Day 50 Cont'd and 51: Helsinki

Miles logged: 23,112
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Mom and I are on our way!

After picking up Mom at 6am in the D terminal of Amsterdam's airport, we flew together to Helsinki. By the time landed and found our hotel, it was 3pm. Mom was jet-lagged but holding strong, so we set out to check out Helsinki's famous design shops. Helsinki feels very orderly and scrubbed. The design stores even seem to reflect this perception: common themes seen in Finish designs are clean lines, functionality, bright colors, and original forms. Mom and I agreed that the Finnish make everything stylish, from scissors to tea kettles to dog parking.

Dog parking


I spent my afternoon watching Mom shop (it was tons of fun, of course), but interspered with some very nice cafe breaks. We agreed that one of the day's highlights was Stockmann's, the giant department store that sold anything you might want in very stylish choices We were amazed by the gourmet food shop in the basement, and ended up grabbing dinner from the store.

Awesome place


Mom was a trooper until about 8.30pm, when it was time to retire to our hotel room. We got a lot of sleep before heading back out the following day for more Finnish design, including a trip to the design museum. We both thought the museum was interesting, although I think I may have liked it more than Mom (shocker!). Mom and I continued to browse Finland's design stores, where I watched as Mom continued to reduce the remaining available space in her suitcase. A DHL shipment is increasingly inevitable (although I secretly wouldn't mind passing along some of my baggage, too). We also made stops to a few of Finland's notable landmarks, but I must admit that none of them completely wowed me. Finland was a rather pleasant place overall, but a tad dull, although the locals spoke amazing English and were extremely friendly.

More shots of Helsinki:

Three blacksmiths statue...the nakedness seemed like a bad idea.

Views from the Hotel Torn cafe


We reached Estonia via a high speed ferry, and this morning we met up with Mom's cousin, Epp, and her family. We spent the afternoon touring Tallinn's old town with her extended family and her son, Tarku. Along with the beautiful medieval old town, we visited Estonian's open air history museum. The museum was particularly interesting because it gave us a better idea of what life on my grandmother's family farm was like during the 18th and 19th centuries.

More is to come on Estonia and the rest of today soon, but it's getting late and it's time for bed. We're having a great time with the family, and more photos are forthcoming of the reunion.