Spending the Day with a Friend

So a little over a week ago, I met Sam again, but this time in Helsinki. We met around 11 o'clock at the Kamppi bus station, where there were street hockey games set up. It was really cool to see some of the game! Anyways, we made our way to the Uspenski which is an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral. The outside is absolutely beautiful and the same goes for the inside.

Then we walked towards the big white Lutheran church (Helsingin Tuomiokirkko). I had been in the church before, but Sam hadn't so we decided to look inside. After we looked around, we decided to sit down, look at a map, and search for a restaurant to dine at. As we were sitting there, a man, who helps tourists, approached us and said "You're Swedish, ja?" To this, we replied, "No, we're from the US." He then gave us two maps and we were on our way again. I definitely thought it was funny that he mistook us for Swedish people. Definitely a surprise! :)

Anyways, we started looking around for a restaurant, but we quickly noticed that many were quite expensive. Then as we were walking, we decided to go to a cafe. I ate a sandwich and also bought some pulla for later. I wanted to see if it was better than our pullas (it wasn't).

After lunch, it was time for some shopping! I was really excited, but I don't think Sam was. We went to the Stockmann department store first. On their 5th floor, they have a huge souvenir section. They had lots of Moomin things as well as regular Finland items. I bought some things there and also some clothes from the 2nd floor. During our shopping afternoon, we also hit the H&M and a couple of bookstores. Then finally we went to the market place which is located right by the sea. I bought some more souvenirs there (a lot cheaper than the Stockmann!). We also ate some jäätelö (ice cream) and walked closer to the sea. There we experienced the ever friendly sea gulls who try to steal your food. Soon, our afternoon of exploring and shopping was over and it was time for Sam to go back to Porvoo. We said our goodbyes and then I met back up with Jarkko, Nina, and Inka who were near the Stockmann. They had stayed in Helsinki to shop too. With that being said, I had a wonderful day in Helsinki and I'm glad that the sun was shining!