Sunday, July 25, 2010

I Wanna Be a Little Seahorse

July 21, 2010

Got a very late start on Wednesday, somewhat exhausted still from the road trip.

The first activity of the day of the Linnanmaki Amusement Park in Helsinki, that features all sorts of very traditional amusement park rides, the likes of which I have not enjoyed for many years including:

1. A Ferris Wheel. Great view of the city.

2. The Kieppo. I don´t know how to describe it beyond that it flipped me over in every direction for what felt like several minutes, and I think I almost vomited.

3. A wooden roller coaster built in 1951. Fun, but I screamed.

4. A Funhouse built in 1961. Scarier than I thought it would be. Got somewhat lost in the hall of mirrors.

5. Another roller coaster that was very short, but really, really intense. Held on to my glasses very tightly.

6. The mirrors that make you look fat and skinny.

7. A carousel built in 1896.

Totally fun experience, but my stomach felt a bit turned by the end. Good thing the next event on the itinerary was dinner! Saw two really scary looking monster guys getting off the tram as we were getting on, and I asked where they worked in Finland. Turned out that they were homeless and probably from Kallio.

Dinner at the Seahorse Restaurant. Probably the most exceptional meal of Finland, maybe of the trip. Nice, but not pretentious atmosphere, super good food, friendly service, and not too expensive even:

1. Kulalaakeri (this is not how it is spelled): a Finnish drink I liked but cannot describe.
2. Herring Plate: herring, cucumber, beets, chopped pickles, chopped onions, egg, mustardish sauce, lettuce, potatoes, dill. Super good.
3. bottle of rose wine from Italy. Refreshing.
4. Liver in a brown sauce and mashed potatoes.
5. Salmiakki (Finnish, licorice flavor) shot for after dinner drink.
6. Coffee.

Walked to the Hotel Kamp (built in 1887) for a glass of wine.

**Devendra Banhart -- Seahorse

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