We weren't too sure what to expect from Helsinki but we have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. We're staying about 20 mins out of town and taking the tram in each day which has reminded us of Melbourne. The weather has been perfect so we took a ferry to Samounnlina fortress as well as an open air museum on a beautiful green island, with red squirrels running up to us. The city itself is reasonably compact compared to the likes of Moscow so we have been doing a lot of walking. This is probably a good thing because the food has been amazing here. We've had reindeer in sausage, meatball and ragou format, loganberries as well as freshly made cinnamon buns which we think had cardomon pods in them. The vibe in Finland is so different to Russia even though they are so close geographically.

We are picking up our car today to head north to Savonnlina before we go up to the lake district which we're very excited about. Not sure a out the wi-fi situation up there so we may be quiet for a while. Sorry, no photos yet but we'll try again soon.