Hotel Sokos Pasila Helsinki

... top of the tower and see all of Helsinki. It was a spectacular sight. I was also pleased to see that the building was still being used for city classes and athletic events. There was actually a few different dance classes going on while I was there. After finishing with the center I walked a part near it and found really cool trails and wooden workout equipment. The log press was my favorite. After working out for a ...

... 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 ...

... we saw the full moon rise, and it was beautiful. That afternoon was probably my favorite of the whole trip. I had a great time with my good friend Pauliina, out in the sunshine, and sipping on wine. It was fabulous.<br><br>The next few days went by in a blur. Of course, there was some drinking involved, that contributed... Sorry mom, it was my last days in Finland and with Pauliina!! Also, it happened that she was already promised to a ...

... Czech Republic) and Seo (a doctor from Korea). We had a bit of a look around, and saw some interesting products for sale...amoungst the reindeer and moose meat, dried meats and salamis, we also saw tinned bear meat, bear, moose and reindeer pate, seafood and a chocolaterie...which had some very convincing looking 'rusty nuts and bolts' made of chocolate. Not quite sure why nuts and bolts though..<br><br>When we left we decided to ...

... apartment-mate, Olga from Spain, who has been here since January and is also participating in the Summer School. I meet up with Sanna and a couple other students she is showing around too! There was Alison from Kansas and Jamar from North Carolina. Sanna gave us a tour of the Kortepohja Student Village and showed us where the grocery stores and bars (yay) were. After that I just hung out and talked and then went to sleep!<br><br> Today is my first day of classes! I am ...

... of the day and there was a dark rain overcast, the city is actually a lovely city that is an easy walking city with artwork scattered throughout it neighborhoods. As the rain was gone for the day, we took the opportunity to walk back to the harbor and the waiting White Lady. The walk back was very good as we were able to see many building and parks that treated us with great architecture and lovely, though not yet green parks. As we reached the harbor area, we were ...

... 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 ...

... heritage site, "The Fortress of Finland"). After a couple of days in Helsinki, we took the train to Jyvaskyla (pronounced yoo-vah-skoo-lah) to explore the traditional Finland countryside of forests and lakes. We did a couple of small road trips from there; one south to Korpilahti and another further north to Kuopio. Kuopio has a few all season ski ...

... 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 ...