traveling to helsinki, finland
I’m in Helsinki!
It’s been quite a wild ride the last few days, but we are here in Finland! Daniel and I arrived here in Helsinki, Finland yesterday. We’re here for his attendance at the Wood Program at Aalto University from September-June. We’re unsure if I will be able to stay the duration of his time here, but for now, I will be here for at least 3 months. It’s all very new and exciting.
I am challenging myself to write and document our time here. For the first few days, this will definitely feel more like a vacation/holiday! Daniel was here for a study abroad program 3.5 years ago and I have never left the US before, so we are making the most of our time together in a new city before his classes start on September 6.
We left Nashville at 12 noon on the 30th, flew to Toronto, Toronto to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Helsinki. We had very short layovers (each about an hour) which definitely added a lot of stress to travel. We barely made it onto the plane to AMS. We were quite delayed getting off the plane in Toronto, then we had to go through customs, which was a self serve kiosk (very confusing and finicky.) We then had to pick up our 3 checked bags, recheck them in a very long line (which we were thankfully able to cut into the front when I explained that our plane was boarding in 15 mins) and then go through security all over again before getting on the very, very large plane to AMS.
All of this was so new to me. I have traveled extensively in the US, and for the most part, flying is pretty simple in all places. But when you are having your liquids ripped out of your carryon bags and shoved into third party plastic bags (which weren’t even sealed closed by the security employee!!!) there is bound to be some extra, seemingly unnecessary stress. To put it into few words, I was crying in the security line, shoving my cosmetic bag into my carryon while Daniel was trying his best to console me while also putting his shoes back on. We both agreed it was the worst experience in an airport we’ve ever had, and I’m glad I can laugh about it now.
All that to say, the flight to AMS was a 6.5 hours and it was amazing. It was my very first international flight! Everyone we encountered with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was so kind and lovely. We watched The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent with Nicholas Cage, played lots of Angry Birds, ate a yummy meal and closed our eyes for maybe 20-30 mins. We arrived in AMS at 6:30am local time, then hopped on our flight to Helsinki 45 mins later and landed in Helsinki at 10:20am local time. Time zones are very interesting and traveling through them is crazy! Jet lag is real and it feels like being aggressively hungover, minus the nausea.
But, alas. We made it to Helsinki. I find myself continually saying “Daniel, we’re in FINLAND. Can you believe it?!”
Here are some photos from our day of travel and our day in Helsinki. It all felt like 1 big long day, but it was 2 days. Very weird. More to come from our first week in Finland,
