Helsinki to Harwich 1976

Helsinki 31 August 1976

We arrived at the station about 8am and were met by Colin who will be with us to Esberg. We were brought to the Polar Hotel which is on the outskirts of Helsinki. We went straight in to a smorgasbord breakfast which was very good, then went up to our room and sorted things out. I wrote a letter home and did some washing while Ian had a snooze and then in the afternoon we went and changed some money. After that we went for a walk in the "woods". At 3pm we joined Colin, Cynthia and John and went in the bus to a lovely little lake - unfortunately it was not a nice day for swimming but it was a pleasant drive, and we stopped at a tavern and got a lovely steak meal. We had an early night.

Our transport in Scandinavia, and the lake near Helsinki

Helsinki 1 September 1976

We again had a nice smorgasbord breakfast, then a few of us went into town on the bus with Colin and Cynthia. We were taken to see the Stone Church (Temppeliaukio Church) which is a magnificent piece of architecture. We were dropped off at the market on the waterfront and we had a pleasant day wandering around the town and in and out of all the shops. There were some very beautiful things but very expensive! We had hamburgers and chips for tea and then met Cynthia and John at the Station and caught the train to Turku.

There we met the rest of the goroup and boarded the ferry to Stockholm. It's a lovely boat and cabin - very comfortable. After a quick exploration we had an early night.

Temppeliaukio Church

Stockholm 2 September 1976

We were woken at 6.15am to get up and have breakfast and when the boat docked we all went on the bus to the Esso Motor Hotel. When we were given our rooms we went up and had a shower, then went back into town with the others. We were dropped at Skansen, which is a beautiful open-air park (Sweden in miniature) where we spent a delightful four hours. Then we caught a ferry over to the old city. It was a really beautiful day and we saw Stockholm at its best. Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the streets and shops, then went and had a meal in a small cafe before meeting the bus at 6.30pm to go back to the hotel. Tired but happy!

Jönköping 3 September 1976

We were up at 7am and went to a smorgasbord breakfast at 8am; very nice. We left Stockholm at 9am in the bus. We drove to Linköping where we had a 2 hour stop for lunch, but we just looked around the shops and streets. Then we drove to the old centre of Linköping which was really interesting. Next we headed for Jönköping making one stop at an old ruined castle Brahehus from where we had a lovely view of the lake Vättern. When we arrived at the Savoy Hotel in Jönköping we met up with the four girls who'd caught the train. Doug, Debbie, Ian and I walked to the restaurant "Master Gudmunds Kallare" and had a really nice meal - it is their last night with us.

Brahehus

Copenhagen 4 September 1976

Up early to have breakfast at 7am and we left a 7.30. A nice drive down to Helsingborg, where we caught the ferry across to Denmark which only took about 20 minutes. Then it was a short drive to Copenhagen where we were taken to our Hotel Osterport and shortly afterwards we were dropped in town.Ron, Martin and Ian had a beer and I had a hot dog and toasted sandwich. Then we went to Christiansburg Palace and into the National Museum - then to the Red Light area and saw a couple of "movies". Then we went to Tivoli Gardens where we spent the rest of the evening. First we went and had a nice meal in one of the beer houses and then spent some time looking round. It is beautiful at night but it was very cold. We caught a bus back to the hotel at 9.30pm.

We could see Hamlet's Castle, (Elsinore - Kronborg Castle) from the ferry across to Denmark.

Copenhagen to Esberg 5 September 1976

We were up at 6.30 and had breakfast, then we were off for Esbjerg. We caught a ferry at 10.15 approx., which took about 50 minutes so we had an early lunch on the boat. Then we had another drive to Odense where we stopped to see Hans Christian Anderson's house, another stop at Funen Village, and then we went on to cross another stretch of water, by bridge this time, and arrived in Esbjerg about 2.30pm. We had to wait till 4.30 till we could board the ferry and sailed about 5.30pm. We spend until 8.15 in the bar with a group of others then went into dinner which was a lovely smorgasbord. After that we went to another bar where they had music, and I went to bed about midnight.

Hans Christian Anderson House and Funen Village

Esberg to Harwich 5 September 1976

I didn't get up till after nine - a real luxury. Went for breakfast by myself as Ian had already had his. Then went to change my money and bought a couple of things in the duty free shop. I found Ian with the others in the bar and spent the rest of the time there until the ferry docked at 12.30pm. We went through Immigration and Customs and onto the London train. It was a nice trip to Liverpool Street Station where we said goodbye to everyone and caught a taxi to London Walkabout Club with Cliff and Trevor. After checking in we spent about 4 hours walking, looking for Wendy's place - no luck. We came back to Walkabout, Ian rang Martin, and then we went straight up to bed, tired out.