It was too cold to be out in the air for longer than five or 10 minutes, so I took shelter in the warmth of a shopping centre, wandering around and realising there was absolutely nothing I wanted. I found myself in a Huawei shop where it turns out that the Chinese company is going for the Apple market. They have some smart-looking smart phones, tablets and laptops, not forgetting a few watches too, and they're much cheaper than Apple phones. But I've just signed on the dotted line to keep my old iphone 5S on a Sim-only deal for just £13 per month. Not bad when you consider I have 5GB and unlimited texts and minutes.
I decided to grin and bear the cold and walk to Stockmann's where I took another look at a lantern I was considering buying, but decided not to; then I checked out everything from saucepans to teapots and nothing appealed. Nothing made me want to reach for the credit card and buy it.
Across the road was a Hard Rock Cafe, time to get myself acquainted with a Hard Rock Helsinki fridge magnet and lunch, which was very pleasant as the restaurant was half empty. Afterwards I had to head back to the hotel to pick up my case and then head for the central station and a train to the airport. I jumped on the 1356hrs from platform 5 and was feeling a little bit sleepy. For a short while I read Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq and then drifted off to sleep. Fortunately I was awake when the train arrived at the airport.
It was then a case of logging on to one of those terminals to check in. I discovered they'd given me an aisle seat, which I didn't want, but it said I couldn't change it, which was annoying. However, as I'd reached the airport ahead of schedule I decided to seek out a bag drop-off desk to see if it was possible to get a window seat. It was! I was seat 11c but I'm now seat 9a - result!
And then, of course, it was time to go through security, which was fine, and then run the gauntlet of the society of the spectacle. I never buy anything off of those bastards, but I did spray myself with a couple of the aftershave testers before proceeding through the rest of the muck: alcohol, chocolates, watches, you name it, they're trying to flog it, but no way, I've wised up and I'm now sitting in Nordic Kitchen eating a cinnamon roll and drinking a mint tea. A small bar of Karl Fazer chocolate made it all very special.
I tell you what really confuses me, people from South East Asia who walk around wearing masks as if they know something we don't - or is it out of politeness because they don't want us to catch their cold or flu or whatever ailment they might have picked up? Who knows? Certainly not me.
Anyway, the noticeboard says I've got to go to the gate, which is two minutes away. There's not much more to say so I'll sign off.
Later...
The flight was good and roughly on time. It was clear skies all the way until we reached the UK and we landed with a bit of a bang. I'm home now, watching the news.
A brief word about Finland: What a fantastic country and what lovely people. It was my first time and I hope I'll have cause to return again soon.
 |
| Lunch at Hard Rock Helsinki |
I decided to grin and bear the cold and walk to Stockmann's where I took another look at a lantern I was considering buying, but decided not to; then I checked out everything from saucepans to teapots and nothing appealed. Nothing made me want to reach for the credit card and buy it.
Across the road was a Hard Rock Cafe, time to get myself acquainted with a Hard Rock Helsinki fridge magnet and lunch, which was very pleasant as the restaurant was half empty. Afterwards I had to head back to the hotel to pick up my case and then head for the central station and a train to the airport. I jumped on the 1356hrs from platform 5 and was feeling a little bit sleepy. For a short while I read Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq and then drifted off to sleep. Fortunately I was awake when the train arrived at the airport.
It was then a case of logging on to one of those terminals to check in. I discovered they'd given me an aisle seat, which I didn't want, but it said I couldn't change it, which was annoying. However, as I'd reached the airport ahead of schedule I decided to seek out a bag drop-off desk to see if it was possible to get a window seat. It was! I was seat 11c but I'm now seat 9a - result!
And then, of course, it was time to go through security, which was fine, and then run the gauntlet of the society of the spectacle. I never buy anything off of those bastards, but I did spray myself with a couple of the aftershave testers before proceeding through the rest of the muck: alcohol, chocolates, watches, you name it, they're trying to flog it, but no way, I've wised up and I'm now sitting in Nordic Kitchen eating a cinnamon roll and drinking a mint tea. A small bar of Karl Fazer chocolate made it all very special.
 |
| Helsinki's Central Station |
Anyway, the noticeboard says I've got to go to the gate, which is two minutes away. There's not much more to say so I'll sign off.
Later...
The flight was good and roughly on time. It was clear skies all the way until we reached the UK and we landed with a bit of a bang. I'm home now, watching the news.
A brief word about Finland: What a fantastic country and what lovely people. It was my first time and I hope I'll have cause to return again soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment