Our Travels in Finland

After enduring the cold weather of Budapest, travelling alone for two weeks in Greece and not seeing Matt for three months, I was really ready for the cold weather and the wonderful company I would meet in Helsinki. Matt had already arrived and met me at the airport. I was so excited to see him and be in a new city! I was also very ready to stay at the Scandic Continental Helsinki hotel, with drinkable tap water, consistently running hot water, a sauna and a gormet breakfast every morning. It was a fabulous hotel. While Matt has been to Finland many t

imes (and studied abroad at the Helsinki School of Economics when getting his MBA) and has relatives that live there, this was my first time to any of th

e Nordic coutntries. I was excited to see a new part of the world and to experi

ence a country who's standard of living is as high as that of the US.

Many people questioned our decision to visit Finland in the winter, but for us it was a matter of timing (since I was already in Europe) and the opportunity to see a different side of the country. Helsinki is the capital and the largest city in Finland. The actual Finnish name of Finland is Soumi, but the Finns prefer the name

 Finland. The most significant historical event of Finland was the Finnish Civil War of 1918 which resulted as part of the national and social

 turmoil caused by WWI. During WWII the Soviets bombed parts of the city but fortunately Helsinki escaped large-scale destruction that many other cities in Europe under bombi

ng of similar scale suffered. One thing I like about the Finns is that they are one with nature. They love to do activities outdoors (I saw people jogging in the cold and dark!), they have cute cottages on lakes and go about their everyday lives despite the snow and cold dreary 

weather. The Finns also invented the sauna. The sauna is a big deal in Finland. Most families have a sauna in their home and use them year-round. Families use

 them together as a fun and relaxing activity. The Finns are also much more liberal about nudity than Americans and when using the sauna you use it nude. I felt a little out of place using the sauna at our hotel with my swimsuit, so I ditched it after the first time in order to experience the real thing:) It was quite liberating. Men and women use separate saunas.

Matt's relatives Anu and Siaha took us around to other parts of Finland including the quant, historical town of Porvoo. Porvoo has little shops and a beautiful church. We stopped for an afternoon drink in the msot adorable tea house I have ever seen. I felt like I was in a doll house. Anu also took us to visit several of her friends who live around the greater Helsinki area. It was neat to visit with them and see how they live. The Finns are highly educated and very intelligent. Many of them are well traveled. They spoke best English I had heard in Eur

ope; practically everyone I spoke to was fluent or almost fluent. I heard side conversations in English everywhere I went. No one turns their head to stare when they hear English coming out of your mouth. It was very nice to be a foreigner but not really feel like one. In developing countries, the level and proficiency of English is correlated to the level of education of the person, whereas in Finland everyone from the bus driver to the waiter speaks English. This 

is a big difference that I noticed between a developed country like Finland and other developing countries I have visited. Although the US and Finland have domcratic electoral systems, many Finns do not believe that the US has a truly free and fair domcratic system due to the way our electoral system is set up. In Finland voters votes are directly counted. I was having this conversation with Anu and it was the first time that someone had told me they did not believe the US has a truly domcratic voting system. I found myself quite taken aback and offended. But Matt, Aun and I discussed the differences if democratic voting systmes and pro and cons of each. I realized that democracy means different things to different people and countries and that different democratic systems can be equally successful. (As a correction, the US is actually a Republic and not a Democracy – my well-read and intelligent friend Jeff pointed this out and corrected me.) Also, Finland like the other Nordic coutnries has a scoialist economic sys

tem. You can bet that made for some intersting converations. While to the eye it would seem that the socialist system has worked very well in Finland due to the high standard of living and relative happiness of the Finns, it still remains the case that Finns pay extremely high taxes and many people choose to feed off the governemnt system due to incentives. If someone can live great by living off governemnt benefits, then why work when 60-70% of your paycheck is taken away in taxes? Because of the tremendously high taxes many wealthy people actually register their residence outside of Finland in order to avoid paying taxes. Because of the tax structure in place many of the weathy either find ways to legally avoid paying taxes (so Finland misses out on capturing a lot of potential revenue) and those that do pay taxes help people who choose to live off a system of free benefits instead of work. Indirectly through this economic system, the Finns feel that the government can better and more efficiently spend their money that they can themselves. Of course Finland is a country of 5 million people versus the US of 300 million so that also is a factor. The level of pay is also higher in the US than it is in Finland.

One day we went to Soumenlinna, a sea fortress built on six islands in the Baltic Sea. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was built by the Swedes in 1748 when Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom to protect against Russian expansionism. We walked around the 

fortress and I slipped on wet rocks while trying to touch the Baltic (so that I could say I touched the Baltic). It had beautiful, expansive views of the sea extending all the way to Sweden. Of course we did all the major siteseeing in Helsinki as well. One of our more memorable adventures was spending the day at Anu's cottage on a lake in the woods. We bundled up and walked through the woods looking for mushrooms and then heated up the sauna. Part of the sauna tradition is to jump in the lake while using the sauna and to smack yourself or get smacked with a particular type of tree branch that makes a nice scent. We decided to recreate this Finnish tradition as best we could. In the freezing cold and dark, I got as mentally prepared as possible while Matt stood ready with the camera. Naked, I ran out of the sauna straight onto the dock and dipped myself in the lake which was about 35 degrees. To say the water was cold is an understatement. IT WAS FREEZING AND I WAS NAKED IN THE WOODS!!! But of course its all part of the experience:) We also went on a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia (please see posting) and it was amazing!

Needless to say, Matt and I had an amazing and romantic vacation which was just what w

e needed after so long apart. Matt and I travel well together and we enjoy travel that is full of excitement, intrigue, culture and intellectual conversation. I look forward to more 

travels with Matt and to experiencing more of the Nordic countries in the future. 

Tallinn, Estonia

Our day trip to Tallinn was a great chance to experience a new city, see some more great sites and get into the Christmas spirit. Tallinn is about a 1.5hr boat ride from Helsinki and is the capital of Estonia. I almost got sea sick on the ride over and it was awful. We spent our day in the older, more famous part of the city known as Old Town. Old Town is a medieval town that is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

After WWII Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 and later occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941-44. After the Nazi retreat, it was occupied again by the Soviets in 1944. Although extensively bombed by Soviet air forces during the end of WWII, much of the medieval Old Town still retains its charm. With the fall of Communism and the Soviet Union, Estonia became an independent democratic state. Tallinn has developed a successful IT sector and some people refer to Tallinn as a sort of Silicon Valley of the Baltic Sea. Skype is one of the best-known Tallinn IT start-ups.

This was my first time on old Soviet territory. We had a great time walking around the town, seeing the sites and ducking into stores full of unique trinkets and gifts. We also wen

t to a 

great lookout point that had views of the Old Town against the backdrop of the high rises of the newer part of the city. I heard people speaking Russian everywhere as there is a very large part of the Estonian population that are ethnic Russians. Tallinn is a wonderful city to v

isit if you're into war history or just enjoy visiting a beautiful and intriguing city tha

t is not often visited by many Americans or other travelers to Europe for that matter. 

My Day in Budapest

Despite spending only one day in Budapest I am making a post about my day in the fabulous city. Like I mentioned before, Budapest rivals Istanbul for the most beautifully stunning city I have seen. The history, culture, romance and excitement of Budapest gave me my first taste of that part of the world and has left me longing to experience more of Central and Eastern Europe.

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary. As the largest city of the country, it serves as the political, cultural, industrial and transportation center and is considered an important hub

in Central Europe. The Danube river splits the city into two parts; Buda on the West and Pest (pronounced "Pesht") on the East. Following nearly 150 years of Ottoman Empire rule, Buda and Pest became a unified city in 1873 and embarked on a period of growth and prosperity. Budapest was the focal

 point of the Hungarian Revolution in 1848, the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919, Operation Panzerfaust in 1944 (when Germany installed a pro-German government in Hungary to keep the country from surrendering to the Russians and to continue fighting with the Germans), t

he Battle of Budapest in 1945 and the Revolution of 1956 (a revolt against the Stalinist government and its Soviet-imposed policies). Budapest is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and has several World Heritage sites.

 I discovered a great bookstore in Athens where I spent an afternoon researching and planning my day in Budapest. I didn't want to pay the 30euros for the travel book so I just sat there and jotted down notes. I had to 1) familiarize myself with the geographical layout of Budapest 

so I would be able to orient myself, 2) figure out how to get from the airport to downtown and back and 3)find a guided walking tour that I could take. I usually never do guided tours because 

I like the excitement and challenge of figuring things out on my own, but I decided that this would be the best option given I only had about 5 hours of sightseeing time and wanted to see as much as possible. I also discovered that while Hungary is in the EU, they still use their own currency, the Forint. Given all my cash was in euros I had to figure out approximate pri

ces of things, the euro/forint exchange rate and how much I would need to cover me for one day (plus a couple USD worth of forints to take home). EU countries that don't use the euro are a little cheaper than countries that do use the euro, but in general that price gap is quickly disappearing.

I arrived in Budapest at 6:30am - that's right 6:30AM. I had a 5:30am flight out of Athens and to make that flight I got up at 2am to

make it to the airport. Travel days always make me a little nervous because of the logistics involved, the timing of things and making sure I feel safe in the wee morning hours. I was so unprepared for the weather. Athens felt like the tropics when I stepped off the plane that blistery cold morning in Budapest. In a matter of one hour I had gone from 65-66 degrees to below freezing temperatures. It was a shock to my system. But nevertheless, I felt the energy and excitement of discovering a new city. The sun w

as just rising over the horizon when I stepped off the plane into the cold and a young guy in front of me, clearly sharing my excitement, yelled into the air and to himself "welcome to Hungary!!". And I thought to myself with a nod and a smile yes, welcome Kathleen to Hungary!!!

OK, euros changed into forints, luggage checked in for the day, I was ready to figure out how to get into downtown. Fortunately most of the signs were in English and directions were fairly straightforward. I hopped a bus and

 then the subway. It was interesting riding the subway during the morning rush hour. I don't know if it was the cold weather or what, but the mood of the people was very down and depressing. I wasn't expecting any sort of super excitement on the subway, but everyone just seemed very solemn, no one was talking and people avoided eye contact (reminds me of riding the subway in NYC). I had made a reservation to do a walking tour but was unable to find and meet up with the tour guide at the designated spot and time. Disappointed, I ended up taking a guided bus tour which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it was so cold I could barely stand outside for more than 5 minutes until my face started stinging and my body started going numb. I saw all the major sites and was able to get off and on the bus as I pleased to go around and take pictures and explore. My favorite sites were the Gellert Hill where I took stunning pictures of Buda and Pest straddling the Danube and the Buda Castle. The Buda Castle is a world heritage site and is the historical castle of the Hungarian kings in Budapest. (I've been seeing a lot of castles on my travels for some reason!) The castle is surrounded by medieval, baroque and 19th century houses and public buildings. My mom told me that I should eat Hungarian goulash if possible. Goulash is a Hungarian dish, a stew or soup made of beef, red onions, vegetables and spices. So mid-afternoon I set out to find an authentic Hungarian restaurant. I had some wonderful goulash with gnocchi dumplings followed by a Hungarian coffee to top off the eating experience. Hearty and delicious. Another eye-popping site was St. Stephen's Basilica. It took 54 years to b

uild and the neoclassical architectural style is beautiful. I literally gasped at the beauty and magnificence of the church. Many of the buildings I passed by had roofs that had been destroyed during WWII but had subsequently been rebuilt. At times I felt almost embarrassed that I did not know much of the history of the city or the significance of the monuments or buildings. Like Istanbul and Athens, history truly comes alive in Budapest.

5 hours of sightseeing was not nearly enough time to really experience the city or see any other part of Hungary so I do plan to return some day in oder to gain a better sense and understanding of the Hungarian people, the culture and the

history. Budapest is a must-see for anyone's Central European travel list. 

Amazing Athens

Visiting the City of Athens has definitely been a highlight of my Greece travels. I have done so much in the last five days that there is just not enough room to talk about all the adventures and experiences. Athens is a hip and trendy international European city; like Istanbul, its where modern meets the past andwhere history truly comes alive. From the trendy cafes to the breathtaking archeo

logical sites – Athens is a “must see” for everyone’s travel list.

 Highlights of my time in Athens:

 The Changing of the Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of  the Parliament building. I had literally just arrived in downtown Athens from the airport and saw a large crowd gathering with security all around. I was just in time to watch the formal event, complete with a marching band, marching soldiers and lots of photographers. The change only takes place on Sunday between 10am – 12noon and it’s a neat event to watch.

A stroll through the National Gardens. The National Gardens is like the Central Park of Athens. It was a lovely experience to walk through the grounds during fall. All the trees were so beautiful in all their fall colors and the weather was crisp

and cool. Very relaxingafter a long travel day.

Visiting the Acropolis. I was the fifth person there in the morning as soon as the gates opened so I could have the place to myself and get some great “unobstructed” photos. By the time I was leaving all the tour groups were streaming in and that’s when I knew it was time to leave. The Acropolis is the symbol of Athens. It is a huge rock in the middle of the city and the monuments on it date back to the prehistoric era and antiquity. The grandeur and beauty of the Parthenon (the most famous and largest monument on the Acropolis and the monument featured in all the pictures of the Acropolis) is unlike anything I have ever experienced. The Parthenon is a temple that was built for the Godess Athena. The Acropolis gives you a 360 degree view of the city of Athens. Visiting this site is truly a once in a lifetime experience.

The National Archeological Museum. This museum ranks among the leading archeological museums in the world and is a great opportunity to explore Greece’s history. I saw many interesting exhibits and statues including a cute one named “The Thinker” from 3300 BC. Also interesting was the exhibit of housewares from 2300 BC….they incl

uded tweezers, a huge safety pin and frying pans. I remember these artifacts because they are exactly the things we still use today. It interesting to know that the things these people invented are still used today in the same way and for the same purpose.

Day trip to Cape Suinion. For a new adventure outside if the city, I hopped a bus and rode it for two hours all along the beautiful coastline of the Saronic Gulf  lining Attica. Attica is the name of the greater mainland area of Greece; Athens is located in Attica. Suinion is the southern most tip of Attica where the famous Temple of Poseidon is located. The temple is on a cliff overlooking the Saronic Gulf in the Mediterranean. The day I went there the weather was about 70 degrees and sunny. I enjoyed the views for a while, contemplated life and laughed at the natural beauty of the world. It was simply spectacular.

 My timing for events at the Parliament building was very good. One day I was strolling around the city during morning rush hour when again I noticed large crowds in front of the Parliament. I arrived just in time to see the Chinese President Hu Jin Tao (sp?) arriving to meet with the Greek Presid

ent. There was massive security everywhere but  I tried my best to get some photos of the action. I saw Hu but I don’t know if he saw me. In any case it was neat to see the meeting of two heads of state.

 I was very sad to hear about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. I was in that exact location during my trip to India this last spring and I feel very fortunate to have had such a safe and successful trip there given that Mumbai (and all of India) continues to be a target of extremely horrible terrorist attacks.

 Ok, now its off to Helsinki! But first I have an all day layover in Budapest. I did some research on Budapest while in Athens and my plan is to figure out how to take public transportation to downtown Pest, go on a 3.5hr walking tour around Pest and Buda and then take public transportation back to the airport. Hungary does not use the Euro and is one hour ahead of Greece and Finland time, so amongst all the other logistics of the day I have to keep the time difference in mind, change just enough Euros into Forints for the day and learn some quick Hungarian asap. I read that hardly anyone speaks English, no signs are in English and was also highly advised not to take a cab because they are complete scams. I survived almost three months in Turkey so I think I could handle one day in Budapest. Wow, too much traveling as I’m starting to confuse time zones, flight time departures and arrivals, currencies and languages! (I kept accidentally speaking Turkish words my first two days in Greece.) 

Lesvos Island, Greece

My second island hop was to Lesvos, which means Lesbian and is known for its 11 million olive trees that cling to its rugged hills and it’s Ouzo, which is known as the best in the world. Half the ouzo sold in the world is produced in Lesvos. I made my base in Mytilini, the main port town that stays busy year round.

 Mytilini is a beautiful town, dotted with churches, 19^th century mansions and interesting

museums. It also has some of the best boutique shops I ever been to. All the little goodies remind me of all the cute things sold at Anthropologie, except these are straight from the makers themselves. I just had to get a couple things for my apt. J

 I made a day trip across the island to the town of Molyvos. Molyvos is adorable with its narrow cobbled lanes, stone houses and charming boutique shops. The town is essentially built into

 a hill overlooking the Aegean Sea and crowned at the very top with a Byzantine-Genoese castle. I made the steep climb to the top and was rewarded with sweeping views of the town and the sea and Turkey shimmering in the horizon. On another day, I took a bus to the nearby village of Varia to visit two museums that housed the work of a famous Greek painter Theophilos. My favorite though was the museum that housed collections of paintings by Picasso and Matisse – they were great and it was oh so enjoyable to contemplate these artworks in a unique museum so far off the beaten path. Every time I do an activity, I ask if there is a student d

iscount. The woman at the first museum let me in for free since I was a student, but when I asked about student discounts at the second one the woman said there is only discounts for students in the EU. I was so annoyed with that because I know she pulled that discriminatory rule right out of her ass on the spot. People are so like that in Greece and Turkey – if its allowed or they can get away with it then they will make up their own rules according to the present situation. It completely bothers me because I think it’s so unfair. But the concept of fairness is a much more strongly held belief in America, where as I’ve found myself in several situations (especially in Turkey) where fairness doesn’t even come into consideration. I just have to accept the cost of the unfairness (whether that be monetary or otherwise) or been seen as “that American that is always complaining about things”.

 The highlight of my stay on Lesvos was visiting the Byzantine castle in Mytilini. I got there in the morning and had the entire castle to myself – it was amazing! The guy at the ticket booth was obviously bored so he gave me a personal tour of the castle. It was at the top of the town and overlooked the sea and Turkey in the distance. My personal tour guide also gave me a glossy coffee-table book about the history of the castle and on my way out offe

red me some fresh Greek desert that his wife had made. Perfect!

 Greek food is amazing. I have had the most wonderful time sampling mezedhes (small dishes) and various types of salads. To celebrate my last day on Lesvos, I went to this wonderful little restaurant called O Diavlos. It had the most adorable little menu all in Greek so I just told the restaurant owner to bring me something delicious – and he did. I sat there and enjoyed t

he wonderful atmosphere of the busy restaurant while listening to romantic

 Greek music and reading my new book that I had just bought on Love and Philosophy (those who know me know I never read books on the philosophy of love but what the hec

k I was in Greece and the mood struck me). The whole scene was so romantic and charming I had to just laugh at it all as I took another sip of my red wine.

 Next stop: Athens. I decided to pay the 88euros for a comfortable 50min plane ride rather than the 25euros for a grueling 13hr ferry ride. I plan to do all the grand sightseeing (don’t worry

 Uncle Paul I’ve got that picture of me in front of the Parthenon coming) and I somehow need to find my way to a bookstore that has some travel books (in English of course) on Budapest since I’ll be there for a day on a layover to Helsinki. More dispatches coming soon!

Chios Island, Greece

Thanks to everyone for all the email responses and hellos! I thought I would send you another update on my adventures so you all can live vicariously through my travels. As I mentioned previously I had a very easy time getting to the island of Chios from Turkey. One of my last images of Turkey was a huge, beautiful wind farm off the coast of the Aegean Sea. I had only seen wind farms in pictures before and I always thought they had a very unique and attractive look about them. It was really a cool sight to see a real wind farm so close up – it went for miles over green rolling hills. The wind towers were so huge and as I passed it on the bus I was captivated by the way all the hundreds of white, tall towers held their huge, long fans all turning so peacefully, creating energy from almost nothing.

 The Greek island of Chios is one of Greece’s most unique. It has excellent Greek food, beautiful beaches (although not in use this time of year), authentic villages, and endless opportun

ities for solitude on miles of beautiful coastline. Since this is the off-season and the beach towns are essentially closed down, I spent time enjoying the food, the medieval villages and the beautiful coastline.

 I spent a day walking through the villages of Thimiana, Mega Limionas, Agia Aerimioni and the beach town of Karfas. All of them were so beautiful. The first three were towns with cobblestone streets lined with orange and lemon trees. I was walking through Thimiana when a cute little old grandpa man pulled up next to me and asked, “Mega Limionas?” and when I nodded that yes, that’s where I was going, he gestured for me to get in his car. I did bec

ause the old man was totally and completely harmless. Chios pretty much has all old, very nice Greek people living on it. Several people have told me that hitchhiking is an excellent way 

to get around Chios. I still NEVER hitch hike, but this grandpa was too cute to pass up. Anyway, he had the most romantic Greek music blasting out of his little car and was singing to the music the whole time. He spoke no English, but when I told him I was from America his eyes lit up and a huge smile came across his face and he said, “Oh! Obama good! Bush bad.” And then he went back to singing along to his Greek music. Its such a laid back and peaceful lifestyle that all these people live here. Anyway, after my 10 min drive with grandpa, I walked through the rest of the towns which all overlooked the Aegean Sea. All the houses and building were so cute with their white paint and blue trim. Some of them had many light colors with all the beautiful trees and vines, etc. All the villages were so adorable I was laughing the whole time at just how darn adorable these neighborhoods were. And the homes, stores and churches had stunning views of the sea. These were the types of towns where people retire to and live out the rest of their lives quietly and stress free.

 The following day I went to the medieval villages of Pyrgi and Mesta. Pyrgi

 is the cutest village I have ever seen in my life. It is truly an eye-opener. It has vaulted, narrow streets that pass through buildings with facades decorated with intricate grey and white patterns, some geometric and some based on flowers leaves and animals. The technique used is called xysta and involves coating the walls with a mixture of cement and black volcanic sand and then scraping off parts with the bent prong of a fork to create the design. I sat and had a coffee at a café. I was so shocked at the fluency of the owners’ English that I started laughing. (I guess I just wasn’t expecting anyone to be speaking any English in some far off Greek village) I told him why I was laughing and he said he used to live in Queens NY for 20 years before 9/11. After 9/11 he decided he had enough of that NY life and moved back to his hometown. Needless to say, we had some interesting conversation before I moved on to the town of Mesta.

 Mesta is a medieval village in southern Chios. It is literally a village built into acastle surrounded by a

fortress. Again, it was so adorable I had to start laughing. Mesta is claimed as one of the most unique experiences you can have anywhere in all of Greece. It features appealing stone alleyways that are intertwined with flowers and intricate balconies and is completely enclosed by thick defensive walls. It is car free. The town was built in the 14^{th century by the island’s Genoese overlords, to keep pirates and would-be invaders out. It’s a great example of medieval defensive architecture featuring a double set of walls, four gates and a pentagonal structure. The area around Mesta is also the only place in the world where the mastic tree grows. Mastic is used to make gum and other products. I foolishly thought that the Masticulture Ecotourism Company based there would still be giving tours, but they weren’t since it was the off-season. I went there anyway and met the owner Vasillis. He and his wife are young (in their early 30’s) and moved from the hectic life of Athens to start cultivating their} own mastic tree farm and start their ecotourism company. Vasillis was so nice. He spent a couple hours with me and gave me a private tour of the village, introduced me to the town locals (on two separate occasions we chatted with the locals over wine and cheese and fresh-picked mandarins) and showed me the mastic tree farms. I knew I would miss the last bus back to Chios Town so I stayed the night there. The next morning I had to catch the 6:40am bus and it was still very dark at that time. I ended up getting lost trying to find my way out because all the stone alleyways kept leading around corners to dead ends. I was running around the cobblestone alleyways lost for a good 10-15mins before I had to stop and calm myself down so I could actually find my way out of the maze! And in the dark I started laughing and thought, “Am I actually lost in a medieval castle village right now?!”  It was a scene straight out of the movies.

 Tonight I am heading on a 4:30am ferry to the island of Lesvos. 4:30am is rough even for a morning person like me, but it’s the only time the ferry comes in the off-season. Traveling in Greece in the off-season is all about trade-offs. There is not as much action, the beaches are closed and the ferry schedules are sporadic, but you get more unique and authentic opportunities when you’re one of the only tourists around. My private (and free) tour of Mesta and

 the mastic trees with Vasillis is one example. I guess my random encounter with singing grandpa is another. Locals also approach you more as a traveler looking for authentic experiences instead of a tourist looking for the beach. I’ll see what off-season trade-offs await me in Lesvos.