Helsinki, Finland

The daily flight from Copenhagen to Helsinki usually arrives in Finland at 11:30 at night but my plane was running 45 minutes late.  This made me a little nervous since the hostel I booked closes check-in at 1:00am so I was cutting it a bit close.  Fortunately there were several of us on the flight all headed to the same hostel so I figured they wouldn't leave us all out in the cold.  Although the hostel was a long walk from the city center, it has to be the cleanest place I have stayed in a while.  It was also pretty special because the rooms are located inside the 1952 Olympic Stadium!

Ben Liuzzi let me join Crossfit Central Helsinki for a Saturday morning session which was so fun!  It was gymnastics day so the workout was filled with somersaults, bridges and handstands.  The best part though had to be learning to rope climb.  Thanks everyone for your patience and advice!

Spent the rest of Saturday walking around town being a tourist.  Helsinki reminded me of how tired I am of cold Scandinavian winters!  My weekend in Finland was filled with negative temperatures, frozen lakes and SNOW.  Beyond ready for a beach vacation!

On my way to the airport on Sunday I stopped at the Helsinki Winter Gardens.  It was wonderful to see so much color inside when the outdoors was just a sea of white!

Now time for laundry and packing because in less than 12 hours I am back at the airport.  Here I come Ireland!