More Finland!

Monday August 11th: Jonna and I slept in then ate some breakfast and took photos of the gorgeous scenery. We also jumped on the trampoline and just relaxed in general, playing with the dogs and reading. We eventually packed up and got on the road back to Helsinki (of which I slept most of the way, hadn't had any caffeine). We stopped by the post office to pick up Jonna's router then met Jonna's brother at her apartment to give him back the car. He drove us to Ikea where Jonna works so we could explore! Ikea was a lot of fun. Of course we had the meatballs for dinner (delicious). We planned on walking to Helsinki (we were in Vantaa, very close by) and taking a bus home from there since it would be cheaper (because districts and pricing) but it was starting to rain. When the bus arrived we tried to pay but the bus driver explained that we didn't need to, the machine was broken. Win!!! Free ride back :]  We then set up the router (after a quick trip to Prisma, the grocery store kinda like a Super Target/Walmart, to buy another ethernet cable. and chocolate. always chocolate). Jonna went for a run, I skyped and played league. All was well and relaxing. It stormed in the middle of the night and we had to shut the window because the rain was blowing inside. I woke up at 7am sweating (no blankets) and opened the window again because it had stopped raining. I do miss air conditioning.

Tuesday August 12th: Today we went to Helsinki! We rode the train in and then went straight to Starbucks (the only one in Finland, besides the airport). We then walked around the Esplanade and the market by the water where I bought tons of postcards and other gifts. Next we took the ferry to Suomenlinna (an island, used to be military) to explore it. It was gorgeous of course. Unfortunately the museums on the island weren't free and we didn't feel like paying so we just walked around the island and enjoyed the weather and scenery. Jonna doesn't like the birds though. One of them tried to chase us! After returning to Helsinki we went to the grocery store to grab a few things (they print their own price labels for fresh produce, unlike the cashier doing it all at the grocery stores at home. As a former cashier, I love this). I grabbed more chocolate to bring back (we'll see how much actually makes it to the States) and we made pasta and had leftover chicken for dinner. Oh, also tried out the burger king in the train station. My crispy chicken sandwich looked kinda weird but it tasted good. Whatever. Might go back for icecream :D It's quite convenient and probably better than the milkshake I had at Ikea. I filled out like half of my postcards (it's tiring work guys) and chatted with Jonna about all kinds of things ranging from high school gossip that she never heard to college gossip and wage differences and maternity leave differences. Somehow this all connected quite well. We're off to Estonia tomorrow! Pictures and updates later :]  Finland is nice!