July 6, 2009 - Finnish Trip

It is the last day - but it has been a very good trip. We decided to not try to cram in a trip to Estonia. I think after 10 days we are both tired. If we see Tallin we would like to see it a little more enthusiastically. Instead, we headed to downtown Helsinki to the Cafe Eckberg, which was mentioned on our tour. They have been open for over 4 generations and are well known for their pastries. We enjoyed a buffet lunch followed by dessert - Tom had chocolate cake and I had something traditionally Finnish - made with mashed potatoes and chocolate (but very good).

After lunch we walked back to Stockmann's and did a little tour of the store. They sell Marimekko dog beds even (since Tuuli ate his last bed I figured he didn't need a Marimekko bed - and we would have had no way to get it home). About 3 pm we decided to head back to the hotel to begin the organizing/packing process, check in to our flight, get our boarding passes ready to just relax. It will be the last sauna night for a while.

Tomorrow we leave Helsinki at 9:10 am and get to Minneapolis about 3:30 pm. I believe we arrive in Hibbing about 7 - so we should be walking in the door at home no later than 8:00 pm if everything goes according to plan. It has been a good trip and I have many ideas for next time.