In my cab ride to the Helsinki train station, the taxi driver is listening to a radio report about how many Finns drowned in lakes over Mid-Summer weekend.
It´s a bit of a parlor game, I´ve learned, to guess how many Finns will teeter to the point of oblivion on this long holiday weekend. This year´s count is eight, “but with one still missing,” my taxi driver quickly interjects.
Train Tip: Ferries leave Finland from two locations to Stockholm: Helsinki and Turku. The ferry from Turku will get you into Stockholm three hours earlier in the morning, at 6:15 am. Turku is easily accessible by a hour two-train ride from Helsinki. Just be sure to catch a train from Helsinki that will go direct to the Turku harbor. The train literally lets you off beside the boat.
I met many Finns who ride this ferry to and from Sweden as a pleasure trip. Quite a few get on board to dance the Finnish tango all night.
Benjamin Thomas
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