With flight glitches behind me, I was off to Finland. On the flight over the Atlantic I had a wonderful view of Reykjavik, Iceland (as close as I could get) at night and though I didn’t see them, I kept an eye out for the Aurora Borealis (I have no idea if they’re visible from the air, but I didn’t want to miss them if they were).
After 15 hours of travel I landed in Helsinki and boarded a shuttle into town. My first thought – “I’m home! This place feels so much like Denmark!”
From the clustered suburban housing complexes and perfectly manicured playgrounds and parks to the clean streets and Carlsberg billboards, it all felt familiar.
Like the Danes, Finns mostly keep to themselves and are quiet around new people. They like their fish and rye crackers and bread.
Bikes are everywhere and every sidewalk in town has a dedicated bike lane.
I thought that the language might be similar to Danish and that I could fake some conversation, but Finnish is a completely different beast; it gathers influence from Scandinavia but is a true Baltic language.
Parliment Building and National Museum of Finland in the distance
As it turns out, the wardrobe I packed was spot on to current Finnish trends (vindication!). Skinny jeans, stripped tee shirts, dresses over leggings, boots, leather bomber jackets and trench coats filled the streets. I absolutely looked like a local – as long as I kept my mouth shut.
I was told that my hostel was a short 1km walk from the Central Train Station so I eagerly opted to go it on foot and save the cab fare. Apparently 1km really means 4km and 45 minutes later, sweaty and winded I reached the
Stadion Hostel.
The accommodation is actually the dormitories that were used to house athletes at the Stadium for the in the 1954 Olympics. (After my little jaunt around town I was feeling very Olympic myself.)
Other Olympic venues
Upon check-in, the receptionists started to giggle uncontrollably when I handed her my passport. My quizzical expression prompted her to say, “Your name is so funny. I thought the computer made an error.” I remained visibly confused. “Do you know what your name means in Finnish?” “No, what does it mean?” “It means, ‘The Best.’ Your name is Kelly The Best.”
Any time I paid by credit card or showed my ID, my name elicited chuckles. It took some time to get used to seeing Paras on countless advertisements around town.
I think Finland and I are going to get along just fine.
The place looks beautiful!!!! I would love to explore it in the future.
My first impression of Finland was not a very favorable one–I got run over by a cab and spent the whole day at the police station!
Marina – It is a really lovely place.
Kristin – I can’t believe you got hit by a cab! Hopefully the trip only got better from there.