Helsinki

So, since I couldn't go to Russia (and didn't want to anymore anyway), I changed my flights while I was in Tokyo. It was a long, long process to decide where to go and then find flights that were allowed in my round the world ticket to get me there. In the end, I was on a FinAir flight from Beijing to Helsinki, then Helsinki to London. Since I'd never been to Finland, I decided to stay for 2 nights.



My first feelings about Helsinki were mixed - first it was COLD. And I wasn't prepared. I basically wore as many layers of clothing as I had. My sunscreen and swimsuit wouldn't help me much here. And I had to give up on my flip flops. I debated buying gloves and a hat, but thought it wasn't necessary and I could survive 2 days. Plus I didn't want to have to carry them. But, when I started wandering around Helsinki, I was suddenly re-energized. It was weird, I was so tired of wandering around, sightseeing in China, but getting to Helsinki, it felt familiar, I no longer felt lost and annoyed, but all excited to explore another European city. It reminded me of places I had been - sometimes Prague, Amsterdam,Copenhagen. So you wouldn't have thought I would be excited to explore, but I think I was just happy to be somewhere I knew I could handle. Even though I was really far north and it was cold in April.



The square in front of the Lutheran cathedral.

But the Russian Orthodox cathedral was much more elaborate inside.

I spent my 2 days in Helsinki just wandering around, visited churches, rode trams (of course going the wrong direction a few times), saw the sites, ate some good, hearty meat & potatoes, sat in coffee shops, and just being happy I was out of Asia.

Even though I still couldn't speak the language, I could handle Finnish much better than Chinese...I didn't actually eat here, but at least I could understand it!

I definitely accumulated stuff...this is me leaving Helsinki.