Tervetuloa Suomi

Aland Islands, Finland.  

The solidly built Pommern 1904 - on a very grey afternoon

We left Stockholm on a dull, grey morning for the 4 hour crossing on a rather substantial ferry to the Aland Islands.  The seas were equally grey, somewhat swelly and with white caps.  Yes, it was raining too.  Welcome to Finland.

We think this was a house with a "widow's watchtower"

Families were watching and waiting for ships
 like the Pommern to return home safely

The Alands consist of some 6757 skerries and islands, mostly rocky, flat and largely uninhabited.  The archipelago is something of an enigma, given its Finnish nationality, autonomous status and Swedish language.  Thanks to a shipping industry and tourism it is quite well off.

Marieham, its quaint village capital, seems unspoilt by either activity.  We noted however, large ladders attached to most of the houses and assumed this was to enable access during those long, snowed-in months.  We also learned that during winter, it is possible to drive over the ice to the islands from the Finnish mainland.  Strange but true!

Although the rain had eased, our fearless group set off on yet another 20km bike ride to explore some of the nearby tiny granite islands.  It was reported as a bracing tour through some lovely birch forested skerries.

Substantial Halyard Winch

For those not bike riding (Ed. yours truly), a nearby Maritime Museum beckoned, though we only had an hour to cover both the museum and the Pommern, a 1904 four-masted, steel hulled merchant ship that once plied its trade between the UK and Australia. 

Thankfully, many of the Pommern’s adventures were photographed or filmed and there were some indescribable pictures on display of the ship’s rounding of Cape Horn in less than appealing conditions and wild hurricane experiences in the Atlantic.

Thank goodness for modern day charts and weather forecasts!  

A Captain with taste in travelling companions!

The Museum was set up as a re-creation of a ship, with some truly remarkable supporting pieces, including a pirate flag (one of only three known to exist in the world), a collection of delightful figureheads and a large display of items made by the sailors during their time off-watch.  Aside from the usual macramé and knitting, the collection included shell covered boxes and pictures made from butterfly wings. 

At Dino’s Bar & Grill we mixed it with the locals, skipped meals of moose meat and waited in the convivial warmth before taking our midnight ferry to Helsinki.  Let’s just say that this crossing was even more challenging than the last and put paid to ANY idea of sailing the Baltic….(well, in anything less than a very, very large cruise ship!)

Now, wouldn't this be a really nice figurehead for WJ3?