Busy days & a short stop in Helsinki

Sorry it's been a while since my last post.  Things have been a little crazy lately, and it feels like I haven't spent any time in St. Petersburg lately between work and fun travel.  The summer flew by so fast!  It is still nice over here (mid 60's), but expected to drop into the high 50's with rain by next week :(

We spent a week in Portugal with Mom & Dad, and I'm still working on all of those pictures.  We had a great time and saw so much of Lisbon and the surrounding areas.  And of course ate & drank too much all week.

But in the meantime, here are a few pictures from our 1-day layover in Helsinki. 

Because of the G20 meetings in St. Petersburg last week, they shut down the airport for 3 days and only had limited (and very expensive) tickets available in the days before & after the meeting.  So crazy!!!!  So instead, we went to Finland & stayed in town an extra day, then traveled home by train on Monday.

It was Sunday, so the weekly market was happening at their "Market Square" (what a boring & obvious name!).  The market is year-round, but the late Summer is always the best time to visit.  It was very busy all day, with everything from fish, fruits & vegetables, Finnish crafts, furs, and prepared food to eat while strolling through the market.

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I LOVE markets!

The fried vendace (basically smelts). 

I wished I could have smuggled some of this back to Russia with me, because the quality, variety, & freshness is so much better!  In the US, we know that we can get good quality fresh food and whatever we want.   I no longer take that for granted

I didn't try this, but it looked tasty!  Reindeer and boar stew

Chanterelle season!  5 Euro per kilo is a steal

The only food I did buy was some cloudberry jam.  Cloudberries grow in the Arctic regions, and people in the Scandinavian countries & Russia look forward to them every summer.  They look like orange raspberries, but are a little softer, and have a sweet/sour taste (they remind me of warn Riesling wine).  are a treat in Finland & northern Russia.

You can see them towards the bottom of the picture.  These are from the Lapland region.  The lady who sold me the jam told me that she lives 600 kilometers (375 miles) north of Helsinki, and drives there every weekend for the market.

 

It was a beautiful day, so we spent it walking around the city, mostly along the shoreline of the Gulf of Finland

No idea what this is, but I saw it & thought it was pretty cool. 

We discovered that Sunday is football day, even in Helsinki.  "Real" football that is (or soccer to us Americans).

These kids were organized!

Portugal pictures coming soon!!!!

It's not just about the coffeeshouses.......

We stopped in Amsterdam this past weekend, on the way to Brussels for some meetings.

Amsterdam is one of my favorite places.  It's just super easy, laid back, very affordable, and fun.  A lot of people think Amsterdam is all about the Red Light District and visiting a "coffeehouse", and think everyone who visits is focusing on just that.  And yes, those parts of town can be very busy & packed with foreign tourists.  But you can avoid those areas, hang out with the locals & focus on the rest of the city, which is so cool!

I love walking through the city in the morning, while people are still sleeping or recovering from last night.

 

 

The architecture, especially canal houses, is my favorite in all of Europe. Each one is unique

And lots of cool, decked-out houseboats all around town

Caught the firemen taking an ice cream break.  Really?????

 

On Saturday mornings, there is a great open market in the Jordaan district called Noordermarkt.  This was one of the 1st things we saw, and you will see (later) that it revisited

 

The market has everything you might want, all from organic farms.

These two boys were on their best behavior, hoping that "Dad" bought them their Saturday treat

A little jazz in the morning........

Their owner was selling really lame stuff - like batteries and past-expiration moisturizer.  I suspect the huskies were bored

This bakery stand had a working stone oven in the back.  That's fresh bread!

Pat's breakfast, from the earlier photo

Another favorite spot is Vondelpark.  It's a great place to walk around & people watch.

Bath Time

Not sure whether to stay in or go out. 

A double-wide houseboat.  Nice flowers

A few more canal shots

I can't resist a sleeping kitty

Pat, did you lose your bike?

 

Proost!!!  (that would be Cheers in Dutch )

  

More pictures from the Amalfi Coast - Isle of Capri

One final posting on Italy.  For now.........

One of the places we visited was the Isle of Capri.  It was a 30-40 minute ferry ride from the Positano port.  I got seasick, but quickly got over it

I thought Capri was exceptionally beautiful.  But really crowded (although that's what you get when you go on vacation in late July).  And tons of Russians!  So we tried to avoid the crowds, and spent most of our time walking through the gardens and long the paths viewing the sea

Giardini di Augusto

The walkway from the cliffs to the sea

Could you imagine living in that house on the top?

This was "just" a small souvenier shop

An old monastery - Certosa di San Giacomo, from the 14th century

Where there is a piazza, there is a clock tower

I could handle that for my back yard view!

New hat  

I wonder when those rocks separated?

I think he stood there for 15 minutes without saying a word

The requisite market picture with Pat in the picture

Another hot day!

I couldn't resist taking this one!

Chillin' on the back deck.  I wish that was my view!

 

Final parting shot, on the path down to the port.