Helsinki

Aside from a 10 month old with two teeth coming in quite fast - Helsinki is an amazing city and I'm glad I went.  Despite the cold weather and rain - it's very lovely and easy to walk around in.
I went into an indoor farmer's market and they sold many meats, vegetables and seafood.  One stand had "BEAR SALAMI - 15 EUROS/PIECE".....

There was so much to see and to do in Helsinki...and considering I've been in Jyv�skyl� since day one of moving here (385 days prior to the trip to Helsinki) - I was in awe of everything and truly felt like I was in New York.
There was a Louis Vuitton shop, a Guess store, Ben & Jerry's ice-cream store and various boutiques.

Then there was Stockmann.  Stockmann is a department store...when really it should be labelled a "mall".
It is 8 floors - and not small floors.  The kind of floors that require a  MAP to get around.
On the 8th floor is the food court....it's more like a walk-around restaurant.  There's tv screens listing what each station can cook and the cost.  The menu is listed in Finnish/Swedish and in English.
The 5th floor had children's toys and pet supplies.  I didn't see any pet supplies - but I didn't get a real chance to walk around as I was watching the clock constantly so I did not miss my train.  However, I did manage to change my son's diaper before we left and he was able to stretch out a bit as there was a medium-sized play-room - complete with a white shaggy rug!  It was so much fun and he made a little friend, named Elsa.  She kept trying to hug him and V�in� (like a real little man) crawled to his mama.
I didn't go to all the floors as the elevators were hard to catch!  There were about 4-6 of them but people that are able to take the escalator - took the elevator instead.  Can't really blame them as it is a bit faster, however, those that need the elevator (cough cough - people with babies and seniors) - are often left in the dust.

I found English books!  WAHOO! My goodness they were ridiculously expensive, but I found 3 that I had really wanted for V�in�'s collection of books.  So it was worth it.  The Stockmann book store was separate from the department store (just across the street from it) and also was several floors.  FYI the 3rd floor has hobby books and the bottom has novels and kids books.

Helsinki also has trams on top of buses too.  The trams are free for people with a pram/stroller, which is nice because they're very quick and on time.  They have a great system that you use your travel card to pay - you just select where you are going to and it deducts from your travel card.  OR you can send a text message to a certain number and your travel fee is listed on your cell phone bill.  I think this is great because I hate withdrawing 20 Euros for a bit of change to board the bus.  I'm not sure how much it costs per trip - it depends where you are going.

The train ride back was just as tiring as on the way to Helsinki because of these darn teeth.  However, there was much more space.  On the way we lucked out and got a business class seat.  If I didn't have the pram folded up beside me - it would've been great.  Apparently business class seats get free wireless internet on the train.
On the way back however - I had purchased my ticket in person, and the lady got me a spacious seat...no seats in front of me - just a big area for a wheel chair and a stroller.  GREAT!  So I didn't even have to fold it up!
There was a police officer on the train the whole time walking back and forth like he was on the hunt.  Well I was nervous, V�in� was in amazement and I had texted my husband informing him of the cop.  His response was simple: "Don't be worried unless he's looking for you."
Well - if there IS a killer on the train - what good will that do?!  I wonder if it's because it was a late night train (arriving in Jyv�skyl� around 11:30pm) - that's why he was there?  No idea.  I'm glad he was though because a drunk/beefy/big/bald guy was talking to V�in� when we first boarded - and that was fine - he wasn't too drunk at that point....and my brave little 10-month old stared him down and terrified him (I'm serious)....but later on he came on our wagon and asked around for smokes.
Just to be safe - I'd rather have the cop sitting in my wagon.  That and I was praying for patience during the last 1 hour-1hour/half of the ride....that's when the screaming didn't stop.

I'm hoping to go back again in the spring for a day trip with a girlfriend here...aka no children and no husbands.