Holiday Inn Helsinki City-West

... I went and found the tram again and finished my tour of the city, the residential part of the city. It was really cool to see the schools and athletic fields in use. I really love this town.

Once I got back to the square I decided to head back to the room to wash clothes and get ready from tomorrow. I did plan on going out but after clothes and what not I think I will stay in. I have to be on a train at 5 ...

... roads that aren't on the map!) and found ourselves back on the coast where we started our walk of the southern coast. So we walked north this time instead of south, past what looked like the office centre of Helsinki and then past a few giant graveyards before getting to the coastal point we had wanted to start from. We stopped for lunch at Regatta Cafe and watched a ball game played in canoes, involving 1 ball, 2 high goals, a bunch of blokes in canoes, 2 refs and a ...

... warming party on Friday, and a graduation party on Saturday. I had fun at both. Actually, the graduation party was for a guy named Karri, who visited Chico with Pauliina one time. So, I knew him already, and it was fun to see him again. His party was in a park, so I got to see the sunset one last time in Finland, on top of a hill, amongst friends. A great end to a great trip.

I got to do first class again on the way home... Oh, but ...

... about finding somewhere to grab dinner before we got the bus back to our camp site. Seo and I found a place called Carrols, which is similar to McDonalds, and grabbed some food there before having to run back through the pouring raing to the bus in the square where it left us. We were absolutely drenched (the raincoat I was wearing didn't put up much of a fight) and it felt really good to put on some warm, dry clothes when we ...

... non-German speakers, that would be "I have sauerkraut in my leiderhosen). It made the goths, punks and heavy metal heads look positively normal. I'm assuming this isn't your average Finn, although to be honest, I really don't know...

Santa's Not Going to Be Happy About This...

This morning, while waiting for something to start, I took a wander through Market Square, hoping to score some of The World's Most ...

... we parked up and Team Micheal Knights car failed. It was about 120 miles to Helsinki and it was already 1 am. It would have been quicker to leave the car and roll but Team Yellow shouted "NO", it has made it this far so lets tow it. We arrived into Helsinki at about 5 am. Team Putt Pirates have managed to negotiate a car swap for 2 jumpers. Someone has to buy something for their girl friend. Last day today... can't quite believe Dumball is over again !

... to fully repay its war loan to the United States. We arrived to a cold and wet Helsinki. A rain storm was over the city and kept up a steady drizzle for most of the day. With a temperature in the high 40's it was a cold and wet day in Helsinki. The luck of the White Lady was absent today. So we bundled up with our warmest rain outfits including umbrellas and made our way into the city for our adventure in Finland. We caught the 3T Tram and purchased 2 all day ...

... has plenty of space, a spacious kitchen and living room, and feels cozy. But there's not a whole lot to do out there. The closest cultural center is Iso Omena (literally, "Big Apple"), a large mall a few blocks away near the highway that has a new, well-lit library with no English books. Nearby, there's an American-themed restaurant called Chico's, a late-night pizzeria, and a supermarket that's not open on Sundays. (Actually, the law in Finland is that no ...

... annual wife carrying world championships (unfortunately not on while we were there!). 80% of the country is covered in either spruce forest or lake, so makes for a relaxing holiday. Helsinki is more like a small market town than a capital city, we loved it. Great fish and fruit market, harbour, cafe culture and history on Suomenlinna island (Unesco ...

... it quite a bit. I'm starting lessons soon as well. Finnish became a written language quite recently, in the 1500s, when it was transcribed by M. Agricola, a priest. It was only studied in the 18th century outside of religion. Finnish is related to only two "major" languages in the world--Estonian and Hungarian (distantly). It is actually not too complicated as far as they come, in part because the ...