Going to the Finnish island of Åland - My take-aways
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- čas přidán 3. 04. 2019
- My take-aways from going to the Finnish island of Åland. I took the Viking Line Baltic ferry Viking Grace from Stockholm, through the Stockholm archipelago to Åland islands and changed in Mariehamn to Viking Amorella back to Stockholm. This day trip to Aland islands is mostly to do tax free shopping and of course sing Finnish karaoke. How was the sun deck? How was the food? What could you do onboard? This questions are answered in the video.
My channel is packed with Swedish tutorials and language challenges where you can learn everything from nouns and verbs to grammar and special Swedish words. I also talk about places in Sweden and where you as a tourist can visit. I have made youtube videos for over 10 years and 10 Swedish Words started with me explaining 10 Swedish words that don't exist in English. You can also find videos about Norse Mythology, my deep-talk series Good Talk (which now has its own channel) and other info about Sweden and Swedish culture.
Blog: www.theswedishlad.se
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Intro graphics by Oliver Holmgren & Erica Svejderud.
Music is used with permission from Epidemic Sound.
#Åland #TravelVlog #VikingLine
Cheers
-Martin in Sweden
I went to Åland once as a child to help my grandmother smuggle back some extra duty free booze. About 40 years ago.
One of those reasons, ha ha
Live on this island Åland, and often go on these boats. This video shows how duty-free works because Åland managed to negotiate an agreement with the EU. Without this agreement tax free would not be sold between Sweden & Finland & Åland. Thanks for a good video.
Damn i though trixie with 9k subs was the most famous youtuber on Åland I guess not. You got the crown and the throne for being the most famous Åland youtuber.
The fun fact: Åland dialect of Swedish is closer to Mainland Swedish instead of Finland Swedish and almost everyone speak Åland dialect
The Swedish dialects of Åland have certainly been influenced more from the west than the east, if you compare it to the standard Finland-Swedish speech, but there are various dialects within Finland-Swedish. You'll find that in the archipelago south of Turku the dialects are much more similar to the dialects on Åland, than the Swedish which is spoken in Helsinki. Also, there are at least three different dialectal areas within Åland, where the westernmost one is most like the dialect spoken in Uppland, Sweden.
The “I’ll never let go” really got me 😂😂😂😂 I so needed it
We used to ride the ferry back and forth from Helsingor in DK to Helsingborg? (Swedish town) for the duty free and the lunch. It was a very quick ferry so we would stay on for 4 or 5 round trips. Sometimes we got off in Sweden to go to the little castle there. We would all take pictures with the dragon.
Also, way back in the 90's, I took a ferry with my cousin Kim and our morfar from DK done to Kiel, Germany. We spent 5 hours on the ferry doing bingo and drinking, then 1.5 hours running around in Kiel, followed by 5 more hours on the ferry. I went stir crazy on that one.
Love you all
hej du!
i just wanted to say that i´m a brazilian girl who started learning (a bit of) swedish thanks to you and this channel. I hope you keep delivering such a nice and unique content. thanks!
That is so amazing!! I really appreciate you letting me know. It means a lot!!
Swedish meatballs are Swedish
Mindblown! Lol
Who would have thought?
Åland islands are great!
...never been there, but have been cruising in Ålands archipelago for years!
This is my last message here; the ferries are basically for regular traffic, commuters etc. Last time I counted some 70 really heavy lorries on lower deck, Scanias, Volvos, Mercs, MANs, IVECOs - you get my point. Then there are tourists obviously, and - LIKE THIS GUY - ppl taking half-way sea cruises. Taking Grace from Sthlm, her bound for Turku, mainland FIN, jumping off at Aland, taking Amorella back home. The ships meet daily at Aland. Grace continues to Turku, and Amorella to Sthlm. Then after some hours they reverse at night. These ferries sustain and support two country areas and an archipelago in between - both countries are dependent on them. Shit, innit good that cruisers come as a spin-off. You don't complain about the holes in the cheese because you don't pay for them - nor do you eat them. The ferry had pulled away from the quay even if this geezer hadn't been there - sigh... any objections about the sea traffic to Iceland, The Faroes?
Omg this is just like when I took the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn 😂 it's a very interesting experience, I have to admit.
Fascinating indeed, especially during the day. Very quiet.
Is there a Magnuss effect device on top of the ship?
Yes, a rotor sail which uses the magnus effect and save fuel
Looks like fun! We took the cruise between Helsinki and Tallinn long ago!
Was there karaoke?
@@TheSwedishLad not that I recall. I do remember some sort of 1980s music playing in the background, my era... so I was enjoying that!
Very funny "quotes" haha
How long did this boat trip take? What else is there other than duty free shopping and gambling? Tack!
Eat food, dance, listen to music, sober up.
TheSwedishLad there’s a spa on them too
I have been living in Finland for 3 years now. Never once herd Hotel California in public. How have I missed out?
Have you been on the ferry, cause that's where you will hear it.
@@TheSwedishLad No not yet sadly.
You go to Åland on a chip?
YOUR *WIFE* *!!!* You're usually surrounded by the cutest girls in the northern hemisphere...
...I always though you were THE stud PLAYER.
But I was wrong...I'm SHATTERED!!!
Me too!
Married since 2013, together since 2001. :)
@@TheSwedishLad
Well, you didn't jump right into it. _That's _*_equally_*_ as _*_ADMIRABLE_*_ !!!_
Oh. That was good!. Thanks for sharing!. I would love to make a journey throughout Scandinavian countries one day, but I don't know where to start, firstly. Finnland would be one of the those places I would love to visit once there. Actually, I'm learning Swedish, so by the time I will be there, I hope I could, at least, speak it fluently.
Åh!. Det var bra!. Tack för dela den här videon med alla oss!. Jag skulle vilja göra mig resan över hela Skandinaviska länder någon gång, men jag vetar inte var kan jag själv börja, först. Finnland skulle visst vara en av dessa platser som jag skulle älskar mig att besöka om jag har en gång möjligheten att åka där. Jag studerar mig svenska på min egen hand, så när kommer jag vara där, därför hoppas jag att kan jag pratar mig språket på ett flytande sättet, i alla fall.
Din svenska är ganska bra :D fortsätt öva
@@kaninbullenyt1803 Thank you so much!. Unfortunately, I don't have any chance to put my Swedish into practice daily, so I'm thinking of not learning it anymore.
@@nicolas1248 That is sad to hear.
Even if you dont keep practicing the language you might still keep in contact with it from time to time so that you dont forget everything.
@@nicolas1248 Have you ever went to Sweden or Finland?
@@kaninbullenyt1803 Yes. I agree with you!. Although, I can't practice the language on a daily basis, I can just watch these videos at least once a week, so that I don't forget everything I have already learnt about it. That's better than nothing!!.
Also, I have never been to either Sweden or Finland before, but I would love to visit both countries. I have a friend from Sweden and I practice Swedish with him from time to time, even though, it's not enough. He lives in Mottala, which I think it's just a couple of miles away from Stockholm's city centre. I'm not sure about it!
I went to Åland once, but never left the boat. Buffet was nice, except for when I got sea sick and plates and glasses were sliding around almost falling from the tables. Unfortunately for Mariehamn there is no time for Swedish tourists to get off and spend some money there.
You should stay a few days. Especially in the summer. Bring a bike.
Especially with the beard, you actually look a bit Finnish. 👍🏼
Du ser ut som Jim Carrey😀 Ja, det finns alltid någon från ett spanskt talande land som sjunger hotel california eller liknande.
Sverige,Suomi,And Dansk,Norge,Åland,Iceland🇸🇪🇫🇮🇩🇰🇳🇴🇦🇽🇮🇸
You definitely look nice with beard
It comes and goes.
When we go to sweden not Åland we go on Viking line
Most important question; What the hell happened to your beard? And who is the babyface, we see in the video? ;-) :-D
The babyface is the reboot towards the new three week beard.
I don't get it. You hop a ship to travel across a small sea to get tax free booze, trinkets and headphones? Wouldn't the cost of the ride offset the taxes? If not, there must be some heavy taxes over there. Otherwise, it seems almost not worth it. Also, is there a reason you don't leave the ship/dock area in Aland? I mean, I'd like to go for a walk and spend some time.
The trip is ridiculously cheap, like 5 dollars. This particular ferry doesn't land you on Åland. You just walk onto the ramp of the returning ship.
@@TheSwedishLad what???? Why? That is not very ecological. Then the Swedes avoid using planes because they contaminate but take ships to nowhere that contaminate MUCH more??? Greta Thunberg must be furious.
now it 2020... it just seams super wasteful... to travel with a ship which pollutes the most of all transport, just to buy some stuff tax free.... wouldnt it be easier to just have an other possibility? at the border somehow?
It's easy to say for someone who doesn't know the background of why there are ferries here. This kind of traffic is a vital part of the economy of the island. Viking Line is the biggest employer on Åland. The tax free is only one part of the traffic.
But these boats also carry many commuters and freight travelling between Sweden, Åland and Finland. They are a part of the infrastructure. Especially for us who live on the island and depends on the traffic to get in and out to both Sweden and Finland. The island wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for the traffic. The island has a population of about 30k and did economically well at least before the pandemic.
Good news is that Viking Line are investing in new eco friendly ferries powerd by LNG that decreases the sulfur content and overall decreases emissions of pollutants. The older ferries run on eco-fuel (don't know specifically what kind). So yeah things are done to decrease the environmental impact. 1 ship (Viking Grace) the first LNG ferry of it's kind in the world is right now operating and one more (Viking Glory) is due to start traffic here in late 2021 replacing another ferry. Most likely there will be more to come.
I hope you got some insight on the subject. Feel free to ask questions!
@@Heroalex33 i wasn't talking bad about commuters. sure it is necessary for them. i was just thinking about people who do it only for duty free. its great to hear that they do a lot of improvement in the technology to make it more eco-friendly. i love ferries and ships to be honest. i loved it as a child from genoa to sardinia, over night. but today we know that they pollute a lot. if they make improvements (not like italy i guess, they still use the old ones from the 90ies) i am totally ok with that and for it. thank you for your insightful comment.
@@intarc0giotto Glad that you didn't take my comment as aggressive! Even though I love the old ferries I still have to accept that we need to move on. I know a lot of ferries down in the Mediterranean that once was in traffic here in the 80s and 90s that I would like to visit just because I and my other half are really into the historical aspects of the traffic here. There's a charm to them that can't be replicated with these new ships.
The tax free of course does attract people who only cruise. But high taxes on land is a large contribution to that as well. But unfortunately without the tax free there wouldn't be any profitability at all to run these routes. It's a source of income and also keeps tickets at a low price. Which is one of the reasons that makes this island livable. There's tax free here thanks to a special agreement with the EU. Åland is partially independent from Finland and isn't in the EU tax zone. There's one example how catastrophic consequences are if tax free sales are abolished. Can explain later :)
@@Heroalex33 are you german? (because of your name). but your answers were so polite, you seamed so scandinavian :) . i was never told so politely how wrong i was.
ok now the tax free makes a lot of sense.
you are such a delightfully reasonable person, very uncommon for youtube comments :)
@@intarc0giotto My father is from Austria. I was born and raised in Sweden though. But I've been living in Åland for about one year. In Mariehamn the capital of Åland Islands.
I'm happy to hear! Can only agree about how rare it is to have a intelligent/respectful discussion on CZcams or any other platform. I try to treat people the way I wanna be treated :)
The tax free situation is pretty complicated here and the politics are as well. So I do understand that things are misunderstood about how stuff works here. Even I still don't understand some things about this place.
You don't know that Åland belongs to Sweden it was a long time ago but russia take it.and then Finland take it...
Pretty sure all Swedish and Finnish people know it. The entirety of Finland belonged to Sweden, the most highly populated parts of the country spent almost 700 years straight as part of the Kingdom of Sweden. So, Finland didn't "take it", it gained independence along with the rest of the former Swedish territory of Finland in 1917. Åland isn't that separate from Finland historically, rather that's just what people there want to believe to make themselves feel more special. It's the same reason why Finns pretend to be so different from Swedes, because they feel they don't really have their own history because it's all Swedish history too.
Come on, You went there to buy tax free booze, not chocolate!
Well, I don't drink alcohol but there might have been a whiskey bottle for the in-laws.
His impression of Finns 😂
No not Finnish. swedish hahahahaa only joking still not Finnish though
Aland Island is not part of Finland!!
But it is
@@kornaes it is, and it isn't... Åland is... complicated 😜
@@sayitinswedish Hi! :D And yeah... it truly is complicated
@Nuorton Would Åland manage alone?
I wish it wouldnt and im finnish.