2017-07-25 Lindesberg to Stockholm and Viking Ferry to Turku

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Lindesberg to Stockholm for the Viking lines ferry to Turku

Neither of us slept very well last night, our Hymer motorhome is parked on the aire at Lendesberg Golf Course in Sweden, it’s an overcast day when Gill gets up and makes coffee. We take our time getting up and having breakfast, we are about 200 km from Stockholm where we need to be by around 6 o’clock tonight to check in for the Viking Lines ferry to Turku in Finland. It’s an overnight ferry, with a buffet meal in the evening.

Before leaving we service the Hymer, the red light on the toilet is showing that the cassette is full, that’s not good. Lindesberg is the first place that we have found with toilet cassette emptying facilities. We are really surprised that Sweden provides motorhome facilities so badly.

We watch birds, treecreepers spiral around the bark of the trees, great spotted woodpeckers hammer at the trees, all from the comfort of our own portable hide – our motorhome.

We need to top up with gas, LPG, for our heating, cooking and fridge/freezer. Our refillable tanks hold around 40 litres, in warm weather that will last over a month, but if we need heating then we can empty the tanks in a week. LPG is not easy to find in some countries, and we know that it is not obtainable at all in Finland. Between Lindesberg and Stockholm we call at 4 places that should have LPG, the first three have none, at the fourth they have CNG but the filling nozzle will not fit our connection and none of our 3 adaptors will connect it. We find out later that CNG is pure methane derived from refuse, it’s not suitable for our system so we are relieved that we did not manage to buy it.

We had ample time to drive to Stockholm and attempted a diversion to a lake at Roseberg, however we got snarled up in roadworks so abandoned the side trip. Google maps did a really good job guiding us through Stockholm, which has a great number of long road tunnels. The tunnels are not easy to navigate through, there are bus lanes, cycle lanes and many intersections. Our route through the tunnels was 4.3km, Gill noted that we needed exit 6, what a good thing to have done because as you enter the tunnel you lose both GPS and mobile phone connection. Knowing exit 6 was the key to getting through. As soon as we exit the tunnels the GPS signal gets picked up and if necessary we are re-routed, but it’s very stressful when that happens.

We arrived with over 2 hours to checkin for our Viking Line ferry, the previous outgoing ferry was still berthed on the dock and there was not sign of our ferry. We parked on the quayside along with dozens of others. Our inbound ferry finally arrived around 7 pm and began unloading. Our checking went ahead but it was a shambles, and that’s being polite. We had to drive a long way around the docks to the front of the ship along with all the other motorhomes, then wait while dozens of trucks and coaches loaded ahead of us. Finally at 1950 we were waved forward and loaded onto the ferry, that’s three and half hours since we arrived. We are the very last vehicle to board, that left us only 10 minutes to find our cabin and get to the buffet which has timed tickets!

What we didn’t know is that checkin for the ferry does not close until 10 minutes before departure, so we could have spent the whole day doing something else rather than waiting on the docks.

All that behind us we turned up for the Viking Buffet. The restaurant is on a high deck, at the front of the ship, with panoramic windows at the front so you have a wonderful view of the sea and land ahead. This was without a doubt the best buffet meal that we have ever had. The choice was exceptional and the quality of the meat and fish super. There was wine and beer included too, combine that with the view out of the front of the ship as it sailed through the narrow passages between the islands around Stockholm and you have a wonderful fairytale experience that we really enjoyed. 

Our overall opinion of Sweden is that the southern part was mostly farming country, with some large lakes, not very scenic, not well set up for motorhomes either – there is a great need for more service points where waste water and toilet cassettes can be emptied. The birdwatching was good. Fuel is expensive, LPG is very difficult to purchase, groceries and most other goods are much more expensive than elsewhere. It was a good experience, but I don’t think we would return to Sweden for a longer motorhome trip unless there was a special reason. Having travelled across most of Europe we prefer France and Spain, both of which cater very well for motorhomes.

Lindesberg to Stockholm and Viking Ferry to Turku photos

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Summary of motorhome trip to Turku in Finland

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