Okay, so I know that it has been a long time since I have posted. Don't fret though, I'm still having the time of my life and perhaps that is why I'm not posting as much. Also I do really regret not having pictures with these posts, but I guess if I was really heartbroken about it I would do more to get them on here.
We just got back from our "Vacation" but we don't start teaching again until the 14th so we have a few days to rest from our adventures and boy do I need it!
We left our school last wednesday night via bus, metro and night train to get to St. Petersburg. Just getting there was quite the adventure. There is a decent chance that our bus driver was slightly intoxicated, or at least not paying attention. It was a great start to the trip and we had to muffle our laughter and big eyes. This is more of a side note but I thought that it was fun-- our night train was a midnight train, the ticket even says 23:59. Yes, I did sing Journey on the way there.
So, onto the Cruise.... we weren't sure if we were going to be on nice cruise ship or like... a ferry and kind of roughing it. Let me just tell you, I'm surprised we could feel the ocean on such a giant boat! Her name was The Princess Anastasia, I thought it was very fitting:) Anyways, the ship was really ritzy but all the food and everything was pretty expensive so we mostly ate off the boat and limited what we purchased on board. I learned that Russians are awful at efficient lines. I stood so often in a line that was just a mass of people trying to get out first. Bottle-necking at its best.
Our first night on the cruise Hailey got really sick, so sick that she couldn't go to Helsinki. It was so sad but it was also a good thing because she got to go to a doctor for free on the cruise. It turns out that she had contracted tonsilitis and she needed antibiotics. It really was incredible how it all turned out. She had a miraculous recovery and got to go to Sweden and Estonia with us which was awesome!
So Helsinki. It is one of the most beautiful cities. We walked out into the harbour and then walked though a closed market that was selling all sorts of Finnish Food, lots of Reindeer meat. The weather was great and I only wore my coat because it was more comfortable than carrying it. We spent a total of 4.5 hours in Finland but every minute was great! We went to the Lutherern Cathedral and took sweet pictures inside. the interior design was completely different than all of the Russian Orthodox Cathedrals that we had seen so far, much more plain but so beautiful. We got in just in time to stay for Daily Prayer. It was so incredible to get to sit in on their service. While there weren't very many people in that huge building the ones that were regulars sat up front with their Pastor (is that right?) and the whole service was in Finnish. We also took pictures next to the "Bridge of Love". It is tradition that young married couples, or just those in love, secure a lock on a bridge to seal away their love. This particular bridge is loaded with locks and made for some fun pictures. We spent a lot of time in Finland walking to the sites and exploring the city. We made some friends in the open air market where there were some ladies who let us sample some of their bread. Out of the whole trip Finland had the BEST bread!
I ate some kind of Kebab sandwich. The meat was beef though I was tempted by the Reindeer. That is my one regret in Finland was not trying the reindeer meat. Oh well, you live and you learn. We bought some bread for the boat trip to Sweden and we also tried their pastries. Side note: trying pastries in different countries has almost become tradition for our group. The little pastry shops are so easy to find and great little snacks. Donuts really don't have much on these little things, YUM!
Unfortunately, we didn't run into Elder Adams, as cool as that would have been. Chelsea went to high school with the twins so it would have been awesome to just randomly run into him in Finland. Finland is one of the prettiest places that I have seen and I am so grateful that I got the chance to see it and be a part of it for a few hours.
p.s. I haven't edited this so I'm sorry if the glaring errors are frustrating.
We just got back from our "Vacation" but we don't start teaching again until the 14th so we have a few days to rest from our adventures and boy do I need it!
We left our school last wednesday night via bus, metro and night train to get to St. Petersburg. Just getting there was quite the adventure. There is a decent chance that our bus driver was slightly intoxicated, or at least not paying attention. It was a great start to the trip and we had to muffle our laughter and big eyes. This is more of a side note but I thought that it was fun-- our night train was a midnight train, the ticket even says 23:59. Yes, I did sing Journey on the way there.
So, onto the Cruise.... we weren't sure if we were going to be on nice cruise ship or like... a ferry and kind of roughing it. Let me just tell you, I'm surprised we could feel the ocean on such a giant boat! Her name was The Princess Anastasia, I thought it was very fitting:) Anyways, the ship was really ritzy but all the food and everything was pretty expensive so we mostly ate off the boat and limited what we purchased on board. I learned that Russians are awful at efficient lines. I stood so often in a line that was just a mass of people trying to get out first. Bottle-necking at its best.
Our first night on the cruise Hailey got really sick, so sick that she couldn't go to Helsinki. It was so sad but it was also a good thing because she got to go to a doctor for free on the cruise. It turns out that she had contracted tonsilitis and she needed antibiotics. It really was incredible how it all turned out. She had a miraculous recovery and got to go to Sweden and Estonia with us which was awesome!
So Helsinki. It is one of the most beautiful cities. We walked out into the harbour and then walked though a closed market that was selling all sorts of Finnish Food, lots of Reindeer meat. The weather was great and I only wore my coat because it was more comfortable than carrying it. We spent a total of 4.5 hours in Finland but every minute was great! We went to the Lutherern Cathedral and took sweet pictures inside. the interior design was completely different than all of the Russian Orthodox Cathedrals that we had seen so far, much more plain but so beautiful. We got in just in time to stay for Daily Prayer. It was so incredible to get to sit in on their service. While there weren't very many people in that huge building the ones that were regulars sat up front with their Pastor (is that right?) and the whole service was in Finnish. We also took pictures next to the "Bridge of Love". It is tradition that young married couples, or just those in love, secure a lock on a bridge to seal away their love. This particular bridge is loaded with locks and made for some fun pictures. We spent a lot of time in Finland walking to the sites and exploring the city. We made some friends in the open air market where there were some ladies who let us sample some of their bread. Out of the whole trip Finland had the BEST bread!
I ate some kind of Kebab sandwich. The meat was beef though I was tempted by the Reindeer. That is my one regret in Finland was not trying the reindeer meat. Oh well, you live and you learn. We bought some bread for the boat trip to Sweden and we also tried their pastries. Side note: trying pastries in different countries has almost become tradition for our group. The little pastry shops are so easy to find and great little snacks. Donuts really don't have much on these little things, YUM!
Unfortunately, we didn't run into Elder Adams, as cool as that would have been. Chelsea went to high school with the twins so it would have been awesome to just randomly run into him in Finland. Finland is one of the prettiest places that I have seen and I am so grateful that I got the chance to see it and be a part of it for a few hours.
p.s. I haven't edited this so I'm sorry if the glaring errors are frustrating.
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