PART 8-
i got into jfk at about 7 am on friday nov 22. there isnt much to write here about new york, because besides for bagel hole's pickels on avenue j, everything else was just visiting parents, grandparents, and siblings in brooklyn and lakewood. of course there was also some shopping for presents for the family back at home (thats my travel insurance, it insures i will be able to travel next time). the free ones from the family and the non free ones from the stores. but im sure thats of no interest to anyone here.
our return home was booked JFK-HEL-TLV (40k AA miles per person) with a full day stopover in helsinki. at the time of booking all of aa's options to TLV were wide open. we didnt want london, because we'd both been there enough times. amman wasnt good, because that would take us back to TLV coming from east to west. we wanted to get back in from west to east to make sure the world really is round. the choice was between madrid and helsinki. madrid is easier and cheaper to get to on a random trip, with plenty of low cost options. madrid also just clicks as less exotic, and of course, helsinki gives u the option of saying "im going to HEL" or "i just got back from HEL". so helsinki it was.
we were scheduled on AY6 at 7:25 pm on sunday, getting into HEL at 10 am monday, then leaving HEL to TLV on AY1979 at about 8 pm later on monday. when we got to JFK, our suitcases were both well over 30 kg and we were running late. there was a long line at checkin, and we were getting nervous. while waiting on the line some manager announced "anyone here connecting to tel aviv?". we jumped up and he took us over to the side. he then told us that there was some strike in helsinki and that almost all the connecting flights from helsinki on were being cancelled. all those who were waiting on that long line were not going to be allowed to board because they then would have no way to get from helsinki to their destination. they would all have to be put on different flights instead. only those who their destination was HEL (not too many ppl as u can imagine), or those connecting to TLV, which for some reason was not cancelled, were being allowed on. he then took our passports, went to some office, and came back with boarding passes and luggage tags. he gave us the boarding passes, put the tags on the bags, and started shlepping himself the 2 suitcases to the belt thru a side door. we didnt hear a peep about the size and weight of the bags.
the flight was on an almost totally empty airbus a330, a total pleasure. every single person was able to get a whole row of 4 seats for himself, or 8 or 12 for that matter also. couldnt have imagined a more comfortable night on any other night flight/hotel. after a full night sleep, shacharis, and breakfast we pulled in to HEL at about 10 am on monday nov 25th.
HEL was exactly the opposite of its namesake. it was frozen over and almost empty. the one similarity was that it was very hard to get out. we got grilled for a long time by passports as to what we were doing there, where we were coming from and where we were going to. very not typical for eu passport control. it felt much more like the grilling u get in the countries who not so long ago were part of the ussr. especially by the older agents, who havent got used to todays world yet or just havent read the news in 30 years. we tried explaining our trip as simply as possible, but it felt like we were going in circles
. we were eventually allowed out on bail, thankfully they did not demand an ankle bracelet.
we took a train for about an hour to Rautatientori metro station, and then took the 15 minute walk to market square. the whole way was an interesting mixture of old russian style buildings, european type of streets and trams, and brand new modern malls. when we got to market square we bought tickets for the ferry to suomenlinna fortress, and then spent the waiting time going around the market. there were the regular market stuff for sale, plus some huge whole reindeer skins. seems like that is the finland type of thing.
the ferry was not too crowded and mostly comfortable, and it took around 10 minutes. the fortress is very impressive and has a rich history. ill spare u the history lesson, if u are interested u can start at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomenlinna . there is an army base or something like that on the island, and finnish soldiers were walking around freely. they did not look like they were made out to fight the russians. for us it was just a cool outing to something Finnish, and some nice pictures. we spent a couple of hours there, including visiting a grocery on the island to buy some produce for a picnic. we took the last ferry out, and headed back the way we came to the airport.
all went smooth on the way out, and AY1979 got us into TLV at about 12 am mon night/tues morning. as for my TLV trip report u are welcome to come join me to see it live, as i am currently still on that trip (albeit with 2 short stopovers in the middle in hungary and new york). u are all welcome to come over for coffee...
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