Jul 26

Jul 26 Day 3 - Mariehamn, Äland Islands on Viking Mars

Today, Viking Mars is docked in Mariehamn, Äland Islands. Mariehamn is the capital of the Äland Islands, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Even though this is a Swedish-speaking city, technically you could say we have visited Finland on this cruise. This is our first visit to the Äland Islands.

As we disembark Viking Mars, we find the weather to be cool, cloudy and windy, but tolerable enough to do some exploring on our own. We did not book a ship’s excursion for today.

It is quite easy to walk into the city center by just following the markers along the sidewalks.

If you are mobility challenged, or just lazy like us, you can take the free shuttle train into town. We decided to ride the train into town, then walk back to the ship to get some exercise.

The city center reveals a large pedestrian street lined with shops and cafes. Locals speak Swedish, but everyone we encountered also spoke very good English. The currency here is the Euro. We bought some souvenirs and enjoyed a walk through town.

*Pedestrian shopping street in Mariehamn*

The walk back to the ship takes about 15 minutes and the route is clearly marked all along the way.

We decided to go back to Viking Mars for lunch before heading back out to explore the Pommern, an early 20th century sailing ship moored behind Viking Mars. The best place for a quick lunch is World Cafe on Deck 7. Today, I had the Stir Fried Chicken Breast which was very good.

After lunch, we head back out for the short walk to the Pommern. The iron-hulled, 4-mast Finnish sailing ship was built in 1903 to haul grain. The ship is now on permanent display as a museum in Mariehamn. Viking guests can show their cruise card (stateroom key) to get free access to the Pommern.

Visitors are allowed to tour throughout the ship on their own. Below, you can see the ship’s galley. With a gross registered tonnage of 2,376 the Pommern carried a crew of 26. An audio guide is offered to visitors that tells the story of the Pommern and its crew as you walk through the various parts of the ship.

It began to rain as we were finishing up our tour of the Pommern. If you find yourself in Mariehamn, it is likely that your cruise ship will be docked near the Pommern and it is well worth a visit.

This evening, we visited The Atrium again for a cocktail and some classical piano music during Munch Moments. Munch Moments is held every evening at 6:00pm in The Atrium. Guests can enjoy classical music as Munch’s works of art are displayed on the huge LED screen.

For dinner this evening, we had reservations at Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant. This is one of our favorite restaurants on any cruise ship. I started off my meal with the Antipasti plate below. Later, we will be doing a complete review video of Manfredi’s and all of the dining on Viking Mars. I can tell you that I did notice a few subtle changes since my Viking Orion cruise last year. So, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notified of my dining review video.