Airport

And so it begins…

Posted on by Megan

A year and a half ago, my Mom, Sister, and I traveled to Finland to visit an “old” exchange student and meet his family. I’ll post my reflections in reverse so that you can easily click through and read them in the order in we experienced Finland. Enjoy!

My trip to Finland began at 1:30 on the afternoon of June 17, I had just quit my job and was in an empty state of mind. No stresses to think about, just excitement about the journey ahead.

My flight didn’t leave for a couple of hours so I took time to people watch in the waiting area of Gate 1. I saw families heading to vacation, business people making phone calls and checking emails, students reading textbooks, and a Texas Longhorn fan. I say the latter of that group had a death wish, proclaiming his love for the all things Longhorn in an Arkansas airport, but my boyfriend begged to differ.

In the plethora of personalities that surrounded me, one specifically stood out. An older lady wearing a brown linen tunic and khaki pants was traveling with what I assumed were members of her family. (For most of my trip I think I’ll be with them, I just heard them mention going to London.) This lady was striking. She was talking about all of the traveling she had done, the types of coins she had in bags at home, and a fleeting mention of 200,000 frequent flyer miles. She seemed so full of life that she reminded me of someone. It wasn’t until I was on the plane at our cruising altitude somewhere above Arkansas that I realized who I was being reminded of.

Ottie, my late grandmother (Dad’s side), was one of the dearest souls I knew (and know to this day). Ottie loved to travel. She was in Switzerland in a gondola above the Swiss Alps on the day I was born, had been all across the US with the “Trailblazers” (a group of retirees from my hometown that took twice yearly charter tours), and had taken an Alaskan cruise, among other trips.

She was also an educator, gardener, and inspiring Christian. I often find myself wishing Ottie was still with us, that I could call her and tell her all about my life, my travels, and my hopes. But, in this moment, on this journey, I know she is with me and smiling.

Things that make you go hmm…

Posted on by Megan

Here are some random observations from my travels to Finland. Enjoy!

  • London-Heathrow Airport: Spotted. A traveler wearing black bike shorts with a lace trim. She was an American. No wonder the Brits hate us.
  • Question. How can a flight be full and have a row of 5 seats with only 2 passengers in the row? Luckily I was one of those 2 passengers and the flight was for 7 hours :). Go me.
  • A teeny-bopper raving about her travels around the World and saying how our plane to London would have a 2nd partial level because her plane to Australia did. When she gets on and asks where the stairs are, the flight attendant tells her there is only 1 level.
  • 10 minutes of Internet in London-Heathrow -$3. 4.5 minutes of Internet in Helsinki-Vantaa-$3. Unlimited Internet access at my home [almost] priceless…(or ~$30)
  • 24 hours of daylight, even when it’s raining.
  • I’m wearing a sweater. It’s June.
  • My new favorite way to fly is having 1 crying baby to my right and another behind me while trying to sleep. Then, having flight attendants wake me up every 30 minutes to ask: “Are you buckled up?”, “Would you like lunch?”, “Would you like a drink?”, or “Do you have any trash?”. Thankfully the flight was only about 2.5 hours from London to Helsinki, but still…
  • Purple hair.
  • Pink hair. I saw both numerous times at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
  • Captain Hook’s Restaurant with “Peter Pan’s Meatballs” and “Tinkerbell’s Laughing Weiners”.
  • The “fun” store at the largest mall in Scandinavia (of course I found it, the mall not the store) with “Willie Slippers” and “Bosom Cushions” proudly displayed in the window. It was near a children’s toy store. Fun for the whole family I guess :).
  • The escalators in the mall were flat.
  • If you see a pizza restaurant it will more than likely be serving kabobs.
  • A supermarket I don’t think would fair too well in the states: KKK Supermarket.
  • On a cold, rainy evening of playing RISK (in Finnish), my sister says, “Let me do you from the Ukraine.” She meant, “I want to attack Ukraine.” Inappropriate laughter soon followed.
  • We should adopt the Finnish way of bed dressing. It consists of an undersheet, duvet with duvet cover, and possibly a quilt.
  • My seatmate to NYC carried a Trevi GM Louis Vuitton purse that I’d kill for, wore a Juicy Couture sweatsuit, and had a carry-on too big to fit in the overhead compartment. She did what any smart and considerate overseas traveler would do and forced it under the seat in front of her. This action provided only a 3-4 inch space on the floor for her feet. In turn, my somewhat good leg room became a bit less than average and the flight was for 7 hours…