Had a lovely day traipsing about on an island, enjoyed a ferry ride, tried some local fishball things (fishsticks really), found a couple thrift stores, and generally loved the hell out of Helsinki.

There are some reasonably priced things to do here, and the food’s not that horribly priced. What’s really expensive apparently is local housing. Even finding an apartment to rent is hard, much less one you can afford.

Just one more day here before I go off to st. Petersburg in Russia! Yay!

Also, I’m nervous a little. I hope they let me in. It’s not guaranteed.😓

Early trip to the airport. I saved a few bucks by getting up at a savage hour. Probably won’t do that again. Flight plus transportation got me to my hostel before 11, so that was nice.

Had a very enjoyable day walking around the historic area. Most of the city’s buildings date after 1800, so lots of baroque and art deco. Very cool!!

The waterfront area has a delightful park with many miles of paths. So many cute doggies out for a Sunday. Several street fairs, too.

I’m not in love with this hostel. The beds are a little hard, and only two showers for 40 beds…..hmmmmm. I’m glad I’m only here for 3 nights.

Nice grocery store nearby with all kinds of mysterious meat products. I’ll try some tomorrow.

❤

Got a lot of walking done, went on two separate tours, and generally just had no particular agenda.

As it turns out, Saturday is a great day to get out early. I had the streets to myself until noon.

Also tried some local typical food. Verdict: not a fan.

Went to bed early for a 4AM wakeup. My roommates hated me this morning lol.

I’m so glad that I had such a busy day yesterday in the sun. Today was cold, and I didn’t get much sightseeing done.

Just a morning walk with a tour group, a late lunch at the hostel, and a nap. Finally warm again by 5, I went out again to try and at least get another walk in. 

So I’ll have lots to do tomorrow before I go off to Helsinki on Sunday 

😃