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?
Discover more from The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist
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