Finland

HEY! (Hello in Finnish!) I am back from Finland! I LOVE Finland, and the very first things I have to say is, if you ever go to Finland, just skip Helsinki, and go to Tampere. Here are some pictures of Tampere, which was our (Kim and I) favorite city. Tampere is beautiful, and very clean, and everywhere we went we felt so safe. There is a lake, and a river, and wonderful churches to see on every other block and some very pretty random buildings, and parks. Here are a few pictures here.


I learned a little bit of Finnish, I am practically fluent. For example, "kitos" is "thank you", and "hey" is "hello" AND "goodbye" and anything that starts with "ava-" is most likely talking about some sort of opening, like a door, or a window.....and that is about it!!!! :) Like I said, I have learned loads!

It was cool to have everyone driving on the correct side of the road. I don't think I am going to have any trouble adjusting when I get home again.... :)

Kim is SO amazing, we really got to know each other really well on this trip. Here we are kissing the most amazing snowman named Eric. He wanted to come home with us, but just like Frosty, we told him it would be better if he traveled to the Lapland (where the Finns claim Santa lives) where the snow never melts!

My all time favorite part was defiantly the Temple in Helsinki. It was very hard for us to find, and took us a couple hours! It was frustrating because the farther away you get from the city the less you find people who speak English, and we knew what bus (or train) we could take to get to the Temple, but we couldn't figure out which direction to go! finally we just got on bus number 270, and decided that we would ride the entire loop around until we found it, and we were hoping/praying that you could see the temple from the road. Probably one of the scariest things I have ever done. Sitting on that bus, wondering if we would end up lost in some foreign country. Then all the sudden Kim says "Kara! there is it!" and sure enough! there is Moroni poking up above the trees! We sat in the front porch of the temple (because it was closed) for a while, and read the Ensign. Afterward we ran into some Couple Missionaries from UTAH! (where else are they going to be from I know, but STILL) It was AMAZING to run into some Americans, who lived 30 mins from my old house, on the other side of the world! My biggest regret from this trip is not staying and talking to these missionaries for hours!

Here is my advise to any travelers to Finland, go into Helsinki, and then go to the main train station, get on bus 270, and get off when you see Moroni, then when you are done there, go BACK to the train station, and get a train to Tampere, and enjoy your vacation in Tampere. You won't regret it, it will be a fantastic vacation (but check the weather first, as I am sure you wouldn't want to come when it is 30 below!) Especially if you can manage to get a tent and go spend some time next to a lake somewhere! The few lakes I saw were beautiful, and when I go back someday, I want to spend I few days just floating in the middle of a Finnish lake, breathing, thinking, and relaxing.