As it turns out, the bus to Helsinki = significantly less sketchy than the Chinatown bus. I was expecting an ancient rickety contraption with a driver who made me fear for my life at every turn, but this was actually a respectable operation! The journey felt interminable, of course, but it went off without a hitch. Jon and I managed to sleep through most of it, only really waking to pass through passport control. We also managed to be awake long enough to see that our neighbor was carrying 5,000 euros! My undisputed favorite moment of the trip, however, was our stop at the duty free shop: all of the other passengers practically FLEW off the bus, and when they returned almost every single person was carrying a bag with the unmistakable clink of alcohol bottles jostling against each other. Oh Russians, how you amuse me!
The bus dropped us off in what appeared to be a very large, very cosmopolitan city square and shopping center. It was a bit jarring, coming from the significantly less modern and industrialized Saint Petersburg, but very beautiful nonetheless. It was sometime between 10:30 and 11 at night as we walked to our hotel, so we got to enjoy all of the city's gorgeous lights along the way. We checked in and stayed briefly, so that I could call home to wish Nik a happy birthday, and then ventured out in search of food.
Most everything was closed, so we grabbed cheeseburgers at a stand on the street and wandered back to the square we'd arrived in to find drinks. Jon spotted a McDonald's and dashed inside instantly for an order of chicken nuggets, but they ended up being one of the saddest excuses for a processed chicken product that has ever passed through my lips. We made for a dismal first Finnish food experience with the discovery of an establishment called Aussie Bar. I stuck to drinking water, but Jon said that his Long Island Ice Tea was the best alcoholic beverage he'd had since leaving the States, plus my water was actually free and both it and Jon's drink contained ice! The last two things are, of course, rarities in Europe.
Things are definitely off to a good start in Helsinki.
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