It is days like this that being able to get up early really pays off. Alarm at 4:30 am, get dressed, check out of the hotel and then on to the train station. The first train to the airport was at 6 am so we had time to relax a bit and drink some coffee at a station café. The train station was a little confusing – our train was coming in on track four but they also number the platforms – platform four has no relationship to track four. Eventually we figured it out, and it was an easy train ride. The first time of the whole trip a conductor came by and checked our tickets. We showed him the ticket but he said that we had to have it stamped by a machine – so Kuniko went with him and had it stamped. He seemed frustrated that we didn’t know about it, but if you want to check tickets why not put in ticket gates? It is weird that in Europe sometimes they check tickets and sometimes they don’t.
We arrived at Warsaw Chopin airport with some leeway, and checked in at the counter. Our tickets were on AirBaltic from Warsaw to Riga, then with only 55 minutes between flights we’d fly on AirBaltic again to Helsinki. I was a little worried about that 55 minutes – if our flight was delayed at all we might miss that flight which would mean a missed flight from Helsinki to Japan. The staff at the check-in counter just smiled and said that she was sure we’d make the flight.
With lots of time we decided to get a proper breakfast, and we ate at a French restaurant in the airport called “Paul”. It is really more of a bakery, but they served omelets and quiche as well as champagne so we were happy to eat there regardless of the early hours. That was how we spent the time waiting for our flight – enjoying quiche and champagne as the sun rose through the windows of the airport.
The flight on AirBaltic left on time, so we arrived with plenty of time in Riga airport, which we knew quite well having been through it on our way to Vilnius. Then it was another short hop to Helsinki – each flight was around 40 minutes so there wasn’t much time in the air. No problem on connections, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
The last time we were in Helsinki airport two weeks ago it was quiet – almost dead. It couldn’t have been any more different this time. We checked in to our flight (self-check in and even the luggage check-in was automated) and there were a lot of people in the airport waiting in line. Security took a long time, and the hallways of the airport were full of people, especially Asian people.
We escaped from the crowds at an airport bar and had lunch – a pulled pork burger, a crayfish open-faced sandwich, and several local beers made the waiting go by easier. Then we got in line for the automated passport check. The line was out of control – stretching down the hallway and causing stress and confusion for the passengers (especially the ones who had flights leaving soon). Our flight was still three hours away and we had several beers in us so it was not stressful for us at all.
Eventually we made it through immigration, and then we were on to the gate. At self check-in we discovered that our seats were not together (since I didn’t bother to choose our seats 36 hours before the flight) and so we tried to get them closer together. A nice gentleman at the gate made some changes and we got closer, but still not next to each other. Lesson learned – I need to be more organized next time to reserve the seat locations. But this unfortunate situation improved a little when I saw my seat – it had no seat in front of it, so I could stretch my legs out and recline for most of the 9-hour trip back to Osaka.
So the flight was smooth on the way home, and we did the usual bus ride back to Sannomiya, and a taxi ride back from Nishi Akashi station to our home. The place looked good and the weather was actually pretty cool for Japanese summer – so it wasn’t so tough coming back.
Once again, we thought it turned out to be a great trip. It was a lot more relaxing, plenty of great food, and we could see six countries that we hadn’t seen before. We always have fun in Europe and this time was no exception. There were a lot of great memories, and I ended up taking around 1,700 pictures so we’ll have a pretty extensive visual record of the trip. Now to think about where to go next!
