wandering1: The Caravan Club St Petersburg and the North Grand Tour 2015 Sweden, Estonia and Finland

O so this will come as a surprise to many but the Countries that I so far expected to be IT savvy and sophisticated just weren't! I do hope that you appreciate that I am having to pay to keep my blog up to date! Ouch!
Sweden. Well what can I say about it? Err lots of bridges,Volvo cars, and trees. Lots of mud, miserable people and I can see why they are miserable! I had a very glamorous pre conception and it was nothing like it! We stayed at one of the better campsites that had a lovely lakeside view. There was a bar and restaurant on site but no one used it as the cost was ridiculous. Over 8 pounds for a local beer and a glass of wine that was more like vinegar. The good thing was we had been given a Stockholm pass that allowed us to use the public transport system for free and access to some museums. You guessed it not the museums that could be remotely interesting! Lol
In fairness the public transport system was quick and efficient but a nightmare to understand. Fortunately nearly everyone spoke English. Stockholm itself feels very dis jointed as it's made up of lots of areas which are in fact islands. There were some lovely unusual shops, the ABBA museum etc was all extra money and I couldn't understand how you could really make aN interesting museum about a pop group. I have since learnt it was all karaoke style and computerised. If you have ever heard Date and me sing it's probably a very good job that we didn't go there!
We struggled to get the caravans out of the mud as there were no hard standings or drainage on the campsite. We drove to the ferry port that was to take us to Helsinki and what a lovely surprise we got. Ferry? Never! A totally amazing ship that was more like a cruise ship. Shopping malls, restaurants, bars, entertainment, super cabins.....perfect! As it happened in our group I think we all tried every restaurant and each of us were suitably impressed with our food. As for the beds...fantastic! We disembarked the next morning at Helsinki. First impressions? Stunning! Classy and clean with old wooden sailing ships in the harbour. Impressive ferries going to and fro. Smiling ,friendly faces. I'd arrived in another world! The campsite Rattle was signposted the minute we got off the ship. Lovely hardstanding, clean toilets, friendly reception. Very lovely. I can't wait to explore it more. We didn't have much time yesterday as we caught another boat...This time to Estonia for the day! Yes I'm pleased that we visited it but I definitely won't be dashing back! Basically we visited Tallin. Lots of parks and it's a walled city. Lots of touristy shops and consequently touristy prices. We ate in an Italian restaurant and watched the world go by. Interesting the fact that it was occupied by the Danish, the Germans and more recently the Russians. It is now a member of the EUROPEAN union and we felt at home again at least using the euro, not that we spent much. The capital is so small. We would say it's not more than a town. Hull would be 5 or 6 times bigger and that's not big.
So today we are chilling in the van before our next adventure tomorrow..St Petersburg! Muchly excited. Somewhere totally different. We catch a coach and then a train. Well that's the theory anyway! Better start packing! Good bye Comrades!