7 January:
I remember waking up, being quiet, and leaving earlier than I anticipated. When I left for the station, I ended up passing it. Whoops. There were people waiting outside for it to open when I got there. I joined them knowing full well I was waaay too early for my flight. But there was nothing to do anyway, so I sat there. We walked in when it opened, I found the Arlanda Express, which is the train that takes you to the airport. I checked to make sure my Eurail pass can work on it, and then I found a seat.
Checked into my flight without any trouble. The flight was delayed thirty minutes, and I didn't like that it was delayed because I wanted to get going, but I was still willing to wait. I spent the time playing sudoku, journaling, and napping. When we boarded, I liked how everyone was given an assigned seat instead of picking when they board like they do on Ryanair. It made boarding that much faster. There wasn't a super-annoying and recorded safety brief, in fact I believe the captain explained the safety features herself. She even apologized for being delayed. The plane started in Helsinki and it had snowed overnight there, so they took 30 minutes to defrost the plane before launching. But what really surprised me was the plane actually took off on time.
Everything was so efficient! I loved it to death! Of course, the one thing I didn't like was the English version of announcements coming on third instead of second. First was Finnish, second was Swedish, third was English. I guess it shows how many people travel between Finland and Sweden. This sort of language distinction was also found throughout Helsinki, so it's not just the airline. But I was still amazed by my flight. We took off when they said we would take off, we landed when we were supposed to, and we even got complimentary refreshments like tea and coffee, though I only had water. I liked that bit.
Found my way to the Helsinki city center alright. There was a bus that took you directly to the central station. I bought a single journey ticket, but it was good for 80 minutes since time of purchase, so I could also use it for the tram to my hostel.
Speaking of which, I couldn't find it right away. I was lost and walked around the station, found the trams, but none of them were the 4 which was the route I had to take. So I went to the information desk and asked where the tram 4 stop was. The man was nice and gave me a really good map of the city which I used the rest of the time there. Upon walking out of the info booth, I saw the street that lead to the stop, but I was hungry so I decided to get some lunch now that I knew where I was going. Ate at a small deli in the station and just people watched. While leaving, I gave my table to a couple of women who patiently waited for me to get my stuff together before occupying my table. That was nice of them.
At the hostel, I went and paid for my room and was nicely informed that I can come back and get my room number anytime after 2:00pm. I had forty minutes to kill time before I could see my room. No big deal. I saw a giant mall thing while on the tram. Besides, I had to find some eye drops for my eye and a charger for my phone. So after I dropped off my duffel in the luggage room, I asked for a pharmacy and an electronics store. The woman at the desk kindly pointed them out on the map and I set off for my errands.
Of course, I got distracted by a souvenir shop. Because it was so cute, and because it was kind of cheap, I got a small Viking figurine with a fur beared and the flag of Finland on his shield. He's so cute. I name him Sven the Viking.
The electronics store was more the electronics section of Stockmann, the largest department store in Finland. They're like JCPenny, but with more departments. Perhaps more like a Shopko with better quality and more expensive clothes? Definitely not like Wal-Mart. Anyway, I found the section and struggled through finding a charger and/or an adapter. The only charger for my phone was 19.50EUR and I couldn't find an adapter, so the $30 charger it was. The workers at the store wore little flags on their nametags denoted which languages they can help customers in, which I though was really awesome. Nearly everyone had a Finnish and British flag on their nametag, which goes to show how widespread English is. Swedish was more common than I thought, so there were only a handful of workers that didn't have it on their nametag. At least most people had English flags.
The next step was finding a pharmacy, but I managed to find a giant mall called Forum that I wandered through aimlessly for a while. Finnish malls are just like American malls. While wandering the Forum, I got so sore from my backpack. I attempting to find a place to sit, but I clearly wasn't looking in the right place because I had no idea where to go. The maps by the entrances said there was a pizza and kebab place on the third floor, so I attempted to find it. Found it I did, but there wasn't room for me to sit right away. So that plan was scratched.
After wandering around a bit, I found a small cafe a block or two away from the Forum. I ordered a hot chocolate and sat there for a while just people watching and playing sudoku. I rested until my shoulders stopped complaining and I finished three puzzles. Then I picked up my backpack and attempted to find the pharmacy the woman at the hostel desk pointed out.
Between the cafe and the pharmacy, I went the wrong way down the road and found a souvenir shop which some pretty awesome stuff. Got a patch and some postcards there. They had tee shirts, one for 10EUR and three for 25EUR. I debated getting some there, but I figured I would find the same deal again and I would buy then. I wasn't ready to buy tee shirts just then. In restrospect, it was the opportune moment to buy tee shirts because I never got my Helsinki tee shirt. (Neither did I get my Nightwish tee shirt, but I'm not too heartbroken about that).
Walked the wrong way down the street after that. Of course. But I found the right way and by now I was looking for a cheap place to eat. Found it at a place called Carrolls, which is the Finnish version of McDonald's or Burger King. The fries were awesome. But that's where I ate and then I left for the hostel.
I was given a room number and a key and I went up to dump off my stuff and relax. But when I got to my room, I realized that I wasn't the only one in the room like I thought I was. This confused me. The website said 1bed-dorm, and I took that as one bed in a room. I guess not. I was planning on sleeping in my own room and not worrying about someone overhearing my conversations with my parents and friends. So I picked up my stuff and went back to the desk to see if there was a private room available. There was, and I said I would be willing to pay the different between the rooms. So I did and got a new room on the same floor.
I liked this better. I was more comfortable, I was alone. There was even a table for me to keep my computer so my bed can be free for clothes. So I set up camp on the table and spent the rest of the evening on the computer. Even called Dad at home to tell him I was fine. My phone ran out of minutes haflway through that conversation. Whoops. My immediate thought was how I was going to call Alicia to tell her I was back in London, but then I thought of phone booths. They're all over the place in London. So that problem was solved.
No comments:
Post a Comment