Finnished

We arrived in Helsinki yesterday morning. We took a bus from the airport and were surrounded by white birch trees like the one in our front yard on Pine Street. Pulling into the town it seemed sterile and desolate. Apparently things don't open until noon on Sundays.

We checked into my new favorite hotel, GLO. The room was awesome and had a "sleep menu," which included different pillows, aromatherapy oils and even bedtime stories. All we ordered were a couple pillows, but we did our best not to use them until bedtime to beat the jetlag.

The weather is perfect - low 70s, low humidity - great for exploring the town on foot. The city isn't very large so we were able to see most of it. We had lunch at a local place and Bryan had filet of reindeer. I stuck with a shrimp and pasta dish. We did some shopping at Europe's largest department store, Stockmann, and went to the room to figure out a game plan. We shook hands that we would not, under any circumstances, take a nap. Bryan tried, but I caught him and decided we would go back to a little amusement park we'd passed on our way from the airport.

We hopped on the city tram and found it relatively easy to maneuver. The park was mainly a kids' park but they had two pretty cool looking grown-up rollercoasters (neither of which we rode.) We did find our treasure in an arcade that had about 8 pinball games (more than half of which we played.) We had intended to get back in town in time to have dinner at our 10th international Pizza Hut but unfortunately it closed at 8. So we found ourselves at a really great restaurant which we were most likely underdressed for. In the end, we actually managed to stay up til almost midnight and slept in until almost 10 this morning. Jetlag averted!

The only thing Finland is really known for is its saunas and its reindeer, so we figured that it was our duty to visit the hotel sauna; that, and it was included in the price! What a great way to end our stay in Helskinki. Bryan used the gym first, and I wanted no part of working out on my vacation, so I did the saunas and steam rooms. I had almost missed this awesome shower in the sauna area but luckily found it before leaving the area. I did the splash setting, then the tropical, then the side shower. It was heavenly. This was followed by a Pizza Hut lunch buffet! One of the pizzas had jalapenos and tuna, and they had some breadsticks stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled with honey that unfortunately you could only order when the buffet was going on. It was moderately priced in our vast experience of Pizza Huts abroad.

Now we are aboard the Silja Symphony on our way to Stockholm; a "cruise ferry." Unfortunately, when I booked it, I thought the price was per person, not per cabin, so I ended up booking two of the cheapest cabins. They informed us of this at check-in and offered us one cabin and half the price of the other back in "ship dollars." So now we are trying to figure out how to spend the rest on duty-free items before we return back to our bunk-bed nook below deck. Ah well... the worst experiences make the best stories! Though it's a big step down from our night at GLO, we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves. We are happy for skype and that Jackson is in good hands with his Grandma Diane.