Hello again! Just got home from traveling to Helsinki and Stockholm! It was a great time and I wish I had more time to spend in both those incredible cities! I also had my last rugby game of the season this last weekend which was bitter sweet for sure. It was one of the most fun games of rugby I have ever played, and I also scored a couple times however I got pretty beat up and maybe cracked a few ribs. I would do it all again though for such a fun game! The reason I was able to travel this week is because I am on my fall break. Which is a random week in the middle of October where we don't have school. I don't really understand it but I am not complaining!
I went to Helsinki on Monday with my host family in the morning. We drove around looking at all the sites a foreigner would appreciate and enjoy. We went to the Olympic stadium from the 1952 summer Olympics. That was extremely interesting and its all original with wooden benches and no cup holders in site! Then we went to Stockman a department store with 8 floors! That was absolutely insane! We spent 2 hours in there and I was just walking around taking in how massive the place was the entire time. It has 3 restaurants in it, and I am pretty sure it was connected to a hotel! Oh and the parking was all underground and I think 4 different levels! I guess they do it big in Finland as well! Then it was time to board the ship. So we stood in lines for about an hour doing a bunch of different things before we could board. Finnish people really like standing in lines I guess. Once on the ship though it was very relaxing. There were different performers and stuff throughout the evening but other than that it was pretty mellow. I got to see last years winner of Finnish Idol perform, Diandra Flores, which was really fun! There was karaoke and many other fun crew ship like activities. Only downside to the cruise was the size of the cabins, I could touch the walls with both hands and 4 of us slept in there! But the beds were surprisingly comfortable.
Then before we knew it we were waking up in Stockholm! We went from the boat straight to the Metro so we could see old Stockholm first. The third picture from the top is a picture of old Stockholm, it reminded me a lot of Paris actually. The streets were very narrow and all the buildings were really old and esthetically pleasing with cool designs in the masonry. We walked around there for a while then made our way into the center of Stockholm. That was a lot like other big cities, big name brand shops everywhere mixed with touristy gift shops and local restaurants and pubs claiming THEY are the best. It was a lot of fun seeing another country though, I wish I had more than 6 hours to see it though.
We got back on the ship at around 4 and had a huge buffet dinner followed by of course a nap! Then the night began with some karaoke! There were two night clubs on the ship, one on the very top of the ship and one in the front of the ship. We pretty much moved in between those two clubs the entire night going from show to show. It was so much fun, I met some of the singers from the earlier shows, most of them were Russian but one was from Florida so that was super fun! I hung out with him and we talked about America and our experiences over here in Scandinavia, he was a real cool guy! By the end of the night my cheeks hurt from smiling so much and my stomach hurt from continuously laughing, I would call that a successful evening! Then we got back to Helsinki the next morning had a casual breakfast and headed home. It was a great experience traveling to these two great cities and I hope I can go back again soon.
For now keep smiling,
Enjoy today and be safe!
One Love
