STOCKHOLM & HELSINKI
Hej hej and welcome to my blog post featuring our bank holiday trip to Stockholm and Helsinki! Chris and I have been on quite the Scandanavian tour, which wouldn't be complete without visiting Sweden and Finland. We were excited to check out Stockholm's golden-hued architecture and subway art, and sweat it out as the Finnish do in a Helsinki sauna. Enjoy reading about our adventures below and see if you could fall in love with these two Scandanavian capitals like we did.
STOCKHOLM
We started our adventure in the "Venice of the North" -- Stockholm., Sweden. We left Dublin on a Friday morning with a few of Chris' coworkers and landed at Arlanda airport in under two and a half hours. We hopped on the Arlanda Express, which is the country's express train from the airport to Stockholm's central station. There are few things I love more when traveling than an airport express train. The Arlanda Express gets you right to the heart of the city in a short 20 minutes. A return ticket costs SEK 540 / €52 / $63, which is a bit steep, but the convenience is worth it every time.
We had a short three-minute walk from the central station to our hotel, the Radisson Blu Royal Viking Hotel, located in the Normalm neighbhorhood. Because Stockholm is notoriously expensive, we wanted to try and get the best deal for accommodations, so we used Hotwire's "Hot Rate" option. If you're unfamiliar, Hotwire offers discounted rates on hotels called "Hot Rate Hotels", but the catch is that you don't know what hotel it is until after you book. The upside is you get to choose what you are looking for -- star rating, neighborhood, price range, amenities -- basically just like any other normal hotel search. One tip I like to use is to also look at the non-Hot Rate hotels listed to see if they are suitable since the Hot Rate Hotels typically end up being one of those listed. So with using the filters and scoping out the other hotels, we have gotten pretty good at getting great deals in nice hotels with the "Hot Rate". That being said, the Radisson Blu Royal Viking Hotel was a very nice hotel in a perfect location and I would recommend it. My only dig is that their 5 check-in employees stood there and did nothing while their 1 concierge employee had a 20-person-deep line of people wanting to store their luggage. And one of the 5 was super sassy with me when I asked him if he would help me just grab one thing out of our already-stored-away-luggage. He wouldn't and told me I had to "re-queue". So for that, I hate him. You're in customer service, DUDE. [I swear I'm not an asshole, I just hate inefficiency and laziness in customer service.]
When I was researching things to do in Stockholm, I learned that Stockholm is comprised of 13,000 archipelagos and gleaming with waterways -- hence the "Venice of the North" nickname. This means that there are things to see and do on different islands within Stockholm. I didn't know if the city was going to be spread out and we would have to trek to all the different sites, or if the city would be condense. To my pleasant surprise, the city was smaller than it seemed on Google Maps. It was totally walkable and the subway system was a breeze! Plus, there are ferries everywhere to charter you to the other islands.
As I mentioned before, Stockholm can be a very expensive city to visit. Per usual, I looked into whether or not Stockholm offers a "city pass" to get discounted entry to some of the attractions. There is indeed a "Stockholm Pass", but it is priceyyy. I added up the costs of everything Chris and I wanted to do and compared it to the costs of the 24-, 48-, and 72-hour passes and I don't think we would have covered the cost of any of the passes. It didn't even include free public transportation -- you had to pay extra to add that. So for us, it was not even close to worth it. Don't let this deter you if you're planning a trip to Stockholm. Just make sure it's the economical thing to do.
Ok, onto the good stuff! Similar to when we visited Amsterdam, Chris and I also had great, sunny weather in Stockholm, so we spent as much of our time outside. Because of that, we explored different neighborhoods and took two boat cruises, instead of spending a lot of our time inside museums. Here is a break down of everything we did -- enjoy!
Neighborhoods
Södermalm
Dubbed Stockholm's "Coolest Neighborhood", Södermalm is located just south of Normalm and Gamla Stan and boasts some of the city's best shopping and cafés. The island has a relaxed vibe that drew us there all three days of our trip. It's easy to get there from the center of the city as well. You can walk or hop on the subway from T-Centralen and take it to one of the few stops in Södermalm, Slussen being the first.
There are a lot of art galleries and boutique shops in Södermalm, along with Swedish strong-holds H&M and Weekday. We popped into one of the H&M's and I had to hold in a giant scream when I saw that they carried the entire Essie nail polish collection. I still cannot find a decent nail polish display in Dublin, so it took a lot of restraint to not buy 10 colors! Thank you Stockholm! The Swedish definitely have their own style -- gender-neutral, normcorm, 90s, and lots of black. It was a distinct style and they all looked chic.
Södermalm also offers great shots of Stockholm. The architecture is colorful, the cherry blossoms were in bloom, and there is a cliff walk that towers over Normalm and Gamla Stan giving you great veiws of the city. #scrollthrough
We liked the cliff walk so much that we went back on our second night to watch the sun set over the city. Lots of people do the same, so it's not a romantic moment, but it's still quiet and the views were stunning.
Gamla Stan
Stockholm's "Old Town" is one of the best preserved historic districts in Europe due to the fact that its narrow streets are for pedestrians only. It has an old-world charm with its cobblestone streets, narrow alleyways, and colorful architecture. The only downside is this is definitely one of the most touristy spots in the city with every other shop boasting the same souvenirs.
Gamla Stan is home to the 600-room Royal Palace, Stockholm Cathedral, and the Nobel Museum, so there is lots to see and do other than souvenir shopping. There are also walking tours offered every day that we wish we would have done.
Boat Cruises
It's no secret Chris and I love to explore a city by boat. Stockholm was no different. Stromma, the same company that was in Amsterdam was also in Stockholm. They didn't have the small, open-air boat option that Amsterdam had, but there were several different cruises to choose from.
We chose the Royal Canal Tour (50 min) on Saturday and the Under the Bridges of Stockholm Tour (2 hr 15 min) on Sunday. For SEK 220 / €21 / $25, the Royal Canal Tour takes you around the island of Djurgården and is audio-guided in 11 different languages. For SEK 280 / €27 / $32, the Under the Bridges of Stockholm Tour takes you around the inner city, Old Town, the islands Södermalm, Lilla and Stora Essingen, the new area Hammarby Sjöstad and the green areas of Djurgården, and is audio-guided in 11 different languages as well. The boats offer indoor and covered outdoor seating, and the best part is there is a mini bar onboard if you would like to imbibe in some local beer, or take part in the local tradition of fika, enjoying a cup of coffee. Both tours offered a different perspective of the city and took us to places we otherwise wouldn't have been able to get to in our short three days. Plus, who doesn't love being out on the water on a beautiful, sunny day?
Museums / Attractions
City Hall
Stockholm's City Hall is hard to miss as it is one of the city's taller buildings and sits right on the water. It's located in Normalm and is a short five-minute walk from T-Centralen. The building's red-brick facade is complimented by the green copper and gold spires. The tallest spire / bell tower holds three crowns at the very top, showcasing Sweden's national coat of arms.
There are guided tours of the inside of City Hall in English running every hour starting at 10:00 until 3:00. We skipped this tour and just did the "tour" of the Town Hall Tower, which is the spire with the bell tower. I say "tour" because it's really just entry to walk the stairs up 106 meters to the top. The walk, however, is very worth it. It was like a maze inside getting up there and the brick-work inside was really cool, but the views were great. I believe this is the highest point in the city for views [unless you go to the amusement park Grona Lund and ride the giant swings] and it's panoramic, so you can walk all the way around to see every direction. Entrance to the Town Hall Tower is SEK 50 / €5 / $6, so it's on the cheaper end of things to do in Stockholm and totally worth it.
Bangolf on Södermalm
After walking through the large park of Tantolunden on the island of Södermalm, Chris and I stumbled upon what looked like mini golf! The sun was starting to set, it was right on the water, and it looked so fun. With a little twisting of his arm, Chris agreed to play with me, so we set forth towards the little house to grab balls and clubs. I honestly don't remember how much this cost, but it wasn't a lot. The game was called Bangolf, different than mini golf in that the balls were a little smaller than a golf ball and more of a rubber consistency. The clubs looked like any other mini golf putters and the course was designed as such. So basically it was mini golf. There were hardly any people playing [except for the group of four adult men who came equipped with their own cases of balls and putters], so we got to take our time and have fun with it, maybe even take a mulligan or three. Chris won, if you consider the fewest strokes winning. I, on the other hand, got three hole-in-ones, so I think I won. Either way, it was a major giggle fest and I'm so glad we did it.
Vasa Museum
One of Stockholm's greatest treasures memorializes one of its greatest failures. What could that possibly entail, you ask? A ship. A very large, beautifully hand-crafted warship. In 1626, the King of Sweden, Gustav Adolphus, ordered the construction of the Vasa for his fleet. It was supposed to be his most intimidating ship, as it was very large in size, ornate, and overflowing with bronze cannons. Eventually, the King grew impatient in his war with Poland-Lithuania and ordered the ship to set sail. Against the engineers' pleas that the ship was not ready, the Vasa set off on its maiden voyage in 1628. That maiden voyage lasted approximately 20 minutes and the ship made it no more than 1,300 metres before sinking into the harbour. The ship was far too top heavy and was taken down by a gust of wind.
It took 333 years to recover the ship from the depths of the water. Over several years in the 1950s-1960s, the ship was lifted out of the water and conservation began. The majority of the ship was salvaged and major efforts are made every day to keep it conserved. It is quite spectacular and worth a visit.
The Vasa Museum is located on the island of Djurgården, which you can walk to or take a ferry. The outside of the museum has masts and can't be missed. Entry is SEK 130 / €13 / $15 for an adult.
Skansen Open-Air Museum
Like Oslo, Stockholm has an open-air museum dedicated to celebrating culture and heritage. The museum has 150 buildings covering the 500 year history of Swedish culture, including Skåne farmsteads and Sami camps. When we visited, it was later in the afternoon and we didn't have mcuh time to go through all the different buildings, but we did get to watch traditional Swedish dancers at one of the small stages!
Skansen also has a zoo that features Nordic animals, including moose, brown bears, bison, wild boars, and wolves. The baby boars reminded us of Hugo!
Skansen is also located on Djurgården with the Vasa Museum, so it is easy to hit both of these in a day. It is a little kid-ish, but we had fun walking around looking at the different buildings and seeing a wolf! Entry to Skansen is SEK 60 / €6 / $7.
Other Museums We Didn't Make It To But Looked Cool:
Food
For whatever reason, I don't have the greatest memories of food in Stockholm, except for our breakfasts. A lot of our choices in food were made when the tank was low, which any traveler knows is not good. Couple that with lack of restaurant research and it led to some mediocre dining experiences. Regardless, I'm here to break it down and I do have some recommendations!
Breakfast:
Stockholm is over-saturated with a coffee shop called Espresso House. There is one essentially on every block, BUT, we loved it. It was basically Stockholm's version of London's Pret a Manger. The iced vanilla latte with oatmeal milk was delicious, the pastries were buttery and flakey, and the overnight oats with fruit were fresh. We popped into Espresso House both mornings.
Lunch:
On Saturday, we ate lunch at the café inside the Vasa Museum. The café offered cold, ready-made options, and some hot food options. I tried a traditional Swedish open-face shrimp sandwich and Chris tried the traditional Swedish meatballs. Chris chose correctly. The Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries were very good. I cannot say I would order that shrimp sandwich again, but everywhere we went, these were offered and loads of people ate them. I did score with the cardamom bun, which was delicious!
On Sunday, we set out to go to the one bakery that I had found while researching ahead of time -- Robin Delselius Bageri. Located in Södemalm, it should not come as a surprise that it was the cutest bakery with the best food. Chris and I each got pastries and shared in the bottomless tomato soup bar. Yes, you just read bottomless tomato soup bar. It was the creamiest, yummiest tomato soup and came with oven-roasted kale, croutons, cheese, and bread and butter on the side. I didn't care how hot it was outside, I ate bowl after bowl.
Drinks:
There are several different English pubs call the Bishop's Arms around town. We popped into one with Chris' coworkers on Friday night and had a lot of fun.
My favorite place we grabbed drinks at was on a floating boat bar called Strandbyrggen. It was docked in the water right where Gamla Stan and Djurgården meet. After walking around on the island all day, we drank a bottle of the house rosé in the sunshine. It was literal perfection.
Dinner:
Our first night after a day of traveling and exploring, we were craving burgers, our second night we wanted Italian, and our last night we just needed a few starters before our flight to Helsinki.
We found burgers at a restaurant aptly named House of Burgers. The menu is limited, but what else would you need from a place that specializes in burgers? And they do them well. The burgers and fries were very good and everything we wanted. I also ordered a Fanta, which turned out to be a Zingo, which I'm guessing is a Swedish verision of the orange pop???
In our hangry state on Saturday night, we wandered the streets of Gamla Stan looking for food and came across a place called Sally's that seemed to be a mix of Swedish and Italian food, but run by Turks. It was weird, but the service was great and food was pretty good. Chris and I both got pasta -- mine had smoked reindeer!
After our last boat cruise on Sunday, we headed back to the square in Gamla Stan by the Nobel Museum to sit out on a patio and get a few bites to eat before getting our flight to Finland. The square is lined with restaurants with patio seating, which makes for good people watching. We got ourselves a table at Ebenist and ordered two starters: 1) a favorite of ours, Burrata; and 2) a traditional Scandanavian Herring dish. The burrata was fantastic and I'm sure the more sophisticated palette would have enjoyed the herring, but alas, raw herring is not my thing.
Subway Art
I'm sure many of you have taken a subway before, maybe in NYC, London, or somewhere else. Most of the time, subway stations are old, a bit grimey, and busy, busy, busy. Stockholm's subway system harkens back to 1950, so it's kind of old, during waking hours of the day it was very busy, but the thing that makes it very different from any other subway system in the world is that it is a one giant piece of art. Of the 100 stations, 90 of them are decorated with mosaics, paintings, and sculptures. I have never seen anything like it before.
I found out about the crazy art in the subway stations when I started following @visitstockholm on Instagram. They have featured a lot of pictures of the different stations and so I wrote down a long list of the really cool ones. From there, Chris and I each starred 2-3 that were "must sees" so that we could narrow it down and make our subway adventure manageable.
The day we arrived in Stockholm, the first thing Chris and I did after we left our hotel was buy a 72-hour metro card, which gave us unlimited travel on the subway. This meant we could try to see as many of the stations as possible and made it easy for us to travel around, especially to Södermalm. The 72-hour pass cost per person SEK 270 / €26 / $31.
The subway system in Stockholm is very easy to navigate. There are three main lines, the green, blue, and red, all with a few different tracks. Over dinner on Saturday night, Chris and I plotted our route using the map of the stops in order to ride as efficiently as possible hitting our top five favorite stations. We also set out at 10:30 at night so that traffic would be minimal and we would be able to get great shots of the art. Our total ride time was about two hours long. If someday you want to see what we saw, our route is mapped out below the pictures. I really hope you enjoy these as much as we did.
T-Centralen
Stadion
Odenplan
Solna Centrum
Kungsträgården
Subway Art Route:
T-Centralen - Blue & White
- Blue line, 10 and 11
Stadion - Rainbow Station
- Red Line, 14, towards Mörby Centrum
- 2nd stop after T-Centralen
Odenplan - Life Line
- Red line, 14, towards Fruangen, get off at 2nd stop at T-Centralen
- TRANSFER to Green line, 17, 18, or 19 towards Åkeshov, Alvik, or Hässelby strand, respectively
- 3rd stop after T-Centralen
- This one is a little tricky -- you have to head towards the commuter trains and down the entire platform until you see doors leading to an escalator. Go through the doors, ride the escalator, and look up because the ceiling is all a-glow.
Solna Centrum - Red, Black, & Green
- Green line, 17, 18, or 19 towards Åkeshov, Alvik, or Hässelby strand, get off at 3rd stop at Friedhemsplan
- TRANSFER to the Blue line, 11, towards Alkalla
- 3rd stop after Friedhemsplan
Kungsträgården - Black & White Diamonds / Sculptures
- Blue line, 11, towards Nacka
- 6th stop from Solna Centrum
HELSINKI
When planning our trip to Stockholm for the May bank holiday weekend, the only flight back to Dublin on Monday was at 7:00 a.m. That didn't sit well with Chris and I because we wanted to make the most out of Chris having that Monday off from work. I did a little research and found a flight from Stockholm to Helsinki on Sunday night and a later afternoon flight from Helsinki to Dublin. It was perfect. We would have one night and half of a day to explore Finland's capital city.
The flight from Stockholm to Helsinki was a short 40 minute flight. I think it was even shorter than Minneapolis to Chicago. It was so short that my ears honestly never stopped plugging the entire time because I don't think we ever got to a cruising altitude. When we landed in Helsinki late in the night, we didn't have to go through customs, so we wheeled off with our luggage and out of the airport.
Helsinki doesn't have an express train from the airport into the city, but Finnair does have an express bus! We followed the signs for the buses and it was parked right outside. So easy to find. We bought our tickets right from the bus driver for €6.20 per person and settled in. Fun fact: Finland is on the Euro -- yay! The bus ride into the city took only 30 minutes and was a pretty enjoyable ride. There was a TV inside the bus that shared Finnish news, whuch astutely reported that the U.S. Embassy wanted American citizens in Finland on alert, but the Finnish government said this wasn't substantiated. That piqued our interest, but when we looked up the warning, it literally said that Americans should go about their normal business. Ok, cool? The other fun thing we saw on the bus ride was a giant red Target bullseye... could it be?! A Target? In Finland?! The sign read Tokmanni. You guys, I think Finland has a version of Target called Tokmanni. If anyone wants to confirm or deny this, that'd be cool.
The bus dropped us off at the central station in Helsinki. We found another good Hot Rate for our hotel in Helsinki, and we stayed at the Hotel Indigo. This was about a 10-minute walk from the central station. It was late at night, so the city was quiet, but it was lit up with neon signs, some bars were still bumping music, and there was even a Taco Bell that was open for all those looking for a fourth meal. A TACO BELL. Target and Taco Bell?! Helsinki, you were looking good to me!
When we got to our hotel, it was almost midnight, so we were tired, but when we were checking in, we noticed the hotel bar and asked what a traditional Finnish drink was. Our check-in gal / bartender told us about a long gin drink and recommended one of the most common ones. We each grabbed a cocktail and headed up to our room to get settled in for the night. When we walked into our room, we were pleasantly surprised by how cute it was! We each face-timed home to let them know we had made it to Finland, hydrated on our long gin cocktails, and practiced saying "cheers" in Finnish -- kippis! So far, Helsinki was giving us great vibes.
After a great night's sleep and a quick nine hours after checking in, Chris and I checked out of Hotel Indigo, stored our luggage, and hit up Helsinki. It was very simple: we had 5 hours and wanted to eat breakfast, hit a sauna, see the two cathedrals, and eat lunch at a traditional Finnish restaurant called Savotta.
I did very little research on Helsinki, but the over-arching theme of the things I read talked about how Helsinki isn't so much about things to see, as it is about doing as the Finnish do -- experience Finnish culture. So what is that? Saunas and coffee. Fun fact: The Finnish drink the most coffee per capita in the world. So that's what we were going to do: sweat it out and drink coffee.
When we left our hotel, it was a beautiful, sunny day. The temperature was chillier than Stockholm, but still perfect with the sun. Across the street and down the block from our hotel was the CUTEST bakery called Ekberg. Not only would I recommend our hotel based purely on how nice it was, but I would recommend it on its proximity to Ekberg alone. This bakery has been in business since 1852. The store was adorable and everything looked delicious. We opted for iced vanilla lattes, pastries, yogurt, and macaroons. I can confidently say this is a do-not-miss in Helsinki.
Next, we headed towards city centre through a cute park along a main boulevard.
Right after this park sits the Helsinki Cathedral up on a hill, overlooking the city. It is a massive, white, neoclassical structure that was built in 1852 and is home to the Lutheran church. It sits above Senate Square looking out to the harbour and is hard to miss. It is one of Helsinki's, if not the most, iconic spot. The inside was bare, but had beautiful chandeliers and the most gorgeous organ.
We made our way through Senate Square and came across a market down by the harbour. I found myself a new pair of choppers! Chris made fun of me for buying choppers while we live in Dublin, but I figured if anyone knew how to make warm choppers for blistering cold weather that I will undoubtedly experience at some point in my life again, it's the Finnish. So I obviously had to get them.
At the end of the market was the destination we were most excited about -- Allas Sea Pool. This was one of the more popular saunas in town, besides Löyly, but Allas was open all day and it has not only a heated water pool, but a pool filled with water from the Baltic sea! It was right on the harbour and offered great views of the city and the water. The sun was shining and we couldn't wait to take part in this Finnish tradition. A ticket for entry is only €14 per person, and you can rent towels if you don't have them.
Chris and I embarked into our respective changing rooms. I was a bit timid as this is one of those changing rooms where its just naked ladies everywhere. Remember, I'm American, we're just not as comfortable with nudity. But I braved my way through it, got my swimsuit on, and met Chris outside the saunas. Allas has three saunas: male, female, and mixed gender. I believe in the male and female ones nudity is allowed. In the mixed gender sauna, a swimsuit is preferred. We chose the mixed gender sauna.
There are specific rules for saunas: rinse in the showers beforehand, sit on a towel, and rinse aftewards before heading to the pools. This particular sauna was heated to 80°C / 175°F. I lasted maybe 15 minutes and Chris a little longer. We certainly sweat out every single toxin in our bodies.
After rinsing, we grabbed our towels and headed to the pool deck. We wanted to try the Baltic Sea pool first to shock the system. The temperature of the Baltic Sea pool is that of the actual Baltic Sea. [thank you Captain Obvious] At the beginning of May, that meant the temperature of the water was 0°C - 2°C / 32°F - 35°F. So... cold. There was no one in the pool and we weren't sure why. But that also meant we weren't sure what to do. Chris went first, took a few steps down the ladder, dipped a toe, and just jumped in. He surfaced as quickly as he submerged, yelling, "Nope! That's it! I don't need any more than that!", and climbed out as fast as he could. Great. Now it was my turn? You can guess how excited I was to go in after that charade. Chris advised I don't dip my toe and just go for it. So that's what I did. Jumped in, feet first, head all the way under. My body went into full shock. The icy, cold water shot pain through my body. I finally found air, yelled lots of things, and got out of there like a bat out of hell. My mouth tasted like an oyster, I had goosebumps everywhere, and my whole body hurt. WHAT WAS THAT?! I'm sure the lifeguard who is obligated to come over to the pool whenever anyone decides to take a dip thought we were complete and utter morons. We wrapped ourselves in our towels and sat down on these bean bag chairs on the deck next to the Baltic Sea pool. We needed to: a) bask in the sun and warm up; and b) watch how the Finnish tackle this chilling beast. Well, the sun felt great and after watching several others, we learned that you are supposed to dip down into the pool, do NOT dunk your head under, swim across either the long or short way, and get out. That's it. We did not take a second go at it, but glad we hung around to see how to do it properly.
Allas also has a heated pool, so we popped in to swim a couple laps in the warm water before feeling satisfied that we had done as the Finnish do. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience / adventure at the sauna and pools and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Helsinki. It's a pretty cool tradition to have as a culture.
Right around the corner from the sauna is Helsinki's other cathedral. Uspenski Cathedral is eastern Orthodox and was built in 1868. It also sits on top of a hill overlooking the harbour. We did not go into this church because we were time-crunched and ready to eat, but the outside was very cool.
We made the short 5 minute walk back towards Senate Square to grab lunch at a traditional Finnish restaurant, Savotta. I read really good things about this restaurant, so I was very excited try it. The restaurant opens for lunch at 12:00 and we walked in at 12:05, so there weren't many patrons, but that was okay because the dining experience was great. Plus, the restaurant was so cute!
The menu at Savotta consists of mainly fish and reindeer, but also offers a main dish of bear. Yes, you read that right, bear. We started with refreshments of coffee and a lingonberry cider alcoholic drink. For a starter, we shared a flat potato bread pocket filled with warm smoked salmon, fresh cucumber salsa, dill flavoured vegetable pickles and sour cream. And for our main, there was an item on the special lunch menu that caught both of our eyes: reindeer porcini sausage, mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam. We finished with a last course of yoghurt ice cream and blueberry-raspberry jam. This was one of the best meals I have ever had in my life. Everything was out of this world. I would honestly fly back to Helsinki just to dine at Savotta.
And that was it for us in Helsinki! After lunch, we made the much needed walk back to our hotel to grab our luggage, and hopped on the Finnair bus back to the airport. Helsinki was fabulous. I loved the vibes and would go back some day to explore it more. It seemed like it was a small town just on the cusp of becoming something bigger.
Pro tip for the Helsinki airport: there was not customs coming in, but there is customs on the way out and their booths are located after security, several gates, and restaurants. We had no idea we had to go through customs, so we hung out an one of the airport restaurants to watch some hockey before our flight. When we had 30 minutes until departure, we headed for our gate and were met with a very long line to get through customs. We didn't panic until we got a text that our gate was closing. I got my passport stamped first and bolted for our gate. Turned out our gate was down a long hallway, down another long hallway, and down a flight of stairs. I sprinted for my life. I pleaded with the gate agent to wait and she said the last bus to our plane had just arrived and that Chris had one minute. I thought he was just right behind me, but his passport hadn't been scanning, so he had been caught up with the customs agent. As I was begging the gate agent to wait for us, Chris came bolting down the stairs and we made the bus at the last second. We boarded our plane with three minutes to our scheduled take-off. MESS. So if you're ever traveling out of the Helsinki airport, get through customs with a reasonable amount of time before your scheduled departure time.
Our flight from Helsinki to Dublin was three hours long, but we gained two hours back when we landed. It felt good to be back home after such an amazing and whirlwind trip.
Overall, both Stockholm and Helsinki were fantastic! Stockholm is trendy, charming, and edgy. Helsinki was chill, cultural, and cozy. We have really fallen in love with the Scandanavian countries and are very grateful we have the opportunity to go to so many cool places.
Up next, I am road tripping the Northwestern counties of Ireland, Sligo & Donegal, and heading to Northern Ireland to see Giant's Causeway, and explore Belfast with friends Alisa and Katie. Then it's Istanbul, Turkey for Chris and I at the beginning of June!
Until next time...
Kippis! xo,
