Arrival in Finland

 I finally arrived at 1530. By the time I got to hotel it was 1630, but the hotel staff assured me that i should still go to the sauna. I quickly located my swimsuit and ordered an Uber. So I indeed had the sauna experience which included a plunge in the ice-covered Baltic Sea.

 

A Lonnnnnng Layover in Dallas

 Well, my 3 hour layover turned into a 36 hour layover. One of the tires on our plane to Helsinki needed to be changed (wish I could have seen that). They thought we could leave late but last night, but by midnight they called it. We picked up our suitcases while the airport shut down. They arranged for all 200 to be put up in hotels. I drew the Super 8 straw with two other ladies (one with marginal English and one with none). They didn't have a shuttle at 0200, so I had to download the Uber app. We got there at 0230. After a less than adequate breakfast and remarkably poor coffee, we used their shuttle to return to the airport.

Now the story gets interesting : they didn't cancel our flight, they just delayed it. But that meant there were two Finnair#20 flights.

 Here is a photo of the outgoing plane (left) and our plane that will leave at 2100. That means I will miss the Helsinki walkabout and the sauna experience . Oh well.

 

On my way

 Well, I'm on my way. There is a major detour on I-29 N that I didn't expect, but I left early in case there were TSA delays (there were none), so all is well. There's a chance that we can see Northern Lights on the flight, so I'll pay attention.  I expect the next post will be from Helsinki. 

Finland-Arctic Magnificence

 On Sunday, I will travel to Finland with an MIT Alumni tour to see the Northern Lights and engage in some winter sports.  The tour will include some cultural enrichment.  But perhaps you ask "Why Finland?".  Well, it is a perennial Northern Lights hotspot (see image below).  The answer to "why now" is that we are in a 10-year high sunspot activity time, and it's spring equinox.

 Look carefully under the green spot and you'll find northern Finland.

Exiting (part 2)

 

So, here's a photo of me with, wait for it, a falafel sandwich which I got with Efi in his town. And, a delightful surprise: my landlord offered to take me to the airport (like I was going to say no).  Efi and Orit wanted me to see some exhibits in Tel Aviv,  but I was too tired, so the lift to the airport was great. I sat next to a mechanical engineer who is traveling to the US for a vacation,  and we geeked out for while. 

So now I am at Laguardia awaiting the flight to Kansas City. I got to have some NY pizza for breakfast (mmm).

Exiting

 

Today is the journey home. I am able to store my suitcase in an empty apartment,  but only until 1600. I'm traveling a little north to visit with my Hebrew teacher in person, and then head back to get out of the way. Heading to the airport at 1600 is fine. I'll probably be able to check-in around 1800. And then check-in for my Southwest flight in the morning (figuring that out is always a time zone challenge).

A New Friend

 I went to Jerusalem to have lunch with Sam's brother Uri. We went to his favorite hummus place (entrance was under the umbrella). Uri runs the biggest security firm in Israel,  including the security at the Kotel (Western Wall). One of his sons is currently in the IDF. 

After lunch, I went to Mahane Yehuda and bought a kilogram of great Israeli peanuts from this place.