Helsinki!

Well folks, I was lucky enough to spend the weekend in Helsinki! It was a whirlwind trip, but excellent none the less!

Our trip began early Saturday morning with a 3.5hour train ride from Jyväskylä to Helsinki. It was a great chance to see some of Finland...in between naps. I must say though, if I hadn't known I was in Finland I would have assumed I was still in Canada, the scenery is very similar!

After arriving in Helsinki, we checked into our hostel then wandered around the city. I should take a moment to tell you about the hostel. It is located in the Olympic Stadium from when Helsinki hosted the 1952 Olympics. For a sports nerd like me, it was the perfect place to stay! I didn't get a chance to climb the tower or go to the museum in another part of the stadium on this trip, but they top the list for my next trip!

Olympic Stadium

The city is very cool. Lots of modern buildings mixed in between older very ``European`` looking buildings. There was also a nice market at the marina but sadly we stumbled across it just as it was closing for the day.



Now before I start this next story, I should say that part of the reason I wanted to go to Helsinki was that the NHL was in town. How could I miss being in the same random foreign city as the NHL?! I unfortunately didn't have tickets to the games, but just being in Helsinki was going to be enough... or so i thought!!! While shopping in a souvenir shop, 2 men came in wearing suits. Immediately I knew "they're here for the NHL", who else would wear a suit on Saturday? As I walked past them my intuition was confirmed by the NHLPA pins on their lapels. After leaving the store I wished I had talked to them, who knows, maybe they could have gotten me my dream job in the NHL. But no need to worry about that. Instead I proceeded to tell the girls I was travelling with about my first NHL encounter in Helsinki. They unfortunately didn't share my excitement since neither is a hockey fan.

We continued walking throughout the city. Lots of great sights, the Parliament Buildings, the Helsinki Cathedral, a sauna supplies store and the marina . Sadly the Cathedral's main dome was under construction but it is still a very impressive building.

Parliament Buildings

Helsinki Cathedral

As we started walking back to the hostel, my second NHL encounter occurred! Two men (again wearing suits) walked past us. Their North American English gave them away. In a rash decision we decided to follow them... no, I'm not a stalker, let's get that clear! After walking a short distance they turned onto a side street. And where did they lead us... right to the hotel that the Chicago Blackhawks were going to be departing from momentarily!

A small crowd of fans had gathered to see the team, we of course waited too. It wasn't long before the Hawks slowly started to leave the hotel and get on the bus. It was almost surreal to be standing maybe 15 feet away from the bus door. I've spent years watching players like Toews and Kane play in international tournaments and then the NHL. Who knew I would see them in Finland?! It was also really cool for Sport Management major like myself to see who was travelling with the team, how security was handled, etc. As the bus pulled away, I got a smile and wave from Duncan Keith who had been sitting on the bus parallel to where we were standing.

NHL and Emily in HELSINKI!

Toews!

So needless to say, that chance sighting of the team was the highlight of my trip! Sunday it was a very windy and rainy day and most of the stores were closed as is common here on Sundays. We again wandered around for a bit then stopped to get some lunch. We ended up in what I thought was a mall food court. Well, in this food court you order you food and sit down. Your food is brought to your table and your dishes cleared when you're done. So basically it's half food court half restaurant. After lunch we got onto a city streetcar/tram so that we could tour the city without having to be in the rain. It was a great way to see some of the city that we otherwise wouldn't have seen.


Well, sorry for the novel but I didn't want to leave out any exciting details!