Helsinki and Beyond

I've made it to Helsinki. Well, I actually landed two days ago.

There's a heat wave happening here, and after all the rain and clouds of Great Britain, I couldn't be happier.

Yesterday we took advantage of the nice weather to go out to an island. I concluded a 24-hour period of many kinds of public transportation for the trip out. Including my travels to Helsinki, in just over 24 hours I took a taxi, train, bus, plane, car, tram, and ferry. And today we're biking.

The island was an old fortress, built during the time Sweden and Russia were fighting over what is now Finland. There were tunnels to explore, which we did, though we had to use our camera flashes for light.

We also had a nice picnic lunch by the sea, with bread, cheese, juice, and fruit. After soaking up the sun for a while, we also enjoyed ice cream and coffee.

I'm definitely not in Great Britain anymore. Tea is a thing of the past, except in the evenings, as the Finns really like their coffee.

After visiting the island, my cousins and I did a little shopping. I found a couple things, but our energy was low due to all the sun exposure. (No sunburns though!)

We had a nice dinner of salad and salmon, before playing three games of salad (*ahem* Scrabble) with my aunt's neighbor Tiina. My cousin, Michelle, and I played as a team and even won one game.

Today we have big plans that involve swimming and a beer or two in the evening. Things are getting crazy.

As a side note, it stays light here forever. Apparently that happens when you are close to the arctic circle. Last weekend was midsummer, which is a huge party in Finland during the time the sun doesn't set at all.