july 15:Thanks to Guy for driving to the airport. Nancy came this far on the trip. We arrived about 7 pm and since I had a printed ticket we just had to put the bag on at the baggage-drop. The hardest part was finding the Finnair kiosk. I said my good-byes and got into the security line. The line was about 45 minutes. At the final stage they confiscated my wine bottle opener...argh ! I Do look like I would "screw" with the crew ?

I got some booze at the duty-free and I was off for the gate--gate 30 almost the last one. I decided to have something to eat... a beer (22 oz) and a vegetarian felafel with fries. The felafel was awful but the fries were good. I couldn't even finish the beer in an hour so I walked across the aisle to the boarding gate. I struck up a conversation with an older guy(maybe I was older)who was going to Croatia. But I got called to the gate because there was a problem with my ticket. The bar code could not be read so they had to check my passport yet again.

The boarding was slow and I could see we would not leave on time. In fact we left about an hour late from Toronto...but the pilot said he would make up the time on the way to Helsinki. Supper was served when we got to altitude. Supper was not inspiring...chicken “fingers” which were really thin. We did get 1 free wine drink.

I was seated beside a pretty 20 year old girl...OK OK, it wasn’t my choice ! She was travelling with her family (seated in front of us). They were going back to Finland after a 2 week stay in Canada. They had spent 5 years in Canada before. But they now live in Finland 200 Km from Helsinki. She spoke very good Canadian as well as Finnish.

Kiitos ! Finnish for “thank you” was the only word I can remember.

We talked for an hour or so and then it was off to sleep. I had a 2 year-old behind me and her mother could not stop the kid from kicking the back of my seat. I did not get any sleep until the brat fell asleep.

July 16:Morning brought breakfast... a very hot egg omelet with thin potato under it. It was better than supper.

We arrived in exactly 7 hours at Helsinki. It was raining and cool (10-12C). We needed a bus ride to the airport terminal... it was hair-raising ! It was 12:30 pm their time (7 hours ahead).

They had to make sure that the bottles of booze were OK before allowing me in. I suggested they taste it... they didn’t but opened one to see. These were all sealed and stamped DUTY-FREE. They let them through.

I roamed the terminal and had an ice-cream bar. It was a small terminal but full of people from every nation. There was a rest-area with genuine Finnish furniture. Very nice.

My plane was supposed to leave at 5 pm for Budapest. It was 5 minutes late, but the pilot said he would make up the time; he did !

We zoomed into Liszt Ferenc airport very fast; he used the whole runway to land...with the brakes used generously. Usually, flaps are used to slow down the plane first.

A long walk to the baggage area but a short time to get the bag.

Our good friends Gyorgi and Jancsi met me at the gate and we were off. Since I was early and they were too, it worked out perfectly.

The temperature was 29C and sunny.

My right ear was still ringing. At their home I had a lovely soup made from zucchini and rice-chicken dish. Good cooking. Iszlik (eez-lik=good tasting)!

After a couple of cold beers and a shower, I was in bed at 9 pm their time or 3 am Canada time.