choo-choo!!

22 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in 1001 things to do before you die, Advice, Transportation, Trips Tags: , , , , , , ,

Waiting for the train at one of Moscow’s many stations, with two Finish sisters making the same trek.

“Are you girls sporty?” Asked an old Russian Grandma at the Moscow train station, looking at our bulging backpacks.  Or rather, that is what Sandra later told me she asked.  “Yes, I guess so” replied Sandra.

“Well, then you shouldn’t be smoking.” the Grandma joked, referring to one of the two Finish girls we had recently met.  They too were going to be taking our train to Irkutsk, though they had opted  to ride in the cheapest class, Plackscarta whereas we had decided to splurge on 2nd/Kupe class.  “Have a good trip, and be safe, girls.” concluded the Grandma.  Then she went one way and we went the other, to platform number 1 where our train would be arriving shortly.

And so began the ACTUAL Great Railway Adventure.  The reason for this trip, or rather, the excuse.  The train ride itself would take only three days out of the thirty-two I had allotted for the trip.  The cities before and the Mongolian camping trips after would make up the bulk of the journey, but this promise, to ride the train across Siberia was the impetus behind it all.

So board the train we did, wagon 12, room 6, bunks 22 and 24 (both top bunks, which I came to find would be a blessing).  We would be spending 80+ hours on the train, sharing this room with our two lower bunk mates: an older music professor on his way to a music conference in Ulan-Ude, where he would give a talk on a paper he had written on Russian Folk Music; and a younger man on his way to work, prospecting oil in the vast uninhabited expanse of Siberia.  He would ride this train most of it’s length, then take a small plane to a river where he would board a boat to carry him an hour or so up stream to his final destination.

Home Sweet Home

To be honest, I am really enjoying this forced relaxation, this mobile captivity.  We are over half way into our journey by now and what I thought would be cabin fever is actually contentment.  There has  been a lot of sleeping.  Long nights of quiet, dark, rocking sleep; and short naps after meals and between sessions of reading, writing, daydreaming, and talking to our roommates.  Oh and long views of the passing countryside! And I have to say, I am very glad we decided to go with Kupe Class.  The reports from the Finnish girls confirmed our suspicions: people packed 6 to a room with no privacy, space, or fresh air.  Our moods would be quite different by this time had we opted on 3rd class.  Some things are worth the extra dough.

There is a grandpa a few cars down who has taken a liking to us. We met him walking on a platform during a longer stop.  He is on vacation, returning home now after having watched his daughter’s apartment in the city while she traveled in Europe.  Today he bought tomatoes, piroshkis, and a strange smoked fish from the grandmas on the platform, a lunch feast full of “things to try” while traveling the railway.  The fish was a bit much, but like always the potato and cabbage filled piroshkis were amazing.  There is something about deep fried dough wrapped stuff that is good in every culture.  Dumplings, pirogue, piroshkis, boutza, ravioli…call it what you will, they’re yummy and you know it!

I’m just about ready to settle down into another nap actually, after said lunch.  Sandra is down below chattering happily in Russian with our “roomates”.  She is certainly getting the practice and language refresher she was hoping for.

Hopefully the second half of our trek will pass as pleasantly as the first has.
______________________________________________________

I’ve relocated! I took a walk through the train to find the food car, and discovered it wasn’t a far walk at all. It was one car down, and so having passed through several sets of doors and an extremely shaky car joint, I now find myself at a little table with a red table cloth and an extremely overpriced cup of black coffee.

The rest of my cabin is napping after an exciting class in electrical engineering earlier today.  The musical professor’s extension cord stopped working, so the oil prospector said he could fix it.  Which he did.  After taking the thing nearly completely apart and re-wiring it.  Luckily ever ready Swiss Sandra just happened to have a Swiss Army Knife and black electrical tape on hand. My favorite comment so far came from the prospector, after going farther and farther up the line looking for the problem with the cord.  He told the professor that “he shouldn’t have gotten this cheap Chinese plug.  He should have gotten an old Soviet one.  They are big and ugly and old but they are robust and work forever.” Now, I don’t know if that is opinion or fact, but it was funny enough to hear while he slowly hacked away at the plastic plug.  Whatever his opinion, I really can’t complain- I wouldn’t have charged the laptop and been able to type right now if not for his ingenuity and Sandra’s over-prepared packing!

It’s not too much longer now, before this train journey is at an end.  Before it does, I’ll leave you with something a little more practical than my silly anecdotes: a packing list for your own Ttrans-Siberian train trip.

You’ll certainly want to bring:

1. comfortable, soft, loose fitting clothes
2. small change for buying things from the grandma’s at the platform stops
3. fresh fruit, bread, cheese, and other relatively non-perishable foods
4. cup of noodles soups (there is unlimited hot water in each car. You’ll use this to drink, cook, and wash fruit and flatware.  Don’t use the water in the bathrooms for anything!!)
5. a cup or bowl, spoon, knife
6. napkins/tissues
7. babywipes
8. slippers or sandals/flip-flops
9. hand sanitizer/hand lotion
10. a good book and a pack of cards
11. a light (the lights in your rooms are turned on only after dusk, and it can get quite dim in there in the afternoon, especially on a cloudy day)
12. snacks to share with your cabin mates
13. tea (rather than try to stock up on enough bottled water to last the journey, just bring along a box of teas and enjoy the hot water on board)

Coming ’round the bend! A view of the train and countryside through my dirty window pane.

Choo-Choo-CHEERS!

 

~Aeri

moscWOW

19 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in 1001 things to do before you die, Trips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I am sitting in the top bunk of room six on wagon 12 in a train hurtling 5,000 miles across Siberia. We left Moscow 26 hours ago, after a brief three night/two day stay. And I do mean brief. It was not nearly enough time to see everything that there is to be seen in Moscow. We tackled the Kremlin and Cathedrals, hit a few of the more beautiful and opulent metro stops, and browsed an open air market. But we barely got to see Bolshoi Theatre, let alone watch a ballet with Russia’s infamous dancers, and though we made it out on a Friday night with a quartet of German boys from our hostel, we didn’t quite find the Russian night life we were looking for.

Here’s how it went down. After arriving by train from St. Petersburg we did the usual- find our hostel and go out to get something to eat and get a lay of the land. The next morning we took a free walking tour with said German boys, and tackled all those touristic spots: the candy cathedrals, Lenin’s Mausoleum, GUM- the state department store. After the tour we had some lunch at another soviet cafeteria style restaurant. I really liked that style because you could see everything, and pick what you want. You can try lots of new things and keep it in whatever budget you want. My favorite dish was recommended to me by Sandra, a fish and beat salad which sounds awful but is actually pretty delicious. After lunch we wandered through a souvenirs and crafts market and I picked up two vintage Russian shawls which I’m pretty happy about. Don’t forget to haggle at these kinds of places! On the way out we passed stalls with fresh honey and sweets and I couldn’t resist getting some rose flavored Turkish Delight. Much cheaper than what I found in Turkey, by the way, and made fresh with honey. I guess in Turkey it’s infamy drives up the price. By the time we were done shopping we were ready for a rest so we headed back to the hostel to nap before gong out that night.

Midnight at The Candy Cathedral, or whatever you call it

The German guys wanted to go to some bars and check out the Russian social scene since it was their last night in Russia. Sandra and I agreed that we couldn’t go without one vodka filled evening in the city, so we decided to go out with them. The night-life was a bit of a joke though. First we found ourselves in the posh Red October district. Though Porsches, BMW’s, Ferraris, and the like filled the streets; and their designer bedecked owners filled the bars, I just couldn’t take it seriously. I think the fact that the posh overpriced bar we went into had Adventure Time (a silly show for stoners that airs on Cartoon Network) playing silently on the walls while futuristic techno music filled the air, really ruined the illusion for me. This, I explained to the Germans, is a show my friends and I watch in my living room while we drink cheap beer and eat delivery pizza. This is not a show to drink $7 vodka shots to (for perspective- a fifth of decent glass bottle vodka costs about $5 here).

After asking the bartender for directions to a different bar district- Kitai Gorod- we made our way there. Along the way we walked past many of the sights from the morning’s tour: the Kremlin, whose stars now glowed a bright red, and the candy cathedrals. The next bar we went into sounded promising from the street, with music pouring out the front door. But when we got inside I was again only amused. The bar was having a “Rock of Ages” night and the DJ was playing old American rock. Russian kids danced to the YMCA without knowing when to do the cheerleader letters, and shimmied to Green Day’s old school government bashing lyrics without batting an eye.

Prost!

Well, we’re here now, we said. So we had some beers and had some fun. The next morning we valiantly tried to wash away our hangovers with a heavy breakfast of piroshkis and coffee so that we could fit as much into our last day as we could. We went inside the Kremlin, visited the old Soviet buildings (ironically, the grounds are now an amusement park and flea market), toured some of the grand metro stops, and tagged along on one more tour- this time with a communist era theme.

I’ve mentioned the metro stops twice now, and they really deserve it. Though they were built as a means of showcasing soviet architectural grandeur, I really like the thought of putting that much effort into something that people can use and see every day. Some were just as full of marble, chandeliers, and mosaics as a royal palace. And just like the palaces- photography was strictly forbidden! I managed to snipe one or two photos, but the real  grandeur you’ll just have to go see for yourself!  I think it is worth adding to my list of 1001 things you really should see.

“Industry”, one of Moscow’s many Metro Mosaics

There are still 55 hours or so of train travel ahead of us before we reach Irkutsk, the Capital of the Siberia. Only time will tell how this adventure will turn out. Will it be a welcome rest in the middle of an intense month long trip, or will Sandra and I go stir crazy after staring at nothing but open taiga, trees and each other for three days straight?

 

See you on the other side of the world,

 

~Aeri

 

Aeri Rose? No! фея Роуз!!

13 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in Trips Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Sometimes travel surprises you. In Estonia I wasn’t expecting much more than a lay over between calm Helsinki and crazy St. Petersburg. In Russia I was expecting a break from the Baltic’s high prices, and the chaos and confusion of illiteracy when faced with a foreign alphabet. In both cases, I was dead wrong.

Tallinn was the most delightful city I’ve visited in a long time. I want to repeat everything wonderful I had to say about the adorable sea fortress island in Helsinki. Historic Old Town Tallinn has the well preserved, clean, cared-for quaintness that any tourist hot spot should have, while still maintaining it’s life and authenticity. Sure, the main tourist squares have young kids in costumes hawking sweet nuts and post cards in front of a Medieval Times-esque restaurant, playing the kitschy “Preserved Medieval Village” card. But just off the main square, less than a block away in some cases, are delightful and unique cafes, restaurants, and modern art galleries that care for the historic exteriors of the buildings while not being bound by the time period.

I wandered through galleries filled with surrealist paintings and fantasy landscapes. I dined at incredibly Eco-conscious and delicious neo-Indian restaurants. And I made the most fantastic discovery in the form of a little court yard off of a side street. The courtyard itself looked like the scene out of a Wonderland Tea party, with little tables, and chairs, vintage couches, and beautiful pillows. Vines grew along the buildings and across power lines. Surrounding the court yard was a cafe, a chocolatarie, a hotel, and a few shops selling hand crafted goods like wooden jewelery, sheepskin shoes, and metalsmith fixtures. I took a break on a pink couch with blue pillows and enjoyed an incredible hot chocolate while taking in the energy.

 

Such a delightful little court yard

Though I only had one day in Tallinn, perhaps it was for the best, because the wide variety of high quality hand made goods available really tapped into my wallet. I would wager a bet that Tallinn as a whole will end up being that “thing that sucked me in” on this trip. I left with a much heavier bag, laden with wooden and amber jewelery, wool cloaks, furry accessories, and more.
When I left I took the bus from Tallinn to St. Petersburg, a journey that takes between 6 and 8 hours, depending on the back up at the border crossing. There, all passengers must give up their passports for inspection, collect their things, walk through passport control and meet the bus on the other side. I made it through without a hitch, and arrived in St. Petersburg a few hours ahead of my friend Sandra, who was meeting me there later that day.

Once Sandra arrived we went out for a dusky walk around town, to catch some of the sights and find some dinner. Be prepared to spend a lot on food in Russia’s big cities. Meals were averaging at least $10 (300 RUB) each in low quality Russian chain restaurants, and even there could easily climb to $20 if drinks or desserts are included.

I felt overwhelmed by the foreign alphabet at first, seeing words that just looked like gibberish with no discernible clues for translation. But by the end of the second day I had a decent grasp of the alphabet and could slowly and laboriously sound out words, many of which were very similar to English. Suddenly the Cyrillic alphabet was little more than a puzzle to work out.  I think my favorite are the ones that actually ARE English words, just respelled using the alternate alphabet.

 

One of my favorites…both sides say the same thing!

The next day was full of sight-seeing. We started at the Hermitage, then visited some churches and cathedrals, and ended up at a train station to buy our tickets to Moscow. In Russian tourist sites, be prepared to buy two tickets: one to get in, and one to take pictures. Though if you if you don’t plan on taking a lot of blatant pictures, it seems you can slip in a few subterfuge shots easily enough.

It seems you can hit most of the main sights in St. Petersburg in a day, so on Wednesday we headed out into the suburbs to visit Catherine’s Park and Palace. More castles, more opulence, more well tended gardens, and amazing wooden floors. If you have the time and the leisure, the park is a nice place to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy around the lake or on a bench after taking in the palace and the Amber Room. The Amber Room is, as it sounds, a room whose walls are made all of amber. It is certainly incredible. What is even more incredible is that this is the second amber room. The first one was disassembled and hidden, and then lost, during the German invasions in WWII. This one was restored between 1987 and 2003 by Germany to improve German-Russian relations.

 

The dress that Catherine was wearing when painted! That’s COOL!!!

That night we took a canal cruise, to see St. Petersburg by water and appreciate the well-lit grandiose buildings. It was a very pleasant little hour long tour. Now I am sitting on a fast train, hurtling it’s way towards Moscow. We have only two days and lots to see there before we again find ourselves on the train, treking eastwards on a daunting three days journey to Irkutsk and Lake Baikal, our last stop in Russia.

всегда приключение

~ фея

 

 

is a sea-faring travel angel a travel mermaid?

08 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in Advice, Travel Angels Tags: , , , , ,

Sorry sauna and cider review. Today was so great that I need to talk about it first. Right now.

TODAY WAS GREAT!

I mean, the whole trip has been great, but today was REALLY AMAZING!

I think it started out this morning with a change of attitude.  Or maybe it started last night with my sauna detox and centering, I just didn’t realize it.

This morning I was awoken, again, by the same woman who has woken me up for the last three days.  She was in her mid to late 50′s, and one of those chatty types.  They’re great in hostels, typically, to break the ice and get all the shy kids talking.  I usually love them. I don’t love them when they need to talk about their Danish study abroad at 8:00 in the morning in the dorm room.  That’s how I woke up the first two days. To her nervous laughter and rapid fire chatter.  This morning she didn’t have time to wake me up with chatter, her machine gun snores woke me up at 6:30 am instead.  So I was a little disgruntled and inhospitable when I saw her in the breakfast room sitting by herself.  I could have sat at another table, by myself as well, but that really would have been insulting in hostel culture.  So I didn’t.  I sat down across from her with a smile and took a sip from my coffee.  And to my chagrin I had a delightful conversation about art, fashion, and aging that lasted until I just had to leave or I would miss my ferry to Estonia.  OK Universe. Fine! She was delightful and I was no longer disgruntled.

That alone would have made for a good day.  But wait, there’s more! When I arrived at the docks I discovered that ALL of the ferry trips were canceled for the day, due to rough seas.  Yikes!

Not to fear! There was another ferry, a BIGGER ferry leaving in an hour and a half from the other docks . The docks across town? Yeah, those docks.  “You can make it,” they said.

“OK, I’ll go for it,” I said.

“I’m going there too.” said the woman in front of me.  “If you don’t mind a squeeze, you are welcome to ride in the car with us.  We have room for another.  I think if you try to take the tram you will not have enough time to change your tickets.”

Yep, THANK YOU Travel Angel! Travel Mermaid! Again you are there when I need you  most.  With the help of the Travel Angel and her boyfriend the driver, who happened to be from Estonia and recommended some good restaurants to check out, I arrived at the other docks with plenty of time to get a new boarding pass and stroll onto the BIG ferry with style and swagger.  Or maybe just a little swaying as my top-heavy-backpack-laden self found her sea legs.

The ride and arrival in Tallinn were uneventful, and before too long I had dropped my things at the hostel.  I was out roaming the streets in search of some grub when I wandered past the Opera House.  Just like Helsinki, there was an Opera about to begin, this time Carmen, and this time I was able to get a rush student ticket  in the ninth row for only $5.00!

How, you may ask, did I get a student ticket?  Babson College, my alma matre, does not put an expiration date on their student ID cards. As long as I have to put up with people asking me what high school I go to (yep, about three weeks ago at a festival I was asked not once but twice what high school I was attending) I’m going to take advantage of my assumed student status and rock those discounts at every opportunity.

And that was my super amazing day.

1. New energy

2. New friend

3. Travel Mermaid

4. Practically free fantastic performance.

 

Remember, in travel and in life, the energy you put out is the energy you receive! 

Think Happy!

travel angels can show up anywhere- land, air, or sea!

 

~Aeri

now you helsinki me

07 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in 1001 things to do before you die, Advice, Food, Transportation, Trips Tags: , , , , , ,

I have spent the last two days exploring Helsinki. It’s been a bit slower than some of my trips, but it was exactly the speed it seems I needed to travel right now. Recognizing when you need a slow trip and when you need an active action packed trip is an important skill for a serial traveler to have. Otherwise you’ll just burn yourself out.

Though it was leisurely, it certainly wasn’t boring. I started off yesterday with a brisk walk to the historic center of town. Passing my first “tourist shop” I stopped in to have a look around and was delightfully surprised by what I saw. Finland has had a great idea! They put hand made crafts in their tourist shops. All those little hand made bags, jewelery, and funky clothes that tourists and hippies love to buy are now what tourists are forced to buy if they want to get “chintzy” souvenirs. Ok, so I did see a “magnet, bottle opener, flags and socks” kiosk a little later, but at least the majority of the shops were filled with these hand made goodies.

I spent the rest of the day taking in the main sights and getting a feel for the town, which really is beautiful. I wasn’t mislead when I claimed it was clean and green. It is! And you can even drink the water! Their tap water is more delicious than many bottled brands I’ve tried over the years, which made me all the gladder to have my reusable water bottle with me.

I lunched on smoked salmon and a reindeer sausage at a dock-side tent market, tried some linden berries, and picked up a cinnamon pastry from the Old Market House. Market Houses are great, they are usually long buildings filled with little specialty vendors selling specific things like breads, pastries, cheeses, meats, fishes, etc. You get the picture.

After lunch I bought a round trip ferry ticket to Suomenlinna Island and Sea Fortress. There was a hostel I wanted to check out there, as an option for an extra night in Helsinki, and I heard the island was pretty too.

Pretty is an understatement.  It was EXTREMELY PRETTY. But it wasn’t beautiful. Beautiful landscapes are natural and wild and chaotic. This was a naval fortress so no blade of grass wasn’t consciously planted, but where the landscapers did decide to plant was well done. The buildings were adorable and quaint. The trails were well kept, and the rocky beaches and bluffs (at least, those not adjacent to a rocky wall) were just secluded enough to let a traveler think they stumbled upon a real find. Sadly the hostel was booked full for the next night, so I couldn’t stay, but I spent most of the four hours I had left hatching plans and schemes of how and when I would get back too the island and how long I could stay. I’ve decided that I’m giving myself two years to write a full length novel, and if I haven’t done it by then than I’m moving to this beautiful peaceful manicured little homestead and staying until the book is written. I am definitely adding this place to my list of 1001 places I think you should visit. I recommend planning a ghost hunters tour.  Between the hidden glens, and dark military tunnels, this island was seething with unseen energies.

Anyway, after this very pleasant day full of walking I realized another very important thing on the boat ride back to Helsinki. Pack what you know. What I mean is this. On my Mediterranean trip last winter I packed things I thought would be a good example for other travelers: comfortable flats (chucks) and a good day bag full of zippers, pockets, and clips, newly bought from Sears for the trip. The Chucks were alright…until I lost toe nails after a long day hike in Goreme, Turkey. The bag was terrible! It split a side seam less than three days into my trip. This time I knew better. I packed things I use daily, things that have seen hard use and held up just fine, things that I was comfortable in and knew I could rely on. I packed my Medieval Moccasin shoes, closed toe high tops to be exact, and my Moresca satchel.

On my walk back to the hostel I was at loose ends. I was still pretty full from my Finnish Feast, but I wasn’t ready to go home yet. Luckily, I happened to pass by a bar I remembered being mentioned in a visitors guide provided by the hostel. The bar was called Storyville, and was the “best jazz bar in town.” And it was really pretty great. I enjoyed an amazing cider called Crowmoor that isn’t in the States yet and really should be because it was amazing. Did I mention it was great? I don’t want to be cliché and say it actually tasted like fresh sweet apples but, aw hell. It tasted like fresh sweet apples! It didn’t have that sugary tartness that promises hangovers to come the way most other ciders do. The band, yes there was a live band, wasn’t too bad either. Though I arrived to an instrumental version of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prision.  “Its a small world after all.”

Dinner that night was a travel favorite of mine: warm soup, hard bread, and strong cheese from the market. This time it was carrot soup, a dark rye bread, and Prima Donna cheese. And a few more ciders. Aparently they love cider in Finland, because there were at least a half a dozen different brands. I might have picked up one of each to conduct a serious taste review. All in the name of travel research of course. I’ve been having a couple each night. There have been some wins and some misses. I’ll let you know the final results when I’m done.

A few minutes (well, the internet was slow so it was more like an hour and a half) spent planning the next few days, and I was ready for bed. And that was all yesterday.

Today I had plans to visit the open-air museum on another island nearby, but it was grey, cold, and raining intermittently; so I decided to check out the Finland National Museum instead. I’ll be honest, I’m pretty partial to a good history museum every once in a while. I always find something to inspire me creatively, and I learn a few cool new facts. This time my design idea was inspired by cave man wall paintings. I really like the thick white strokes and simple animal shapes. I think I’d like to experiment with painting white shapes and patterns on leather fairy clothes. My favorite fact? In the 1390′s there was a band of pirates who roved the Baltics called The Vitalians, or “The Victual Brotherhood.” I like that. I think it is a great name for a traveling foodie’s website, or a secret group of extremely severe food critics.

Anyway, by the time I was done with the museum it had cleared up outside, so I took a stroll back down to the docks, this time to buy a ferry ticket for tomorrow. I’ll be leaving Helsinki to spend a couple of days in Tallinn, Estonia. From there I’ll take the bus to St. Petersburg. In addition to adding another country to the trip, planning this little excursion in has saved me tons of money. Rather than a 150 Euro train ticket from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, and 46 Euro for two more nights at the hostel; I’ll be paying 33 Euro for a ferry ride, 17 Euro for two nights in a hostel, and 25 Euro for a bus ride. That’s almost 200 Euro plus food to stay in expensive Helsinki vs. less than 80 Euro plus food to stay in inexpensive Estonia. Yay!!

Ticket in hand, I felt that my brief yet wonderful time in Helsinki was coming to an end. I knew there was only one more thing I had to do…SAUNA!! I try to sample a country’s spa and relaxation customs whenever possible. In addition to keeping me stress free while traveling, it is a really fun way to get to know a new country. So far I’ve tried Turkish Baths, Swedish Saunas, Korean Spas, Chinese Massage, and now Finnish Saunas. I think that soon I should dedicate an entire post to spa days, but since this post is entirely too long already, I’ll just keep you in suspense.

Kippis!

 

~Aeri

PS- I’m sorry there are no pictures yet.  The internet is very slow here.

 

 

 

 

first star on the right and straight on till morning

05 Sep 2012 1 Comment

by Aeri Rose in Food, Observations, Transportation, Trips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last night I began my Great Railway Adventure. After a day filled with last minute errands and quickly hemmed pants, my dad and trusty airport chauffeur dropped me off at Dulles International Airport yet again- this time headed for Helsinki, Finland with a layover in Iceland. The planes were small, but I guess that’s alright considering that via Iceland, the trans-Atlantic crossing is split into two short flights.

The first flight last night was pretty. We silently glided through the darkness, with puffy white clouds below us hiding the choppy ocean waves I knew were there. The moon shown incredibly brightly in the sky, but it was not too bright to drown out the stars. I felt like I could be traveling to Neverland, following Peter’s directions: just follow the first star on the right and head straight on till morning and there adventure awaits.

The constellation Orion seemed to lead the way. I saw the full constellation out the window, just over the right wing, like I was looking straight across and not up at him like I have done from the ground so many times before. Were we equals last night, Orion and I? He seems like a good man to have in my life. He’s the only one I seem to look to for guidance, and certainly the only one I’ve chased around the world or even around the block. Aloof and unattainable, he has seen and known more than I ever will. Yet he has remained steady and controlled throughout his vast experiences, where I sometimes crave the chaos and instability that my travels offer me.

I thought I would continue this contemplation of my perfect star man, but as soon as I touch down in Helsinki I was overwhelmed by different thoughts entirely- mainly wonderful, “This is so EASY! This place is so BEAUTIFUL!” thoughts.

Because it was and it is. I landed, grabbed my backpack from the conveyor belt, and stopped by information for some directions to the Olympic Stadium, where I had reserved a bed at the hostel within- the aptly named Stadium Hostel. The bus ride was so easy that I barely had to focus on the stops and was able to let my mind wander out the window and take in the wide, amazingly clean streets of Helsinki. This was a city that was so green and blue! It was full of trees and lakes and streams. The weather was a perfect sunny 17 decrees Celsius. For 6.20 Euro I was dropped off a block away from the hostel, and the brief stroll told me that this might be called a city, but it didn’t smell or sound like one. I felt relaxed and comfortable immediately. I wasn’t overwhelmed by the stress and chaos that usually surrounds the first few moments in a new city when you’re trying to find your way to your lodging for the first time, disoriented from the loud sounds and unfamiliar landmarks and still groggy after a recent mind numbing flight.

I practically skipped through the front door of the hostel, checked in, and found my bed ready to be made up in the crisp clean white sheets I had been handed. I had so much extra energy, saved for the stressful first journey that was anything but, that I took a quick shower to wash off the last of my travel cobwebs, repacked my purse with the essentials, and hit the city streets once again.

I was in search of food. Finnish food. A quick stroll through a grocery store and I had an idea of what food prices might be like (expensive!) while I was here. I was also delightfully impressed with their large hard cider selection, a collection I shall be exploring in depth while I am here.

After wandering for a few more blocks I settled on a Nepalese restaurant, not Finnish, I know but a new cuisine none the less. It was a good decision. Nepalese coffee is AMAZING. It is everything I wanted Turkish coffee to be. It was strong and sweet and flavored with exotic spices that I couldn’t place. I think I detected cardamom, but I’m not sure what else.

Now I am back at the hostel and rapidly crashing. I think I’ll take a few moments to plan out the next few days and then I will turn in early. I was happy to find that the festival gods were favoring me again. I landed in Helsinki at the start of World Design Week 2012, celebrating Helsinki as this year’s Design Capital of the World. There will be a lot of fun, interesting and FREE things happening in the next few days. I can’t wait to find out what. When I know, you’ll know!

Cheers,

Aeri