A really fun and easy puzzle. I don’t time myself puzzling, but this must be one of the fastest puzzles I ever did. Pretty much everything in the image looks familiar, although not everything is stuff that I would specifically connect with the 90’s (like cassettes, LPs and lava lamps).
I chose to do this puzzle now because the bonus puzzle challenge for February is a ring (the kind you put on your finger), and there’s a yin yang ring in the image:
This is a vintage Ravensburger (it says copyright 1981 on the box), and the quality is fantastic. I was also happy to find the puzzle complete and in good condition.
Viking Line operates a ferry/cruise service between Helsinki and Stockholm (they have other routes as well, but especially in the 80’s, I’m pretty sure this was their main route). You would be hard pressed to find a Finn who has never been on one of these cruises, although nowadays the route to Tallinn in Estonia is probably more popular.
You can’t make out the name of the ship on the puzzle, but of the two ships that I’m aware of from this era (Viking Sally and Diana II), this looks a lot more like Viking Sally based on the images I was able to find.
Viking Sally has quite the history. Viking Line operated the ship from 1980-1990, and during that time, there were two murders on the ship. A Finnish business man was murdered in 1986, and in 1987, a German student was killed and his girlfriend severely injured in a brutal attack. The second murder is still unsolved, although a Danish man was tried for it just a few years ago, over 30 years after the crime. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough evidence for a conviction.
After Viking Line sold the ship, it finally ended up with Estonian shipping company Estline, and they named it Estonia. The Estonia sank in a storm en route from Tallinn to Stockholm on September 28, 1994, after the bow visor had been broken off in the rough seas. The sinking was very fast, and 852 people lost their lives. Only 137 survived. The closest rescue station was in Turku, Finland, and the survivors were also brought to Turku. While most of the passengers were Estonian or Swedish, the impact of the disaster was felt in Finland as well. Most people who were around then will be able to tell you when they first heard of the sinking. I may have been one of the last people to find out. In the morning, I left for the University Library without listening to any news (the sinking had happened around 1 am). I spent the day studying, and I didn’t really talk to anyone. On my way home, I wondered why so many flags were flying at half mast. When I got home I turned on the TV, and only then, late in the afternoon, did I hear about what had happened.
The ship in the puzzle may not be Viking Sally, but it looks very similar. You can also see the seam of the bow visor:
For the puzzle challenge, this will be #20, a vehicle that I’ve travelled in.
This turned out to be really enjoyable, proving that it really was just that I was in the wrong mood when doing Pink. There were enough slightly larger objects, and the text also helped to keep it interesting, but not too challenging.
For the puzzle challenge this will be #19, yellow.
I’ve done this puzzle once before, but that was another copy. I got this one when I bought about 60 puzzles at once (it worked out at less than 2 EUR / puzzle), and while most of them have been complete, this one wasn’t. There was actually a note in the box saying two pieces are missing, but it turned out to be three.
I had intended to use this as the Disney puzzle for the puzzle challenge, but I have other Disney puzzles, and this will instead be #25, at least one piece missing.
Puzzler1909 