Monday, May 8, 2017

Tallinnk Silja Line Romantika Ferry from Stockholm, Sweden to Riga, Latvia


Sunday, 7 May, 2017:

First and foremost . . .

Happy Birthday Laurie!

aka, Grandma Lo and/or Gigi

 She has been the love of my life
for over 50 years now

I hope she had a great day, she deserves it. We'll be reunited soon to properly celebrate her latest trip around the Sun.

I sent flowers

With no Wäsby Warriors practices on Sunday or Monday and Tuesday's workout not scheduled until 6:30 p.m., it was time for a road trip.

Make that a
Baltic Sea voyage
from Stockholm to Riga

Yes indeed, from the capital of Sweden to the capital of Latvia via the Tallinnk Silja Line Romantika Ferry/Cruise Ship.

I could not have pulled this last second trip off without the help of two of my Swedish partners in crime, Janne and Aiki.

They do so much travel on Tallinnk cruise ships that they are Tallinnk Club One Gold Card members. That means lots of discounts for me and lots of travel points for Janne and Aiki as I buy things on board ship using their Club One Gold Card.

Actually a win-win-win for everybody as Tallinnk wins too when I spend money on discounted food and beverages that I might not otherwise have purchased.

Ok, ok, I would have eaten just as much with or without the discounts. 

Janne's Club One Gold Card
and my Boarding Pass

A beer with Janne before I
embark on my voyage

 Janne and me

I hit a small snag trying to get my boarding pass, thank goodness that Janne was with me to quickly solve the minor problem and get me going on my way! 

Riga this-a-way

The Romantika

Cabin #8531

Note my pull down bed on the right.

Disturbing Picasso art
above my bed

Getting ready to depart suddenly
gloomy Stockholm

The first thing that I noticed is that the ship is at best 1/3 full.

The lines are short on this Sunday evening in May, it is definitely not vacation time yet in either Scandinavia or the Baltic States.

Nice looking t-shirt but I do NOT
trust European sizing standards

No thank you, no sale here.

We departed on time at 5:00 p.m. and the first entertainment that I ran into was . . .

. . . a Cuban Band!

Now we're talking music!

Use your Google Chrome or similar app to play this video of our Cuban brothers.

Fika Time on the Baltic Sea
with a croissant sandwich too

On Facebook, Aiki got after me about not eating enough like she always does, therefore . . .

. . . I ate a bowl of DELICIOUS
Solyanka Soup, a Latvian specialty,
that she highly touted yesterday
to me

Full of meat, it was "Oh so good for me too!"

Only a few of us in the balcony
watching a Latin Music Dance Review

As I said earlier, the ship is only about 1/3 full.

The first three hours of our cruise are slow and steady in the no wake zone known as the Stockholm Archipelago.

Idyllic islands everywhere, about 24,000 of them, make this Archipelago an incredible sight to behold.

Blue sky, bluer water

Just another island

Many islands are inhabited

Picturesque homes
or Summer houses perhaps
   
A boat is a good idea if you
live or vacation here

Not even close to hitting each other

A tip of the cap to both captains.

Tranquil

A church?

Getting bluer and . . .

. . . Rockier

We will arrive in Riga at 11:00 a.m. local time on Monday. I am looking forward to strolling through Riga's highly regarded Old Town.

Life is GOOD!

Happy Birthday again Laurie!

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