Friday 02 September Mariehamn to Stockholm

 Alarm at 5:45. Sun beginning to rise,  clear sky and cold. We drive to the Viking lines terminal and board the Cinderella almost immediately. It’s spookily quiet on board probably because everyone on it is asleep as it arrived much earlier in the morning from somewhere in Finland. 

Everything on board is Swedish. The boat will take 7.5 hours to get to Stockholm and when I ask why it takes so long at the info desk they say it’s because it’s a cruise and it travels very slowly. It is another booze/ duty free trip for primarily Swedes. Average age pretty high. Nice brunch with smoked salmon, pickled herring and Swedish meatballs. Beer and wine on tap. All part of the duty free cruise experience  

We inch ever closer to Stockholm through yet another archipelago arriving at 2 pm Swedish time. We drive off and get to Bredang campsite about 20 minutes later. 

We sort out a travel card and go by metro into the city wandering around the picturesque old town Gamla Stan and then a boat trip which helps us to get our bearings and to see some of the beautiful waterside buildings.