Helsinki

We arrived in Helsinki at a little after 9am courtesy of the new high speed rail link between St Petersburg and Helsinki.  The train was certainly a lot more modern than the russian trains we had been travelling on.  The customs and immigration process has also been streamlined for the train.  Rather than hours of waiting around and drawn out customs / immigration processes, it is all done while the train is moving between the first few stops.  Both the Russian and Finnish officials spoke good English making it an almost pleasant experience!

Courtesy of Jen's organisation and research, we jumped on the No.4 tram, waited 7 stops and got off for our hostel.  Easy.



Once we had unloaded our bags, we decided to walk around Helsinki and see what the city had to offer.  We had heard about an Island Fortress (Suomenlinna) just off the coast of the main town, and decided to check it out.

The short ferry trip (about 15 mins) was nothing short of magical.  A fog had rolled in from the sea, and islands in the Helsinki harbour (of which there are many) would appear out of the fog like something from a movie.  We could have done the ferry trip alone all day!

From the Helsinki Harbour.  Ice floats in the sea

The island fortress is actually made up of 6 islands (connected by bridges) of which two are large and the remaining four are relatively small.  It was originally constructed by the swedes in the mid-1700's for defense against Russian attacks.  The island has a few hundred permanent residents, who inhabit colourfully painted cottages at various points over the islands.  Walking the suggested route, from one end to the other, is about 3km or so return.

Looking back to Helsinki in the distance

Colourful cottages on the Island Fortress

Buildings are covered in earth (presumably to provide camouflage?), it almost looks like something out of Hobbiton

Returning to the city at about 4pm, we stumbled across a market offering all sorts of great Finnish food at cheap prices and decided to have an early dinner before heading back to the Hostel for a rest.

Unfortunately we found out in Beijing, that Jen needs to have a wider excision of a mole she had removed prior to coming away.  As such, the next day I put Jen on a plane back to New Zealand.  She will be rejoining me in a little over a week in time for the African adventure.  I'm really sad to see Jen go, but health must come first.

With absolutely no planning or any real idea of what I am doing, I have decided to hire a car and drive North.  I'd like to reach North Cape (the northern most point of Europe which is in Norway), travelling through Lapland as I go.