Ian Rambles
As we crossed the border into Finland I proffered our passports to the customs officer. " Too many 'e''s" he said as he opened them. His surname was "Petri" - and he unclipped his id badge to show me. I promised to change our names. He promised to check that we had if we tried to return to Finland!
We were travelling on the "Tolstoy" - the Russian run service linking Moscow to Helsinki. The carriage looked the same as the ones we had got used to across Siberia. The toilets looked the same. It seemed unlikely to me that the Finns would allow trains to fertilise their tracks and, on inspection, the carriages were fitted with holding tanks - but the provodnistas still locked the loos as we approached each station.

Fiona's Journal
Our journey from Moscow to Helsinki was just like a continuation of the Trans-Siberian really. We met another excellent young Russian woman called Olga who had a berth in the same cabin as Ian. She travels all over the world for her job, the procurement of aircraft parts, and speaks superb English. We had a long conversation about home education, something she thinks the Russian government would never countenance because they like to keep a tight control on what is taught to children. She told us that she had been taught three completely different and contradictory versions of 20th century Russian history during the course of her school career!
Arrival in Helsinki was like a little homecoming in its own right. Suddenly everything looked, sounded, even smelt and tasted familiar and recognisable. We could read and pronounce the words and even, sometimes, understand them. I felt like a European and not a foreigner any more and it was restful! It was also shockingly expensive!! We explored this European capital city by bus and tram and it didn't take long – its smaller than Reading.
We stayed two nights on the Island of Suomenlinna, which was developed over three centuries as one huge defensive fortification protecting the entrance to Helsinki. The military buildings are really rather beautiful and our hostel occupied one, presumably once a barracks, close to the ferry terminal. George and Harry ran around the defensive walls, tunnels, dug-outs and gun emplacements, playing war games – a therapeutic alternative to the First Person Shooter computer games that they have been missing so much!

Arthur's Log:
After some very good natured customs, we arrived in Finland's capital Helsinki. We walked through a market on the way to our hostel and found the best market fast food ever made. Haggis in bannock (a sort of savoury doughnut, we had them in Canada.)
We found the hostel on the little island were staying on, and the door was answered by the most nervous pale woman I have ever seen, I was thinking, oh goodie this has all the makings if a horror movie starting right here.

Well we woke up and weren't cut into little pieces! Just kidding I didn't really think we would be..... Any way, mum found a design museum, which is never what you expect, you think it would be full of clever structures but its mostly overly complex structures that are just complex to look pretty and clever. Then it got even stranger, winny the poo with one ear cut off and a bloody bandage round his head, to shop window dolls split in rude places.

We went to the little history museum on the Island, I'm getting to the point with the knowledge of history that everything is starting to link up. And its doing my head in connecting every piece of history I know.

We blew most of the day exploring the island, its so small but apparently has about 1000 people living on it which is odd, considering I only saw like 8 people. Mid day we went to a little toy museum and saw allot of Moomins (of course) and and the strangest thing was a tin lunch box with Snow White and the seven dwarfs on the front, made by Nokia, yes the phone company.