Dec 18, 2007 - Travel in Finland

Our tour has well and truly kicked off, as we are now in Innsbruck, Austria. As we have suffered from a lack of reasonable internet cafes our diary entrys have been few and far between. I will now tell you about the Byron's Finnish adventure. We touched down in Finland on the 10th of December, and hastily got stuck into all that Finland has to offer with happy hour and shopping on the first night. The next morning we took a sightseeing trip which took us to the Syballeus monument and the cathedral in the rock, before wew departed the bus...

Oct 11, 2007 - Helsinki, Finland

Now in Helsinki staying with a family friend which has been wonderful. Visited a Finnish sauna today... had to shed my clothes and self-consciousness as you HAVE to sauna and swim naked. It was females only and really was wonderful. Makes us Aussies look very prudeish. The fact we worry about people taking photos of kids at australian swimming pools while here in finland mothers happily takes photos of their kids (and anyone else in the background-yep i think i'll be into a finnish family album starkers), everyone is nude and no-one bats an...

Aug 21, 2007 - Finland - Helsinki and Porvoo

(keep an eyé out for a video of a night out in a club!! down below!!) Having finally left sweet sweet amsterdam, Tim and I hopped over to the land of Fins. Knowing pretty much nothing about this country, it was pretty clear early on Finland is a hybrid of russia and Sweden (I guess that makes sense seeing as they are the point in the love triangle. We found out through our wanderings, that finland is that lover that the others want purely to spite the other. Kinda like a younger brother chasing his older brothers weird, but still kinda hot...

Aug 3, 2007 - The rest of the day

I made my way to the transfer desk, where I met four of the other people from the group. Since it is Friday, the other flights this evening are full, so we have to wait until midnight. However, I am pretty experienced at filling time in airports. I found this internet cafe and hoped to update the journal whilst waiting, but it wasn't to be. I typed on my laptop and arrived at the cafe with the entry on my little pen drive at 6.45 pm. The only machine with a suitable port was busy and the cafe closed at 7 pm. just my luck! Eventually...

Jul 25, 2007 - ARTICLE - Helsinki, Finland - Day 77-79

As we went over the border from Russia, the crossing was slow and painful. The guards checked everyone on the train with rubber gloves on and even searched luggage, which we had never seen before on a train. We were surrounded by forest on both sides, but as we slowly moved our way into Finland we began seeing holiday homes and well maintained architecture in direct contrast to the shanty homes and neglected looking surroundings of Russia. As we glided into Helsinki through lakes and endless forests, a pang of relief set in. We were happy...

Jun 21, 2007 - Helsinki

This morning I got up a little earlier than I really needed to, and just lay in bed for ages! I didn't know what time the boat docked, and I didn't know what time it even was on the boat, so I wasn't sure what time to get up! Little did I know that someone had set an alarm on the boat, and it was set to go off an hour before the ship docked. When the alarm went off I washed up, got dressed, and pulled my hair back. Kristy and I headed to the buffet to grab breakfast, and less than half the tour seemed to have made it down! I had some...

Jun 8, 2007 - Why we're in Helsinki

We have been in Russia for a couple weeks and have flight from Moscow to Tashkent in Uzbekistan in two days. However our visas expired today due to an error at the Russian consulate in Seattle. In fine USSR style, the bureaucrats will NOT extend it for 48 hours. Nyet, Nyet. So we are on a train to Helsinki Finland to get a new visa, then turn around and fly back to Moscow and on to Tashkent. Is that stupid or what?

May 19, 2007 - A Baltic Sea Cruise in Summer

If you've been checking in regularly, you might recall we did a cruise across the Baltic Sea to Helsinki in December. We couldn't resist going again in May when there was actually sunlight to see some scenery and hopefully a warmer day in Helsinki. Afterall it was heaps of fun last time and quite a budget weekend away. The official story is we decided to do some market research and go with Viking Line this time (remember last time - Silja Line good, Viking Line bad). These two companies are in direct competition for this route. Well anyway,...

Dec 21, 2006 - Helsinki, Finland 19/12-21/12

I finally got to go on a cruise!!! Something I have wanted to do for several years. We left on Tuesday afternoon and caught an overnight Viking Cruise Ship to Helsinki. It was so much fun. It is just a party boat and all we did was eat, drink cocktails, gamble and have a blast. We met quite a few interesting and friendly people on the cruise which made it even more fun. There were shops, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and a very small casino, and heaps of drunk Fins. Alcohol is tax free on the boat which made it really cheap and you're...

Dec 11, 2006 - Santa's On Foot This Year

Vegemite Levels: Critically Low Snow Levels: Critically Low Reindeer Consumption: High Duty Free Levels: High Well, that could just about sum up our position at the moment, but I suppose it might be nice to add some words about our trip to Helsinki. We started out with a bus trip from Västerås to Vaster Hamnen, which is the port area in Stockholm where the Silja Line ferry departs from. I must say at this stage that I was very very sceptical about the idea of the cruise across to Helsinki, and how much fun you could actually have on a ferry...

Sep 26, 2006 - Helsinki (again)

My second trip to Helsinki was quite different to the first. As Riikka was now back up in Oulu working I was now staying in a hostel, with the aim of meeting random people and experiencing a differnt side of Helsinki. The hostel was not the livliest of places however on the Tuesday night when I got there. In my room there was a young German guy and two Japanese men who kept themselves to themselves, so I went into the common room where there was a Finnish family with two small children and two Japanese couples who were also clearly not up...

Sep 23, 2006 - Helsinki - Pragmatic and divine

I think Helsinki is perhaps the least touristic and most bustling of all the Nordic cities I have visited. It's hard to say why Helsinki has a different feel to any other city I have been in. After thinking about this for a while I realise that it must be the people themselves which make it unique. They are reserved yet friendly and go about their business on the wide boulevards and between beautiful the monuments with ernest sincerity. A curious race, caught between the Germans and the Soviets during world war two, the Devil and the deep...