A Day in Helsinki

I have so many posts to catch up on right now so I'm going to shorten this one. Jarkko, Nina, and I walked around Helsinki the next day after the party and our arrival from Stockholm. First, we stopped by the 1952 Olympic Stadium. Then we went to the National Finnish History Museum and I learned lots of information about Finland. Finland was ruled by both Sweden and Russia at different times. Finland declared its independence in 1917 and has remained that way since. We also stopped by Parliament and took a couple of pictures. We then went to Helsingin Tuomiokirkko (the big white Lutheran church) in the Senate Square. Then before heading back to Kerava, we made a quick stop to the Sibelius Monument!

Olympic Stadium

Finnish National History Museum

Parliament

Park

Helsingin Tuomiokirkko

Sibelius Moment

Leppisrock 2012

After we arrived back in Helsinki around 10am, we drove back to Kerava and took a short nap. We were exhausted and we were going to attend a party at 4pm. We were having a birthday party for Anu, who is one of our neighbors. In our neighborhood, everyone is friendly with each other and they have parties quite frequently. It is an atypical Finnish neighborhood because most Finns do not actually talk to their neighbors at all. Anu's birthday party was named Leppisrock 2012 and it was thrown in her backyard. We got our own V.I.P bracelets and were served drinks. I even got to ride Höpö the horse!

 On top of that, we also got cotton candy and listened to three bands over the course of the evening. My host dad, Jarkko, is actually the lead singer and saxophonist of the last band that performed that night. All of the members actually live in the neighborhood except for Jarkko's brother. It was really cool to see them perform Finnish songs. I had no idea what they were saying, but the music was great! They are a really good band and I hope one day I'll be able to hear them perform again. I also surprised myself as well by singing karaoke (Sweet Home Alabama) in front of a bunch of Finnish people. Outi-Leena, one of our neighbors and a former exchange student to Texas, convinced me to sing. I told her I would only sing if I could find something country. Well, I did and I made her sing with me! When in Finland, you've got to try everything, right? So, now I have karaoke in Finland checked off my to-do list! I also got to talk with some Finnish girls who live in the neighborhood as well. I am so glad they came up and talked to me! Anyways, I really enjoyed the party. It was absolutely amazing and I am so glad I got to experience a Finnish party.

 Outi-Leena and Me

The Neighborhood Band

Dancing the Night Away

A Day in Stockholm

Stockholm is a wonderful place filled with many exciting places to see. Saturday morning, we woke up early to eat breakfast and prepare ourselves for our day in Sweden. We left the cruise ship at 9am and had to be back around 4pm. As we started making our way towards Gamla Stan, one thought was running through my head: I couldn't believe I was in Sweden! I had heard a lot about the country through my parents who had visited Stockholm a while back.

Posing w/ the Amusement Park in the background

Walking down the street

When we finally made it to Gamla Stan, I couldn't take my eyes off all the buildings. There is so much history there that you can just feel it. We searched some souvenir shops and also stopped by a 7-Eleven to get some drinks. I found Red Orange Orangina which I hadn't seen since I went to Slovakia two years ago.

We all posed w/ the lion!

We then found a spot to sit down and relax near the Royal Palace. Shortly after, we decided to walk around and look into some shops again because it was about to start raining. In fact, during our day there, there were many rain showers! Then after our escape from the rain, we went to see the Changing of the Guards at the Royal Palace. It started raining again while we watched the Swedish Navy Band march by as well as the soldiers, but that didn't stop us from seeing everything! Some people started leaving so we pushed our way to the front and got a perfect view.

In front of the Royal Palace

L to R: Emil, Inka, Me, and Nina

After the Changing of the Guards, we went looking for a place to eat because we were hungry. First, we thought McDonald's would be great, but we weren't exactly sure where it was. It also looked like it was about to start pouring (it didn't) and a huge clap of thunder scared me really badly- it sounded like a cannonball. I hate thunderstorms so I was a little antsy to get under cover. Walking in the old streets of Gamla Stan, we found a lovely Italian restaurant. It turned out to be really good!! I got a Margherita Pizza and I almost ate all of it.

Yummy!

But soon it was time to head back to the cruise ship, and our day in Tukholma was coming to an end. We walked all the way back (good exercise!) and made it in time so that we could go on the deck to watch the ship leave. We also enjoyed some ice cream and were prepared for another night of eating lots and lots of food at the bugget as well as last minute shopping at the Tax-Free store. My trip to Stockholm was absolutely wonderful and I can't wait to get back one day!

The Viking Line Cruise Experience

Moi! Yesterday, I arrived back from our cruise to Stockholm and I have lots to tell. In addition to this post, I will be writing another about our day in Stockholm. First of all, we left Thursday evening from Helsinki on the Mariella Viking Line cruise ship. I've never been on a cruise before so it was an exciting experience!

On the top deck before take off in Helsinki

Beautiful view of Helsinki



After taking off on the Mariella, we passed Suomenlinna where we waved at some people. Always fun! Soon it got really cold and windy, so we headed to the Disco club, where we had some drinks. And, of course, I had my usual Coca-Cola Light. We waited there until it was time for dinner and soaked in the lovely view of the ocean.



 We want to disco!

 Walk Like An Egyptian

Inka and I

And the buffet was massive! We all ate so much and were very full by the time we were finished. Afterwards, we went to the Tax Free store on the ship and shopped there for some time. I bought some candy (Kinder Eggs for Kegan and Milky Way for my Mom) and a Finland plate. We put our items in our room and then we were ready to disco. We made our way there and hit the dance floor for a little bit until we decided to sit down. It was lots of fun!!

 Jungle Boogie

Mr. Piggy dancing with Emil

On top of dancing, we also watched people gamble and tried to collect some money from the machines, just in case anyone forgot theirs. It was close to midnight and we were exhausted. We had to wake up early in the morning and eat breakfast because we would be arriving in Stockholm at 9:30am.

Stockholm Bound

Hei everyone or should I say Hallå?! This evening, I will be heading off to Stockholm, Sweden on a cruise. I will be gone until Saturday morning and I am very excited! This definitely is a trip of firsts- traveling to Northern Europe, swimming in a lake, being an exchange student, and now going on a cruise. I will try to update you guys as soon as I get back. For now, adjö!!!

There's Something About Finnish Food

Really, Finnish food is quite exquisite! At first, whenever I thought of the food, pickled herring popped into my head. But, after dining on Finnish food for awhile now, I know that they do not eat herring all the time. They love their fish (lots of salmon) and they love their bread which suits me quite well.

Anyways, yesterday we went to Jarkko's mother's house to dine on her famous salmon soup. I love salmon so I was very excited about trying it! And just as expected, it was absolutely delicious (Olipa hyvä!!). For dessert, we also got to have raspberry pie and some ice cream. Everything was just so good!

Later that day, we also got to make some Finnish pulla which was an exciting experience. Nina mixed all of the ingredients together and then let the yeast rise for awhile before we could begin kneading the dough. Then Inka and I set off to make two kinds of pulla. I had never made bread before so it was really neat to see how you had to prepare everything. I will most definitely be attempting to make it when I get home!

Making the 2nd kind of pulla

Pulla #2 after baking

Pulla #1

Rilla waiting for some pulla

Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy the View

This weekend I had a great time at The Haapalainen's summer cottage in Kylämä, near Kuhmoinen, which is about two hours away from Kerava. We left Friday evening  and were just in time to see an amazing view that night.

Also, before eating and going to sleep, Inka, Emil and I went swimming in the cold water. It was freezing! I'm too used to the warm temperatures of the Gulf Coast. I only stepped in the water until my knees and then just splashed water over myself so I could go into the sauna. While making several trips to the sauna and then back to the water, we also went for a little ride on the inner tube. It was fun to just float there and relax. I literally could have fallen asleep in the inner tube. I know, I know, not safe, but it's true!

Sitting on the dock

Relaxing in the Inner Tube

Freezing cold water!

Just keep swimming..

On Saturday, we woke up late, probably around 11:30am, and had a late breakfast. Afterwards, Inka and Emil went swimming, while I just watched. I didn't want to go swimming right then because I knew how cold it was. I waited until the sauna was heated which was in the afternoon after a delicious lunch of smoked salmon. We swam, we sweated, and we definitely braved the cold waters of the lake. After a nice, long relaxing day, we finally went to bed quite late.

Then on Sunday morning, we woke up a bit earlier and were ready for our final day on the lake for the weekend. Inka and Emil went swimming again and I just watched for a little bit, until I decided that I should just jump in. Well, that definitely didn't happen! I walked up to the water to my waist and again just splashed water on myself. Then I headed off to the lovely sauna again. I can't tell you how much I love saunas- they are so amazing! We also got to go in the boat today. Jarkko, Inka and I went on a short trip to see some of the lake. Everything was so beautiful! When we got back, I even got to row the boat. It is definitely harder than it looks- I had some trouble with it, but in the end it was really fun!

Ready to get in the boat

Finally, in the evening, we were packed and ready to go, but not before we got lots of rain! And what completed our weekend getaway was a quick trip to an ABC for some ice cream. The summer cottage was an exciting experience- definitely, an adventure! I am looking forward to the next time we go to the summer cottage.