We’re on our way. On a cloudy, cool early summer day we lock our door and walk to the subway, as any day. In preparing for our travels, this is something I’ve been looking forward to. No taxi, no suitcases, no airport shuttle, just an ordinary day with a backpack on.

When you travel, time is condensed. Eighteen hours on the ship to Finland is a small journey in itself. We find out where you can have a nice cup of tea and how to best navigate between the different areas. The dinner buffet has eight kinds of herring and an unexpected vegetarian section, the sun comes through the clouds, making the small islands we pass shine in the dark sea.

So far, I’ve only experienced Helsinki in very cold weather, in mid winter or chilly spring. Today it is cool and drizzling. It’s only the second day of our traveling, and we decide not to deposit our backpacks. They contain quite a lot of provisions, and are a bit heavier than would have been ideal, but not worse than allowing us to walk around freely. 

If you take the night train from Helsinki to Moscow and have your own cabin, there is a lovely table set with two bottles of water, one bottle of pear soda and a red apple for each of you. Apparently there is also a meal included, which turns out to be a very small plate with some fried cod and a little rice with peas in. It is more like a sample of a dish.