Read Richard Juhlins Chronicle – Finland cruise, a nostalgic mix of sweet and salty. [read the full champagne story]
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
For many years my family and I went to Sälen during the sports holidays where I held a Pol Roger dinner in exchange for accommodation and lift passes. In recent years we have been doing sun trips instead of Vasaloppet, but our well-documented trip to Mexico was earlier this year so I spent most of the small children’s holidays at home on the computer. A little weekend trip would be nice for Leo and Nora, right? A new country to check off and for the first time the opportunity to go on a really big boat where they could sleep overnight. I remember how big and exciting my sister and I thought this was when we went to England as primary school children.
In the 90’s
In my previous life, or at least earlier in this life, in the 90’s, I went to Finland very often with the Swedish boats, which are called the Finnish boats in our eastern neighbor. Since my partner at the time was Finnish, yes she certainly still is, but no longer my partner, and her family was on the other side of the Baltic Sea, yes they probably still are, many school holidays were spent there. We flew there once, but I always thought it was the coziest to cruise over with the newly built luxury cruise ships Silja Symphony and Silja Serenade. It is much more even today between the two competing shipping companies Silja and Viking Line. At that time, Viking was a bit more rowdy and more of a booze-fueled party boat, and Silja tried to profile itself as a bit more elegant. I thought I would choose Viking this time because they successfully sell my Richard Juhlin wines on board and have an impressive champagne list at tax-free. When I asked my older half-Finnish children, who still spend a lot of time in Finland, which boat is the best nowadays, the answer was somewhat surprising: the twin boats Symphony and Serenade still lead the race according to them.
The ship
The unique thing about the 2003 meter long colossus is its fashionable “Promenade” in precious wood that stretches almost through the entire boat on the 7th deck. Elegant and with an enormous space and ceiling height. At both ends there are the futuristic glass elevators that smoothly take you where you want while you look out over the beautiful promenade that beats every shopping mall I have come across. The shops are stylish and well-stocked with tax-free as the main attraction. The boat also has an impressive stage with really good performances and artists, but my oasis is another place. It is hardly the seafood restaurant Happy Lobster with my sad allergy to the little sea monsters, no, the Fine Dining restaurant Bon Vivant is my refuge. Here I have sat and dined with both Château d’Yquem, Latour and La Tâche in the glass. Countless are the bottles of Krug Grande Cuvée and Grand Siècle at ridiculously low prices I have poured into myself while the beautiful archipelagos on both sides have passed by outside the window.
The wine list
When the restaurant was trying its hardest to get into the Michelin Guide, the wine list and its low prices were among the best in Europe. Unfortunately, that’s not really the case anymore, but the prices in the restaurant are about the same as at Systembolaget or any other wine shop in Europe, so I didn’t hesitate to order a Krug Grande Cuvée and the closest style competitor, the 2008 Bollinger R.D., side by side, even though I was sitting alone with my two small children. A wonderful exercise in every way, believe me. The comparison provided both pleasure and intellectual insights. Since you spend two nights in the rather spartan cabins and have half a day in Helsinki, I didn’t dare take a chance and booked Bon Vivant both evenings. The second evening was a little quieter, where half a bottle of Latrichières-Chambertin with the venison medallions brought peace to the soul. The interior itself was as sophisticated as before, and the waiters and the two sommeliers I spoke to were knowledgeable old foxes who had a good grasp of both me and the Nordic wine elite. Of course, they also had some goodies like Comtes de Champagne in magnums that you could buy directly from the tavern, excuse the pun, at a wreck price.
The food
Unfortunately, the food was not nearly as good as in the old days. I tried all the seafood-free starters and was disappointed with all of them except the fried quail egg, the Västerbotten cream and the deer carpaccio. The fish and roe had a slightly metallic and “fishy” note and the vegetables did not feel as ultra-fresh as they should be in a restaurant of this caliber. When I had my legendary Bollinger/Krug strength test, I let the children run around and discover the boat under the slogan freedom under responsibility. It went surprisingly well even though the cabin was cluttered with stuffed animals, toys and Fazer sweets when we got back. We also managed a trip on deck with a breathtaking study of the dark foaming sea and the unique seven-headed planet parade that was visible crystal clear in the sky before we fell asleep softly rocked by the harmonious movements of the waves.
Helsinki
It was spring weather and blackbirds singing in Stockholm when we left and unfortunately sub-zero temperatures and light snowfall in a grey Helsinki so that probably contributed to the children wanting to get back to the boat almost as soon as we stepped ashore to explore the sober, but a bit gloomy capital. I did my best, but neither Stockman’s department store nor the iconic white cathedral seen in every spy movie that depicted Moscow before you could actually get there and film, impressed the freezing children. I managed to persuade them to have a really good blini lunch at Kappeli, the old historic glass house at the beginning of Esplanade. At the heart of the boat breakfast where I myself went hard on the Karelian pierogi with egg butter and the children focused on a sweeter selection than what “dad” usually provides them with, I asked them to summarize the experience in a childish way. And it went something like this.
The boat was super lovely with the lifts, the promenade and the arcade at its best. When are we going again dad? It will be exciting to see how Viking Ciderella can counter when we go next time. As I have already promised them to do in a weak moment with Bollinger in hand.
Helsinki, on the other hand, was gloomy and much worse than Stockholm, they thought. The Finns were quiet and very kind, but a little thicker than the Swedes with more blonde and pale people and more with slightly slanted eyes than they were used to. Well, what do you say? They say that it is from children that you hear the truth and it can be nice to have a little truth in an age of “fake news” and Wild West presidents who create their own truths.
