Stage 15 - Helsinki

Chris will pick me up at 2 p.m. and we will leave Tampere with mixed feelings. So much is behind us, so much has been accomplished. Now, we move forward. This week has been floating in the air, but now it's behind us and it was rewarding. When I work, with my colleagues, in a professional context, I am myself. I am someone and I can do something, and people listen to me and appreciate me and like me, and I feel that I am capable. That's how important it is for my self-esteem. I realize this in this week. Full of power and optimism, we race down the highway to Helsinki, looking forward to new adventures.

We arrive just in time at the camping store near Helsinki. Chris has ordered a new cover plate for the sink. It fits, and I am glad that my mistakes can often be easily fixed. We also pick up a few cushions from the store, and I bargain them down, as well as a few towels. A bargain price.

It's Friday, and tomorrow we have the whole day in Helsinki before we board the ferry to Germany on Sunday.

It takes quite a while and costs us a lot of nerves to decide not to spend the next two nights at a campsite near the ferry in the middle of a high-rise housing complex, but instead to stay in a luxury hotel with a large bathroom, sauna, and a central location. Around 10 p.m., we check in at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Helsinki, tired and carrying two bags, for a very good price. The room is exactly to my taste, and I enjoy having space and a large bed and a clean shower and warm feet. We watch a documentary about the nature and wildlife of Finland, and I fall asleep very happily.

Helsinki is beautiful! After a hearty breakfast from the lavish buffet, we set off. First me, then Chris follows, and we meet at the square in front of the Biennale and the civic center. The sun is shining, of course (we have been so lucky with the weather for weeks), and we stroll from shop to shop. There are many boutiques, many of them second-hand stores, and we really like the city with this atmosphere. We wander around here for hours, drinking coffee, eating tiramisu, buying some nice things, and having some nice conversations. Finally, we end up at the harbor and admire the historical buildings. And we realize that our feet hurt from walking so much. We are no longer used to that. We wanted to have dinner at a nice restaurant, but unfortunately, we find out that on Saturday evening in Helsinki, it's impossible without a reservation. So we take an Uber back to the hotel and eat there. Also very delicious and upscale. And afterwards, you can just fall into bed. And enjoy the view from the large window.

Now the time has come. After 2 months, we are leaving Scandinavia by water. We have already made the return trip by land last year on our Baltic tour. It was a great trip: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were very, very enjoyable. Driving through them again at this point would have been too much.

We have collected and seen so much, experienced and enjoyed so much. We have driven so far and stood in so many places. Scandinavia was an excellent choice. We were lucky with the weather, the parking spaces, and the people, if there were any at all. It was a gift that we were allowed to be here and absorb this country with all its countries and colors. Experience, travel through, and take with us. In all its facets. The mountains of Norway, the vast lakes of Sweden, the colorful forests of Finland.

Above all, we have focused on ourselves during this journey. Indirectly and quite often directly. Getting to know and love each other better. Developing more understanding for each other and fulfilling a dream. Time, space, freedom. For what we feel like doing and for what brings us both joy. Not looking outwards, but looking inwards. The world outside has reached us. We have heard its sound and given it back and integrated ourselves into life. Swung along with it and made our own sound. Sometimes loud, sometimes soft. We have felt at home and yet experienced new things over and over again. We have argued and fought so much about nothing and everything, and we have loved each other and truly understood each other and doubted each other and accepted each other. Everything was allowed, everything had to be. Everything was easy. Everything was EASY. Really living together, without too many distractions. We have given ourselves this gift, and it will remain.

Surely, it will continue to affect us and resonate within us and give us a lot for the times to come. The sound of the sea, the wind in the trees, the birds in the wind, the gentle waves on the lake shore, the stuttering of the engine, the stories of the audio book, the newspaper articles that we read to each other, the question about last night's sleep. The cuddling and holding on, the crying and enduring the other. The camping chairs and the table, washing up and emptying the toilet. The muesli in the morning and the pasta in the evening. The sun, the blue sky, the trees and the meadows, the sand, and all the colors and shapes. The silence and the roar. A play of tides. In the sea of life. We have swum in it. And recognized ourselves and life.

The first parking space for the cinnamon roll without us sleeping in it at night - very unusual...!