Soundtrack: Lady Gaga medley It will come as no surprise to anyone who has taken a flight in the last 30 years that standard economy seats are not designed for comfortable sleeping for any normal sized person. So when I say that the Finnair flight from Helsinki to Singapore was pretty good, it should be read with the above caveat, […]
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Soundtrack: every song about spending time in airports, but especially “Departure”, R.E.M. So begins the next adventure: getting home. Right now, L and I should have been sitting in Qatar business class, somewhere over the Mediterranean, perusing the champagne and whisky menus, before lying back in our seats and having a nap 36,000 feet up in the air. Maybe I’d […]
Read moreHome. Not Istanbul, nor Constantinople, nor Byzantium. Not Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm. Just a couch with a dog that has mostly forgiven, and the heater on, because we’d certainly acclimatised to 30 degree weather and are feeling the chill of an otherwise mild Perth winter. The journey home was uneventful, Singapore Airlines generally took care of us well (except […]
Read moreSaid farewell to Helsinki this morning as we boarded the Gabriella to Tallinn. As we’d heard, there were a number of passengers whose luggage consisted solely of fold-up trolleys, as their mission was to catch the ferry, head to nearest liquor shop in Tallinn, stock up and then catch the next ferry home, as apparently the price difference for booze […]
Read moreOur last full day in Helsinki, so we spent it eating, walking, shopping, sightseeing, and for me another sauna. We headed to the harbourfront markets for an early lunch and to check out the various stalls selling souvenirs, things made from wood, reindeer, elk, amber, silver, and other assorted animals. L has been eying off various warm hats, but in […]
Read moreA full day in Helsinki. With the weather forecast promising sun, we took one of the harbour tour boats for a bit of fresh air and history. People have called Helsinki home for thousands of years, but it’s first major development kick was thanks to the Swedish occupiers in the 16th century. They turned Helsinki into a major trading hub, […]
Read moreSpent most of the morning’s ferry cruise dealing with Optus help trying to get reconnected. At various times I was connected to Swedish, Finnish, and Estonian telcos but at no point would any data flow. In the end Optus have cut my 5G access at account level, which seemed to work (I say seemed as I wouldn’t be surprised if […]
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