August 13-14th: Turku

I've realized that I have been seriously motivated by this blog to do things. I find myself often saying, "Gotta do this for the blog," or " I need this picture for the blog," and the best one "Gotta eat this, or drink that...for the blog." Honestly, it's been a very fulfilling last few days. I owe part of that to wanting to build content for this blog. It's really been forcing me to get myself out there and experience things in the world so that I can share about it.

 Earlier this week, we took a trip to Southern Finland to and visited a city called Turku. It's about 170 kilometers (~106 miles, for my American friends) from Helsinki and about 312 kilometers (~193 miles) from Stockholm. Due to it's close proximity to dense urban areas, and the University of Turku being the second largest university, there were an immense amount of English speakers. At no point did I feel out of place, or abnormal for having an English conversation. In fact, I think we heard more English than Finnish these last 48 hours - and even ran into many American tourists.

Needless to say, it was a pleasantly surprising stay-cation. More and more, I'm beginning to realize how many beautiful and unique cities exist in Finland. The accessibility of them all by bus or  train is such a game changer. We enjoyed some delicious meals. Including, a Korean style Beef 'Hot Dog' at a restaurant called Tintå; which, spoiler alert, was anything but a hotdog, but it was amazing. We spent most of our time walking along the river walk, which is decorated with coffee shops and cobblestone walkways.

Lucky for us, David's roommate/teammate is from Turku and let us stay in his apartment for the last two days. It's even equipped with it's own sauna, which is a huge part of the social climate here. They even give you tips about it here. So in true, Finnish fashion, I had my first sauna experience ever. Thank you, Finland. While I was actually in the sauna I had a mini-panic attack, feeling like I was going to die from the heat. But by the end of it I felt refreshed, relaxed, and detoxed - which is 100% worth it in my opinion.

We continue our journey this weekend with a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark! More eating, drinking, and picture taking to come.

 Until next time... xo
Welcome to my blog! I am from Glenview, IL; a northern suburb just outside of Chicago. I attended undergrad at Miami University in Oxford, OH, graduating with a B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education. After teaching for two years in the city of Chicago, I've decided to take next steps in my life and move to abroad. I will post periodical updates here on my day to day life, travels, and experiences - so be sure to check back!

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