We got up quite early and left Loimaa to drive to Åbo (Turku) on the coast of Finland, where we caught the Viking Line ferry to Åland. The ferry ride is 5+ hours, so we had breakfast on the boat. We sat inside for a bit, then went out on the Vista Sundeck on the back of the boat, which was lovely. Sitting in the sun and the wind watching the islands slide by. The boat was HUGE and the archipelago was extensive, lots and lots of rocky islands covered in, you guessed it: pines and birch trees. We got to Åland around 2:30 pm and went straight from the harbor up the road 5 minutes to our hotel.
Hotel Esplanad was very nice, with our own outside door, and right next to a tree-lined park in between two streets (the Esplanad), which was welcomely cool in the heat of the day. We walked across the street and had a late lunch (delicious beef and tomato rigatoni). Then we walked up the shopping/walking street, but because it was late Sunday nearly everything was closed. We walked over to the eastern waterfront and all the way up the Maritime Quarter. I had some salt caramel ice cream but then we decided, since there was really nothing to do, to walk back to the hotel and rest.
Albanus, one of the touring ships in the Maritime Quarter
Afterwards, we headed out again (still light out!) and this time went to the west side of the peninsula and walked past the Pommern and up a bit to the sailing club area (found a perfect present for Karin!), and then headed BACK across Mariehamn to the walking street again and went to a tapas place for dinner since we just wanted something light. Perfect! (though Anders had to peel my gigantic shrimp for me because I forgot to ask the waiter if they came with shells/legs on before I ordered).
The next day we headed out to explore more of Åland and see all the sights, as much as possible without being able to take boat cruises. We drove first to Kastelholm, which is Åland’s only medieval castle, built in the 1380s, abandoned after several fires, and now restored for sightseeing. We walked all over the castle, then went to the prison museum and open-air museum up the hill. A lot of history for one morning!
Erik Puke’s shield, which made me laugh. One of the former commanders of Kastelholm, he was famous for rebelling against the king of Sweden in the so-called Puke Feud, and was executed in 1437.
Windmill in the Jan Karlsgården open-air museum
Afterwards, we headed out to the coastal village of Eckerö to an art glass & handicrafts exhibition, and from there Anders found a restaurant in the little seaside village of Käringsund, which was lovely, and the food was great. We walked around a bit on the rocks behind the village and then got back in the car and headed back to Mariehamn to actually tour the Pommern museum ship.
Gorgeous 3-piece glass triptych peacock windows
Orchid tapestry by Berit Olanders
Boathouses in Käringsund
The Pommern is a four-masted barque that was built in 1903, originally owned by a German shipping company, but later acquired by Gustaf Erikson of Mariehamn, who used her to carry grain from Australia to England and Ireland until the start of World War II. She’s considered a lucky ship because she survived both world wars unscathed, lost only four crew members at sea on her journeys, and won the Great Grain Races twice. She was donated as a museum ship to the Maritime Museum in Mariehamn after WWII and is in pristine condition. You can tour all over the ship, and there was tons of interesting info, films, activities, in 3 languages, plus a cool light and sound show down in the cargo hold. The 20-minute film we watched which detailed one of her voyages in the early 1930s with interviews of surviving crew members was fascinating. We walked through most of the Maritime Museum afterwards.
Down in the cargo hold
Signal flag storage
Had a mediocre dinner at an Italian place (can’t win ’em all), but made it to the ice cream stand 5 minutes before they closed, for dessert. Then, a second night in the SAME hotel: luxury!
Next up: half-day on Åland, another ferry ride, Stockholm, and home!
Mood: accomplished
Music: Chad & Jeremy—A Summer Song