Helsinki High Point

Before I get on the train to St. Petersburg, a few more words about Helsinki.  My stay there, though I accomplished almost nothing I'd intended, was delightful.  When I returned after my Russian sojourn, I experienced the high point of being in this very pleasant city:  Hannah.  I'd "met" her on an online board I've frequented for several years, and somehow discovered she's Finnish.  I emailed her to ask for suggestions, and if we could get together.   O my goodness, what an enjoyable visit I had with her, over  Finnish beer that I would have risked smuggling home.  And she, in a generous gesture of hospitality, gifted me with two packages of chocolate, which I am even now doling out, sparingly, only to myself.  So Hannah, thank you for everything!  Now farewell to Helsinki....

Back in the day, getting from one place in the former Yugoslavia to another was a matter of going down to the bus station in whichever small village in which we found ourselves and asking around until someone said that he thought the bus to next small village left at suchandsuch a time, but it wouldn't leave if the driver didn't think it contained suffiicient passengers to make the trip worth his while.  And if we wanted to go to large town on the other side of next small village, we had to first go to next small village, and catch another bus to large town....maybe that day...maybe the next.  No such thing as a long distance Greyhound going from Riejka to Zadar...not that we would have chosen something so crass, as we wanted to be in the villages and travel locally.  Not so in my AARP years.  I wanted fast and clean....and a prepaid ticket bought from America from the VR/Allegro web site, paid for with my Amex card and printed on my own little printer.  Moving into my senior years isn't all about arthritis and memory loss.... Now where was I???

And that's what I got!  Except the seat faced backwards and I discovered that riding backwards is....unpleasant.  Fortunately, empty seats were available, so after official formalities, I moved.  Many thanks to the retired home economics teacher from Finland who took this photo.  She and several friends were on a tour to St. Petersburg.  In fact, her mother had been born in a part of Finland that is now part of Russia.   Tours run frequently between Helsinki and St. Petersburg, and if three days or less, do not require a Russian visa.  Speaking of which, I do need to explain the wretchedly expensive process of obtaining the required Russian visa....

More Helsinki

The whole of Finland is about the size of the legal population of St. Petersburg, Russia, about 5 million folks.  Helsinki has about 600,000 of those folks.  Finns are considered reticent, but everyone with whom I interacted was most gracious.  I always (well almost always) ask before taking a photo of a human being.

Ok, After just saying that I asked photo permission, I confess that I did not ask this woman.  She just looked so relaxed and immersed in her book, that I did not want to disturb her.  She, as with so many of her compatriots, was out enjoying the beautiful weather, the newly green grass, the smiling flowers.....It was quite pleasant, indeed.

I have no idea if this building is historical; I'm just partial to austerely lovely brick buildings.....

With golden turrets....

If you look at a map of Helsinki (to which I have very helpfully provided a link), you'll see that the city is surrounded by the waters of the Gulf of Finland.  And in what I consider an amazing stroke of luck, I was within walking distance of that lovely water.

Me attempting to be artsy, with the corner of the red brick building and the old-fashioned sailing vessel. 

So many wonderful old buildings that had been restored/repurposed.

On the terrace of the Uspenski Cathedral.  It was too beautiful a day to go inside, so I continued walking.

I love this juxtaposition of the old and new. The newer vessel goes to Tallinn, Estonia, a trip I would have liked to have taken. 

From the Cathedral down to an outdoor market, selling the most wonderfully-looking berries....and dried fish and four-legged critters.  I considered buying dried elk or moose or some such critter at the Duty-Free shop at the airport, but it was only legal to carry to EU countries; it was too expensive for me to be caught with, and I didn't want it badly enough to lie to Customs.  However, for vodka.....

What a nice day to be riding a bicycle.  And there are marked bicycle lanes, next to pedestrian paths.  So civilized!

About twice the size of Tobey, a rat terrier, I'm guessing.  And yes, this time I did ask permission.

Completely uninterested in anything but being outside.  Given the amount of snow, I'm relieved to be here at this lovely time of year....And I can understand why Fido is loving the grass!

Barnacle goose -- This population summers here and winters in Amsterdam.  It's so much easier since Finland went on the euro a decade ago.

I'm assuming these are lifeboats, as they are dotted around the edge of the water.

Young love...

Many play areas around the city...

I did not take binoculars, as I had some concern that they might land me accommodations next to Pussy Riot....  Therefore, my birdwatching was minimalist, but I couldn't resist this nest.

Permission asked, and she was delighted to let her dog be the star...

These smallish terriers seemed to be quite popular, although Helsinki folks have many, many dogs of all shapes and sizes.  And Helsinkians are good about picking up poop.

Vessel 1off to frolic in the bay...

Vessel 2 leaving for Stockholm...

Me enjoying Helsinki....

And the classical artsy photo of past and present....

JET LAG.....THE EVIL, THE EVIL!!!!

As I mentioned earlier, I don't deal well with jet lag.  It is evil.  It is mine sworn enemy.  And yes, I know all the things one is supposed to do to overcome/compensate for jet lag, the most basic being to keep going when one arrives at the destination, rather than going to bed.

Try telling that to my body.  Believe me, I've tried, and my body just writhes with evil laughter, until I put it into a supine position.  Which is what I did upon arrival in Helsinki around noonish, that time.

I awoke around 5, took a long walk, and discovered that the Eurohostel is in a wonderful location, near the water, and just marvelously pleasant for walking.

After about an hour, I returned, ate that delicious salmon dinner, read for awhile, then off to the land of Nod......

To wake up the following afternoon around 3 pm.  While I didn't have big plans for the day, I had at least planned to get up.  Obviously, my body had laughed so hard at the notion, that it had worn itself out.

Oh well.  Consider all that money I was "saving while sleeping."

Helsinki, Finland

Leaving Amsterdam a very tired puppy, it was a short hop to Helsinki, and a pretty cab ride from the airport to the Eurohostel.  Helsinki is clean, clean, clean.  No poverty.  No homeless people.  Good public transportation.  There's something to be said for evil socialism.  The Eurohostel looked like any other newish building, and it, too, was clean, clean, clean.

The sign above the flower box says "Save money while sleeping."  Trust me, I saved a lot of money, because I slept a lot!  More on that .....

View from the window at the end of the hall.  Spring was just arriving.

View from the window of my room.  A Viking cruise ship which plied between Helsinki and Stockholm

Dining room and bar.  The first night, I had salmon and vegetables, and it was delicious.  Washed it down with an excellent Finnish beer.  Many of those who stayed here used the kitchen facilities for their dinner meal, though many came down for breakfast.  My only nit with the breakfast was mediocre coffee.  Fortunately, I'd found a place just around the corner, owned by an Italian man married to a Finnish woman, with superb coffee, so I could have my necessary fix.

Hallway with the door to my room on the right.  A bit institutional, but I wasn't paying for the Ritz.

Had I shared this room, the rate would have been less, but I paid for a single.  It's clean, sparse, and surprisingly comfortable.  There are two closets just out of view, one for each inhabitant.  Blackout curtains were definitely useful, as it is light almost all the time at this time of year, what is called "White Nights."  More on that later.

Bedding and beds were European/Ikea style, with a platform mattress, a bottom sheet, and a duvet cover which went over the comforter under the blue spread.  Obviously, some DIY involved, but it ain't the Marriott!  And a towel and pillowcase. The bed was quite comfy; I should know, as I spent far more time in it that I'd planned on.....

Heading Out

Dumping the canines with my ever-patient mother, I headed to Atlanta where cousins John, Kathy, and son Alexander wined and dined me.  After a good night's sleep, John drove me to the new international terminal in Atlanta where I hopped aboard.

Notice the smile, the lightness, the looking-forward-to-the-eight-hour-flight-to-Amsterdam foolish look?  Silly me.

Arrival in Amsterdam.  After the eight hour flight, I certainly needed first aid, a lounge, a spa, a comfort seat, and meditation (in a comfortable bed).  Anyone wish to guess which option I chose?  Yes, it was Door #3, the Airport Spa, where I had a massage delivered by Olga who trained at the prison guard school of massage; I think I still have bruises.  I dragged myself through a long amoeba semblance of a line for customs or immigration or some such nonsense, where I was asked the question that all such officials asked me "Are you traveling alone?" as if a woman of my age must certainly have a young companion to keep me from wandering astray....  Although I do acknowledge that after a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam and a 3 hour flight to Helsinki, I felt like....

Granted, this isn't me, but it's how I felt.  Unfortunately, even from my earliest ventures across different time zones, when I was youthful, energetic, jet lag has bested me.  This trip was no different.

From Russia, With......

Granted, beginning this post about my trip to the former Soviet Union, now the Russian Federation, with photos of...toilets....seems unpromising, but stay with me.  Back in the day, oh, about 40 some years ago,  I first went to Europe and Greece.  Way, way before the Euro, which, while it makes traveling simpler, is not nearly so colorful as drachmas and marks and francs.  But back to...toilets...and toilet paper.

European toilets back then tended to be about as clean as those in rural US service stations, those often grimy, smelly places tucked away on the side of the station, where we were lucky if they were kept locked so as to deter the local vagrants.  Except for the squat toilets in Greece...but never mind.  Toilet paper was another story altogether.  It was the texture and absorbency of either wax paper or sand paper.  And, in Moscow, it was .... red.  Seriously.  I was going to bring back a square, but we used it.  Probably for the best.

Unfortunately,  Russian and Finnish tp isn't much better, though the Finnish version slightly edges out the Russian variety, which might explain why most Russians seem to have a rather sour look on their faces:  They need Mr Whipple.  

Regardless of the quality of the toilet paper, I did appreciate several of the bathrooms, an appreciation which I will now share with you, my dear readers.

I flew into Helsinki, Finland, and stayed in a Eurohostel, where I shared a bathroom.  Helsinki is a very expensive city, and I figured the Eurohostel would be clean, which it was...very.   Walking into the outer area triggered a recording of chirping birds and the lights.  Although I do wish it had been tiled in blue, it was rather pleasant.  Now on to a restaurant in St. Petersburg.

Georgian food is delicious, filling, and relatively inexpensive.  The restaurant in St. Petersburg, where we ate twice, had five little toilet rooms, and an outer area with additional sinks.  Each little room had both sturdy paper towels and individual cloth towels.  I followed another woman in, as, without graphics, I was lost in the Cyrillic alphabet.  As you can see, the completely enclosed little room is nicely decorated, and I certainly appreciated the privacy, because, as I left, I encountered a man:  a unisex bathroom.