The Continuing Adventures of Hobble and Lurch

Hej då!

Just when I'm beginning to master Swedish, we end up in Helsinki. Jenifer and I stayed up until one last night chatting with our "host family," eating strawberries, and doing yoga. And then got up at four to catch the 5:35 train from Central Station to the Stockholm airport. The SAS self-service station refused to produce our tickets, and so we were sweating it out with less than 20 minutes until takeoff. But an attendant worked some computer magic and we were soon doing an OJ across the sleek IKEA hardwood, arriving just as folks were starting to board.

After that, the day was quietly touristy as we tried to keep our energy up and gain our bearings in a new city. Helsinki definitely feels like a city caught between two worlds, and indeed its history is one of being owned or controlled by either Sweden to the west or Russia to the east. As an independent country, it is less than 100 years old, and so it is still in the process of finding its identity.

Still, it has all the usual European features, such as cobblestones and uneven surfaces, causing me the frequent misstep. Jenifer, meanwhile, is the proud owner of a severe blister, and so our pace has been nicely matching our flagging strength. But we're glad to be here all the same, missing Stockholm fiercely, and looking forward to the week ahead.