drizzle. From the port, the ship sailed through a narrow, island-dotted passage, and we were fascinated by the sweet wooden houses and boat sheds that populated the islands and bays. We were followed out by another huge cruise ship – the Cinderella – which actually accompanied us all the way to Tallinn. Then it was back to our cabin for our traditional travelling meal of salami rolls, cucumber and cherry tomatoes (in this case supplemented with a little jar of white truffle salsa that we bought in Tuscany on the previous leg of our journey).