Before heading to Spain, I stopped over in Helsinki, Finland to see Mel! I haven't seen her in two years, so crazy. When we saw each other at the airport we couldn't stop hugging and making sure this was real life. Finally back together! It had been way too long. I stayed with Mel and her boyfriend Antti in their cute apartment in the Kallio area of Helsinki. It's very hipster/trendy and has lots going on. I was interested to learn about the history of Finland because I honestly didn't do much research before visiting. They have been in the middle of Russia and Sweden for ever and have many influences from both sides. For instance, all of the signs are in Finnish and Swedish. Another crazy thing was that Helsinki only has about 2 million people in the whole city, the biggest in Finland, and Finland has around 6 million total! Not many Finnish roaming around. But it wasn't very crowded and I thought everyone was very friendly and welcoming, it was really nice. It was also very exciting to be there because almost everyone was blonde! Such a difference from the last couple of years. A couple of people even asked me for directions! One thing I noticed and pointed out to Mel and Antti was that there are a ton of wiener dogs in Helsinki. Above the average amount, it was very peculiar! There were also two albino cashiers in one day, hence the blog title...
This is the amazing welcome banner and photo collage Mel set up for my arrival!!
Helsinki Cathedral
I had to try the specialty, Reindeer! It honestly just tasted like beef. They put a yummy lingonberry jam on it too, delish.
It is really popular to take a Baltic Cruise and hit all the Nordic countries at once so there were many cruise ships and tourists around by the pier and docks.
Apparently Finnish people drink the most coffee in the WORLD, so I needed to try as much as possible as well, to fit in.
Finland is surrounded by the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia so there are lots of ships and fish goin around!
One day we took a ferry to a nearby island named Suomenlinna, just the ride over is super beautiful! It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is an inhabited sea fortress built on six different islands. It was originally built in 1748 as protection against Russians expansionism. Now it is a place for Finns and tourists to go to see the ruins and picnic on the rocks. We sat on some rocks and watched the cruise ships and sailboats cruising by. It was so pretty and relaxing.
MelSea, so happy to be reunited!
Finland's Olympic Stadium! Finland hosted the Olympics in the summer of 1952. It was originally built to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were moved from Tokyo to Helsinki, but were eventually cancelled because of World War 2. It's now used to host sports event and concerts.
Had to try the salmon soup, of course!
This statue is for the most famous Finn, Jean Sibelius. He was a violinist and composer and was widely recognized as the country's national composer. He was even on their money until they adopted the Euro! Pretty cray.
More food! I had to try some more coffee, a traditional cinnamon roll and a Karelian pie! So yummy! The Karelian pie is made from a rye crust with a potato filling, and traditionally they put egg butter on it. They are super yummy!
I was so glad I got to stop over and see Mel and Antti for a quick visit! They were great hosts and it was like Mel and I hadn't missed a day, which was amazing. I can't wait to come back and see the Northern Lapland soon! :-)
After leaving Helsinki, I had a 10 hour layover in Dusseldorf, where I slept for maybe 3 or 4 hours while clutching my luggage. It wasn't the best night....then flew to Madrid!
"A place that you need to come back to before you even left, is a good place."
-Ben Brown
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