Helsinki, Finland Day 15

Day 15, September 15

After eating another colon clogging colossal breakfast and thanks to scouting yesterday we left at 8 am confident in reaching Arlanda Airport way ahead of time before our Stockholm Card expired. At the airport self check in we got our boarding passes for the changed flight at almost 2 pm. At the gate we saw stairs going up to the second floor where we parked all by ourselves with a great view of the take off runway and the forest beyond. A huge cloud of black smoke shot up from the forest, and we assumed the terrorist bomb missed its mark by 500 yards. Planes departed about every 10 minutes, and our secluded quiet waiting area made for a pleasant but long wait until the flight. After sitting there a couple of hours and 13 take offs later, we noticed a flight to Helsinki before noon. I walked down, and greeted the agent walking to the gate. It turned out to be our original Blue 1 flight they had changed to SAS for no reason. She got us on, and we sat by ourselves in a 3 seat row, got drinks, not always the case, and had a quick flight, less than an hour in the half full plane to Helsinki, Finland. At the airport we checked Air Berlin for our departure in 3 days, and all was well. We bought a 3 day transportation pass for 27 euros/$38, bought a 4 euro city bus ticket which the pass did not cover, and arrived at the central train station after 20 local stops. I checked with the driver when the earliest bus service began. It started at 5 am, not early enough for our flight to Dusseldorf. Our hotel, Scandic Marski, on Mannerheimintie Street was a short 2 blocks south. Which direction was south? We started up a street and no Scandic Marski Hotel sign greeted us. An elderly lady tried to help us but the English Finnish communication broke down although she pointed us in the right direction. Shortly an open shop with a young attractive woman looked like an opportunity for some quality directions. She spoke excellent English and drew a route on our map. When I walked out, Lee said, "Do you know what that place was?" "No." "A nude bar and club." Well, I guess I know where to get directions. Our guide girl obviously had additional hidden skills, talents, and attributes I, unfortunately, wasn allowed to observe.
Had we known our directions, the hotel was just two blocks south of the central train station. At the front desk, after checking in, I asked what options we had for a very early morning departure in 3 days. The only option he said was a 45 euro/$64 taxi. The taxi stand right out front had cabbies waiting all night for the lucrative hotel to airport run. We got the keys, rode the key operated elevator to the third floor, and entered gigantic room 323, with a 32 inch flat screen TV, desk, granite table, chairs, two big beds, and a divided bathroom the size of our usual one star accommodations entire room. The stay included a buffet breakfast, and free internet in the lobby. That night Eurosport showed part of the European Table Tennis Championships. In the first match Romania led 2-0 going to 3 for the win. The German tightened his shorts, slapped himself, let out a guttural roar, and won the next 3 games for the victory. In the next match the left handed top ranked German did exactly the same, losing the first two games, but winning the next 3. In the third match the German squashed the Romanian 3 straight for the team championship. These guys appeared to practice more often than 45 minutes once a week. Back home, Jock won 4 matches and lost 2 in the Schaumburg Table Tennis Tournaments, under 1500 and under 1700. With a few nagging leg cramps the night passed smoothly.

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