Helsinki...according to Jess

So, here we are in the beautiful Helsinki, Finland. Audrey and I arrived yesterday morning at 530am on the Express overnight bus from Petersburg. It took about 2 hours to go through customs (basically just the Russian part), so neither of us actually got much sleep. We pulled into Helsinki not having any idea where we were in relation to...well, anything. Also, since it was a sunday morning everything was closed, so there was really no one to ask either. We lugged our backpacks and duffel bags in the rain (because OF COURSE it had to be raining for this) out of the bus station after looking at the map in the guide book. We were trying to figure out what the street signs meant and how to pronounce them...or really, just read them. Finnish makes no sense. So, we were on some street called Manninheisterninshteinium or something like that. Ridiculous. My first impression of Helsinki...HelSTINKY. There was garbage all over the streets near the bus and train stations and the mall across the street. I have never seen so much garbage in my life! Horrible. We later found out that it is filthy in this area because thats where the young folks go. Finland as a whole is actually quite clean. Anyway, the train station was really close, so we immediately went over and put our bags in luggage lockers and began planning our day. We made very good time, going to the olympic stadium and tower from the 1952 Olympics, the National Museum of Finland, three churches (of course), a market, and a couple really nice parks. The nicest thing about Finland is that there are all these random parks and planted flowers around the city. One church is built into the rocks and only the dome is visible. Honestly, it was probably the coolest church Ive ever seen...and you know ive seen churches... Another church we saw was the largest Orthodox Cathedral in Northern and Eastern Europe (pretty boring on the inside). The third church was...well... it was a church.
We met up with Andrew when he arrive in the afternoon. We have basically been walking ever since. We didnt have a hostel planned because Audrey and I were originally supposed to arrive at 10pm, not 530am. So, we havent really slept more than about 2 hours in the past two days.
Some Highlights:
-Aud and I thought we were stuck in the elevator coming down from the Olympic tower...actually, audrey just pressed the wrong button.
-Audrey got stuck in a door... it just closed on her randomly and wouldnt budge.
-We met a very hyperactive American woman and had a nice conversation with her
-We found an AMAZING beach and watched the sunrise
-Finland is really beautiful and the people are really friendly
and last but not least...
-WE ATE REINDEER! and it was delish.