We’re in our final stretch of time here in Helsinki—we leave Wednesday evening for Sweden which feels impossible.
Maybe time keeps flying because life feels so busy. I managed to get sick again (for anyone keeping track, this is my second bad cold in Helsinki) and my sleep continues to be hit and miss (one night I was awake until almost 3 am!!!!).
My brother arrived mid-week with his wife (also recovering from a cold), so we have been recuperating and plodding away at life.
It’s Friday which means it’s time for… Happy Things!!!
First up:
HAVING A PLAN
Some people close to me might think I over plan… but I plan for a reason. When I ended up being blindsided by my cold, I had meals planned out and a loose itinerary for each day of my brother’s visit.
WHAT A RELIEF.
Speaking of plans, I’m finished sketching out our time in Stockholm and Copenhagen. I don’t have a day-to-day itinerary for either location, just a short-list of things to see. In terms of London, my plan is to mostly lean on the Big Bus Tour. We’ve never done anything like this before and, unfortunately, have limited time to explore London on our own. Yes, the bus tours are uber touristy, but… we’re tourists. I think it will be fun and, this is key, EASY.
I did enough research this week to figure out the best deal/tour provider, and we’ll likely just stick with the Red Route. We’ll ride it one complete loop, and then hop off in a few key spots and… that will be London. Maybe we’ll try to stop at the National Gallery (it’s free! I’m a bit bummed about not having time to explore all the free museums in London) to see some Van Gogh paintings?
And Rachel is doing all the heavy lifting for Wales! Bless her soul.
A MOTHER’S DAY SPENT ALONE
When John asked what I wanted for Mother’s Day, I didn’t have to think about my answer: time home alone.
While I’ve gone out and done a few solo adventures in Helsinki, those take effort. I have to get dressed in proper clothes (which usually involves layers since it’s still chilly in Finland), I have to navigate somewhere. It takes energy and intention. Neither of which I felt like mustering on Mother’s Day. At the start of the week I saw blog posts by people recapping a Mother’s Day family hike, frolicking in pretty dresses through the proverbial daisies. No thanks. I’m doing plenty of frolicking and wanted Mother’s Day to be about me, NOT my kids.
It felt like a proper treat to be in our apartment alone.
And it was perfect. I sipped coffee. I caught up on laundry. I took a long, scalding shower. I worked on a few blog posts. I did some planning for my brother and SIL’s trip to Helsinki (and happily we’re currently executing on said plans).
Oh, and I finished reading an awesome book…
GIVEAWAY
Speaking of which: if you haven’t already done so, leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win a signed copy of Laura Vanderkam’s latest book—Big Time: A Simple Path to Time Abundance.
I’ll randomly select a winner over the weekend and announce the name on Monday!
Also…
I WAS ON A PODCAST!!!
I told you this was a busy week.
It was so much fun to record an episode about budget-friendly travel advice with Emily and Cassidy of The Finance Girlies Podcast. For show notes and to listen in on our conversation, go HERE!
CITIZENSHIP PROGRESS
We continue to make progress with the kids’ Portuguese citizenship. In fact, Belle is now OFFICIALLY A DUAL CITIZEN. We picked up her Portuguese citizen card this week and her passport should arrive before we leave Helsinki.
It will take a bit longer for Indy’s paperwork to get sorted; we had never formally registered his birth in Portugal, but we’ve completed the next step in the process and now it’s just a waiting game.
I see this as an investment into the kids’ future. It’s not a lot of fun to gather the paperwork and pay the fees and sit in offices (trust me, I heard plenty of complaints about having to wait in the Embassy for a few hours), BUT having an EU passport/citizenship is a wonderful thing to have and I’m so thankful to John for prioritizing this. (I didn’t do much to help, aside from birthing said children.)
MY SAUNA EXPERIENCE!
I have a dedicated post to share about the time Belle and I spent at Löyly. For now, just know that watching the sun set from inside a sauna on the edge of the Baltic Sea was definitely a pinch-me-I’m-in-Finland moment.
DAY TRIP TO TALLINN
Stay tuned for a recap of our day trip to Tallinn, Estonia. Here are a few sneak peeks:
BONUS HAPPY THINGS
- Jenny did her very own Happy Friday Things post and it made me so happy!
- Fresh, crunchy grapes.
- Hot showers. This makes my list almost every week!
- Watching the kids try to perfect the Moonwalk. It’s hilarious, but they’re making steady progress.
- The kids and I got to see a free concert inside Helsinki’s Rock Church. It’s literally built into, in essence, a giant boulder. It wasn’t perfect: the kids weren’t overly happy about being taken along to a concert in the evening. They were bored and made that abundantly clear to me. Harumph. But when the violin group started playing Ave Maria, I got literal goosebumps. I also decided to channel my inner Taylor Swift and took creative license with one of her songs and sang They Can Do It with a Bored Heart in my head. I can’t force them to like it, but even via osmosis, I felt like they’d had a good dose of culture for the evening.
Over and out from Helsinki, which makes this my last Happy Things Friday post from Finland!
Happy weekending friends!
Your turn.
- Plan or no plan?
- When’s the last time a piece of music gave you chills?
- Can you do the Moonwalk?
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congrats to advancing the double citizenship process. i can imagine the hassle and but it is a long time investment.
time alone on mother’s day is perfect in my book too. we do so much as mother during the year, one day off is exactly we need.
The day off was SO lovely.
I like a loose plan. Being able to stop spontaneously for fun is nice, but I need a rough outline so time doesn’t drift away.
No rhythm so no moonwalk! Or any other dance for that matter.
Looks like you’re keeping your mood up even with a cold! Looking forward to more from Finland.
Yes, I need some plan or else I feel very adrift, as you put it. Once I have a plan, I actually often find it a bit easier to be spontaneous with some things.
I got a GREAT night of sleep last night and that made a huge difference in my mood and enthusiasm for life in general 😉
When my mum was dying, at our house, Shannon (13) went into Bookstore Nan’s room alone and sang Ave Maria to her. Mum was unconscious, but I remember it as Shannon singing her out of this world knowing we all loved her. Very moving moment. Stay healthy!
Jan, thanks so much for sharing about this moment with me. What a truly incredible moment (and memory) for those involved in this experience. Beauty and grief and loss and love all co-mingled. I suspect this story will stay with me for a long time, certainly every time I hear Ava Maria played.
Alone in your own house on mothers day is definitely a gift! Can’t wait to hear about your sauna experiene with Belle.
Plan! Always have a plan.
The time that stands out when I got goosebumps from music was actually in Canada, when I went to AURA music and light show at Notre Dame in Montreal. Such an amazing experience.
I do love a plan. I feel like most people in our blogging community are this way which I find fascinating (and comforting).
Belle and I went to see something similar in Vienna (a light show in the Votive Church), and she said it was one of the best things she’s ever done in her life.
Ha ha nope, can’t do the moonwalk.
I think when you’re traveling with kids you HAVE TO have a plan!!! If I were alone or just with my husband, I would be more spontaneous. I think the bus tour of London will be PERFECT. Your time will be limited, you want to see as much as possible, and by that point you will be exhausted. Besides, it will be an experience you didn’t have in the other countries.
I’m looking forward to hearing about Estonia, and the sauna experience!
Such a good point. When John and I head off alone for a day, we have a MUCH looser plan. I need to know where I’m going (because the kids will ask) and how long things are apart so I can factor in bathrooms stops and then I have to make sure I have snacks and water and it is A WHOLE THING!!!
The solo time on Mother’s Day sounds lovely! Especially in a season of constant togetherness.
I listened to your podcast yesterday! It was great to hear your voice, which I’ve been missing out on since our visit. It was a really good show, so anyone who hasn’t heard it should get on that ASAP.
Constant Togetherness sounds like it could be the title of our family’s book about this experience?? Haha.
Aww. That is so sweet of you. Did you think it sounded like me? I thought my voice sounded lower than expected, in some ways, and I wonder if I would have recognized it as my own voice if someone had played it to me blind? But I know self-perception of voices is very different from external perceptions.
Ha, I fully agree with you – planning is ESSENTIAL!
When you’re sick, sleep-deprived AND hosting visitors, having meals sorted and a structure already in place is important, it’s what keeps everything from sliding into chaos.
Your approach for London also makes total sense. A Hop-on Hop-off tour is great at getting a feel for the city. I find London quite overwhelming because there is SO MUCH to see. So the bus thing is just a practical way to see a lot without draining energy on logistics.
London does feel like it’s a city that needs a week (at least!) to be explored. Which means we just have to come up with a PLAN to come back at some point. Until then, the Hop On/Hop Off should be perfect, I think.
I’ve never had music give me chills, but I recently listened to a song on my commute and it just made me start bawling, so that’s a different thing, isn’t it?
When I was younger, I loved a roller coaster. But now my neck is so sensitive, I will be unable to turn my head if I so much as look in the direction of a roller coaster. Getting old means no more fun, I guess.
Music has definitely made me cry (and sometimes I LOVE it).
I do find rollercoasters hurt my neck, too (though they’re not all created equal—some are truly like a jackhammer to the skull, often older wooden ones).
We just have to find new ways to create fun. Like going to bed at 8 pm… wait, just me???
Music doesn’t give me the chills, but violin music makes me cry. And the kids probably felt compelled to act bored so you wouldn’t mistakenly think they were adults.
I’m so bummed that you caught another cold! Sickness is such a disruption, and ten times worse when you only have a limited time in a place! So glad you are getting time with your brother despite the cold.
This legitimately made me laugh out loud: “And the kids probably felt compelled to act bored so you wouldn’t mistakenly think they were adults.”
The cold was horrific for two days and now I’m mostly better. Short but VERY intense. We’re having a great visit (though I am exhausted!).
Team Plans every time! I have noticed kid memories bend events over time– maybe someday they will tell a story about how cool this one concert was. 🙂
I am betting the same thing will happen. And, happily, we went back to the same church last night for another free concert and this one was more… robust. I think both kids will remember it tolerably, if not fondly 🙂
Mother’s Day sounds perfect. My first grader’s survey of me for Mother’s Day said my favorite things are showering and staying home! She’s not wrong.
I laughed out loud and then read this comment to my husband.
I remember those Mother’s Day surveys. They can be HILARIOUS. I remember the year our daughter put pancakes as the answer to everything.
My favourite thing about my mother is… when she makes me pancakes.
I love my mother when… she makes pancakes.
My mom is a good cook and the best thing she makes is… pancakes.
There were probably 7 questions, I bet pancakes was the answer to at least 6 of them.
Ava Maria was one of my pieces for my Year 12 music performance subject. It is beautiful, and in the right setting would be magical. I think I need to plan for more music in beautiful settings when I am traveling. I did not get to have Mother’s Day to myself, but G is away, so I am getting plenty of alone time. I can imagine alone time at home was just what you needed this far into your European Odyssey.
Planning—I think you know that I love a plan when I am on holiday, especially when I am with G, because otherwise he keeps pestering me, and he doesn’t like it when the answer is, well, let’s wander here and see what happens. Although he also doesn’t like too many things planned for one day so I need to make sure I hit the sweet spot. At home, I make fairly loose plans for myself and carry them through about 50% of the time. HA! But if I have something special on (like games night tonight) I do sit down and plan a few things like the menu etc.
The musician and the setting can really make such a difference. Sitting in such a cool church and hearing a familiar song was just… wonderful!
European Odyssey. I love how you put it.
I am one of those people that want to find a sweet spot, for sure! Some planning but not too much.
I am so glad you got some alone time on Mother’s Day. That is such a gift especially with all you’ve taken on for your family between travel and school and such. Alone time is priceless!
I did a hop on/hop off tour of London when I was there in 2001 and I loved it! It’s a great way to see the city and the guides were so entertaining!
We have a pretty busy weekend. Today we have an annual paella party that a friend hosts each year. Tomorrow Taco has a bday party in the morning and then we are hosting Phil’s family in the afternoon for a BBQ. It’s likely to rain but I hope it moves out before dinner.
I LOVE alone time. It really is what fills my tank the fastest these days.
This is making me feel even more excited about the bus tour. It also feels like the right place to do it!
Hope the rain holds off!!!
I did the Hop On, Hop Off bus tour on our first day in London. Just be aware that it is verrrrry slow, lol. We planned to take it from our hotel near Tower Bridge to Picadilly and it took over 90 minutes!!! Not the most efficient, but you do get to see all the sights.
I am someone who needs a very structured itinerary – right down to “this is the time we need to leave our room” and “here is where we will stop for lunch.” I don’t do well if I don’t have everything meticulously planned out!
I’ve heard it’s slow. Eeks. We’re only going to do the Red Loop and… hope for the best. I can see a certain someone (actually, all three of the others in our party) getting impatient and asking to just walk, but I think it will be fun. I’m excited!
I’m so, so glad you got some alone time, what a perfect gift! And glad to see in the comments that you’re feeling better.
Can I jump on the bandwagon with a Happy Friday things series? I love this idea and looking back, just appreciating the moments from the week!
I love going with no plan. 🙂
Congratulations to Belle on her Portuguese citizenship!
Dang it for being sick again. So sorry about that, but at least you weren’t alone. (or maybe that would have been preferred?)
I recall a few Mother’s Days years ago where I just wanted a day alone, so I get it!!
Seeing the sunset over the Baltic must have been surreal.