A few of my favorite (belated) things...

So I've been back for a little over a week.. and although it is good to be back home, I miss a few things about my new-found Finnish culture.

So! Here are a few of my favorite things...

…from Norge (i.e. Norway).

The lakes and ponds in Northern Lapland and Norway are BLACK. It’s unbelievable, and as you can imagine, have spurred on several myths and stories that are part of Saumi legends and folklore.

Beating Kevon to seeing the fjords of Norway! (Haha!) And they are breathtaking by the way…

Making friendship bracelets, playing Nintendo, and sharing iPod earbuds with Megan like we were in 7th grade all over again.

Sara wearing her awesome headband... with reindeer and campfires and the word “Finland” emblazoned on it. She feels it’s her best purchase, and I could not disagree… and even more so, because I would never want to disagree with a finnish ninja.

Driving by all the lonely, sweet, and salty windblown houses, fishing boats, and churches along the coast of northern Norway. There is a certain romantic, hearty feeling one senses as they view these homes. What a different life the people who live up here must live… and yet, as I am learning on this trip.. there are still so many similarities (my deep moment for the post).

Going for a relaxing sit by the Arctic Ocean to watch the sunset at 11:30pm... for THREE hours! In the summer, the sun sets, but never goes below the horizon in Alta, Norway. We watched as the sun touched... and as it began its ascent again at 12:00am… crazy beautiful! This is something worth taking a trip to see in your lifetime.

Finnish home cooking… I will never look the same way at a beet patty in my life. Other yummy things included on the menu: steamed potatoes and reindeer stew.

The fact that I just took a 20 some hour bus tour in 36 hours… yet enjoyed it. Don’t know if I ever want to ride in a bus again, but I’m sure that statement will come back and bite me in the butt later.

…from Helsinki.

Sitting in a restaurant patio the firs t night in Helsinki, and realizing/ feeling for the first time this trip that… Hey, I am in Europe! …Apparently this Nepalese restaurant on the square is what I had envisioned myself doing when I finally got here…

The mixture of fantastic architecture. Russian, Swedish and Finnish mix! So interesting. One of the goals on my list is to visit the glorious Russian Greek Orthodox church… but I may have to settle for just exterior photos.

Free public wifi – which is especially hilarious on the tram… So just in case you can’t find a café that will meet your needs, just hop on the tram and ride around the city until all your internet needs have been met. I may try this yet.

People watching in a reggae music playing, organic, college age coffee shop in downtown Helsinki. Not a favorite thing: paying 2,60€ for a tiny cup of coffee, which I better enjoy, because refils are a mere 1,50€... sheesh.

Nepalese food in Finland.

Hearing seagulls before I fall asleep, and remembering that I am near the ocean, when in fact I only feel that I am the middle of a foreign city.

Merimekko. Period.

Gas station coffee that actually tastes GOOD. Only a 1,60€… what a steal. (I’m feeling a bit coffee robbed in Finland, by the way… the gas station has been the cheapest by far. I may or may not be spoiled by our cheap coffee in the US.)

That there is darkness at night in Helsinki. One can look forward to dusk, about three hours of this "darkness," and then dawn on the other end… and I am supremely happy to be able to sleep again.

For the last time, moi moi,
R. Gray