I always knew that starting a new life in Finland was never going to be easy and well….it isn’t. That’s not to say I’m not coping alright but there are days when studying the Yoda-esque language or the mercury hitting in the double minus figures gives me such a headache I need a break.

Thankfully I married this man:



When we were discussing Christmas gift ideas I told him (truthfully) that I wanted an experience over a tangible object. When you downsize the contents of a 4-bedroom house into 11 boxes like I did this summer you realise just how much you don’t need all that crap…and that most of it is crap, though that’s another post for another day. What my chappy bought me was a two-day cruise to Stockholm!

S-Q-U-E-E and ARGH! For only the week before I happened to fall prey to a nasty cold. There was another bonus to this sightseeing new experience. My good friend (from ancient times back in Utah) lives in Stockholm so a day out with her is always welcome. Read about her adventures and see some beyond beautiful photos on her blog here.

On a cold and super frosty night we boarded the biggest ship I have been on and left Helsinki:

Honestly it was COLD proof with the water below! So cold that most people wouldn’t go outside…SCORE! More picture-taking space for me then.

Ville splurged and got us a cabin with a window, which was greatly appreciated and awesome by the time we woke up the next morning we were drifting through an archipelago with picturesque Nordic winter views. Did I take my camera with me so I could show you those? Of course not….duuuurrrr. There was a moment when my camera would have never been left behind. Of course that was the time when I managed to blog just about every day….dangit. Where has my willpower gone?

Anyhew what I can show you is what greeted us at the ferry port-of-entry. This gem of a woman and the one responsible to taking such fantastic wedding photos:

With only a few hours to mingle we had a wander throughout the old town:

She even let me have a go with one of her uber fancy-schmancy camera lenses:

I managed to get some beautiful detailed…and sadly overexposed shots. Oh well….gives me another excuse to go back and try again.

We managed to squeeze in time to visit some old friends:

Sometimes living in a small country has it advantages, but proliferation of American shops is not one of them:

As the sun started to fade

we hopped into a quirky little café with trendy and uniquely flavoured icecream. Now I am all for pushing the boundaries and I’m willing to try just about anything new. I ordered Saffron and Honey flavour and well….this was the general consensus of the flavours:

yeah….sometimes you should stick to the old flavours. Mine tasted like cold creamy risotto. Hungry?

All too soon it was time to get on our ship to leave *sniffle* time went farrrrr to quickly.

Stockholm was beautiful…and my hubster actually managed to get a few shots of me that I didn’t hate…rare indeed.

This was without a doubt the best Christmas prezzie I have ever received! Thanks babe. Can we go back now? This weekend?  Or next? Please?

Toodles Sweets - Ariane