Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, they did. We arrived in the beautiful city of Helsinki blanketed in fresh white snow gleaming under sunshine. During our orientation tour the light kept changing as the clouds changed and the sun shone through in different strengths and angles. As the light changed, the landscape seemed to continually make dramatic changes, each moment more breathtakingly beautiful than the last.
The climate is cold and icy, but the city feels warm and welcoming. It is open and spacious and friendly, with beautiful buildings and wide streets - easy to understand why it is known as the design capital of the world. It is also a very outdoorsy place with people everywhere walking and jogging and skiing, families ice skating and tobogganing, and even, believe it or not, swimming. We saw some people run from a log cabin sauna, jump into the Baltic, then run back to the sauna. The Finns take their saunas seriously. There is a sauna on each floor of our hotel, so Sue and I have enjoyed indulging each morning before breakfast. Very invigorating.
We have had plenty of time to explore on our own here and it is an easy city to see on foot. We enjoyed the shops which are having new year sales. (Big ALE signs are painted on every shop window, but now we know that "ale" is Finnish for "sale" and not an advertisement in every store window for a brew house.) We also enjoyed the street markets where the locals hang out on Sundays to buy bread and meat (probably dried Rudolf) and warm wooly underwear. There is an election coming up with 8 candidates campaigning at the moment, so they had their tents set up at the markets. We got lots of free samples - cookies, lollies, pens, hot cranberry juice, coffee. I liked the gingerbread cookies the best, so maybe that guy will get my vote. Sue is going for the candidate who supplied the cranberry juice.
The meals here have been interesting with plenty of fish always available. We saw salmon being smoked at the street markets and plenty of meat and cheese for sale. A favourite snack is grilled fresh sardines, served in a packet just like we might buy hot chips.
Our first lunch consisted of a herring buffet for entree where we selected from a great range of fish. Next course was white fish with vegetables and the grand finale was a delicious chocolate dessert similar to a brownie, served with Goldilocks berries (not too sweet, not too tart, but just right) and vanilla ice-cream.
For our final meal together as a group, Lena (our guide) chose a Chinese restaurant called The Long Wall to commemorate how far we had come. We had started at the Great Wall and so we finished at The Long Wall, to reminisce, to praise, to laugh, to toast ... the trip of a lifetime. Thirty days is a long time to spend with a group of unknown people, but we were so lucky to have been with them, for they were wonderful people who we now count as friends.
Helsinki is about to wake up to start its working week and we are about to leave for Lapland. The moon is fat and full over the city now, and the ploughs have been busily clearing last night's snowfall. We have said our final good byes to the group, left our suitcases in the hotel storage and are traveling light to the Arctic. One final adventure before we head for home.