Cruising in the Stockholm Archipelago

After the course in Stockholm, I had decided to spend the weekend in Helsinki. Initially I had thought to fly there and back. But when I told my friend AnnSofie about it, she offered to join me and suggested that we do a cruise to Helsinki and back. I was a bit skeptical about it considering I was flying out of Stockholm on Sunday afternoon but AnnSofie reassured me that I would have plenty of time to make it to the airport from the cruise terminal. So I went with the flow and it turned out to be a superb plan over all.

Pranati and her sister Ankita joined us on the cruise making it a lively foursome. We had 2 adjacent cabins booked and the accommodation was pretty comfortable. We hardly spent time in it as we had so much to see and do on the ship.

The Gabriella is part of the Viking Line and has excellent live entertainment, a range of restaurants and duty free shopping.  

Some of her statistics are:

Built: 1992 Split, Croatia
Ice class: IA SUPER
GT/NT: 35,492/22,542
Length: 171.2 metres
Breadth: 27.6 metres
Draught: 6.4 metres
Speed: 20.5 knots
Main engines: 4 x Pielstick 12PC 2E
23,760 kW
Passengers: 2,420
Berths: 2,402
Cars: 400
Cargo units: 900 metres

Being on a cruise was a "first" for me. It certainly was cheaper and more exciting than taking a flight to Helsinki and staying in a hotel. It was great value for money and the food was awesome. Pranati and Ankita who are vegetarians had many options to choose from. We danced the nights away to the music of the live bands performing hits from the 70s and 80s.

I was told to expect a lot of drunk Swedes and Finns but I didn't see any. I did see a lot of older people and a lot of families who were there to have a great weekend.

Cruising in the archipelago off Stockholm is a real treat. It is the largest in Sweden and the second largest in the Baltic Sea. It comprises of almost 24000 islands, some inhabited and some deserted.

I am glad that I went with the flow and experienced something totally out of this world.

Cruising on the fjords in Norway

Fjords are found in locations where current or past glaciation extended below current sea level. A fjord is formed when a glacier retreats, after carving its typical U-shaped valley, and the sea fills the resulting valley floor. This forms a narrow, steep sided inlet (sometimes deeper than 1300 metres) connected to the sea. The terminal moraine pushed down the valley by the glacier is left underwater at the fjord's entrance, causing the water at the neck of the fjord to be shallower than the main body of the fjord behind it. http://www.fjords.com/

I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to go on a fjord cruise. I was pleasantly surprised and totally overwhelmed. I started off in Bergen and took the "Sognefjord in a Nutshell" cruise which commenced in Bergen and ended in Oslo with a trip on the famous Flam railway in between.
http://www.norwaynutshell.com/en/explore-the-fjords/sognefjord-in-a-nutshell/

The Sognefjord, Norway’s longest and deepest fjord, extends more than 200 km inland to the foot of the Jotunheimen mountains. This area is said to be one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the world. We passed quite a few villages some of which had as many as 50 residents and 150 goats! Coming from a populous country like India, it was a novel experience for me.

I decided to stay the night in the small picturesque village of Flåm which is situated innermost in the Aurlandsfjord, an arm of the 204-km long and up to 1308-metre-deep Sognefjord. Flåm is also the start or end station of the popular Flåm Railway, depending which way you commence your journey.

Flåm has a population of appximately 400 inhabitants and it is situated in Aurland municipality, which consists of Flåm, Aurland, Gudvangen and Undredal. 

I also did a cruise on the Nærøyfjord in Sognefjord - Western Norway. It is one of the worlds most beautiful and dramatic fjords! The name Nærøyfjord origin from the norse god 'Njord', the god of the seafarer and the sea. Nærøyfjord is one of many fjordarms in the 204 km long Sognefjord, the 'King of the Fjords'. In 2005 it became a part of UNESCO's World Heritage together with Geirangerfjord.

When you book a cruise, you have the option of making it a day trip or an extended trip with many stops along the way. Whatever you ultimately choose, a cruise on the fjords is breathtaking experience - fresh air, dramatic contrasts, vivid colours, pindrop silence, scenic waterfalls and deep blue waters. You have to experience it for yourself but in the meantime, take a look at some of my pics.

The Stave church of Underdal

Gundvagen

Can you believe this is a hotel?

Lost in the solitude of this place.