Travels with Les: Into Europe!

Leaving behind a 34C, high humidity, Singapore and a 13.5 hour flight I landed in a cold 7C, misty, Helsinki! Luckily my booked driver was on time to take me to my hotel! The drive from the airport was along quiet Silver Birch lined roads. As we approached the centre I was reminded of a place I had stayed at in Frankfurt with the trams running through the middle of the street.

I was very lucky that at 7am my hotel,a former prison, had a cell ready for me!

My first dilemma, wasn't that my room was a cell - it was probably 3 or 4 former cells together but that the shower was over the bath!! I did a dry run test to see if I could get in and out without breaking another body part!! Thank goodness I'm still fairly agile!

I asked the reception to head me in the right direction for the city and was told turn right at the gate and follow the tram lines. I managed to find a cafe a short distance away for breakfast - can't say the food on Finair was very nice. Not even a bread roll for breakfast but the blueberry juice was good. Once back following the tram lines I made it to the waterfront - I later realised the hotel was just a 'stones throw away'!

Just at the main edge of the harbour hardy Finlanders were using the public sauna - straight out of the sauna into the icy water, then a sit in a deckchair, maybe another sauna, another dip and it did look like there was a heated pool too! But remember the outside temp was still 7C! Of course I would have been straight in if it hadn't been for my cast 🤣🤣

Back to my tram line wandering I did eventually reach the city centre.

My wanderings clicked up 23,500 steps and eventually jetlag, aching feet and arm led me back to the hotel for a cuppa and a short nap. With it being too early for dinner it was back to walking! In a few days I am catching the overnight ferry to Sweden and needed to check out how much time it would take to get from hotel to the ferry. Easy walking 20 minutes, dragging a suitcase a little longer - now you can see why I am traveling light!