A Day in Helsinki

I only have 3 days left in Finland. I'm not particularly happy about this, nor am I ready to leave. I know that I have an amazing summer ahead of me, but it feels really strange to leave my life in Finland behind. Unlike my Humboldt County life, which will be pretty much the same when I get back, this whole exchange experience will just disappear when I leave. The people I've met here and the experiences I've had can never be recreated or duplicated. I'm leaving Finland with a lot of sadness, but I'm not going to let it overshadow the fantastic time I have had and will have this summer. I can't wait to Hannah again, and I think Ireland will be amazing too. Although I'm leaving Finland, the blogging isn't over. I'll try to post as often as possible while I'm traveling, so you can know what I'm up to this summer.

But since I'm still in Finland, I should write about that. I went to Helsinki on Friday and had a wonderful time, and even better tour guides.

I arrived in Helsinki around 10AM and met my friend Vappu, who is part of the Finnish-Exchange Student group that I went to Stockholm with. We went to a record store (she was shocked to learn how cheap CDs are in the States, even if they don't seem cheap to us) and then had some breakfast. I had a huge omelet that kept me full until late afternoon, and apparently we were sitting right next to a Finnish movie star. Of course, I have no idea who he is, but Vappu seemed a little excited. Afterward, we rode the 3T tram in a circle around the city, and she pointed out all kinds of interesting things and filled me in on some Helsinki history and folklore. We exited by a nice park near the train station, and then we looked at some of the shops nearby. My favorite was the American and British food store. Too funny! Everything was really expensive, but they had root beer, so I had to splurge on a can. By this time it was nearly 2PM and I needed to return to train station to meet Nina, a Finnish woman my mother knows.

Nina offered to show me around Helsinki, and I accepted. Her son and husband joined us for part of the afternoon as well. Our first stop was the Sibelius Monument, which is in a nice park by the water. Of course, everything in Helsinki is by the water, so I guess I mean, you could see the water from this park. There were also lots of tourist buses at the monument, which was kind of strange for me, since I'm not really used to seeing tourists in Finland.







After the Sibelius Monument, Nina's husband Timo gave me a short tour of the city by car and we went to the Temppeliaukio Kirkko, or Rock Church. Which doesn't host heavy metal concerts as you might guess, instead it is an actual church built into rock, and slightly below the ground in places.





The ceiling is a giant circle made of copper. There were also tons of tourists here too, but I'm still happy I went. It's a very unusual looking church.

We then went on another short driving tour, and then to a cafe by the water. We had originally planned on going to Suomenlinna, which is an island close to Helsinki, but it was too windy, so we just looked at it from across the water. When we had finished our coffee and snacks, Timo dropped Nina and I off at a nearby park, and we began to explore the city on foot.


I saw old men playing chess with giant pieces!


And really beautiful tulips too!


We also visited the Cathedral of Helsinki, and the Helsinki University Library, which is across the street. The library was very impressive, it was like the perfect old-looking library. It looked like a place you could film a movie inside of. There were wooden bookcases, spiral staircases, and elaborate murals all over the ceilings. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take any pictures inside.

Nearby, there was a cute craft bazaar that we looked in for a little while, and we continued our shopping trip on one of the city's main shopping streets. On our way I had another celebrity sighting when Nina pointed to Ilkka Kanerva, the former Finnish foreign minister, sitting at a cafe across the street from where we were standing. Mr. Kanerva was recently involved in a high-profile sex scandal, so even I had heard of him. Both Nina and I had a good laugh over this "celebrity sighting." We both couldn't believe that he was sitting outside of the cafe, in one of the most visible places in all of Helsinki. To each their own, I guess.

I ended up buying a couple last minute presents for myself, including a Marimekko coin purse, a Moomin book, and a book of Finnish recipes adapted for American kitchens. If any of you would like to try some of my favorite Finnish dishes when I return to the US, just let me know! I'm planning on making a ton of Karelian pies and freezing them. They're amazing.

Eventually, Nina's son called and she had to return home. We walked to the bus station and went our separate ways. I felt very fortunate to see Helsinki through the perspective of locals, and it was also really nice to talk about the differences and similarities between Finland and Davis with Nina. Good times!

The return to Tallinn

We arrived back in Tallinn around 4PM and took the bus into the city. On the way to the hostel we stopped by a Texas-themed restaurant around the corner from the hostel. Another traveler I met in Vilnius told me that she went there and they had a sign offering free phone calls to the United States. Typically I would not be eager to go to a Texas-themed restaurant, especially in Estonia, but I thought a free phone call to my parents would be funny, and I decided to check it out. We couldn't see anything advertising a free call though, so we decided to pass. On our way out this creepy American guy started talking to us, which was unfortunate since we met a really bad American guy at our hostel in Vilnius too. The guy in Estonia was trying to get us to go to his art gallery to see some "heavy" stuff that he and his art collective are working on. He then elaborated, telling us that they are doing racist art, which is "heavy" because they're not racist, or something. They were also going to do some "controversial" stuff like Mohammad strapped with bombs and George Bush and Tony Blair having sex. Obviously this stuff has already been done, which we told him. He kept saying that his art was completely different, and when he asked us our opinion on it, once again, we told him that he's an idiot and there was no way that we would want to come to his gallery.

So, as you can probably tell, it took us a long time to get rid of this guy, but eventually we did and checked into our hostel. That evening I went out for Estonian pancakes and walked around the city.



The next morning I went to the museum inside the Kiek in de Kök tower, and the Tallinn City art museum, which had an exhibit by Orlan, an artist from France who uses plastic surgery as part of her art. It was interesting, but a little too much for me.


Kiek in de Kök



We then went out for lunch, and made a trip to the supermarket. That evening we caught the ferry back to Helsinki. We tried to get off the ferry as fast as possible so we could catch the 9PM train to Turku, but we just missed it. Recently the train station in Helsinki has become a hang out for skinheads, and there were about 10 of them by the door when we came in. The next train wasn't until 11PM, so we decided to find the bus station, rather than stay at the train station. Luckily there was a bus to Turku at 10PM so we didn't have to wait very long. The bus is about half an hour longer than the train, but it felt like it took 3x as long because I was so tired. It was nice to return to Finland, but I also felt inspired that after a week of traveling I didn't feel like I had to return. Maybe I'll be able to survive this summer after all?

Vilnius, Lithuania: days three & four

Sorry for the delay, I've been a little busy planning to make my grand departure from Finland. I had to go to the Posti and buy some boxes and packing supplies a couple days ago, and on Friday I went to Helsinki for the day.

Here are some more photos and stories from my trip to Lithuania.

On the third day we walked around the city some more, and visited some of the more eccentric tourist attractions in Vilnius, such as the Frank Zappa monument.



I think I was trying to point to Frank in this picture, but I missed him. Um...Frank Zappa is number one?

The statue isn't very impressive, it's kind of like Frank Zappa's head on a stick, but the story behind it is really funny.

Afterwards we went to the Uzupis Republic, which is an area in Vilnius that has declared itself an independent nation, but is really more of an artists' district.

One of the best things in Uzupis is the republic's constitution, which is available in several languages and posted to a wall in the district on metal plates. Here are some of the best clauses from the Uzupis constitution:

3. Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation.
12. A dog has the right to be a dog.
16. Everyone has the right to be happy.
17. Everyone has the right to be unhappy.
20. No one has the right to violence.
26. Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday.
27. Everyone shall remember their name.

You can see a picture of the whole constitution here.

Here are some photos of some other interesting things that I saw in Uzupis.

Unfortunately, my camera ran out of memory when I was in Uzupis, so I missed taking photos of the murals, but luckily Kristen and Leila got some great shots which they're letting me share.







I did get a photo of the Uzupis Angel though. Before there was a statue of an angel they had a statue of an egg as a place holder, which was later auctioned.








Later we walked around the city, had some carbalicious food, and I took some photos of the various beautiful churches throughout Vilnius.










The next day we flew back to Tallinn, which was an adventure all by itself. The stop for the bus to the airport is not marked at all, and we had the hardest time in the world trying to find it. We had to ask about 5 people to finally get there, and by the time we got to the airport we only had 40 minutes before our flight left. It was pretty intense. Riding buses in Lithuania is also really different because you have to buy the ticket from a news stand and then punch it on the bus. In practice a lot of people don't punch their tickets and reuse them later. I didn't want to worry about getting a fine though, so I decided to be a good citizen and punch my tickets.

Carbs of the World: The Baltic States

Carb lovers, rejoice in the stodgy offerings of the Baltic States, where potatoes in all their possible incarnations can be found along side dark rye bread and a half liter of beer!


Here we have ,33cl of Švyturys Lithuania beer, and rye bread fried in garlic and oil topped with cheese. A fabulously greasy afternoon snack.


And now we have a potato pancake with cheese curd and horseradish sauce. It seems impossible, but I was actually a little underwhelmed with this one. I love potato pancakes, but this one was just too mushy on the inside. The sauce was nice though.


Finally, we have and Estonian pancake complete with cheese and bacon filling on the inside and a bowl of cream sauce on the side.

As you can see, the culinary delights of the Baltic States aren't for the faint of heart, but they're cheap, filling, and just what I needed after a day full of walking and tower climbing.

Vilnius, Lithuania: days one & two

I already wrote about my first day and a half in Lithuania, but here are some photos to accompany that post anyway.


This is the Gate of Dawn. My photo didn't turn out very well, but if you'd like to see better shots of either the inside or the outside of the building they're not hard to find online.


This church is just down the street from the Gate of Dawn.

I then walked to the area surrounding Vilnius University, the Presidential Palace, and the Vilnius Cathedral.


Presidential Palace






Vilnius Cathedral


National Museum

Behind the National Museum is the Upper Castle, also known as the Gedminias Tower.


I took the lift to the top of the hill. It doesn't look very steep from this photo, but it is. Plus, it's kind of fun to ride a funicular (yes, I just learned this word, so I have to use it all the time now).

Obviously, there were beautiful views from the top of the hill.



And beautiful flowers!


I could see the Hill of Three Crosses, which has an interesting political/religious history.


Of course, I had to climb to the top of this tower too! Inside there were a couple history displays, models of the city, and old weapons/armor.




The best part was the view from the top of the tower. It was really windy, but luckily I had more room than on the St. Olaf tower in Tallinn.

Afterward, I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city, and taking pictures of random picturesque sites.




I then went to the grocery store by the hostel, which has the angriest cashiers in the universe, and bought some rye bread and other necessities. I'd love to write more, but I can't remember what I already wrote and I'm too tired to look. I think that means I should get some sleep!

note: blogger slightly cuts off the edge of some of these photos, so if you want to see the whole image just click on it.

Tallinn, Estonia: days one & two

We got back around 1am last night/this morning on the bus, but I'm going to start from the very beginning.

On Monday we caught the bus to the train station at 7am, so we could go to the harbor in Helsinki. To get to the harbor we had to take a trolley bus, which was kind of a novelty, but we didn't know when to get off, so we just followed everyone else. Luckily they were going to the harbor too. We arrived a little too early and the ship was late, which meant that we had to wait around for a couple of hours to get on the boat. The harbor isn't a very nice place either with lots of people getting drunk and pushing to line up. It was a pretty chaotic scene.


Once we were on the boat things were a little better. We got a nice table by the front of the boat, and we had a nice view. Things were pretty interesting on the inside of the boat as well. They had a Finnish tango band, and this one woman was incredibly drunk and dancing all over the place. It was pretty hilarious. She almost crashed into a couple of the other dancers. We also took a look around the duty-free shop, but it was insane in there, so we didn't stay too long. I did buy a couple of candy bars though. I'm sure I saved a lot of import taxes on them.

About 2 and a half hours later we arrived in Tallinn. I'm still amazed by how lack and borderless the E.U. really is. I only used my passport for ID. I never used it to actually get into Estonia.

Once we arrived we went to the cash machine and walked into town. At the ATM a funny thing happened though. A man walked up to us and bewilderedly asked whether or not they use euros in "Estland," which is the name for Estonia in most Germanic languages. After embarrassing myself almost constantly, it was refreshing to witness someone else's utter confusion while traveling.

The walk into the city was pleasant, the weather was mild and it didn't take us absolutely forever to get to the hostel.

Here are some random photos from Monday (5/12) and Tuesday (5/13) in Tallinn:




Medieval Town Hall






Alexander Nevsky Cathedral



On Monday, we went inside St. Olaf's Church, and climbed to the top of the tower. Apparently, the tower was the tallest building in the world during the 16th century, and although it is probably no where close to holding that title any more, I was still pretty scared as I climbed to the top. A 500 year old building with a narrow staircase, and what just seemed like a wooden pole holding it up. They also had signs every couple feet stating "climb tower at your own risk." As I looked out the windows I suddenly started to realize that I'm afraid of heights, yet I continued. Eventually, I reached the top, but it really took a long time, since the staircase was incredibly steep and narrow. Contributing to my fear of heights was the observation deck, which was incredibly narrow. If you look at the photo below, the black part at the top of the tower where the two little spikes are jutting out is where I was standing. I was so scared. It was possible to walk around the whole top of the tower, but I just couldn't do it. I took a couple pictures and then I walked down the stairs as fast as I could to the ground floor. I guess one must suffer for the sake of art (I'll mention this later).


St. Olaf's Church




Later that evening we went out to dinner at an African restaurant, which was appropriately named the African Kitchen. The food was good, but I was a little disappointed that my dish, which had not one, but two, chili peppers next to it wasn't that hot. The next day we went to the Tallinn Photography Museum, which is a cute display inside the old prison, had some coffee, and just enjoyed the beauty of Tallinn some more. In the afternoon we headed to airport and caught a flight to Vilnius!