1. So it would seem that everyone, and I mean everyone, speaks English here. I’ve managed to get by without knowing a single word of Finnish or Swedish, beyond kiitos (Fin. “Thank you”) or hej (Swed. “Hello”) or tack (Swed. “Thank you”). I marvel at people’s language skills, effortlessly switching from one language to another. I love that they all assume I speak their language (me, who looks obviously foreign?), until I apologise, at which point the switch to English.
2. I know I am not in the Antipodes because the trees and birds are completely different and unfamiliar. I find myself missing eucalypts. Which is not to say the trees here aren’t beautiful. And it’s very green here at the moment. I try to imagine what it must look like in the middle of winter, but I can’t. The weather is very pleasant at present. Maximum temperatures of around 21°C. There’s been a bit of rain but it’s not been torrential so not difficult to cope with.
3. I think I am going from smaller and quieter (Helsinki) to bigger and busier – currently in Stockholm, tomorrow Copenhagen, culminating in Amsterdam.
4. I needn’t have worried about Internet access, as most venues have free wifi. I am writing this on the train from Stockholm to Göteborg (Gothenburg), for instance. I do miss not having a connected smartphone though.
5. I have been sick with a cold/virus since last Thursday. I note that it’s just as miserable being sick overseas as it is being sick at home. This accounts partly for my lack of posts for the last few days. (I thought I’d spare you all from graphic tales of unpleasant upper respiratory tract infections.) I have also been reserving my energy for travel. It’s meant that I haven’t managed to do some of the things I wanted to do – c’est la vie!