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CENTRAL EUROPE BLOG May 16th, 2026 - HELSINKI to HOME

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  5/16/26– Traveling home after a three week trip is joyous and deflating at the same time. This has been a great vacation for Kelvin and I and always appreciate the time we get to spend together. Our plane takes off at 12:30pm so we arrive at the airport over three hours early, mostly due to being antsy. The line for security is non-existent as we breeze through it to our gate; we board promptly and take our aisle seats across from each other. During the ten hour flight to Dallas (our layover), I’m seated next to an older couple in the middle of the plane. The woman moves across the aisle to allow more room, however, the man stays seated in the middle seat right next to me almost the entire journey. Every now and then he’d move over for the middle seat to be free but then move back. Not sure why he’s choosing to literally be up against a stranger instead of basking in the spare space, but some people are weird. It’s a long flight but we arrive at our layover an hour earlie...
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CENTRAL EUROPE BLOG May 15th, 2026 - HELSINKI

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  5/15/26– We are finally here, our last full day on the trip. A moment of reflection crosses my mind, but not yet as there’s more to do today. First thing I do is check in for our flight for tomorrow. We booked through American Airlines but it’s coded through Finnair so our seats aren’t assigned. Luckily, I’m still able to find two aisle seats next to each other. Shortly before noon we begin our walk toward the ferry dock. It’s twenty-five minutes with very cold wind blowing our way, but we manage to pass the time with a few sites along the route. Once we get to the dock we find that the next ferry isn’t for another thirty minutes. No worries as there’s an outdoor food court here where we promptly order a basket of fried vendace, which is a Finnish delicacy featuring small freshwater whitefish coated in rye flour. Honestly, this is quite good and a perfect snack to start with. We purchase our ferry ticket (3.50 Euro) and wait five minutes before we can board. This is tiny ...
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CENTRAL EUROPE BLOG May 14th, 2026 - TALLINN, ESTONIA

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  5/14/26– The morning starts off well with another happy blue sky and a quick trip to the store. We’re stocking up for the day for our ferry ride across the Finnish Gulf to Tallinn, Estonia. We disembark at 1:30pm but we’re expected to be there up to an hour before to check-in. We’re bored so we arrive an hour and a half early and proceed to wait. Luckily, they allow us to board the ferry at 12:50pm, and since we’re one of the first ones on we get our pick of seats. Not knowing what part of the ship we should be on we follow those in front and find some comfortable seats near the back at the restaurant. Apparently there are no assigned seats and the restaurant is free game (meaning we don’t have to order anything). Once we shove off, I’m in prime position to take some photos of Helsinki at the rear. The trip lasts two hours and it’s a boring two hours mind you. The bar area quickly fills up so loud talking is all around, not the place to rest. We try taking turns walking aro...
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CENTRAL EUROPE BLOG May 13th, 2026 - HELSINKI

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  5/13/26– I sleep in until 10am with no real plan of action for today. The following days should be sunny but today looks gloomy with some possible rain. In the interest of getting the day started, we find a grocery store around the corner and stock up on a few items since we have a full kitchen to work with.  The walk is a pleasant one, not too cold despite being around 50 degrees, and lets us see the grid-like layout of the city in the daylight. You can definitely notice the old Russian influence everywhere. The sun actually is coming out (in parts) so we set course to explore the Western side of Helsinki. We take the #10 Tram eight stops, which Kelvin plays hero as the back door gets stuck open several times during the journey and he made sure to fix it each time. Even had the conductor make mention of him over the loud speaker for his efforts. Our first spot is to the Sibelius Sculpture, a monument dedicated to the Finish composer Jean Sibelius and appears to be a...
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