I got into a bit of a fix in Finland. Because we heard that Helsinki was not going to be as interesting as the other countries (plus the Nordic cost of living... wew), we decided to do a short day trip to Helsinki from St. Petersburg and get our asses out of there by nightfall. But I had to pick the wrong country to book the wrong flight... So I booked a flight out of Helsinki on the evening of the following day whereas Daryl got his air ticket right. So I scrambled to find accommodation for the night and found the cheapest one at SGD50 a night called Hostel Suomenlinna. 

Little did I know...

That Suomenlinna was an island off the coast of Helsinki. 

Jeez Weina. I only found out on the cruise on the way to Helsinki when I was trying to find a route to the hostel from the ferry terminal. Turns out we had to take another ferry to get there too.

But yknow what, Suomenlinna Island was also my favourite part of Helsinki, hands down. It was so peaceful with majestic views and the weather was perfect on the day we were there. The island was built as a maritime fortress during the Swedish era and was originally called Sveaborg. It's on UNESCO's World Heritage List and it attracts visitors from Finland and the rest of the world (i.e. me cos I lived there for a night). They had one small supermarket (which was within walking distance from my hostel hahahaha) and the place was perfect for picnics!!!

Bought this pizza off an Asian guy who told me that he moved here from Guangdong with his family when he was 4 years old. He spoke perfect English and Finnish.

Always looking out for the best hipster picture opportunity ;)

We'd rather cook at the hostel than spend SGD25 on a meal we could skip...

Absolutely breathtaking

Daryl had to catch his flight so I walked him to the ferry terminal (also very near my hostel hahahaha). I was actually feeling sad when he left on the ferry because after 2 weeks together I was used to his companionship. And also because from that moment on I would be alone for that leg of my travels (my first time!!). 

I checked out of my hostel in Suomenlinna the next day and crossed over to Helsinki. Spent the afternoon visiting the main attractions carrying my 13kg bagpack and clad in a very useless raincoat because it was drizzling the entire day.

Then I decided to head to the airport 2 hours earlier than I planned because there wasn't much to see and there was definitely no one to talk to..... (hahahahahaha)

I met a few Finnish students here in school and whenever they asked me whether I liked Finland when I visited, a part of me contemplates to just gush at how much I loved that place. But in the end, I told them about my two days in Helsinki/Suomenlinna (I focused A LOT on how much I truly liked the island) and I told them that Helsinki was less interesting because I appreciated the views on the fortress better, which is actually true!!!