18 September 1999 – Drove from Helsinki to Turku for the Viking Line ferry that would take us to Stockholm. Turku, the capital of Finland until the early 1800s, was a surprise – an old town filled with wonderful architecture along the many waterways. Turku is still known as Abo to the Swedes and the street signs are in Finnish and Swedish.

The ferry was fabulous fun – nothing like crossing the Caspian Sea. This ferry had restaurants, cafés, a casino, disco and tax-free shopping. Most passengers (several hundred) were walk-ons but perhaps 100 cars and trunks were on board for the journey as well.