The return to dublin was a solo run (Daniel’s staying for an extra week of training, the lucky git). Up at 0750, showered, dressed, final bit of packing (toothbrushes!) and down to the last breakfast with everyone.
And then it’s off to the taxi, which arrived three minutes early (a bit of a shock here, where 0930 means 0930, not 0929 or 0931 😀 ). Half an hour of a drive through gloomy drizzle to Senajoki train station (and say what you like about stereotypes being wrong, but how many Irish taxi drivers can be comfortably silent for half an hour and not think it odd?). A brief wait and then onto the train and out of the station at precisely 1038 (see what I mean about times?) and I got to sit down at my PC seat (meaning you get a small table and a power socket for your laptop) and write up my notes from the last few days for the blog.
We arrived in Helsinki promptly at 1352 (again with the time!), and after checking in the luggage into lockers and storage, it was shopping time for a few hours (there’s a birthday party for a friend’s daughter the day after I get back and I was successful in finding her a nice moomin, but not a pink one 🙁 ). And of course some nice Nordic stuff for herself indoors, who sent me on this course as one of the better birthday presents ever 🙂 After the shopping, it was onto the bus (Bus eireann, take note – LCD displays on bus stops showing the three next incoming buses. How hard can it be in Ireland if they can do it in the sub-zero temperatures they get here? And their website has a google maps type of arrangement where you can see the route of the bus so you can see where the best stop is for you).
Check into the hotel, leave the rifle in secure storage, and up to the room to nap for a half-hour. Then dinner (reindeer carpaccio and steak… lovely, medium rare, pink-in-the-middle *steak* that tasted of something! oh, the simply joys…) and a walkabout to a local coffee shop for coffee and a slice of passionfruit cheesecake. Where you find a passionfruit in Finland I don’t know, and frankly, after the week, I don’t care either 😀 Then back to the room to finally get to post the blogs. And tomorrow, KLM. Again…