Viking Line, Turku, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden

We took an overnight boat from Turku, Finland to reach Stockholm, Sweden. On a typical weekend, this boat is filled with college students wanting to party (the alcohol is much cheaper). On the night we rode over, it was filled with tourists wanting to buy items from the Duty Free shop and two younger guys trying to pick up ladies.

Waiting for the gates to rise at the Duy Free shopping paradise.

Hanging out up top, cold and windy.

Playing a mean game of air hockey in the mini arcade room. Kevin thinks he won. The scorekeeper didnt work.

Sunrise cruising through the archipelago of Sweden.

Sometimes you just need a juicebox at sunrise.

Good morning, Stockholm.

At metro station, getting ready to head over to Johns place.

Our week in Stockholm up next.

A bit overdue... Helsinki and Turku, Finland

As I type this, I can hear the soft sounds of Kevin blowdrying our laundry that we washed in the bathroom sink. We have reached Bergen, Norway, nestled within the Western Fjords, but I am going to back track a bit and post some photos from a little over a week ago. We traveled through Helsinki after Iceland and stayed for two nights.

On plane to Helsinki

When we arrived we walked all day and night...

... and saw church...

...after church...

...after church. They were all very beautiful, as was all of the architecture in Helsinki.

We also made it over to an interesting outdoor architecture museum and luckily the weather held out just long enough for us to see everything. The next day, we headed out to Suomenlinna, a sea fortress on the Suomenlinna islands, established in 1748. We ran around in the underground tunnels and ate a nice lunch on the dock.

Suomenlinna Islands

We had a lovely time in Helsinki!

The next morning we rode a train north a few hours to the town of Turku. We decided to make this little trip to see another town in Finland and because the Viking Line ship we took to Stockholm departed from here. Our eight hours in the town were spent trying to find free things to do inside.

Welcome to Turku!

We spent quite a bit of time in the Turku Cathedral keeping dry. It was very peaceful with beautiful paintings along the church walls.

Next posts will  be our boatride over to Stockholm and the week we spent in the city, visiting our dear friend John.

Love,
J + K

We are in Stockholm!

We made it to Stockholm after traveling from Iceland to Helsinki, then Helsinki to Turku (smaller town a few hours north of Helsinki). We have walked and walked and walked and have seen a lot. Hope to post more photos soon, but not too much internet access here.

So far we are enjoying our stay in this beautiful city (imagine incredible architecture set on top of a series of islands connected by bridges and an awesome transit system). The weather is more unpredictable than back home... woke up to a downpour, two hours later beautiful sunshine, two hours later a downpour, etc. We invested in umbrellas and are much happier now.

We are having a great time visiting with our dear friend John who we are lucky to stay with. Last night we watched him play at an open blues jam session deep down in this awesome cave bar under the city. Very cool.

Will write more about our travels through Helsinki (and post some photos) soon.

Love,
K + J

Island Continued Even More

Lava fields

Group photo - Kevin didn´t quite make it

Buoys

Another church. Hvammsfjörður.

Finally some sun.

1

We will miss the people (and house) of Our House (www.ourhouse.is) but are excited for the next stop- Finland

Island Continued Some More

Eating lunch on the church stoop in Vik (at the very top of the hill- beautiful view)

On the road to Snæfellsness Peninsula

Oh nothing, just hanging out with some Icelandic horses

They are so gentle and calm

What an Icelandic horse looks like when you don´t have any carrots

Snæfellsness glacier in background

Eating lunch on Snæfellsness with new friend Barbora from Czech Republic

Cliffs along Snæfellsness

Island Continued

Selialandsfoss, Southern Iceland

Blue Lagoon by day...

Blue Lagoon by night

Gullfoss, the largest waterfall in Europe (we think but can´t remember- it´s late)

Us at Skogarfoss, another beautiful waterfall

Our new friend Andrew from Manchester going to explore one of 200 man made caves on the island

Perlan

Island

4 30 am landing in Kevlafik, Iceland

First day -- Karastigur, the street of our hostel/guesthouse in Iceland

Reykjavik Art Museum, library

Ducks in Tjörnin

Hallgrimskirkja Church, 1 block from our hostel

The Polo

Geysir, not quite Old Faithful

Boots on the ground... we made it to Iceland

After a few flights and not a lot of sleep, we arrived to Reykjavik this morning at 6 30. We are staying at the most wonderful guesthouse with a fabulous host named Beddah. We walked all day in the rain and cold around the city, stopping at art museums and cool churches. Tomorrow we are off on a road trip to the southern part of the country. Hopefully we will have some photos up to share with you soon.

But rest assured, we made it!

Off we go!

Hello family and friends,
Well here is our blog we hope to update as often as we can, depending on internet availability. We are feverishly packing tonight, getting ready to head out in the morning to Reykjavik, Iceland. Feel free to leave comments and we will try to respond. 
Love, 
J&K

Cannon Beach, OR (expresses our feelings right now)