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Helsinki stopover

So we arrived in Helsinki late last night (2345hrs!) and couldn’t be bothered with trying to find the right bus into the centre so we splashed the cash and got a taxi, well we are both still getting paid until the end of the month! Sooner said than done we were in our swanky hotel and sleep caught up with us.  Saturday 3rd Jan we awoke about 9 and it was still dark… And raining, but with a fantastic breakfast we set out to explore Helsinki with the help of Hel’s copy of the Finland Lonely planet book (most excellent Christmas present… Thanks Daz!)  markets both indoor and out then onto the ferry for Saumolino, an island fort built in the 1800’s and I can imagine it would be quite enjoyable on a summers day with a picnic… Jan with a howling gale not so much!

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As you can see… Pretty blustery and we were caught out by how cold it was with the wind whipping off the coast..but that’s OK.. Only 3 celcius… Just think tmrw the forecast for the Arctic circle is -18.. Sure we will be OK!

In the evening we treated ourselves to some last luxuries…. A lovely meal and some beers!

P1020935  lovely scandinavian cuisine!

P1020949 some decent beer, mind you £7 is a bit steep for a pint!

And so our first day in Finland is over. It still feels like a holiday and probably still will do until we arrive in Inari tmrw…. But for now we are enjoying a soft and warm bed for the night….

Tmrw the real adventures begin… Not sure if and when we will have internet, but as soon as we do we will update.. Nite nite all.