FinlanDia

Sunday I woke up and decided to go to Estonia. Why Estonia? Well, it's the funniest of Russia's surrounding countries. And I've crossed into countries by boat and bus, so obviously the train had to be next. So, I got up REALLY early (5:45 wake-up call!) and missed the train by a few minutes. (Did I mention that I dragged my double-entry-less visa brother/ translator with me?) Sooo, then I decided to go to Finland b/c the train left a few minutes later - from a different station.

Off we went to that one. But I missed that train by a few minutes. You know when you've been waiting in line for ages and you're FINALLY next in line and then the person looks straight at you and goes on break? That's pretty much Russia in a nutshell.

Anyway, off we went to the next station to try and catch the train - and I made it! I spent the next few hours staring out the window, watching Russia and Finland go by. Border control is done on the train and I have to admit that the agents couldn't quite understand why I had such a small bag. It's b/c I was only going for the day. But then they couldn't understand why I'd spend more time travelling then visiting my destination. The answer is b/c that's just how I roll. (I think the real reason they even asked is b/c they gave the Iraqi journalist across the aisle such a hard time that they had to at least ask me a question or two.)

Helsinki is a horrible, terrible place and definitely not worth the trip.

OK, that's pretty much 100% not true - I'm just saying that b/c we couldn't straighten out my brother's visa, so I left him behind in the land of binary thinking and cheap booze. Helsinki is gorgeous, easy to navigate and featured the friendliest people I've encountered on my trip.

As we pulled into the station, I started to worry that I knew nothing about the city, had no idea what I was going to see, where anything was or how I was going to spend the day. Luckily, they have a summer tourist program for unprepared travellers like me. Two perky teenagers greeted me at the station and handed me a map and list of things to do and see. I swapped the Finnish (suomi actually) version for English and off I went.

Helsinki is basically the Fresh Fields of cities. All environmentally friendly, clean, a bit expensive (damn Euro!) and logically laid out. My favorite thing is that they have a bike sharing program. So, they have racks of free bikes to borrow. It's all on the honor system - you drop your two euro deposit in the slot and the bike is yours for however long you want. If you don't return the bike, you don't get your deposit back. How utopian!

Saw loads of churches, two libraries, an Irish pub, and other lovely things. All in all, it was a great trip. I have developed a visceral hatred for cruise ships, but that's a whole different rant. That's the quick version. The long version is, well, longer.

The train ride (on a sleep car, no less!) was lovely - I actually watched the sun sort of set.

Then it was back to good ole St Pete's to meet the rush to get to my hotel before the bridges went up. Did you know that, they raise the bridges to the various parts of the city to let ships pass through? Well, you do now!

Next update will round out my trip to Russia. Sadly, it's not a country of free internets - let alone cheap or accessible, so I had to relent and pay for net access. Guess the streak had to end sometime...