Hello from Helsinki
Dec. 28th, 2001 08:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nibotJust wanted to say "Hi" from Helsinki, Finland. (Hi) It's *COLD* here! Oj, & I still feel like I'm on a boat. I took the all-night ferry from Stockholm last night, which was highly entertaining but did not involve much sleep (not least because I didn't pay for a place to do so) but I met some interesting people.
Apparently the Russian Consulate is on some kind of holiday until sometime next week so my scheme to invade St.Petersburg isn't going to work out this time. In a way this is good, because I can come back later with more time (train to moscow, find Simon!) and better prepared (learn cyrillic
alphabet, have visa), but it's still quite a bummer. After exploring Helsinki a bit I think I'm going to go to Estonia (no visas required) or something.
BTW visited University of Helsinki today. Not too much exciting stuff going on there now (everyone on holiday), but they have a nice library, and I believe that U. of Helsinki is where Linux originated.
Finland switches to (begins use of) the Euro currency (notes & coins) on Tuesday. Everything is already priced in Euros.
Finland's two official languages are Finnish and Swedish, which is quite convenient... Finnish is some bizarre mutation of an old form of Hungarian, so being able to communicate (and read signs, which are mostly in both languages) in Swedish is quite helpful.
Just visited the National Museum.
Have to be back in Lund on the 7th.
Had a very nice Christmas with Tony's family in Kristinehamn.
If anyone wants to rendevoux in finland/ estonia/ latvia/ lithuania/ poland/ sweden in the next few days, you know the number.
Gotta go, this store is closing.
-- Tobin
Apparently the Russian Consulate is on some kind of holiday until sometime next week so my scheme to invade St.Petersburg isn't going to work out this time. In a way this is good, because I can come back later with more time (train to moscow, find Simon!) and better prepared (learn cyrillic
alphabet, have visa), but it's still quite a bummer. After exploring Helsinki a bit I think I'm going to go to Estonia (no visas required) or something.
BTW visited University of Helsinki today. Not too much exciting stuff going on there now (everyone on holiday), but they have a nice library, and I believe that U. of Helsinki is where Linux originated.
Finland switches to (begins use of) the Euro currency (notes & coins) on Tuesday. Everything is already priced in Euros.
Finland's two official languages are Finnish and Swedish, which is quite convenient... Finnish is some bizarre mutation of an old form of Hungarian, so being able to communicate (and read signs, which are mostly in both languages) in Swedish is quite helpful.
Just visited the National Museum.
Have to be back in Lund on the 7th.
Had a very nice Christmas with Tony's family in Kristinehamn.
If anyone wants to rendevoux in finland/ estonia/ latvia/ lithuania/ poland/ sweden in the next few days, you know the number.
Gotta go, this store is closing.
-- Tobin
