Rowan Tree and Red Thread

It's been a long, long day. We made it to Helsinki after a morning start at 5.15, woken by the BBC World Service. It was so early even Radio 4 was asleep. Rowan was not impressed by the early start and clung to me like a drowning man to a log, if one can drown and sleepwalk at the same time. By the time the taxi arrived we were all up and moving but hardly what you'd call raring to go. I did manage to avoid a hernia on the stairs with the bags. Rowan weighs about 1/8th of what I do, but her stuff must have outweighed mine by nearly two to one.

At the airport we have no problems checking in and Rowan enjoyed the wide range of entertainments Cork airport provided, mostly the overpriced buns in the café and the spectacle of her dad wrestling off his steel-toed boots for the security checkpoint. (Note to self: Leave steel-toed boots behind next time, dummy.) Once on the aircraft things went fine, even though Aer Lingus has now stooped to charging for all in-flight stuff including orange juice. While our flight was booked with KLM, the leg to Amsterdam from Cork was with Aer Lingus and I'd like to know if I paid over the odds for that leg by booking through eBookers. I think we could have got a pretty cheap flight from Cork to Amsterdam normally.

Schipol provided more entertainment for Rowan. Moving walkways are the best thing ever if you're only 1m tall and hopped up on sugar. We whiled away the hours running about the airport, stopping for sushi (!) and examining the packets of M&Ms for sale in every shop. Some last minute Jameson whiskey helped keep the parents sane (just buying it was soothing; we didn't actually drink any). The whiskey was to provide the essential ingredient to future Finnish hot chocolate fantasies.

Back on the aeroplane, late of course due to various delays, we were off to Helsinki. This flight was okay, but it was more cramped than the first. (Note to self: steel-toed boots are too tight to wear for comfort on 2 1/2 hour flights.)

Some impressions of Helsinki then. The Cold War architecture mixes nicely with various 19th Century buildings; funny words are everywhere and indo-european languages are useless as any sort of guide to meanings; the gritted streets and piles of dirty snow and ice are reminders of Chicago; two out of two bus Helsinki drivers are surly and unhelpful; the long, broad streets reminded me of Paris; the Museum of Culture is disguised as a car show room, but in fact uses an old Philips warehouse adapted to serve as a museum; the street names are on little plaques at the street corners and are small enough to make me wonder if the Finns are ashamed of their street names.

We took dinner in the hotel restaurant, and I ate a lovely dish of smoked lamb with a rich mushroom sauce and stock-cooked potatoes (described as root vegetables on the menu). Very nice and filling. Then to bed to sleep and prepare for a day's sightseeing round Helsinki.