Day 5: The Unexpected

This morning I woke up feeling a lot better. I still have some congestion but it has been improving. I had breakfast in the cruise ship and then returned to my room to pack. Once I had everything with me, I spread some of Chris’s ashes discretely over the side of the boat and into the Baltic Sea. We docked and immediate got on our bus and began sightseeing through Helsinki. It’s a rather small city compared to the others, but I was surprised to see so many shops and things to do. I went up to visit a place called Hvitträsk for the architecture and also went to Rock Church which is built on rocks. I was able to spread Chris’s ashes at Hvitträsk, it was in a lush green area with a beautiful lake nearby. I walked through a little trail by myself and found lavender growing on the side of the path so I went through some shrubbery and spread his ashes.

After visitng these places I walked quite a bit through an open air market that had a lot of interesting souvenirs. I came across a stand that had beautiful llama sweaters and stuffed llamas standing in front of the stall. I went up to the gentleman and asked him why there was a Peruvian stall in Finland. He told me he is Peruvian and he has been living in several Scandinavian countries for the last 20 years. He said he sells in various markets and collects enough to go back to Peru every year during the harsh winters in Europe. I totally did not expect to meet another “paidano” today!! So rad!!!

Afterwards, the bus took us to our hotel and I left and wandered through a nice area by a channel. I stopped a local and asked her if she could recommend a delicious restaurant where I could enjoy delicious food and a glass of wine. She pointed to Faro which was right next to the channel and had a gorgeous view of the water.

Faro was exactly what I needed after the last two days of not feeling well. I enjoyed a steak tartare and duck. It was a wonderful treat before heading to Russia tomorrow.

​Always expect the unexpected!!