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The Åland archipelago gave way to the Turku archipelago. This felt like the domain of much smaller ships. As we finally approached Turku I saw the Tallink Silja line ship (the other option I had for this journey) already docked having left Stockholm 45 mins earlier. A long crossing came to an end.

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It's a stunning archipelago with a fascinating history; it's today part of Finland, but also it's separate for some taxation and speaks Swedish monolingually. This was 'new track' for me. I marvelled at this huge ship constantly twisting and turning its way between islands (and not the only one!).

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Reposted by Richard Smith

16/21: Åland Islands 🇦🇽 My 42nd country/territory this year. This 15 minn dwell was the briefest visit of any on this trip, but I did walk onto the gangway so I'd actually been on something attached to the islands. I enjoyed my previous visit here, I shall have to visit again when time allows!

When I say cruise ferry, I mean CRUISE ferry. The Viking Grace is huge, but fares are oddly cheap. This is in part because it goes via Åland, taking long enough to avoid EU tax laws. It is therefore popular, but time consuming. So nightclub, casino, shops, games, decks, bars, everything is aboard.

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I've taken half of this route before, on a trip to Mariehamn (Åland). This first half was and is surreal, this huge cruise ferry navigating the narrow channels of the Stockholm Archipelago to reach the sea, passing cute wooden houses in forests and on rocks, before finally reaching the open sea.

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The next morning, I had a pleasant walk through old town Stockholm to the Viking Line terminal. I also passed the Slussen transport hub and its extensive redevelopment, which I believe started with the Vikings and will end with the heat death of the universe. I'm off to Turku via Mariehamn.

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I also stocked up for the next day's travel, as my X2000 was scheduled to arrive at 00:07, and I had an early ferry. At last, I headed east, my pleasantly refurbished X2000 diverted via the coast to coast route via Borås and Värnamo to pick up the Malmo to Stockholm route, a near total diversion.

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I took a train back to Sweden. Sunday engineering works on the Oslo to Stockholm route, as well as the direct Gothenburg to Stockholm route and most other lines in the region, had severely limited my options, so no more time in Norway. Back in Gothenburg, I took a tram to look out on the sea.

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I bailed at Fredrikstad, running slightly late and with only an hour to explore this pretty place But: a boat to the old fort departed 2 mins early. It did come back, quickly, but I'd lost any sense of safety to get back for my train I took another boat to the centre and walked back to the station

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15/21: Norway 🇩🇰 My 41st country/territory this year. Norway reminds me of Scotland, in that the moment you cross the border the scenery steps up a notch, even where it was already pretty. This line is slow and meandering, but it's a lovely introduction, especially with the open windows.

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I had a sudden rush of memory when I wandered down to the bar car, and realised it was from the old Berlin-Amsterdam sets. It seemed like a solid operation with enthusiastic and friendly staff. It's in some ways a shame they've had to step in to fill this gap in the network, but I'm glad they have.

This morning's train was Snälltåget's new, direct, Malmö to Oslo service. It was ideal right now as it meant I could get a compartment and either catch up on some sleep or open the windows to keep me awake. Incidentally, it is *so much cooler* here. Spain on Thursday feels like a distant memory!

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14/21: Sweden 🇸🇪 My 40th country/territory this year! Far more than in any year before. It's beautifully easy to get to Malmö from Copenhagen by train, and a lot better for my onward plans. Also fun, if weird, flag bunting. I could already see tomorrow's train, reminding me of my early start.

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In my brief visit to Copenhagen, I squeezed in a trip on the S Train, a glimpse at the centre and harbour, a trip on two different bits of the metro, a domestic DSB InterCityLyn train, and the surprise that the airport station has gained two new platforms. Time to cross one more sea tonight, to...

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13/21: Denmark 🇩🇰 Where it felt somehow unfamiliar to have a familiar train (CD Railjet) on a familiar railway (DSB). I kept wondering whether to step back to another train, but I didn't want to sacrifice time for sleep or food, so onwards I went to Copenhagen via two sea crossings.

A swift dash across Hamburg took me to my CD Railjet. Bizarrely on this Saturday, it was just running Hamburg Altona to Copenhagen (so nowhere near Czechia), a particular shame as I'd have loved to have picked this up in Berlin. I had hoped for a DSB Talgo, but it didn't line up. Onwards to...

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In all my stress and sleeplessness, I'd missed a trick: had I bailed at Salzburg onto RE5, I could've caught the ICE Sprinter to Berlin, and I would've got just as much sleep if not more! Instead, I had to settle for train hopping to Hamburg via the duller Fulda route, to avoid a slog on an ICE4.

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12/21: Germany 🇩🇪 I knew I wouldn't get back that sleep. Sure enough, after deafeningly waking everyone for a pointless border check at Freilassing, the new attendant then just started taking bedsheets away, 90+ minutes before Munich! The attitude of Newrest on the NightJets just seems diabolical.

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11/21: Austria 🇦🇹 I lost even more sleep to a PRM (toilet I suspect) alarm going off loudly at close range in every cabin when we were stopped in Schwarzach-St Veit, although it did at least mean I was conscious in Austria. (Did no one think to calibrate the PA system in the cabins?!!)

NightJet 294 got off to a bumpy start, as my mini cabin was locked and I had to wait around for the attendant to open it, while she worked slowly through doing breakfast orders for all first. Sigh.

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Apologies for giving short shrift to Rome, but I had to head north. This had been a heavenly trip, but I'm now on the railway to HEL. My NightJet sleeper had already left the city, but I was going to intercept it in Bologna by Frecciarossa. We got diverted onto classic lines a bit, but planned.

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10/21: Vatican City 🇻🇦 My 39th country/territory this year! (Monaco was 38th) A brief, boiling visit. Last time I was here there was no Pope! I took the opportunity to send the "seat vacant" stamp on postcards to many friends. This time I only had time to send one new Pope postcard home.

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Shortly after, I took a train that crossed back into France, and then across the border to... 9/21: Italy 🇮🇹 I was relieved to make it in time for my booked InterCity to Genoa, and even more so that it wasn't delayed either so I would indeed make my Frecciabianca to Rome.

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8/21: Monaco 🇲🇨 Definitely my strangest visit here: an hour, early in the morning, while the place was mostly a ghost town. I visited it in reverse: normally I go up to the top of the station, past the casino, and then down to the marina. (I hung close at first as I was nervy about train issues.)

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Next step was a Frecciabianca to Rome along the Tyrrhenian coast. Well, it was nominally a Frecciabianca; it had a bit of an identity crisis, truth be told Despite all my nerves about this train in my plan, it was basically on time. Which was good, as I didn't have long to visit you know where.

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I had enough time to go on the Ascensore Castello d'Albertis-Montegalletto, a lift which goes sideways and then upwards. It's very surreal. I have videos for it, but Bluesky just isn't accepting video uploads, so photos it is.

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