Sanborns Trip to the Baltics Finland and to the Arctic Circle

Finland and the Arctic Circle

The trip from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, Finland was spectacular with beautiful scenery, islands, bays, and wonderful countryside. We passed the old Soviet naval base at Kronstad with relics of many warships still in their berths. This was the home of the famous Baltic fleet. Finland is a very flat country but the air is very clean and crisp.

While in Helsinki, I took the opportunity to take a trip up to the Arctic Circle to the city of Rovaniemi in Lapland. From here, we boarded canoes to go up river to a reindeer farm to see some of the history and life of Lapland.

This is beautiful countryside and it was fun and educational to learn about some of the customs of the peoples of Lapland. And I did get to see myself at the Arctic Circle in a time when the sun never sets. We had lunch inside a Lapp lodge that looked like a Teepee. Lunch was of mashed potatos, reindeer meat (pulled and chopped), and ligonberries and a home made dark bread and beer. What a meal!

The Fins have turned Rovaniemi into a tourist destination and has added quite a bit to the economy of the region. Though they do get a ton of visitors to the Santa Claus land that is also on the Arctic circle. Want to know exactly where we were ?

Cruise Log
Monday June 24th Helsinki, Finland

2:00 am Ship's time goes back one hour to GMT +3
3:42 am Making our approach to Helsinki
5:17 am Docked alongside Katajanokan Quay
12:00 nn Wind: Light Airs Sky: Partly Cloudy/Fog
Air Temperature: 67 ° F 19 ° C
5:24 pm Departing the dock
6:12 pm Set course to the West for the Sandhamn
entrance to the Stockholm Archipelago

So, from here, now On To Stockholm, Sweden.

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