The journey across the Baltic went smoothly and we both woke around 7:00. Looking out the window I could see the distant shore of Finland. We headed down to the feeding frenzy of the all you eat breakfast buffet.

The ferry passengers were a united nations of accents, lots of other travel groups from Spain and Italy, as well as day trippers from Stockholm.

Off the boat and a quick tour around Helsinki with our local guide who was expecting a busload of Germans, so I thought this could be an interesting commentary! I felt for our guide who was searching for words which you can bet she new in German.

"Zu unserer Linken haben wir Helsinkis größte Abteilungsgeschäfte mit über acht Geschichten vom Einkaufen"; came out as "this building is a big store with lots of, oh I forgotten the words for it".

Now if you think the Swedes and the Danes have a thing going on it pales into insignificance compared to the Finish and the Russians, let just say it hasn't been a happy relationship.

Over the last week we've followed the German prince whose father executed his gay lover in front of him; the Danish kings shenanigans and the Swedish royal family poisoning each other; it put the Liberal Party's current woes into perspective.

One thing about our new connected world is that it is so easy to keep up with the news from home. Passengers on our bus are mostly Australian so there is always a bit of chatter on the debacles at home.

Back to Helsinki, it's not a big place. The city centre is located around the harbour. The buildings are primarily early 19th century. It's a bloody cold place in winter, usually around minus 20 degrees so in the summer most Helsinikians (not sure if that the right word) seek the sun as much as possible, which means lots of outdoor eating, unfortunately accompanied by cigarette smoke.

We spent the afternoon walking around the downtown area, the beautiful weather and the pots full of pink geraniums made for a picturesque setting.

This is another night's stopover. I could have spent more time in Copenhagen and Stockholm but I think one night in Helsinki will do me. Tomorrow Russia.