It was sad to leave Turku. It is starting to feel like the end of our holiday - and no one looks forward to that. Turku and its archipelago have been lovely; plus we got to meet one of its locals, courtesy of Derek and his daughter-in-law (who is from Turku); plus we met a bunch of great fellow travellers along the cycle way.
But, it was lovely to arrive in Helsinki, know where we were, where we wanted to go, and exactly how to get there. Trams, baby. We love those trams.
Once we'd settled in at the Scandic Park (our Helsinki home away from home) and sorted out the moomin sneaker business, we were free to wander. We snacked by the bay, then wandered down to market for the small fish, finally jumping (spontaneously and at the last moment) onto a ferry bound for Suomenlinna. I hate to upset former Helsinki-ites (ie, the conference-people who are now back home and working) but you really missed a treat. Not only is the island lovely - and very interesting - but it's included in the price of your public transport day pass. A 15 minute ferry jaunt for the cost of a tram! Wow - more exclamation marks needed...
We may pop back there tomorrow, to see the bits we missed. Weirdly, on the ferry back, were uber-nerds of some kind, wearing matching outfits covered with sewn on badges, like scouts, but drinking. Turns out these are university guilds. The colour of your 'overalls' is determined by what degree you are taking, and the badges mark exploits - just like scouts, etc. Ours were in green, and they had a flag. Apart from the fact that they were quite hairy and looked like gamers (and nerds) I was worried they might be some kind of neo-fascist thing. Probably not. When we arrived back from the island there were other nerd groups (in different coloured overalls) waiting to, presumably, form one large multi-hued nerd pack. Oh well, good on them, etc...
As if that wasn't enough excitement we narrowly missed getting to join in a protest march against threatened govt child welfare and education cuts. There were cops everywhere and lots of families with balloons and prams. Very wholesome. Unfortunately we were on a tram and unable to disembark quickly enough to join in. Nonetheless, we were very pleased to see the poeple in action.
We have finished our day with some very tasty tapas at a nearby (spotted by locals) restaurant - or ravintola, for the Finnish speaking - and look forward to a leisurely start tomorrow. Sunday is truly a Finnish day of rest, and the city will be very quiet, mostly closed. However, thanks, once more, to our spotted by locals app, we have found a laundromat/cafe that should be open after 10am. Happily, we will be able to complete our trip with clean clothes and without me having to do more hand-washing. And kumbaya for that.
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