Rovaniemi train station
We boarded the train at Rovaniemi to travel down to Helsinki, on yet another overnight trip. After our experience on the train up to Kolari (read about that journey here), we were very excited to have sleeping carriages booked for all of us. Once again, my overactive imagination conjured up images of Audrey Tatou in the Chanel No. 5 ad, sleeping in the luxury of a train carriage:
image source: www.dollymic.blogspot.com
However, instead of being greeted with warm wood, gold accents and space to move, we found ourselves in a small, metal chamber with three beds stacked on top of one another – I was the lucky one to get the top bunk, which meant I needed to unhook a ladder from the wall and attach it to the bed to get up or down. I also had a bunch of seatbelt-like straps that were supposed to keep me in the bed rather than falling the 4m from the top to the cold, metal floor. But compared to the journey up, it felt like luxury and we were so grateful to have a bed and get a little bit of sleep!
We woke at 6:30, about half an hour before we were due to arrive in Helsinki and realized that the train wasn’t moving. We looked out the window and saw a sign saying ‘Helsinki’. In a panic, we packed our bags and rushed off the train, eager to avoid an unplanned journey back up to Lapland!
We had a whole day to kill in Helsinki, and being tired, in need of a shower and wanting to wear something other than our smelly thermals, we were not in much of a mood to be tourists. We wandered around for a little while, willing the time to pass more quickly. We even considered going to see a movie, but nothing took everyone’s fancy. We strolled through the design district of Helsinki for a while, which was pretty amazing – the designs were so innovative and clever – but we didn’t buy anything, and opted instead to sit in Coffee House, zoned out and ready for a hot, sweet, caffeinated mocha (seriously, Coffee House mochas are the best! I had one almost every day on this trip).
the streets of Helsinki
Eventually, after we’d sat in Coffee House for so long we thought we would fall asleep there and then, we decided to just go to the airport and wait out the rest of the afternoon there. So we caught the bus to the airport, checked our luggage in and sat at the departure lounge reading, sitting on the internet and generally being in a zombie-like state! I think after the week we’d had, the adventures we had embarked on, the sights we’d seen and the myriad new experiences, we were ready to go home. Goodbye Finland, hello London!!
