Finland 2009

June 25th: Travel day. Left Hibbing, MN at 5 pm – to Mpls – to Amsterdam – to Helsinki (arrived about 10 pm on Friday, June 26th). Taxi from the airport cost approximately 25 Euros. Checked into the Holiday Inn at the Convention Center. Went to bed about midnight and slept through until 12:45 pm on Saturday (6/27). We were very tired!

June 27th: Woke up about 12:45 pm. Headed out to do some exploration near the hotel. We found several small grocery stores and a mall. Had a quick lunch at a hamburger joint and had a nice walk. Weather was overcast and looked a bit like rain. Temp was about 71 degrees and getting cooler throughout the day.

Returned to the hotel and dressed for an authors’ reception sponsored by Connie Delaney, Charlotte Weaver, Patrick Weber, and Robyn Carr, editors of the Nursing Informatics for the 21st Century text. A group from CSS contributed a case study to the text (Sally, Shirley Eichenwald-Maki,Janelle Wapola, Sue Hyndman, Beth Donahue, and Marty Witrak). Nice reception with cocktails and appetizers provided.

Finished the day with a trip to the hotel sauna – a beautiful spa-like series of rooms. Men and women sauna separately. The suite also includes a huge glass and tile shower area, a reception area with wicker furniture, and lotions, creams and shampoos. A cold beer and a wonderful piece of chocolate filled with raspberries was a great way to finish our first day in Helsinki.