Sky high
Packing up and saying goodbye and losing, and chucking and parting came to an end when I got on the plane and looked ahead to my reunion with Nick. And so, unexpectedly, I spent the entire flight feeling so light and delighted at the approach of the destination.
I had not expected this feeling of joy in flying out of the country. I had also not anticipated that the views out my tiny, plastic window
from Melbourne to Singapore would blow me so quite away. I was captivated by the shifting patterns and lines of that endless yellow-red land. And for the first time in my life - what a moment! - I got to see Uluru! The captain turned the plane right above, so my window tilted for an incredible view.
Fast forward through waking and sleeping, cramps and neck pain and navigating airports, a taxi ride and registering as a Finnish resident.
My first impressions of Helsinki is that is visually pretty brutal. There are only a few dirty piles of snow left, but the vegetation is still leafless. The city buildings are largely dark, 70s-looking, square buildings. Most are flat-fronted and butt up against each other in very imposing, continuous walls of ... just buildings. Down the end of some city streets you glimpse the power station and the huge mountain of coal in front of it. But I was surprised by the areas that looked more like San Fransisco. Many apartments and, also the old city, are painted in peachy pastels and they look quite pretty against the grey sky with the seagulls wheeling and ululating overhead and in between (look that word up, it perfectly describes how these seagulls sound).
Nick and I walked around the edge of the city looking at the ferries and sailboats and strangely large edifices that sit on the rocky outcrops of mystery islands out to sea, and eating a grilled sausage while the wind, though not strong, gave my ears a good beating with its sharp coldness.
With red cheeks and sniffly noses we wandered through the local food hall, kauppahalli, where I started to get maybe excited by the idea of cooking! (An activity that remains Nick’s domain as much as I can possibly help it). So many weird cheeses and cured meats and properly dirty fresh produce that looks like it really came out of the real ground.
I ended my first day feeling pretty excited by the idea of calling this new, strange place home.