Our first stop after leaving Stockholm was in Mariehamn, capital of the Åland Islands. A stark contrast to the vibrant city of Stockholm, Mariehamn is a quaint, rural town situated on an island that is part of an archipelago of 6700 (!) islands between Sweden and Finland in the Baltic Sea. The residents of the Åland Islands are Swedish by culture and heritage. However, in a very strange and somewhat complicated time line of conquests, re-conquests, and treaties between Sweden, Russia, and Finland, the islands are an autonomous territory under the sovereignty of Finland. So,they are officially Finnish citizens who, aside from paying taxes and using government services, have virtually nothing in common with the rest of Finland.

The town Mariehamn is name for the wife of Tsar Peter the Great who conquered the region. For today we split our activities with Wendy going on a bus excursion and Jim doing a group bike ride of the area. Our experiences were very different, but our net takeaways were similar. The Åland Islands are a pleasant, pastoral area but, aside from the historical facts, does not provide a lot of interest from a tourist perspective.

Wendy’s bus tour had three main stops, the most interesting being the Lutheran Church called St Olav's. It is the second oldest church in the region. Although lovely, it is relatively austere as the Vikings plundered all the gold, silver and other valuables long ago.

Jim faired somewhat better with a very enjoyable 20 kilometer bike ride through the town and its environs which included a stop for coffee and a local cake at a rustic country guest house. We hit some patches of rain, but it was good to get some exercise and enjoy the scenery.

After returning to our ship, we had lunch at Mansem’s, the cafe named for the matriarch of the Hagen family (Viking founder) that offers Norwegian specialties. Their butternut soup hit the spot!

Wendy tried out the spectacular spa area including steam, sauna, hot tubs and cold plunges. What a treat!

Then we relaxed and read before dinner in The Restaurant (that actually is the name of the main restaurant on board), and enjoyed a well-staged and presented performance of hit vocal duos with the on-board singers and band.