I’m in Helsinki tonight, at the Scandic Grand Marina. While I guess I could have booked an onward flight to Tampere, my actual destination for this trip, I didn’t think it was a good idea; instead, I’m spending the night here, and will take the train to Tampere tomorrow.
The flight from Frankfurt was fine — in some ways, nicer than the transAtlantic trip, since I didn’t have anyone directly in front of me leaning his seat almost into my knees. And I wasn’t frustrated by the lack of Internet connectivity because I knew there wasn’t going to be any. I was impressed that Lufthansa fed me a full meal on a two-hour flight — I almost regretted having had a snack at Frankfurt Airport (which doesn’t seem to be overly endowed with good places to eat, at least not behind security in Terminal A). They also had wine — I was surprised that it was a California wine, 2002 Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon, which I’m pretty sure I’ve seen in Trader Joe’s. I guess it’s more exotic on a flight from Frankfurt to Helsinki than it is at home!
I was in the hotel by 7, and was able to use the WiFi to call home. Then I went out for a little walk — the temperature is about 1 degree Celsius, which I guess is quite warm for Finland in January. I didn’t know where I was going to go, other than “downtown”, but I took my GPS (well, Diane’s) with me, and eventually found myself at a cache. Unlike the one at Frankfurt Airport, this was a real cache, so I had to find the hidden object and log my find — this was tricky while wearing gloves, and I eventually had to take them off to deal with the pen.
Then it was back to the hotel for a snack (I guess that’s my sixth meal of the day!). I’m trying to decide if I should take a sauna or just call it a night — or go back out and take some pictures of Helsinki by night. My mind would like to go do something active, but I think I’ll listen to my body’s call for sleep instead!