Solitude

...on platform 2. But there were plenty of people on Platform 1 waiting for the train from the airport to the city. A little experiment today, using the train to come back from the airport (which - with our cards is by far the cheapest mode), but we got off at Pasila and hopped onto the tram 7, which magically becomes the tram 2 at the terminus, and so takes us right to our door. It's probably about the same amount of travelling time as going right into the centre and out again, to be honest, and it had the disadvantage of having to lug our bags up the stairs from the platform (although a lift was available). Anyway, as I said, it's cheaper than the Finnair bus and probably a little more convenient.

We returned to cold and rain in Helsinki, having left the same in Gdańsk. We've not been too lucky with the weather this weekend, although there were patches of sunshine on both Friday and Saturday, as well as epic amounts of rain, as my album on flickr hopefully shows.

Despite the weather, it was an extremely enjoyable trip away, which - given the history of Gdańsk - could practically count as a fieldtrip for my research. Gdańsk has long been a city in flux - between different political authorities, and at various times, e.g. between the first and second world wars, a city state. And that's without even mentioning Gdańsk as the crucible of the eventual downfall of communism. We trotted up to the European Solidarity Centre yesterday and had a look around the sad remnants of the shipyards, as far as we could get access.

We also ate and drank somewhat immoderately, at Literacka on Friday and then at the more 'earthy' Gdański Bowke on Saturday. We probably enjoyed the latter even more than the more refined Literacka. We sat for several hours sheltering under large umbrellas outside a cafe on Długi Targ, drinking beer and watching the world go by (and getting progressively colder despite the patio heaters and blankets).

The journey home today was perfectly easy. It's only a turboprop that plies the line between Helsinki and Gdańsk, and Helsinki is further away than many of the other Scandinavian destinations like Gothenburg, Stockholm and Copenhagen that were supplying lots of other tourists wandering the streets this weekend (and sitting in the bars enjoying the cheap booze...). But it was a really good choice for a weekend away, and I have certainly returned with some new ideas about this region and the connections across the Baltic Sea.