Rowan Tree and Red Thread

Back to the hotel after Helsinki touring most of the day. Noteworthy things:

• Rowan dancing and swimming to the Blue Danube in an exhibit of Hungarian pre-war history at the Khiasma Museum.


• Ice in the harbour masquerading as choppy waves, and suddenly resolving into frozen peaks as my brain realised I was looking at a frozen sea.


• The crazed patterns in the ice disappearing under the ferry we took out the the island in the bay, accompanied by a grinding sound you don't much like to hear when in a boat.


• Attractive art deco (probably later in fact) frontages on the buildings. Helsinki is a beautiful town if you look up from street level away from the advertising and shop fronts.


• A satisfyingly Nordic breakfast of cold meats, cheese and rye bread. Good enough for seconds, in fact.

Sally (my mother) got a separate room after the first night as she found the third bed in our room very uncomfortable. It was essentially just a couch pressed into service as a bed and not really up to the job. She slept better the second night.