May 15 - After a 10-hour flight from LAX and a couple hour layover in Heathrow, we finally stepped "into Finn Air" and boarded our flight to Helsinki – apparently without our luggage. Around midnight we staggered off our plane, discovered our missing luggage, filled out the proper forms and got our 'survival kit' containing some basic toiletries, a tee-shirt and part of socks – what no pants? We then cabbed it to our hotel. Arriving, we found a problem with our reservation – as in, it wasn’t there – but luckily there was one room left and we took it. We finally drifted off to sleep at 2am local time.

May 16 - It’s Saturday (I think?) and a sunny but cool day – especially without our warm clothes which are hopefully on their way from London. We ate a nice Finnish breakfast with meatballs, pastries, local berries and yummy fresh bread then headed out to find the markets. We strolled down the Etelaesplanadi past upscale shops and a green boulevard with fountains and statues ending in a little outdoor market by the harbor. The locals were welcoming the sun by sitting in outside cafes and on park benches but Aili bought a warm wool scarf to fight off the chill – not exactly our idea of summer with a biting breeze blowing off the Baltic Sea. We walked past the Uspensky Orthodox Cathedral with the sun glinting off its golden onion domes. We passed by the Presidential residence – strangely low-key with a solitary guard in front, and onto Senate Square with stunning view of the Tuomiokirkko church glowing white against the pure blue sky. It’s obviously pre-season as summer - and the crowds - have not yet arrived. It’s almost eerie, the lack of people in this urban looking downtown area. We’ll have to wait to see how it livens up during the workweek. The freshly baked bread wrapping our roast beef sandwiches was the highlight of our lunch at Café Strindberg. Back at Hotel Cumulus – which is decked out in modern-esque Scandinavian decor and appointed with functionally focused furniture making us feel like we’re staying in an IKEA showroom – we napped under the cloud-painted ceiling (hey, it’s the Hotel Cumulus isn’t it?) and tried to recoup from our jetlag. Later, we did some more window-shopping and picked up an Aino Aalto vase and perused the curious Mummi collectibles (think a hippo looking Finish version of the Smurfs). For a late dinner, we dined in the picturesque Kappeli in the middle of the city’s main park-like boulevard and enjoyed our Salmon and Arctic Trout entrees and delicious assorted-berry cheesecake for dessert.

May 17 - We started our day with another yummy breakfast at the hotel, then heading out for a trip to Suamalinna – a little group of islands at the entrance of the harbor with the varied remains of a fortress that once guarded the city. It was a clear, sunny day and we enjoyed strolling the paths through the hodgepodge of buildings. We stopped at a little courtyard café for lunch then climbed on the old fortress walls and through its decaying passage ways. After just missing the hourly ferry back to the mainland we had a drink next to the small boat docks and watched the local sailors coming in and setting sail. The dozens of little islands spotting the coastal waterways seem to make an ideal setting for small boats, at least on a nice, sunny day like this. Back in town, we rested up a bit at the hotel (still trying to recover from jet lag) then enjoyed a nice Nepalese dinner at the Mt. Everest restaurant on the main square by the train station.