Today I explored Helsinki. Duh, post title. I took the bus into town (by myself, with no problems!) to meet Alex for lunch (who is very excited to be in a blog). We went to a place called Vapiano (apparently an international chain), which had pasta, salad, and pizza. I had a margherita pizza, and didn't realize that I would get a whole pizza... But it was pretty good. After lunch, I went on my way to explore downtown. I walked down the "Esplanad," which is basically like the Michigan Ave of Helsinki. I went to a few designer stores, H&M (which is HUGE here), and of course, to Marimekko. (Interesting fact, the founder/owner of Marimekko a HUGE modern looking house like four houses down from Alex's house). I wondered down the street to the market, which was on the water. That was a cool experience. They had everything there, from raw meat, cooked food, coffee, fruit and veggies, leather, fur, souvenirs, jewelry art, you name it. I saw a woman selling fresh caught fish FROM HER BOAT. Like, still in the water. Now that's fresh! I tried some type of Finnish plum (I forgot what it is called) and I bought myself some key chains for my collection. I learned how to say Hello (Moi, or Hei) and Thank You (Kiitos). I learned that the Finns are not the most warm bunch (literally and figuratively). Every time I walked into a store or up to a booth, I was not greeted or asked if I needed help (which I'm more than fine with). It's interesting to see the difference from America. I also ran into a tour group of American seniors (boy did they stick out!) and a few groups of Finnish children on field trips there. There was a diverse group of people down at the market. I also found the historic indoor market, which had a lot of cute restaurants with fresh food, bakeries, delis, etc. I ventured to the Esplanadi Park, which is in between the two streets of stores. It seemed like a popular place for eating lunch and people watching. I found it funny because on the sidewalks of the cafe and the benches in the park, all of the seat faced one direction, rather than towards each other. I was told this was because they are set up to people watch, since the street gets very busy at times. I hit up a few more stores and made my way back to Kamppi (the big bus depot) to catch the bus home. About halfway home, our bus broke down! The driver yelled to everyone in Finnish and everyone started to get off the bus. Not knowing what exactly was going on, I followed suit. So I waited a while, assuming another bus was being sent. After a while, a new bus came, but no one was allowed on. So I finally asked someone what was going on and they said a bus was coming. So I waited for the next bus and jumped on. I was not sure where my stop was so that I could push the stop button to let me off. Well, I learned a little late that I had missed it... So I rode the bus a little longer to figure out what to do, debating whether I should just ride it out until it turned around or get off and catch the next bus. I decided to get off and waited at the bus stop. When the bus came back, it was the same bus I had just got off! So I finally got home, and took a nap. Whew!
The rest of the day, I haven't been feeling well. I'm achy (I think from all the walking and flying and awkward sleeping) and cold. (Being tired makes you cold, apparently). So now I am going to go lay in bed and read my book and sleep. :) Tomorrow holds more exploring!
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