I've been behind on my blog here in Finland so I decided to combine the last few days into one entry. This place is gorgeous. It's been pretty snowy so I've spent a lot of time inside, in coffee shops and bars. Ville has graciously allowed me to stay at his place while he stays at his girlfriend's. This is saving me a ton of money, which is a lifesaver as I come to the end of my trip. The Fins are on the Euro, and it's quite expensive for pretty much everything here. So far Hong Kong has been the best place for my dollar, which was certainly not what I had expected starting this trip.

My adventures to Sweden and St. Petersburg were thwarted by expensive Visas an plane tickets respectively, so those trips will have to wait till next time. So far my time here in Finland has been very relaxing. I've been exploring the city quite a bit and getting a ton of exercize as I walk miles a day in the snow (which promptly undo with beer every night).

Some of the highlights have been dinners here. On the first night in Helsinki I went with Ville to a classic Finnish restaurant and had reindeer and potatoes. It was very good. So far there has been almost no native food on this trip I haven't liked. I need to remember to be more adventurous with my eating habits when I return to LA. Last night Anna, Ville and I cooked a pasta dinner at Ville's pad before he and I trekked through the snow to see Juno (over rated at best).

Other than that we've been exploring a lot of small neighborhood bars. I've been to DTM (the biggest gay bar here) twice, but both times during the day, when I was pretty much the only person there. The architecture is stunning and you'll notice a lot of shot of it in my pics. I wish LA had more buildings like these. Tonight I plan on partying for sure, and Friday I'm going out with Ville and all his friends. Thats it for now!

Posted 27th March 2008 by Josh Gray-Emmer