Sorry for the late post, I had no idea that blogging was gonna be this much work!
In my small suitcase, which I did not bring, I always made sure to have earplugs specifically for when I traveled with my dad. I didn’t expect to need them, but I sure wished I had them this morning. I initially woke up at 5:00 am, and it was bright in the room. I was determined to go back to sleep, but one guy’s snoring made it difficult. It was not as loud as my dad’s, but it was loud enough to keep me wide awake and wishing for nothing more than to be deaf. Partially what kept me up was trying to figure out how I would manage to do the least amount of walking to and from the train station, with as few locker open-and-closings. Suddenly, the snoring stopped, so I seized this opportunity and willed myself to sleep. I had some bizarre dreams, but nothing I can remember.
I woke up again at 8 am, feeling much more rested. I got dressed and headed for the train station to get my things. It took me about 30 min to get it and come back using the trams. Washed up and ready to leave by 10 am. This hostel actually had wireless, so there was no need to go to the coffee shop. Therefore, I hung around for a little while and goofed off on the internet. I had to meet Scott at the train station by 11, so I left around 10:50 after checking my mail for any potential last minute changes.
I got to the station right at 11 am. I was told to meet at the south side entry. I got there and saw no one I recognized, not even Scott. I circled the entire building at least 5 times, and then decided I would try using the payphone to call him. There was only one pay phone in the entire train station, and it was on a computer, using Skype. That is pretty clever, and highly profitable I imagine. It was also an internet station, so it didn’t matter what you were using, all it knew is that if you were making a phone call, you were using the internet… 3 minutes per euro.
I wasn’t expecting anyone to answer, but he actually picked up! It was a little difficult to understand him. I think he said he wore a black mask to sleep and didn’t wake up in time. Either way, he asked if I had gotten his email. Clearly not. He simply would not be able to meet today. So he wished me a good day and good luck on finding a place to stay for this evening. It was about lunch time, so I went underground, determined to find more cultural food than McDonalds. I decided upon a kebab place in one of the malls. I don’t remember the name, but kebabs sure do seem to be popular here! The platter came with sliced roasted meat of some sort (resembling that which goes into gyros), topped with a simple tomato sauce, both of which topped a bed of French fries. On the side was a salad. It was ok, not worth the 9 euros at all. The best part was the cold Coca Cola.
I decided that today I would give my feet a rest and take it easy at Wayne’s Coffee. So I wrote in my blog some more. Eventually I would have to journey to Suomenlinna later, but why not relax, and surf around on the internet for a while? Who knows, maybe I’ll actually find my way into conversation with some Finnish girls? Just as I was packing up and getting ready to leave, a girl who was sitting next to me said something in a foreign tongue.
I politely replied, sorry, I don’t understand. She excused herself, and repeated the question in English, “Are you about to leave?” I nodded and said yes. I continued to pack up my computer. She asked if I was on vacation, which is kind of funny, I thought everywhere outside the USA it’s called “holiday.” I said I was here to study architecture. She exclaimed, “Ohhh!” as she turned at looked at her friend. It was then that her friend decided to join the conversation, revealing that they too studied architecture. What a coincidence! We chit-chatted for a while, and I wished I had more of an opportunity to talk with them, but I was pretty much on my way out already.
Anyway, as I hinted at earlier, not much happened today. I took a ferry out to the island fortress, Suomenlinna. This island is a protected heritage site, but people actually live here! What’s better yet, people come here to hang out and just get drunk! By the time I got here, everything was pretty much already closed, save for a small grocery store. I bought what I thought to be some diced pork and some ramen noodles and made myself some cheap and tasty dinner at the hostel on the island.
Sorry for the short post, I’ll put pictures up later.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Exploring Central Helsinki (Day 2)
I woke up at 5:30 am this morning, and it looked as if the sun never went down. Fortunately, I remembered to wear my mask last night, because who knows when I would’ve awaken. I got up and wrote in my blog for a while before showering (yea yea, I know it’s un-cool to shower). Afterwards, I packed my things up. However, my plan for the day was to find a place to stay for the next two nights, so I left my stuff in the room and headed to Wayne’s for my caffeine fix and breakfast. I had a ton of luck last night, so I was hoping to be equally lucky today.
On my way, again I noticed the way people were dressed. Today, it was a bit colder, but I wouldn’t say cold, just chilly. Since I was wearing a thermal underneath a t-shirt, I actually began to overheat at times when there was no wind and it was sunny. I couldn’t imagine being dressed in a full length wool coat, thick scarf, and gloves. I made a mental note to ask why later.
I ordered a large coffee and a croissant with strawberry preserves, hopped online, posted my first blog entry, and began searching for a place to stay. Last night, I touched base with my instructor, Scott, letting him know that I was in town and that I was struggling to find a place to stay. This morning, he replied with a lot of helpful information as well as suggestions on where to look. It didn’t help that I haven’t got a phone here yet. So he suggested that I go down to Eurohostel, which he and I already knew was booked, and try anyway. If they were full, I should ask them for assistance in finding a place that is available. We also made arrangements to meet up at 1:30 pm today so I could get better oriented within the city. I thought that was a great idea, since I was feeling lost and out of place!
At around 11:30 am, I left Wayne’s and headed back to hostel numero uno for my belongings. Check out time was noon. When I was ready to embark on my hostel search on foot, the Finnish lady running the hostel was kind enough to look at the list Scott gave me. She started calling around to see if there was anything available. Out of the list, there was only one place that she said had availability, Hostel Erottajanpuisto. It was going to cost 23.50 euros for a bed in a dorm room. I asked if she would make a reservation, and she said she already did. Sweet! Lucky again! Or was I…?
Since plans changed, I had a bit of free time. Instead of carrying all of my luggage with me for the next 48 hours, I decided that I would store my belongings in a locker at the train station. 4 euros for a 24 hour period. Damn, that is expensive! I guess that’s what it costs for peace of mind. I knew I had to eat something or I was going to regret it later, especially if I was going to be with Scott for a while.
I had no idea where to eat, so I walked around underneath the train station to explore a little bit. The problem here is that most places have no English menus, and Finnish is not really a language to borrow words either. Come to think of it, it kind of reminds me of Japanese when the characters are written with Roman letters. More on this later, back to the food. Just my luck, I stumbled across a McDonald’s… food that I can at least recognize, even if the menu has little to no English. The only menu items with English words were specialty burgers, one of which was called Texas BBQ, and another Tokyo Shrimp. Interesting... But how could I justify spending 7 euros on a burger from McDonald’s? No thank you, I thought, let’s have a look at the value menu. I ordered 2 bacon cheeseburgers (1.50 euros each) and a strawberry sundae (1 euro). When I got my food, I began to understand why it I haven’t seen any overweight people here. Each burger was about the size of a hockey puck! For those of you who have never seen a hockey puck, it is 1 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter. And the sundae, I have never seen a smaller sundae! It was about the size of a Jello pudding cup! I guess that’s all one should expect for 4 euros.
After eating, needless to say my hunger was not satiated. There weren’t any vending machines nearby, so I walked over to a market and browsed for a cheap drink. I found a .5L bottle of Coke for 1.65 euros. Ehh.. not bad, I guess. I saw some weird flavored sodas, like bitter lemon, bitter apple. Those may be something I have to try later on.
At that very moment, as I was minding my own business, I ever so slightly brush my elbow against a woman’s arm that was behind me, standing with her back to me. Instinctively, I turn around to apologize, and she turned to me with a horrific look of disgust all over her face. I mumbled “I’m sorry” but I doubt she understands. She mumbles something, and then briskly walks away. What could possibly have set her off like that? Let that be another question I need to ask later. Could this be what culture shock is supposed to feel like?
It was about 12:45, so I had some time to kill before meeting with Scott, so I decided to wander around underground, walk through a few shops and maybe get a little lost. First off, every street is disorienting since there is no way to observe which direction you are going. The street grid has no order to it at all. All of the buildings are approximately the same height (I'd say about 70-80 feet on average). I’ve found that I am able to guess which direction I’m headed based on the location of the sun and shadows cast by buildings, but it only helps to some degree. I have a compass, but I don’t know what the magnetic declination is here, so it is kind of useless!
Underground, it is almost impossible to orient oneself without already knowing where the shopping malls are. I walked around for about 30 minutes and saw a bunch of retail shops as well as restaurants with a variety of cuisine, including Indian, Middle Eastern, American, and Mediterranean.
With no destination in mind, I decided it was time to head back to the train station. The underground network is pretty confusing, with lots of intersecting paths. I didn't really keep track of where I came from, so I looked for a way to return to the surface, which is indicated by green signs showing a figure that is running toward a door. Here’s a question to ponder: why is it that the direction of an arrow pointing to something that is ahead is facing down, instead of up? Curious. Anyway, when I reached the outside, I had absolutely no idea where I was. The train station was nowhere in sight. I pulled out my map, checked the street signs, and realized I had managed to walk 6 or 7 city blocks underground. Fortunately, I was still on a major road that led back to the station. I hurried to the station to meet Scott.
I reached the station at 1:20 pm, and it was busier than I had ever seen. I had no idea where to meet him, so I circled the building inside and out several times. After about 20 minutes, finally I heard someone call my name, but it was faint compared to the noise of the crowds. I turned around in circles twice before I saw Scott. He had seen me for 5 minutes prior to our meeting, but I was continuously walking in a giant circle. I suppose I walked too fast for him to catch up on a hurt knee… and yelling is apparently frowned upon here (unless of course you are drunk, and by Finnish means!).
This reminded me about the other questions that were on my mind. Why is it that I was scoffed at by the woman at the market? Why are people dressed so warmly? What is the legal age for smoking? And just what is with this language?
First off, I learned that personal space is a big deal here in Finland. That means that people will not look you in the eyes, nor will they smile if your eyes do meet. They will not make small talk with strangers. They will glance at you from afar, judge you from what they see, and then never look at you again.
Regarding the Finns’ attire for this part of the season, it seems that I arrived right before the transition period. June 1st is when the warm clothing comes out. I guess I will have to wait and see!
One of the things I’ve been particularly bothered by is how many people smoke here. Being a former smoker, I can no longer stand breathing in secondhand smoke. It seems that every other person I pass on the street has a lit cigarette, or they are holding one getting ready to light up. Young kids too. Based on what I saw, I assumed the legal smoking age to be 13. Although the legal age is 18, these kids are not even attempting to hide it. Sad. Perhaps this is why I haven’t seen many pretty Finnish girls my age. Could it be that after puberty and a few years of smoking, they age 20 years seemingly all at once?
The language here is really quite new to me. I'm used to hearing Spanish quite a bit at home. I'm not fluent in it, but I can pick up a lot of it just because I studied it in high school. I'm familiar with the way most all of the Asian languages sound and can even determine when someone is speaking Chinese, versus Korean, Vietnamese, etc. But Finnish is something entirely different than any of the above. I have noticed is that their language is not very emphatic due to its guttural nature, thus translating to boring, monotonic speech patterns when talking in both Finnish and English. I am determined to get some quick lessons in basic Finnish. Unfortunately, my “Say it in Finnish” book was one of the books that didn’t arrive on time, so I will have to put that on hold. First thing’s first, I need to become more familiar with the city, sightsee and get a bus/tram pass.
Scott gave me an assignment to visit 4 locations. First on the list was Munkkiniemi (pronounced “moon-kin-yemmy”). I don’t remember why he told me to go here, but I went anyway. It was on the outskirts of town, right by the sea, and I had to take the tram to get there. I couldn’t find anyone there who spoke good English, but I think I was supposed to see some cable factory. Or was that at Ruoholati? It was getting cold, and there wasn’t much to see, so I decided to make my way to the next location: Finlandia Hall, which was designed by the architect Alvar Aalto.
I made a quick stop by the Olympic stadium and to the opera house nearby, both of which were north of Finlandia Hall. A narrow park with a lake to the northeast bridged the opera house to it. This building was rather monumental from up close. It was secluded in a deep depression behind a large array of flagpoles, which meant, from the street, its size was diminished. I liked this quality. The sounds from the street almost seemed to wash away completely. Although from afar this building appeared to be monolithic, I took notice of its smaller details, such as the paneled columns, baffles underneath the overhanging canopy, and the famous door handles on almost every urban Aalto building.
The third stop was to the cable factory, called Kaapelitehdas. If I wanted to get my room at Hostel Erottajanpuisto, then I wouldn’t have time for this stop. I’ll go another day.
The fourth stop was Eurohostel, to leave a note telling the other students to meet up tomorrow for some village festival where two of the instructors at TKK live. I figured I would do that later when I was ready to take the ferry to the island fortress, Suomenlinna.
It was about 4:00 pm, so I decided to head back. On my way back to the train station from Finlandia Hall, I decided I would intentionally go another way, once again for the sake of exploration. This time, I got lost. Having walked miles and miles all over the city already, I was tired and exhausted. My appetite was growing and growing. I wanted to get something cheap and fast to eat, but I wanted to be somewhere familiar so I could go find the hostel with my reservation immediately afterwards. I couldn’t locate any of the streets on my map. I walked aimlessly lost for about an hour. I knew I had walked a giant circle, but how? Finally, I just decided I would walk in a straight line toward a building that I thought was the train station. Well, it wasn’t the train station, but it was right next to it. Pheeeeww! Time for food.
I ate at a fast food place in the train station called Aseman Wurst. I ordered fries and a wurst with roasted onions, mustard, and ketchup. It was tasty, and what made it different were the roasted onions and the crunchy, pressed bun. 5.90 euros. Not really filling, but it was worth a try. I sat around, resting for a bit and allowed my food to digest. 20 minutes later, I set out to find Hostel Erottajanpuisto.
It took about 30 minutes by foot to find the place. When I got there, just as I was about to pay for my room, I was told that I did not have a reservation.
WTF?
I was told by the lady at the first hostel that she made me a reservation. CRAP! Luckily, the required 6:00 pm check-in time was less than an hour minutes away. If I came back after that time, I could see if there were any beds that became available. So I walked around and wasted some time, entering shops just to browse. It was nice that this hostel was located in the design district of Helsinki, so I got to see some more cool furniture. I even got to sit in the extremely expensive Eames chair. 6,650 euros! Not worth it! Yes, it’s comfortable, but not that comfortable!
The 6 pm check-in time was approaching, so I headed back to the hostel. I was greeted with some very good news, they did have availability! Even better news was that they are a member of Hostelling International and give discounts! I checked in and headed back to the train station to get my belongings from the locker. Little did I know, but every time the locker is opened, you have to pay 4 more euros to lock it. It’s a good thing I asked before I proceeded to open it. I don’t want to be throwing money away like that, so I made a plan: go to Eurohostel, leave the note, take the ferry to Suomenlinna, return to the hostel, sleep, wake up, go get my luggage, return to the hostel to shower and change. All went as planned, except for the ferry ride. I waited for 20 minutes and the ferry still hadn’t arrived. It was starting to get dark, so I decided to call it a night. At 10:30 pm, it was still dusk.
P.S. I will add pictures later.
On my way, again I noticed the way people were dressed. Today, it was a bit colder, but I wouldn’t say cold, just chilly. Since I was wearing a thermal underneath a t-shirt, I actually began to overheat at times when there was no wind and it was sunny. I couldn’t imagine being dressed in a full length wool coat, thick scarf, and gloves. I made a mental note to ask why later.
I ordered a large coffee and a croissant with strawberry preserves, hopped online, posted my first blog entry, and began searching for a place to stay. Last night, I touched base with my instructor, Scott, letting him know that I was in town and that I was struggling to find a place to stay. This morning, he replied with a lot of helpful information as well as suggestions on where to look. It didn’t help that I haven’t got a phone here yet. So he suggested that I go down to Eurohostel, which he and I already knew was booked, and try anyway. If they were full, I should ask them for assistance in finding a place that is available. We also made arrangements to meet up at 1:30 pm today so I could get better oriented within the city. I thought that was a great idea, since I was feeling lost and out of place!
At around 11:30 am, I left Wayne’s and headed back to hostel numero uno for my belongings. Check out time was noon. When I was ready to embark on my hostel search on foot, the Finnish lady running the hostel was kind enough to look at the list Scott gave me. She started calling around to see if there was anything available. Out of the list, there was only one place that she said had availability, Hostel Erottajanpuisto. It was going to cost 23.50 euros for a bed in a dorm room. I asked if she would make a reservation, and she said she already did. Sweet! Lucky again! Or was I…?
Since plans changed, I had a bit of free time. Instead of carrying all of my luggage with me for the next 48 hours, I decided that I would store my belongings in a locker at the train station. 4 euros for a 24 hour period. Damn, that is expensive! I guess that’s what it costs for peace of mind. I knew I had to eat something or I was going to regret it later, especially if I was going to be with Scott for a while.
I had no idea where to eat, so I walked around underneath the train station to explore a little bit. The problem here is that most places have no English menus, and Finnish is not really a language to borrow words either. Come to think of it, it kind of reminds me of Japanese when the characters are written with Roman letters. More on this later, back to the food. Just my luck, I stumbled across a McDonald’s… food that I can at least recognize, even if the menu has little to no English. The only menu items with English words were specialty burgers, one of which was called Texas BBQ, and another Tokyo Shrimp. Interesting... But how could I justify spending 7 euros on a burger from McDonald’s? No thank you, I thought, let’s have a look at the value menu. I ordered 2 bacon cheeseburgers (1.50 euros each) and a strawberry sundae (1 euro). When I got my food, I began to understand why it I haven’t seen any overweight people here. Each burger was about the size of a hockey puck! For those of you who have never seen a hockey puck, it is 1 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter. And the sundae, I have never seen a smaller sundae! It was about the size of a Jello pudding cup! I guess that’s all one should expect for 4 euros.
After eating, needless to say my hunger was not satiated. There weren’t any vending machines nearby, so I walked over to a market and browsed for a cheap drink. I found a .5L bottle of Coke for 1.65 euros. Ehh.. not bad, I guess. I saw some weird flavored sodas, like bitter lemon, bitter apple. Those may be something I have to try later on.
At that very moment, as I was minding my own business, I ever so slightly brush my elbow against a woman’s arm that was behind me, standing with her back to me. Instinctively, I turn around to apologize, and she turned to me with a horrific look of disgust all over her face. I mumbled “I’m sorry” but I doubt she understands. She mumbles something, and then briskly walks away. What could possibly have set her off like that? Let that be another question I need to ask later. Could this be what culture shock is supposed to feel like?
It was about 12:45, so I had some time to kill before meeting with Scott, so I decided to wander around underground, walk through a few shops and maybe get a little lost. First off, every street is disorienting since there is no way to observe which direction you are going. The street grid has no order to it at all. All of the buildings are approximately the same height (I'd say about 70-80 feet on average). I’ve found that I am able to guess which direction I’m headed based on the location of the sun and shadows cast by buildings, but it only helps to some degree. I have a compass, but I don’t know what the magnetic declination is here, so it is kind of useless!
Underground, it is almost impossible to orient oneself without already knowing where the shopping malls are. I walked around for about 30 minutes and saw a bunch of retail shops as well as restaurants with a variety of cuisine, including Indian, Middle Eastern, American, and Mediterranean.
With no destination in mind, I decided it was time to head back to the train station. The underground network is pretty confusing, with lots of intersecting paths. I didn't really keep track of where I came from, so I looked for a way to return to the surface, which is indicated by green signs showing a figure that is running toward a door. Here’s a question to ponder: why is it that the direction of an arrow pointing to something that is ahead is facing down, instead of up? Curious. Anyway, when I reached the outside, I had absolutely no idea where I was. The train station was nowhere in sight. I pulled out my map, checked the street signs, and realized I had managed to walk 6 or 7 city blocks underground. Fortunately, I was still on a major road that led back to the station. I hurried to the station to meet Scott.
I reached the station at 1:20 pm, and it was busier than I had ever seen. I had no idea where to meet him, so I circled the building inside and out several times. After about 20 minutes, finally I heard someone call my name, but it was faint compared to the noise of the crowds. I turned around in circles twice before I saw Scott. He had seen me for 5 minutes prior to our meeting, but I was continuously walking in a giant circle. I suppose I walked too fast for him to catch up on a hurt knee… and yelling is apparently frowned upon here (unless of course you are drunk, and by Finnish means!).
This reminded me about the other questions that were on my mind. Why is it that I was scoffed at by the woman at the market? Why are people dressed so warmly? What is the legal age for smoking? And just what is with this language?
First off, I learned that personal space is a big deal here in Finland. That means that people will not look you in the eyes, nor will they smile if your eyes do meet. They will not make small talk with strangers. They will glance at you from afar, judge you from what they see, and then never look at you again.
Regarding the Finns’ attire for this part of the season, it seems that I arrived right before the transition period. June 1st is when the warm clothing comes out. I guess I will have to wait and see!
One of the things I’ve been particularly bothered by is how many people smoke here. Being a former smoker, I can no longer stand breathing in secondhand smoke. It seems that every other person I pass on the street has a lit cigarette, or they are holding one getting ready to light up. Young kids too. Based on what I saw, I assumed the legal smoking age to be 13. Although the legal age is 18, these kids are not even attempting to hide it. Sad. Perhaps this is why I haven’t seen many pretty Finnish girls my age. Could it be that after puberty and a few years of smoking, they age 20 years seemingly all at once?
The language here is really quite new to me. I'm used to hearing Spanish quite a bit at home. I'm not fluent in it, but I can pick up a lot of it just because I studied it in high school. I'm familiar with the way most all of the Asian languages sound and can even determine when someone is speaking Chinese, versus Korean, Vietnamese, etc. But Finnish is something entirely different than any of the above. I have noticed is that their language is not very emphatic due to its guttural nature, thus translating to boring, monotonic speech patterns when talking in both Finnish and English. I am determined to get some quick lessons in basic Finnish. Unfortunately, my “Say it in Finnish” book was one of the books that didn’t arrive on time, so I will have to put that on hold. First thing’s first, I need to become more familiar with the city, sightsee and get a bus/tram pass.
Scott gave me an assignment to visit 4 locations. First on the list was Munkkiniemi (pronounced “moon-kin-yemmy”). I don’t remember why he told me to go here, but I went anyway. It was on the outskirts of town, right by the sea, and I had to take the tram to get there. I couldn’t find anyone there who spoke good English, but I think I was supposed to see some cable factory. Or was that at Ruoholati? It was getting cold, and there wasn’t much to see, so I decided to make my way to the next location: Finlandia Hall, which was designed by the architect Alvar Aalto.
I made a quick stop by the Olympic stadium and to the opera house nearby, both of which were north of Finlandia Hall. A narrow park with a lake to the northeast bridged the opera house to it. This building was rather monumental from up close. It was secluded in a deep depression behind a large array of flagpoles, which meant, from the street, its size was diminished. I liked this quality. The sounds from the street almost seemed to wash away completely. Although from afar this building appeared to be monolithic, I took notice of its smaller details, such as the paneled columns, baffles underneath the overhanging canopy, and the famous door handles on almost every urban Aalto building.
The third stop was to the cable factory, called Kaapelitehdas. If I wanted to get my room at Hostel Erottajanpuisto, then I wouldn’t have time for this stop. I’ll go another day.
The fourth stop was Eurohostel, to leave a note telling the other students to meet up tomorrow for some village festival where two of the instructors at TKK live. I figured I would do that later when I was ready to take the ferry to the island fortress, Suomenlinna.
It was about 4:00 pm, so I decided to head back. On my way back to the train station from Finlandia Hall, I decided I would intentionally go another way, once again for the sake of exploration. This time, I got lost. Having walked miles and miles all over the city already, I was tired and exhausted. My appetite was growing and growing. I wanted to get something cheap and fast to eat, but I wanted to be somewhere familiar so I could go find the hostel with my reservation immediately afterwards. I couldn’t locate any of the streets on my map. I walked aimlessly lost for about an hour. I knew I had walked a giant circle, but how? Finally, I just decided I would walk in a straight line toward a building that I thought was the train station. Well, it wasn’t the train station, but it was right next to it. Pheeeeww! Time for food.
I ate at a fast food place in the train station called Aseman Wurst. I ordered fries and a wurst with roasted onions, mustard, and ketchup. It was tasty, and what made it different were the roasted onions and the crunchy, pressed bun. 5.90 euros. Not really filling, but it was worth a try. I sat around, resting for a bit and allowed my food to digest. 20 minutes later, I set out to find Hostel Erottajanpuisto.
It took about 30 minutes by foot to find the place. When I got there, just as I was about to pay for my room, I was told that I did not have a reservation.
WTF?
I was told by the lady at the first hostel that she made me a reservation. CRAP! Luckily, the required 6:00 pm check-in time was less than an hour minutes away. If I came back after that time, I could see if there were any beds that became available. So I walked around and wasted some time, entering shops just to browse. It was nice that this hostel was located in the design district of Helsinki, so I got to see some more cool furniture. I even got to sit in the extremely expensive Eames chair. 6,650 euros! Not worth it! Yes, it’s comfortable, but not that comfortable!
The 6 pm check-in time was approaching, so I headed back to the hostel. I was greeted with some very good news, they did have availability! Even better news was that they are a member of Hostelling International and give discounts! I checked in and headed back to the train station to get my belongings from the locker. Little did I know, but every time the locker is opened, you have to pay 4 more euros to lock it. It’s a good thing I asked before I proceeded to open it. I don’t want to be throwing money away like that, so I made a plan: go to Eurohostel, leave the note, take the ferry to Suomenlinna, return to the hostel, sleep, wake up, go get my luggage, return to the hostel to shower and change. All went as planned, except for the ferry ride. I waited for 20 minutes and the ferry still hadn’t arrived. It was starting to get dark, so I decided to call it a night. At 10:30 pm, it was still dusk.
P.S. I will add pictures later.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Prologue (Day 1)
Today was indeed a long day… quite literally. It started out in Arlington, in my new place of residence, where I anxiously awaited the arrival of several books that I ordered online. The mailwoman’s truck sat at the intersection of my place and a cross street at a perpendicular offshoot. She had just set out to deliver mail to that street when I first took notice of the truck. I paced in the front yard…
What worried me was the fact that, in doing so, waiting for the mail ran the risk of arriving after my parents at the airport. The day before, I made arrangements so that I would drive directly to the airport, my dad would drive my car, and my mom would drive their car home. Those of you who know me well, needless to say, my parents are the type to become easily frustrated when they have to wait. (Where do you think I got it from?)
Finally, the mailwoman approaches the house, but to my dismay, no package in hand. My questioning of her package-less satchel somehow drew me into one of those uncomfortable-yet-friendly chit-chats about nothing important. Time ticked by. I think it was finally when the conversation with her hit full circle that I saw a polite way out. So into the house I went, said my goodbye to Ryan, and off to the airport I dashed.
On the way, I received a call from my parents, telling me at which terminal and gate to meet them. Terminal E was the destination, which was conveniently the first stop for me! Lots of good wishes were sent, and they hoped I would keep in touch as much as possible. Well duh! Anyway, in addition to leaving my car with them, I also decided to leave my phone with them also. Number one, it won’t even work there, and number two, it’s something I would rather not lose. Good call or bad call? Just wait...
My parents have been terrifically kind to me. I am extremely appreciative of how much they have helped me through the difficult process of preparing for this trip. They have been constantly reminding me of things that I need to do. They know that I forget things, and no matter how much I told them to stop nagging me, they didn’t stop. But the single biggest and most kind thing they have done was provide me with the gift of using the miles or points accumulated on their credit card. This would allow me to essentially fly for free over to Helsinki. I knew that this was something I absolutely could not screw up, otherwise I’d pay severely for it. The day before I left, I made sure to print 3 copies of my itinerary from NWA.com and e-ticket receipt. Just under 24 hours before departure, I also checked myself in.
But I suppose I forgot to take into consideration Murphy ’s Law, which states that what can go wrong, will.
I walked briskly up the stairs, carrying alongside me 80 lbs of luggage, give or take a few. I approached the NWA self check-in kiosk, and had to wait around for 5 minutes to be told that I needed to talk to someone behind the desk. So I hand them my receipt printout and passport. Suddenly, without hesitation, they gave me a strange look. I am told that I was at the wrong terminal! SkyTeam? What the hell is that? I needed to go to KLM. KLM?? Is that part of a flight number? Is it a gate? WTF?? I did understand that I needed to go to gate D15.
A very kind lady rushed me out of the building and pointed me to a shuttle, which took me over to terminal D. She also said she would try to get on the phone and convince them to let me on. It was then I found out that check-in times for domestic flights were 30 minutes prior to takeoff, but international flights were 60 minutes.
Oh shit.
A short 3 minute wait and I was already on the road, but I swore that the shuttle driver was going 20 under the speed limit the entire way, argh!! STOMP ON IT, PLEASE, I thought. After taking several deep breaths, I regained my composure. I felt like this would be no problem at all. After all, airline companies are always accommodating, right?
Pfffft, yeah right, what was I thinking?
I was finally let off at the first stop at Terminal D. I start on my way to the entrance, and scan ahead about 200 feet and see the entrance. I also noticed that the bus driver made another stop right by the frigging door.
Sigh.
I run in, and walk around the big lobby space, frantically searching for NWA. I noticed an American Airlines shirt on a black lady and asked her where NWA was. She told me Terminal B, and clearly had no idea what I was talking about, so I walked away. AHH YES, I found the NWA desks at the very end of the hall, but they were completely deserted. I tried the self check-in kiosks again, and again I was told to see a clerk. I walked over to another airline's check-in desk, told them where I was going. There were no such flights directly to Helsinki, but there was to Amsterdam (my first leg), via KLM airlines, which was the very last desk adjoining the NWA SkyTeam.
AHHH, things were starting to make sense now! I felt like such an idiot. But things were about to go from bad to worse...
There was only one person checking in and two people standing at the desk. From the sounds of it, they were trying to find another flight to Amsterdam. I couldn’t help it, I had less than 30 minutes before my flight was going to leave, therefore in my anxiety I forced myself into the conversation. I was promptly told that there was no way for me to get on the flight, they would simply refuse my baggage because it was too late.
F***.
OHHHH F***.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH F***.
I was overwhelmed with speculative thoughts on all of my plans crashing. It was a horrible feeling. I was STILL waiting for the two in front of me to decide what to do. So, in my frustration, I walked away. I walked outside and realized that I had no way of getting back home. Not even a way to call someone.
That was when it hit me. In all of my self-loathing, I completely forgot that I had already “checked in” online. That’s when I started asking myself, “what if?” What if I just got on the plane and didn’t worry about my suitcase? Not a good idea. What if I shipped my suitcase separately? I immediately went up to the counter, interrupted the conversation, and started asking these questions. The clerk stared at me, he was clearly frustrated too. All of his answers to my questions pointed toward the same conclusion—I simply would not have enough time. Then, in a moment of enlightenment, I stated the following scenario, “So let’s say you let me on the plane, and even check my suitcase too. And let’s also say that my suitcase is turned down from being loaded onto the plane. What happens then?” He replied, saying that my suitcase would get thrown on the next flight to my final destination, which would likely be the next day.
Bingo! Almost in unison, the other two customers and I exclaimed “LET’S DO THAT!”
The clerk checked their baggage and printed their boarding passes. I tried to wait patiently, but I had less than 20 minutes before takeoff and the security checkpoint was highly congested. I was a bit antsy. Ok, I was more than antsy, but at least I was confident that I would be getting on the plane. Finally, the clerk got to me, printed my boarding pass, and allowed me to leave early so I could get into the security line.
I got to the line and stood at the end for 2 minutes without it moving an inch. A short, round, bearded man called out to the end of the line a notice that only a short walk away was an uncongested checkpoint. Without hesitation, I bolted.
He was right, the line was almost non-existent. As soon as I got to the line, I wiped the sweat from my brow, bent over and caught my breath.
“Hey dude!” I heard. I felt a tap on my shoulder. “You’re gonna need this,” said the clerk that checked me in. He chased me down to give me my luggage receipt. In between my deep breaths, I quickly thanked him. I also made sure to shake hands with him. It was the only way I could show the magnitude of my appreciation.
The security checkpoint caused me no problems, which was quite shocking. But, I was still 10 gates away, so I hurried. I didn’t have time to put my belt or shoes on. I didn’t even take the time to put my passport or boarding pass in my pocket. I couldn’t count how many times I dropped something; I was too focused on finding D15.
It felt like miles away.
Finally, it was in sight. I reached the counter, handed over my passport and boarding pass, bent over, and put my shoes on. “MR. SCHMIDT, WE WERE WAITING FOR YOU! PLEASE COME IN!” one of the ladies happily exclaimed. How comforting! Just as I was about to about to enter the boarding tunnel, I was stopped by a man in a uniform that said Homeland Security on his chest. Behind him were 6 or 7 other uniformed men.
Uhhh… what?
The man who stopped me asked me some customs questions. Then he escorted me to the other side of the wall of uniformed men. They were apparently questioning the passage of a Middle Eastern looking man. I was in too much of a hurry to listen in. At last, I was on the plane! After dropping my belongings at least 3 times in an attempt to stow my carry-on luggage, I found my seat, cooled off, and was ready for takeoff. However, it took at least 30 more minutes before the plane left. Turns out they denied passage to the Middle Eastern guy and had to remove his belongings from the plane.
It wasn’t till Amsterdam did I find out that in those 30 minutes, my suitcase actually made it on the plane! Thank you, would-be terrorist! (Wow, that sounds terrible…)
I watched 2 movies on the plane: “Jumper” (only because I am a big Hiro fan) and “No Country for Old Men.” Neither movie had a clear resolution. I was kind of disappointed in both. Oh well. The movie player had some games built in. I played with those for a bit. Got bored. Tried to nap. No luck. There was darkness for only a very short period of time. The plane was flying against the night current, therefore shortening it. By the time I was tired, it was once again bright outside and they turned the cabin lights back on.
The airplane food was actually pretty good. Filling too. I asked for beer as a refreshment, and they served Heineken. It was free!
By the time I made it to Helsinki, it was 2:00 pm or thereabout local time. To my body though, it was 4:00 am. By that time, I had been awake for 20 hours. I think I nodded off a few times on the bus from the airport to the train station. When I got to the train station, I sought a place called Hotel Booking, so I could find a place to stay for the evening.
Apparently, all of Helsinki is booked during this time of year. Yes, that is both hostels and hotels. I was extreeemely lucky that they found me a place for 30 euros (plus 6 euro booking fee) for a single bed in a private room. I dragged all of my belongings across town in search of it.
This city is pretty alive! There were pedestrians all over the place! It is astoundingly different than city life in the states, particularly Texas. Although I haven’t been to New York or Manhattan, I would imagine that this is very similar, minus the skyscrapers. One thing I didn’t understand was how people were dressed. Summer time is upon them, I was extremely comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans. But everyone I saw was wearing several layers, including jackets, sweatshirts, long sleeves, scarves, and what not. My guess was that they just don’t have summer clothing because it never really gets hot here.
Once I secured my belongings in the hostel room. I set out to find a coffee shop in order to get some internet lovin’. In my search, I wandered into a department store called Ykkonen. The furniture there was really nice. Very clean and modern. On the ground floor, I noticed they had some orchids. They reminded me of my mom, so I took a picture for her:
In order to help me fight the jet lag, I figured I would try to stay up as late as possible in local time. I found a nice coffee shop called Wayne’s coffee and ordered a café latte with an extra shot. They have free Wi-Fi, so I think that’s where I will go to connect for now. It is right across the street from a bar called Texas… hahaha! I decided that I HAD to go check it out. I drank a beer, which cost 5 euros, but it was tiny. It was a Finnish white lager, which reminded me of a Heineken Light. It had no head, but it was refreshing. There, I got to meet some Finnish girls. They helped me find some hostels which I will go look at tomorrow. Here I learned that it doesn’t snow much in the city. Therefore, the climate must be moderated by the sea. I was warned though that it does rain a lot in Helsinki.
I walked back to the hostel, grabbed my travel adapter for my laptop, and headed back to the coffee shop. This time, however, I decided I would take a different route, for the sake of exploration. I saw some very classical style architecture. My route led me astray. And little did I know, without looking at watch, it was already 9:30 pm and businesses were already closed. In particular, Wayne’s Coffee closed. But how was this possible? It was still light outside!! What a strange feeling! The city was still lit, but it was almost a ghost town.
It was around this time I began to understand why people wear multiple layers of clothing even in the summer. When the sun goes down, the temperature drops rapidly. Moreover, the breezes between the densely packed buildings magnify the effect.
I thought to myself, I definitely don’t want to be outside when it’s dark! And thus, I retired for the evening. What a long fricking day! Even when I fell asleep, there was still a hint of light in the sky.
What worried me was the fact that, in doing so, waiting for the mail ran the risk of arriving after my parents at the airport. The day before, I made arrangements so that I would drive directly to the airport, my dad would drive my car, and my mom would drive their car home. Those of you who know me well, needless to say, my parents are the type to become easily frustrated when they have to wait. (Where do you think I got it from?)
Finally, the mailwoman approaches the house, but to my dismay, no package in hand. My questioning of her package-less satchel somehow drew me into one of those uncomfortable-yet-friendly chit-chats about nothing important. Time ticked by. I think it was finally when the conversation with her hit full circle that I saw a polite way out. So into the house I went, said my goodbye to Ryan, and off to the airport I dashed.
On the way, I received a call from my parents, telling me at which terminal and gate to meet them. Terminal E was the destination, which was conveniently the first stop for me! Lots of good wishes were sent, and they hoped I would keep in touch as much as possible. Well duh! Anyway, in addition to leaving my car with them, I also decided to leave my phone with them also. Number one, it won’t even work there, and number two, it’s something I would rather not lose. Good call or bad call? Just wait...
My parents have been terrifically kind to me. I am extremely appreciative of how much they have helped me through the difficult process of preparing for this trip. They have been constantly reminding me of things that I need to do. They know that I forget things, and no matter how much I told them to stop nagging me, they didn’t stop. But the single biggest and most kind thing they have done was provide me with the gift of using the miles or points accumulated on their credit card. This would allow me to essentially fly for free over to Helsinki. I knew that this was something I absolutely could not screw up, otherwise I’d pay severely for it. The day before I left, I made sure to print 3 copies of my itinerary from NWA.com and e-ticket receipt. Just under 24 hours before departure, I also checked myself in.
But I suppose I forgot to take into consideration Murphy ’s Law, which states that what can go wrong, will.
I walked briskly up the stairs, carrying alongside me 80 lbs of luggage, give or take a few. I approached the NWA self check-in kiosk, and had to wait around for 5 minutes to be told that I needed to talk to someone behind the desk. So I hand them my receipt printout and passport. Suddenly, without hesitation, they gave me a strange look. I am told that I was at the wrong terminal! SkyTeam? What the hell is that? I needed to go to KLM. KLM?? Is that part of a flight number? Is it a gate? WTF?? I did understand that I needed to go to gate D15.
A very kind lady rushed me out of the building and pointed me to a shuttle, which took me over to terminal D. She also said she would try to get on the phone and convince them to let me on. It was then I found out that check-in times for domestic flights were 30 minutes prior to takeoff, but international flights were 60 minutes.
Oh shit.
A short 3 minute wait and I was already on the road, but I swore that the shuttle driver was going 20 under the speed limit the entire way, argh!! STOMP ON IT, PLEASE, I thought. After taking several deep breaths, I regained my composure. I felt like this would be no problem at all. After all, airline companies are always accommodating, right?
Pfffft, yeah right, what was I thinking?
I was finally let off at the first stop at Terminal D. I start on my way to the entrance, and scan ahead about 200 feet and see the entrance. I also noticed that the bus driver made another stop right by the frigging door.
Sigh.
I run in, and walk around the big lobby space, frantically searching for NWA. I noticed an American Airlines shirt on a black lady and asked her where NWA was. She told me Terminal B, and clearly had no idea what I was talking about, so I walked away. AHH YES, I found the NWA desks at the very end of the hall, but they were completely deserted. I tried the self check-in kiosks again, and again I was told to see a clerk. I walked over to another airline's check-in desk, told them where I was going. There were no such flights directly to Helsinki, but there was to Amsterdam (my first leg), via KLM airlines, which was the very last desk adjoining the NWA SkyTeam.
AHHH, things were starting to make sense now! I felt like such an idiot. But things were about to go from bad to worse...
There was only one person checking in and two people standing at the desk. From the sounds of it, they were trying to find another flight to Amsterdam. I couldn’t help it, I had less than 30 minutes before my flight was going to leave, therefore in my anxiety I forced myself into the conversation. I was promptly told that there was no way for me to get on the flight, they would simply refuse my baggage because it was too late.
F***.
OHHHH F***.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH F***.
I was overwhelmed with speculative thoughts on all of my plans crashing. It was a horrible feeling. I was STILL waiting for the two in front of me to decide what to do. So, in my frustration, I walked away. I walked outside and realized that I had no way of getting back home. Not even a way to call someone.
That was when it hit me. In all of my self-loathing, I completely forgot that I had already “checked in” online. That’s when I started asking myself, “what if?” What if I just got on the plane and didn’t worry about my suitcase? Not a good idea. What if I shipped my suitcase separately? I immediately went up to the counter, interrupted the conversation, and started asking these questions. The clerk stared at me, he was clearly frustrated too. All of his answers to my questions pointed toward the same conclusion—I simply would not have enough time. Then, in a moment of enlightenment, I stated the following scenario, “So let’s say you let me on the plane, and even check my suitcase too. And let’s also say that my suitcase is turned down from being loaded onto the plane. What happens then?” He replied, saying that my suitcase would get thrown on the next flight to my final destination, which would likely be the next day.
Bingo! Almost in unison, the other two customers and I exclaimed “LET’S DO THAT!”
The clerk checked their baggage and printed their boarding passes. I tried to wait patiently, but I had less than 20 minutes before takeoff and the security checkpoint was highly congested. I was a bit antsy. Ok, I was more than antsy, but at least I was confident that I would be getting on the plane. Finally, the clerk got to me, printed my boarding pass, and allowed me to leave early so I could get into the security line.
I got to the line and stood at the end for 2 minutes without it moving an inch. A short, round, bearded man called out to the end of the line a notice that only a short walk away was an uncongested checkpoint. Without hesitation, I bolted.
He was right, the line was almost non-existent. As soon as I got to the line, I wiped the sweat from my brow, bent over and caught my breath.
“Hey dude!” I heard. I felt a tap on my shoulder. “You’re gonna need this,” said the clerk that checked me in. He chased me down to give me my luggage receipt. In between my deep breaths, I quickly thanked him. I also made sure to shake hands with him. It was the only way I could show the magnitude of my appreciation.
The security checkpoint caused me no problems, which was quite shocking. But, I was still 10 gates away, so I hurried. I didn’t have time to put my belt or shoes on. I didn’t even take the time to put my passport or boarding pass in my pocket. I couldn’t count how many times I dropped something; I was too focused on finding D15.
It felt like miles away.
Finally, it was in sight. I reached the counter, handed over my passport and boarding pass, bent over, and put my shoes on. “MR. SCHMIDT, WE WERE WAITING FOR YOU! PLEASE COME IN!” one of the ladies happily exclaimed. How comforting! Just as I was about to about to enter the boarding tunnel, I was stopped by a man in a uniform that said Homeland Security on his chest. Behind him were 6 or 7 other uniformed men.
Uhhh… what?
The man who stopped me asked me some customs questions. Then he escorted me to the other side of the wall of uniformed men. They were apparently questioning the passage of a Middle Eastern looking man. I was in too much of a hurry to listen in. At last, I was on the plane! After dropping my belongings at least 3 times in an attempt to stow my carry-on luggage, I found my seat, cooled off, and was ready for takeoff. However, it took at least 30 more minutes before the plane left. Turns out they denied passage to the Middle Eastern guy and had to remove his belongings from the plane.
It wasn’t till Amsterdam did I find out that in those 30 minutes, my suitcase actually made it on the plane! Thank you, would-be terrorist! (Wow, that sounds terrible…)
I watched 2 movies on the plane: “Jumper” (only because I am a big Hiro fan) and “No Country for Old Men.” Neither movie had a clear resolution. I was kind of disappointed in both. Oh well. The movie player had some games built in. I played with those for a bit. Got bored. Tried to nap. No luck. There was darkness for only a very short period of time. The plane was flying against the night current, therefore shortening it. By the time I was tired, it was once again bright outside and they turned the cabin lights back on.
The airplane food was actually pretty good. Filling too. I asked for beer as a refreshment, and they served Heineken. It was free!
By the time I made it to Helsinki, it was 2:00 pm or thereabout local time. To my body though, it was 4:00 am. By that time, I had been awake for 20 hours. I think I nodded off a few times on the bus from the airport to the train station. When I got to the train station, I sought a place called Hotel Booking, so I could find a place to stay for the evening.
Apparently, all of Helsinki is booked during this time of year. Yes, that is both hostels and hotels. I was extreeemely lucky that they found me a place for 30 euros (plus 6 euro booking fee) for a single bed in a private room. I dragged all of my belongings across town in search of it.
This city is pretty alive! There were pedestrians all over the place! It is astoundingly different than city life in the states, particularly Texas. Although I haven’t been to New York or Manhattan, I would imagine that this is very similar, minus the skyscrapers. One thing I didn’t understand was how people were dressed. Summer time is upon them, I was extremely comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans. But everyone I saw was wearing several layers, including jackets, sweatshirts, long sleeves, scarves, and what not. My guess was that they just don’t have summer clothing because it never really gets hot here.
Once I secured my belongings in the hostel room. I set out to find a coffee shop in order to get some internet lovin’. In my search, I wandered into a department store called Ykkonen. The furniture there was really nice. Very clean and modern. On the ground floor, I noticed they had some orchids. They reminded me of my mom, so I took a picture for her:
In order to help me fight the jet lag, I figured I would try to stay up as late as possible in local time. I found a nice coffee shop called Wayne’s coffee and ordered a café latte with an extra shot. They have free Wi-Fi, so I think that’s where I will go to connect for now. It is right across the street from a bar called Texas… hahaha! I decided that I HAD to go check it out. I drank a beer, which cost 5 euros, but it was tiny. It was a Finnish white lager, which reminded me of a Heineken Light. It had no head, but it was refreshing. There, I got to meet some Finnish girls. They helped me find some hostels which I will go look at tomorrow. Here I learned that it doesn’t snow much in the city. Therefore, the climate must be moderated by the sea. I was warned though that it does rain a lot in Helsinki.
I walked back to the hostel, grabbed my travel adapter for my laptop, and headed back to the coffee shop. This time, however, I decided I would take a different route, for the sake of exploration. I saw some very classical style architecture. My route led me astray. And little did I know, without looking at watch, it was already 9:30 pm and businesses were already closed. In particular, Wayne’s Coffee closed. But how was this possible? It was still light outside!! What a strange feeling! The city was still lit, but it was almost a ghost town.
It was around this time I began to understand why people wear multiple layers of clothing even in the summer. When the sun goes down, the temperature drops rapidly. Moreover, the breezes between the densely packed buildings magnify the effect.
I thought to myself, I definitely don’t want to be outside when it’s dark! And thus, I retired for the evening. What a long fricking day! Even when I fell asleep, there was still a hint of light in the sky.
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