We Have Arrived in Finland!

I can't believe that the day has finally arrived! We are in Helsinki, Finland tonight! Today has been a low-key day following a long night of flying (about 9.5 hours). Our flights were smooth, but traveling is exhausting. Our hotel for tonight is right by the central train station, so that was very convenient. 

View from our hotel window of the train station. Hopefully, tomorrow I can figure out how to take a train to Tampere.

We arrived around 1:00 local time and successfully navigated ourselves to our hotel room to rest and freshen up. 

We did make it out to explore the area a little bit. The city is taking on the spirit of the holiday season with lights and trees. Tomorrow Santa Claus visits to turn on the lights on Aleksanterinkatu Christmas Street with a parade. The area was already bustling with shoppers and stores were advertising Black Weekend sales. I didn't realize that Black Friday existed outside of the United States. The Stockmann Department store reminds me of Macy's or my old Chicago favorite of Marshall Fields. They even have a decorated Christmas window display that draws visitors of all ages.

Stockmann Department Store Christmas Window