14 – 16 Jan 2011
As accommodation options in Stockholm can easily run up in excess of 1000 SEK or more per night, we decided to go for another cruise. This time round, we choose another company and another destination. We settled on the company Silja Line, which is operating under AS Tallink Group. The destination was Riga, the capital of Latvia, as the offer at that time was better than other destinations. I had read reports on the Internet that Silja ships usually have less drunken partying passengers and hence were more suitable for passengers preferring some peace and quiet. Therefore I was excited to board the ship to see for myself if there was a difference between Viking and Silja.
The place to board was different from my previous cruise operated by Viking. In this case, I would need to board it from Frihamnen, which is located in the North Eastern part of Stockholm. Buses reach the terminal but there is more than 1 stop with the name Frihamnen so you may want to double check. Fortunately the Stockholm public transportation system allows passengers to make unlimited transfers within a certain time limit. However, waiting times during off-peak hours may be quite long and certain services do not run on weekends. We arrived very early as after checking out of the hostel, we made our way straight to the terminal. There wasn’t anything to do at the terminal and there were just a couple of unappealing cafes selling expensive food. We could only board the ship 2 hours before departure so we took out our laptops and watch a couple of movies to pass the time. We boarded the Silja Festival at a little pass 3pm since the ship was scheduled to depart at 5.
The interior furnishings of the ship were just a tad more recent than the Viking Gabriella and it was too close a call to determine if which ship was better furnished. The crew onboard Silja Festival tried to engage passengers with some shows and entertainment which I thought was rather short as it only lasted 15 minutes. I found the atmosphere here more lively than onboard the Viking Gabriella. However, the WiFi access on the Festival was only limited to a small area at the conference rooms, making it less convenient to get on to the Internet. However, internet access on both ships was rather sketchy and intermittent.
Frihamnen Terminal in Stockholm.
Silja Festival. Notice that the bridge spans across the breadth of the ship.
The reception area of Silja Festival.
The ship has a lounge and viewing gallery on the upper decks.
The captain spends a lot of time here on the bridge.
This is a standard “A-class” cabin.
We arrived the next day in Riga at about 11am. It was about a 15 minute walk into the historic city and it took a little longer in the winter. There were few people on the streets but I was not sure if it was due to the fact that it was a Saturday. Lacking a guide to bring us around, we strolled along the cobbled streets and admired the newly restored historic buildings. The buildings had many Art Nouveau features which of course you could not find them in Asia. Not to be missed were the cats and dog statues facing each other on the roofs of different buildings. Local legends had attributed them to a pair of feuding neighbours. Overall, Riga’s historic city centre had a very nice feel to it and I could certainly see the tourist potential in this place.
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This landmark greets you when you arrive in Riga. Reminds me of Lord of the Rings…
The terminal in Riga is small but efficient.
Business is good for Samsung.
The entire historic centre of Riga has been designated as an Unesco World Heritage Site.
This sculpture is rather peculiar right?
Do you see the 2 cats?
This is the corresponding dog against the cats. Cute!
The Freedom Monument. They actually have guards at the base.
We chanced upon a wedding couple in Riga. Btw, the museum has free admission.
The newly restored buildings in Riga have many interesting statues.
5 Comments
It’s a shame that Scandinavia is so expensive, we’re going to Finland in July, maybe take a ferry from there to Tallin. Did you do that route as well?
Nope we didn’t, but I suspect you can probably find such cheap cruises or ferries from Finland too. We only paid 250 SEK for Stockholm -> Riga -> Stockholm. One way tickets may turn out to be even more expensive than return tickets!
We will be going to Sweden and Norway for our honeymoon holiday end of this year, will experience the ship sailing in Sweden as you suggest:) Hope to enjoy our 2 weeks stay in these 2 countries:)
Simon
Enjoy your honeymoon!
What a great way to save money in Scandinavia! Your pictures make it look amazing.