when helsinki freezes over...
2 march 2001

well, it already has. nothing extraordinary about that. i thought amsterdam was cold but it's certainly all relative and you may be wondering why i chose to experience finland in february. i've been diagnosed with travel addiction and must feed my habit regularly. gary has been working there for two weeks and when i checked "click and go" {the daily offer by klm airlines}, lo and behold, helsinki was listed as a very reasonable fare. it was to be a short trip, leaving monday night and coming back wednesday afternoon. it was more than worth the effort.

over the course of our residency in europe, i've become gradually more willing to explore places on my own and staying in a centrally located hotel is an advantage. i'm still greatly map impaired but i keep trying and this time i even embarked on a city tour by tram. not the tourist kind either. as i said, it was absolutely freezing, well below zero in farenheit and celsius, but i was on a mission. the city is as beautiful and unique as i have found all the cities in europe to be. are there any loser places or do we just pick the good ones? i'm not a big fan of snow. however, not having to scrape the windshield and drive on ice make it a lot more palatable for me. toodling around on foot, i took in the gentle silver veil covering the city, and with snow falling on and off throughout the day, it was ever so atmospheric. in spite of not being able to take my gloves off for longer than 10 seconds {how long does frostbite take to set in?}, i snapped many photos keeping in mind that i might not ever pass that way again. isn't that a song? carpe diem!

en route to the tourist office, i veered off the track, lured by the millions of shops, and after making a sweater purchase, i made my way there across a snow covered square with majestic trees and historical statues. i also made a stop at the lutheran church, visually impressive as it sits perched on top of a big hill and is reachable by climbing a few hundred steps. anything to help stay warm! it was very striking with its pure white facade and green onion top domes. the inside was a bit sparse but the organ was massive and was being played while i was there. sounded like a rehearsal to me. it was a bit treacherous descending those few hundred steps, covered in snow and with no railing to depend on. i caught the tram right next to the market square, which was right next to the icy harbour, home to some pretty large ships. no market was actually taking place due to the weather, i imagine. i followed my map on the city tour, and was grooving on the distinctive feel of being in a new place, my eyes open wide taking in all the colorful architecture and still trying to people watch. i'm sure i missed a few important sights but i did observe that an entire ski team was riding on the tram with me. there's something you don't see everyday.

being on the tram wasn't that much warmer than being outside for some reason, so i decided to try an indoor activity. helsinki has more museums than any other city i've ever visited and they encompass every possible subject. to name a few beyond the many art and city museums, there is a hotel/restaurant museum, a school museum where you can sit at a desk and have a school experience from another time in history, a deaconess museum, which tells the history of nursing, a power station museum, no idea what that is, an artillery museum, a theatre museum, a finnish salvation army museum, and a banking museum. the list goes on. i found myself in one of the city museums with exhibitions representing the history of helsinki time line. i like that sort of thing as it offers me a sense of world perspective, both geographically and historically. for example, i got really jazzed every time i thought about how close to russia {my ancestry} i was. estonia is only a half hour away by ferry!

the rest of the afternoon, i spent drinking tea, writing post cards, and wandering around. as much as i enjoy entertaining myself, i was happy when gary got back from work. out on the street again, {now it was really cold}, we discovered a restaurant called alexander nevsky, it's namesake being the 13th century prince who defended st. petersburg against the swedish army, and although we were slightly underdressed, they let us in anyway. it was hard not to stare at the woman in the evening gown with long gloves and her partner in his tux. oh well, at least i was warm in my new sweater. the food was exquisite and i must rave about the appetizer. good caviar is colorful and spreads like butter, the eggs so tiny, they're almost indistinguishable; especially the way they served it with fresh blinis, which are little potato pancakes, sour cream and chopped red onions. and of course some chilled vodka to go with it. we vowed never to eat that black stuff again. the other highlight was the tableside serenade by a guitarist singing songs in russian. i never realized i liked that kind of music before but we were both drawn to this man's voice with its expansive range. maybe i was connecting with my heritage. very romantic. we topped off the evening with a relaxing sauna at the hotel, a popular leisure activity in this country. again, the search for warmth.

the next morning brought a vivid blue sky and sunshine, giving the city a slightly different aura than the previous day. since it was such a quick trip, i only had time for a short walk, once again shooting what i thought might make interesting pictures. i particularly enjoyed the taxi ride to the airport, past the snow capped harbour and through some other parts of town with rocky hillsides and more tall trees. even being there for one day, i got a sense of what that city's about. the people seem very nice, too. i was kicking myself for not taking the later flight, especially after finding out that my flight was delayed almost two hours. live and learn. at least i got to finnish {get it?} the book i was reading!

until next time,

love, deb