Last year when I came to Russia, my trip got off to a rather slow start. The combination of jet lag plus extreme sorrow over the election had me down for the count, causing me to lose valuable days in Moscow. However, this year luckily I’m off to a much quicker start and am supercharged for what lays ahead.
My journey began with a Trans-Atlantic flight to Keflavik International Airport in Iceland. Surprisingly enough this time around the trip over was quite pleasant and non-eventful…… at least compared to last year, which was painful at best. I love landing in Keflavik as it looks as if you’ve landed on Mars, with black lava rocks everywhere and not a tree in sight.
Iceland holds a very, very special place in my heart since this is where part of my family comes from. I have fond memories of my Aunt Peggy, who had a thick Icelandic accent and was known to be an “elf whisperer”, someone who talked to the elves. In Iceland, elves are an enormous part of society, where entire road projects are literally diverted to avoid elf churches and settlements.
But, unlike previous visits to Iceland, which would be 8-10 day affairs, this one would be relatively short and sweet, a total of about 8 hours. I basically landed, went outside, hired a cab, was ripped off for about $20, and went to my room, slept only to wake up several hours later to return to the airport for a connecting flight to Helsinki, Finland.
My connecting flight went by quickly and before I knew it I was back in Helsinki or what I like to call my “hub for Russia”. Helsinki serves as an excellent transit point as there are two trains to Russia, one fast speed train to St. Petersburg called The Allegro, which takes only a few hours or the overnight train to Moscow named after the famous 19th century Russian authors, Lev Tolstoy. Both are great options for entering Russia.
But before I was to enter Russia, I had planned a few days in Helsinki as a way to soften the blow of jet lag. My first night was at The Hotel Seurahuone, which I have zero idea how to pronounce! My first night was free, a nice way to start off the trip! Why was it free? The last time I was in Helsinki, I arrived at the hotel with a reservation from booking.com at about midnight. When I walked in and tried to check in, the girl told me they were completely sold out and there were no rooms. I insisted on a room, but there was no getting around the hotel was completely booked. I was furious!! Luckily there was another hotel I’ve stayed at in the past that had a few rooms left, so I reluctantly took my luggage and dragged it over there.
The next day I went by the hotel and had a word about this phantom reservation with the manager. She was horrified and assured me it would never happen again. As a way of showing me her sincerity that was indeed sorry, she promised the next time I came through Helsinki my first night would be free.
Luckily, my check into my hotel went a lot, lot smoother this time since they were expecting me and made sure that there would be a room available. I figured since I was getting a free night out of this whole thing that she likely would put in me in an economy room. I was cool with this and was prepared to get a small room. As I put down my credit card preparing for them to say "ok we have you in an economy room for two nights", instead the girl says "we have you in a suite". WOW! A suite! How lucky was I!! I guess all that pain and suffering I went through last December paid off since I got a beautiful suite overlooking the train station!
The first day in Helsinki, I got off to a rip roaring start, walking 9.5 miles or for those used to the metric system, 15 kilometers. There was no stopping me, I walked everywhere, no way was I going to be taken down by jet lag for a second time. Helsinki was pretty much the same wonderful seaside city as it was the last time I left it, except for one thing, Chinese tourists!! The city was absolutely INFESTED with Chinese tourists. Everywhere you looked were Chinese. It felt intimidating and maddening because they seem to just be taking over everything. In my neighborhood, busloads of Mainland Chinese are brought in every day to go house shopping. They then take their cash and make offers on houses, thus jacking up the prices through the roof. There seems to be no end to them, like locust they keep spreading and wrecking havoc wherever they go.
Helsinki is a great city, but on average I would say that it could be seen in about two days, if maybe even one and a half days. All the main sights there are generally located within a one or two kilometer radius. If you are visiting Helsinki, a day there is incomplete without a visit to Senate Square and the beautiful Lutheran Church that towers over it. Last year when I was there during the Christmas season I walked into the church and heard the beauty of a girls’ choir singing Finnish Christmas songs all dressed up in white with one girl wearing the famous Santa Lucia with candles on top. It was magical and if you are in Helsinki during this time of year, be sure to make an effort to see these girls sing and to also visit the Christmas market down below the church.
Besides Senate Square, one absolutely must see when in Helsinki is to take a ferry across the harbor to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. I did this on one of the few nice days I have had on my trip and it was incredible! The leaves were turning and the islands were like a maze intertwined with beautiful fortresses and different types of dwellings. I would suggest allowing at least a half a day to get the utmost enjoyment. Tickets are pretty cheap, only a few Euros for a round-trip all day ticket.
Two days of touring Helsinki by foot left me exhausted! Luckily, I had the night to recover on the overnight train to Moscow, The Lev Tolstoy. Stay tuned for more of my adventures as I make my way down to Southern Russia and The Caucasus!
NOTE: Apologies about no photos, blogger seems to have virtually thrown up on me and cannot seem to handle the format of having photos. I hope to resume placing photos in future blogs.
