We think we’d like living in Finland. It feels like I’m making it up when I say how much we’ve enjoyed just about every place we’ve been on this trip, but no, they’ve all been really different and really great in different ways. As much as I’d like to vacation again in a lot of them though, Finland is the first place we’ve been to where I would seriously consider living. OK, granted, we were here in the summer and 24 hours of cold and dark in the winter might be too much, but in a country and culture like this it might be worth a try!
This was Greg’s third trip to Finland and my first so he got to play tour guide while we spent the first two days hanging out in Helsinki. I’d been craving Mexican food so one of our first stops was at a great little Mexican restaurant near our hotel for burritos and margaritas! That’s what everyone associates with Finland, right?!
On Saturday morning we boarded a ferry to take a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia. It started out as a bummer of a day since we’d heard about Fuzz that morning, but it turned out that it was just what we needed. The two hour ferry ride to get there was very pleasant and when we got off the boat we walked straight into the Tallinn Maritime Festival. There were street vendors, food trucks, live music and Russian tall ships...so much fun!
After going back to Helsinki and a great day of just bumming around we boarded an overnight train to Rovaniemi. The thirteen hour train ride turned out to be very comfortable and since we figured it would probably be best to sleep for at least some of it, we were a bit disappointed that it wasn’t longer (especially with so much of it in daylight, with such great views, and with really fast, free wifi).
Once in Rovaniemi we took the requisite trip to Santa’s Village and to the Arctic Circle and stopped into Santa’s post office to write a few postcards.
We also had a really great traditional lunch of smoked salmon and berry juice in a Lappish hut, warmed by a fire, while we waited out a brief rainstorm. It was absolutely perfect. We also realized that it had been ten years to the day since Greg was in Rovaniemi the last time...crazy!
After flying back to Helsinki we stumbled upon the Tall Ships race that happened to be passing through. Another round of summer street fair made for a perfect end to our time in Finland.
P.S. For those of you who know what a non-picky eater I am, I finally found a food I never want to try again....salted licorice...ick!!!
On Saturday morning we boarded a ferry to take a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia. It started out as a bummer of a day since we’d heard about Fuzz that morning, but it turned out that it was just what we needed. The two hour ferry ride to get there was very pleasant and when we got off the boat we walked straight into the Tallinn Maritime Festival. There were street vendors, food trucks, live music and Russian tall ships...so much fun!
After going back to Helsinki and a great day of just bumming around we boarded an overnight train to Rovaniemi. The thirteen hour train ride turned out to be very comfortable and since we figured it would probably be best to sleep for at least some of it, we were a bit disappointed that it wasn’t longer (especially with so much of it in daylight, with such great views, and with really fast, free wifi).
Once in Rovaniemi we took the requisite trip to Santa’s Village and to the Arctic Circle and stopped into Santa’s post office to write a few postcards.
We also had a really great traditional lunch of smoked salmon and berry juice in a Lappish hut, warmed by a fire, while we waited out a brief rainstorm. It was absolutely perfect. We also realized that it had been ten years to the day since Greg was in Rovaniemi the last time...crazy!
After flying back to Helsinki we stumbled upon the Tall Ships race that happened to be passing through. Another round of summer street fair made for a perfect end to our time in Finland.
P.S. For those of you who know what a non-picky eater I am, I finally found a food I never want to try again....salted licorice...ick!!!
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