Hello!
It's 12:44am and I'm in bed chilling after a great night. We are now in Jyvaskyla after a long drive south today. I'm just going to introduce this blog and the head off to sleep, I'll finish it on the coach in the morning. Today has been one of those days... To summarise... I lost my wallet, I left the tour for a while to explore and hitch hiked 3 lifts.... the last one being off an 18 year old Finnish beauty who drove a new Jaguar!! That's all for now folks, night! Tom x
Good morning :) It's now 8:28am and we are already on the road to Helsinki! There is a part of me that feels like Anneka Rice as I chase and hunt around Finland for my wallet! Yesterday was a big travel day and we didn't really do anything.
Once we arrived in Jyvaskyla we checked into our hostel, which was on an outdoor activity park, and then went to the supermarket again to buy alcohol :) Unfortunately myself and Yaqob missed the coach so decided to walk. This was when I managed to hitch my first lift of the day. I jokingly put my thumb out and immediately the very first car stopped and offered us a lift! I couldn't believe it! Lowry and Tula Rose were around 60 years old, very large and their car was a tip! However, they were lovely people even if Lowry decided the topic of conversation for the short trip was going to be the Taliban just because he had a big beard and had just picked up a guy from Saudi Arabia! At the super market we spotted the bus and joined the rest of the group to do our shopping. I got 4 Kopperbergs and a pack of Pringles and went to the till, I planning to use my emergency credit card that I have in my rucksack. This was when the checkout lady decided she would ask me for ID! I tried my best to explain that I am travelling and had left my wallet in Lapland with Father Christmas but for some reason she didn't believe me! I passed my drinks to one of the others and went out to find a cash point. Guess what it didn't work! I then walked to another shopping centre where I eventually got some cash albeit two €50 notes which when I tried to change for smaller notes at the cashier the lady asked me for ID, again! I gave up!! :)
Back at the hostel Chandan and I played a few holes of frisbee golf before having burgers for tea :) At this point I became really frustrated as I was itching to see a town in Finland and not just a road, campsite or hostel. I got changed into my jeans, picked up my camera and went out to the road with Yacob and Chandan. It took about 15 minutes this time before 2 chaps in a BMW stopped to give us a lift into city They were nice lads who were off for something to eat. They dropped us right in the middle of the city just next to M&S! It felt good to get out and see something different!
The 3 of us walked around for a while exploring and eventually ended up at the harbour, it was beautiful! There was a huge fountain, lots of boat restaurants and lovely modern buildings. The town is apparently a student town so there were lots of young people around, including two girls we met siting at the harbour. One of them Piia Peets, have a look on FB, spoke really good English and we chatted for a while. I had a map with me and subtly asked her how to get back to the hostel. She very kindly offered to take us :) We actually declined the offer as we planned to walk a little more around the city but as we left the girls it started to rain. It wasn't a hard decision to turn back and take Piia up on her offer! The 5 of us walked to her car and I was absolutely amazed when this blonde, stunning, Finnish, 18 year old student I had stumbled across pressed the key fob and the lights of a brand new Jaguar flashed! It was a beautiful car and she made sure she showed us it's power, Yacob was very worried!! Haha!
As we arrived back at the hostel one of the Aussie lads was sat outside by the cook tent. I took great delight in putting the back window down and saying hi! I made sure Piia put her window down as well so he could see who was driving it!! Darren was just as surprised as I was and after saying a big thank you and goodbye the girls went. I explained and laughed about the whole experience with the others and then went to bed after a shower in the open communal showers! Don't worry, I wore my swim shorts!!
Today we are going to Helsinki where we should be able to dress up and enjoy a good night out! I'm a little worried as I will have to take my passport out as ID but I have no other option. I will be careful :)
The sky is blue, the sun is hot and were driving down yet another road with deep forest on either side. I have come to the conclusion that there is pretty much nothing in Finland but lakes, trees and multiple 'real' Santa Clauses!
Just to clarify about the hitch hiking I understand that it is potentially not a great thing to do. However, I have done it 4 times on this trip and each time I have been absolutely fine and it has been a great experience. Before I have got in to each of the cars I have made a careful judgement on the people and their car, spoken to them and decided if it was a good idea or not. The people here are also very friendly which helps :)
We're about 2 hours from Helsinki so I'm going to sit back, have a sleep and enjoy the view if it changes :)
See you soon,
Tom :) x