Finland Russia Baltic Day 2
Finland Russia Baltic
Trafalgar Tours - Day 02 - October 04, 2008 - Saturday – Munich, Germany to Helsinki, Finland
The clouds were thick over Germany as the red sun came up to welcome us to Northern Europe. We landed in Munich at 7:30 AM after a few hours of sleep and then a light breakfast.
The immigration and customs in Munich were both very easy compared to the regulations in Frankfurt, our usual entry city to the European Union. We had about an hour to explore this well kept and efficient airport until 8:45 when we boarded our final flight of the day for Helsinki, Finland.
We were the only passengers in Business Class of this small A320-200 aircraft. Our 2.5 hour flight was very pleasant and we managed to get a little more sleep before arriving in Finland at 12:30 pm.
Trafalgar provides pick-up service only at certain times of the day; 10, 2, and 4 so we had to wait for about 90 minutes for our tour leader. While we waited we met several more people who will be traveling with us for the next two weeks.
At 1:30 we me our Tour Director, Xavier, who gave us a few more instructions and information about the money we will need for our trip. We were told to bring $61 US for our visas to Belarus. Imagine our surprise when we found out it is now $138 for each of us! Non-Americans have to pay $70.
Our drive from the airport took about 40 minutes. The leaves were golden brown and the fall colors were beautiful! The temperature was a cool 55 degrees with a slight breeze. It had been raining all week, but this afternoon it was crisp under partially sunny skies!
We saw many people smoking out on the sidewalks and Xavier told us that they have a new strict non-smoking policy in all of Finland. He also said not to get used to it as tomorrow we go into Russia where smoking and drinking are both mandatory!
After arriving at our very beautiful hotel right on the waterfront, we received our luggage and then went right out to take a walk, stretch our flight legs, and take advantage of this gorgeous day! We saw the city center and the people enjoy their last bit of Fall.
After exploring for almost 3 hours, we got back to the hotel, took a shower, checked our e-mails, and got ready for our Welcome Drink/Reception with our Tour Director and fellow traveling companions.
At 7 PM we met Xavier in the lounge for a brief get together and information session. He went through some basic guidelines, bus rotation and times for departure tomorrow as we had some libations. At 7:45 we were finished and we got our jackets for another short walk to get a bite to eat.
We had seen a kebab restaurant so we made our way there and in the process took some night shots of the Orthodox Cathedral, the waterfront, and the Lutheran Cathedral. After dinner we walked home and finished the journal.
Accommodations: Scandic Grand Marina Hotel - - - Meal: B, L,
Comments
My sister and her friend Janet "Aka" Karen are on the trip. Hope you are having a good time. Looks fantastic. Love Lil (Perth Australia)
Post a Comment!G'day, I believe you have my wife Elizabeth and her friend Chris on your trip. Liz told me to check out your website and it looks great, hope you allhave a great time. All the best, John Denman Australia
Trafalgar Map of Our Tour
Departure Gate in Munich
Our First Bus Trip From the Airport
Helsinki Waterfront
Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral
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