Hello from Helsinki, or should I say hungover in Helsinki!!!!!

Having got off the boat we wondered into the city to find the tourist information and wondered in completely the wrong direction....much to the annoyance of a rather hungover sam and karl! So we stopped for them to have a McDonalds for breakfast! Got some information in the Tourist Information and got a public transport pass for 3 days which was really reasonable at about 10 pounds. Headed outside to the Cathedral (pictured above) which is truely magnificent against a blue sky. Then made our way to the Finnish Architecture Museum where there was nothing much on Finnish architecture, just Australian! haha We noted some buildings to visit when in OZ tho so quite useful! Then went to the Museum of Contemporary Art which is by the architect Steven Holl for those that don´t know. We have been told so much about this building at uni that it was really nice to see it in the flesh....we werent disappointed. Grabbed some lunch, then went along the road to Aalto's Finlandia Hall. We went in and paid 5 euros for what we thought was free reign around the building but was actually a photography exhibition in one of the rooms! we werent impressed especially as we found out we couldnt do a tour that day! We then went and picked up our bags from the ferry terminal (where we had stored the in lockers all day) and headed to the hotel which we could only get into after 4pm. Well.....what luxury!!!!! Despite being on par with an Ibis or travelodge this hotel was so different to what we have become used to!!! firstly.....our own bathroom! Secondly, no bunk beds! thirdly, tv, microwave, mini-fridge, hairdryer etc!!!!! I made full use of such luxury and did some washing in the sink! haha trouble is there was nowhere to hang it as my washing line kept falling down. So I had to hang it up in the open wardrobe with my towel underneath to catch the drips!!!! I think it must be dry by now (almost 24 hrs later!) haha. We went out to get some dinner and stumbled upon a pizza/kebab place called kebabistan!!!! the name caught our eye and none of us wanted to spend loads of food so we went into and each got a pizza. We were all undercharged at 7 euros for a massive pizza and drink....and we have a box full of pizza leftovers in the hotel room awaiting our return this afternoon!

Today (monday) we have been doing all the stuff we didnt get a chance to do yesterdat really. First stop - Train station to book tickets to Turku tomorrow and St Petersburg on thursday. Then we got on the 3T tram which basically does a figure of 8 around the city and is recommended as the best route to see most of the city's attractions. We didnt see much more than yesterday but was nice to sit down for a while! Then headed to Finlandia Hall again to get a tour as we were told tours were open today (they werent yesterday). Got there to find there were no tours!!!! And most of the doors were locked! All a bit of a disappointment but Sam managed to blag us a tour a couple of hours later by saying we were architecture students who had come a long way, visited yesterday and were disappointed to find we couldn't. It was about 1pm by this time so we had some time to spare......we made another picnic then went to see the Sibelius monument which I loved! Its really funky and pictures from almost every angle look amazing (if i do say so myself). Then walked back to Finlandia Hall via the Olympic Stadium which was built for the 1952 Games. Back at Finlandia Hall we were told we could have a free tour (previously told it would be 6 euros) and the guy was very helpful! Timo, took us into the auditorum as well as private areas used for conference and the President of Finland. When we asked for a picture with him at the end....he said ´oh now you make me blush!' hhaha. Since then have caught the tram back to the centre and wandered around in search of some decent postcards but there seems to be none in Helsinki!!!! Now just updating all internet related stuff before probably heading back to the hotel. Will update as and when but I think once we get into Russia (as of thursday) it will get much harder so i'm trying to make the most of it now!

Oh, p.s. something has just reminded me of an ongoing thing throughout this trip....sam and karl are sitting either side of me bickering.....they have been all day and most of this trip!!!! they are like a married couple!!! its quite amusing really and all in good jest so im sure they wont mind me mentioning it!!!!

lots of love......keep the messages coming as always.....miss you all. clem xxxxxxxxxxxxxx