Helsinki

This has been a good week. Wednesday morning just before school I looked out the window to see the ground covered in snow and the little flakes still falling fast. Walking to school was quiet an experience. It was a really windy day and the snow was being thrown around violently, slapping me in the face. So I had to cover my eyes and get to school by hoping I was going the right way.

In the evening I went with Mari and some of her friends to a musical called, ‘Kuu ja paike’ (moon and sun) It was a lot shorter than we were expecting but it was good. Obviously in Estonian but I managed to figure out what was happening with the bits of Estonian I understand.

The weekend was packed with cold, walking, sore feet, laughter and snow. We had our YFU trip to Helsinki, Finland. So Saturday morning I was up early and off to the marina to meet with some of the other exchange students who were going on the trip. The ferry which took us across the Baltic sea to Finland felt more like a little town than a boat. Onboard we had some time to catch up with each other and wonder around the boat.

The guy driving this little truck was laughing on his cellphone as he drove past us

Arriving in Helsinki I found it hard to believe we had just traveled about 2 hours and were now in a different country. After dropping our bags at the hotel we were given a quick tour of the main sites in Helsinki. Then each given a map and were told to meet at a restaurant at 6 for dinner. The rest of the day was ours. We all split off into groups and wondered around Helsinki, which is a lot bigger that Tallinn. It was cold, -7 and the snow was piled up at street corners. People were buzzing around everywhere, in and out of shops. The streets were decorated for Christmas, and we passed a few people busking on the side lines. Trams going back and forth and little trucks driving through the city streets clearing away the snow. Throughout the day we often used Estonian when talking to other people, we would say things like 'aitäh' (thank you) or 'vabandust' (sorry) then would laugh because we remembered we werent actually in Estonia anymore. We ended up asking people how to say hello, thank you and good bye in Finnish and then started using those words instead. 

This is one of the many trams driving around

It took us a long time to navigate our way to the restaurant where we were meeting with everyone else. It felt like a game of I spy, we followed signs and buildings that we recognized from earlier in the day. After walking in circles for a long time we found the restaurant where we all shared our adventures from the cold day. We then went to a rooftop to get a view of Helsinki at night. It was a beautiful site, lined with lights and cars and people still moving around down below. On our way back to the hotel some of us ended up having a snow ball fight and taking picture in the snow.  It took us about 15 minutes to clean all the snow off of ourselves before heading back into the hotel.

After checking out of the hotel on Sunday morning we were off to the train station where we caught a train up North to a science center. We spent the day there, it was similar to the center in Tartu, but at the same time had many new a different things to see and do. In the afternoon we went back to Helsinki by train and were again given some free time. A small group of us ended up in a little food place debating the difference between tomato sauce and ketchup over burgers and chips.
It was then back on the boat for our journey to Tallinn. We were out on the boat deck taking photos of the city lights as we said good bye to Finland and great weekend with new memories made.

Arriving in Tallinn we said our goodbyes. Some of us ended up going to the Christmas market in oldtown. It was warmer in Tallinn and it was good to walk through familiar streets and know my way around. Hearing Estonian was strangely comforting and it felt like I was coming back home after a good holiday. So it was a good weekend which ended in sore feet and good nights sleep.

Walking down to the boat we were lucky to have our last time in Finland lined with an orange sky

The group of exchange students. Yes thats a little bit of sun in the back