A little trip to Suomi

-70? No biggie, it is Finland after all. (Suomi is the Finnish name for Finland)

That's right, I've seen a little bit more of the world. The last weekend in January I flew up north for a super exciting visit in Finland with my friend Maria.

Now, I never would have thought it, but there's a time difference between Berlin and Helsinki. At first I was extremely confused by the fact that my flight there took 3 hours and the flight back only lasted one. I put it down to getting confused by the 24-hour clock. Eventually the light went on...

I must say, my arrival in Helsinki was less than exciting. I mean, my previous trips have been rather intense. Security people checking and re-checking your passport and visa, almost being denied entry because you don't have the address you're staying at for the night (Thanks England), no smiles to be seen for miles... All followed by the deep sigh of relief when the stamp finally hits your passport... But in Helsinki - nothing. There weren't even people in the booths! I must say, I was actually a little disappointed, I wanted another stamp in my passport :( But I quickly got over it. I mean, I was in Finland!!

I was picked up at the airport by Maria and we bussed into town. I have never been so entertained by someone asking for a bus ticket in my life! Finnish sounds SO cool!! After a quick stop to drop of my bags at her place, we headed back into town for a stroll.

Here I am in front of the National Theatre - enjoying the balmy evening. It never got much colder than -8 the whole time I was there! Thank goodness! I might be a Canadian, but that doesn't mean I like it when it's super cold outside.

Next Maria and I wandered past some of the University of Helsinki buildings to check out the Helsinki Cathedral (Tuomiokirkko - Finnish is a ridiculous, but fasicnating language!). It's this beautiful, white building that sits on top of a hill overlooking a huge square. Very, very pretty.

Now, a trip to Finland just wouldn't be complete without sampling some traditional Finnish food. First on the menu: Reindeer. I know... a little weird. But as you can see below - I'm quite enjoying it. What you won't come across until a little further down the page is the canned reindeer. Yes, you heard right. You can buy reindeer In. A. Can. Eew.

But the smoked reindeer here tasted really good. Salty-like.

Right, so the pictures here are a little out of order, but my genius blog won't let me move them around. Anyways, on day 2, Maria and I wandered over to this really cool looking statue. It's a memorial for the Finnish composer Gean Sibelius.

Back to day 1 below - after our stop at the white cathedral on a hill we wandered down past one of the harbours in Finland and through the pedestrian zone.

To the left of the picture was the big ship that makes the trip to Stockholm, Sweden. The bottommost windows, also in the left-hand corner of the picture are of the main market house. Unfortunately it was closed everytime we walked by.

Aha. Here we go. Below you will be graced with my overwhelmingly positive reaction to canned reindeer.

I repeat. Eew.

Now, I believe I mentioned before that Maria actually lives on a little island in Finland. On Saturday morning before bussing over the bridge and into town, we stopped by her beach. Not too much sand to be seen, but beautiful nonetheless.

I felt like I was at the top of the world. Finland totally has this stark, barren, absolutely gorgeous feel to it.

Maria looking fabulous standing in front of the Orthodox Cathedral.

Now, this might not look like such an interesting picture, and to be honest it's not. But I couldn't resist putting it in because the top of the blue can shows the words: Enemmän positiivista susmalaisuutta. Which roughly translates to: More positive Finnishness! Hilarious.

And a trip to a foreign country just isn't completely without trying some of the local dishes. As a result I ate reindeer, salmon soup (which was DELICIOUS I might add), meatballs and mashed potatoes and the two dishes below.

In the rear is some sort of cheese (which reminded me of cheese curds - it had that squeaky cheese thing going on) topped with cloudberry jam. Cloudberries grow way up north, we're talking Yukon/Northwest Territories north, in swampy regions. They remind me of orange raspberries. Which is then a little awkward as you're eating what looks like raspberries that have been exposed to radioactive material. But, despite all appearances, it was really tasty.

The box of dark brown sludge was a different story. It's a dish that you can only find in Finland in the months leading up to Easter. It's basically sweet rye bread dough that hasn't been fully cooked. Normally you eat it with whipped cream and lots of sugar.

I had an absolutely fabulous time in Finland. Never, ever in a million years did I think that I would travel to Finland. But I got the chance and I'm so excited that it happened. I am so thankful for all the opportunities this year is giving me... It's actually really overwhelming sometimes.

Next post: day trip in Tallinn, Estonia

Moi moi, (that's bye in Finnish. Hi is Moi)

Sandy