Finland Jamboree Part 3- Helsinki

Like our bus to Kajo, the trip from the Jamboree to Helsinki airport was again international, with Scouts from Germany, Norway and the UK sharing our bus - and singing most of the way. Back at the airport, we were this time experts at getting the train to central Helsinki and then we had the new experience of a tram to take us to the hostel that would be our home in Helsinki. After stopping to grab some groceries, we arrived at the hostel to find the lobby full of German, British and Australian Scouts - many of whom had been on our bus! After a rest and a shower it was off the explore Helsinki and find something for dinner.

Our first full day in Helsinki was spent exploring the city - first by boat and then by bus. Our boat tour around the Helsinki archipelago gave us a real appreciation for the importance of the Baltic to Helsinki - both historically and in modern times. We then enjoyed a delicious lunch in the Market Square before our bus tour which showed us the land side of Helsinki.

On Monday we took a ferry to the island of Suomenlinna to explore the fortress begun in the mid-18th century when Finland was still part of Sweden. This UNESCO world heritage site had lots of great tunnels, guns and walls to explore - as well as a submarine we were able to visit.

Back in Helsinki after lunch, we headed back to the hostel to collect our wet tents which needed drying and headed to a park beside the Baltic where we could set them up to dry. We also met some of the giant rabbits that inhabit Helsinki and discovered something unique to Helsinki - a public carpet washing station! Yes, Helsinki residents have special places to wash and dry their carpets beside the Baltic after a long winter.

The morning of our final full day in Helsinki began with a trip to the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum. Located on an island, this public park is home to dozens of historic buildings re-located from around Finland and giving an overview of life in the Finnish countryside in the 18th and 19th centuries - a kind of Finnish Upper Canada Village.

After a final look around downtown Helsinki, we packed up our things at the hostel and made our way across Helsinki to the airport hotel for our last night in town.

After a last big meal at the hotel restaurant, it was an early night ready for our 4:30am departure from the hotel for our trip home. Unfortunately due to staffing problems in Amsterdam airport we were unable to visit downtown Amsterdam during our layover as planned, however our trip home was relatively uneventful and we arrived exhausted back in Ottawa 27 hours after leaving the hotel that morning.

Our 17 day expedition to Finland had firsts for all of us - first trip to an international Scout camp, first Jamboree, first sauna, first trip to Europe, first time on a plane, first time eating reindeer. Each one of us will have our own memories of those firsts, the places we saw, the people we met, the things we did and the friends we made and we will carry those with us for the rest of our lives.

We couldn't have had those amazing experiences without the help of our community - thank you to everyone that supported our fundraisers, donated bottles, bought popcorn or rain barrels or helped us in any way. We couldn't have done it without you!