How we were forgotten in Finland
I have long wanted to show my child the Moomin Park, in my childhood I read a lot about them. While I wanted to, the child grew up. But the desire remained. And just then good tickets for the ferry to Stockholm from Turku turned up.
The plan was this:
Spb-Turku transfer, minibus
Turku-Stockholm-Turku ferry
Turku-Naantali-Turku bus
Turku-Spb transfer, minibus
For all 3 days, 4 nights. Overnights only on the ferry. Initially, we wanted to make one overnight stay in Turku, in a hotel where check-in takes place at the cash desk for selling burgers, in a burger shop on the ground floor, on the second hotel, where the beds fold back from the wall, as in train, but the dates of the ferry have shifted and decided to spend the night only on the ferry.
Having studied all the ways to get to Turku, I stopped at transfers to Finland. They pick up from the address, bring them to the address, the prices are good, everyone has the same. I called several, chose, booked immediately there and back, the child was even promised a discount.
They had to go at night in order to be there in the morning, to devote the day to the city and in the evening to take the ferry to be in Stockholm in the morning.
The day before, the driver called back, warned him that he would come later, because he was picking up someone else somewhere. Arrived on time, as agreed. Put them in the back seats. On the way, they took more people. We arrived without incident, in the morning we were on the spot. us on the embankment.
The embankment has an abundance of art objects and the Maritime Museum. We did not go to it, we looked outside. There is also a lot of things on display in front of the museum. But this is not for everybody.
Between the banks of the river, where there are no bridges, there is a free ferry crossing.
In general, in Turku, I was surprised by the number of museums per square meter. They are literally on every corner. And quite interesting. We visited Aboa Vetus. Museum of history and modern art in several floors. Below it has an archaeological part in the form of excavations of the ruins of medieval Turku, interestingly designed. You can walk through the ruins, go into labyrinths and arches, information about the place hangs everywhere. There are separate cognitive zones for children.
During the walk we looked into the village of crafts, but seeing that almost nothing was working there, we did not go.
Visited the Cathedral
and the castle. I liked the Turku castle very much. We went there for free. Just through the open gate.
In the late afternoon we moved towards the Viking line terminal. In Stockholm we went on the Viking, back to Amorella. There is a slight difference between them, up to the presence of heated floors in the bathroom on the Viking, on Amorella with this easier. Registration can be done in the electronic terminal skip the line, scan your reservation and print your cardboard cabin key.
In the morning we were in Stockholm. The ferry terminal is located practically in the Old Town. We walked through the narrow streets, early in the morning, no one was there, looked at the palace, found there a group of Chinese (Japanese?) Tourists from our ferry (they are already here)). with shops and McDonald’s, where we had a bite. We went to a supermarket, prices bite. We walked along the promenade with beautiful houses.
And we went to Djurgården in Skansen. Actually, he was the main target in Stockholm. Was in a similar one in Novgorod, in “Vitoslavlitsy”, in comparison with him Skansen is simply huge. Ethnographic park, where old village houses from all over Sweden are collected. lifestyle, household items. At home you can enter, there you will be met by residents in local clothes of that time and talk in English about life, objects, surroundings and what you ask. The museum is located on a hill, from there you can see a beautiful view of the city. There is a zoo, picnic areas, craft fair, cafes, children’s zoo. The area is large and very green, a little windy due to the elevation, but the abundance of greenery compensates for this.
Then we wanted to visit the amusement park, but the queue was so huge, and then we learned that in addition to the entrance fee, we had to pay for each attraction separately, and we decided that we didn’t really want to.
We passed the museum of the Abba group. And it was time to set off on our way back. Even here, in Stockholm, the day before leaving for St. Petersburg, I was a little alarmed by the absence of a confirmation call from the transfer. But I decided to wait, maybe they don’t call in roaming.
They did not use public transport, walked everywhere, and paid with a ruble card.
The sunset from the ferry was great.
In the morning, having arrived in Turku, we went to Naantali, to the park to the Moomins. It takes about 20 minutes. There is a separate note about the park itself, I will not repeat myself. I will only say that a large number of adults from different countries surprised me. I thought it was here. they go exclusively with children. Although we are already adults) But time in an amazing pine forest can be spent interestingly. And also get and take with you a plush friend from the Moomin family or their friends.
In the late afternoon we returned to Turku. We sat down in the Hansa shopping center to get free WI-FI. Then my friend wrote to me and I asked him to call and ask about my transfer. He called and he was told that the car was in the morning. Then they wrote to me in WhatsApp that there will be no car. The dispatcher, then, have been screwed up and get out as you want.
For an unprepared traveler, this would turn into an unplanned overnight stay and spending, but we are with a claim to be independent, which means this is a challenge.
I studied the route in advance and knew all the travel options. It turned out that our shopping center was located not far from the bus station. When I arrived, in the literal sense of the word, at the bus station, I found that it was closed. Where to buy tickets and check the timetable? I saw that the last bus was going to leave to Helsinki, it turned out to be a red double-decker Onnibus. It turned out that it was possible to pay with a card and there was still money on it, there was no cash. The next success was the availability of free WI-FI, which allowed me to continue looking for tickets from Helsinki.
We climbed to the second floor, laid out our things and almost relaxed. As, after one of the stops, a girl came up and presented a ticket to this place. We had to change seats, there were a lot of empty seats. But they drove us back. In the end, we went to the end of the bus, hoping that here no one will touch us.
It was 2 hours to go, but the search results for tickets were not pleasing. We did not have time for the penultimate bus in St. Petersburg, for which there were tickets, and there were no tickets for the last one. I slowly began to mentally prepare for spending the night at the bus station, when suddenly a miracle happens. Someone hands over two tickets for the last flight, and I book them right there, I also managed to register in the discount program, for some reason the site did not allow me to buy a ticket without it.
In Helsinki we had an hour before the bus. We walked a little, went to the supermarket (as without it). We found that the train station is located behind the bus station.
But the surprises didn’t end there.
When boarding the bus, the driver said that we were not on the list, but he was needed when crossing the border. He asked when we bought tickets. So, an hour ago, I say. And, here is a replacement, he says, looking at his list, everything is in From which I concluded that someone had returned the tickets.
There is no point in describing the Lux Express bus: everyone knows about a working toilet, a coffee machine, a bottle of water, WI-FI, a tablet on the back of the front seat with movies, music, etc., sockets.
We arrived without incident, in the morning we were in St. Petersburg. The bus makes a stop at the Baltiyskaya metro station and the final one at the bus station on the Obvodny Canal. The metro was already open.
The cost came out a little more expensive than the transfer + entry to the supermarket.
In total, it is better to use regular buses, which may not be so convenient, but reliable, and they pass the border without a queue.
Travel to Mummis land
